I love you. You’re terrific. Great job. Congratulations. I’m so proud of you.
It’s been an intense week on Vashon Island in the aftermath of the Havurat Ee Shalom’s desecration. Stars of David, many of them printed and distributed by Islander Alice Orr, have been posted on windows, cars, even front doors. A vigil — organized by Father Tryphon — drew perhaps 100 people. Television crews arrived on Vashon, visiting, among others, The Beachcomber office. (They wanted a copy of the photograph we ran in last week’s paper of the anti-Semitic graffiti at the synagogue.) And finally, the King County Sheriff’s Office and Prosecutor’s Office have begun investigating the incident as a hate crime, calling it “a textbook case,” as deputy prosecutor Mike Hogan put it.
I love you. You’re terrific. Great job. Congratulations. I’m so proud of you.
Seeing one’s verbal quote in print — as I did when I picked up Wednesday’s Beachcomber and read the story, “School board passes a $15m budget” — always seems a little stark and dramatic. Certainly the statement I made — that “Vashon does not have a reputation for supporting families with kids with disabilities” — can seem a little severe, given the number of caring teachers, support workers and community members who do support those families and children.
Let me state as emphatically as can be conveyed in newsprint: The fight to protect Maury Island is not over. And far from being a last-gasp fight, our battle remains a strong one.
A perfect storm took my wife and me off Vashon in early 2002 — some kind of collective response to Sept. 11, loss of a parent to cancer and the opportunity to make change in a neighboring community long suffering from civic neglect.
For years I’ve wanted to do something in the public arena, but there was never enough time or the right opportunity. I walk regularly and often found myself in the woods of Vashon. Given my business background in the timber industry, those woods gave me the idea of becoming involved with the Vashon Park District (VPD).
When members of the Island Jewish community arrived at the Havurat Ee Shalom for their Shabbat Torah study, they found their place of worship desecrated. Graffiti was scrawled on the wall of their small synagogue on the Westside Highway. It was a hateful act — directed towards one of our Island’s minority groups.
Vashon Island School District (VISD) is at a critical juncture. We are in the midst of major changes that will affect student achievement over the next few decades. These changes are inspired by the strategic plan that the school board adopted last fall. This plan provides a roadmap for making Vashon one of the top districts in Washington state.
Vashon Island School District’s board is leading our community to a brighter and healthier future as we are forging a “culture of ecology” in our schools.
The busy summer season is upon our Island.
In the peaceful pause that comes to all Strawberry Festival volunteers the week after, it’s fun to reflect on the beauty of the event. I came across the following description that says it perfectly for me.
Editor’s note: This column ran a few years ago. Tressa asked that it run again in part because of the strong response it stirred when it first appeared in The Beachcomber.
