NEWS | Local businesses prepare
HOOPSTERS SCORE Pirates kick off season with a decisive win. Page 13
NUTCRACKER COMES TO TOWN A seasonal favorite features talented dancers. Page 10
for the ‘big one.’ Page 4 ENVIRONMENT | Time is running out on septic compliance. Page 5 CRIME | Serial rapist sentenced to 45 years. Page 24
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2011
Vol. 56, No. 46
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
Elves told to leave four-way junction
75¢
Homeless forced to vacate woods Agency, meanwhile, prepares to purchase the 40-acre parcel By LESLIE BROWN Staff Writer
By NATALIE JOHNSON Staff Writer
After collecting donations at the main intersection in town for four winters, the Island Elves have gotten the boot: They’ve been told by law enforcement they can no longer conduct their fundraiser in the road. On Saturday morning, as volunteer elves collected money for the second weekend this year, two King County sheriff ’s deputies arrived at the intersection and informed the volunteers that their fundraiser violates a state law that prohibits soliciting business in the street. Head elf Bernie O’Malley talked with the deputies and complied with their request, but was unhappy with the turn of events. “It’s very bad for (Vashon) Youth & Family Services,” he said. “They’ll lose a lot of money that we won’t be able to collect for them. I feel very bad about that.” For the past three years, the volunteers — dressed in bright costumes and ringing bells — have collected nearly $20,000 in donations each holiday season for the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank. This year the the elves decided to collect funds for VYFS and expected to raise about the same amount. O’Malley said the deputies were polite and even apologetic to the volunteers and told them there had been some complaints. The move came the same week SEE ELVES,19
VASHON’S WEEKEND OF FESTIVITIES Islanders turned out in droves for Vashon’s first Winterfest, a weekend of fun and festivity. Santa and Mrs. Claus made the scene Saturday night, leading a parade that culminated in the lighting of the tree. Gingerbread houses were on display in 26 shops and businesses. And the 29th annual Art Studio Tour drew art lovers to dozens of far-flung studios, including Joan Sells, above, who took in the artfully adorned tree at Waterworks Studio. The tour continues this weekend from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. See page 16 for more photos and visit www.vashonbeachcomber.com to view a slideshow.
Twenty to 25 homeless people living in the woods south of the Roseballen housing development were forcibly removed over the past few weeks after King County officials received an anonymous complaint about the growing encampment. The last couple to leave the woods, a man and woman who had made their home in their inoperable Dodge camper for two years, were forced out on Thursday as part of the far-reaching effort. Roberta Montana, a Seattle resident who owns the parcel, said she had no choice but to evict the squatters. Because of the complaint, Montana faced a county code violation — the accumulation of junk and debris and a campground on land not zoned for such use, according to Mary Impson, a code enforcement officer with the county’s Department of Development and Environmental Services (DDES). The violation was lifted Monday, after Impson visited the parcel last week and saw that the junked cars and camps had been removed. The removal comes at the same time that the county is in negotiations with Montana to purchase her 40-acre parcel, a swath of forest and wetlands adjacent to the popular Island Center Forest and two blocks west of the Vashon post office. While the code violation is separate from the county’s two-year effort to buy the parcel, county officials cannot complete the transaction until the violation has been lifted, said David Kimmett, a natural lands program manager for the county’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks. The purchase, which could close by the end of this month, represents an auspicious development for
Natalie Johnson/Staff Photo
SEE HOMELESS, 23
New park director comes on board at a challenging time By NATALIE JOHNSON Staff Writer
There’s a new face at the Vashon Park District. This fall Jan Milligan, the former head of Camp Sealth, became the new director of the district. And as those who are close to the agency note, taking over the bustling organization is no small task. For over two decades, Wendy Braicks was the face of the park district. Detail-oriented and driven, Braicks grew it from an agency
with one office and a handful of small parks to a large district that has about a dozen full-time employees, manages nearly 20 properties, runs on a $1 million budget and either administers or partners with more than 50 youth and adult programs, camps and classes. Milligan, 57, now takes over the park district at what is arguably one of the busiest times in its history. Last year the agency took ownership of the Vashon Pool — a facility that came with substan-
tially higher maintenance costs than expected — and kicked off an ambitious $1.3 million sports fields project, for which it has struggled to raise funds. What’s more, Milligan enters the district as it deals with two timeconsuming legal issues. A property battle regarding the fields project made it to court last month, and after a messy dispute involving ballet volunteers, the former head of a park district ballet program filed a claim against the agency
last month, saying she plans to sue. Milligan, a warm woman who speaks softly but with authority, said in an interview last week that she’s up to the challenge of heading the busy district. “Any organization has its challenges at any given time,” she said. “There’s no perfect, clean time in any large organization like this to assume there’s clean sailing.” SEE PARKS, 22