Washington Voices

When the Association of Washington School Principals gets together to vote on who wins the Principal of the Year Award, East Valley High School Principal Jeff Miller said the group usually doesn’t get too worked up about it. They usually toss around a few names and agree on who wins. But when it is time for them to nominate an assistant principal, they get pretty worked up about it.

In 1910, women in Washington state received the right to vote. However, long before they could cast ballots they still found a way to make their voices heard, using needle and thread. Karen Liguori, member of the Spokane chapter of Washington State Quilters said, “Throughout the years, women have expressed their political ideas through quilting. They even used to take campaign ribbons and turn them into quilts.” “Women’s Voices,” is the theme for the 32nd annual WSQ Spokane Quilt Show. Organizers expect thousands of visitors to flock to the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center to celebrate the art of quilting.

The Spokane Valley Heritage Museum, 12114 E. Sprague Ave., is presenting an exhibit highlighting the history of Spokane Valley from 1800 to 1899. “Under One Sky” features bits of history from the earliest days of Spokane Valley – Antoine Plante was the first settler in the area. He came from the Hudson Bay Fur Trading Co. and decided the Valley seemed like a nice place to stay. He built a ferry to transport travelers across the Spokane River. Today, we remember him by Plantes Ferry Park.

Our house is in a constant state of home improvement. It’s a veritable ode to unfinished projects. I marvel when friends say they painted their living rooms or stained their decks over the weekend. “You mean it’s done? Finished? Completed?” I ask. I painted my dining room last fall, but ran out of time, energy and impetus by the time I reached the kitchen. So half of the large room is Desert Sand and the other half is Aging Apricot.

Little Theo loved life. He loved exploring his world and was just discovering the broader world when he died on his first birthday in early May this year. He left behind his stunned and grieving parents, Keith and Pam Smith, of Deer Park. Theo died of pulmonary hypertension; a condition where the blood vessels around the lungs don’t properly expand when a baby is born to carry oxygen from the lungs. When Theo was born, he had no indications of the condition.