HIP-HOP ON STAGE Seattle band will perform alongside local youth. Page 11
NEWS | Heritage association pulls offer on parsonage. [3] COMMENTARY | Rethinking Vashon’s summer tourism. [6] COMMUNITY | Local author will speak on aging. [5]
NEW FARE AT SOUND FOOD Local chef opens a new restaurant. Page 15
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2014
Vol. 59, No. 22
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
75¢
Islander with stage four cancer will walk a famous trek in Spain
Pool’s future still unclear as agencies disagree
By NATALIE MARTIN
By SUSAN RIEMER
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Last week, islander Phil Volker chatted and laughed with a visitor as he walked a wellworn trail at his home on Wax Orchard Road. With a hiking pole in each hand, the 66-yearold navigated pastures, the forest and hills with a pace that one wouldn’t expect from a man undergoing chemotherapy. Earlier this month, Volker completed 909 laps on the trail, effectively walking the distance of El Camino de Santiago, a famous Christian pilgrimage in Spain. If his doctors give the final approval, this summer Volker will go from backyard pilgrim to actual pilgrim when he flies to Spain to set off on the popular trek. “I wanted to experience it … but if I don’t get to go, I’m going to be happy with what I got here,” Volker said. “It’s more than I thought I could do.” Volker’s journey began three years ago when he was diagnosed with colon cancer, something he now calls the first “C” in his life.
At the Vashon Pool, everything is set for the summer season — the water’s pH is perfect; the boiler is running well, and the staff is ready to start work. Just weeks away from opening day, however, it is still not clear when and if the pool will open this summer, as officials at the school and park districts are continuing to work toward an agreement that will address the pool’s drainage needs. “There has been a lot of energy spent getting this ready,” Scott Bonney, the pool’s manager, said last week. “We are very hopeful there will be an agreement.” Over the course of the spring, the two districts have disagreed on who is legally responsible for drainage problems created at the pool during construction of the new high school last fall, and so far they have not been able to agree on a financial plan to pay for a fix. Last week the school board approved a proposal that would require the park district to pay half of the expected $40,000 for a potential solution approved by the Department of Ecology. The school’s plan also calls for the park district to assume all the financial responsibility for testing and other measures that are part of the fix and for the expenses related to hauling waste water from the pool — a process park district officials say was necessary to prepare the pool for the swimming season. Members of the park board were expected to meet Tuesday — after The Beachcomber’s press deadline — to discuss the issue. Scheduled for that day were a conversation with its insurance company on legal matters, an executive session and the board’s regularly scheduled public meeting. Additional meetings for both boards are possible later in the week, depending on Tuesday’s outcome. Some of those close to the situation say they hope that by the end of the week, a proposal will emerge that the two agencies will be to agree on and that will allow work to move ahead so the
Backyard pilgrim plans trip of a lifetime
Natalie Martin Photo
Phil Volker has walked about 500 miles, the length of El Camino de Santiago, on a trail on his property. The diagnosis led him to the second “C,” the Catholic church, or more specifically the St. John Vianney church. At the local parish, Volker, a longtime islander who owns a construction com-
pany and is a veteran involved with the American Legion, says he’s found meaning, support and friendship as he battles cancer. “Having a life-threatening obstacle, it straightens your pri-
orities out,” he said. Though El Camino de Santiago is popular in the Catholic church, it was actually through a movie SEE TRIP, 19
REMEMBERING THE FALLEN At Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony at the Vashon Cemetery, a large group of islanders gathered to honor and remember military men and women who lost their lives serving the country. Chris Gaynor, a longtime member of the American Legion, said Monday’s event was one of the nicest ceremonies he has attended on Vashon. “The sun was shining; we had a good crowd in the right spirit, and Phil Volker (the American Legion commander) did a great job of including everybody,” he said. The weekend before the ceremony, the Boy Scouts, the American Legion and Lisa Devereux of the cemetery put a flag on every veteran’s grave, totaling some 500 flags. “This is an opportunity to recognize the fact that out of such a small population, we have an unusually large history of military service and sacrifice by the members of the Vashon community going back to World War I,” Gaynor said. Chris Gaynor Photo
SEE POOL, 13