World traveler, radio commentator for KUOW Seattle, author, award-winning columnist, and bicycle advocate, Willie Weir will be the keynote speaker for the Wenatchee High School Journalism Booster Club’s annual “Write for a Cause” fundraiser and dessert social. The event will be held on March 10^th at 7:00 at the Masonic Lodge in Wenatchee, located at 811 N. Chelan Avenue. The cost for tickets is $10 and can be purchased by contacting Julie Robinson at 667-1275. Read the full article…

Call him cheap, frugal, a tightwad or an initiator of kindness, but Willie Weir knows how to get the most bang for his buck when it comes to traveling the world, whether he’s giving the world’s cheapest engagement ring, protesting an insanely over-priced fish dinner, knocking on doors for free lodging or eating his way to free ice cream.

Willie will bring to life tales from his latest book, Travels with Willie-tales that will have you chuckling and leave you wanting to ditch your day job and hit the road!

Local cycling enthusiasts and parents of a journalism student, Bob Bugert and his wife, Carolyn have long followed the published writings of Mr. Weir in Adventure Cycling magazine, and look forward to hosting him in their home during his visit to Wenatchee. Of the high school journalism program and supportive booster club, advisor Jeanette Marantos says, “The J-Boosters is a parent group that supports our two student publications at WHS, The Apple Leaf newspaper, a 24-page paper that is printed every three weeks and our 280-page yearbook. We receive a small amount of funds from the ASB to print our paper, but most of our funds for printing, equipment and travel to workshops and conferences come from advertising, subscriptions and fundraising. We have an ongoing need for updated computers and camera equipment.”

The author’s book, Travels with Willie, will also be available for sale at the fundraiser for $15, with a portion of the proceeds donated to the WHS journalism program. For more information on Willie Weir or the event visit: www.willieweir.com or e-mail Jackie Ferguson at jackielferguson@gmail.com

We were out on the ice on Fish Lake Saturday during some ice rescue training for the fire department and it was pretty soft on the surface. Gary Schuster was out yesterday to check the status of the ice at the skating rink and found the ice to be giving quite a bit.  He has closed the skating rink for the season and advises that folks stay off the ice.

The welders continue with the installation of the snow fence anchors. All of the glu-lam beams and knee braces have been installed and the 4×6 tongue and groove wood decking installation at the north end of the building has begun.  Other than that it has been kind of quiet up on the roof and second floor.  Moving down to the first floor acute care wing.the spray on fire-proofing has begun. Mechanical and electrical infrastructure rough-in continues as does some plumbing infrastructure rough-in. Now we move down into the basement where the major flurry of activity has been taking place (it is crazy busy down there with what I estimate to be 25-30 workers in there). The spray on fire proofing has been installed in the majority of the space allowing huge visual advances to take place. The interior steel stud wall framing is well under way which allows for  the plumbing and electrical rough-in process to really take off. Mechanical ductwork and fan installation has begun and the first sheets of drywall have been hung. Moving to the outside, the foundation drain installation and backfilling  of soil to the building has begun and last but not least, excavation for the new underground fuel tank (for the generator) has begun and the shoring was installed yesterday allowing workers into that area. The tank is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.

Looking forward to next week.we expect to see continuation of all the services rough-in, fire- proofing, wall and partition installation and maybe, just maybe, the roof might start to go on. The plumber will be making some plumbing runs from the new building, through our existing mechanical room #1, above the drop ceiling in the PT gym out to the east wall of the PT gym for the new chiller that will be installed outside the east wall of the existing PT gym. This work will take place early in the morning and late afternoon/early evening as to not disrupt the PT department.

We recently received our March 2010 issue of The Good Life, a magazine published in and about the Wenatchee Valley. It features interesting and well written articles on  local outdoor life, cultural attractions, wine, a  calendar of community events,  foreign travel by local folks and some interesting information on local craftsman, artisans and industries. One piece in this months edition features some favorite  recipes of two Lake Wenatchee folks, Dr. Jim Brown ( a regular contributor to the magazine)  and Dr. Bob Ogburn.  I just saw in the current issue today that tonight there will be a presentation at the NCW Museum in Wenatchee  about the Wellington Disaster of 1910 near Stevens Pass-   we’re going.

I don’t know the folks that publish this magazine and have not been asked to post this article- I just think this is a magazine truly unique to this area and something folks that have homes or cabins here would find very beneficial and informative. Subscription information is available from the office at telephone 509-888-6527 or email to   donna@ncwgooodlife.com  They also have a web site that tells more about the magazine at  http://www.ncwevents.com/Community/The-Good-Life/Welcome-to-the-Good-Life-on-the-Web.aspx  

George Wilson

Being ready for anything, anytime, is still key to keeping mountain passes open

A century after the Wellington avalanche near Stevens Pass, Mike Stanford of the Washington State Department of Transportation still faces the same task as the Great Northern Railroad’s Snow King William Harrington: Keeping the mountain open for travel in winter.

By Lynda V. Mapes

Seattle Times staff reporter

PREV  of  NEXT

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Mike Stanford is in the snowshed built on the site of 1910 Wellington avalanche near Stevens Pass.

The more some things change, the more they really do stay the same.

A century after the Wellington avalanche near Stevens Pass, Mike Stanford of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) still faces the same task as the Great Northern Railroad’s Snow King William Harrington: Keeping the mountain open for travel in winter.

And unlike the Great Northern, which bailed on its high-elevation route, taking its railroad inside a tunnel opened in 1929, there’s no tunnel refuge for WSDOT.

To be sure, the department closes some highways for winter, rather than battle the snow. But it’s the department’s duty to keep the state’s two major east-west routes, Highway 2 and Interstate 90, open every day of the year.

With some five stories of snow falling on average each winter at Stevens, and 450 inches of snowfall at Snoqualmie Pass, the work can be unrelenting. Or uneventful, such as this winter that wasn’t.

Of course, it still could prove snowy — and being ready for anything, anytime, is part of the job.

The department keeps a surplus military tank at the Wellington town site. Its gun barrel is aimed all winter long at the mountainside above the highway, at the Old Faithful avalanche chute, to fire shells at snow threatening to block travel, or worse, sweep motorists off the mountainside.

“It’s the same problem,” said Stanford, who says he thinks of the men here before him. Of course the department today has tools they never did: instant communications; modern weather- and avalanche-prediction techniques. And all the fun stuff: a tank, a bunker full of explosives and a fleet of massive plows.

He’s a man with deep humility born of a career in mountain weather. “There are no avalanche experts,” he said. “Only avalanche professionals.”

The last time he heard a self-proclaimed “expert” say he knew exactly where avalanches would occur on the mountain, “the hair stood up on the back of my neck,” Stanford said.

Like his compatriots at Snoqualmie, with which there is a friendly rivalry, the crews at Stevens Pass contend not only with the weather but with drivers who seem to have no sense they are in a mountain pass, or of the dangers of mountain weather.

“We once had this guy who thought he had four-wheel drive because he had four wheels,” Stanford said. He wasn’t kidding.

WSDOT crews hold up travel across the mountain as they bombard snow chutes with explosives, hoping to make avalanches come when and where they want them. Snowplows scoop up whatever hits the road, and travelers are on their way. In as little as 20 minutes, at Stevens. Usually.

But even for a modern Snow King, Stanford said, “There’s is no way to predict Mother Nature.”

Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736 or lmapes@seattletimes.com

Start your summer planning early by marking Aug 21st for the 3rd Annual Lake Wenatchee Cook Off. Here are the details, email Tony Loomis with questions.

August 21st 2010
At the Lake Wenatchee Rec-Club
This year we will have the same 5 divisions again.
Best-Beef
Best-Chicken
Best-Pork
Best-Chilli
Best-Potluck
We are adding this year Best-Dessert
Also we will have a Grand Champion Trophy ( The person with the most points wins)
Prizes,Games and Fun
This is an open event, come one, come all.
You can Smoke-Cook or BBQ onsite durning the day or bring your entry before the judging starts.
This is also a Potlock so you can bring a dish ,a side dish , dessert, or whatever?

From Tim McElravy- Manager of the Lake Wenatchee YMCA Camp:

Each year the Wenatchee Valley YMCA goes out into our Community to raise money for our annual Partners with Youth Campaign.  100% of the proceeds raised goes into the Youth Scholarship Fund.  No child is ever denied participation at the YMCA because of inability to pay.   Financial assistance is available to residents of Chelan and Douglas Counties for both youth memberships and youth programs.  This  financial assistance is made possible through the Wenatchee Valley YMCA Partners with Youth Campaign and designated contributions.  Donations can be sent to our Partners with youth Campaign, c/o Lake Wenatchee YMCA Camp, 15263  Northshore Drive,  Leavenworth, WA 98826

Last year over 6000 scholarships were given to help kids gain access to YMCA programs like swim lessons, youth memberships, the after school program, Adventure Club, T- wave and Camp.  At camp alone over $50,000 dollars of scholarships were given to kids that otherwise could not afford it.  I personally heard from many families who were faced with paying the bills or sending their kids to camp.  Because of the generosity of our donors, attending camp was made possible for hundreds of local kids.

One such camper who benefited from the generosity of so many was a young girl who for the protection of her privacy we’ll call Sarah.  Sarah has been coming to camp since she was 8 or 9 years old.  Over the past several years she had been sponsored to come to camp by another local family.  This last year I saw Sarah at camp sign up day.  I was excited to see her, gave her a big hug and asked if she was ready to be an LDP this year.  Tears filled up in her eyes and she quietly shook her head no.  I could tell she was upset but that she was not comfortable talking at this time.  I made a note to contact her later to inquire what was going on.  A few days later I was able to speak with the family that normally sponsored her to go to camp.  They explained that they were expecting a baby and funds would be tight and thus were unable to send Sarah to camp this summer.  Fast forward to May 2009.  I was given the charge to call campers and find out if they needed scholarship money to go to camp.  The 1st call I placed was to Sarah.  When she answered the phone she sounded excited to hear from me, and I asked her about coming to camp saying I had 1 spot open in the LDP program.  Her voice turned soft and she explained that this year she could not come to camp as her family could not afford it.  I asked her if she wanted to come to camp and if I could make that possible could she do it.  She said yes.  I then explained to her that thanks to the Partners with Youth Campaign we were in a position to help her get to camp.  I told her if she could get up here the YMCA could pay for it 100%.  After pulling the phone away from my ear because she was hysterically screaming for joy on the other end, I told her the details of how to get registered and what she needed to do.  On the phone I could tell she began to cry.  She explained that all year she looks forward to coming to camp and this year she was heartbroken that she could not attend.  The money donated that helped her get to camp made her whole year. 

In speaking with the family that normally sends her to camp they shared with me that the YMCA and Y-Camp most likely saved her life.  Sarah has made it known that she wants to become a counselor at camp when she is old enough and wants to make camp as special to others as it was made for her.  Seeing her at camp this summer brought a smile to my face. 

Will you consider a gift to the YMCA’s youth Scholarship fund this year?

Tim McElravy

Camping Services Director

Wenatchee Valley YMCA

Camp office: (509) 763.9622

Fax: (509) 763.5200

tmcelravy@lwycamp.org

www.lwycamp.org

Lake Wen Cam | Lake Wen Cam 2 | Fish Lake Cam | Trinity Cam | Weather | Pic o Day |

‘Final Winter Image? Morning on Beaver Hill, by Tanya ‘

Hi Lake Wenatchee and Leavenworth Friends,

Cascade Medical Center holds an annual food drive to support the Community Cupboard.  This year’s drive is March 22 – 26 and I am a member of “Team Nuts and Grains” (personally I was campaigning for Fruits and Nuts).  Our team is charged with collecting as much healthy food that reflects our team name (or not) as we can. The important point is that we support the clients of the Community Cupboard!

Healthy foods would be anything that is low in sodium, low in fat, and low in sugar, or sugar free and, of course, high in fiber!  The people at the Community Cupboard have indicated there is a need in this community for items geared towards our Senior Citizens, so please keep that in mind as well.  Some suggestions are:

Alison Cappuccio

Tom Leach has a boat lift for sale. He purchased a brand new manual boat lift but due to the silty soft bottom adjacent to his dock, the new lift will not work. It just sinks! For additional info email: Tom Leach

Brand new purchased in 2009. This is a $4,500 boat lift offered at a 33% discount. Capable of holding 4,000 pound load. Buyer must arrange for pick up. Measurements: 9′6″ Long, 9′8″ Wide , 7′9″ Tall