Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Navy veteran Mike Sexton will participate in the DoubleDay ride and fundraiser for ALS. It’s an 85-mile ride over two days in Skagit County.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, July 16, 2009 Ride for a reason: Veteran gets on his bike for ALS fundraiser By Sharon Salyer Herald Writer At some point during the annual two-day, 84-mile cycling event, nearly every rider finds one moment to reflect on the meaning behind all the hours of peddling. For Mike Sexton of Arlington, it is for people like his neighbor, Darin Nichols, a fellow veteran whose bout with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, has so disabled him that he now is unable to speak. Sexton discovered that his neighbor had been diagnosed with ALS about two years ago. Both men had served in the military during Desert Storm, when Iraq invaded Kuwait. “I used to talk to with him all the time,” Sexton said. “It was just sad to see him deteriorating so fast.” About six months later, he was in a wheelchair and is now so debilitated that he uses a special adaptive equipment, a light on his glasses to point to a keyboard with letters on a screen, to help him communicate, Sexton said. Sexton said he wanted to know more about the disease and learned of a link between Desert Storm veterans and the disease. The Institute of Medicine has issued a report saying that veterans of that 1991 war have up to twice as much risk of getting the disease. The link appears to exist for people serving in the military as far back as World War II, the report says. Earlier this year, Sexton, 37, decided he wanted to do something to help veterans like his neighbor who are afflicted with ALS. After learning of the annual DoubleDay ride, which benefits the ALS Association, he decided to begin training to participate in this year’s event. The ride takes place on July 25 and 26, beginning in Mount Vernon. The first day’s loop of 42.86 miles goes west toward La Conner, onto Swinomish tribal land and then back to Mount Vernon. The second day’s loop of 40.46 miles goes east toward Clear Lake, south to Big Lake, west to Conway and north to Mount Vernon. Sexton’s goal is to raise $1,000 for the ALS Association. Sexton said he remembered the fun of participating as a high school student in bike races and a bike-ride fundraiser, but hadn’t really ridden much since then. “I thought picking it back up would be a good way to get back into shape,” he said. “Having a fundraiser would be more of an incentive.” About 300 riders are expected to participate this year, said Seattle resident Stephen Burwell, a board member of the ALS Association’s Evergreen Chapter, who is helping organize the event. The ride, now in its ninth year, raised $150,000 last year, he said. Burwell has participated in the event since its inception in 2000. That year, his father, who also had ALS, died just two week’s before the ride. One local ALS patient to receive help from the ALS Association is Vic Brown, 54, of Everett. Brown served in the Navy from 1973 to 1984. Shortly after learning his diagnosis, someone from the ALS organization contacted him. “Don’t worry, Vic; we’ll be with you,” he remembers being told. The organization has support meetings once a week. And if Brown doesn’t call them weekly, someone from the organization gives him a call. “They do an outstanding job,” Brown said. “I couldn’t ask for more.” Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com. To learn more For more information on the DoubleDay bike ride on July 25 and 26, a fundraiser for the ALS Association, go to http://tinyurl.com/m9hyox READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

1. City of Everett, neighbor sued over lost trees, mudslide 2. Three-car accident closes Highway 9 3. Kennedy’s assassination remains a puzzling memory 4. Ways to Give: How you can help in your community 5. Take a look under your seat 6. Novice real estate investors can lose their shirts 7. Kwan never golden, but sometimes transcendant 8. Lotto ticket worth $6.5 million sold in Lake Stevens 9. Canceled credit cards come as a shock for some 10. Count drags on long after the election's over 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Eat local this Thanksgiving • Mavericks moving on • Canada's Great Big Sea rolls into Edmonds • A. Murphy finishes 2nd in volleyball • Art Walk features music, demonstrations • EAT LOCAL: Getting the goods • Lynnwood HS history teacher Vic Bennet dies • Wildcats head to semis • CSO Chamber annual show slated Nov. 23 • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million