Wenatchee/P’Squosa elder Randy Lewis brings an important perspective to our understanding of regional history, our connection with the natural world, and the shared sense of humanity that can help us navigate these trying times.
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Imagine how much stronger our communities would be if grandparents learned effective skills and techniques to engage with their grandkids to forge strong relationships. With a mindset of curiosity and openness, grandparents could be a positive and stabilizing influence for their grandchildren.
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I love programs that connect kids with the arts. On Thursday and Friday mornings this week, the Wenatchee Valley Symphony in partnership with Confluence Health and the Wenatchee Valley Medical Group will bring the theatrical production of “Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage” to the Numerica Perform…
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Seven excited Eastmont High School students joined the workforce at Stemilt Growers late last month in a joyful ceremony that kicked off a year-long local job training program.
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In a society where individualism and self absorption dominate the headlines, we owe a debt of gratitude to people like Carmen Bossenbrock, who live lives of service and exemplify the importance of working to make the community better.
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Here’s a golden opportunity for any of us in the Wenatchee Valley to be a volunteer tutor two hours a week and help inspire a few elementary students.
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During a recent visit to the Brave Warrior Project, staff member Ashleigh Flint switched on the Disney Karaoke program and participant Mark Lee’s eyes lit up. As the music started playing and without looking at the words, Mark confidently belted out the tune to “You’ll Be In My Heart” from t…
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Since retiring as publisher of the newspaper in 2018, it has been gratifying to have the opportunity to continue writing a column for the newspaper and also pitching in to help out with Wenatchee Valley Business World with their annual event honoring young leaders who are making a difference…
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These days, Ed Baugh feels enlivened by riding his bicycle long distances and other outdoor adventures. At 76 and retired from four decades of teaching and coaching in the Eastmont School District, he has never lost his passion for helping others and meeting them where they are.
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The city of Wenatchee is on the cusp of a radical transformation with three major developments on the edges of downtown that could collectively cost $300 million in an eight-block area.
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I am a passionate believer that collaboration is by far a better way to get things done in a community than operating in silos with organizations doing their own thing in isolation. You can accomplish more working together.
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Outstanding educational leaders make a powerful difference in the lives of students, families and their staff. I was reminded of this when I interviewed retired educator Bev Baugh recently about her journey.
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Dr. Peter Rutherford has much to be proud of in his tenure at the helm of Confluence Health for the past 11 years. He and his team were successful in implementing a complicated affiliation between Central Washington Hospital and what was then Wenatchee Valley Medical Center when financial di…
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Eastmont School District Superintendent Garn Christensen has much to be proud of during his tenure at the school and in the community. He took the position when it had been a revolving door and brought stability and a thoughtful, systematic and understated approach to the district.
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I am impressed with the slick new online community resource called Waste Wizard that was recently launched by the local nonprofit Sustainable NCW. For those of us who want to find creative ways to send less stuff to the landfill, the Waste Wizard is a dream come true.
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With a little bit of cash and some creative thinking, teachers in our region find ways to bring unique learning opportunities to students. One of the region’s innovative teachers is Tina Nicpan Brown, the 2022 regional teacher of the year for the North Central Educational Service District an…
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Significant efforts are being made in North Central Washington to incorporate the history and culture of Native peoples into our shared narrative rather than blithely accepting the prevailing cultural myth that history started with white settlement.
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There’s nothing quite as inspiring as getting to spend time getting to know a small town by getting acquainted with and learning from locals who are fully invested in the community’s success.
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I wish more people would have the opportunity to experience the musical production “Unsettled,” put on by the group Dangerous Women at Snowy Owl Theater in Leavenworth last weekend.
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The Wenatchee Valley community has a special relationship with Haiti that has seen countless medical professionals spend time volunteering to alleviate suffering in that impoverished country.
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There was a heartfelt homecoming last week at the Cashmere Rotary Club when former local teacher Richard “Dick” Scheuerman visited to talk about the war in Ukraine and efforts to support children there who are orphans.
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On a recent visit to Walla Walla with a friend, I had the opportunity to visit the Whitman Mission National Historic site run by the National Park Service to see how the interpretation of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman is changing to reflect a more accurate view of both the 1847 massacre and th…
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When it comes to individuals who epitomize the spirit of Mission Ridge Ski Resort and the sport of skiing, you would be hard pressed to find someone more worthy than Otto Ross, the 96-year-old youngster who just completed his 70th year as a certified ski instructor.
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We are exceedingly fortunate to have the Community Foundation of North Central Washington in our midst, providing guidance, leadership and support to non-profit organizations that are doing essential work helping our neighbors who are struggling.
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Harriet Bullitt, who passed on last weekend at age 97, made immeasurable contributions to the communities of North Central Washington and beyond through her generous philanthropy and her unswerving commitment to conservation, history and the arts.
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The North Central Washington Economic Development District is doing some groundbreaking work in making economic development more accessible to rural communities as well as to groups of people that typically are left out in the cold in our economy.
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There is a tendency to think about community leadership as exclusively the domain of influential business leaders, nonprofit executives and elected officials. Good civic leadership at those levels is very important, but it isn’t sufficient for building community cohesion and a sense of share…
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At a recent Lake Chelan Rotary Club meeting, passionate community builder and real estate agent Guy Evans floated a voluntary approach that individuals could use to help make housing more affordable and attainable in their communities.
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Our Valley Our Future will release its second five-year action plan during a luncheon on Wednesday, March 23, at Pybus Public Market and I’m excited to see the results.
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Eleven-year-old Wyatt DeLozier couldn’t be happier that the snow is melting and the weather is warming up. For Wyatt, that means it’s time to put on his cleats, grab his glove and be part of Wenatchee Youth Baseball’s Majors league.
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Dr. Ed Farrar, the Wenatchee orthopedic surgeon who suffered a devastating spinal injury in 2008 and then reinvented his life to continue practicing medicine, be physically active and contribute to the community, died Tuesday, March 8.
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Our dear friends at Music Theater of Wenatchee and Short Shakespeareans are in a bit of a pickle and could use community help to find space to store the props they’ve acquired over the past 50 or 60 years.
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One of the most pragmatic thinkers about serving people at the margins is Father Gregory Boyle, the founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest and most successful felon and gang rehabilitation program based in Los Angeles.
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Chelan County PUD commissioners will soon make a critical decision that will have profound ramifications for the long-term economic vitality and quality of life for the entire Wenatchee Valley.
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Chelan-native Zoee Stamps is embracing college life at the University of Iowa as part of UI REACH (Realizing Educational and Career Hopes), a program designed to expand the horizons and potential of individuals with learning challenges.
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For individuals who learn differently or have neurological challenges, opportunities to find meaningful employment and contribute to civic life tend to be few and far between. These individuals want and deserve opportunities to participate in civic life by leveraging their unique abilities a…
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The most important work we can do as individuals and within businesses and civic organizations is to become trust builders and bridge builders in our communities. It is vital that we develop the personal discipline to listen to and learn from people who have different views and perspectives …
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One of the most vital human services in our community in these troubled times is the PowerHouse Ministry Center in East Wenatchee, which offers people experiencing homelessness a place to warm up during winter days and cool off during the hot days of summer.
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In the last 20 years, the Washington Apple Education Foundation has developed an innovative and highly effective educational program that changes the lives of students whose parents work in the industry.
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In the early 2000s, a small group of individuals in the information technology team at Chelan County PUD put their careers on the line to expose abuses when the utility was led by Charlie Hosken, a former Deloitte and Touche executive who succeeded Roger Braden as general manager.
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The insightful columnist David Brooks recently observed that teaching is a human endeavor — that students learn from people they love. There is a clear connection between the emotional connection kids have with their teachers and their capacity to learn.
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WENATCHEE — Bill Pratt, a decorated track athlete at Wenatchee High School and Stanford University in the late 1950s and early 1960s, has never lost his connection with the Wenatchee Valley.
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In the final days of his tenure as general manager of Chelan County PUD, I had the opportunity to chat with Steve Wright about what has been accomplished, his views on the community and what he’s planning to do next.
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Despite the highly contentious and emotion-driven political atmosphere that is ripping apart the social fabric in America, one can still find information sources based on rational discussion and mutual respect that invite us to listen to different perspectives and test our ideas.
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Wenatchee native Erin Murray was recently crowned the World’s Strongest Woman in her weight class, but what she accomplished was as much the result of developing inner strength and resilience as physical strength.
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(Editor’s note: This is the second of three columns focusing on the book: “Dividing Paradise: Rural Inequality and the Diminishing American Dream” by WSU sociologist Jennifer Sherman)
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We all have blind spots. We see the world from our own experience, education and background and deceive ourselves into thinking that our perspective is correct and the viewpoint of others is faulty. That’s why it’s important to seek out different viewpoints and consider evidence that counters our thinking.
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The Greater Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce underwent a remarkable transformation under the leadership of executive director Shiloh Burgess, who recently left to take a government affairs position with Douglas County PUD.
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There are so many interesting threads in a community that connect us to our past.
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Perhaps the most vexing challenge we face in our North Central Washington communities today is addressing the growing economic and social divide that is the result of our economy shifting from being based on natural resources like agriculture and logging to one dominated by tourism and recreation.
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