When we learned that Camp Goodtimes was back in session on Vashon and that campers were fishing at the pond at the Sportsmen’s Club, we expected to find a lovely scene there. Kids of all ages and backgrounds tossed lines in the pond, some intent on the task at hand, others chatting away with friends they met at the camp. A couple times everyone joined in on a camp song. Besides some visible medical needs, you’d hardly guess these young people all had lives dramatically altered by cancer. On Vashon, they left hospitals, appointments and stresses behind and joined others who are facing the same challenges them to just be kids.
Classes will start a half-hour later on professional development days at the Vashon School District next year.
A group is exploring whether the 500-acre Misty Isle Farm could be purchased for farmland preservation and transformed into a multi-use site.
Tom Stewart, the wealthy businessman and staunch Republican who died in 2010, is arguably a legend on Vashon. While living on the island, Stewart both wowed islanders with his massive estate and generous giving and rubbed some wrong with his opulent lifestyle and run-ins with the law. Just as Stewart and his 500-acre estate — which includes landscaped gardens, a putting green, riding arena, airstrip and helipad — seemed too grand for Vashon, thoughts of a nonprofit now purchasing it at first glance seem too far-fetched to be realistic.
Community activism on Vashon and Maury Islands was the first social interaction my husband and I encountered when we moved here in 2000. We bought the neighborhood’s “haunted house,” a 1908 Craftsman that had fallen into disrepair from neglect and deterioration. Dockton residents came to welcome us and to help. They were delighted to find that we had restored a historic home in Snohomish and that we planned to do the same here.
This weekend Point Robinson will teem with life, not only because one of the lowest tides of summer will reveal a multitude of sea creatures, but also because of the many visitors expected to turn out for the eighth annual Low Tide Celebration.
As the Vashon School District declares no cuts for the next school year, the schools foundation is scraping to round out the $350,000 in donations the district estimates it will need to avoid dipping into its reserves next year.
Vashon Island Pet Protectors, with record numbers of cats and slow adoption rates, has temporarily stopped accepting new cats at its shelter and is making special efforts to adopt out the ones it has.
In January, King County Sheriff John Urquhart told islanders who attended a community council meeting on crime that often the sheriff’s office lacks the resources to go after suspected drug houses.
A man who’s been called Vashon’s top methamphetamine dealer had a significant drug charge thrown out last month, frustrating islanders who had long hoped his conviction would rid their neighborhood of suspected drug activity and related crime that centers around his home.
Bruce Morser, a Vashon Allied Arts board member, said he’s sometimes asked if VAA is still planning to build a performing arts center.
An article on this week’s front page tells of a severe funding gap in our state ferry system that’s been patched for two more years by the state. Turn the page, though, to learn about a larger government crisis that hasn’t been averted and will now affect Vashon
Vashon high schoolers continue to drink alcohol and use marijuana at rates higher than their peers in the rest of the state, but middle-school use is down, according to a recent survey, giving hope to those working to address Vashon’s high levels of youth substance abuse
