It began last Friday with Foofaraw, an event sponsored by the Olympia Thurston County Chamber of Commerce. Foofaraw is a military appreciation day on the waters of South Sound. Dozens of service members from Joint Base Lewis-McChord and other military installations climbed on board yachts skippered by members of the Olympia Yacht Club for a cruise to Island Home, a private island owned by the club.
The day includes a continental breakfast, scavenger hunt, a Northwest salmon barbecue and of course spectacular scenery under sun-drenched skies. After some casual athletics and a lot more socializing, the relaxed participants find their way back to their boats for a leisurely cruise back to Olympia.
One military commander once said the easiest job he ever had was filling up his quota for Foofaraw. On Saturday, members of the Hawks Prairie Rotary stepped up to sponsor the annual Military Family Support Day at Cabela’s in Lacey. More than 3,500 people, united in a patriotic spirit, attended this year’s ninth annual celebration. Saturday’s event included free food, live music, about 50 vendors, and military personnel and vehicles for visitors to see. Andrew Oczkewicz, past president of Hawks Prairie Rotary and an organizer of Military Family Support Day, said, “It was an absolute success. It’s the best one we’ve ever had.”
The two events are a clear demonstration to members of the Armed Forces and the family members that they are welcome and appreciated in South Sound. Then on Sunday, on the 10th anniversary of the attack on America, South Sound residents gathered at the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial on the Capitol Campus to remember the police officers and other first responders who died in the line of duty on Sept. 11, 2001, at the twin towers in New York City.
“Hundreds of those who died that day were heroes,” said Sumner and Bonney Lake police chaplain Art Sphar during the invocation.
While civilians were running out of the burning World Trade Center buildings, the heroes were running in, he said. From the fun of Foofaraw, to the patriotism of Military Family Support Day to the somber 9/11 remembrance, last weekend was a time to pay honor and respect to our men and women in uniform and South Sound certainly did it up right.
Thumbs Down: Kevin Har-pham, 37, from Spokane, has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he planted a bomb that he intended to hurl poison-laced shrapnel into the multicultural crowd marching in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade last January.
The hate crime incident shocked the community of Spokane and the state.
Harpham, who has known ties to white supremacists, faces 27 to 32 years in prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 30. U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush asked Harpham if he placed the bomb in an effort to hurt people because of their race, color or national origin. “Yes,” Harpham replied. He said it took him about a month to build the bomb. He acknowledged placing the device along the parade route in an attempt to commit a hate crime.
Thank goodness the backpack bomb was discovered before the parade by event workers in downtown Spokane and disabled before it could explode. Excellent police work led to Harpham’s arrest.
A key was discovering huge numbers of postings by Harpham, using a pen name, over a period of years on a white supremacist website called Vanguard News Network. “He told others he was a white supremacist and white separatist,” said assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Harrington. It will be good to have Harpham and his hatred behind bars for a long, long time.
Thumbs Up: Kids need physical exercise and the best way to get them away from their computer games and outdoors enjoying physical activity is to have great parks and playgrounds for them.
South Sound is blessed with an abundance of terrific parks, from large, multi-use facilities such as the Regional Athletic Complex, Rainier Vista Park and Yauger Park, to neighborhood parks such as Thornbury Meadows or Lion’s Park.
The nation’s third Exploradome is part of a playground that opened a week ago at LBA Park. In addition to the 13-foot domed structure with a variety of rope ladders and other play features, LBA has the city’s first zipline.
LBA’s playground is one of four new area play areas that children can enjoy before the end of the year.
A playground replacement is under way at Yauger Park on the city’s west side, A brand-new playground is open at a brand-new park, Kettle View Park at 1250 Eagle Bend Drive, and in the works is a completely new playground in the grassy park at Percival Landing along Olympia’s waterfront. It’s great to see local government leaders doing their best to combat childhood obesity by providing creative and entertaining playgrounds and parks.
