Free gardening class offered for Newcastle residents
April 5, 2012
NEW 2:40 p.m. April 5, 2012
Don Marshall, a Lake Washington College Technical instructor and author, will offer a sustainable gardening workshop from 6:30 to 8 p.m April 19 at the Coal Creek Utility District office.
The office is located at 6801 132nd Place S.E. in Newcastle.
The workshop, which is free and offered in coordination with the Saving Water Partnership and Cascade Water Alliance, will teach participants the basic principles of how garden’s soil works as the foundation for a successful yard. The classes aim to help residents create and maintain healthy and eye-catching landscapes in ways that are beneficial for the environment.
The workshop will feature discussions on plant selection, weed management, fertilizing practices and surprise edible plants throughout the yard. Register through Brown Paper Tickets.
Local student artwork sought for voters’ pamphlet
March 2, 2012
Students can design artwork for the Washington State Voters’ Pamphlet — a guide distributed to more than 3 million people statewide before the November election.
Secretary of State Sam Reed’s office invited students in fourth and fifth grades to enter the contest. In addition to featuring the top artwork in the voters’ guide, Reed plans to make a surprise visit to the winner’s school.
The theme for the contest is “If I Could Vote.”
Students must submit artwork by April 16. Email JulieAnne Behar at julieanne.behar@sos.wa.gov to ask questions or to learn more about the contest.
Learn about King County’s 911 system at Citizen’s Academy
March 2, 2012
King County residents can learn how the 911 emergency dispatch center operates as the King County Sheriff’s Office hosts a 911 Citizen’s Academy this month.
Space for the program is limited. Completed applications should be turned in as soon as possible. The application deadline is March 9.
The academy is meant to educate citizens about the role 911 communications specialists fill in the public safety system. The program is also designed to prepare people for dialing 911.
Plans for the daylong class March 31 include information about the history of 911, call taking and police dispatching, training, King County geography, agency partnerships, citizen training and what national certification means for residents.
In addition to the classroom session, academy participants can spend a two-hour session with on-duty communications specialists. The “sit-along” time is meant to offer a practical demonstration of the lessons learned in the academy.
The academy is open to anyone at least 18 years old and without a felony conviction. Applicants must live or work in King County. The application is available at the sheriff’s office website at www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff.aspx, by calling 206-205-6625 or by emailing KCSO911FB@kingcounty.gov.
Dining at Chez Fred
March 2, 2012
The Sainted One is our official Family Cook, and when I say “Family Cook,” I don’t mean just for me. I also mean for Newcastle Niece and The Sainted One Jr., my stepkids and grandkids, and both my sisters and their families.
As Family Cook, he is so respected that his Christmas Eve Spicy Turkey Lasagna recipe has been presented to the hotel chef where my stepdaughter is being married so that it can be replicated for the wedding dinner.
As a bystander to this and in my defense, my mother never insisted that cooking was something that we needed to learn, either for attracting men or for our own pleasure.
While recently comparing notes with my sisters, we remember that my mother never seemed to enjoy her time in the kitchen. There was always a grim set to her lips while she cooked, and she bore an attitude of duty versus a sense of fun.
We still harbor visions of her tenderizing meat with the side of a plate, her left hand on her hip, her actions fast and furious, as if she was going for her Black Belt in Round Steak. You could hear her pounding it into submission from anywhere within a three-block area, and we generally watched her do it from a safe distance.
As sister Susie has since said, “Who needs Prozac when you have a piece of cheap meat and plate?”
So we are a perfect team at Chez Fred: I take the dinner reservations, seat people, make the salad, and provide dessert and comic relief.
Fighting back against multiple sclerosis
March 2, 2012
Newcastle woman combats debilitating disease with regular exercise at YMCA
Kim Scott’s left leg was completely numb.
She got up. She took a shower. She thought, “Why is it that my hip to my knee felt like there was Novocain put in there?”
She had gone Christmas shopping the day before. Surely that was the cause of the problem.
By Christina Lords Kim Scott, a Newcastle resident of 20 years, works out at the Coal Creek Family YMCA. Scott, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, uses exercise as a way to fight the debilitating disease.
After a coworker asked her why she was dragging her left foot, the 55-year-old Newcastle resident of 20 years took off her shoe to reach down to touch her skin.
She could see she was touching her body, but she couldn’t feel it.
It wasn’t a pinched nerve affecting her mobility. It wasn’t stress. And it wasn’t healing on its own.
After seeing a neurologist and going through five MRIs, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis — a chronic disease that attacks the body’s central nervous system. The affects of the disease can cause numbness in limbs, loss of coordination, paralysis, pain, organ dysfunction and loss of vision.
Newcastle residents earns collegiate honors
March 2, 2012
Lindsey Kranz, a resident of Newcastle, has earned placement on Gonzaga University’s president’s list for fall semester 2011.
Students must earn a 3.7 to 4.0 grade point average to be listed.
Kranz attended Kennedy Catholic High School and graduated in 2011. She is the daughter of Karen and Lee Kranz.
Local student earns dean’s list honors
Katherin Routos, of Newcastle, has been named to the William Penn University’s dean’s list for the fall 2011 semester.
To be included on the dean’s list, a student must complete at least 12 hours of credit with a grade point average of 3.5 to 3.89 on a 4.0 scale.
William Penn University was founded by Quakers in 1873 and is located in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
It’s all in the family
February 3, 2012
Several years ago I exchanged a series of letters with Patrick McManus, a humorist who has been writing very funny stuff for a long, long time. In one of the letters, I asked him why it was that magazines and newspapers were generally leery of publishing humorous essays. His response was that humor frightened most editors because it’s so subjective. (A moment of appreciative silence for fearless Newcastle News Editor Kathleen Merrill.)
It makes me wonder: Where does a sense of humor come from, anyway? Is it genetic? I can’t say that my parents were laugh-out-loud funny, but the legacy that they left indicates a predilection to the comic. My father was often transferred and promoted, so we sometimes moved to a new city before we even had a chance to memorize our latest address and phone number. My sisters and I were forced to create a self-sustaining, insular social model so that when we moved to the next strange place, at least we had each other. Maybe that kind of familiarity breeds either contempt or a sense of humor to combat it.
The first time I realized that I was considered amusing was when I was in the seventh grade. Our assignment was to give a five-minute speech on any subject. I wrote about the space between my teeth (no longer existent) and how it made it easier to spit out watermelon seeds, and I included a poem about my two little sisters being irritating and loveable at the same time.
It was not that big a deal to me, just another homework assignment. When I presented it, the waves of laughter shocked me. More shocking was the fact that the nuns made me do it again and again in front of every class in the school. It was my first tour, and what I loved the most was getting out of seventh grade assignments to allow for it.
All of these musings regarding the origin of humor came to mind when my sister Susie Detmer was chosen for a Seattle version of “Dancing With the Stars.” It’s a benefit to combat homelessness put on by the Plymouth Housing Group. Each amateur dancer’s interview was posted on their website, and I’ll guarantee you that my sister’s answer to this question didn’t look like anyone else’s:
Why are you dancing for Plymouth Housing Group? I should say I am dancing because Plymouth Housing Group is a terrific cause. While that is the case, truth be told I would dance for Bernie Madoff’s defense fund if it meant I could learn to dance with a pro.
You can reach Pat Detmer — who really is Laughing All The Way — at patdetmer@aol.com.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Newcastle Earth Day 2012
February 3, 2012
Earth Day 2012 vendor, sponsor applications now available
The application period is now open for sponsors and for vendors to host booths during Newcastle’s annual Earth Day celebration.
File Glenn Wallace, Gary Hansen and Mark Yormark (from left), all of Renton, hear from Larry Ostrom about a 1986 Pontiac Fiero altered to be 100 percent electric during the 2011 Newcastle Earth Day.
The earlier businesses and nonprofit organizations get their applications in, the more exposure they’ll receive on the Earth Day website and other promotional materials, she said.
The event is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 21 at Lake Boren Park. It features informational mini seminars, a master gardener clinic, the opportunity to recycle appliances and cellphones, the Pacific Science Center’s Science in the Environment interactive display and geocaching. Food vendors and music by the Hazen High School Band and the Boeing Employees’ Concert Band will also be available.
The event is held in conjunction with the city of Newcastle and the Newcastle Chamber of Commerce.
Download a sponsor or vendor application by going to www.newcastleweedwarriors.org and click on the “Earth Day 2012” link in the center of the page.
Learn more by emailing gracestiller@comcast.net or calling 228-7927.
Scouts experience need for speed
February 3, 2012
There were flashier setups in the mix.
One car sported an elaborate R2-D2 paint job.
Others boasted more intricate carving techniques, taking the shapes of a banana and a skateboard.
But 9-year-old Will Slaton’s gray Pinewood Derby car maintained a more modest approach.
By Christina Lords Pinewood Derby champion Will Slaton (left), second runner-up Dillon Gyotoku (center) and third-place finisher Nicholas Disney receive trophies for the fastest car entries in Newcastle Cub Scout Pack 738’s annual Pinewood Derby on Jan 13.
Sure, special precautions were taken to make sure the wheels and axles had been sanded down to offer the least resistance on the track.
A small amount of graphite had been added to the back end to give the rear some weight, while the sides of the car had been whittled down to create a more aerodynamic end product.
But what Slaton’s car lacked in pizzazz, it made up for in speed. It was crowned champion of Newcastle Cub Scout Pack 738’s 2012 Pinewood Derby held Jan.13 at Newcastle Elementary School.
As champion, he’ll go on to face more formidable foes at the district level, he said, though he isn’t changing a thing.
Local business owner sets out to help Haiti residents rebuild
February 3, 2012
The 7.0-magnitude earthquake that left much of Haiti’s capitol and surroundings in ruin may seem like a faint memory to some.
But to Jeff Gaidjiergis, it’s an event he refuses to forget.
The local business owner and May Valley resident, along with four other members of Renton’s New Life Church, will make his third trip in two years to help residents in the Port-au-Prince area rebuild.
“There are very few buildings that have been constructed since the earthquake,” he said. “There are still a lot of tent cities that are down there. There are still people living in these tents and looking for food every day. Part of the problem is that yes, this happened, but it never was a very prosperous area to begin with.”
Contributed Jeff Gaidjiergis (center), a Newcastle business owner and New Life Church member, meets local children as he helps rebuild a church near Port-au-Prince during a recent mission trip with the New Life Church.
Gaidjiergis will spend 10 days beginning Feb. 3 to help rebuild a church and school that had been destroyed in the January 2010 earthquake. He uses a portion of the profits of his Mr. Scrappy Recycling company to volunteer in Haiti, and also makes a mission trip to Mexico with his wife and children every year.
The work is one leg of a series of trips to work on the project, which includes building a new church building and two additional structures to provide a safe, covered place for residents to gather.
