Attention all Islanders in business with the Department of Health and Social Services, past, current, or being currently pondered: you will be glad to know that DSHS is bringing its mobile office over to the Island on Thursday, April 17 and will be parking it from 10AM till 2PM at the United Methodist Church, 17928 Vashon Highway, because that means that there will be a full complement of Department Representatives for you to consult whether it be for food or cash assistance or health insurance. You can also make changes to an existing account¸ drop off paperwork or complete a review. Visit the big, colorful van while it’s parked in town in front of the Methodist Church if you need some attention for County business from 10 to 2 on April 17^th. This has been a Voice of Vashon Public Service Announcement, Business as Usual Department.

Goodness knows there are about as many ways to get a decent education as there are people who have their own ideas about how to dream one up. We don’t necessarily want to all stop and start together. For instance, you may be a Vashon High School Senior but you’re not done with Vashon High School yet; there’s stuff that you want to get out of the way before you move on. And it’s for long-range students like that that the Helen M. Clancy Memorial Scholarship was created. Helen Clancy was a Vashon resident for 45 years and since 1995, 254 graduating seniors have received the continuing annual scholarship. Applicant high seniors must be residents of Vashon Island but may attend Vashon High School or any off-Island High School. Selection is based on the applicant’s: financial need, scholarship, leadership and other personal achievements.

Online applications are available at www.HMCSF.ORG or with the Vashon High School Counselors. The deadline for completing and submitting the application is Friday, April 4th.

The mission of the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank is to work in partnership with our community to increase our island’s food security and connect people to the supporting resources they need to thrive. What this means is that there is no need for anyone on Vashon or Maury Islands to ever go hungry no matter who you are or what your income level may be. The Food Bank serves over 300 households per week and distributes food at the Bank itself every Wednesday from 10AM till 2PM, and then again, later in the day, from 4 to 7PM. And this message addresses the supply side of our operation as well. Nonperishable food and clean grocery bags with handles are always welcome in our blue donations shed or in the drop-off receptacles inside Thriftway or IGA. If it’s your time or energy or, hey, even your money you want to donate visit www.Vashonfoodbank.org. If you eat, then this announcement was all about you. This has been a Voice of Vashon Public Service Announcement, Basic Needs Department.

After some research, a group of folks who live in Burton have become roused to the fact that they live in a VERY INTERESTING PLACE. And so they have teamed up with the Heritage Museum to work on developing a Burton History Trail, a walking trail with signs that tell the history of the Burton Community from the first Swiftwater People villages to the development of Vashon College and the Children’s Missionary Home, to the bustling gateway to Tacoma and to the present village with Harbor Mercantile and the Burton Coffee Stand at its core. So a community meeting is planned for Sunday, June 4th at 3PM at Camp Burton to give feedback on possible routes and maps and help work on designs, funding and other vital issues. And if this project interests you, you don’t have to live in Burton to take part. After all, you can’t get to Burton without going through Vashon, and any Burton attraction is an attraction for the whole Island. 3PM on Sunday, June 4th at Camp Burton. The more, as they say, the merrier. This has been a Voice of Vashon Public Service Announcement, Keep Vashon Cool Department.

Words by Bill Wood – Voice by Jeff Hoyt