BUSINESS | Zoomies restaurant for sale at a bargain price. Page 3 HEALTH | Providence offers home care on Vashon. Page 4 COMMENTARY | A humorous look at the past year. Page 6
RING IN 2012 Vashon is the place to be on New Year’s Eve. Page 11
AN ARTFUL YEAR Islanders and guests put on quite the show in 2011. Page 10
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2011 Vol. 56, No. 49
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
Vaccination rates remain lower than recommended
Voice of Vashon looks to the future Volunteer group plans to expand its services in the coming year By NATALIE JOHNSON For The Beachcomber
By SUSAN RIEMER Staff Writer
Vashon’s low vaccination rates among school children have persisted this year, and school nurse Sarah Day hopes to see an increase in the numbers of students vaccinated against two of the most contagious and potentially serious diseases: pertussis and measles. Statistics about who is vaccinated and who is not have recently been tabulated, and according to Day, who was new to the district this fall, the results are worrisome. District wide, 33 percent of students have not been fully vaccinated against pertussis, also known as whooping cough, a respiratory illness potentially deadly for infants. Twenty-two percent have not been fully vaccinated against measles, which had been eradicated in North America in 2000, but has since made a resurgence, largely because of parents declining to vaccinate their children. Day stressed that she understands vaccination has long been a contentious issue on the Island and beyond and that she believes parents choose to vaccinate or not based on what they believe will be best for their children. She also stressed that science points to the safety of vaccines, and she feels increasing the vaccination rate among students for these two illnesses will hold benefits for the individual students and the community as a whole. “I would love for folks who have an exemption for measles or pertussis to look at current data and reexamine that decision,” Day said. The measles vaccine, in particular, raised concern for parents when British surgeon and researcher Adam Wakefield published a paper in the respected medical journal The Lancet in 1998, raising concerns about the potential link between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR). While Wakefield still has some followers, his work has been discredited, and considerable research since indicates there is no link between the MMR and autism. Still those concerns and other vaccine-safety concerns linger, SEE VACCINES, 8
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Voice of Vashon, the Island’s community radio and television network, has grown exponentially since its inception a dozen years ago. However 2012 may be the all-volunteer organization’s biggest year yet. Last week Voice of Vashon (VoV) saw a longtime goal realized with a significant grant from the Puget Sound Energy Foundation. At a short ceremony at the VoV studios on Wednesday, volunteers were thrilled to accept a giant check symbolizing the $15,000 grant. It will allow the completion of VoV’s emergency alert system by funding the installation of several more flashing-light notification signs such as the one currently at the north end. “We’re over the moon,” said VoV board member Rick Wallace in an interview. “We have been working so hard to finish all of this.” It’s the first of several significant moves in the works for Voice of Vashon in the new year. The multi-faceted organization also plans to bring on a new marketing director to promote its radio and television stations, develop more tech-friendly entertainment options and get more Islanders producing content. It may even fulfill another longtime goal by taking on an FM radio frequency. At Wednesday’s ceremony — where Voice of Vashon volunteers, PSE representatives and several community leaders packed into VoV’s studios at Sunrise Ridge —
MOODY GETS MEAN Vashon Theatre was completely full on Thursday night as hundreds of kids and adults turned out to see Island funny man Steffon Moody put on “The Grinch Sets the Record Straight.” This year Moody was joined by the Grinchettes, played by Arlette and Lousia Moody. The story of the evil Grinch on trial garnered lots of laughs — and a few tears from the young ones — and raised more than $400 in donations for the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank. For more holiday photos, see page 14. Casey Gripp Photos
SEE VOICE OF VASHON, 19
Islander funds his wishes while cleaning Vashon’s streets By LESLIE BROWN Staff Writer
Bill Thomas was on the street before the sun was up, bundled against the cold and sporting a ball cap that said “60 forever.” He carried a long-handled grabber in one hand, a white plastic trash bag in the other, as he began his daily circuit through town. He knew just where to stop for his booty — beer cans, mostly, which fetch 45 cents a pound at a Tacoma recycling center. He found a stash under Santa’s Cottage at the Village Green, another stash under a loading dock behind the IGA where a
homeless man often sleeps. The Dumpster next to the Chevron station offered up a trove, as did the Dumpster behind the Red Bike. He marveled at the abundance and shook his head at the debauchery all the cans suggested. “They never quit drinking their beer,” he said as he emptied a can of swill onto the dark pavement. “It’s discouraging.” “Discouraged,” though, is not a word that comes to mind after a morning spent with Bill Thomas. He reaps about $400 a month SEE THOMAS, 5
Leslie Brown/Staff Photo
Bill Thomas has collected cans in town for years. Some now give him cans, such as this one left on the roof of his car.