Washington Voices

The Washington State Department of Ecology is wrapping up the last of its planned heavy metals cleanup projects along the Spokane River. The projects, which started in 2006, are designed to remove lead, arsenic, zinc and other metals washed downstream from mining in North Idaho decades ago. Contaminated soil has been removed in some areas and beaches capped to prevent further contamination.

When Vicky Cavin was first introduced to art in elementary school, she was more than a little intimidated. She couldn’t draw and her color choices were frowned upon, so she put away her desire for bold colors and found other avenues of expression. “There was still a part of me that had an active imagination and a need to express, so I turned to words – creating simple poems and short stories, and listened to lyrics in all kinds of music. In a way, it was my way of dealing with life’s challenges,” she said.

They are studying subjects typical to seventh-graders – reading “The Outsiders” and thinking about the differences between what is socially acceptable now and in 1967, when the book was written. They are reading the newspaper and talking about current events.

Eddie Sumlin , of Tacoma: “No, I wouldn’t. Life’s getting better every year.”

Last weekend my husband and I harvested our Gravenstein apple tree. We picked almost four boxes and left the deer their portion. Life is about sharing. While most people think of fall as apple season, it really starts in late July to mid-August with the early ripening Lodi and Yellow Transparent. Midseason apples like MacIntosh and Gala usually ripen in September into early October, while late-ripening apples like Jonagold and Yellow Delicious will be ready just about the time we get our first really hard frosts – late October to early November. Apples that get ripe after that often don’t have enough time to sweeten up before the serious cold freezes them. Unfortunately several very popular apples such as Braeburn, Pink Lady, Fuji and possibly Honey Crisp fall into this group in Spokane.

Steve Leaf has never forgotten his first sight of Dolores “Doe”, who later became his wife. She’d been hit by a car and was confined to a hospital bed with a broken pelvis in her family’s North Side home. “Her brother, Art, and I were going on a date with a couple girls,” Steve said.

I’m not a crowd person. I’ve never done Bloomsday. I avoid the interstate fair, and I’ve attended Hoopfest only once – and that was just to support my son.

Last weekend my husband and I harvested our Gravenstein apple tree. We picked almost four boxes and left the deer their portion. Life is about sharing. While most people think of fall as apple season, it really starts in late July to mid-August with the early ripening Lodi and Yellow Transparent. Midseason apples like MacIntosh and Gala usually ripen in September into early October, while late-ripening apples like Jonagold and Yellow Delicious will be ready just about the time we get our first really hard frosts – late October to early November.