Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Thousands fill downtown to celebrate
Queen Kendall Goff, left, and Princess Brigitte Petersen represent the Spokane Valley ValleyFest festival from their community float.
Miss Tekoa Carrie Sanchez and Princess Marissa Alonso toss candy to parade-goers from atop their "Rockin' the Boat" float.
Egg toss contestants successfully make the catch early in the competition on Crosby Street.
Renee Brown, a Fairchild Air Force Base retiree, was named Honored Veteran for the annual Slippery Gulch celebration in Tekoa on Saturday, June 17. After retiring from the Air Force, Brown moved to Tekoa in 2008. See Page A7 for more Slippery Gulch.
Young Clark McVicker, assisted by family, rides a pony in the Kiddie Parade.
This year's Slippery Gulch bicycle award winners are Brogan Burtchett, 3, and Walker Sperber, 4, both of Tekoa.
The Tekoa High School Class of 1973 celebrated its 50th reunion with a float in the Slippery Gulch parade.
TEKOA – Thousands of residents crowded into the city Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17, for the annual Slippery Gulch festival.
The event featured a Tekoa Chamber of Commerce breakfast, a softball tournament, bicycle rodeo, a fishing derby, photography and free throw contests, the Kiddie Parade and a fun run.
But the highlights were the Slippery Gulch Grand Parade, fireworks over the softball complex and the highly competitive egg toss downtown.
Dozens of entries were in this year's parade.
The parade was led by the American Legion Honor Guard from Plummer and Grand Marshals Eric and Connie Marsh.
Miss Tekoa Carrie Sanchez reigned over the festivities with Princess Marissa Alonso at her side atop the community's "Rockin' the Boat" float.
The parade also featured dozens of classic tractors, trucks and cars, emergency responders, the ValleyFest Float, royalty from Rockford and more.
At times, the blare of the sirens had youngsters like Mason McBride, 3, of Cheney covering their ears.
The Class of 1973 was also home to celebrate its 50th class reunion and raise the orange and black colors of the "Tekoa Tigers;" the class and others also participated in the parade.
After the parade Saturday, hundreds of teams entered the egg toss contest on Crosby Street. But when it was over, Shane Monroy and Eric Smith stood victorious.
From a fishing derby in Hangman Creek to egg tossing to a fun run, several awards were handed out during the annual Slippery Gulch celebration on Saturday, June 17.
Competition award winners included:
Fishing Derby
• Smallest Fish – Sydney Monroy
• Parent/Child Team – Tatiana Mendoza and Tyler French
• 0-3 Year Olds – 1. Maggie Brown, 2. Mason McBride, and 3. Roy Brown
• 4-6 Year Olds – 1. Tyler French, 2. Maguire Sperber, and 3. Tristan Carren
• 7-10 Year Olds – 1. Thomas Carren, 2. Bridger Boyles and 3. Troy Sczenski
• 10-12 Year Olds – 1. Elsie Sczenski, 2. Braxton Monroy, and 3. Alex Arnold.
Free Throw Contest
• Grade School – 1. Charlie Haas; 2. (tie) Delyla Lawhead and Hazel Smith; and 3. Connor Sperber
• Middle School – 1. Bayler Chase, 2. Avery Blank, and 3. Miles Warwick
• High School – 1. Isaac Bone, 2. Toby Monroy, and 3. McKinley Chase
• Adult – 1. B.J. Sperber, 2. Jennifer Sperber and 3. Rob Marsh
• Most Consecutive Free Throws Made – Isaac Bone, 4 in a row
Fun Run
• Men's 2-Mile – 1. Grady Buchanan, 19:31; 2. Mike Robison, 21:25; and 3. Lachlan Robison, time not available.
• Women's 2-Mile – 1. Tracy Hanegar, 21:03; 2. Violet Smith, 21:15; and 3. Avery Blank, 21:21.
• Men's 5-Mile – 1. Mitchell Hanegar, 34:29; 2. Levi Hatch, 39.18; and 3. Eric Lazcano, 39:36.
• Women's 5-Mile – 1. Rakiah Grende, 38:07; and 2. Jamie Grende, 43:41.
Photography – A complete list of the award-winners was not available before press time.
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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