A SWINGING SEASON Pirate baseball team heads to playoffs. Page 14
COMMUNITY | Addiction expert to speak about teen use. [4] NEWS | New assistant principal selected for VHS. [5] COMMENTARY | A vision of [6] Vashon in 10 years.
MUSIC OF THE WORLD Singer-songwriter makes a long trip to Vashon. Page 10
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015
Vol. 60, No. 19
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
PLANT FRENZY
75¢
With docks in question, officials reach out to public By NATALIE MARTIN Staff Writer
Natalie Martin/Staff Photo
On Saturday, shoppers flooded the empty storefront east of Thriftway, which was temporarily transformed into a garage sale-like nursery. Tables were crammed with more than 4,000 plants, everything from tomatoes, basil and roses to more exotic offerings such as an avocado tree. Plants were all contributed by members of the Vashon-Maury Island Garden Club, including Caroline Brinkley, an avid gardener. Brinkley said she spends months starting seeds from her favorite perennials, dividing plants from her garden and growing vegetable starts in her small greenhouse. “I have a sickness,” she joked on Saturday. “I need an intervention or something.” Each springtime, Brinkley brings hundreds of pots to the annual plant sale, where they join other offerings plant club members have been saving and growing throughout the year for the nonprofit’s largest fundraiser. As for Brinkley, this year she brought a variety of vegetables and flowers, including throatwort she special ordered and Mexican tulip poppy, which has a yellow bloom she called stunning. “One of the most fun things for me is turning people on to plants that are new and different,” she said. Funds raised at the sale go toward the club’s community causes, including programs at Chautauqua Elementary and scholarships for graduating high school seniors.
Officials are reaching out to the public to help determine the fate of the Tramp Harbor dock as well as the marina at Dockton Park. The Vashon Park District and King County are each faced with repairing or replacing their popular public docks. Both of the aging creosote piers are in need of repair, and both will eventually have to be upgraded to meet state environmental codes. Last week, the county’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) put out an online survey to attempt to gather information about how and how often the docks are used. The county and the Vashon Park District, which worked together to create the survey, also hope to gauge public sentiment around keeping the two piers open as well as using tax dollars to repair them. The survey will be open until June 5. The county will also hold a public meeting, where there will be additional opportunity to comment, sometime after that. “The more information we have, the better,” said Kevin Brown, who heads the parks division of DNRP. “The park district shares that sentiment. We don’t want to make decisions without hearing from the people using these facilities.” While the county owns the marina and boat ramp at Dockton Park, the park district manages the 80-year-old fishing pier at Tramp Harbor. Both Brown and Park District Director Elaine Ott said they hope the survey data will help them determine SEE DOCKS, 13
As more recycle, county pilots programs to take green waste and more Station will soon accept yard and food waste By SUSAN RIEMER Staff Writer
Nearly one year after King County Solid Waste changed recycling procedures at the Vashon transfer station and expanded its list of accepted materials, the island has decreased its trash and increased its recyclables, while further earth-friendly changes are planned. Beginning last June, islanders were able to begin combining the items they took to recycle at the station, a move that put Vashon in line with the rest of the county, according to Eric Johnson, a program manager at the county’s Recycling and Environmental Services divi-
sion. This step encouraged islanders to recycle more, he said, and set the stage for the next improvement: two compactors for recyclables. Slated to be put in place this July, the compactors will be able to take all the items that can be recycled now, Johnson said, and will provide financial benefits for the county and environmental benefits overall. The current recycling containers, which are hauled to Republic Services in Seattle for processing twice a day, are 25 feet long and hold 1.5 to 2 tons of material. The compacting containers, however, will be 40 yards long and able to hold 6 to 7 tons and greatly reduce the number of trips to the sorting facility. “It will save money and reduce our carbon footprint,” Johnson said. SEE RECYCLING, 19
Susan Riemer/Staff Photo
New compactors will mean fewer trips for trucks that take recycling off-island.