TINY BREWERY GROWS Cliff’s Beer gains in popularity. Page 5
PIRATE SOCCER STARTS VHS girls take to the pitch. Page 12
NEWS | Vashon Athletic Club has new owner. [3] COMMENTARY | Eat super foods for the best health. [6] ARTS | Vashon Theatre will [8] host LGBT film festival.
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 Vol. 60, No. 37
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
EVENTS RAISE NEARLY $40,000 FOR ISLAND CAUSES
Report reveals groundwater contaminants at former K2 site Community continues to brainstorm ideas for building By ANNELI FOGT
Staff Writer
Last weekend throngs of people came to the island for events that rate second only to the Strawberry Festival for drawing an off-island crowd. The Vashon Sheepdog Classic, held Thursday through Sunday, brought more than 8,000 people, according to event organizer Maggi McClure. “It was a huge success for sure,” she said. On Monday, McClure said she did not yet have complete figures regarding how much Kim Farrell Photo, top; Cindy Koch Photo, middle and David Weller Photo, bottom the event raised for education, youth and health programs, but knew it was more than $20,000. Additionally, through its Smart Dog Sponsorship Program, Partners in Education (PIE) raised more than $7,000 in connection to the trials, according to PIE President Jenna Riggs. While crowds relaxed on the hillside watching the sheep and the dogs, bicyclists in Vashon’s Passport to Pain took to the island’s roads to participate in the toughest bike ride in the region, which is also a fundraiser for the Vashon Island Rowing Club. Nearly 300 riders, ages 13 to 73, rode the three courses, according to event director Allison Reid, who noted the financial picture was not clear as of Monday, but she was certain proceeds had surpassed last year’s $11,000 mark. Bruce Morser, the founder and creative mastermind behind the event, said this year’s ride was the best one yet. “It is coming of age, and that is a wonderful feeling,” he said.
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Contaminants do exist in the groundwater underneath K2’s former factory on Vashon Highway, a report submitted to the state Department of Ecology (DOE) last week shows, but the contaminants “appear to be within” the property’s boundaries and pose no risk to humans or other “terrestrial organisms.” The environmental testing began earlier this year and was conducted by environmental consulting company Environmental Resources Management (ERM). The report outlining the findings comes six months after it was reported that the DOE approved K2’s plan to conduct further environmental testing at the former factory that is listed as contaminated by the state. K2 entered into the DOE’s voluntary cleanup program in May 2014 after local political action group the Backbone Campaign raised concerns about the environmental state of the building. Initial environmental testing run at the site after the removal of a leaking diesel tank in 2008 was reportedly deemed incomplete.
According to the report published on the DOE’s website as a site characterization report, the organic compound trichloroethane was found in groundwater under the facility. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, the compound can cause serious health problems affecting the liver, circulatory system and nervous system if consumed in high levels. Hydrocarbons from petroleum and oil were detected in “less than approximately 10 cubic yards” of soil at the site, the report states. However, the results of the ERM study show that exposure of people or animals to the above contaminants at the property “is not a regulatory concern under current conditions.” K2 officials told The Beachcomber in a statement from their public relations firm on Thursday that they “intend to take appropriate actions to mitigate any environmental issues at the site,” but declined to offer further comment about their plans for the future of the building. “(Cleaning up) is our only priority right now as stewards of the property on Vashon Island,” K2 officials said in the statement the PR firm issued. “Once the necessary work is completed, we can contemplate our next steps. For the moment we are completely focused on addressing the SEE K2, 19
Sheriff’s office asks public for help solving racial harassment incident By SUSAN RIEMER Staff Writer
In the midst of public concern about a possibly racially-motivated incident that occurred last month, the sheriff’s office continues to ask that the public come forward with any information, while the victim says he would like the attention surrounding the incident to die down. As previously reported in The Beachcomber, the police report indicates that an African-American man was walking home after work through downtown Vashon at about 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 23, when a vehicle with four occupants swerved in an alleged attempt to hit him in the 9700 block
of Bank Road. It drove off, but returned a short time later, and one of the passengers reportedly swung a baseball bat at the victim. The victim returned to work, called 911 and waited outside for assistance. However, deputies were busy with another call, the report states, and the man tried to walk home, only to have the vehicle return with its lights off while he was still in the Thriftway parking lot. In the report, the victim said he heard the men yell a racial slur followed by two gunshots. Since the Aug. 23 incident, several island residents have expressed concern about SEE INVESTIGATION, 18