vashon-maury island beachcomber, july 18, 2012

75¢WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2012 Vol. 57, No. 29 www.vashonbeachcomber.com

BEACHCOMBERVASHON-MAURY ISLAND

THE SOUNDS OF FILM

Movie composer invited to prestigious Sundance lab.

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FESTIVAL IS HERE!Get the lowdown in The Beachcomber’s

Strawberry Festival insert.

By NATALIE JOHNSONStaff Writer

On the Fourth of July, a teenage boy tried to buy beer at Vashon Market using a fake ID. The check-er, however, was suspicious and alerted store management.

“We caught that,” said Byron Cox, a manager at the grocery store. “And I told the young man, ‘Do not use your fake ID.’”

Volunteers with the Vashon Alliance to Reduce Substance Abuse (VARSA) say it’s not too common for minors to obtain alco-

hol from stores or restaurants on Vashon — more often they get it from an older person. But in order to tackle teen alcohol use from every angle, they say, the nonprofit is asking Vashon retail-ers to partner with them to prevent teens from getting their hands on alcohol.

Vashon Market is one of the first retailers to join the effort.

“I think it’s something we need to watch out for as a community,” said Cox, who has given tips to the volunteers. “Everybody needs to

work on all sides to help the kids to understand you don’t need todrink, not until you’re of age.”

Armed with a survey and a listof suggestions, VARSA volunteers will spend the summer asking busi-ness owners with a liquor license totake steps such as moving beer fur-ther from soda and candy, limiting the alcohol signs on display and retraining employees responsible for checking IDs.

In addition to recommend-ing changes at stores and

By LESLIE BROWNStaff Writer

Vashon’s water taxi continues to see an uptick in the number of passengers, resulting in more at-capacity sailings and presumably more riders left behind on the dock, according to the director of King County’s marine division.

In the first six months of this year, the pedestrian-only boat — which takes passengers into downtown Seattle — had 96 at-capacity sailings, meaning all of its 150 seats were full, said Scott Davis, the division’s director. That’s nearly double the number from the first six months a year ago, when the route experienced 57 full boats.

All told, it had 130 full boats in 2011 and 78 in 2010.

Because of the route’s grow-ing demand, King County offi-cials are working to increase capacity on the Melissa Ann, the 77-foot catamaran that serves the Vashon-Seattle route. Capacity is limited to 150 passengers, even though it has room for more, due to U.S. Coast Guard safety regula-tions that require larger crews and other measures when a boat goes

beyond that number. Officials had hoped to have met

all the requirements to increase the capacity to 172 passengers at the beginning of this year. But the marine division’s staff is small, Davis said, and, in part because of post-9/11 security rules, the process is “fairly detailed.”

Davis said he expects the marine division, a part of the county’s Department of Transportation,

will be able to increase capacity by the end of August.

“It’s taken us longer than we had hoped,” he added. “There’s no single reason for that. … I would not blame the regulator (the Coast Guard) at all. We’re a fairly small staff doing a lot of dif-ferent things.”

Ridership on the boat, which zips to Seattle in about 22 minutes, has increased steadily since King

County took over the pedestrian-only route from Washington State Ferries in September 2009. The route carried just under 111,000 passengers in 2009, Davis said. Ridership grew to 153,600 in 2010; last year, it climbed to 167,600. So far this year, Davis said, ridership has been higher every month over the same period a year ago, with

Fields project, dogged by delays, is stalled after funds dryBy LESLIE BROWNStaff Writer

The Vashon Park District has suspended nearly all work at itsfields’ complex north of town until it garners more money for the project from both user feesand fundraising efforts.

“We’re holding off on spending anything more until we can raise the money to keep going,” said JanMilligan, the park district’s execu-tive director.

The district has scheduled a fundraiser for Aug. 23 in an effort to reignite community inter-est in the $1.7 million project.Supporters also believe that oncethe partially completed complex is open to the public, possibly this fall, Islanders will step forward with a greater level of support.

“We’re hoping that when we open up the facility in the fall and people are out there, there will be more community attention on the need to complete this thing,” said David Hackett, a park district commissioner and one of the proj-ect’s leading champions.

But a partial fall opening is not guaranteed, in part because of the

Stores asked to help curb teen drinking

As more use water taxi, some are left behindCounty works to meet a growing demand on the boat

SEE WATER TAXI, 19

Natalie Johnson/Staff Photo

On most days, the Melissa Ann is full of commuters. King County now hopes to increase its capacity by August.

SEE FIELDS, 15

SEE ALCOHOL, 18

Natalie Johnson/Staff Photo

A VARSA sticker is added under a warning to minors at Vashon Market.

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Rumble strip opponents get VMICC backingBy NATALIE JOHNSONStaff Writer

The Vashon-Maury Is- land Community Council on Monday unanimously passed a motion to demand that the county Department of Transportation make no more rumble strips on Vashon Highway and pave over existing rumble strips in the next two years. The motion was presented by Steve Abel, a high-profile Islander and avid cyclist, and passed 35-0.

Much of Vashon’s cycling community has rallied behind the effort to rid Vashon Highway of rumble strips installed by the coun-ty without warning in April. Islanders have expressed their concerns about what they say are the strips’ haz-ards to cyclist safety in let-ters and calls to the county and during public meetings on the topic.

Abel said that 15 to 20 cyclists showed up at Monday’s VMICC meeting to support the motion. He had expected more would come, he said, but was ulti-mately pleased to find the

non-cyclists supported his motion as well.

“We thought we would pack the meeting, but it turns out we didn’t have to,” he said.

In the motion, the community council also demands that any rumble strips made where the nar-row shoulder should have prevented them be repaved by the end of the summer. In addition, the motion asks that the county better main-tain the higway shoulders through brush cutting and street sweeping and that it work with the Vashon com-munity to gain recognition by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bicycle Friendly Community, a title Abel said towns across the country work to gain.

“It’s a goal to aspire to,” he said.

Abel said he believes the requests are reasonable, giv-ing the county time to pave over the existing rumble strips as part of its regular paving schedule. Now that the motion has passed, he says he will meet with DOT officials soon to discuss the

requests.“We think our motion

is pretty reasonable, pretty moderate, pretty concilia-tory,” he said.

Abel said he hoped that the formal community council demand would give the rumble strip opponents more legitimacy when work-ing with the county.

“Vashon doesn’t have any formal voice,” he said. “This is the closest thing we have to a formal voice in King County affairs.”

Meanwhile, a woman says a recent bike accident that sent her to the hospital was caused by rumble strips.

Islander Leslie Perry, 64,was riding southbound on Vashon Highway, just past Cemetery Road, when she says she rode onto a rumble strip and fell off of her bike. Perry lost consciousness in the fall and says she doesn’t remember why she rode onto the rumble strip. She was transported to Harborview, where she was treated for two broken bones in her nose and a broken bone in her hand. She also suffered cuts and bruises.

“My face is pretty much swollen,” she said.

Abel said he was familiar with Perry’s accident and believes it was caused by the rumble strip.

“I hate to use an unfortu-nate situation as ammuni-tion, but it definitely makes very poignant the fact thatrumble strips are dangers to non-motorized road users,” he said.

The Vashon School District’s budgeted teacher compen-sation was misstated in last week’s issue (“School board to vote on $16 million, no-cuts budget”). After seeing their salaries cut by the state last year, teachers will have the opportunity to earn more next school year by working during added in-service days.

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With a big crash last Thursday morning, school officials and construction workers said goodbye to a piece of Vashon High School, demolishing Building C to make room for the highly antici-pated new school.VHS principal Susan Hanson — donned in a hardhat and safety gear — took the first few swings with an excavator. The building once housed science and math classes, some of which will be heldin portables next school year. Metal and wood debris from the building were recycled. Construction began on the high school campus a couple weeks ago, but the demolition of Building C was the first big sign of what’s to come at the school, said school district capital project manager Eric Gill. It’s the only building that will come down this year. “A lot of other work is going on for site utilities,” Gill said, “but this is kind of the first dramatic indicator of construction and moving forward.”

High school project gets infusion of state moneyThe state Office of the Superintendent

of Public Instruction (OSPI) recently announced it would subsidize the construc-tion of the new Vashon High School to the tune of $2.76 million.

Eric Gill, the school district’s capital projects manager, said the school district has been anticipating the money, as most school construction projects get state funds. However, said added, school officials were pleasantly surprised to learn they received nearly $90,000 more than expected.

“We’re ecstatic,” he said. Gill said that in the construction budget,

the project is fully funded by bond revenue, meaning the state money equates to extra funds. Board members may now chose to spend the money on additions to the project, such as enhancements to make the building more energy efficient or improve aesthetics. The money could be put toward phase two of the project, the track, field and gym that failed to be approved by vot-ers, Gill said, or it could simply be put in a contingency fund for now.

“Because the project is fully funded, I think there’s some flexibility to spend it on other capital projects,” Gill said.

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By LESLIE BROWNStaff Writer

The Vashon School Board unanimously passed a $16.1 million spending plan at its meeting Thursday night with a verbal commitment to pursue a summer school in the upcoming fiscal year. No funds, however, were earmarked for the program.

Bob Hennessey, a board member with a keen interest in seeing the school district develop a summer school, asked Superintendent Michael Soltman to develop a policy that would enable the district to begin a program next summer. Specifically, he said, he wanted Soltman to figure out a way to allow students to get a higher grade if they successfully complete several weeks of sum-mer school covering a subject they had performed poorly in.

“I think we need policy guidance that will obviate the problem next summer,” he told the superintendent, referring to an effort this sum-mer that was derailed after teachers objected to raising grades.

Hennessey and other board members also asked Soltman to consider whether the program is tuition-based or funded some other way.

After the meeting, Hennessey said he was

pleased by the board’s informal approval and feels confident the district will find the funds in its $16 million budget for what will likely start out as a modest program.

“I know my colleagues, and I didn’t see one iota of opposition,” he said.

He had considered putting forward a motion calling for a summer school, but decided it wasn’t needed when he realized the concept had sup-port.

“Finding the money is not the issue,” he added.But Hilary Emmer, a citizen activist who has

led the charge for a summer school, said she was frustrated that the board didn’t establish a line item to support a summer school or appoint a committee that included community members to flesh out the details of the program. She asked for both at Thursday’s meeting.

“I’m worried about the outcome and the pro-cess,” she said. “And I’d like to be a part of the process. I feel shut out.”

At the same time, she said, she’s pleased that the school board is taking seriously her call for a summer school. “I may not agree with how they’re proceeding. But I’m extremely happy they’ll be proceeding with a summer school next summer,” she said.

Officials hope to make summer school a realityThe Washington Schools

Foundation — founded by former Islander and avid volunteer Gene Lipitz — has issued one of its first-ever grants to a Vashon teacher.

Patty Gregorich, who teaches sixth grade humanities, was recently awarded a little more than $4,000 to spend time over the summer weav-ing reading and writing lessons into her humanities curriculum. She’ll use recently purchased reading curricu-lum, she said, making it more relevant to subjects studied in her classroom.

Gregorich said she’s wanted to work with her curriculum for some time, but there simply isn’t time during the school year.

“That’s what the foundation has given me, is time” she said.

The foundation also awarded about $8,000 to three high school English teachers in Anacortes who will work together on a project.

Liptiz, who now lives in Seattle and is still involved with the Island’s Rotary, said he founded the Washington

Schools Foundation while serving on the Vashon school board, but it was never active. He recently revived the nonprofit to fund something mean-ingful to him: professional develop-ment among teachers. Funding for the first grants, offered to Vashon and Anacortes teachers as a pilot, came from Lipitz himself as well as a large donation from the Tulalip tribe.

Liptiz said the grant applications considered by the committee were full of innovative ideas from teachers who wished to apply the latest researchon learning in their classrooms andshare their findings with colleagues. If the foundation’s first grantees are successful, he said, he’ll aggressively fundraise to get grants to more teach-ers each year.

“I’m looking to see if the program is something that does more than justemploy three, 10, 100, 500 teachers abit more, but actually creates an effect that raises the energy and the effec-tiveness of our teaching institutionsstatewide,” he said.

Teacher receives a grant with roots on Vashon

Write to us: The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber welcomes community comment. Please submit letters — e-mail is preferred — by noon Friday for consideration in the following week’s paper. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Only one letter from a writer per month, please.

All letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and libel considerations. We try to print all letters but make no promises. Letters attacking individuals, as well as anonymous letters, will not be published.

Our e-mail address is [email protected].


EDITORIAL

Right now, Vashon Theatre is caught up in the biggest change in show business since talkies replaced silent pictures.

For more than 100 years, film projection has worked in the same way, with heavy reels of 35mm film threaded through projectors and beamed onto screens. Now, all that is changing fast as film studios demand a worldwide conversion to digital cinema. The final curtain will come down on celluloid, they predict, sometime in 2013.

Most owners of urban multiplexes have already made the switch, ponying up for digital projectors that cost as much as $100,000 each — systems that will save the studios a fortune in costs and that they promise will provide a more vivid viewing experience for movie-goers. But cash-strapped rural theaters — including Vashon’s 400-seat Art Deco landmark built in 1947 — are still racing to catch up.

A local nonprofit called Island GreenTech has come up with a great way to keep the lights on at Vashon Theatre. The group is raising money to purchase the new projector, which will then be housed in the theater on a lease-to-sale basis. In time, after GreenTech recoups what it spent on the system, it can use that money to help other Island businesses. Islanders have already donated more than $25,000 to the community-building cause. All told, the group hopes to raise enough money to cover the costs of the entire system.

Still, some might wonder why they should donate money to support any for-profit enterprise. To that, we’d counter that GreenTech’s plan will be a gift that keeps on giving to Vashon. It means jobs and a vibrant town core. It’s neighbors helping neighbors. And Vashon Theatre — what a place to begin. After all, it’s our window to the world, a place where an extraordi-nary art form winds its way into our collective consciousness.

For Eileen Wolcott, whose family bought the theater in 2003, running the theater has been a passion, maybe even an art form unto itself. She’s opened her doors for more than just films — Barack Obama’s inauguration, holiday carol sing-alongs, Oscar night celebrations, kids’ birthday parties and concerts to raise money for Island nonprofits.

She’s also proved herself to be an able programmer, throwing art house, foreign and festival titles into the mix of Hollywood blockbusters. She’s made countless costly improvements and repairs to the facility, including installing new seats and a new sound system. She even puts real butter on the popcorn.

Wolcott, with her careful stew-ardship of this historic place, has proven herself a worthy custodian of our town’s temple of dreams.

That’s right: Vashon Theatre is the place where Islanders have gone to dream together for almost 50 years. We think that’s something worth preserving.

By JASON EVERETTFor The Beachcomber

I, like every other Islander, received a copy of VAA’s Vashon Center or the Arts introductory bro-chure this week. During my nearly eight years as the executive director of VAA, I worked constantly on our community’s performance space issue, and as such possess a unique perspective that I wish to share with my fellow Islanders.

Much of the criticism toward VAA has been for failing to have adequate community input in this process. To that, I say the amount of community input for a new performance cen-ter on Vashon Island has been unprecedented.

Research and community input into this issue started in 1964, but I would say relevant study started in 1994 with the completion of a study by The Collins Group, which was commissioned by VAA and the Vashon Park District. The goal was to assess per-forming space needs and facility options. It is at this point that I believe VAA’s timeline on its brochure with its subtitle, “Where it is today and how we got here,” should start — as this analysis looked at our existing use and facilities.

This study by The Collins Group determined that the Vashon High School theater was inadequate for many reasons and that the school’s demand for the space required an additional performing venue able to accommodate medium to large audiences for community-based performances. Its recommenda-tion was to build a second theater connected to the VHS theater to share space (like set storage), but acknowledged it would not improve systemic struc-tural problems. The new high school theater will provide an improved educational arts facility but will not resolve the demand for space.

My first week on the job, I was inundated with requests to address the performing space issue. So in May 1998 I organized a community arts forum to discuss VAA’s role and the performance space issue. More than 100 people attended this meeting, and from it emerged the Island Arts Council (IAC), which included individual artists, community mem-bers and representatives of every performing arts organization on the Island. Its mission was to con-duct community outreach on these issues.

In 2001, a public arts forum was held, drawing more than 130 attendees, with “improved facilities” being one of five main priorities to arise. In 2002, we conducted a forum on cultural tourism. This forum drew more than 180 Islanders, and the main themes

Vashon Theatre: A worthy community investment

ADMINISTRATIONPUBLISHER: Daralyn Anderson

[email protected]

ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR: Patricia Seaman [email protected]

Circulation (206) 463-9195 Chris Austin

[email protected]

Administration (206) 463-9195Fax (206) 463-6122

E-mail: [email protected]

EDITORIALEDITOR: Leslie Brown

[email protected] (206) 463-9195 [email protected]

ARTS: Elizabeth Shepherd [email protected]

SPORTS: [email protected]

BUSINESS, CALENDAR: Susan Riemer [email protected]

STAFF REPORTER: Natalie Johnson [email protected]

ADVERTISINGMARKETING REPRESENTATIVE: Matthew Olds

Display Advertising (206) 463-9195 [email protected]

DESIGN/PRODUCTIONMARKETING DESIGNERS: Nance Scott and Linda Henley [email protected]

CLASSIFIEDSClassified Ads (800) [email protected]

OPINIONVashon-Maury

Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, 17141 Vashon Hwy SW, Suite B, Vashon, WA 98070; (USPS N0. 657-060) is published every Wednesday by Sound Publishing Inc.; Corporate Headquarters: 19351 8th Avenue NE, Suite 106, Poulsbo, WA 98370-8710. (Please do not send press releases to this address.)SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $30 on Island motor route delivery, one year; $57 two years; Off Island, continental U.S., $57 a year and $30 for 6 months. Periodical postage paid at Vashon, Washington. POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to Beachcomber P.O. Box 447, Vashon Island, WA 98070.

Copyright 2012 © Sound Publishing Inc.

Donations are being accepted at the Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union or at the Vashon Theatre dur-ing the evenings or on weekends. Or mail a donation to GreenTech, P.O. Box 1847, Vashon.

By CHRIS OTTFor The Beachcomber

To get an idea of the scope and size of Vashon Allied Arts’ proposed arts and performing complex at historic Center, imagine a building taller than Island Lumber and almost as long as a football field pushed right up against the road with an asphalt parking lot larger than Island Lumber’s.

All of this on a parcel located on one of the last remaining historic intersections in King County. Is this the best that VAA has to offer?

I am a huge proponent of a new arts and perfor-mance center on Vashon. As a director, actor, play-wright and musician, I have performed in most of the Island’s venues and would love to have a center that was designed for the arts. I have nothing but praise and admiration for the job that VAA has done

and how much it has grown since I arrived here almost two decades ago. And, contrary to some who have weighed in on this issue, I am not averse to change. Change is crucial; if we didn’t change, we’d still be living in caves.

But I am against con-structing a building that is out of scale with its envi-

ronment — one that requires 170 parking spaces, according to King County, or, according to my research, up to one-and-a-half acres of impermeable asphalt. This, on a parcel that borders wetlands and a watershed. Islanders have spent countless hours and thousands of dollars rebuilding precious salmon habitat. Do we really want to pave our paradise to put in a parking lot?

I wish I were amused by the language dance that the architects and project managers have used to justify the building of this massive complex on an inappropriate site.

In their state environmental review checklist, they claim that by incorporating discrete design ele-ments from the surrounding structures this massive complex will blend-in with the surrounding envi-ronment. They isolate a “one-story flat roof” at the entrance, “a low, one-story shed roof” at the south-ern portion of the building and a “gable roof form” over the theater portion of the building to justify a building that is almost twice the height of neighbor-ing ones. They are putting lipstick on a pig to try to convince us that their design fits into its surround-ings. It doesn’t. Imagine stacking the Roasterie on top of McFeeds. That is the height they are propos-ing.

While addressing building height concerns, project

Process has been thorough, superb

The size is out of scale with Center

input for a new

Two takes on Vashon Allied Arts’ proposed arts center

Amiad & Associates Exclusively Representing Buyers of Vashon Island Homes

206-463-4060 or 1-800-209-4168

I am really keen on adding solar panels to our house but my

husband says they will not add value to the house when it’s

time to sell. He says it takes years to get payback on solar

energy. I’m discouraged but I really love the idea of free

energy from the sun. Any comments?

First, let me say that solar panels do, indeed, add value to your home. Particularly in the Northwest and even more so on Vashon Island, buyers are aware of alternative energy sources and value solar power. Homes that have the panels are far more impressive

and desirable to buyers, and they will pay more. According to recent studies by the National Bureau of Economic Research and another one by the University of California at Berkeley’s Lawrence National Laboratory, among others, solar panels have a “sizable” impact on the sale price of homes. People will pay more for homes equipped with solar panels.

In addition, the whole idea of “payback” for solar is, in my opinion, more of a political comment than an economic one. How long do you have to keep a refrig-erator before it pays for its cost? How many years do you have to drive your car before its “paid you back” for your original investment? Those questions sound ridiculous but why should we only be asking them about alternative energy? We don’t calculate payback for anything else, but somehow the idea of payback has infi ltrated the alternative energy discussion.

We just had an energy fair here on the island a few weeks ago. If you had at-tended, you would have met many experts. You also would have had a chance to talk to some local folks about how much they are saving on their month to month energy bills with solar panels. Our local credit union offers special loans for installation of solar panels and several local businesses sell and install them. They can all help convince your husband that this is a good idea. You will also be doing your part to end our dependence on oil.

Q:

A:

Just Ask EmmaCurrent Real Estate Issues

To view this blog & make comments,

visit www.vashonislandrealestate.com/blog.html

Not interested in selling your treasures? Donate them to VCC with proceeds helping to pay for special events. Beginning August 6th, you can bring your donations to VCC at 15333 Vashon Hwy SW (no exercise equip-ment or large appliances, please).

Rent a Space at Our Huge Garage Sale

Each summer, VCC’s huge Garage Sale attracts hundreds of motivated bargain hunters.

For just $40 you can join the fun by renting a 10 x 10 space to sell all your treasures. Best of all,

you keep 100% of your sale proceeds.Contact Naomi at 567-4421 or on-line at

[email protected] to rent your space.

August 18th at VCC

Look for the special Strawberry Festival Guide

in this issue of The Beachcomber

Hydroplanes

Each year on the Fourth of July, when I am awoken by the giant mosquito-like sound, it brings a smile to my face and throws me back to cherished times of childhood, when I heard the hydros every summer.

It was with great sadness that I read the front page article in The Beachcomber on July 11 (“Sheriff ’s office threatens to end holiday hydro race”). It has propelled me to share with those of you newer to the Island the great sense of nostalgia the hydros evoke for so many of us.

The sound of the hydros is so much more than just noise. The hydros bring on their wings the true beginning of summer, the anticipation of Strawberry Festival and all of the promise that summer holds.

We learn to live in harmony with each other, to tolerate lawn mowers, chainsaws and firecrackers going off at all hours of the day and night in the days leading up to the Fourth of July. What’s a few minutes of hydroplane engines once a year?

Upholding tradition is an essential piece of a strong community. In the name of tradition, I invite those of you who may not understand to go check out the races at dawn on the Fourth of July or at least be

willing to wear ear plugs for a few minutes out of respect for a long-standing Island event.

— Kimberly Field Rotter Davis

After reading last week’s editorial and article about the hydro races, here are my two bits:

It was stated that some racers believe those who complain “may be new to the Island and don’t understand the tradition behind the event” (“Sheriff ’s office threat-ens to end holiday hydro race”). Maybe I am not a longtime Islander (I’ve only been here 40-plus years), but I am not exactly one of the new faces on Vashon. For as long as I can remember, my neighbors have quietly registered their dislike of the irritat-ing pre-dawn, July 4th wake-up call. These people haven’t been heard from because they are kind, gentle, live-and-let-live types who, perhaps unlike the racers, would never dream of disturbing others or rain-ing on anyone’s parade. It was on behalf of some of these sweet, elderly neighbors that I finally wrote a letter to the editor to the newspaper a couple of years ago.

Some people excuse the noise because it’s only for one day. What if the “tradi-tion” was for teenagers to race their cars around the Island at 5:45 a.m., with horns

blaring and heavy metal blasting? Would that be tolerable one day a year? For those of us who are noise sensitive, it would be about the same thing.

If I could, I would like to ask a race par-ticipant: What is going on in your mind, dear friend, as you are roaring around waking up hundreds (thousands?) of people? Do you get a kick out of waking people, or do you assume that everyone is sharing your enthusiasm?

To me, a much more exciting competi-tion would be racing canoes, kayaks or rowboats. That would be a tradition any-body could take part in.

— Lin Noah

Taxes

I have a contract with the federal gov-ernment: During my working life I was to pay into Social Security and Medicare and in return would receive a certain level of income and health care in my senior years. Today many conservatives propose breaking that contract by cutting back on my old age security. Some also want to maintain income tax cuts for millionaires and main-tain the bloated military budget. All of this is in the name of balancing the federal bud-get, calling it, as a recent letter writer did, “spending discipline” (“Spending discipline needed to end debt,” July 11).

The total U.S. federal budget for the 2012 fiscal year is $2,847 billion. Of that, 48

percent goes to the military, including cur-rent and past wars that Congress has failed to audit (as required by the Constitution). “Physical resources” are budgeted 6 percent and include Departments of Agriculture Interior and the Army Corps of Engineers. “General government” is budgeted at 8 per-cent and includes Departments of Justice and State and the Legislature.

Finally, the budget category that seems to rankle conservatives most, Human Services, comprises 38 percent of the total. As the recent letter writer said, “It’s time for new leadership with … courage to make necessary cuts in spending and the social programs.” Those social programs and entitlements include my contracted security (along with millions of other Americans), education, food, nutrition and housing programs.

For some conservatives maintaining tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent is sacro-sanct, only adding a paltry $829 billion of revenues over the next 10 years, according to the Center on Budget and Priorities.

Conservatives, including some in the Obama Administration, argue that we should not cut the military budget because doing so would make our country vulner-able. Yet, according to The Economist, “America spends as much on defense as the next 17 countries combined, most of whom are American allies.“

A greater security issue in these eco-nomic times is the economic security of the 99 percent of us living on Main Street.

— Kate Hunter

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

in t

that evolved were to export (not import) art and devel-op existing facilities.

In 2003, VAA and IAC hired a firm to again review existing space based on current and future growth. It was determined again that our community simply needed another venue.

Evolving from this com-munity outreach, the IAC encouraged VAA to create a new performance space and adopted a set of core values to help guide VAA: recycle/preserve existing buildings; focus on the needs of Island artists and patrons; don’t depend on tourism for financing; maintain affordable ticket prices; plan for shared use of building to reduce oper-ational costs; seek compat-ible business/education partnerships and conduct realistic business feasibility studies.

In 2004, VAA hired

Carlson Architects and a business planner to deter-mine a series of scenarios based on these core values and prepare a conserva-tive business plan for each scenario. In four of the five scenarios, expansion of the Blue Heron Art Center was a key component, and the fifth called for its reconfig-uration. The business plan-ning proved that Vashon could sustain a new facility.

In 2005, a fundraising consultant determined that Vashon could and would support VAA’s work to construct and manage a new performing arts facil-ity, and VAA created The Vashon Endowment for the Arts as a crucial part of the capital campaign.

In September 2005, I resigned as executive direc-tor to start a new career, and Molly Reed was hired as my replacement. While I was not on the hiring team, I believe Molly was selected in large part because of her experience running capital campaigns. I also believe

the significant community process conducted during my administration gave the VAA board and new direc-tor a mandate.

It is no secret that we Islanders like process. In fact, some say there is so much process that we never get anything done. I am very proud of the process and community input gathered during my administration and believe it was comprehensive and definitive. I am also proud of Molly and the VAA staff and board for making such fantastic progress toward the goals so clearly deter-mined from that process.

The community has clearly spoken. VAA has done its homework and is prepared to make a sig-nificant improvement to its facility for all of our benefit. It is time for all of us to come together as a community and support a facility that is commensu-rate with the prolific talent that makes us Vashon.

— Jason Everett, a Vashon firefighter, was VAA’s

executive director from January 1998 to

September 2005.


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CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES

Friday, August 3rd

Please have your insurance information when you call and bring a picture ID and Insurance/Medicare/Medicaid cards to the appointment. Thank you for partnering with us in the fight against breast cancer.

17637 100th Ave SW, Vashon, Washington 98070

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manager Kirk Robinson downplayed the height of the building. As designed, the building is 45 to 47 feet above finished grade — the height of a four-story building. Mr. Robinson told The Beachcomber that “the building is set back far enough from the road to give it several additional feet in height” (“County raises questions about VAA’s proposed perfor-mance hall,” June 13).

Ignoring the fact that 10 to 12 feet is not “several feet,” VAA had to receive a variance from the county to dismiss a requirement that the building be situ-ated 30 feet from the road.

That variance was required because of the challenge VAA faces with shoe-horning a complex cover-ing more than two acres on a two-acre building site. To my knowledge, at its pro-posed height, the building will be the tallest on the Island with the exception of a few church steeples.

And the 260-foot front-age on Vashon Highway is hard to comprehend. It will extend from the center of the current Blue Heron parking lot, along the cedar fence of the adjacent property, to the corner of McFeeds. To put it in per-spective, imagine if Vashon Theatre extended from Vashon Highway, through Chase Bank to the corner of 100th Ave. SW. Make no mistake about it. This is a massive building, and it is

out of place in its proposed location.

I don’t believe that if this design or this location fails it will be the final opportu-nity for a new arts/perfor-mance center on Vashon. There are other options available, from relocation to redesign. This whole process reminds me of the adage that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. VAA is trying to shoe-horn an out-of-scale building on property it has already pur-chased with little regard for how it will affect the com-munity as a whole.

I say, “Bravo!” to a new arts center. Just not this particular design on this particular property.

— Chris Ott, a longtime Islander, most recently played

Sherlock in Drama Dock’s “Sherlock’s Veiled Secret.”

OTTCONTINUED FROM 6

EVERETTCONTINUED FROM 6

DSHS Van on Vashon: Islanders can apply for cash assistance, basic food assistance, medical assistance programs, drug and alcohol treat-ment services, child care services and replacement EBT cards. People can also drop off paperwork, complete an eligibility review, a mid-certification review or make changes to an existing case. 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Vashon Com-munity Food Bank and 3 to 5 p.m. near Vashon Market.

Poetry Reading: Several Vashon poets will participate in a reading to launch the book “The Weird World Rolls On,” published by Vashon’s Endicott and Hugh Books. Proceeds from the book benefit Vashon Community Care (VCC). 7 p.m. at VCC.

Story Time: Kids ages 6 to 9 are welcome for a story time each Wednesday this summer. 3 to 3:30 p.m. at Vashon Bookshop.

Master Gardeners: Having prob-lems with your roses? Stop by for advice on rose insect and disease control. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside True Value.

Story Time: Kids up to age 6 are invited to stop by for story time each Friday this summer. 11 to 11:30 a.m. at Vashon Bookshop.

Family Story Times: All ages are welcome for a half-hour of stories, finger plays, movement and music. 11:30 a.m. at the Vashon Library.

Daring Dreams in Times of Magic Storytelling: Ages 4 and older will hear folktales and legends from places such as the Ukraine, Japan and Hawaii. Stories will include those about ordinary people who grow to become more than what they seem by being smart and brave and facing chal-lenges. Alton Takiyama-Chung will present the program. 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 25, at the Vashon Library.

Free Film — Hungry for Change: The film explores how many of the “health foods” that people eat keep them locked in a cycle of poor health and shows that by educating themselves, people can take control of their health. Vashon PRAHM is sponsor-ing the film. Last year PRAHM owner Jessica Bolding went to a detox and education center with hopes of curing a neurological autoimmune disease. She reports she is now healthy. A discussion will follow the film, and Bolding will offer 30-day green juice and raw foods program with classes each Wednesday. The class is $75, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. For more informa-tion about the class or film, call PRAHM at 463-9066. The film will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 25, at the Vashon Theatre.

Author Reading: Island author Sarah Church will read from her new book, “Good Grief: Finding Gifts in the Grief of Losing a Child.” The book is a memoir inspired by her recovery from the accidental drowing of her young adult son. Call 463-2616 for more informa-tion. 6 p.m. Friday, July 27, at Vashon Bookshop.

Gold Beach Work Party: All Gold Beach members are needed for a work party and picnic. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at the club house.

Book Signing: Shady Cosgrove, author of “She Played Elvis,” will sign books. 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at Vashon Bookshop.

Reconciling the Past — The History, Literature and Ethics of Japanese Removal: Why did some, including President Eisen-hower’s brother Milton, advocate in favor of internment? Why did others, including the Seattle Council of Churches, voice their opposition? How has the memory

of internment affected treatment of Arab-Americans following 9/11? Professor Robert Keller will explore each of these questions, illuminating the debate over forced Japanese removal and its impact on how we view civil rights amidst security crises today. 2 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at the Vashon Library.

Salmon Bake: The annual din-ner will include music by Loose Change and activities for kids, such as volleyball, basketball and a balloon artist. The cost is $15 for teens and adults and $5 for chil-dren ages 5 to 12. Kids under 12 eat free. Tickets are available after all masses during July and at the Vashon Pharmacy, Windermere and the Vashon Bookshop. 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, July 29, at St. John Vianney Catholic Church.

Flower Fair: The Vashon-Maury Island Garden Club will host its annual fair, which features a vari-ety of flowers grown by Islanders. Free. Noon to 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at the Vashon Library.

Shakespeare in the Park: The Seattle Shakespeare Company will bring one performance of “The Winter’s Tale” to Vashon. Free. 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at Ober Park.

Vashon Island Burton Church: The church is hosting its Serendip-ity Sale and will offer baby stroll-ers, play yard, toys, games, cloth-ing, household furniture, vintage items, DVDs and more. Donations may be dropped off between noon and 1 p.m. Sundays at the sale site. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5, at Lewis Church, behind the Burton Community Church.

Dancing at Ober Park: Jesse Lege, Joel Savoy and the Cajun Country Revival will perform. Free. 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 6, at the park.

Women’s Alliance to Enhance the Rock (WATER) Meeting: This month, the group will continue working on the two projects: DoVE’s Free as a DoVE Freedom Dance and DoVE’s Domestic Vio-lence Awareness Month campaign.

The meeting is open to all women ages 16 and over. Contact Pam Robbins at [email protected] if planning to attend. 7 to 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 6, at Vashon Island Fire & Rescue.

Vashon Island Youth Week: Each year youth from Maple Valley Presbyterian Church come to teach Bible school then spend time with Vashon teens. They bring guitars and games and enjoy activities such as bowling, barbecues and ice cream socials. There is no registra-tion fee. For more information, call Carol Potter at 463-6749. 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, Aug. 6 to 10, at Vashon Island Community Church.

Swimming Lessons: The Vashon Pool (463-3787), the Vashon Athletic Club (463-5601) and the Vashon Golf & Swim Club (463-463-9410) all offer swimming lessons during the summer. No memberships are required.

Beginning Sewing Lessons: Jenni Wilke offers one-on-one tutorials for people with sewing machines who do not know how to use them. People will also get a good start on a project of their choice (e.g. curtains, pillows, napkins, bag, etc.). The cost is $35. Contact Wilke at 697-2377 to reg-ister or coordinate a different time. 9 to 10:30 a.m. Friday or Monday, July 27 or 30 at Common Thread.

Vashon Nature/Travel Journal Workshop: Darsie Beck will lead this workshop on the art and joy of journal keeping. Students will learn the basics of on-the-go sketching techniques with pen and watercolor pencils. Beck will share his journal-sketching methodology and the best travel sketching gear to carry, whether exploring the Island or on a Euro-

pean travel adventure. Tuiton is $60. Register by contacting Beck at [email protected] or 669-0745. 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 26, at Waterworks Studio, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at Point Robinson. The class will be repeated in August.

Natural Dyeing: Laurel Boya-jian of Local Color Dye Gardens & Studio will offer the workshop Summer Flowers and Eucalyptus either Friday and Saturday, July 27 and 28, or Saturday and Sunday, July 28 and 29, at Common Thread. Email [email protected] to register or sign up at the store. The workshop will be offered on the date that works for most people.

Plein-Air/Impressionist Land-scape Painting: Charles Philip Brooks will teach the class for ages 15 and older. The cost is $150, and basic supplies are required. Register at www.ignitionartists.com. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays in August. Locations will be given with registration.

Vashon Allied Arts: In Art Camp #2, kids ages 8 to 12 will spend a fun-filled week trying a variety of arts with a different instructor each day. The camp culminates in a student art show. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, July 23 to 27. Steffon Moody will also offer Creative Performance Camps. In Clowning Around Circus, kids ages 7 to 12 will learn clown-

ing skills: scarf juggling, feather balancing, bubble tricks, mime, makeup and pratfalls. 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday, Aug. 6 to 10. In Commedia dell’arte, kids ages 11 to 18 will explore the roots of comedy with the half-masked characters of Commedia dell’arte tradition. Kids will make their own mask, create scenarios and perform in a final show. 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, Aug. 6 to 10.

Vashon Community Vacation Bible School: Adventures on Promise Island is this year’s theme. Young people will learn about God through Bible stories, music, crafts and skits. First- through sixth-graders will meet at the Methodist Church from 9:30 to noon. Youth from Maple Valley Presbyterian Church will lead the program. Call Carol Potter at 463-6749 with any questions. Children ages 3, 4 and 5 will meet at the Presbyterian Church from 9:45 to 11:45 a.m. Tina Parrish is coordinating a program specially designed for preschoolers and taught by Vashon teens. Call her for more information at 463-5066. Registration forms are available at all area churches, or people can register on the first day. The suggested registration fee is $15 per child or $25 per family; scholarships are available. The Bible school runs Monday through Friday, Aug. 6 to 10.

Summer Fun: Stop by The Beach-comber for its annual guide to summer camps for kids.

The Strawberry Festival officially begins this Friday for a weekend of festivities, but the carnival will offer its traditional Thursday night of fun as benefit for the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank before all the events get under way.For a complete list of festival activities, see The Beachcomber’s guide to the festival included in this issue.Above, the ukulele marching band performs ukulele favorites in last year’s grand parade.

CALENDARVashon-Maury

Deadline is noon Thursday for Wednesday publication. The calendar is intended for commu-nity activities, cultural events and nonprofit groups; notices are free and printed as space permits.

The Beachcomber also has a user-generated online calendar. To post an event there, see www.VashonBeachcomber.com, scroll to the bottom of the page and follow the prompts.

Ends July 19

Ends July 19

Plays July 20 to Aug. 2

6 p.m. Wednesday, July 25 (See entry below for more information.)

King County Cemetery District #1: 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 18, at the Vashon Cemetery, 19631 S.W. Singer Rd.

Vashon Sewer District Board of Commissioners: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 19, at the Vashon Senior Center.

King County Airport District #1 Commissioners: 7 p.m. Thursday, July 19, at Courthouse Square.

Viewers on Vashon will find VoV-TV on Comcast Cable Channel 21. Most VoV-TV shows are produced by Islanders.

Monday 7 p.m. and 6 p.m. The final concert for the graduating members of the Vashon High School Percussion Ensemble. Glorious fun from this award-winning group.


ARTS&LEISUREVashon-Maury LET’S TALK TURANDOT: Opera exper t Norm Hollingshead will speak about Puccini ’s

last opera, “Turandot,” at 2 p.m . Sunday, July 29, at Vashon Librar y. Hollingshead regular ly visits Vashon to give his popular opera previews. Seattle Opera will present “Turandot” Aug.4 through 18.

The duo of Rebecca Lomnicky and David Brewer will play a house concert that brings together the rare combination of fiddle and bagpipes at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 18. There is a suggested donation of $20. Contact Wally Bell, at [email protected], for more information, including the concert’s location.

Lomnicky, a well-known fiddler, has won many prizes and awards, including the 2009 Glenfiddich International Scottish Fiddle Championship. This invitation-only cham-pionship is widely regarded as the most prestigious in Scottish fiddle. Lomnicky was the youngest person and the only non-Scot to have ever won the championship. Brewer, who has a unique piping style and phrasing that closely resembles that of a fiddler, also provides guitar and bodhran accompani-ment to Lomnicky’s champion-level fiddle playing.

The Vashon Sheepdog Classic is seeking en-tries for “The Value and Beauty of Farm Life,” an art exhibit and competition to be held at Two Wall Gallery in September. The deadline for entering the show is Aug. 10. The show will be in conjunction with the 2012 Sheep Dog Classic, a national-level competition, to be held Sept. 14, 15 and 16 at Misty Isle Farms. For more information, visit www.vashonsheepdogclassic.com.

A listening party will kick off a new Voice of Vashon show, “Definitely Not the Mainland,” at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 29, at Café Luna. The first installment of the half-hour show, “Pining for the Sun on Vashon,” features music from Island artists and stories from local author Terry Hershey; novelist Thomas H. Pruiksma; Carla Pryne, rector of Vashon’s Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit and Marc Powell, pastor of St. John Vianney Catholic Church. Powell also produced, recorded and edited the show, which can also be heard via live stream at www.voiceofvashon.org.

Open Space for Arts & Community will exhibit a new site-specific sculpture, “No Conspiracy, It’s Reality,” in its grand hall on July 20, 22, 28 and Aug. 3. The large-scale kinetic sculpture, by artists Jon Carlson and Dave Olson, is inspired by Rube Goldberg. Open Space staffers promise thrills for view-ers as it descends from the space’s rafters, creating excitement on a journey that features a zipline, bowling balls, chimes, a roller coast ramp, a teeter-totter and much more. Performances of the sculpture last approximately two minutes, after which time the sculpture will be reset for future performances.

The exhibit opens at 1:45 p.m. Friday, July 20, with additional showings at 2:30 and 3:15 p.m. On Sunday, July 22, there will be showings at 2, 2:45 and 3:30 p.m. Viewings will also take place in conjunction with Open Space’s “Open Air” event on Saturday, July 28, and on First Friday, Aug. 3.

ARTS BRIEFS Sundance invite is music to a composer’s ears By ELIZABETH SHEPHERDArts Editor

Later this month, Islander Jason Staczek will head out to Park City, Utah, to participate in The

Sundance Institute’s 2012 Feature Film Composers Lab.

Staczek, a composer, keyboardist and record producer, has been named a fellow in the prestigious program. Along with six other international composers, he’ll spend two weeks at Sundance participating in a marathon of workshops, creative exercises and collaborations with leading composers, film music pros and up-and-coming film directors.

The Sundance Institute was founded in the 1980s by Robert Redford to advance the work of independent storytellers in film and the-ater. Most famously, it presents the Sundance Film Festival, the largest festival of indepen-dent cinema in the United States.

The bar to being named a Sundance fellow is high, and winning a slot in the composer’s lab is something that has taken Staczek a long time. This was the sixth year in a row that he had applied for a slot, after first being encouraged to do so by a Sundance official.

And even after he was accepted at long last, Staczek said he was hesitant to tell any-one that he had received the honor.

“I wanted to wait until the press release came out,” he said. “I thought they might call me back and say, ‘Oh, we only have room for five this year.’”

Despite his modesty, Staczek — a soft-spoken, bearded 46-year-old who peers out at the world through stylish horn-rimmed glasses — is highly respected and increas-ingly known in the world of independent film.

His scores for the films of Canadian auteur Guy Maddin have been called “swirling and adventurous,” and their latest work together, “Keyhole,” is currently in theaters world-wide. His work on Maddin’s 2006 silent film, “Brand Upon the Brain,” took him on a whirlwind trip to three conti-nents to conduct the score with live orches-tras at festival screenings, and many of his other films have also traveled to top festivals around the globe. All told, he has scored 20 films since 2004, when he got his first real break in the business — being appointed as staff composer for The Film Company, an offshoot of Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum.

He moved to the Island six years ago with his wife Ellen Parker and young daughter, Ivy, from Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. Before that, he had spent many years work-

ing as a recording artist, record producer and performer.

Staczek said Vashon has been an ideal place for him to raise a family and pursue his work as a composer.

“One of the big motivations for moving here was to have the space and the silence,” he said. “Having a studio in the middle of 10 acres with natural light that is absolutely quiet and still … I just can’t do it with the city

buzzing all around me.”On Vashon, Staczek has also formed alli-

ances with a number of local musicians and artists.

He frequently collaborates with Island musical inventor Ela Lamblin, writing for Lamblin’s experimental instruments such as the Shrimp Platter, a room-sized percussion instrument made out of aluminum tubes and colored glass resonators. The instrument

can be heard throughout the soundtrack of “Keyhole.” The score also has several inter-ludes that feature the haunting soprano voice of Island diva Elizabeth Ripley.

Last year, Staczek joined forces with Island singer/songwriter and guitarist Ian Moore to form Madrona Music, a company that creates music for films, commercials, television and the web.

And most recently, Staczek shared his talents with Vashon audiences in the play “Through the Garden Gate,” an original Blue Heron production for which he composed the music and performed it with a small music ensemble.

But composing for film is clearly Staczek’s passion, the thing that excites him most as an artist.

“I love the thing that happens when music gets married to picture on the screen, and then it becomes a third thing,” he said. “I love the challenge of getting to work on a film that has no music and then figuring out what the music wants to be. It’s a prob-lem solving thing that leads to this weird alchemy that winds up being pure emotion on screen.”

Jason Staczek, at home on Vashon, has been named a fellow at the Sundance Institute.

Strawberry jams: See two nights of music in town this weekendWhat better way to wind down from a long

day at the Strawberry Festival than to rock out at the Red Bike?

On both Friday and Saturday nights, there will be big nights of music at the local water-ing hole and sushi spot.

At 9 p.m. Friday, the local blues band One More Mile will take the stage. It’s a band fronted by guitarists Jason Lollar, Tommy Bean and harmonica player Mike Nichols. They’ll be joined by David Solonen on bass

and Sammy Veatch on drums. Lollar is known throughout the world for

his handmade, electric guitar pickups — a business that has attracted such clients as Keith Richards, John Fogerty, Steve Miller, Jeff Tweedy, Stevie Wonder and Bill Frisell.

Islander Phil Royal will open the show. At 9 p.m. on Saturday, the band Rewind

will appear at the Bike to take Islanders back to the glory days of cassette tapes, asymmet-rical haircuts, day-glo colors and parachute

pants, with covers of songs by such 80s giants as Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, The Go-Gos, Duran Duran, The Police and The Cars.

The band played at the Bike last year dur-ing the Strawberry Festival, and the crowd spilled out of the bar to dance in the street.

Admission to shows on both nights is $5. The shows are for all ages until 11 p.m. After that, listeners will need to be 21 or older, with identification.

— Elizabeth Shepherd

By CANDACE BROWNFor The Beachcomber

Gilbert and Sullivan are long gone, but the outland-ish plot, humor and tsu-nami of syllables that char-acterized their comic opera “The Pirates of Penzance” live on in Drama Dock’s summer production of this classic.

On opening night at Bethel Church, a wave of fun swept over the assembled Islanders when the orchestra conductor, Gaye Detzer, cued a band of rowdy pirates to burst through the doors at the back of the room and swagger down the aisle to launch the show.

From that point on, the audience responded with enthusiasm to the antics and singing that followed. If cast members had any first night jitters, the good vibes of the crowd dis-solved them and set up an exchange of energy that seemed to feed their con-fidence. They obviously enjoyed themselves while delivering rapid-fire lyrics, with live accompaniment by nine excellent musicians.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t always easy to hear the words, and not just because there were so many. On a couple of occasions, words and music even slipped out of sync. This could have been due to the fact that the troupe was performing at a venue new to them.

Vashon High School the-ater, their usual home for musicals, was unavailable because of construction. But thanks to Bethel, the show could at least go on, memorable songs, great costumes and all.

The nonsensical plot tells of an orphaned boy named Frederic (Joe Farmer) com-ing to age after having been apprenticed to a band of unbelievably benevolent pirates through a mistake on the part of his nurse-maid, Ruth (Lissy Nichols), the only female he has ever seen. Having just reached the age of 21, he is no lon-ger indentured and leaves the pirate life, soon to be overwhelmed by the beauty of the numerous adopted daughters of Major-General Stanley (Rich Wiley).

The plot’s convolutions are more easily experienced than described, but the theme is Frederic’s extreme sense of duty. Conflicts arise around the fact that he was born on Feb. 29 —in a leap year — and has actu-ally had only five birthdays, not 21, and therefore is still indentured, according to the Pirate King Merridew (Gordon Millar). Frederic falls madly in love with Stanley’s daughter Mabel (Julea Gardener), and melodrama reigns as they swear loyalty to each other in the face of what seems to be an inevitable separation of decades.

Director Elizabeth

Anthony has choreo-graphed the ample action of the show with aplomb.

Policemen clash with pirates. Pirates lust after maidens. Maidens giggle and gather around their father. Father escapes death. Frederic’s former nursemaid, homely Ruth, morphs into a sexy pirate wench, who ultimately saves the day by finding proof that the pirates are actually noblemen gone

wrong, suitable suitors for the maidens after all.

Too numerous to be indi-vidually mentioned, all cast members did a fine job, with exceptional perfor-mances by several. Farmer delivered his songs with a heartfelt, pleasing vocal style and the clearest diction of all. Soprano Gardener showed great control as she beautifully negotiated the challenges of Mabel’s solos. Wiley and

Millar, both perfectly cast, were obviously having fun. Nichols pulled off her char-acter’s accent and personal-ity with conviction, and Keanu Rousch made the perfect pirate lieutenant, Samuel.

And then there were some delightful surprises. Little Laura Erickson played her part as the youngest daughter, Maxie, with facial expressions and gestures that showed real

engagement. Bright-eyed and flirtatious Annelise Bogue absolutely sparkled as Evangeline, the maid. And when I first heard the charming Maya Krah, who played daughter Kate, sing in a voice that resonated with a quality I can’t even describe, I knew I would review her performances again one day, far beyond Vashon’s shores.

I felt a sense of com-munity pride as folks gathered to enjoy the talents of friends and fam-ily. But I wondered if they wished, like I did, that the program had said more about the cast members themselves, instead of offering irrelevant “bios” of the characters they played. But that small mat-ter did not detract from a delightful production. Congratulations, Drama Dock.

— Candace Brown is a Tacoma-based writer and

musician with deep ties to Vashon. Visit her blog at goodlifenw.blogspot.

com for more of her observa-tions about happenings in

our region.

Please contact:

Lynn CapehartMembership Director

[email protected]

24615 75th Ave. SW, Vashon, WA 98070

FULL, SOCIAL, TENNIS & SWIM MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE!

At Vashon’s Most Beautiful Recreation Facility!Don’t Miss Out, Join Now

Review: Drama Dock’s ‘Pirates of Penzance’ is a silly summer romp

Joe Farmer, as Frederick (center), is held up by Lissy Nichols (Ruth) and Gordon Millar (the Pirate King) in Drama Dock’s production of “The Pirates of Penzance.”

Pirates of Penzance will play at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, July 19 to 21, and at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 22, at Bethel Church. Tickets range from $7.50 to $20 and are available at Vashon Bookshop and www.brownpapertickets.com.


(Liquor service is available to members and their guests) WAC 314-52-115(1)

Vashon Eagles #3144

The Return ofFairy-oke Karaoke!

Celebrate the Strawberry Festival with us! Come and sing your heart out at Fairy-oke! Or just enjoy

a cocktail and take in the show!Saturday, July 21, 2012

9:30 PM – closeVashon Eagles

18134 Vashon Hwy SWVashon, WA 98070

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SUMMER CAMPS FOR KIDS

Open to Everyone–Public Welcome! Swim Lessons with Dayna Rogers

Golf Camps with Greg Bernheisel

Tennis Camps with Jake Dillon

Call or visit our website for more info and registration

206-463-941024615 75th Ave. SW,

Vashon, WA 98070

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Palouse Winery

Proud Sponsor of Strawberry FestivalBeer Garden

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This year’s community quilt — a fund-raiser for Vashon Allied Arts — celebrates the vibrancy and beauty of the Vashon Farmers Market.

The 16 squares, taken together, create a portrait of the farmers market. Pictured are Richard O’Dell and his dahlias, a farm-er with his produce, John Moore’s carved spoons, Ralph Moore with his handcrafted cutting boards, Sheri Mask with her soaps, Carol Lutra-Johns with her cosmetics, musician John Browne and more.

The market theme was a natural for the community quilt, the 27th one created by Vashon quilters, said Catholine Tribble, one of the organizers. The quilt has been on display at the market for weeks, where Tribble and others have sold raffle tickets

to hopeful Islanders.“We wanted to say ‘thank you’ to the

folks at the market for allowing us to be a part of this vibrant market. And, of course, we couldn’t have found a more colorful, community-oriented subject,” Tribble said.

This year’s squares were created by Tribble, Sharon Munger, Leann Doussett, Nancy Sipple, Nan Caskey, Angela Weiss Davis, Chris McGrath, Joanna Gulielmino, Anja Moritz, Toni Eaton, Eileen Bergman, Holly Berry, Marilyn Fox, Karen and Bob Dale and Marie Blichfeldt.

The quilt will be on display at the Strawberry Festival this weekend, where people can buy as many tickets as they like. The drawing for the quilt will be held Sunday at 4 p.m.

Well it’s true, summer is here. Sun, heat, sand. The top three things we all want to do are go to the beach, go sailing and goof off. All good things. But the things you should be looking for to stave off disaster this winter are best dealt with now. In no particular order, here are my Top Three things to take care of around the house this summer.

1. Your roof. If I had a nickel for every time I get a panicky phone call in October from a client who has decided their roof will not make it through another winter I could buy a Beachcomber. Check it now. If your shingles are starting to look bald and curling at the edges, or if you know the roof is past its prime, it’s time to call the roofer. Maybe they will say your roof will make it another few years. Congratulations! But if not, better to know now.

2. Your roof drainage. Boring, I know, but take it from me, particu-larly if you live close to one of our famous bluffs, a sudden downpour with pour drainage can be a nightmare. The next call is to the geotech to see if you will still be living at your current address. Make sure that all the water coming off your house goes where it is supposed to and that all drainage lines are still intact. Plus, it’s nice not to flood your neighbor’s property come January.

3. Windows are next on my list. You know that constant fog between the panes of your insulated windows? That’s not good and means the seal has failed. This is more than an aesthetic issue. That’s your money in the form of heating bills heading south. If your home is relatively new your windows may still be under warranty and will cost you little to replace. If not, you will have to do it sometime, so why not now?

That’s it. See you at the beach!

T: 206.463.640110431 SW 240TH PLACE • VASHON, WA 98070WWW.STEWARTCUSTOMS.COM • [email protected]

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By BRUCE HAULMANFor The Beachcomber

Just west of Vashon Town, down a small side road, sits a house and garden that are unique in the

United States. The house is a fairly typical suburban home from the late 1920s, but the garden is a fine example of a traditional Japanese hill garden. Together they represent a blending of two cultures, the Americanization of a Japanese immigrant in the house designed and built by B.D. Mukai and the retention of their Japanese heritage in the garden designed by Kuni Mukai.

The Mukai house and garden, along with the neighboring Mukai Cold Process Fruit Barreling Plant, became a King County Landmark in 1993 as the Mukai Agricultural Complex. The next year the house and garden were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2000, the house and garden were pur-chased by Island Landmarks, a nonprofit, with the intention of restoring the house and garden and developing interpretive exhibits and hands-on programs about the Japanese on Vashon Island.

Earlier this year, a group of Islanders came together to form a new board and to breathe new life into Island Landmarks. The issue of which board controls Island Landmarks is now pending in court.

The Mukai house was built in 1926 and 1927 by Denichiro Mukai, who was born in Japan in 1870 and immigrated to the United States in 1885. From the start, he was committed to making America his home, quickly Americanizing his name to Ben, then to B.D. In 1910 he married Sato, who was born in Japan and came to the United States as a picture bride — an arranged marriage organized through a marriage bro-ker in Japan. Sato experienced poor health, so they moved to Vashon (“the country”) to grow strawberries and get Sato into a healthier environment. Their son Masa was born in 1911.

In 1915 Sato died, and B.D. married Kuni, Sato’s sister. Kuni had come to Seattle with Sato and worked as domes-tic in Seattle until she married B.D. and moved to Vashon to become a full-time

wife and mother. In 1924, after years of success as a strawberry farmer, B.D. began a barreling business to process strawber-ries through a newly developed cold pro-cess of freezing them for shipment. At its height the business employed 400 to 500 seasonal workers and packed 200 tons of strawberries per season.

In 1926 B.D. and Kuni began building the house and garden on land purchased in the name of their 15-year-old son Masa. Because Masa had been born in the United States, he was an American citizen and, unlike his parents, who weren’t citizens, could legally own land. The house and gar-den became representative of two adjacent cultures, Japanese and American, exist-ing together. The garden is a significant achievement by a Japanese woman and an issei, a first-generation Japanese immi-grant. The garden and home became the first Japanese-American site in the county

to qualify as a historic landmark.The farm and packing plant continued

to prosper. During the 1930s the plant brought in more than $500,000 a year and featured a bunkhouse that housed 250 workers during the season. In 1934 B.D. retired and he and Kuni divorced. B.D. traveled extensively, ultimately returning to Japan to purchase his family farm and live out his life, thus coming full circle and dying in Japan in 1973 at age 93.

After B.D. retired, Masa ran the busi-ness, increasingly focusing more on the

freezing process and less on growing ber-ries. In 1939, as anti-Japanese sentiment increased, Masa changed the name to Vashon Island Packing Company on the advice of his agents. With the beginning of World War II and the internment of Japanese citizens, Masa, his wife Chiyeko and their son Milton became voluntary evacuees, moving to Dead Ox Flats, Idaho, outside the exclusion zone, and thus were not interned as were the other Japanese families on Vashon.

During the war, Morris Dunsford ran the farm and packing plant for the Mukais. After the war, Masa returned to the Island and during the 1950s opened two more plants, one in Ferndale, the other in Forest Grove, Ore. He sold the packing business in 1969 and changed the name Vashon Island Packing Company to VIPCo and operated is as a septic and contracting business until he retired in 1979. Kuni died in 1957; Chiyeko died in 1994; Masa died in 1999, and Masa and Chiyeko’s son Milton continues to live in the Seattle area.

The history of the Mukai house and garden since its sale by the Mukais is as interesting as the story of the Mukais themselves. The house and garden became one lot, the barreling plant another, both of which were owned by several different parties over the years until the house and garden were purchased in 2000 by Island Landmarks, a nonprofit whose mission is to “preserve significant architecture and historic landscape” on Vashon Island.

An impressive fundraising effort result-ed in more than $469,200 to purchase the house and garden for $327,806. Funds for the purchase came from the National Park Service, the Washington State Legislature, the Casteel Family Foundation, the King County Office of Historic Preservation, the King County Office of Cultural Resources and individual gifts and loans.

The provisions attached to these funds included restoring the garden, developing interpretive public exhibits, proactively implementing facilities maintenance, pro-viding programs and educational opportuni-ties, free or reduced costs of admissions and an annual review with funding agencies.

— Bruce Haulman, an Island historian, is a member of the group that is

attempting to establish itself as the new board of Island Landmarks.

TIME&AGAINVashon-Maury MS. LUCY DINNER: The Vashon-Maur y Island Her itage Association is holding a dinner

Fr iday at 7 p.m . to mark the beginning of the Strawberr y Festival and to honor Mrs. Melissa Luc y James (known by many as Miss Luc y), who, at the age of 104, was crowned queen of the festival in 1923. Tickets — $15 per person, free for children under 13 — can be purchased at the Blue Heron Ar ts Center, the museum or at the door. The dinner is at the museum .

The Mukai property tells a story of two cultures

In the 1930s, when the above photo was taken, the Mukais’ house and extensive gardens were at their peak, with strawberry fields behind them. Right, in a photo taken in the 1940s, Kuni Mukai stands next to the traditional garden she designed.

condition of the grass on the newly seeded fields. Without a budget, the park district hasn’t been able to cover the $36,000 cost of hooking up electrical power to the site. As a result, the agency is spending $1,500 a month on a generator to pump water into the tank used to irrigate the fields. But the generator can only operate 12 hours a day during the week and fewer hours on the week-end — not enough hours to completely fill the tank and thus not enough water to keep the grass growing if the next two months are hot and dry, both Milligan and Hackett said.

“If it gets too hot, it won’t work, because the watering needs of the grass go way up,” Hackett said.

Inadequate watering won’t kill the grass, but it will delay the project’s opening, Milligan said. “If the grass isn’t developed and healthy enough, we can’t use the field in the fall,” she said.

The effort to transform what was an uneven set of grass fields next to The Harbor School into a full-fledged outdoor sports com-plex began in 2009, after the park district secured grants from both King County and the state. Initially, it was considered an $832,600 project scheduled to be com-pleted by September 2011, according to the agreement the park district signed with the state’s Recreation and Conservation Office, which awarded a $368,000 grant to the project.

The goal then, as now, was to build not only two well-drained, well-engineered grass fields but also to install field lighting, a restroom, a

concession area, backstops, fencing, dugouts and specta-tor benches. The nearly five acres of fields would provide both practice and playing space for soccer, baseball, lacrosse and football.

But the project — now supported by a $500,000 state grant and with an esti-mated budget of $1.7 mil-lion — has encountered one problem after another, Hackett and others said.

The septic system the park district had hoped to use was failing, forcing the district to undertake a time-consuming effort to hook up to the Vashon Sewer District. Permitting costs from the county’s Department of Development and Environmental Services were much higher than any-one had anticipated. Perhaps most troubling was a bound-ary dispute with a neigh-boring landowner, which cost the district thousands of dollars in legal fees and cast a pall over the proj-ect for several months. Fundraising from the com-munity has fallen far short of the $300,000 the park dis-trict had projected, in part, Hackett believes, because of the boundary dispute.

Meanwhile, property val-ues on Vashon fell, putting a dent in the park district’s budget. And the park dis-trict’s longtime executive director Wendy Braicks left in the midst of the project, leading the district to bring on Milligan, new to the park district, to helm the small agency.

Hackett, a deputy prose-cutor for King County and a longtime park commission-er, said the project was also hurt by initial cost estimates that were far too low and the district’s inexperience in undertaking a project of this magnitude.

“It has been a bit of a per-fect storm, combined with our inexperience … and naiveté,” he said.

Adding to the situation is a new problem: The largest contractor for the project, Doug Hoffmann, says the district is wrongly withhold-ing $13,000 in fees and has hired Vashon lawyer David Cooper to try to collect what he says he’s owed. Milligan signed a form and sent it to a state agency saying his con-tractual work was complet-ed; as a result, Hoffmann said, he’s owed what’s called his retainage fee.

The district disputes Hoffmann’s claims, con-tending he has not per-formed about $36,000 in work outlined in several contracts worth a total of $471,000. Milligan signed the state form, a “notice of completion of public works contract,” she said, because she thought he was about to complete everything and she didn’t want him to be delayed in getting his pay-ments.

Hoffmann is frustrated. “She signed off on it, and now (the commissioners) are saying she shouldn’t have,” he said, adding that the board is trying to “throw Jan under the bus.”

“The commissioners,” he added, “are getting involved in things they don’t know anything about. … My con-tract is with the park district, and the executive director is the one who signs off on it.”

But Hackett, who wrote a letter to Hoffmann’s law-yer outlining the work the district says he has yet to complete, said the issue is black and white — earth-moving work listed on the contract has simply not yet been completed, he said.

Despite the saber-rattling, he expects both parties will

walk away from the dispute. “We’re not going to go out and sue Hoffmann,” Hackett said.

Last week, Joe Wald, the park commissioner who secured the first funds for the project, a $75,000 youth sports facility grant from the county in 2008, and Hackett walked the fields, taking a look at a project that on some levels still has a long way to go.

Both said they’re frustrat-ed by the situation.

“There’s just no progress,” Wald said. “We should be getting a few things done. … Things haven’t really been happening.”

Part of the problem, Wald said, is that Milligan hasn’t found a way to bring in addi-tional funding, something she has said several times she intended to do. “I think it’s part of her job to find the funds to keep this going,” he said.

Hackett took a different tack, noting that Milligan stepped into a tough situ-ation.

“I think the park district is going through some sig-nificant growing pains. I’m not sure that even the best

Jan could have stayed on top of that. I’d be hesitant to put too much at her door,” he said.

But those who are paying close attention to the project say that it will eventually be completed, and once it is, the bumpy road it took to get there will eventually be forgotten.

Scott Rice, a proponent of the fields project and a board member of both the soccer and lacrosse clubs on Vashon, said he believes no one person or situation is to blame for the headaches that have made the project costlier and more time-consuming than they had

anticipated. He, too, is frustrated that

the fields might not be readythis fall for soccer. If that’sthe case, he said, “It’ll be atragedy.” Another yearlong delay, he said, means “a lotof kids will be displaced andlose playing and practicetime because of a lack offield space.”

At the same time, he added, good intentions and civic-mindedness havefueled the project, and once it’s completed, it’ll be a won-derful community asset.

“In the end, it’ll be a greatproject. It’ll be beautiful,” Rice said. “It’s just a matterof finishing it up.”

ORG

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CONTINUED FROM 1

Did YouKnow... Interested Musician? If you are under age 20 and want to play at “The Blast” call Ken at

463-5511ext. 233It’s not too late to sign up.LIKE us on Facebook.

...that VYFS will help make Strawberry Festival festive again this year with two parade contingents, a couple of booth activities and sponsorship of the youth music stage. Be sure to cheer on Vashon Kids, our before and after school and summer camp program, as they lead off the parade. Or come by the Village Green to support local youth musicians performing at “The Blast at the Green”.Or play bingo and get free advice at our Peanuts-style “Lucy” booth – “The Psychiatrist is In, only 5¢”. Look for free balloons along the parade route as

So, be safe, stay hydrated, don’t eat too much and enjoy these fun days with your neighbors. Happy Strawberry Festival !!!


SPORTSVashon-Maury

FITNESS CHALLENGE: Sponsored by the park distr ic t and Shape Up Vashon, the President’s Challenge for Fam i l ies 2012 will team up one parent and one child in first through 12th grade to work toward earning the President’s Challenge Fitness award. 9 to 10:30 a.m . on Saturdays from July 28 to Aug. 4, at the Bur ton Adventure Recreation Center (BARC). For more information or to register, see w w w.vashonparkdistr ic t.org.

We would like to express our deep gratitude to all of you who have shown your support for

our business with a special thank you to the businesses and owners of Vashon Thriftway, Norm

Mathews, and The Vashon Market, Don Stolz. Without their support, we could not have made

our conversion to a fully privatized Liquor Store. You all are truly wonderful

and we are blessed to be a part of this special community.

FROM THE VASHON LIQUOR STORE

17607 VASHON HWY SW 463-2163

Islander Mikie Hoffmann, who has been shooting since he was 9 years old, blew away the competition at the recent Washington State Sporting Clays Championship. In sport-ing clays events, competitors must shoot at a variety of flying clay disks that simulate actual field shooting.

Hoffmann, 20, competed as a junior in the state champion-ship for the last time and won the main event. Shooting hun-dreds of rounds with small-caliber shotguns, he also placed first in the preliminary event and the five stand, 20 gauge, 28 gauge and 410 gauge events.

Hoffmann also competed in the masters event, a class based on skill rather than age. Competing against more than 30 other master shooters, he earned an M3 ranking, or third place.

Hoffman said he expected to place well in the junior events, but was pleasantly surprised to place at the masters level.

“When they said I got M3 out of everybody, it shocked me that I was doing that well,” he said. “I was pretty happy with myself.”

Next month Hoffmann will compete at Western US Open in Mount Vernon. In October

he’ll go on to the nation-al championships in San Antonio, Texas, where more than 1,500 competitive shoot-ers of all ages will compete. He went to Nationals last year as well.

“Its a week of nonstop shooting, and pretty much the best of everybody goes down there,” Hoffmann said.

Hoffman said he plans to keep shooting competitively, and will do so in open cat-egory next year.

“I’ve got to step up my game,” he said.

— Natalie Johnson

The Heart of the Sound Triathlon (HOTS), which has taken place on Vashon for 11 years, has been can-celled this year due to lack of inter-est. The triathlon was scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 5, in Burton.

Bruce Cyra, who heads the annual event, said race organizers recently decided to call off the race after only a dozen athletes had preregistered for it so far. Usually about 120 adults and 40 children complete the triathlon, Cyra said, and by this time of the summer there are usually close to 100 athletes registered.

Cyra said that in the past about half of the triathlon competitors have been from Vashon, and he’s not sure why there was such a low turnout this year. Registration for the race was $70 for individuals and $100 for teams.

“It could be the sign of a poor economy, that people aren’t inter-ested in doing something like this.

Or it could be that people in Vashon Island aren’t interested in having a triathlon,” he said.

Cyra said that race organizers were also struggling to find volunteers to help with the triathlon. Since HOTS is a nonprofit event and triathlons require a large number of safety mea-sures, Cyra said, many volunteers are required to put the race on.

“We don’t want to put people in danger,” he said. “We’d rather have no event than an unsafe event.”

Cyra said the HOTS board will now consider whether to hold the race next year. They will discuss whether changes may make it more appealing to athletes and whether they can find enough volunteers to continue the event.

“We need to gauge whether there’senough community support to put this on,” he said.

— Natalie Johnson

The granddaughter of a longtime Islander has qualified to swim at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Ariana Kukors, the 23-year-old granddaughter of Islander Emma Kukors, placed second 200-meter indi-vidual medley at the Olympic trials last month, earning a spot in the summer games.

“She is so excited, so excited,” said Emma, reached at home.

Ariana, a graduate of Auburn Mountainview High School, is a com-petitive swimmer who has won eight international medals. She tried for a spot on the Olympic team four years ago, but came in third, missing the Olympics by eight-hundredths of a sec-ond.

At the Olympic trials last month,

Ariana was nervous but came through, Emma said.

“She told me she was pretty nervous … about her swim, could she make it to or not, but she did,” Emma said. “I’mvery, very happy and proud of her.”

Emma, 90, works at Sawbones. She and her family moved to Vashon in 1951, seven years after fleeing theirhometown in Latvia after it was invad-ed by the Soviet Union.

Emma said she attended a celebra-tion for her granddaughter last week in Auburn. Ariana will train with the Olympic team in France before head-ing to London.

“They said when she comes back it will be bigger party,” Emma said.

— Natalie Johnson

Mikie Hoffmann shoots at the Delta International Open in Arkansas earlier this year. Hoffmann recently took the top awards a the Washington State Sporting Clays Championship.

Islander shoots his way to the top

HOTS Triathlon called off after few sign up

Olympic swimmer has connection to Vashon

Paid for by Friends of Troy Kelley(D) P.O. Box 99415 Lakewood, WA 98496

Island Child 2012

An indespensible resource for Island parents. It includes

information on preschools, public and private schools.

Call Daralyn or Matthewto place your ad space

463-9195 publisher@

vashonbeachcomber.comPublishes: August 22, 2011

www.vashonbeachcomber.com

Reserveyour space

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To place an ad in the Service Directory, contact Daralyn or Matthew at 463-9195. Deadline for ad placement is Friday at 1pm.

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Licensed, Bonded & Insured LIC# BOBWEWH9290E

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Move Out/Move In-Real Estate Clean Up

Waiting l ist currently in place for regular scheduled cleans.

FREELANCE BOOKKEEPERIdeal for small to mid-size businesses on Vashon

Call Raymond (206) 463-6920

Island Child 2012fall edition

VASHON-MAURY ISLAND

This special section, sponsored by

John L. Scott Real Estate, is all about bringing

up your Island child.

This is an indespensible resource for Island parents. It includes information on preschools,public and private schools.

Please call Daralyn or Matthewto place your ad space

463-9195Publishes: August 22, 2012

Ad Space Deadline: August 2, 2012

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AT YOUR SERVICEAT YOUR SERVICEAT YOUR SERVICE To place an ad in the Service Directory, contact Daralyn or Matthew at 463-9195. Deadline for ad placement is Friday at 1pm.

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RAY MATTHEWS CONSTRUCTION

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AlterationsTailoringHemmingResizing

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Many local referencesSmall projects are welcome

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restaurants, volunteers will also ask busi-ness owners to sign a pledge committing to responsible alcohol sales and to display a window sticker that shows their support.

Lee Ockinga, a VARSA board member helping with outreach, said so far everyone has been receptive to the organization’s effort and is willing to have their business assessed.

“The businesses have been so open and so receptive and saying ‘What can we do?’” she said.

Ed Swan, a VARSA consultant helping with the project, says he believes Vashon businesses will also benefit from consider-ing the conditions at their stores — such as the line of sight from checkers to the beer and wine section — and giving their employees additional training around alcohol sales. VARSA is handing out train-ing packets for employees to review, Swan said, and as soon as enough stores sign up, the Liquor Control Board (LCB) will hold

a special class on Vashon.Almost ever Vashon store and restau-

rant, Swan noted, has failed a past LCB compliance check, an undercover opera-tion where minors see if they can success-fully purchase alcohol. He emphasized that VARSA is not targeting any particular businesses, and that many of the them are already following most of VARSA’s recom-mendations.

Swan also said not all of the recommen-dations will be possible at every business. For instance, he said, smaller convenience stores may not be able to move their beer away from their soda.

“We’re just saying, ‘What can we do to help you guys succeed?’” he said.

Luke McQuillin, VARSA’s coordinator, said the nonprofit is especially excited to offer businesses use of new electronic ID scanners VARSA has purchased. The scan-ners read licenses and ID cards from all 50 states, reading whether the cardholder is of age and detecting fake IDs. The scanners will soon begin to circulate among Island retailers, and McQuillin believes minors will think twice about trying to purchase alcohol when the scanners may be in use.

“It takes the heat off some of the clerks as well,” he said. “They don’t have to calculate dates.”

McQuillin said VARSA hasn’t found that minors purchasing alcohol is a big problem on the Island. In a 2010 survey, 52 percent of Vashon 12th graders said

they had obtained alcohol in the past 30 days, and less than 5 percent said they pur-chased that alcohol at a store. Meanwhile,27 percent said they got the alcohol from a friend, and 16 percent said they got it ata party. Nearly 16 percent said they gavesomeone money to buy them alcohol, anact that McQuillin said could have hap-pened outside a store.

Despite the low numbers, McQuillinsaid VARSA, currently in its third year offunding by a 10-year grant, is working tocurb teen drug and alcohol use in any wayit can. Perhaps more, he said, they simplywant to raise awareness of the issues.

In a recent VARSA poll, 84 percent of adult respondents said they believe it’s“very wrong” or “wrong” for youth todrink. However, just 48 percent said theybelieve the community considers teenalcohol use “very wrong” or “wrong.”

Ockinga, who was involved in the sur-vey, said the numbers seem to contradictone another.

“Most people felt it was an issue … andthe perception is that other people don’t care,” she said.

McQuillin said he believes the effort bystores will help send the message that thecommunity is not tolerant of underagedrinking.

“It’s all about just creating a larger pres-ence, so everyone in our community, espe-cially the kids, knows we are watching,”he said.

ALCOHOLCONTINUED FROM 1

Vashon Youth & Family Services


BLAST @ THE GREEN

All-Merciful SaviourOrthodox Monastery

9933 SW 268th St. (south of Dockton)SUNDAYS: DIVINE LITURGY 10:00 am

Followed by PotluckCelebrating 2000 years of Orthodox Christianity Call for a schedule weekday and Holy Day services.

463-5918www.vashonmonks.com

Burton Community ChurchALL ARE WELCOME

INSPIRATION not Indoctrination!Worship 11 am

Rev. Bruce Chittick, PastorMaggie Laird

Pianist/Choir Director463-9977

Bethel Church14736 Bethel Lane SW(Corner of SW 148th St.

and 119th Ave. SW)9am Sunday Bible School

10am WorshipFollowed by coffee fellowship

AWANA Thurs 6:00pm Sept-May

Offi ce phone 567-4255

Vashon Island Community Church

Worship Service 10:00 am (Children’s Church for preschool–5th graders)

Offi ce Phone 463-3940Pastors:

Frank Davis and Mike Ivaska9318 SW Cemetery Road

www.VICC4Life.com

Catholic ChurchSt. John Vianney

Mass–Saturdays at 5:00 pmSundays 8:00am and 10:30am

Pastor: Rev. Marc Powell16100 115th Avenue SW,

Vashon WA 98070

office 567-4149 rectory 567-5736www.stjohnvianneyvashon.com

Vashon Island Unitarian Fellowship

Community, Diversity, Freedom of Belief,Enrichment of Spirit

Sunday Services at 9:45 am (Sept–June)Religious Exploration for toddlers–8th Grade

Lewis Hall (Behind Burton Community Church)

23905 Vashon Hwy SW

Info: www.vashonuu.org 463-4775

Vashon Friends Worship Group

(Quakers)

10 am Meeting for Silent Worshipin members’ homes.

Call for Location567-5279 463-9552

Havurat Ee ShalomServing the spiritual, social and

intellectual needs of Vashon’s Jewish Community

9:30 am Saturday Services

15401 Westside Hwy SWPO Box 89, Vashon, WA 98070

463-1399www.vashonhavurah.org

Episcopal Churchof the Holy Spirit

The Rev Canon Carla Valentine PryneSundays – 7:45 am & 10:15 am

Church School & Religious Exploration9:00am

Child CareMid-week Eucharist, Wednesday–12:30pm

15420 Vashon Hwy SW 567-4488www.holyspiritvashon.org

Vashon Lutheran Church18623 Vashon Hwy. SW (1/2 mile south of Vashon)

Children’s Hour 10:30 am (Sept.- June)

Holy Communion Worship 10:30 am

Pastors: Rev. Bjoern E. MeinhardtRev. Jeff Larson, Ph.D., vm: 206-463-6359

www.vashonluthernchurch.org/JeffLarson/JeffLarson.htm

463-2655e-mail: [email protected]

Vashon United Methodist Church17928 Vashon Hwy SW

(one block south of downtown)

Pastor: Rev. Dr. Kathryn MorseSunday Service & Sunday School

10:00 a.m.Weekly Gluten-Free Communion

Offi ce open Mon.–Thurs. 9 a.m. – 12 noon 463-9804

www.vashonmethodist.orgoffi [email protected]

Calvary Full Gospel Church at Lisabeula

Worship 10:30 am & 7:00 pmThursday Bible Study 7:00 pm

Call for locationSaturday Prayer 7:30 pm

Pastor Stephen R. Sears463-2567

Vashon Presbyterian Church

Worship 10am17708 Vashon Hwy (center of town)

Pastor Dan HoustonChurch Offi ce Hours

Monday– Thursday 10 am - 2 pm

463-2010

Our Vashon Island

Community warmly invites

you and your family to worship with them.

Pla ces of Wors hipon our Island

Centro Familiar CristianoPastor: Edwin Alvarado

Ubicados En Bethel Church14726 Bethel Lane SW

206-371-0213Hora De Services: Sabados 7:30pm

Todos Son Bienvidos, El Lugar Ideal Para Toda La Familia

Dios Les Bendiga

Peggy Newman was born in Texas in 1929. She led a long and hap-py life and passed away peacefully in her sleep after a very short illness on May 12, 2012. She left behind he beloved husband, Roy, and her two children Dwight Newman of Sam-mamish and Diane Thompson of Bellevue. Her son-n-law John and two grandchildren Cyndi and Steven Thompson. Daughter-n-law, Debbie, and Dwight’s two sons Cory and Ryan Newman. Two step grandchildren William Kinson and Kimberly Jones and their spouses. One great grandson Lance Lebron Jones. Peggy has many relatives in Texas though the Seattle area has been her home over 40 years. She will be remembered for her beautiful smile, a lady who was kind, gracious as well as extremely generous and loving to all. She graduated from Sonoma State University the same year Dwight did. She taught school at Holy Names Academy in Seattle for 20 years prior to moving to Vashon Island. She volunteered many years at “Granny’s Attic” on Vashon and loved her days working and visiting with all her “Granny Friends”. Peggy and Roy were very active in the “Northwest Mustang Club” an “Renegade Mustang Club”. They drove cross country to Charlotte, North Carolina for the 35th anniversary of the Mustang; and five years later followed it up for the 40th to Memphis, Tennessee.

The family wishes to give thanks for all your telephone calls, letters and cards during this very difficult time.

Mom was laid to rest in a private family burial at Tahoma National Cemetery on May 30, 2012. We all miss her dearly.

Memorial donations may be made in Mom’s memory to Holy Names Foundation in Seattle or Granny’s Attic on Vashon Island; or a charity of your choice.

Peggy Newman

License# PASCAPC972CE

SERVICE & QUALITYREMODELS – ADDITIONS – REPAIRS

WE ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS

ISLANDSECURITYSELF STORAGE

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the exception of January, when a snow-storm kept many commuters home.

“I’d like to think it’s because of good service, reliable service, on-time service,” he said. “We haven’t really changed the schedule.”

The at-capacity sailings, however, usually leave commuters on the dock. Davis said crew members try to deter-mine how many people are left behind when the boat fills to its 150-person capacity, but it’s not always easy for them to count — since some people turn around quickly when they realize the boat is full. What’s more, he said, not every at-capacity sailing means people are left behind. Earlier this week, at least two sailings left the dock with exactly 150 people and no one left behind, he said.

However, he added, he knows people get left behind each month; in June, crew members counted 164 people.

Ferry officials don’t like seeing pas-sengers left behind, he said, but, at the same time, the route’s growing popu-larity “has been very encouraging.”

“To use an asset and use it to its capacity is a good thing,” he said.

Meanwhile, the ferry district — once slated to grow significantly — contin-ues to lack a sustainable budget, Davis said. Shortly after the county took over the ferry district, it lost much of its financial base due to a financial crisis that hit Metro Transit; the taxes slated to support the ferry district were instead diverted to Metro.

The ferry district, which also oper-ates a water taxi between West Seattle and downtown Seattle, is now funded by fares and a much smaller tax base. But that only covers about 40 percent of its operating costs, Davis said, with the remaining 60 percent coming from

a reserve account that will likely lastuntil the end of the next biennium, or late 2014. But even that is uncertain,Davis said, noting several issues areup in the air.

“There are too many unknowns,” he said.

The ferry district, however, contin-ues to move forward on plans to build two new water taxis, funded in largepart by federal grants that are already in hand. The boats would replace the two catamarans it currently uses, both of which are leased. Staff is cur-rently putting together a request for qualifications, which Davis hopes to release soon. The county could have contracts in place to build the first ofthe new boats in six to nine months, he said.

If the district owns its own small f leet, that could make the system more secure, he added. “Having assets of your own speaks to your longevity,” he said.

CONTINUED FROM 1


Promote your EVENTacross the entire state!

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Call Daralyn for information 206-463-9195

Margot Stokke was born in 1915 in England, Town Green, Aughton Orm., Lancashire, to Gordon and Nora Whickham. Margot grew up with an older sister, Sheila, and younger brother, George. She spent her childhood in this small village in Lancashire in a house called “Capilano” after the the Capilano suspension bridge in Canada.

Nora, Margot’s mother, was an original Farrell from Vancouver, whose grandfather was the founder of the telephone company and had originally come from England. Margot spent time with her Canadian relatives from time to time.

She married John Stokke, having met him in an establishment called “The Whipping Stok-kes” in Cheshire, U.K. She was a barmaid at the time. United States Army personnel were billeted on the premises. John Stokke was a G I in the Army working with the education of troops. Margot spent her first years of marriage in the Canal Zone and lived in other parts of the United States as well. She came to live near Tacoma where John was assigned to a military base. They had planned to purchase property in Tacoma but traveled to Vashon and bought property on Ridge Road where they lived for more than 40 years.

There were no children for the couple and her only relative of the Island is Nora Wingate who cared for her until she entered the Vashon Community Care Center where she passed away July 5th, peacefully and in her sleep, at 1:00 A. M. Her niece, Nora, was not present at the time but was always by her side in prayer, thought, and meditation. God bless her.

Margot was a great bridge player and loved gardening. She was also a great supporter of the senior Center and attended the Burton Baptist Church which she enjoyed every Sunday. She loved Britain and was a true Royalist but was very happy and honoured to live and be married in the USA.

Margot lived a very happy life and her ability to smile and laugh was an inspiration. A true Brit!

She is survived by her sister-in-law in Manchester, U.K. and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

A life very well lived, God bless you, Margot, and may your next journey be as joy filled as the last. Love you, Nora.

MARGOT STOKKE

Real Estate ResourcesTitle CompaniesFirst American TitleAmber Wharton (206) 387-9402Insurance AgenciesTrigg Insurance AgencyTom Trigg (206) 463-7411Escrow CompaniesIsland EscrowPat Cunningham (206) 463-3137

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Personal Injury and Insurance Disputes

Caring and Dedicated Advocacy for Injured People206-686-5075

Offices on Vashon and in West Seattle

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An indespensible resource for Island parents.

It includes information on preschools, public and

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vashonbeachcomber.comPublishes: August 22, 2011


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Have you seen me? Lost May 8th, from the 10400 block of SW Cemetery Rd.

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Please contact VIPP at 389-1085 or [email protected]

Call 389-1085

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Ad supported by Mark ScheerMore animals and info at www.vipp.org Give a Pet a Home!

Born about 2010, Woodstock is

a big guy with an outgoing personality.

His dream is to be the only cat in his

new home. He is friendly and playful

and just a little goofy for laughs.

Woodstock would make a great family

pet for an active household.

Born about 2007, Dandy was found

hanging around the Country Store back

in 2008. She was a young, thin and

searching for her next meal. VIPP took

her in. Dandy was very shy when she

fi rst came to the shelter. She would run

from the volunteers. She has become a

different cat now wanting to be petted

by the volunteers and gaining their

trust. She has turned from a cat that

acted totally feral into a friendly, social

cat thanks to the dedication of our

TLC volunteers. Dandy has beautiful

golden locks which she keeps perfectly

groomed. She gets along well with

other cats. She is looking for an indoor

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loved.

This adorable 6 month old chow mix has plenty

to talk about and he expects you to listen! We

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bottom. Your life will be more complete with a

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more about Bosley, call Cindy at

206-910-5102. Adoption fee is $125.

Celebrating28 Years

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Need an employer who gives you your own parking spot? Maybe it’s time to change jobs. Our online job solution will provide you with job listings where you can view jobs that match your c . Your path toa better job begins at

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13401 Vashon Hwy SW PHONE: 567-1600 VashonHomes.com

DebCain

GRI, CNE206/930-5650

MAGICAL COUNTRY ESTATE

4 bdrm4.68 AC

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Watch the boats in the harbor from this distinctiveBurton beach retreat! High-end finishes, 2 baths, hugedeck, set in sun-dappled woods. MLS #309005 $399,000

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3 bdrm 1.75 bath View!Spacious, open home has all-day sun &views from almost every room! Chef’skitchen, large basement, set amid

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3 bdrm 2 bath 2.08 ACEverything you ever wanted - pastoralproperty, immaculate home, barn with

tack room, loft studio in shop! Ideal mid-isle location. MLS #328024 $299,000

Launch your Vashon business!1488 sq ft retail space, off-street

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3 bdrm 2 bath beach rightsEasy-care Gold Beach home faces

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3 bdrm 1.75 bath 1.07 ACSweeping lawns, huge deck; spacious

home was made for outdoor fun! With 3lots & 3 water shares, it’s also a GREAT

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We’re thrilled that Davidhas returned to Vashonand is once again avalued member of ourJohn L. Scott Team!

We’re thrilled that Davidhas returned to Vashonand is once again avalued member of ourJohn L. Scott Team!

WELCOMEBACKDavidKnight!

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Cook’s kitchen, studio/guest space, attached garageplus carport; decks & patios, park-like 1.14 acres.

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This office independently owned & operated. JOHN L SCOTT VSH

See You AtThe Festival!

THE FESTIVALGRANDPARADESATURDAY,JULY 21ST

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JOHN L. SCOTT/VASHONPROUD SPONSOR

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vashon-maury island beachcomber, july 18, 2012

Documents

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capacity sailings

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