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BEACHCOMBER See pages 20 to 30
VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012
Vol. 57, No. 42
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
An ample harvest buoys wine makers After a balmy fall, Vashon’s vines are laden with grapes By LESLIE BROWN
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Fire department debates how best to deploy medics By NATALIE JOHNSON
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
The sun was low in the sky, casting a golden hue over rows of tangled grapevines as Ron Irvine and Jim Stewart methodically plucked this year’s abundant crop from the twisted stocks. Two more men — Joe Curiel and Tony Raugust — suddenly showed up, carrying buckets and smiling. “We’re here to help,” Curiel said. “When you get a call to pick, you have to pick.” The four men plucked bunches of tender green grapes for the next hour, filling one white bucket after another — a seasonal activity that doesn’t happen all that often on Vashon. It’s been a tough couple of months for those plants and animals that need water, for grassy lawns and Eastern Washington forests. The region saw 80 straight days without any measurable rain between July and early October, making it the driest stretch on record as well as one of the West’s worst wild fire seasons. But for Vashon’s nascent grape-growing community, September brought the kind of weather their sun-loving, heat-seeking vines need. At Stewart’s farm last week, the men picked 55 buckets of grapes — a variety called chasselas that originated in Switzerland and produces a full, fruity wine — enough to fill nearly two barrels or make 200 bottles of wine. Leslie Brown/Staff Photo
SEE GRAPES, 18
Jim Stewart picks grapes at his farm overlooking Quartermaster Harbor.
Vashon’s fire department is split over a move that some say would provide better emergency response to Vashon’s farthest reaches and others say would compromise service to the rest of the Island. For months, Candy McCullough, chair of Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s board, has pushed VIFR officials to place one of two paramedics, the most skilled emergency responders, at the department’s new residence in Burton during the night. VIFR currently stations two emergency medical technicians or EMTs at the house, people who are less trained than paramedics but able to respond to non-life-threatening emergencies. “As far as I’m concerned, if we save one life it’s worth it,” said McCullough, a longtime VIFR volunteer who who was elected to the board about a year ago. McCullough and other board members, however, have been unable to convince VIFR officials, who say they think the current EMT response out of Burton is enough for now. Last week, Chief Hank Lipe, who said he was open to the idea but wanted a medical expert to weigh in, brought a high-ranking official into the discussion. Jim Fogarty, director of the King County EMS program, visited a board meeting last Tuesday and advised against moving a paramedic to Burton. According to Fogarty, the county-wide emergency response system requires two-person paramedic teams to respond together. Paramedics SEE MEDICS, 34
Corps gives boost to Maury restoration effort By NATALIE JOHNSON Staff Writer
This month 30 young adults in hard hats and work boots descended on Maury Island to begin what some say is the largest environmental restoration Vashon has ever seen. Over the next year, the Puget SoundCorps members will work four days a week at the Maury Island Marine Park, a former mining site purchased by the county in 1994. Crews will remove harmful invasive plants, plant native seedlings and expand the park’s trail system. A small group will focus on the aquatic reserve that borders the park, removing debris, testing the health of the marine habitat and identifying restoration projects. The $2.2 million effort on Maury comes by
way of a $30 million jobs bill the state Legislature passed last year, which included funding for nine Puget SoundCorps projects throughout the region. The marine park is the largest single site to see work by County hopes the SoundCorps, a part of the to link Maury’s Washington Conservation marine park and the former Corps program. Glacier site. During a tour of the site last week attended by state and See page 4. county officials, Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark addressed the corps members, who are 18 to 25 years old. The workers will earn minimum wage while on SEE MAURY, 11
Natalie Johnson/Staff Photo
Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark, center, talks with Puget SoundCorps crew members at the Maury Island Marine Park last week.