Explorers clean up for camp
Charles H. Featherstone/Columbia Basin Herald Police Explorer and Othello High School senior Diana Ramirez Martinez scrubs the front of a car to help raise money for law enforcement camp this summer in front of the Othello Police Department on Thursday.
OTHELLO — It was a good day for a car wash. The sky was blue and the sun shone hot in the sky.
Which meant there were a lot of cars lining up in the parking lot of the Othello City Hall to get a car wash — and help the police department’s active group of Explorers — raise money for summer camp.
“It’s a good day, but we’re rushed now,” said senior Ayling Arias as she gripped and squeezed a large wet and soapy sponge.
According to Seth Carlson, Explorer advisor and school resource officer for the Othello Police Department, the department’s 25 Explorers were raising the money needed to attend one of two week-long law enforcement camps this summer — the Border Patrol’s Explorer Academy in Tonasket in June and the Washington Law Enforcement Exploring Advisors (WLEAA) summer academy in Yakima in August.
“They’ll learn tactics, team-building at both camps, but the WLEAA camp is more like an actual police boot camp,” Carlson said.
The Police Explorers began as a branch of the Boy Scouts in the early 1960s, and allow young people aged 14-21 with an interest in law enforcement to take police training and participate in law enforcement by riding along with police on patrols.
Carlson said that each Explorer would need about $100 to pay for camp fees, and an additional $250 to pay for other expenses, such as uniforms, boots, and supplies.
“Some have never been camping, never seen Mt. Rainier, never stood at the base and looked up at this majestic mountain,” Carlson said. “I feel responsible to expose them to this.”
“It’s been a pretty hot day for a car wash,” said Marisela Hernandez, a senior and the commander of the Othello Explorer group, as she directed traffic and took donations in a giant plastic jar.
“I want to go to the Border Patrol academy, and if possible, both academies,” Hernandez added.
Diana Ramirez Martinez dipped a giant scrub brush into a bucket full of soapy water and started scrubbing the remains of bugs off the front of a car.
“Yes,” she smiled as cars lined up. “It’s been a good day.”