By Kim Kalliber and Jeannie Briones, Tulalip News Staff
Eighteen year-old Tulalip tribal member Braulio Ramos took an unexpected journey into self-discovery during his senior year at high school. What did he learn? That he’s pretty darn good at public speaking, and reciting poetry.
With no real interest in learning poetry, Braulio, a student at the Bio Academy at Maryville’s Getchell High School campus, joined the Poetry Out Loud nationwide recital contest. His natural charisma, topped with mad memorization skills, won him first place in the high school level competition in December 2012.
That win landed him in Burlington, Washington where he took part in the regional poetry recital competition on January 30th.
Over 50 audience members, including four judges, filled the Burlington Library to watch 13 contestants from high schools around the northwest, do their thing. Each contestant had to recite two poems of their choosing from the Poetry Out Loud pre-approved list of poetry. Their performance is judged on physical presence, voice articulation, dramatic appropriateness, level of difficulty, evidence of understanding, and overall performance.
Braulio spent hours rehearsing lines to ‘Bilingual/Bilingue’ by Rhina P. Espaillat and ‘Jabberwocky’ by Lewis Carroll.
“The first one [I read], I was kind of scared, for the second one I was more confident and playful,” said Braulio.
Though Braulio did not place in the regional competition, he’s confident that he put on a good performance.
Numerous audience members thanked Braulio for his performance, praising his strong voice, and the originality and flare that he lent to his poems.
Sound Publishing, Inc. announced today that it has signed an agreement with the Washington Post Company to acquire the Everett Daily Herald, a 46,000 circulation daily and Sunday newspaper and its other print and online products. The transaction is expected to close in early March.
The Herald has been owned by the Washington Post Company (WPO:NYSE) for 35 years and is a leading provider of local news and information for the Snohomish County area.
“We are thrilled to have The Daily Herald join our growing family of newspapers,” said Gloria Fletcher, President of Sound Publishing. “The Herald is a very well respected newspaper and it is a great fit with our print and digital products serving the greater Seattle area.”
Sound Publishing is the largest community media organization in Washington, with 39 newspaper and digital titles, including The Arlington Times and The Marysville Globe, with a combined circulation of over 730,000. Sound is a subsidiary of Black Press, Ltd. Black Press publishes more than 170 newspapers and other publications in British Columbia, Alberta and Washington, as well as the Honolulu (Hawaii) Star-Advertiser and the Akron (Ohio) Beacon-Journal daily newspapers.
Marysville Pilchuck High School made a great showing at the District Wrestling Tournament this past weekend. The tournament was held at Stanwood High School on Friday and Saturday and is sending 10 wrestlers on to districts.
There were two first place winners, Ishmael Perez in the 195lb. weight class and Drew Hatch in the 160lb. weight class. Two second place winners, with Killian Page at 145lbs and Ryan Daurie at 126lbs. Jacob Green 120lbs, Iggy Gabov 220lbs, and Jory Cooper 285lbs all placed 3rd and Johnathon Neuman 106 lbs took 4th. Jake Merrick 182lbs and Sam Foss 106lbs advance as alternates. Tony Hatch was also honored at this event with the Assistant Coach of the Year award.
Ishmael Perez, a senior this year, said, “I am really pumped to go on to regionals, and really excited about taking first. I worked really hard in High school and I am glad the work paid off. This is my last chance so I really hope I make it to state. “ Ishmael pinned his opponent from Stanwood in the second round.
Drew Hatch also took first and dominated his opponent Josh Crebbin from Oak Harbor, pinning him in the second round. “I was really excited and it was a great feeling after pinning Josh in the finals. I guess it was especially cool because my Dad got that award for all of his hard work with the team,” said Drew.
Tony Hatch thinks his son’s win is much more exciting than the award, but is still incredibly honored.
When asked Tony to share his feelings about the nomination and the award Tony had this to say, “Being selected Wesco North 3A Assistant Coach of the year is very humbling. I just believe that this sport teaches kids very important life lessons, and that is why I have pushed my kids, nephews and other Tulalip kids to stay with it. I have always tried to coach kids that being a classy champion is so much better than an arrogant champion, and that an athlete’s character is being judged at all times. Even if we lose, we have to learn to lose like champions, but the next time we meet, the outcome will be different.”
“These kinds of teachings and philosophies have brought the kids that we coach to a whole different level,” continued Tony. “I am glad the other coaches have noticed the job that we have done with our athletes. I was surprised to see that my name had been nominated for Assistant Coach of the Year, but to see that the Wesco Coaches voted me Wesco North Coach of the Year was pretty cool. I am honored and kind of humbled that they think of me like this.”
Marysville Pilchuck High School has the honor of hosting the 3A Wesco Regionals this Saturday February 9th. They hope to send all 10 of their wrestlers on to the WIAA Mat Classic State Championship at the Tacoma Dome February 15th and 16th. They had three state placers last year and hope to at least double that figure.
MARYSVILLE — Marysville Parks and Recreation is seeking musical talent and will be booking soon for the annual “Sounds of Summer” Concert Series, which is set to take place this year over the course of five Thursdays, from mid-July to mid-August.
Interested individual musicians or bands should call 360-363-8450 for details on how to submit their information for consideration in this series.
TULALIP — If you can volunteer to check in or cheer on walkers, or pass out food, you can help people living with multiple sclerosis on Saturday, April 13, when the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater Northwest Chapter, conducts its annual Walk MS in Snohomish County.
The Chapter is looking for volunteers — individuals and groups alike — for the event, which begins at 9 a.m. at the Tulalip Amphitheatre, located at 10400 Quil Ceda Blvd. in Tulalip.
Funds raised by this year’s Walk MS will support direct services for the more than 12,000 people living with MS — as well as their families — in Alaska, Montana, and Western and Central Washington. Proceeds also fund national MS research, to find new treatments and a cure for this chronic disease of the central nervous system.
“Volunteers are the backbone of this event,” Chapter President Patty Shepherd-Barnes said. “People can help with planning weeks before the Walk, as well as by setting up during the weekend, registering walkers, monitoring the route, and cleaning up or cheering on walkers. There is a place for everyone’s time and talents.”
For more information or to volunteer for Walk MS 2013, contact Volunteer Coordinator Cara Chamberlin of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater Northwest Chapter, by phone at 800-344-4867 — press 2, then dial 40205 — or via email at cara.chamberlin@nmss.org. You can also log onto www.walkMSnorthwest.org.
Kayla Dowd, 16, a junior at the International School of Communications at Marysville Getchell High School, is the volunteer public relations organizer for the upcoming Marysville-Tulalip Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. The event will be held the last weekend of June. Photo: Genna Martin, The Herald
Marysville student is organizing fundraising event for her community
MARYSVILLE — Raising money for the American Cancer Society is a major focus of volunteer efforts in Snohomish County. During May, June and July, there are 10 Relay For Life fundraisers scheduled.
Marysville Getchell High School junior Kayla Dowd is one of the hundreds of people planning the Marysville-Tulalip event and those elsewhere.
Kayla, 16, is the public relations chairwoman for the relay. As a student in the International School of Communications at Marysville Getchell, Kayla hopes to use some of her new-found writing and speaking skills to let people know about the fundraiser.
The Marysville-Tulalip Relay for Life, like all the other relays, is an overnight event during which teams of people take turns walking or running laps around the field. Each team keeps a member on the track at all times. Relay for Life celebrates those who have survived cancer, helps people whose loved ones have died from cancer, raises money for cancer research and encourages people to fight cancer in their own lives, Kayla said.
Last year, the Marysville-Tulalip relay had 50 teams, honored 100 survivors and raised about $155,000. This year, organizers have set a goal to honor 150 survivors, involve 80 teams and raise $200,000.
“I think we can do it,” Kayla said. “Interest is growing each year. I’m involved because I’m one of those people whose life has been touched by cancer.”
A few years ago, Kayla lost her maternal great-grandmother to cervical cancer. Then her grandfather, Pat Dowd, 67, of Smokey Point, was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer.
“He overcame that, but two months ago we learned that my grandpa has brain cancer. Recently we found out that his tumor has gotten a little smaller,” she said. “So, this has been a journey of ups and downs for my family. Grandpa is so dear to my heart. He is a go-getter and a role model for me. The money we raise at this remarkable event can help keep alive mothers, fathers, grandparents, sisters, brothers and friends.”
Kayla leads her own Relay for Life team of elementary school-age students, who raised $1,200 last year. When not working on fundraising, Kayla spends Tuesdays after school helping at the food bank in Marysville. She hopes to attend Washington State University and would like to study to be a nurse.
Raising awareness about cancer research in the state and Cancer Society services to cancer patients is big part of her job, Kayla said.
And Kayla’s just right for the task, said Kristin Banfield, the chairwoman of the Marysville-Tulalip Relay for Life. In her day job, Banfield is the public information officer for the city of Arlington.
“It’s really exciting to see a young woman, a teenager, stepping up in her community,” Banfield said. “This is a great experience for Kayla and we’re already getting a lot of good work out of her.”
Kayla said she is happy to help with Relay for Life.
“It’s a worthwhile thing, because everywhere you look, there is cancer,” Kayla said.
Kyle Thiessen, the state of Washington’s code reviser, looks at a shelf of pending legislation in his office on Jan. 30 at the Capitol in Olympia. Photo: Ted S. Warren, Associated Press
By Rachel La Corte, Associated Press
OLYMPIA — In Washington state, dairymen, freshmen and even penmanship could soon be things of the past.
Over the past six years, state officials have engaged in the onerous task of changing the language used in the state’s copious laws, including thousands of words and phrases, many written more than a century ago when the idea of women working on police forces or on fishing boats wasn’t a consideration.
That process is slated to draw to a close this year. So while the state has already welcomed “firefighters,” “clergy” and “police officers” into its lexicon, “ombuds” (in place of ombudsman) and “security guards” (previously “watchmen,”) appear to be next, along with “dairy farmers,” “first-year students” and “handwriting.”
“Some people would say ‘oh, it’s not a big thing, do you really have to go through the process of changing the language,”‘ said Seattle Councilmember Sally Clark who was one of the catalysts for the change. “But language matters. It’s how we signal a level of respect for each other.”
About half of all U.S. states have moved toward such gender-neutral language at varying levels, from drafting bills to changing state constitutions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Florida and Minnesota have already completely revised their laws as Washington state is doing.
The final installment of Washington state’s bill already has sailed through the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee with unanimous approval. The nearly 500-page bill has one more committee stop scheduled before full Senate debate.
Crispin Thurlow, a sociolinguist and associate professor of language and communication at the University of Washington-Bothell, said the project was admirable.
He said that as language evolves, such efforts are more than symbolic.
“Changing words can change what we think about the world around us,” he said. “These tiny moments accrue and become big movements.”
Clark and former councilmember Jan Drago — the Seattle City Council has long eschewed the terms councilwoman or councilman — brought the issue to Sen. Jeannie Kohl-Welles in 2006 after they came across references to firemen and policemen in the mayor’s proposed budget, as well as in state law dealing with local-government pensions.
Clark and Drago’s findings sparked the initial gender-neutral language law that was passed in 2007, immediately changing those terms and directing the state code reviser’s office to do a full revision of the rest of the code. A 1983 Washington state law had already required all new statutes to be written in gender-neutral terms, so state officials were tasked with going through the rest of state statutes dating back to 1854 to revise the rest.
As in past bills on the issue that have tackled sections of the state code, some revisions were as simple as adding “or her” after “his.” Others required a little more scrutiny. Phrases like “man’s past” changes to “humankind’s past” and a “prudent man or woman” is simply a “prudent person.”
Kyle Thiessen, the state’s code reviser who has been working on the project along with two attorneys since 2008, said that the work was not without obstacles.
Words like “manhole” and “manlock” aren’t so easily replaced, he said. Substitutes have been suggested — “utility hole” and “air lock serving as a decompression chamber for workers.” But Thiessen said those references will be left alone to avoid confusion.
Republican state Rep. Shelly Short, of Addy, has voted against earlier gender-neutral language bills and said she plans to do the same this year.
“I don’t see the need to do gender neutrality,” she said, adding that her constituents want her to focus on jobs and the economy. “We’re women and we’re men.”
Kohl-Welles, who has sponsored each of the gender-neutral language bills, said that while this project hasn’t been her top legislation every year, “overall, it has important significance.”
“I believe,” she said, “that the culture has changed.”
OLYMPIA — Here’s a look at terms being considered in a final installment of a move to revise more than 3,500 Washington state statutes in order to make them gender-neutral.
Brakeman: brake operator
Chairmanship: position of chair
Dairymen: dairy farmers
Draughtsman: drafter
Ex-servicemen: add “or ex-servicewomen”
Fireman (The 2007 bill took care of the firefighters who work for fire departments and put out fires. This fireman reference is for railway employees who tend fires in steam engines): fire tender
GRANITE FALLS — Authorities still are asking for help finding the person responsible for the deaths of four bald eagles last month near Granite Falls.
A recent donation brought the reward money for information leading to an arrest and conviction up to $20,250, wildlife officials said Monday.
The last $6,500 was donated by The Campbell Group, a Portland, Ore.-based timber company that owns property near where the eagles were found Jan. 9, said Sgt. Jennifer Maurstad with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“We are shocked and offended by this crime, and support the efforts of state authorities to investigate and prosecute this case,” Campbell Group spokeswoman Liz Fuller said in an email Monday.
The eagles’ bodies were floating in a lake east of town. Investigators aren’t disclosing the exact location.
They believe the eagles, three of them grown and one a juvenile, were shot with a small-caliber rifle.
Investigators are waiting on forensic results, including possible ballistics, Maurstad said Monday.
They’ve gotten a few tips but nothing has panned out, she said.
“It’s just important to do the right thing,” Maurstad said. “This was such an egregious act, that if somebody has information, they shouldn’t hang onto it. They should do what’s right, and I’m hoping that $20,000 will give somebody the initiative to do so.”
Killing an eagle is a misdemeanor under federal law. It is also a state crime with a maximum penalty of $1,000 and 90 days in jail. Also, under state law, there’s a $2,000 fine per eagle.
There are about 850 nesting pairs of bald eagles in Washington.
Anyone with information should call 1-877-933-9847 or email reportpoaching@dfw.wa.gov.
Reward money also was donated by the Stillaguamish Tribe, state Fish and Wildlife, the Humane Society of the United States and Conservation Northwest.
EVERETT — Between 2005 and 2009, billions of oyster larvae began dying at hatcheries around the state before anyone knew what was going on or could do anything about it.The state’s $270 million shellfish industry, which employs about 3,200 people, is in danger.
One oyster farm, Goose Point Oysters in Willapa Bay, has begun raising oyster larvae in Hawaii because it can no longer grow them here.
The reason, scientists say, is ocean acidification.
“The problem’s not going away,” said Ian Jefferds, general manager and co-owner of Penn Cove Shellfish in Coupeville.
On top of pollution and loss of habitat, rising acidity in Washington waters is the latest hazard faced by marine life, including the lucrative shellfish and fishing industries.
Acidification of marine waters is caused primarily by the ocean’s absorption of carbon emissions, scientists say. Other human activities, such as agricultural runoff, contribute. The oceans are rapidly becoming more acidic after thousands of years of stability, scientists say.
The Northwest is particularly vulnerable to the problem because it receives naturally upwelling carbon-laden water from deep in the Pacific Ocean.
Terry Williams, commissioner of fisheries and natural resources for the Tulalip Tribes, was concerned enough about the phenomenon to be one of several people to approach former Gov. Chris Gregoire in 2011 to form a panel to study the problem.
The 28-member panel, called the Washington State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification, included scientists, representatives of environmental groups, tribes and the business community, and current and former government officials.
Reducing the effect of human activities is one place to start, the panel concluded. Carbon emissions represent a much broader and tougher challenge.
The problem of ocean acidification “is not going away,” said Ian Jeffereds, general manager and co-owner of Penn Cove Shellfish.
Still, work has to begin now, experts say.
“Godzilla is still small. Let’s not wait until he’s big,” said Brad Warren, director of the Global Ocean Health Program, a Seattle-based group formed to address ocean acidification and its effect on fisheries.
Warren, a member of the state panel, spoke at an informational meeting on the topic in Everett last Thursday.
About 120 people attended. Panel members have been conducting the meetings around the state by request of local officials.
The committee made several recommendations, including reducing agricultural runoff into local waters; investigating water treatment methods to control the problem in targeted areas, and ultimately, finding ways to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels.
Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton, served on the state panel. She’s convinced ocean acidification is a legitimate threat and is concerned for Penn Cove shellfish.
Still, she would have liked more effort to involve the agricultural community before recommending that farm waste be reduced.
“You have to look at this holistically,” Smith said. “We need to recognize that we need both; we need aquaculture and we need agriculture.”
Smith said the panel’s call for stricter regulations on pollutants, while not yet specific, are getting ahead of the game.
“That’s backwards,” she said. “You build solid models, you create a solid scientific foundation, then you move forward with the regulatory practices that are warranted.”
Some people still look at ocean acidification with the same skeptical eye as they do at climate change, Warren said. While both conditions are caused by carbon emissions, they’re not the same thing, said Terrie Klinger, an associate professor in the school of marine and environmental affairs at the University of Washington, a member of the study panel who spoke at the Everett meeting.
Scientists are just scratching the surface about ocean acidification, but a few facts have been established, according to scientists on the panel.
About 30 percent of carbon emitted into the atmosphere from human activity is absorbed by the oceans, Klinger said.
High acidity reduces calcium carbonate levels in the water, preventing mollusks from properly forming their shells.
Acidification is known to affect pteropods — tiny, plankton-size snails — along with krill and some types of prawns that are staple foods for fish, whales and other sea life.
“These species are known to be sensitive to acidity and they’re a large part of local food webs,” said Shallin Busch, a research ecologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle. She’s also a member of the study panel.
The ocean’s surface pH level — which measures the acidity or alkalinity of an environment — was about 8.1 for millennia, as far back as carbon dating tells us, Klinger said. The lower the number, the greater the acidity.
Just since 1850 it’s fallen to 8.0, and at the current rate will hit 7.8 by 2094, she said.
When it comes to acidity in the water, one-tenth of a point is a big difference, Klinger said.
“It’s dropping like a rock,” she said.
In measurements taken at Tatoosh Island on the Washington coast in 2000, the level was 7.5, Klinger said.
There are some unknowns as well. Some species, such as the Suminoe oyster native to Asia, are comparatively immune to the effects of acidification, Busch said.
In inland marine waters such as those in Western Washington, it’s difficult to measure acidity with consistent accuracy because of the influx of river water and substances in runoff, experts say.
“We need more sophisticated instruments,” Klinger said.
Penn Cove Shellfish grows mussels near Coupeville and at another site on the Hood Canal.
“We’ve seen some incidents in our Quilcene Bay site and at Penn Cove that we don’t have an explanation for,” Jefferds said.
Specifically, some of the mussels have been having trouble clinging to the mesh socks on which they’re grown. The company has enlisted NOAA to study the problem.
Tulalip tribal fishermen have been noticing a decline in fish and shellfish populations for more than a decade, Williams said.
It’s hard to tell, though, how much of the decline is caused by pollution and loss of habitat and how much it might be because of ocean acidification.
That’s why the tribes plan to hire scientists to do detailed studies of local waterways to try to learn more, Williams said.
One thing everyone seems to agree on is that getting started working on solutions is important.
“This is the first state in the country to launch a comprehensive attack on this problem,” Warren said.
