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CRIME | Bellevue Police recover stolen property, bust prolific burglar who confesses to more than 100 crimes [2]
Sports | Talented senior, dynamic new coach have Newport tennis primed for another 4A FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013 state tournament run [16]
The ultimate bucket list
Display asks, ‘What do you want to do before you die?’ BY KEEGAN PROSSER BELLEVUE REPORTER
Bellevue is changing. We see it in the growing population, the new high-rises in downtown, the worsening traffic. But that doesn’t mean that community has to be lost. At least that’s what Bellevue resident Patty Gordon believes. That’s why Gordon decided to bring the “Before I Die” public art installation to downtown Bellevue. The “Before I Die” wall is an interactive public art project which invites people to share their hopes and dreams in public space. The wall, constructed by Gordon and her husband, Paul, is at the corner of Main Street and Bellevue Way. The concept behind the wall came about in 2008 when New Orleans-based artist and urban planner Candy Chang painted an abandoned building in her neighborhood with chalkboard paint and stenciled it with a grid of the sentence “Before I die I want to ______.” Within days the wall was filled with her neighbors’ aspirations. Since then, more than 100 “Before I Die” walls have been created in more than 10 languages, in more than 30 countries. Gordon said she started thinking about bringing the wall to Bellevue after stumbling across Chang’s story a year ago. “I’m really interested in public art,” Gordon said. “And I’m passionate about trying to build community.” At the time, Gordon’s two kids were attending Bellevue High School and she was frequenting the Bellevue Way corridor. She decided the location near the now-defunct KFC would be the perfect location.
Paul and Patty Gordon show the ‘Before I Die’ wall they created at Bellevue Way and Main Street. Similar walls have been put in in Kazakhstan, Portugal, Japan, Denmark, Australia, Argentina, and South Africa. KEEGAN PROSSER, Bellevue Reporter “I thought, wouldn’t it be nice to get that building looking cool during development?” Gordon said. She said the location’s proximity to businesses in the downtown area, as well as it’s proximity to the school, ensures there will be a variety of people walking by the wall on a daily basis. Her prediction seems accurate, as Bellevue’s wall has already been filled – twice. In addition to getting approval to use the building from the landowners – one of which happened to be an old fraternity brother of her husband – she also had to get the OK from the city. “The city was super supportive in having it there,” Gordon said, explaining that she met with Mary Pat Byrne, arts specialist for the city.
Gordon plans to stop by the wall once or twice a week to take photos of the entries and wipe it clean so more people can share their thoughts. Photos will be posted to the “Bellevue’s Before I Die Wall” Facebook page as well as on Chang’s website (BeforIDie.cc/ bellevue). Ultimately, Gordon hopes Bellevue’s “Before I Die” wall will encourage a better sense of community, and help Bellevue residents feel more connected with their neighbors. “We’ve kind of lost the whole front porch idea of talking with your neighbors,” Gordon said. “This is kind of my stab at creating a front porch.” Keegan Prosser: 425-453-4602 kprosser@bellevuereporter.com
Bellevue girl to be honored for life-saving donations Rachel Beckwith, a 9-yearold girl from Bellevue, will be honored for her gifts of organ donation during a Donate Life Month ceremony April 15 at the Washington State Capitol Building in Olympia.
She will be one of six honored at the 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. event that will include Gov. Jay Inslee. In May of 2011, Rachel asked that in lieu of birthday gifts that year that her family and friends
help raise money for a charity to bring clean drinking water to African villages. When her birthday came around in June she had just narrowly missed her goal of raising $300. She died one month later,
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but then charitable donations on her webpage skyrocketed, raising over $1 million for the non-profit charity: water. She also was able to save three lives by donating both of her kidneys and her liver.
Education | Robotics students heading to St. Louis for national championships [10]
Forum to show how to keep your kids safe To help parents answer the monumental question – “How do I keep my kids safe?” – the city of Bellevue will host a forum April 18 with experts including the Bellevue School District superintendent, a police officer assigned to schools and a mental health counselor. At the forum, people will get practical tips to minimize risks, and be able to ask questions about specific concerns they have. The forum will encourage dialogue, help the public gain an understanding of signs of distress in youth and introduce prevention techniques and intervention services that create a web of support for Bellevue youth. “Life is so precious. Yet in the past couple of years, we’ve been reminded time and again by suicides or acts of violence that not every young person feels this way,” said Patti Skelton-McGougan, the executive director of Youth Eastside Services, who will be a moderator at the “Keeping Kids Safe in Our Community” forum, 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, at Bellevue College’s Carlson Theater. The forum will include a panel of experts from the local mental health, education, and law enforcement. In addition to Skelton-McGougan, Bellevue Police Chief Linda Pillo will moderate. The panelists are: Megan Kennedy, Mental Health Counselor, School Outreach, Youth Eastside Services Danny Hanson, Violence Prevention Coordinator, Youth Eastside Services Lt. Joe Nault, Supervisor, School Services Unit, Bellevue Police Department Dr. Tim Mills, Superintendent, Bellevue Public Schools Michelle Proulx, Bellevue School District, K-12 Counseling Curriculum Developer overseeing bullying prevention, Counseling and Social Emotional Learning Programs Ilse Braun, Social Worker, Children’s Hospital For more information or to submit questions for the panel, contact neighborhoodoutreach@bellevuewa.gov or Julie Ellenhorn at 425-452-5372.