CONGRATULATIONS! Vashon 2014 Graduates
SSEE EE THE THE SSPECIAL PECIAL PULL-OUT SECTION SECTION PULL-OUT HONORING HONORING VASHON’S VASHON’S 22104 104 GRADUATES GRADUATES 2014 PAGES PAGES 13–24 13–24
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2014
Vol. 59, No. 24
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
An unexpected journey
Illness sets a family on the road together By JULI GOETZ MORSER Staff Writer
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sland musician Cami Lundeen and her husband Erik are preparing for a journey of a lifetime. They’ve sold all their worldly goods, bought a small pop-up trailer and this weekend will hit the highway with their four young children to launch Cami’s nationwide tour.
Sitting at a narrow Formica table under the canvas roof of her new home, Cami talked last week about a perfect storm of events that led to this radical decision. Her voice is husky, reminiscent of pop singer Adele, and her green eyes sparkled beneath a fringe of dark bangs streaked with purple. “Now that all this has come to pass, I need to wear the T-shirt that says ‘Be the difference you want to see,’” she said with a laugh.“ Indeed, Cami is doing more than walking her talk. She is singing her way out of a nightmare that began in 2010, shortly after the birth of her fourth child. Fatigued and plagued with a chronic mal-
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PlaySpace will lose $100,000 under new plan for grant VARSA rethinks how it addresses teen substance use
By NATALIE MARTIN Staff Writer
Courtesy Photo
Cami Lundeen, a local musician, will take her husband and four children on a national tour in the family’s small pop-up trailer. aise, Cami was admitted to the hospital and learned she has a rare, incurable and progressive liver disease. A mother with four small children, Cami had not yet seen her 30th birthday.
Fast-forward to early this year when the Lundeen’s perfect storm began to build. Erik lost his job with Bethel Church, and with that went their home, also owned by Bethel. Two
STARTING SCHOOL ON A POSITIVE NOTE As young students funneled into Chautauqua Elementary School last Thursday, their ears were greeted by school district staff who briefly left their classrooms and offices that morning to pick up guitars, banjos and even a mandolin. The ad-hoc faculty band has been playing upbeat jams on Thursday mornings for a few years, and young students, including Roots Dehaven, pictured at right, now frequently gather outside the front doors of the school to listen, tap their toes and for the youngest among them, sometimes dance a bit before heading to class. The band currently includes, from left, paraeducator Cliff Simpson, P.E. teacher Rochelle Munger, technology specialist Andy James and music teacher Samantha Hirman. Munger said she started the tradition in hopes of lifting students’ spirits partway through the school week and also getting students to join the band. That morning the staff was joined by one student on guitar and three on drums, and a number of other students, including a group of string players, have played throughout the year as well. “There’s something to be said for starting people’s day on a positive note,” Munger said. Natalie Martin/Staff Photo
deaths in the family followed. Cami traveled out of state for the funerals and returned with a question that would change SEE FAMILY, 25
Changes in how a community group spends its state-funded grant will result in about $100,000 in cuts to programs at Vashon Youth & Family Services (VYFS), according to the social service agency. VYFS announced late last month that the Vashon Alliance to Reduce Substance Abuse (VARSA), a volunteer group that has been working to reassess how it spends $145,000 in annual funds to tackle teen substance abuse, has chosen to redirect about $100,000 that had funded programs at the VYFS PlaySpace. The funding allowed the center to offer parenting classes, parent coaching, support groups and a comprehensive support program for the highest-risk youth on the island. The nonprofit expects VARSA will continue to designate as much as $35,000 for PlaySpace programs. “Thirty-five thousand dollars is a generous grant, but it’s a dramatic change for the agency,” said VYFS executive director Kathleen Johnson, who expects PlaySpace cuts will begin next month. Johnson said she is disappointed to see the SEE PLAYSPACE, 29