Eric Wyatt, imposed via clever graphic design

Eric Wyatt, come on down!

Your new Point Robinson lighthouse keeper, Eric Wyatt, is also known as the Vashon Dreamboats calendar guy, father of two adorable kids, that tall dude on the P.O. boat, avid cyclist, yoga disciple, the dry-witted Facebooker and a native Iowan. Let’s congratulate Mr. Wyatt on his recent appointment. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

The swarm successfully housed at the left; Amy and David are done!

No, I mean literally “buzz.”  The next couple weeks are the testy ones for crowded, productive, ready-to-run bees bursting with new queens. This can be an outcropping of just really, really prolific bees or not checking the hive frequently in spring, or a combination of both. I’m just repeating what the beekeepers say, and have had the luxury of seeing it on video in my own backyard last year. You can too, right here. So…history repeats itself in some ways, but with people to help you (and answer the call), the swarm of bees can still be housed.

This weekend on the Vashon Beekeepers list serve, a call for assistance went out by Wax Orchard residents Amy Greenberg and Chris Robison. Their bees swarmed and were hovering about 15 feet up in a fir tree just yards from their garden. David (Skrzypek, a carpenter at SDS and hobbyist beekeeper–and my husband!) was excited to take on the challenge–a careful rigging of ladders, buckets, bee suit and all–to house the honey bees and help Amy establish a second hive on her property (whose garden plot is also serving as the Vashon Community Food Bank’s garden–a whole other wonderful post waiting for another time!). After rallying this-n-that for a second hive (stacking supers to make a decent bee box, frames, etc), the mission was successful. Afterward, Chris and Amy warmly fed us a homemade Navy bean soup, farmstead style, on their lovely back porch. Suddenly, new friends come from David reaching out to strangers. Let that pseudo Seattle Nice be damned! This is the wonder of Vashon.

Your blogger suited up and took pictures, and silently fought off a panic attack as the bees swirled all around us.

4th super down at the bottom and still healthy activity

Checking Amy's existing hive--very, very packed with goodness

Amy Greenberg and Chris Robison, realtors and "backyard" beekeepers

David heads down with the excluder bucket o' bees

Chris steadies the ladder as David ascends

The swarm in the upper center of the photo.

Mardi sent out this email to Islanders last night.

I got it this morning and nearly sprayed my morning coffee all over my monitor in shock. This little island? Police getting rough? On sweet Jess? Seriously?!

Here’s Mardi’s email, verbatim:

Dear Islanders,

Yes, I am writing to you in a call for help!  Friday night, of our much loved First Friday gallery walk, turned out to be a much larger scene than us Islanders would like to experience in our quiet comfortable community of neighbors.  Some of you might have already heard of the citizen vs. police brawl up town Vashon on Friday night as people were strolling around checking out this months offerings.  As far as I’ve heard the situation was blown to extreme proportions by a few overly ambitious officers that decided that talking problems out wasn’t going to be an option for them that night. Instead, a few fairly violent occurrences happened which include taking down one of our favorite peeps Chef Jessica Dewire from The Gusto Girls.  Jess and two other co-softball players were walking across the main highway in the center of town from their team sponsor after having after game burgers and ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

They were told to stop and they did, but for some reason Jessica was thrown to the ground face down, punched, and then had mace sprayed in her face.  As Jess tried to protect herself from the macing she scratched one of the officers in the face and was then arrested for assault and hauled off to jail, where she will sit until Monday at 2:30 for her arraignment. From other reports she was not the only person that experienced unusual force.

There are other factors that as a community we should be very concerned about. One is that the police brutality that we so often see on the news these days has crept onto our peaceful little home. The mob of bystanders that witnessed the events leading up to and then after Jessica’s arrest that I have spoken to are quite adamant that the police on duty did not act in a non violent manner from the beginning.  The general concenses is that the whole sequence of events that evening were a prime example of police brutality.  Keep in mind that Jessica is NOT the only person nor was she the first person that the law had altercations with during gallery walk.

I myself will be in that court room tomorrow to show my support for Jessica, as well as any others that are there with her from the same event.  It is crutial that our police are held accountable for their bad behavior also.  The recent string of police killings is upsetting, but not a good reason to come to Vashon and treat our community like we’ve had a police hating history. If you would like me to take a letter of support with me tomorrow please email me before 10:30am. Even better would be your support in the court room. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this email.  I just couldn’t sit and do nothing this time.  It’s just not fair.  Unfortunely, this whole bad deal will probably end the ability for anyone other than liquor liscense holding establishments from being able to serve wine during art walk, as I’m sure the authorities will blame our behavior on that. We need to be present to stand up for our rights, we do have them.

Mardi Ljubich
Shefidgets Catering
and Sound Food

Following that was an email from Pamn Aspiri, warning that statements from eye witnesses are key. I, of course, am not an eyewitness, but here’s her thoughtful note:

I love Jessica.

The police were out of line.

People who are calm and WITNESSED the event should go to court or write letters explaining exactly what they saw.

People who are only going on “hearsay” (Vashon Rumor Mill) would probably be ignored or might  actually hurt the case.

I was present the night this all went down, and though I did not witness it first-hand, I  am fairly clear on what actually happened from talking to the two main witnesses at the scene and speaking to Officer Kurt Lyson as well. As Jess’s softball manager and friend I was concerned and wanted to help her. The accounting below is not quite correct. It leaves out some crucial information and adds some untruths. Ever play the game “telephone” when you were a kid?

This I do know:

• We all love Jessica.
• We all want to help her.
• We want to address police conduct on Vashon.
• We need to do it in a calm and informed manner so we are taken seriously.
• We have gathered contact information  from eye-witnesses at the scene to help support Jessica’s case.
• We made sure that statements were taken that night by officer Lyson from eye-witnesses, not by the overtown officers.
• We can show support for her but I caution people to keep the story to themselves unless they actually saw what happened.
• Inflammatory or inaccurate information  won’t help Jess and could possibly make things worse.
• Thirty years here has taught me to be very cautious about “news” on Vashon Island. We all love Jessica, and we want to help.

Think about how you can best help her.

Thanks for taking the time to read this if you did.

Pamn Aspiri

Coop Tour 2010 at Fowl Play Farm on the South End

This weekend, you’ll want to catch the coop tour if you’re planning on keeping backyard chickens, or just want to amuse mom on Mother’s Day Weekend. Saturday and Sunday, this benefit for Interfaith Council on Homelessness will feature five coops. Here’s a video tour of one of them..that my husband David and son, Zach, built over the course of an early, wet spring.

Thank you, Krista Dehnert! Perfect for a Friday afternoon.

You wouldn’t want to miss seeing a couple dozen bands on Vashon this summer, would you?!

Island sound guru and laidback promoter Ruben Arnot of Rez 1 Productions (I dare you to ask him about his nickname!) has already assembled a raucous lot for what promises to be his biggest and best Vashon Island Music Festival yet!

Here’s what we know:

In the spirit of the great outdoor concerts (think Woodstock and Lollapalooza !) this year’s show will feature 24 bands and artists over three days. Held on the weekend of July 30 to Aug. 1, shows start at 5 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Concerts end at dusk each day. This year the venue will move from its former Agren home to Paradise Ridge Equestrian Park, with the addition of camping available for the public.

The 2009 event at Agren Parklast featured 21 bands over the three days. V.I.M.F. is proud to feature a majority of local or locally affiliated bands for a real hometown showcase. Returning favorites include:

• John Browne
• Radio Daddyo
• Resonance
• 5:01
• Subconscious Population
• Trolls Cottage and many more

Visit rez1productions.com for updated band roster and more info

Well….Maybe not!

Earlier I posted about Roxy Hathaway’s and Nancy Scott-Wienker’s intent to join Annalisa Lafayette of the shop, Good Merchandise, in her move to the a shopfront next door to The Hardware Store—the three planned on forming Good Merchandise and Friends. Well…the best laid plans…yeah.

Rox and Nanc are hanging back after all, and Annalisa will enjoy her very own, wonderful new space on the main drag. So that’s it.

 -h

VIP MS, aka the MS Warriors from Vashon Island raised $4,025 for the Walk MS benefiting the National Multiple Sclerosis Society; the team walked yesterday at Husky Stadium with about 11,000 other walkers.

There have been several promising breakthroughs relating to the neurological condition, putting research fundraising as a top priority as the Society edges toward the causes of and cures for MS.

Catch the KOMO4 news clip of the Vashon team at MS Walk in the very beginning of the footage here.

There is an Island support group with more than 20 members living with MS. They meet for lunch the first Friday of every month. Contact Heidi throught the Beachcomber office to learn details.

Two groups on the Island are walking to raise funds for MS treatment, research and education in the 2010 MS Walk at Husky Stadium on Sunday. I am on one of them!  VIP-MS (Vashon Island People MS) decided quite spontaneously to form and raise funds. Islanders Patricia Birgen Redwolf, Valerie Manusov, me, family and friends are walking Sunday at Husky Stadium.  Those who want to help out are welcome to walk with the teams or donate.

In just four days we’ve managed to raise $3,100 and counting! Thanks go to Islanders close to us and anonymous donors who’ve rallied for the cause. You can read the personal stories of two Islanders dealing in different stages of MS here and here. Follow the links on those links to take you through more information.

Way to go, Vashon!

Who loves running?  No, I mean REALLY long distance kind of running? Vashon Island has its fair share of hardcore runners. Heck, I see them constantly as I drive along Vashon Highway to go swim laps, being reminded that I truly suck at running. Heh. I digress.

Vashon Ultra is coming up as a summer event for the endurance-enabled, running elite. 50K and 10 miles, this event is currently rallying for volunteers and you could be one of them!

Here is a tad of the info from VashonUltra.com. You can pull Bruce Cyra aside the next time you catch him in motion if you have questions! LOL