Happening | Nov. 10 edition

Veteran’s Day dinner at Eagles; Sound Action on VoV; Audubon work party; Vigil for Vigilance; Fire Academy Graduation; Ecumenical Talk; and call for input land acknowledgment statement

Veteran’s Day dinner

The Vashon Eagles is honored to host its annual Veteran’s Day dinner, from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at 18134 Vashon Hwy SW. Dinner is free of charge to all veterans and $5 each for accompanying spouses and caregivers. Club members will serve pot roast with roasted carrots and potatoes, roll, and dessert. The event welcomes all veterans and the meal is available to other community members for $15. Call 206-463-5677 for additional information.

Talk on protecting nearshore habitat and species

Water is life — join Truman O’Brien, Bruce Haulman, Craig Beles and Kevin Jones at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, on Voice of Vashon, 101.9FM, to hear Amy Carey discuss the work of Sound Action, a Puget Sound watchdog group working to protect vital nearshore habitat and species.

Audubon work party

A Vashon Audubon stewardship work party in support of the Vashon Land Trust and our native wildlife will take place from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12, at the Paradise Valley Preserve. The team will remove blackberries and other invasive plants to prepare for fall planting, and possibly begin planting, too.

Meet at the Judd Creek Loop trailhead on 111th Ave. S.W. Parking is along the road. Bring work gloves, wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. Tools will be provided, though if you have a favorite shovel, please bring it.

For more information, contact Jim Evans at 206-678-8914 or jimevans@centurytel.net, or Jody Pritchard at 206-920-7833 or jpritchard289@gmail.com.

Vigil for Vigilance

A soulful gathering of grief, loss and hope, inspired by loss connected to driving under the influence, will take place at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, in the sanctuary of Vashon United Methodist Church. Please bring a meditation cushion or something soft to sit on — the group will sit on the floor, with chairs available for those who need them. The event is organized by islander Sunder Khurana.

Fire Academy graduation

South Sound Fire Academy will hold a public graduation ceremony for its most recent Firefighter Recruit Academy at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at Vashon Theatre.

Graduates will have completed 280 hours of training and certification testing in firefighting and hazardous materials. The training was conducted at the Vashon Fire training center, a South Kitsap fire station, and at the state academy in North Bend.

Five of the graduates will be volunteer firefighters at Vashon Island Fire & Rescue and one will be at South Kitsap Fire & Rescue.

The graduates are Dawson Allen, Brett Beardsley, Yolonda Dowell, Ryan Harrison, William Kutscher, Gregory Lopez-Lopez, and Stephanee Richards.

Ecumenical talk

Methodist pastor Mark Wagner and Koshin Cain, Abbott of Puget Sound Zen Center, will have a public conversation about how it is possible to work across faith traditions to cultivate a more compassionate worldview. The talk will take place at 10 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at Vashon United Methodist Church, and be conducted in-person at Vashon United Methodist Church, and online, at greaternw.zoom.us/j/97722198838.

Find out more at vashonmethodist.org.

Land Acknowledgement

The Equity, Social Justice and Inclusion Committee (an advisory committee of the Vashon Maury Community Council) is seeking input into the creation of a Land Acknowledgement statement for potential use by the Council. To gather community input, the committee will host three Zoom meetings. These meetings will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 14, Nov. 29 and Dec. 9.

Zoom links are as follows: Nov. 14 (bit.ly/VMCCLAS-1); Nov. 29 ( bit.lyVMCCLAS-2); Dec. 6 (bit.ly/VMCCLAS-3).

Those who cannot attend are encouraged to give input, by Dec. 9, by emailing jessicaanakar@gmail.com or jhrickardiii@gmail.com.