A senior who set a good example for children was among 58 people who paid to enter Northwest Trek on April 2 despite knowing they didn’t have to.
When computer and phone systems unexpectedly went down in the middle of a busy day made busier by spring break for students, credit and debit cards couldn’t be used for paying admission. So the staff of the wildlife park near Eatonville decided to let customers who didn’t have checks or cash into the park on the honor system and asked them to come back after their visit to pay.
Fifty-eight people entered that way before the payment systems could be restored, and all 58 paid at the end of their day.
One senior citizen who brought five children to the park discovered the ticket windows closed and cash registers silent as her group was leaving at closing time. Undaunted, “she came into the office and hunted up someone who could take her payment,†said Jeannie Clay, Trek’s membership coordinator.
“We told people we were doing the best we could with our computer challenges, and they responded in the best possible way,†Clay said. “It was a tough day, but the lesson at the end of the day as far as restoring faith in people’s honesty and good humor was just awesome.†Bison and mountain goat graze in the free roaming area on April 2 at Northwest Trek, a day when honesty prevailed among customers who paid to enter the wildlife park even though they didn’t have to. (Northwest Trek photo)
When Bill and Karen Lane bought 20 acres of forested land in the McKenna Forest Reserve near Yelm, it was for their retirement home. But it has also turned into a source of income.
The land supplemented their income as they harvested one-third of their trees in an ecologically-based commercial thinning operation last winter with help from Northwest Certified Forestry. Many landowners have performed similar harvests with NCF and have worked with the program to restore and diversify their forests.
Before the Lanes bought it, the land had been cleared and replanted by Weyerhaeuser several decades ago and since then had grown into a densely stocked plantation of only Douglas fir. Single-species plantations are a way to simplify industrial logging, but may not meet the needs of smaller, family forest owners interested in more diverse, complex and natural forests, NCF officials explained. Homogenous plantations can also come with risks, including increased vulnerability to insects and diseases, and limited market opportunities.
“Before we did any thinning, it was very difficult to walk back here. It was a very dense, dark forest. It was beautiful, but it was unusable as far as we were concerned,†Lane said. “The forest has opened up a lot more, so it will get a lot more sunlight. The trees will thrive much more.â€
Lane said that with the 20 truckloads of logs that were harvested, he and his wife netted about $8,000 after consulting fees, permits and taxes. They are planning to replant open gaps and the understory with a mixture of lodgepole pine, western red cedar and alder.
“Increasingly folks are buying former industrial timber plantations for either residences or to manage themselves,†said Kirk Hanson, director of Northwest Certified Forestry. “These plantations require continued management in order to stay healthy and productive, whether the objective is purely conservation or to produce sustained income. The ecological thinning we prescribe meets both objectives. In the case of the Lanes, we thinned an overstocked forest in order to improve the growth of the most dominant and healthy trees, opened the canopy slightly to stimulate more diverse understory vegetation, and retained enough timber that the owner can come back in eight to ten years and thin again to generate additional income.“
Forester Rick Helman, who also works forNCF, said current log prices are strong, which helps support an ecological approach to timber harvest.
“A thinning project like the one we conducted for the Lanes produces material for three different log sorts – a high-value export sort, a domestic chip and saw sort, and a pulp sort,†he said. “With current markets where they are, and working with a team of knowledgeable local logging contractors, we’re creating opportunities for landowners to conduct ecological thinning operations that build forest health and value over the long term.â€
Northwest Certified Forestry was launched seven years ago to provide landowners with win-win solutions that help the environment and provide financial incentives to landowners. NCF is a program of the Northwest Natural Resource Group, a not-for-profit organization. Bill Lane and his wife recently netted $8,000 in timber sales from 20-acre forest they bought and retired to in the Yelm area. (Northwest Natural Resource Group photo)
Tacoma Historical Society’s Historic Homes of Tacoma tour will be held May 4 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and May 5 (1 to 5 p.m.).
The tour features homes in the Stadium and North Slope districts.
Tickets are on sale at several Tacoma locations (Pacific Northwest Shop, Stadium Thriftway, Columbia Bank branches at 21st and Pearl, Fircrest and South 19th and Union) and at hometour@tacomahistory.org. They’ll also be sold on the days of the tour in First Presbyterian Church’s reception area at 102 Tacoma Ave. S. Homes in the Stadium and North Slope districts will be featured in the Historic Homes of Tacoma tour. (Courtesy photo)
When Joan Engle, director of community relations at Cascade Park Communities in Tacoma, heard about an idea that Ingrid Payne, a senior at Gig Harbor High School, had for her senior project, she knew it would fit right in with the residents of Cascade Park.
Payne’s idea was to do semi-makeovers and put together glamour shots using the residents as her models.
The project is due in April, and Payne’s topic is lower-income senior citizens.
Payne has always had a soft spot for senior citizens.
“When I was in middle school, there was a club after school called the Share Club. You could pick what you wanted to do, and I was interested in working at an Alzheimer’s home,†she said.
She bonded with the residents there and recognized that they needed the company. “I would love to continue volunteering with older folks,†she said.
Rochelle Hayden acted as Payne’s mentor for the project. “She needed someone who was related to some sort of charitable work or community work, and I am involved in a lot of different charitable organizations in the community,†said Hayden.
The two put on their thinking caps and came up with the idea of the glamour shots. They called Gene Juarez Academy and told them about the project. Students there were more than happy to sign on to help. They brought their advisor with them and earned credit for their work.
Engle was delighted that Cascade Park Communities could be part of the project.
“The residents were very excited,†said Engle, adding that since there were limited spaces, the signup sheet filled up quickly. The volunteers hoped to make the day special for a total of 80 seniors.
The plan was to use men and women and give them hair trims and new hairdos, apply makeup and then have them choose fancy clothes to wear for their closeup shots.
Everything went off without a hitch.
Resident Helene Nigad, a breast cancer survivor, said, “I was excited to hear about this event and to get makeup.â€
Nigad got makeup and more. She chose a zippy hat and a fancy boa and proudly posed for Payne and her glamour shot.
Volunteer Jaime Morey helped Charlotte O. Johnson choose makeup.
“I was so excited I couldn’t believe it,†said Johnson after she picked a white boa and sat for her photo.
Volunteers enjoyed their day, as well. “This is a good pampering day,†said Morey.
Payne said the senior project is mandatory for graduation. Her passions are photography and cosmetology, and next year she hopes to attend Aveda Institute in Seattle, a cosmetology school.
Hayden said senior projects are supposed to be related to the student’s interests, so the Cascade Park event fit right in with Payne’s passions.
“She wanted to do something for senior citizens, and we brainstormed ideas and she came up with this idea. We took our ideas to Joan Engle and asked which one she thought they would benefit from the most,†Payne said.
Gene Juarez Academy sent eight people to do the hair and makeup.
“We are hoping the volunteers might continue to be involved,†said Hayden.
Cascade Park Communities accepts Medicaid residents only, and after all of their expenses there are limited funds, so they don’t have money to spend on extras explained Hayden.
“This is a way to put a smile on their face,†she said. Loretta Unick expresses surprise at her new hairdo at the Cascade Park Communities glamour photo day. (Joan Cronk/Senior Scene)
