HONORS
NAACP hands out Gala awards
The Snohomish County Branch of the NAACP Freedom Fund Gala on March 3 was hosted by TV anchor Angela King with a keynote speech by former state Sen. Rosa Franklin.
Awards presented at the gala included the Carl Gipson Lifetime Achievement Award to Marilyn Quincy; the Rev. S.G. Wells Spiritual Leadership Award to Pastor Dorothy Webb; the Jack Curtis Veterans Leadership Memorial Award to Naval Station Everett Commander Capt. Michael Coury; the Shirley Walthall Youth Achievement Award to Mariner High School senior Faith Dawson; and the Oscar Eason Community Service Award to Bill Reed and Carlos Veliz.
Girl Scout troop starts pie-making business
Snohomish Girl Scout Troop 40392 has been recognized by the Girl Scouts of Western Washington for a project funded by sales of Girl Scout cookies. The cookie sale continues through March 18.
The Snohomish troop used the proceeds from cookies sales to start a pie-making business called Sweetie Pies.
When the girls in Troop 40392 decided they wanted to attend the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, they came up with the plan to raise money for their trip. The entrepreneurs identified all the tools, permits and ingredients they’d need to have frozen, ready-to-bake pies ready to sell in time for the holidays, said Stefanie Ellis, spokeswoman for the regional Girl Scouts office.
Troop 40392 found people at Mongo’s, Hidden Meadows and Snohomish Senior Center willing to donate use of their kitchens, and a farmer with an orchard who let them pick apples and pears in exchange for help making cider.
The girls learned about running a business, creating relationships with customers and why they had to get food handler permits from the Health District.
Now the troop is earning money for a trip to Europe. For information about Sweetie Pies, call troop leader Carol Robinson at 360-668-6116.
Helicopter pilot honored with bravery award
Helicopter pilot Anthony Reece, co-owner of the Darrington-based Hi Line Helicopters, and North Cascades National Park Ranger Kevork Arackellian were honored March 7 by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar for the rescue of an injured climber in July 2009. Reece received the Citizen’s Award for Bravery and Arackellian received the Valor Award.
Reece and Arackellian conducted one of the most challenging rescues in the history of the North Cascades National Park Search and Rescue program, said Charles Beall, a spokesman with the national park.
In July 2009, four mountaineers were climbing 8,151-foot Mount Terror when the lead climber fell and was left dangling upside down on the climbing rope, semi-conscious with a femur fracture and head injury. His partners situated him on a ledge about a foot wide. While one climber stayed behind to provide care, two others continued up the mountain into cell phone range to call for assistance.
Since the injured climber’s injuries were life-threatening and his location was inaccessible by a ground team, a short-haul rescue attempt was planned.
In fading evening light, Reece moved Arackellian, attached to the helicopter with a 100-foot line, to the rock face where the two climbers were anchored. Reece held the aircraft in a hover next to the sheer cliff while Arackellian attached the injured man to the short-haul line, cut him away from two rock anchors, and handed off a pack of supplies to the other climber. After slowly moving the ranger and patient away from the cliff, Reece then flew them, still hanging from the short-haul line, more than 10 miles to a waiting medical helicopter. The evacuation saved the injured climber’s life, Beall said.
Poor weather then moved in and prevented the evacuation of the remaining climber. After four days of rain and snow, Reece and Arackellian performed the same risky maneuver to rescue the climber.
GIVING
Stillaguamish Tribe donates money for beds
St. Vincent de Paul, North Sound Council, has received a donation of $2,000 from the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians.
The money was given for organization’s Beds for Children Program and will go toward buying beds for children who have none.
Donations help UW, UBC students
The annual Silviculture Challenge, a competition between forestry students from the University of Washington and the University of British Columbia on March 3 required the volunteer help of judges Shirley Lorentz, silviculturalist for the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest; Ken Osborn, owner of Arbor Pacific Forestry and managing forester for Grandy Lakes; Paul Wagner, project manager for Atterbury Consultants; and Doug Couvelier, wildlife biologist for the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe.
Osborn also bought the pizza to feed the students and staff and he covered the snow plowing costs for the road into the national forest where the students did their forest assessments.
The winning team was from the University of Washington, bringing the number of Silviculture Challenge wins for each forestry school to three a piece.
Lake Stevens fire employees read to kids
Lake Stevens Fire Deputy Chief Larry Huff took time out of his day read to a kindergarten class at Highland Elementary during Literacy Week.
Other members of the Lake Stevens community who participated in the event included paramedic/firefighter Jon Dudder, Mayor Vern Little, former Lake Stevens school superintendent Dave Burgess, Boys &Girls Club Unit Director Dan Curley and Lakes Stevens Journal managing editor Pam Stevens.
To submit news for the Applause column, contact reporter Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com or email newstips@heraldnet.com.
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