Chief for a Day: A duty not taken lightly

Richard Byrd/Columbia Basin Herald Washington State Patrol Capt. Rob Huss awards Dustyn Harn a commemorative plaque during ‘Chief for a Day’ on Thursday at the Grant County Courthouse.

by Richard Byrd
| June 8, 2018 3:00 AM

EPHRATA — “Chief for a Day” is founded on a fairly simple premise. Local kids get the chance to become a honorary chief of a fire or police agency and take part in a ceremony outside of the Grant County Courthouse. As simple as that might be, the genuine gratitude, happiness and excitement the honorary chiefs, many of whom deal with physical or developmental disabilities, display makes it clear that to the kids the day isn’t just a simple one that they will forget about any time soon.

“We’ve got a number of kids here today that are going to remember this day. And when somebody asks them what happened on this day I hope that they remember it just like someone else would when there is something that they can look back on that happened (that was) memorable in their day,” Undersheriff Dave Ponozzo said at the start of the Chief for a Day ceremony.

2018 marks the 17th annual Chief for a Day event in Grant County. This year 14 local kids were chosen as honorary chiefs and were decked out from head to toe in either a police or fire uniform. The event is sponsored by the Ephrata-based Thomas A. Boruff Foundation, which assists special needs children in the United States and Mexico.

The chiefs for a day were:

Ephrata Police Department: Trevor Middleton

Ephrata Fire Department: Spencer Kono

Soap Lake Police Department: Jacquelyn Valerio

Warden Police Department: Julian Campos

Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife: Eduardo Vasquez Jr.

Royal City Police Department: Alex Lopez Rodriguez

Moses Lake Fire Department: Estevan “Stevie” Moncada Jr.

Washington State Patrol: Dustyn Harn

Grant County Fire District No. 13: Zavier Ayala

Mattawa Police Department: Alexander Cruz Bautista

Quincy Police Department: Christian Hernandez

Grant County Fire District No. 8: Daniel Chavez

Moses Lake Police Department: Austin Vanbouchaute

Grant County Sheriff’s Office: Hannah Downer

Surrounded by family, friends and a large crowd gathered outside of the Grant County Courthouse, each of the new chiefs were recognized during a ceremony Thursday afternoon. Event organizers brought out all the stops and each of the chiefs was sworn into their new position by Grant County Superior Court judges. Judge David Estudillo commended the honorary chiefs and their families for their steadfastness in the face of often difficult life circumstances.

“It has been said that ‘our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pain, losses and disappointments. But let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.’ In other words, it is during those times of challenge, frustration and despair that we realize the blessing of life, the blessing of family and the blessing of relationships,” the judge declared.

The kids were also honored by a proclamation from the Grant County Board of Commissioners that made June 7, 2018 the official date for the Chief for a Day event.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.