by Josh Hart

Imagine every bone in your body from the waist down aching. You’re sitting on the couch and you can hardly get up. Once you do get up, you can barely move around. Everything just feels sore.

The day before you had just competed in Seattle’s Inaugural Rock and Roll Marathon. You remember running across that finish line in pain, but triumph. You had done it. You set out to do something and you did it. You almost gave up on mile 24, you started feeling the burn on mile 17, but you had pushed through and accomplished something. You had even finished in 4 hours and 49 minutes. 11 minutes faster than your goal.

Just remember back on mile 13 when you were still fresh and you had seen your family and you were still running strong. Just remember back to when the race started and you could hardly even jog, because there were so many people. That wasn’t even the start. Remember back to when you were training and you ran from Kent to Orting. That felt like an accomplishment too, but it wasn’t like what you were feeling now. Remember that night that you had said, “I’m going to run a marathon.” We thought you were crazy, but you printed out a training schedule and you put your mind too it and look where you are right now. Crossing that finish line. You want to fall to your knees, because of the ache.

You find your family waiting at the other side of the finish line. They are so proud. This wasn’t just about the accomplishment of a marathon. It was much more than that. It was the will power that you had to put your mind to something and 16 weeks later accomplish it. You give people the awareness that they really can do whatever they put their mind too. It would have been impossible 16 weeks prior for you to run that marathon, but you trained in the beating down sun, you trained in the rain, the cold, and the heat. You also trained on the beach, in the woods, at the track, in the valley. You never gave up. You gave inspiration to many people out there. Even though you didn’t finish with the best time, you still did it. You accomplished something very few people accomplish.

This is the story of my dad, Nathan Hart, competing in the Rock and Roll Marathon, which went from Tukwila to Seattle on June 27th.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Josh Hart is The Waterland Blog's first Intern! He's a 15-year old student at Highline's “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac who loves to write and play soccer.

You can read more of his writing here...]

Jack Kniskern and Clark Snure are two very interesting people – they are both members of the Des Moines Rotary Club, which has been around for 51 years, and guess what?

Jack has been a member for 50 years and Clark for 49!

They are both still active members in Rotary and are the most senior members.

Jack is a retired Architect. He designed the Des Moines Mariner condominium which is at the north end of the Des Moines Marina. The nine-unit building was constructed on property left after the city acquired the tidelands in front of his family beach home to build the marina. He designed many buildings in Des Moines, such as the City Council Chamber Building and Auntie Irene’s. Jack also participates in the Rotary Dictionaries by the Dozens project which has given every third grade student in Des Moines a dictionary every year for the past five years. He was also at the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce meeting when the idea for a Des Moines festival was conceived. Later Waterland Festival was chosen as the winning name in a contest won by a Mt Rainier High School girl.

Jack got his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University off Washington and Master of Architecture degree from MIT.

Jack met Clark when he leased the back room of his office to him. They have become very close friends since.

Clark had been practicing law for over 45 years, after graduating from the University of Washington. He founded the Snure Law firm, and is now retired. He served as the secretary to the Board of Commissioners of King County Fire Protection District No. 26 for 40 years. His son Brian is also in Rotary.

Clark is also the president of the Des Moines Legacy Foundation, a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization. As a non-profit organization, the foundation is able to write grants, fundraise & distribute funds for park, recreation, and senior programs and services that benefit and enhance the Des Moines community. The goal of the Legacy Foundation is to provide services for all ages, to promote interest and leadership in charitable giving, to respond as a positive force to the challenging needs of the community and to pool assets to maintain, improve, and create community park and recreation services.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Josh Hart is our first Intern! He's also a 15-year old student at Highline's “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac. He also plays soccer.

You can read more of his writing here on sister site The B-Town Blog...]

by Josh Hart

A few Big Picture High School students, which includes myself, are putting on an Auction. All proceeds will be donated to The First Place School, which is a school in Seattle that helps homeless and abused children get their education along with finding homes for them.

YOU are invited to attend the auction.

It is Friday night, May 15th starting at 7pm at Big Picture High School, which is located at 2450 South 142nd Street in SeaTac (map below).

It is open to the public and FREE to attend. There will be snacks available and it will be a fun night.

This is our second year running an auction and we have learned a lot from the last one, so this auction is going to be great!

Some of the items being auctioned are six hours of tutoring from Sylvan Learning Center, Photographs on canvas, and much much more. So come on out and enjoy yourselves, support your community, and you may walk out with a great item.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Josh Hart is The Waterland Blog's first Intern! He's a 15-year old student at Highline's “Big Picture High School” who lives in Des Moines and loves to write and play soccer.

You can read more of his writing here...]

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by Josh Hart

Thursday morning (March 26th), a press conference was held at Aviation High School’s temporary campus in Des Moines, where a major announcement was made:

The school received a $4 million grant from James Raisbeck, and it will be re-named Raisbeck Aviation High School, and will move to the Museum of Flight in Seattle!

The press conference was exciting – everyone mingled, whilst awaiting the start of the speech.

The principal of Aviation High School, Reba Gilman, started off by talking about Aviation’s mission and some of the work they have done. Everyone seemed anxious to hear who the donor was, but they wouldn’t disclose it yet.

Donnie Dunbar, CEO of the Museum of Flight, spoke after Reba. She spoke about how the museum and AHS are integrated and how they were working together to achieve their mission.

There was still no mentioning of who the big donor was.

Randy Dorn, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, spoke about how excited he was about Aviation High School and that AHS wasn’t just about aviation. It included animation, robotics, and science, among others. He said that he looks for three things in school: Efficiency, Quality, and Innovation.

“You can have quality and efficiency, but innovation is what makes the community great,” Dorn said.

People were getting antsy. The donor’s name would soon be disclosed, but there was one more speaker: John Welch, the Superintendent of Highline School District, had to thank everyone who contributed.

Than Reba Gilman got up on stage again and announced the big news – Raisbeck Engineering (James and Sherry Raisbeck), and their foundation had pledged $4 million dollars to the construction of the new site of AHS.

“It will happen!” James stated.

He spoke about the crew that was working on it and keep reiterating that it WILL HAPPEN! He plans for the building, located near the Museum of Flight, to be done within three years. The projected finish date is January of 2012.

Since he was the leading donor, the school will now be called Raisbeck Aviation High School. The cost of the project in total is $43.5 million. The cost was estimated in August of last year by Basetti and Highline School District.

They expect to have half the private funds identified by June, and 95 percent of the private funds identified by March of next year. Construction will begin in March of 2010.

They are planning on getting $15 million dollars from Washington State, 15 million from private and non-profit donors, $12 million from the Port of Seattle and Highline School District, and $1.5 million from federal tax dollars.

About James Raisbeck:
Mr. Raisbeck has received many prestigious awards and honors in the field of aviation and engineering, including the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Living Legends of Aviation award in January 2008.  James and his wife Sherry started the James and Sherry Raisbeck Foundation to support education, the arts, and the bio-medical field.  In 2007, James and Sherry won the annual Seattle/King County First Citizen Award recognizing extraordinary philanthropy and commitment to local communities, both in human services and the arts.

About The Museum of Flight
The Museum of Flight exists to acquire, preserve, and exhibit historically significant air and space artifacts, which provide a foundation for scholarly research, and lifelong learning programs that inspire an interest in and understanding of science, technology, and the humanities. The Museum of Flight’s expansion plan includes a space gallery and a commercial aviation gallery. Currently, The Museum’s programs serve more than 120,000 K-12 students each year. More information at www.museumofflight.org.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Josh Hart is The Waterland Blog’s first Intern!

He’s also a 15-year old student at Highline’s “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac.

by Josh Hart

Last October, a cool new program started in the Des Moines area when Don Harper and Wayne Corey founded the Des Moines/Normandy Park Elder Watch Program.

It took these guys 1-1/2 years to put together this project, which is aimed at increasing public awareness and reducing instances of Elder Abuse and neglect in the community.

Harper and Corey do this through a coordination of resources, support and response from various sources like the Des Moines Fire Aid Fund, South King Firefighters Foundation and the Legacy Foundation fund.

Wayne is the Elder Watch Co-Director, publisher of publicsafe.org, chairman of The Enhanced Public Safety Committee, a member of King County EMS/Medic One Advisory Committee, a volunteer for the Des Moines Police and South King Fire & Rescue, and a board member at the Des Moines Waterfront Farmer’s Market

Don also serves as Elder Watch Co-Director, a part of the Des Moines Senior Services Advisory Committee, and is a volunteer at the Des Moines Police and South King Fire & Rescue, a retired police officer, a volunteer at the Senior Services of King County, and a Suicide Prevention counselor.

Don and Wayne, along with the Des Moines Senior Advisory Committee, the Enhanced Public Safety Committee and local police target elders who get abused and who don’t get protected via the APS (Adult Protection Service). Don and Wayne find four ways of abuse, with Financial Exploitation and Neglect (either self neglect or caregiver neglect) as the most common one, in over 50% of cases. At a smaller amount but still noticeable is Physical and Emotional abuse along with sexual abuse in many cases.

• Intentionally causing pain and suffering and/or injury to an elderly adult can be considered physical and emotional abuse.
• Sexual Abuse is any form of non-consensual physical contact. It includes rape, molestation, or any sexual conduct with a person who lacks the mental capacity to exercise consent.
• Neglect is the failure of caregivers to fulfill their responsibilities to provide needed care. Self Neglect is the person’s own failure to maintain heath and safety. Intentionally taking advantage of an elderly adult financially is financial abuse.

The signs of these forms of abuse are the following:

• Physical & Emotional Abuse: unexplained injuries or behavior, elderly adult appears afraid of a person or circumstances, significant weight loss/gain that is not attributed to other causes, and stress related conditions, including elevated blood pressure.
• Sexual Abuse: inappropriate sex-role relationship between victim and suspect, genital or anal pain, irritation, bleeding or bruising, difficulty walking or sitting, torn, stained or bloody underclothing, and sexually transmitted diseases.
• Neglect/Self Neglect: untreated injuries or health, sudden decline in physical appearance, unsafe living conditions, and signs of medication mismanagement, including empty or unmarked bottles or outdated prescriptions.
• Financial Exploitation: disappearance of possessions or property, sudden transfer of money, unauthorized use of bank cards, and or/ forged signature on checks, and undue influence or coercion.

Only five percent of cases are reported, mainly because the elders are afraid to report the case or because they aren’t aware that they are being abused. Sometimes the elderly won’t talk to or let in First Responders, so Don and Wayne try to be less threatening and more low-key in trying to get the victim to open up.

Elder Watch provides victims rights information; help with information about the investigation; assistance with application for victims compensation benefits; liaison with prosecuting attorney’s office; referrals to other community agencies and resources that assist victims; assistance in getting property returned, and court support through the criminal justice process.

For more information on this program or to schedule a presentation to your group, please click on their website here: www.publicsafe.org/edlerwatch.org or call Elder Watch at 253-946-7338.

You can also visit the Des Moines Senior Center at 2045 S. 216th Street.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Josh Hart is The Waterland Blog’s first Intern!

He’s also a 15-year old student at Highline’s “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac.

by Josh Hart

Thursday morning (Feb. 26th) I met with Dave Markwell, the Vice President of Destination Des Moines, and an active member of the Des Moines community.

Dave has been looking for a way to engage the community and bring people together. He’s been trying to get the word out to people that there are things to appreciate in down times, and it’s really not that bad.

It is also something that to make you feel better about yourself and not get down on yourself.

So he started Feel Good Friday.

Feel Good Friday is a way to do all those things mentioned above, and also Dave has a business be the special spot of the day, and that is the spot to feel good that day.

The spots in the past have been Corky Cellars, The Reuben and Auntie Irene’s.

This week the feel-good spot is Marine View Florist. The workers at the spot always enjoy the kindness and they are kind too.

Feel Good Friday is a way to bridge the gap between businesses and also neighbors.

Dave sends an email out every Friday to tell people about Feel Good Friday. Here are some snippets from his inaugural email:

Good day, all!!

OK, Feel Good Friday is here, again!! For those of you new to FGF, today is your day to make the world better!! Feel Good Friday is the day to make someone else feel good, through kind words and/or deeds, in the process you will make yourself feel better. As a life coach and long-time student and seeker of things that feel good, I guarantee that you are rewarded by your kindnesses. Giving to others is a way to give to yourself, a way to be kind to yourself. You will feel better, more hopeful and encouraged by giving of yourself in little, fun ways to others. It is without a doubt the surest win/win bet life can promise. Selfish-selflessness. So, be selfish and spread your little seeds around and watch them germinate on the faces of those you share with. Have fun!! Be good to yourself today!!!

Joke of the Week:
Walking into the bar, Mike said to Charlie the bartender, ‘Pour me a stiff one – just had another fight with the little woman.’

‘Oh yeah?’ said Charlie, ‘And how did this one end?’

‘When it was over,’ Mike replied, ‘She came to me on her hands and knees.

‘Really,’ said Charles, ‘Now that’s a switch! What did she say?’

She said, ‘Come out from under the bed, you little chicken.’

Des Moines Citizens – Special Feel Good Friday Alert:

In an effort to help boost some community spirit, I am beginning a new program of recognition and awareness especially for our little town. Each FGF, I will be designating a local business as the “FGF Special Spot”.  I ask that you make a special effort to visit this business each week, introduce yourself and if you have the need, buy something from them. If you don’t have the need, just say hello or if you already know them, stop by anyway to say hi!!! Personalizing the relationships between the people of Des Moines, citizens and businesses, is a certain way to help everyone feel better about the community in which they live in and/or do business. It gives a sense of pride and ownership. It makes everyone feel hopeful and optimistic about the future and can help Des Moines truly define itself as a community in which people will come together and support each other. We all share the same desire for more good things in Des Moines. Shopping and engaging with each other in town will benefit everyone. This concept of “Think Des Moines First” will help lead to a better, brighter, more vibrant, more fun place to be and make Des Moines a true destination for the people that live here!!

Lets join Dave in making Des Moines a friendly community for all of us to enjoy!

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Josh Hart is our first Intern! He's also a 15-year old student at Highline's “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac. He also plays soccer.

You can read more of his writing here on sister site The B-Town Blog...]