http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100627/NEWS01/706279920
Everett Public Library's summer reading program encourages teens and other kids to read by giving prizes such as swim passes, tacos and even a bike.
There's also a chance to meet with Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson.
Summer Reading Program 2010 will run through Aug. 28.
The library hopes teens and kids keep up their reading during summer vacation and planned the program as a fun and easy way to keep kids' noses in the books.
At the end of the summer, the library plans to reward the young readers with prizes according to how many books they finish: a pass to the Forest Park Swim Center for the first 12 books they read, a taco from Taco Time for the second set of 12 books, a coupon for a free kid's meal from Denny's Restaurant for the third set and a book for the fourth set.
“This is an intensive reading program; if the children finish the program early by Aug. 7, they get an invitation to a party at the library and they can meet the mayor,” said Emily Dagg, youth services and outreach manager at the Everett Public Library.
All kids and teens are eligible.
“Our goal is to encourage children to keep up their reading skills during the summer vacation, so when they return back to schools they haven't lost their reading skills,” Dagg said.
Everett Library also offers reading programs that focus on a specific age group. Among them is Read with Me, which encourages parents to read aloud to their kids and infants; prizes for that program include a ticket to Imagine Children's Museum.
Reading program sponsors include Target, which gave $2,000 for prizes; Denny's; Taco Time; and the Swim Center.
Last year, the library had 2,400 kids and teens participate in the summer program. Children have to come to the main library or the Evergreen Branch Library and fill out the registration card.
For more information: go to www.epls.org. For information on programs offered by Sno-Isle Libraries, follow the links at www.sno-isle.org.
Ahmed Fawzi: 425-339-3449, afawzi@heraldnet.com.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The plus side of minus tide. By Ahmed Fawzi Herald Writer
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100625/NEWS01/706259906
EVERETT — You can skimboard, walk your dog, dig for sand shrimp or eat lunch in the sun on Snohomish County beaches.
And you can do it all for free.
Cascadia Community College student Riley Davis, 20, said, “The sand here is different than the sand in many other places. You can walk, and do a lot of activities, you can enjoy the tide from 10 a.m. to about 3 p.m.”
And this is the time to do it.
Some of the lowest tides for the year are occurring and the occurrence is drawing crowds to Snohomish County beaches.
People like Davis and Marty Ferguson, 24, who attends the University of Washington, come every day during the low tide to enjoy the morning sun.
“I come here as much as I can when I’m not working,” Davis said. “I just enjoy the skimboarding in the tide.”
“It’s not only nice during the daytime, but also it’s nice at night,” Ferguson added. “The lights from the port make it pretty.”
The beach tempted some people to leave the city and come for a walk. Robert Reese, 34, brought his 5-year-old nephew Noah to Howarth Park to help him walk his four dogs.
“I drive 10 miles to come here, but it’s worth it,” Reese said.
Bill Reasons also likes to come to Howarth Park with his dog Sookie, who likes to run.
“This is a nice place and nice time to do this,” Reasons said. “I do this two times a week if there is a good low tide. It’s a quiet place and people who come here are friendly.”
The low tides also brought Carl Oxwang, 66, of Snohomish, to the beach.
“I like it when it’s low tide,” he said. “I dig for a sand shrimp when I need it.”
Ahmed Fawzi: 425-339-3449, afawzi@heraldnet.com.
EVERETT — You can skimboard, walk your dog, dig for sand shrimp or eat lunch in the sun on Snohomish County beaches.
And you can do it all for free.
Cascadia Community College student Riley Davis, 20, said, “The sand here is different than the sand in many other places. You can walk, and do a lot of activities, you can enjoy the tide from 10 a.m. to about 3 p.m.”
And this is the time to do it.
Some of the lowest tides for the year are occurring and the occurrence is drawing crowds to Snohomish County beaches.
People like Davis and Marty Ferguson, 24, who attends the University of Washington, come every day during the low tide to enjoy the morning sun.
“I come here as much as I can when I’m not working,” Davis said. “I just enjoy the skimboarding in the tide.”
“It’s not only nice during the daytime, but also it’s nice at night,” Ferguson added. “The lights from the port make it pretty.”
The beach tempted some people to leave the city and come for a walk. Robert Reese, 34, brought his 5-year-old nephew Noah to Howarth Park to help him walk his four dogs.
“I drive 10 miles to come here, but it’s worth it,” Reese said.
Bill Reasons also likes to come to Howarth Park with his dog Sookie, who likes to run.
“This is a nice place and nice time to do this,” Reasons said. “I do this two times a week if there is a good low tide. It’s a quiet place and people who come here are friendly.”
The low tides also brought Carl Oxwang, 66, of Snohomish, to the beach.
“I like it when it’s low tide,” he said. “I dig for a sand shrimp when I need it.”
Ahmed Fawzi: 425-339-3449, afawzi@heraldnet.com.
Blind Iraqi boy ready for the joys and challenges his future holds. By Andy Rathbun and Ahmed Fawzi Herald Writers
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100623/NEWS01/706239808
SNOHOMISH — The young Iraqi child doesn't remember color or light.
He was blinded before he arrived in America, the victim of a horrific attack when he was 2.
Now 7, Muhammed “Hamoody” Jauda might change his name to something more American. He uses his legal guardians' last name — Smith — but is far from settled on a first. He kind of likes Simon.
“We're waiting, because we want to make sure he makes a good decision, what he really wants,” Julie Robinett Smith said. “He was telling me last year it was Dylan.”
In many ways, Hamoody has become a typical American boy since arriving in Snohomish in 2006. He just finished first grade at Riverview Elementary, loves shooting Nerf guns, goes to church at Bethany Christian Assembly in Everett and keeps a baseball glove draped from his bedpost.
But he also makes calls home to Iraq, keeping in touch with his Shiite family. He hopes one day to go to Kuwait to visit them, but he said he has no intention of going back to Iraq itself.
“I don't want to remember all the bad times,” he said.
“There wasn't a lot of bad times,” Julie Robinett Smith said. “Just one.”
The attack happened in 2005. Sunni insurgents shot his mother, killed his uncle and turned a gun on Hamoody at close range.
His right eye was a complete loss. He now keeps the empty socket covered with a flesh-toned bandage. He lost vision in his left eye. It was replaced with a brown life-like prosthetic.
He came to the Smiths through Healing the Children, a Spokane-based international aid group that provides medical treatment to children from poor countries. His stay lengthened from one year to three as doctors rebuilt his face.
By the time he turned 6, the Smiths were as attached to him as he was to them.
Randy and Julie Robinett Smith won approval from his Iraqi family to become his legal guardians. All agreed he would have a better chance of survival here. In 2008, the U.S. government granted him asylum.
He now calls the Smiths Mom and Dad and wants to become a U.S. citizen after he turns 18.
“I just thought it would be a little bit cooler,” he said.
Hamoody also has adapted to life as a blind child.
He runs upstairs to his room and can walk straight down aisles at Fred Meyer, barely using his cane as he makes a beeline to the toy section.
Mary Ann Graham helped him develop those abilities through her role as a Snohomish School District teacher for visually impaired children.
Now about to retire, she has taught him how to navigate the world.
She calls him “exceptional.”
She showed him how to buy groceries and read Braille. He's at 60 words per minute, reading above a third grade level. She also helped him develop a sense of echolocation. He uses sound like a bat, identifying large objects — people, cars, pillars.
Graham said she's not sure what would have happened if Hamoody had stayed in Iraq.
“He would not have had the opportunity for the schooling, and to develop the skills” that he has, she said.
Graham and the Smiths agree the boy still faces challenges. He is scheduled for more surgery in July, to keep damaged nasal passages open.
Someday, he also will have to convince people that he can cope in a sighted world.
Robinett Smith said Hamoody is up to the task, happy and fierce in his approach to life.
And he's ready to take risks. It's OK if he gets hurt, Hamoody said.
“I just tough it out.”
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455; arathbun@heraldnet.com.
Ahmed Fawzi: 425-339-3449, afawzi@heraldnet.com.
SNOHOMISH — The young Iraqi child doesn't remember color or light.
He was blinded before he arrived in America, the victim of a horrific attack when he was 2.
Now 7, Muhammed “Hamoody” Jauda might change his name to something more American. He uses his legal guardians' last name — Smith — but is far from settled on a first. He kind of likes Simon.
“We're waiting, because we want to make sure he makes a good decision, what he really wants,” Julie Robinett Smith said. “He was telling me last year it was Dylan.”
In many ways, Hamoody has become a typical American boy since arriving in Snohomish in 2006. He just finished first grade at Riverview Elementary, loves shooting Nerf guns, goes to church at Bethany Christian Assembly in Everett and keeps a baseball glove draped from his bedpost.
But he also makes calls home to Iraq, keeping in touch with his Shiite family. He hopes one day to go to Kuwait to visit them, but he said he has no intention of going back to Iraq itself.
“I don't want to remember all the bad times,” he said.
“There wasn't a lot of bad times,” Julie Robinett Smith said. “Just one.”
The attack happened in 2005. Sunni insurgents shot his mother, killed his uncle and turned a gun on Hamoody at close range.
His right eye was a complete loss. He now keeps the empty socket covered with a flesh-toned bandage. He lost vision in his left eye. It was replaced with a brown life-like prosthetic.
He came to the Smiths through Healing the Children, a Spokane-based international aid group that provides medical treatment to children from poor countries. His stay lengthened from one year to three as doctors rebuilt his face.
By the time he turned 6, the Smiths were as attached to him as he was to them.
Randy and Julie Robinett Smith won approval from his Iraqi family to become his legal guardians. All agreed he would have a better chance of survival here. In 2008, the U.S. government granted him asylum.
He now calls the Smiths Mom and Dad and wants to become a U.S. citizen after he turns 18.
“I just thought it would be a little bit cooler,” he said.
Hamoody also has adapted to life as a blind child.
He runs upstairs to his room and can walk straight down aisles at Fred Meyer, barely using his cane as he makes a beeline to the toy section.
Mary Ann Graham helped him develop those abilities through her role as a Snohomish School District teacher for visually impaired children.
Now about to retire, she has taught him how to navigate the world.
She calls him “exceptional.”
She showed him how to buy groceries and read Braille. He's at 60 words per minute, reading above a third grade level. She also helped him develop a sense of echolocation. He uses sound like a bat, identifying large objects — people, cars, pillars.
Graham said she's not sure what would have happened if Hamoody had stayed in Iraq.
“He would not have had the opportunity for the schooling, and to develop the skills” that he has, she said.
Graham and the Smiths agree the boy still faces challenges. He is scheduled for more surgery in July, to keep damaged nasal passages open.
Someday, he also will have to convince people that he can cope in a sighted world.
Robinett Smith said Hamoody is up to the task, happy and fierce in his approach to life.
And he's ready to take risks. It's OK if he gets hurt, Hamoody said.
“I just tough it out.”
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455; arathbun@heraldnet.com.
Ahmed Fawzi: 425-339-3449, afawzi@heraldnet.com.
Everett police dog Porter reports for duty. Newest recruit to Everett’s finest ready to sniff out crime. By Ahmed Fawzi, Herald Writer
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100623/NEWS01/706239856
EVERETT – A new officer is joining Everett police. Porter is a German shepherd who will patrol city streets on his four paws, sniffing out crimes and tracking criminals.
Porter, with his handler officer Tim Collings, will join the city’s four other police dog teams.
Last week Porter and another five police dog teams from other cities completed their training at the Everett Police Department South Precinct. Their graduation means they are now certificated to start their work in Everett, Renton and Seattle.
The officers and their dogs received 540 hours of training over the past 15 months.
“Porter got a range of five to 20 hours of training per week depending on the type of training,covering basic obedience, tracking, building searches, evidence searches, suspect apprehension,” Collings said.
Everett police Officer Suzanne Eviston, who led the recent training program, worked in training dogs for about 25 years, since she was a young girl in Canada.
Seattle police sent three dogs and their partners, and assistant trainer Officer J. Moyer, through the recent program.
Everett is also one of the few agencies that provides police dog training.
“Dogs are really important for the police officers while they help them make their duty easier,” Moyer said. “The record they get depends on the area and how busy it is, but the dogs are always very successful tracking human scents.”
Seattle police dogs found a couple of hundred suspects so far this year who never would have been caught if it was not for the dogs, he said.
Every dog has a different personality and technique.
Because of that, “every dog should be with his one officer who is trained specifically for this dog, because every dog is unique,” Collings said.
Dogs begin training when they are 18 to 24 months old, Eviston said. They live and work with their human partners until they are 9 or 10 years old.
“The dogs start to work with us directly after graduation, but the training is always going with the dogs, They always need to learn more,” Eviston said.
The dogs’ graduation is not the end of their training. They train all the time.
“The dog, like any employee, like a judge, like a lawyer, like any human,” Moyer said, “the more experience they get, the better they get.”
Ahmed Fawzi: 425-339-3449, afawzi@heraldnet.com.
EVERETT – A new officer is joining Everett police. Porter is a German shepherd who will patrol city streets on his four paws, sniffing out crimes and tracking criminals.
Porter, with his handler officer Tim Collings, will join the city’s four other police dog teams.
Last week Porter and another five police dog teams from other cities completed their training at the Everett Police Department South Precinct. Their graduation means they are now certificated to start their work in Everett, Renton and Seattle.
The officers and their dogs received 540 hours of training over the past 15 months.
“Porter got a range of five to 20 hours of training per week depending on the type of training,covering basic obedience, tracking, building searches, evidence searches, suspect apprehension,” Collings said.
Everett police Officer Suzanne Eviston, who led the recent training program, worked in training dogs for about 25 years, since she was a young girl in Canada.
Seattle police sent three dogs and their partners, and assistant trainer Officer J. Moyer, through the recent program.
Everett is also one of the few agencies that provides police dog training.
“Dogs are really important for the police officers while they help them make their duty easier,” Moyer said. “The record they get depends on the area and how busy it is, but the dogs are always very successful tracking human scents.”
Seattle police dogs found a couple of hundred suspects so far this year who never would have been caught if it was not for the dogs, he said.
Every dog has a different personality and technique.
Because of that, “every dog should be with his one officer who is trained specifically for this dog, because every dog is unique,” Collings said.
Dogs begin training when they are 18 to 24 months old, Eviston said. They live and work with their human partners until they are 9 or 10 years old.
“The dogs start to work with us directly after graduation, but the training is always going with the dogs, They always need to learn more,” Eviston said.
The dogs’ graduation is not the end of their training. They train all the time.
“The dog, like any employee, like a judge, like a lawyer, like any human,” Moyer said, “the more experience they get, the better they get.”
Ahmed Fawzi: 425-339-3449, afawzi@heraldnet.com.
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