Look inside for 2015 Island Child Your Guide for Summer Fun camps • classes • child care & preschools
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015
Vol. 60, No. 15
www.vashonbeachcomber.com b h b
75¢
Mukai activists win in court, secure historic farmhouse Ruling ends legal battle, though other side could appeal By NATALIE MARTIN Staff Writer
The local activists seeking to take possession of the Mukai Farm and Garden won in court earlier this month, when a judge ruled that they legally control the historic property. “That’s the phrase we’ve been waiting for,” said Helen Meeker, a Friends of Mukai board member who said she was “euphoric” when she learned of the decision. King County Superior Court Judge Monica Benton ruled on April 2 that the group of islanders did legally orchestrate their 2012 takeover of Island Landmarks, the nonprofit that owns the Mukai property. The decision ends a two-year legal battle and leaves former Island Landmarks president and Texas resident Mary Matthews — who has been
highly criticized during her time at the helm of the nonprofit — no longer affiliated with the organization or the property. “It’s a big win,” said Friends of Mukai President Lynn Greiner, who is also an attorney for the group. Glenda Pearson, another board member, was pleased as well but struck a more cautious tone, as it is possible Matthews and other former board members named in the lawsuit could appeal the decision. “We’ve been kind of battered for years,” Pearson said. “I’m almost afraid to believe it.” Still, the Friends of Mukai say they are looking forward and already making plans for restoring and opening the property, where the Japanese-American Mukai family once kept a strawberry farm and traditional Japanese garden. Last week board members were working to get keys to the farmhouse and planning to meet with historic preservationists and government officials about their next steps. SEE MUKAI, 12
Natalie Martin/Staff Photo
The Friends of Mukai are already making plans to restore the Mukai farmhouse just outside Vashon town.
For the fish
Foundation aims to fill a widening gap at the care center
Islanders work to make car washes safe for local creek
By SUSAN RIEMER Sraff Writer
ranks of those communities, thanks to an effort that included members of
One year after the Vashon Community Care Foundation was created to raise funds for the island’s skilled nursing and assisted living facility, a new executive director is at the foundation’s helm, and a fundraising effort to raise at least $500,000 is under way. On March 31, Verna Everitt replaced Linda Milovsoroff, who retired after almost nine years with the center and foundation. Everitt, who many islanders know from her board work with the Vashon Maury Island Heritage Association and her position at Vashon Allied Arts, is completing a master’s degree in nonprofit leadership at Seattle University. She returned to school, believing she would work in the arts world, but now, she said, she is happily immersed in her new position and the work and mission of VCC, which she summed up succinctly. “If you run out of money, we do not run out on you,” she said. “I can get behind that 100 percent.” Everitt spent her early childhood on Vashon and then
SEE CAR WASHES, 20
SEE CARE CENTER, 19
By SUSAN RIEMER Staff Writer
Drivers who waited in line for Vashon rowers to clean the grime off their vehicles on Sunday may not have realized the event marked what many expect will become an island norm: fish-friendly car washes. Washing cars by hand is a wellknown source of pollution, sending soap, automotive fluids, heavy metals and road dirt into local bodies of water. For years, communities around the country have encouraged groups raising funds with car washes to take an environmentally friendly approach, either by selling coupons for profes-
Susan Riemer/Staff Photo
At a car wash on Sunday, the junior crew directed runoff away from a storm drain that feeds into Shinglemill Creek. sional car washes or by using a special kit that catches and diverts the water before it flows down the nearest storm drain. Now, Vashon has joined the