Beachcomber seeks Pride stories
For an upcoming edition of The Beachcomber celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month, we want to talk to islanders who are part of the LGBTQ+ community for a story about what being out and proud on Vashon means for islanders.
If interested, please reach out to editor@vashonbeachcomber.com. You can share as much or as little as you want.
School security event
All Vashon Island School District schools entered a “Secure” protocol for about 40 minutes on Thursday, May 1, following a report of an unknown person on campus, according to the school district. During this response, students remained inside and continued normal activities and staff kept all exterior doors secured and remained alert. The King County Sheriff’s Office spoke with the person involved, who is no longer permitted on school property, according to the school district.
Sheriffs respond to death
King County Sheriff’s Deputies found a deceased person in a car parked in the Mom’s Deli parking lot the afternoon of Wednesday, April 30.
Deputies were dispatched around 2:30 p.m. to a welfare check on that person, identified by the King County Medical Examiner as islander Nicole Danielle Phalen-Schold, who was unresponsive in her vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office. She was found to be dead.
Phalen-Schold, who was 49 years old, died of complications of chronic alcohol use disorder at that address, according to the medical examiner.
Loved ones of Phalen-Schold, reached by The Beachcomber, said that they will miss her dearly.
Ferry meetings
Washington State Ferries will detail its service plans for the summer season and progress on building new ferries and other projects in two upcoming online community meetings.
The first starts at noon on Wednesday, May 21. The second is at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 22.
Prior registration is required. Each meeting will cover the same material. Meeting participants will be able to ask questions and anyone can also provide comments ahead of time by emailing wsfcomms@wsdot.wa.gov. After the meetings, video recordings will be available online on WSF’s community participation page at wsdot.wa.gov/travel/washington-state-ferries/about-us/community-participation, which also includes links to register for the meetings.
Backbone protests in D.C.
Executive Director Bill Moyer and two volunteers of the Vashon-based community action group Backbone Campaign travelled to Washington, D.C. for the May Day protests on May 1, where they ran multiple light projections — including one as Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade passed — and displayed a 210-foot giant “We the People” banner parading through the streets. Their messages decried the White House’s systematic denial of due process and repeated violations of the law in its recent spree of deportations. The demonstrations were covered on some national news outlets.
“Backbone Campaign has always leaned into speaking up for our constitutional rights and human rights, especially at moments when those rights are under attack,” Moyer said. “Liberty is a muscle that needs to be exercised, and if we don’t exercise our rights, we risk losing them. … It feels like our duty to stand up for due process and rule of law for everyone. (And) I think that this is the time for people with privilege to spend that privilege on protecting and standing up for others.”
He added that he was “pleasantly surprised by the civility and the professionalism of the Washington D.C. police” during their actions at the Capitol.
Moyer said the main target of the messages are those in Congress, the military, law enforcement and other fields which have the power to either go along with, or resist Trump. The intention is that “they know that it’s not okay to obey immoral and illegal orders,” Moyer said.
As to what he hoped VP Vance took away from the messages beamed around his motorcade, Moyer said: “I don’t have great faith that JD Vance takes his oath of office particularly seriously, nor his obligation to support and defend the Constitution. So I’m glad he saw that. I’m glad he saw that people are not okay. People are standing up to the overreach of this administration.”
Public meetings
• Vashon Island School District regular board meeting: 6 p.m., Thursday, May 8 at Chautauqua Elementary School, Room 302, 9309 SW Cemetery Road. The board meets the second and fourth Thursday of each month. Visit vashonsd.org.
• Water District 19 regular board meeting: 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 13 at 17630 100th Ave SW. The board meets the second Tuesday of the month. Visit water19.com.
• Vashon Park District regular board meeting: 6:15 p.m., Tuesday, May 13 at the Ober Park Administration Building, 17130 Vashon Hwy SW and via Zoom. The board meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. Visit vashonparks.org.
• Vashon Sewer District regular board meeting: 6:30 p.m., Wednesday May 14 at the VARSA office, 17520 Vashon Hwy SW. The board normally meets the third Tuesday of the month. Visit vashonsewerdistrict.org.
• Vashon Cemetery District regular board meeting: 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 14, at 19631 Singer Rd SW. The board meets the second Wednesday of the month. Visit vashoncemetery.org.
• Vashon Health Care District regular board meeting: 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 21 at Vashon Presbyterian Church, 17708 Vashon Hwy SW, and on Zoom. The board meets the third Wednesday of the month. Visit vashonhealthcare.org.
