JOEL MARTIN
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves.
Recent Stories
Basin Easter Events 2026
SENIOR EVENTS: April 2026
COLUMBIA BASIN — It’s spring in the Basin at last. Swing a golf club to support St. Rose of Lima Catholic School, plant some marigolds with the grandchildren, learn to line dance at the Moses lake Senior Center or check out any of the other events in store for this month.
Family Resource Home Care matches caregivers with the people who need it
MOSES LAKE — Some folks, when they get a little older, just need a little help. “The basis of in-home caregiving is to keep the clients in their home for as long as possible, instead of having them go to a nursing home or assisted living,” said Family Resource Home Care Branch Manager Marisa Martinez.
Vietnam vets honored Sunday
MOSES LAKE — The American Legion and the Karneetsa Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution held a commemoration Sunday for veterans of the Vietnam War. March 29, the date the last U.S. service members left Vietnam in 1973, was designated National Vietnam War Veterans Day in 2008.
Homegrown: Dr. Firouzi gives back to his community
MOSES LAKE — A lot of young people, when they go off to college from a small town, never return. But some do. Dr. Kameron Firouzi is one of them. “When I was figuring out my passions in terms of what I wanted to do career-wise, I always wanted to come back and give back,” Firouzi said. “There were (times) throughout my life with my mom when I felt like the community rallied around me and my family, so I always felt a little bit of a tie.”
Dr. Alexander Brzezny guards the community’s health
EPHRATA — Dr. Alexander Brzezny had a good reason for going into public medicine. “I grew up in an area which is well known for coal mining and production of steel,” Brzezny said. “The air was very unhealthy and there was a lot of pollution. It was what we call the black heart of the country … I could see firsthand the difficulties of people who were working, and I could see how poor air and bad health habits affected them.”
Mental health care includes self-care, expert says
MOSES LAKE — Sometimes, especially in the health care field, it’s easy for the people who look after others to forget about their own well-being, said nurse educator and mental health activist Bethany Thrasher.
Shared Calling: Brothers find their medical home in Moses Lake
MOSES LAKE — Some professions run in families: a lawyer’s children may follow in their parent’s footsteps, or a teacher may inspire their children to teach. But occasionally a profession just fits two brothers, like medicine did Zach and Nate Thomas.
TRP Truck Parts opens in Moses Lake
MOSES LAKE — The trucking industry is how things get from point A to point B in this country. To do that, the trucks have to be kept rolling, and to keep rolling, sometimes the trucks need parts.
3rd Moses Lake No Kings rally protests Trump, GOP policies
MOSES LAKE — The third No Kings rally Saturday in Moses Lake brought out almost 200 people, said Grant County Democrats Vice Chair Jill Springer Forrest.