Bonney Lake and Sumner Courier-Herald, September 25, 2013

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SEE INSIDE: Police Blotter | Page 4 . . . . Carter’s Community | Page 6 . . . . Marianne Binetti | Page 12

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U 2013 A E T A BEST OF THE PL Your hometown newspaper

Results on Pages 17-22 Wednesday, September 25, 2013 | 75 cents

What’s Inside

Views .................................Page 6 Pets.... ...............................Page 9 Sports ................................Page 14 Best of................................Page 17 Classified...........................Page 24

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Celebrating the Best of the Plateau By Dennis Box

O

Editor

nce again The CourierHerald celebrates the Best of the Plateau. The editorial staff has written about spots to discover the history of the area, enjoy the out-

doors, find hikes for the family and watch birds of prey. Business are also featured in the Best of the Plateau contest. Folks voted for their favorite Asian food, bakery, sweets, auto repair

shop, hair salons and many more. It is a celebration and recognition of businesses and services for the region. The staff has been working on this edition for months.

The contest results begin on page 16. Most of the hard work in this edition of the Best of the Plateau came from The Courier-Herald sales staff, Martha Boston and Dottie Bergstresser, and creative artist Kathy McCauley and Brandy Pickering.

Japanese-American WW II internment: Ben Kodama’s story

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Sports...

At 7 years old Ben Kodama and his family were forced to leave their home and business and placed in government camps

Bonney Lake boys and girls golf results Page 14

By Theresa De Lay

Weather

Staff Writer

The forecast for today, Wednesday, calls for showers in the morning and partly sunny skies in the afternoon with highs to 60 and overnight lows to 38. Thursday forecast is mostly sunny with highs to 64 and lows to 51. Chance of rain returns Friday and continues through the weekend

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News ..................................ext. 3 Classifieds...........................ext.1 Retail Ads .........................ext. 4 Circulation ........................ext. 2

A Beautful Day

Victoria Aspen, a senior at Bonney Lake High worked near the senior center during Beautify Bonney Lake Saturday. Lower left, Megan Bergman and her sister Alexis help their mother Crystal. Austin Goodnight and his brother Gavin fill a bag with leaves outside the post office. Photo by Dennis Box

It was the spring of 1942 and Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese government just a few months earlier. As a result, Americans of Japanese descent were uprooted and forced by the American government to live in internment camps. Ben Kodama was 7 years old when his family was notified they would be required to board a train for relocation. The Kodamas had no choice but to leave their home and business. Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Feb. 19, 1942, mandated anyone with at least one-eighth Japanese blood be evacuated from the Pacific coast and placed in a government institution. The greenhouses owned by his father were leased to another family and together, they stepped on the train for a destination unknown. They were transported from one camp to another, imprisoned in jam-packed, sub-par facilities. Their life became a chaotic blur with little structure and no privacy. The housing barracks allotted one room for seven people and meals were served in a community mess hall. Some of the camps allowed prisoners to leave for specified amounts of time, but others did not. In 1945, the Kodamas were finally released but returned home to a culture of staggering racism and bigotry. Every day activities such as grocery shopping became a source of anxiety and disappointment.

See INTERNMENT, Page 8

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