LOCAL DOG WINS AWARD Washingtonian of the Day awarded to island dog Tillie. Page 3
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BEACHCOMBER IIN N BUSINESS B BUSIN U SI SINE ES SS
VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015
Vol. 60, No. 42
SEE P SEE SE PAGES PA A AG G 14-24 1 4 -24
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
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School board begins bond outreach events By ANNELI FOGT Editor
Anneli Fogt / Staff Photo
Anneli Fogt / Staff Photo
Top: Vashon Winery’s Ron Irvine (right) and Monument Farm owner Joe Curiel look over the farm’s grapes Friday as fall sets in and the vineyard’s leaves yellow. Nearly 2,900 pounds of pinot noir grapes were harvested from the vineyard on Oct. 6. Left: Irvine at work with the Monument Farm grapes at his SW 156th Street winery. The grapes are fermenting in tanks and will be pressed this week and transferred into barrels where they will age for two to three years before being sold as 100 percent Vashon-made pinot noir wine.
Island grape harvest breaks records By ANNELI FOGT Editor
Vashon Winery owner Ron Irvine is a man passionate about wine, but ask him about the wine he makes on Vashon from grapes grown on Vashon, and his eyes light up. “It’s very special. I don’t think people really understand what local wine is. A lot of people just think it’s wine grown kind of in the area, but to have something that is completely coming from the island is really rare,” Irvine told The Beachcomber during a tour of island vineyards last week. “It’s about preserving and actively using local goods.” While islanders and tourists alike know that Vashon offers multiple wineries, the island’s vineyards are a better kept secret. The six island vineyards that provide grapes to two of the island’s wineries are run by islanders who have taken on the challenge of growing grapes in one of the most difficult climates, where rain and cold can wreak havoc on grapevines. But the story was quite different this year, as summer was long and full of warm, dry days. As those days subsided and morning fog returned, Irvine and other Vashon wine makers and grape growers celebrated as it became clear that the vineyards had produced a record amount of plump fruit.
The record harvest collected earlier this month from the six vineyards totaled more than 5,000 pounds, helping Irvine and Bill Riley, of Maury Island Winery, produce 100 percent Vashon wines. The highest-producing island vineyard, Monument Farm, provided 2,835 pounds of ripe, red pinot noir grapes to Irvine’s Vashon Winery on Oct. 6. Owned by islanders Joe Curiel and Tony Raugust, the vineyard is nestled just north of the waters of Quartermaster Harbor, off Monument Road, and is 11 years old. “2015 will go down in the record books not only for the warmest summer in the Puget Sound region, but for producing all-time record harvests for Vashon Island grape growers,” Curiel told The Beachcomber. “At Monument Farm Vineyard, the harvest shattered all records both in quantity and quality.” Curiel said that this year’s harvest was the earliest harvest to date, and 22 volunteers picked the nearly 2,900 pounds of pinot noir in one day. Since the grapes were planted in 2004, Curiel and Raugust have worked tirelessly to perfect the grapevines. As Curiel walked through the yellowing vineyard on Friday, he explained how everything from water drainage to the amount of dirt and grass around the vines affects SEE GRAPE HARVEST, 30
Roughly a dozen islanders showed up to the Vashon school board’s first community outreach event Wednesday night aimed at educating the public about the bond for capital facilities improvements scheduled to come up for election in February. Vashon Island School District Superintendent Michael Soltman and architect Kim Goforth led the meeting by walking attendees through each of the five facility improvement project options that are being proposed. Soltman stressed that the board is still “just at the beginning of getting these plans public,” and said that the board is “very interested” in the community’s feedback. “We invite conversation, we want you to deeply
understand this and want to hear your concerns,” Soltman said. Of the 12 attendees, three were staunch track and field supporters and Vashon High School track and field champions: Foss Miller, a national high school title holder for the javelin throw; Todd Pearson, a VHS record holder in the 100-yard dash, and Mark VanDevanter, who currently holds a VHS record for pole vault. Throughout the presentation in the VHS commons, the trio, especially Miller, pressed Soltman and Goforth about the importance of the scheduled maintenance projects at the elementary and middle schools, and stressed how necessary they thought a better track at the high SEE BOND DISCUSSION, 31
VHS HOMECOMING Seniors Chester Pruett and Delaney Anderson were crowned Vashon High School Homecoming King and Queen Friday night during the halftime festivities of the Homecoming football game. The Pirates took on the Bellevue Christian Vikings and went on to lose 23-6. Read the game recap on page 27. See more photos on page 25. Anneli Fogt / Staff Photo