CRUISE ON IN Galleries go all out for March’s First Friday. Page 11
NEWS | Body that washed ashore was former Islander. [4] COMMUNITY | Drug prosecutor will speak to kids, parents. [5] BUSINESS | Island Lumber applies for liquor license. [15]
A FRESH FACE Newcomer takes the helm at the farmers market. Page 15
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013
Vol. 58, No. 09
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
75¢
County reveals plan for developing former Glacier site Limited amenities would be added for recreational use By NATALIE JOHNSON Staff Writer
THE STARS COME OUT ON VASHON Hollywood doesn’t have anything over Vashon if Sunday afternoon’s parade of the glitterati was any indication. Women in gowns and heels, men in tuxedos and bow ties made the scene, walking down the red carpet while photographers snapped madly. Sunday’s affair marked Vashon’s 16th homegrown celebration of the Academy Awards at the Vashon Theatre, an extravaganza that included awards for several bestdressed islanders. Making the scene (top) were, from left, Emily Burns, Elizabeth Ripley, Elizabeth Nye, John Staczek and Chad Lindberg. Several teens turned out as well, including, from left, Louisa Moody, Adelia Reardon Cronin and Coral Sky. Turn to page 17 for more photos. Leslie Brown/Staff Photos
The former Glacier mining site on Maury Island will one day boast a maintained trail system, a parking lot, picnic areas, viewpoints and interpretive signs, if a plan proposed by King County this month moves forward. After months of planning, the county’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) is ready to present a draft management plan for the 250-acre site, which it purchased in 2010. Officials will discuss the plan and take comments at a public meeting on Vashon next week. “Right now (the site) is somewhat underutilized, but that will change as a park or natural area gets developed,” said John Gerstle, a Maury Island resident who is part of a citizen advisory group that has vetted how Vashon and King County should use the large open space, which
boasts nearly a mile of shoreline, madrone forests and sweeping views of Puget Sound and Mt. Rainier. “I think it will be really treasured, not just now but 50 or 100 years from now,” Gerstle said. The 14-person committee has been meeting monthly since last August and has made a raft of recommendations to the county, most of which were incorporated into the draft management plan that will be presented next week. A final plan will be forwarded to the state Department of Ecology (DOE), which will dictate what kind of soil remediation must happen before work begins at the site. The area is contaminated with lead and arsenic from the historic Tacoma Smelter Plume. “We are all trying to move this forward so we can get to the cleanup portion,” said Connie Blumen, DNRP’s Natural Lands Program Manager who has worked closely with the committee. Under the county’s draft plan, current trails at the site would SEE GLACIER, 19
Posthumous exhibit showcases a legacy of art Acclaimed curator’s show was prepared during her final days By ELIZABETH SHEPHERD Staff Writer
An upcoming exhibition at VALISE has a special significance: It’s the final curatorial effort of Mia McEldowney, a force in the Seattle art scene who made Vashon her home for the past nine years. McEldowney, who was not only an art dealer but also instrumental in founding the artists’ support organization Artist Trust died on Feb. 1 at the age of 62 after a long battle with a rare autoimmune disease. But even as her friends and admirers on Vashon and beyond mourned her passing, they learned that she had been busy in the
months prior to her death preparing one more show to offer them. The exhibit, aptly named “Lessons from the Heart,” will showcase the work of Joe Max Emminger, Julie Paschkis and Terry Turrell, Northwest artists whose work McEldowney championed for years. All three were part of her stable at Mia Gallery, a Seattle venue she owned from 1983 to 1997 that was known nationwide for its allembracing mix of work by folk and “outsider” artists as well as works by other emerging and formally trained, contemporary artists. “This show is very indicative of who she was and is,” said Bill Mitchell, McEldowney’s husband. “Lessons from the Heart” marks the second time in six months that McEldowney curated a show at VALISE, SEE MCELDOWNEY, 12
Michael Jensen Photo
Mia McEldowney in 1990. She fell ill a few years later.