Working together: Volunteers fix up Doolittle Dream Park

MOSES LAKE — While the Doolittle Dream Park off Patton Boulevard in Moses Lake is already considered by many one of Moses Lake’s best playgrounds, Sunday morning its jungle gym had a bit more vibrancy, its fencing a bit more strength; the entire place was a bit more gleaming.

A whole slew of volunteers came together Saturday for a large sweep of upkeep. All kinds of stuff was done, said Housing Authority of Grant County maintenance director Doug Larsen. That included paint touch-ups, graffiti removal, fixing boards and posts, replacing plastic pole caps and more.

“It already looks good, you know?” said volunteer and Light of Larson Church Pastor Art Brown. “But it’s going to look better.”

Lowe’s donated the paint, he said. Columbia Basin Striping came out once again for touch-ups to the basketball court.

While the Housing Authority of Grant County owns the park, several staffers came out on their day off to help. Other volunteers from Light of Larson Church, Moses Lake Christian Church and Citipoint Church in Mount Vernon helped, too.

Not only did Citipoint bring a team of 16 volunteers, but they want to come back and serve every year from here on out, Paris said.

“I was praying for 15, but we got 16,” he said.

The housing authority manages about 200 homes nearby, Brown said, so the more volunteers can do to take care of the park so it can focus on property management, the better.

While wear-and-tear on any park is pretty normal, the housing authority has been surveilling to keep graffiti and other crime under control, he said. The park has been monitored by cameras for some time, he said, but this year, they upgraded the equipment. It even helps monitor nearby crimes off the park grounds.

None of it could get done without such a caring group, he said.

“We could not do what we’re doing without volunteers and support by people like Lowe’s and Columbia Basin Striping, just saying, ‘Hey, Moses Lake is our city, and we got to take care of it,’” he said.

Sam Fletcher can be reached via email at sfletcher@columbiabasinherald.com.