Wenberg transfer still in the works

The state Parks and Recreation Commission announced Tuesday that it won't close any state parks, as long as the new opt-out parks fee tied to car tabs brings in enough revenue.
However, that doesn't change state Park's desire to transfer parks to other owners, such as handing off Wenberg State Park to Snohomish County.
Snohomish County has indicated it would be willing to accept Wenberg. The county Parks and Recreation Department's analysis concluded the county could likely earn just a bit more than it spends by operating Wenberg.
The Snohomish County Council will vote on whether or not to enter negotiations with state Parks to accept Wenberg at the 9.a.m. Wed., May 27 general legislative session.
The county has indicated it would like to begin operating Wenberg close to July 1. Eric Watilo, northwest region director for the state Parks commission, said state Parks plans to do what they can to make that possible.
If the transfer occurs, the county would institute a day-use fee of $5, and alcohol would be prohibited in the park. Residents could also purchase an annual pass to county parks for $60. Kayak Point Park already has a day-use fee.

A kidney for Steve

In today's edition of the Stanwood/Camano NEWS, there was an update about Steve Colvin, of Camano Island, who is waiting to receive his kidney transplant. ("Continued support needed for kidney patient" on page 11). His transplant surgery is scheduled for June 23. Here is the article that was originally printed in the April 7 edition, called "Kidney transplant could happen soon."

By KRISTI PIHL
Staff Reporter

Steve Colvin of Camano Island is being positive about his kidney disease and upcoming transplant.
With a B+ blood type, he could have waited at least three years before a new kidney was available.
But because of a “one in God chance,” his best friend, Zebb Seabrook, of Monroe, turned out to be a match for a donor organ.
And instead of waiting three years, Steve might have a new kidney as early as the end of April.
Steve was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a condition where the kidney no longer filters the blood properly.
For Steve, the disease is a particular problem because he was only born with one kidney.
While living in Spokane 10 years ago, Steve said he failed a urine test for a physical that was part of a job application. His protein levels were extremely high, and he was sent to a kidney specialist.
After many tests, including an ultrasound and a biopsy, his single kidney’s disease was revealed.
At the time, Steve said his kidney was still operating at about 80 percent efficiency. He wasn’t experimenting any symptoms.
Kidney disease doesn’t tend to reveal itself through symptoms until the end of the disease, when the body starts to retain fluid, said Heather Colvin, his wife.
“It’s kind of a silent killer,” she said.
At the time, the specialist estimated Steve would be in need of a transplant in another 10 years or so, at the age of 35.
The specialist was close. Steve is now 34.
Early last spring, Steve said he started to develop noticeable symptoms. He had frequent nausea because he could smell the unfiltered toxins on himself. Steve didn’t have any energy, and his short-term memory started to go, Heather said. He was also constantly cold.
They started to see how the kidney was connected to everything. When the kidney doesn’t filter, toxins build up in the body, she said. Those toxins can lead to heart issues.
People who develop kidney disease can also get diabetes, and some lose limbs to that disease.
At first, their daughter, Lydia, age 4, had a hard time understanding why her dad didn’t have any energy. Now she does, Heather said.
In December, Steve was put on dialysis, which happens only when someone is at the end stage of kidney failure. That generally means the kidney is only operating at 10 to 20 percent, Steve said.
“It filters and cleans your blood like your kidney is supposed to,” he said.
At first, Steve did peritoneal dialysis at home, where a tube is placed in the lining of the abdomen, and fluid is placed in the abdomen and later sucked out. After learning how to do it manually, it’s a procedure a machine did for Steve while he slept.
However, Steve said the extra weight in his abdomen caused him to develop two hernias. He had to stop and switch to hemodialysis, which required a catheter port in the right side of his chest so an artificial kidney can filter his blood. Three times a week, he and Heather go to the Puget Sound Kidney Center in Smokey Point for the four-hour procedure.
Heather and Steve consider themselves blessed. Community members have anonymously helped them out by sending gift cards and putting money on their PUD account.
“God has just walked with us through everything,” Heather said.
Steve’s medical expenses have been pretty much covered with a combination of private insurance and Medicare.
Quite a few people got tested to see if they could donate a kidney to Steve, including his parents, members from their church and even one of Steve’s customers from Washington Mutual.
For the moment, Steve’s transplant is scheduled for April 28.
However, the family isn’t putting much stock in the date. Two scheduled transplants have already been canceled, since both Steve and Seabrook have to be in the peak of health for the transplant to occur.
After the transplant, Steve will be taking anti-rejection medication, which will lower his immune system. For a couple months, he will have to be isolated from the public, Heather said.
What will happen after the transplant? Well, that’s a different ball game, Steve said. He’ll spend five to seven days in Virginia Mason in Seattle, and then stay near the hospital for a couple weeks for frequent checks.
“They don’t know until post-surgery how your body’s going to react,” Heather said.
With a kidney from a live donor, the transplant is expected to last twice as long, she said.
Steve does intend to return to work at the Stanwood branch of Washington Mutual, but what he does will likely require some adjustment, since his position as teller requires so much contact with the public.
At the very least, Steve said he will have to embrace the use of hand sanitizers and Lysol.

Donations to Steve Colvin's medical fund at WAMU/soon to be Chase are appreciated. Steve plans to use the fund to pay for the increased price in his medical premiums from when he goes on long-term disability at the end of May until he is able to return to work.

Teen continues to get stronger

Julie Faragher, 16, of Stanwood, continues to improve.
Her mom, Kendall Faragher, said Julie has gotten stronger each day, and is no longer in the intensive care unit.
Julie’s car entered a tributary of the Stillaguamish River while she was heading toward Stanwood on Marine Drive on April 15. She was rescued with help from Jeremy Darrow and Nathan McGrath, installers at Darrow’s Carpets, as well as the Stanwood Police, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and North County Fire/EMS.
Julie was taken off of the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, which acted as her heart and lungs on May 5. As of May 8, she no longer needed a ventilator.
By the end of this week, Julie should be off all of her medications, Kendall said.
"Her mind is ready to get back to school, but her body isn't quite there yet," she said.

There is a medical fund under Julie Faragher’s name at Frontier Bank in Stanwood.

Millie's repaired heart

Millie's heart surgery was successful, and her heart murmur is history.
Millie, a 5-month-old Shih tzu mix, was featured in an article in the April 14 edition of the Stanwood/Camano NEWS. Millie had patent ductus arteriosis (PDA), a congenital heart defect that was repairable with surgery.
Millie was one of 74 dogs the Northwest Organization for Animal Help (N.O.A.H.) in Stanwood cared for after their removal from an alleged puppy mill in Skagit County in January. N.O.A.H. was able to raise enough money to cover the cost of Millie's heart surgery.
Although Millie's heart is still enlarged to twice the normal size, it has started to get smaller, said Patti VanWieringen, of Conway, Millie's adoptive mom. Her heart is expected to continue to decrease.
"Her heart is still not pumping as fully as it should yet, and hopefully with time and continued heart medication this can be corrected," she said.
Meanwhile, Millie is growing, and VanWieringen said she and her husband, Bill, are continuing to use common sense to help Millie continue to recover.
The VanWieringens were also able to finally adopt Millie today. They have been foster parents for her since she was removed from the alleged puppy mill.
"Millie and I will be doing the happy dance for sure," she said.

N.O.A.H., located at 31300 Brandstrom Road in Stanwood, can be reached at (360)629-7055.

No special session means less school district funds

State Legislators announced yesterday that there would not be a special session. Gov. Gregoire had requested a one-day special session so legislators could address some budget-related bills that hadn't yet been acted on.
That short list of bills included one that would have increased the levy lid for school districts. For the Stanwood-Camano School District, that would have meant an additional $149,666 it could have collected next year, according to 2009-10 budget estimates released at the Tuesday school board meeting.
School districts can only collect levy dollars equal to 24 percent of what they receive from the state. If the amount of state funding goes down, so does the maximum amount the district can collect.
In the 2008-09 school year, the Stanwood-Camano School District's levy represented about 18.4 percent of its total revenue at about $9 million.

School district administration

As part of "Shedding some light on school district administration," an article in today's Stanwood-Camano NEWS, I did public record requests to the Stanwood-Camano School District, Arlington Public Schools and the Mount Vernon School District. The result of that was more information than I could possibly use in the story.
To help myself compare numbers, I made tables based on the provided information. I have posted two of them here.
Not all the positions in the tables are considered administration by the district. Counselors are certificated (like teachers) and the public information coordinator is a classified position (like bus drivers, food service employees, paraeducators...).


















The Stanwood-Camano School District provided me with a comparison of the total compensation for superintendent salaries for this year for the districts that Stanwood-Camano uses to determine Superintendent Jean Shumate's salary. Shumate's salary is determined by the Stanwood-Camano School Board. They examine the contacts for superintendents in other districts, and take the average of the total compensation. This includes benefits, annuity, doctoral stipends and vacation buy-back. Shumate's 2008-09 salary of $193,608 is based on the 2007-08 total compensation of the other superintendents.

Click on the tables to make them larger if you are having difficulty reading the numbers.

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog. As part of our future new Web site, we decided to add reporter blogs as a chance for you to get updates on stories, a look at behind the scenes, and other items that just don't fit in our print addition. I welcome any reader questions here or via e-mail at kpihl@scnews.com.