Matthew House families also saddened by death at Monroe prison

Published 12:01 am Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Sorrow spread through our communities as we learned about the death of Officer Jayme Biendl at the Monroe Correctional Complex.

Folks who wanted to express deep sympathy for Biendl’s family and coworkers went to a familiar place.

Matthew House is a hospitality complex located at the bottom of the driveway leading to the prison. It’s where families of inmates can stop for a snack, an overnight stay, get used clothing or take home a box of noodles from the pantry.

Executive Director Linda Waddell-Paz said families were devastated by the tragedy.

“I cannot tell you how sad we all are,” says Waddell-Paz.

As news of the death spread, the prison went into lock-down, meaning families were not allowed inside for visits. Waddell-Paz said those who planned to pay visits the day the news broke stopped by Matthew House to get a cup of coffee.

“The majority of them cried,” she says. “Some of the officers came to Matthew House as well and cried.”

The big question on all minds was “Why?”

“This was so random of an act, even from an inmate,” says Waddell-Paz.

One lady who stopped by planned to see her son for the first time since he was incarcerated. She drove six hours for the visit.

Told the news, the woman wept uncontrollably on the couch, Waddell-Pax says. As the mother left for the six-hour drive home, she asked folks at Matthew House to share how sorry she was about the loss of the beautiful officer.

Matthew House can always use volunteers and donations mailed to P.O. Box 201, Monroe, WA 98272. It regularly needs food for the pantry, snacks for children, cleaning supplies, good quality clothing for women and children, diapers, baby food, bedding for overnight apartments and new items for the gift closet.

For more information, call 360-794-8720.

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Two authors will talk about eating locally at Everett Community College today.

Food writers Langdon Cook and Shannon Borg will discuss locally grown and foraged foods and their culinary adventures in the kitchen, the wilderness and on the farm, at noon in Baker Hall, Room 120 at 2000 Tower St. in Everett.

The panel is part of a year long discussion about the book “Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet,” by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon.

Kevin Craft, coordinator of Possession Sound Writers, will moderate.

Cook was a senior book editor at Amazon.com until he left the corporate world in 2004 to live in a cabin “off the grid.” He is the author of “Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21st Century Forager.”

Borg is a writer, editor, poet and wine educator. She is co-author of “Chefs on the Farm: Recipes and Inspiration from the Quillisascut Farm School of the Domestic Arts.”

The program is free and open to everyone.

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Everett Pacesetters Toastmasters Club offers lots of good reasons to visit a Toastmasters meeting. Improve speaking skills for job interviews, better communication, and leadership skills, to move up the career ladder, add humor to dry presentations and learn to run a meeting.

See what they are talking about at an open house at 7 p.m. Thursday at Washington Oakes, 1717 Rockefeller Ave. in Everett.

For more information, call Sukoshi Fahey at 425-349-9911.

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Forget flowers and mushy stuff.

Folks at the Mill Creek Library are offering an “Anti-Valentine’s Day Party” at 7 p.m. Friday at 15429 Bothell-Everett Highway in Mill Creek.

Teens are invited to play board and video games, decorate cupcakes and do crafts, thanks to Friends of the Mill Creek Library. Sign up at the library.

Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451; oharran@heraldnet.com.