COMMUNITY | December Citizen of the Month: Dave Larson [6]
VOL. 17, NO. 52
DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
OPINION | Magruder: Be jolly, safe and watch out for Uncle Arnold [4] Roegner: The humorous side of government [4] POLICE | Soccer player punches referee, flees from field [8] HOLIDAYS | Mirror announces kids holiday contest winners [10]
SPORTS | Gators come up short as SENIOR | Soundpath Health sponsors ‘Socks for Seniors’ [14] FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2015 | 75¢ Rams pull away late [16]
Galland delivers hope as Santa Claus
300 struggling families get gift of Christmas
BY ANDREW FICKES For the Mirror
For 39 years, Jerry Galland has enjoyed a successful career at Boeing as part of the aerospace company’s facilities and support services group. But for the past five years, Galland has found his true calling as Santa Claus — making an appearance at dozens of Christmas events and volunteering for Jerry Galland nonprofits like the Forgotten Children Fund. “I don’t like to shave,” Galland said. “By not shaving, I grow something in the form of a beard. About five to six years ago, I started letting it grow out near Christmas time and I liked being called Santa Claus.” Galland started out performing as Santa Claus at private parties. And then three years ago, he met a professional Santa and learned how there were a whole world of Santas out there. “I was asked to be part of a club. I learned there was a Santa College,” Galland said, adding that he’s attended it twice. “I was afraid of being paid to be Santa. I was afraid I wouldn’t be accepted as Santa Claus. Over several months, I was immersed with other Santas. And I got my confidence.” Galland admits that, at first, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to handle a situation where a child would ask him to fulfill an impossible request. How [ more SANTA, page 6 ]
BY CARRIE RODRIGUEZ editor@fedwaymirror.com
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Above, 16-year-old Claire Schrock, a Federal Way Police Department family volunteer, helps a girl make arts and crafts while the girl’s parents select donated Christmas gifts in a separate area on Saturday at Lakota Middle School. Left, Veronica Bucio and her five children get their photos taken with Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus during the event, which served 300 of Federal Way Public Schools’ neediest families. PHOTOS BY CARRIE RODRIGUEZ, the Mirror
ingle mother-of-five Veronica Bucio tried not to cry in front of her children when she told them they weren’t going to have any Christmas presents a few years ago. Her oldest son, who attended Rainier View Elementary at the time, took the news the hardest. “It was hard for me and I still remember his face because he was just crying and I tried to not cry in front of him,” recalled Bucio, who speaks English as a second language and worked as a cook at a retirement home in Federal Way at the time. “Sometimes I have to not show my feelings to them even though I can’t pay it.” Bucio said she struggled to survive, trying to cover one expense with another every month. “As a single mom, I tried to explain to him we don’t have anything to eat either, but we have a house,” said Bucio, who is now a stay-at-home mom and cares for her 3-year-old. “It’s heartbreaking because, like any mom, my son wants new shoes and I can’t afford it, so family members give me some.” When her son went to school the next day after his mother relayed the bad Christmas news, his teacher noticed he was crying and asked him what was wrong. [ more GIFT, page 3 ]
Lake Grove Elementary teaches healthy eating with Kids Cook with Heart BY RAECHEL DAWSON rdawson@fedwaymirror.com
French fries are the most commonly eaten vegetable by the majority of children, according to the American Heart Association. It’s a habit that can lead to childhood obesity. To change that here in Federal Way, the association, with the help of Group Health, launched a six-week cooking program, Kids Cook with Heart, at Lake Grove Elementary. More than 35 students,
teachers and cooking instructor Lauri Larson cooked their last meal with the program on Tuesday – turkey chili. “They are understanding that they are empowered once they get home to make their own foods,” Larson said. “They have been going home and sharing with their family not only what they learned, but when they come back, they have been telling me what they implemented from the week before.” Dana Henry, the school’s health and P.E. teacher of 20 years, said she saw the idea for the program on an American Heart Associa-
tion newsletter and how it had been done in Seattle. The program, which is typically designed for middle school students, was tailored for fourth and fifth graders. Before Henry knew it, there were 50 applicants for what was a goal of 25 spots. They ended up filling 37 spots and received volunteer help from teachers at the school. While physical health is taught in school, Henry knew there was a need for a focus on nutrition and food. The program teaches children to cook at home instead of relying on fast food or unhealthy snacks. “A lot of kids struggle
with income,” Henry said. “One-hundred percent of our kids are free lunch and breakfast … We have high BMIs here, body mass index, and the other end of the equation is healthy eating.” Many of Henry’s students also get home before their parents and make dinner for their siblings or themselves. For the six week program, on Tuesdays after school, children poured into a kitchen-style room with tables set up. They put on aprons, gloves, divided into groups and wait for instructions. Each table had the ingredients and recipe
and each student was designated a job. “I think it really tells you what ability you have to cook because I really didn’t think I was good at cooking at first but now I feel brave enough to start cooking with my mom and dad,” said student Leiseo Tories, adding that he hopes to cook his favorite meal of the class – chicken – with his family. His most challenging dish was cooking pancakes because it was hard to separate them. Isabel Tolber, a fourth grader, said the class has been “really cool” and she’s enjoyed showing her mom
and sister everything she’s learned. Her challenge has been “trying to get it all right” with ensuring ingredients are done in order. “[Larson] always says it’s always healthier to make it by yourself instead of buying it from the store,” Isabel said, adding that Larson is “awesome, great and really good” at teaching the recipes. “She always tells us why and she tells us different stuff about the ingredients of what we’re using and why it’s healthy for you.” Fifth-grader Devi Fitzgerald understands that learning how to cook can allow students, such as [ more COOK, page 2 ]