Fairley receives annual award
OLYMPIA – In recognition of her legislative work on behalf of career and technical education, Washington State Skills Centers have honored Sen. Darlene Fairley, D-Lake Forest Park, with their annual Legislator of the Year Award.
Skills centers are part of the state’s K-12 education system, serving high school students from multiple school districts within a region. The centers provide career and technical training that would be too expensive to offer at every high school. There are 10 skills centers throughout Washington.
Fairley worked to secure funding to keep skills centers open for summer vocational training, and to continue their extended-day school to work programs. She also successfully advocated for $2 million in capital funds to complete construction of the new North Olympic Skills Center in Port Angeles, and $2 million in upgrades for skills centers around the state.
“I think our budget should reflect the fact that career and technical training is becoming an increasingly important component of our education system,” Fairley said. “Skills centers give students a head start in the workplace and also help provide a well-trained workforce to attract business to our communities.”
Sno-Isle Technical Skills Center in Everett serves students in Snohomish and Island Counties, including the Edmonds School District. Sno-Isle director Steve Burch joined John Aultman, executive director of the New Market Skills Center in Tumwater, to present the award to Fairley.
“Sen. Fairley has been a consistent advocate for skills centers over the years,” Aultman said.
Arts council gets $10,000 grant
The Seattle Foundation recently announced more than $1 million in grants to 45 King County nonprofit organizations in fourth-quarter giving through the Community Grantmaking Program.
Among those receiving awards is Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council, which received $10,000 to support the purchase of a Showmobile, an outdoor moveable stage with lights and sound. The new self-contained stage will allow the Arts Council to increase the number of their performances and reach new audiences by presenting concerts in new locations.
Founded in 1989, Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council works to nurture and support the arts in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park through theatrical and literary performances, galleries, education projects, and the Shoreline Arts Festival each June.
The Seattle Foundation, the oldest and largest community foundation in Washington, was established in 1946 to improve the quality of life in the greater Seattle area. The foundation is made up of over 1,100 family and individual funds, and has total assets over $300 million.
Botanic group
hosts talk on ferns
The Kruckeberg Botanic Garden Foundation invites the public to hear a talk by Bors Vesterby titled “Key Washington Ferns.”
The event will start 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 22, at the Richmond Beach Congregational Church, lower level, west side. The church is in Shoreline at Richmond Beach Road and 15th Ave. NW.
Vesterby will explain his alternative to the traditional, text-based approach to identifying a plant: A photographic key that is visual and intuitive to use, where every described feature is imaged, linked and defined. His focus will be on native ferns, and he will show photos of scenic Washington habitat and some of the state’s rarest ferns. Coffee, tea, cookies, and a fascinating talk, will be served.
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