Raising a voice about homosexuality

Bible believers approach the topic of homosexuality in varied and cautious ways, but for two different churches in Spokane, Wash., their answers to whether gays and lesbians can be a part of the church community are simple.

Dan Jarms has been the pastor of Faith Bible Church for seven years. Born and raised in Cheney, Wash. by an atheist father and a Catholic mother, Jarms grew up with unsure about faith, he said. At 19, Jarms attended a Christian basketball camp where he heard the gospel being preached.

“I heard that Jesus died to pay for my sin in my place,” Jarms said. “That was the first time I heard that. Even I had gone to church plenty before that, but I finally understood the idea.”

Jarms overcame his struggle with certain personal sins he committed, motivated by conviction he felt from the Lord to turn over his life to Him, he said.

Ever since, Jarms has been involved with Bible teaching and joined a church he felt taught the scriptures as God’s Word. Turning to 1 Corinthians 6:9, the Bible’s teaching about homosexuality is clear, he said.

“Our [the church’s] stance is that homosexuality is a sin, like adultery or sex before marriage. We treat it as a sin common to man,” Jarms said.

Instead of turning away the homosexual people who occasionally attend Faith Bible Church, Jarms said they welcome them just as they would an alcoholic.

“When they come to Christ, Christ changes their hearts; they can have victory over those temptations and struggles,” Jarms said.

Three miles away in the bustling downtown of Spokane, Westminster Congregational United Church has different views as to who a person is as an individual.

Andrea CastroLang, raised in a warm and loving Catholic family has pastored there since 2002, and enjoys the rare and beautiful community, she said.

After moving to Spokane with her husband and attending the church in 1990, the inclusive Protestant members supported her and prompted her to attend the San Francisco Theological Seminary for three and a half years in 1995, she said. Their support has influenced her efforts in public service as well as adopting an open and welcoming environment for new people, she said.

“At Westminster, we don’t believe that your sexual orientation is a cause for judgment,” she said. “We extend the welcome to all people as children of God.”

Focusing on God’s acceptance, she wonders why people spend so much energy condemning those who are different, she said.

“In the three short years of His ministry, the only people Jesus fought with were self-righteous, condemning, judgmental and cruel,” she said. “It’s not hate that is going to heal this world.”

Welcoming anyone to participate in all aspects of the church is important in order to support them and make them feel safe, Westminster church member Shelby Rothstrom said.

“I think it’s the foundation of Christianity,” she said. “It’s the way Jesus did it.”

Jarms view is similar in that Faith Bible Church welcomes people of all different backgrounds to attend church services as well, he said. The only difference would take place when they want to become members of the church, in which case, members would agree to uphold the principles of the church, he said.

Westminster Congregational allows permission to its members to disagree on certain topics and encourages dialogue among members to discuss important issues, like a rescheduling of early Sunday morning services.

“Every person matters; this church is invested in making sure that everybody is OK. I think people need to get past this right and wrong stuff,” said Anne Marie Floch, a lesbian member of Westminster and author of three books on spirituality. One of her books, “The Soul of a Woman,” describes different types of women in a poetic style.

Andrew Copley, a freshman at Eastern University and a member of Faith Bible Church, believes the issue has become a taboo topic among churches, he said.

“I just hear a lot that Christians hate gay people. We don’t. At the same time, it’s important to submit to what God says about gender roles and who we are,” Copley said.

Benjamin Harkrider, who is in his third year at Moody Bible Institute in the aviation program as well as a member of Faith Bible Church, also has the feeling that the secular world thinks that the church hates homosexuals.

“I think the proper biblical approach is to hate the sin but to love the person. We shouldn’t brush their sin aside but continue to love them, just as Christ loved us,” Harkrider said.

At Westminster, finding one’s identity and calling is important to all the members.

“In the society that I lived in (60s), you were never taught to be authentically who you were. You just did what the generations in front of you did,” Floch said. “Silence kills the ones who have to be silent.”

Public broadcasting wins federal funding battle, but the war for the 2012 budget still looms ahead

Lede: Despite escaping the budget ax from Congress, public broadcasting in Spokane still fears federal funding cuts in the future.

The federal battle

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) will receive $445 million from Congress to fund public radio and TV stations for the rest of the fiscal year ending in September. For public broadcasting television station KSPS, federal funding will only cover 20 percent of its income, leaving the responsibility to raise the remaining deficit with other outside sources.

The budget for 2012 has yet to be determined, leaving public stations to consider other methods of generating funding.

“Right now, [public broadcasting] as a whole is like everyone else, waiting to see what is going to happen next,” said Patty Starkey, executive director of KSPS, the Spokane-based PBS station. “Public broadcasting is too important not to fight hard for the funding. I cannot imagine a world without public television.”

The fight continues locally for public radio and television broadcasting, including Friends of KSPS, the fundraising arm of the KSPS station where $1,058,600 out of the total income of $5,360,255 comes from CPB, according to its on-air budget for 2010-2011.

Without federal funding, many stations may shut their doors permanently, said Dawn Bayman, Friends of KSPS membership director.

Additionally, television broadcasters’ collective “pool” of programs shared with PBS stations around the globe may be threatened if stations begin to collapse, Starkey said.

“We have to say no to good programming because of the cost increase,” Bayman said. “We have had to cut back our staff to the bare bones. We are no longer cutting fat, we are cutting our essentials.”

A KSPS operator watches the live stream in the control room. KSPS has been serving their local region for 40 years.

With the ongoing economic crisis, KSPS cut four positions in the last two years, leaving the station with 30 employees on the KSPS and Friends of KSPS staff combined.

Alongside the decreasing job market, federal funding calls into question fears of suffering funds and available programming for KSPS. That fear also affects public broadcasting stations around the nation.

“Many stations can’t live without federal dollars,” Starkey said. “The real odious specter down the road is when stations go in the dark and the stations that remain will have to step up to the plate and cover the losses.”

KSPS’ reaction

To combat federal cuts, KSPS banded together with PBS and CPB to support the national online campaign titled “170 million Americans for public broadcasting” (see sidebar for details).

Coinciding with online marketing tactics, KSPS recently completed its latest pledge drive, raising $393,065 for the March 2011 campaign, a $45,871 increase from the spring pledge drive last year, according to the March 2010 and 2011 pledge statistics.

For KSPS, pledge campaigns combined with other methods of donor giving generated 72 percent of the Friends of KSPS income, totaling $3,851,000 for the 2010-2011 budget years according to this year’s on-air budget.

Unlike commercial broadcasting, public television and radio stations must rely on viewers, members and volunteers to maintain a self-sustaining source of income, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by regular supporters of public broadcasting.

Viewers like you

Growing up watching “Sesame Street” and “Mr. Rogers” prompted professor of music and Whitworth University Wind Symphony Director Richard Strauch to continue the tradition with his own family. When his children want to watch something, they look for KSPS, Strauch said. Wanting to give back, Strauch and his family have contributed to KSPS.

“PBS is in a similar position to the arts,” Strauch said. “It can’t be supported through commercial means alone. We [the symphony] depend on sponsors and donors, not only ticket sales.”

Strauch has also used programs like “Rick Steves’ Europe” to help plan his Jan term trip in previous years titled “Power in Politics in Art.”

“His guided tours are really terrific,” Strauch said. “I’ve used his tour books because his traveling approach to visiting different cultures is such a good one. I’ve liked his travel programs the best.”

For Tara Lambert, mother and senior accountant at Whitworth’ Registrar office, KSPS has provided educational, commercial free and kid-friendly programs to her young children.

“I would say that we used it more as a tool to provide them a safe place to watch a show that is educational … it supports what they are doing in school, too,” Lambert said. “I don’t worry about my kids when they are watching that channel. I just know that they are not going to be exposed to something that they are not supposed to.”

A final call to response

One of every 10 viewers is a member of KSPS. In order to ensure its survival, KSPS will target the other nine out of 10 viewers in its future campaigns, Starkey said.

“Stations are telling you now, if you are a viewer, it’s funded by one call at a time; make it now,” Starkey said. “And hopefully that message will resonate with them.”

Viewers can pledge online on the KSPS website, submit a donation via mail or call in during the upcoming pledge drive in June. KSPS also offers opportunities in becoming regular donators by joining the Sustainers or Leadership Circle programs.

“If you like what you see, and you know how it’s funded now more than ever, pledge now, Starkey said. “It’s easy. It’s simple. The programming that we have will enrich your life and feed your spirit.”

Whitworth Frisbee: Not what it once was

Opening Frisbee team up has led to decline in participation

The Whitworth Club Ultimate Frisbee team has a tradition of being competitive. In the past, many of the top athletes in the school have come out and played on the team, and they have held their own against larger schools at tournaments from Spokane to Las Vegas.

But the 2010-2011 season was a rough one for the club team. Decreased participation, questionable commitment and a loss of interest by the student body combined to leave the team in a unique situation. The team, which in the past has thrived as arguably the most popular club on campus, declined to the point that they have had a hard time garnering interest from potential players.

Beyond the struggles to generate interest is the fact that the team missed several tournaments this year. In the past, the team has attended tournaments such as Onionfest in Walla Walla, Wash., PLU BBQ at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash. and Sundodger in Burlington, Wash.  But the team has also traveled to bigger tournaments, such as the Trouble in Vegas tournament in Las Vegas, Nev., which costs each team member hundreds of dollars to attend.

This year saw a decline in the number of tournaments that the Whitworth Ultimate Club team has attended. The PLU BBQ tournament, traditionally a tournament that the team has gone to every year, was missed this season. An even larger miss was the Sectionals tournament, which is the first stage of playoffs for college Frisbee teams. On that occasion, the team could not even get enough players to field a team, and so was forced to stay home. That was the same reason that the team decided to not attend the Stanford Open this year, the large tournament they were going to go to instead of Trouble in Vegas.

Whitworth senior B.J. Bell has played on the team for three years, and brings a unique insight into the club’s situation.

“My freshman year, the team was closed, it was invite-only, so you couldn’t play unless the upperclassmen invited you,” Bell said. “Now it’s more open, anyone can come play who wants to.”

And while Bell considers that a good thing, he also points out that because of the open atmosphere, more serious athletes didn’t want to play because they no longer viewed the team as serious and competitive, even though it was.

Bell also points to a lack of recruiting as a primary reason for the decline in participation this year.

“We realized later on that there was a lot of freshman talent that either just didn’t come out for the team, or didn’t even know about it,” he said.

Junior Bryce Griffiths echoed Bell’s comments. He said that a less competitive atmosphere and less emphasis on recruiting has led to less excitement when compared to previous years.

Griffiths himself didn’t play the first semester this year, and he had been a member of the team since fall of his freshman year.

But a desire to see the club succeed, combined with a love of the game, brought him back to the team in the winter.

“It’s been down this year, but I’m intent on making a difference next year,” Griffiths said.

Another big factor in the sudden drop-off for the team was the large number of talented players that graduated last year. Carl Chan, Eric Vander Heyden and Craig Harris are just a few of the players that the team is struggling without this year. They were the team leaders last year, and their athletic ability and skills have been next to impossible to replace.

Whitworth alumnus Carl Chan is a previous club president and captain for the Frisbee team. He points out that it is normal for any group that relies on voluntary participation to ebb and flow to an extent, but was still concerned earlier in the year.

“A small, dedicated squad stuck it through and made the best of a not-so-great situation, but it was worrying to see how little interest there was in the club team,” said Chan. “It was also frustrating because of the amount of time that I had personally put into the team.  It’s never fun to see something you’ve put hours and hours into seemingly slip very close to non-existence.”

Doing Our Part

By Alli Marshall

Few people have the opportunity to say they’ve saved three lives; however, Whitworth’s monthly blood drives allow Spokane community members and students to do just that.

Each month, the Inland Northwest Blood Center’s (INBC) large collection bus parks outside the hub for around seven hours as students, staff and community members donate blood. The process of signing in and donating blood takes an hour or less, according to volunteers at the INBC.

“I think it’s [giving blood] a very specific way that we can live out our call to love others,” Mike Ediger Whitworth professor of health science said. “How else can you spend one hour and save three lives?”

Ediger, who has donated a total of three gallons of blood during his lifetime, tries to donate every two months as a way to show God’s love and do his part for the community, he says. After coming to Whitworth, Ediger thought of a metaphor connecting God’s bloodshed on the cross to people’s ability to donate blood to others in need.

“From a spiritual perspective, God calls us to care for others in the same way he cared for us,” Ediger said.

Hosting monthly blood drives is one way Whitworth serves others in the Spokane area.

“I would say that between high school and the universities, it [student donations] probably constitutes 35 percent of total blood donation,” Donor Services Representative of the INBC, Chuck Adams said.

Looking at the number of students who attend Whitworth, (almost 3,000), the percentage of students who take the time to donate is lacking, said Whitworth medic Katie Chamblin. Last month the Whitworth blood drive had 72 donors as compared to this month’s 51 donors.

“This year I’ve been really active to promote it [blood donation] because the numbers of participants each month are declining,” said Chamblin.

In an effort to attract more students to donate, Chamblin hosted an informational meeting in March to educate students about the impact blood donations have on the community. Each Whitworth medic shared facts about the process of giving blood and what students can do to make the process go smoothly.

Drinking a lot of water and maintaining an iron-rich diet are among some of the most helpful ways to make the blood donation process a simple one, Ediger said. Whitworth senior Hannah Winkelman says she always makes sure to drink a lot of water before donating.

“[I donate] because I believe that if I can do something to help someone else and it doesn’t really hurt me then why not,” Winkelman said. “It’s minimal effort and I’m blessed to be healthy.”

Winkelman’s grandmother passed away last December from multiple myeloma; a cancer that affects the plasma cells in bone marrow, making the blood toxic. The family donates blood out of memory for their grandmother, Winkelman says.

“When she was sick, she did get donated blood, but I learned how important having healthy blood is,” Winkelman said.

The next blood drive at Whitworth will take place May 10; and people of all blood types are encouraged to donate. Although certain blood types such as O+ are considered more common, the INBC is grateful for all healthy blood units they receive.

Many students believe possessing a common blood type makes their donation less important and therefore choose not to donate, Chamblin said. The INBC works to educate students otherwise.

“The reason we need it [common blood types] is because more A and O’s need it,” Tammy Messina Collection Specialist of the INBC said.

Donated blood has a shelf life of about 42 days; thus Whitworth’s effort to encourage monthly donations and educate students about the impact of donation proves necessary.

SIDEBAR: Inland Northwest Blood Center

By Alli Marshall

From its early start after World War II to now, the Inland Northwest Blood Center (INBC) has been Spokane’s trusted not-for-profit blood provider. The INBC is responsible for supplying hospitals in the Inland Northwest with blood to support transfusion and transplantation medicine.

“Besides saving three lives, it’s also a good thing to do,” Donor Services Representative of the INBC, Chuck Adams said. “It’s also healthy for you.”

The daily collection goal for the INBC is 150 units, Tammy Messina Collection Specialist of the INBC said. For the 2010 year the total number of blood units collected on mobile drives equaled 30,169, according the INBC website.

Within the INBC, the donor and patient services makes up the largest department; consisting of approximately 55 staff members. Among those staff members, some say their decision to work within the medical field was influenced by personal experiences in their own lives.

“My sister had a liver transplant 18 years ago and I became an organ donor and then thought working with the center would be a good way to help,” Messina said.

During the time Messian’s sister was hospitalized, she received donated blood; Messina therefore made the decision to become a regular donor. Seeing the impact of blood donation on a close family member made the act of giving blood more meaningful, Messina said.

Initially Messina went to school to become a medical assistant; however the work in hospitals was too morbid, she said. After ruling out hospital work, the INBC’s positive mission to serve others and save lives through donations, appealed to Messina.

“Of course our mission is so great,” Messina said. “I tried working in hospitals, but I just couldn’t do that.”

The INBC constantly works to promote their services and increase donor participation. For example, April is “Donate Life Month,” a time for the center to create awareness about the need for blood, marrow, organ, eye and tissue donation.

Mike Ediger professor of health science at Whitworth University, finds inspiration to donate by remembering a quote he heard while giving blood at the INBC.

“The rarest blood type is the one not on the shelf when the patient needs it most,” Ediger said.

Ongoing donations are required for the INBC to supply blood to over 30 hospitals in the area. Blood type and gender can determine what specific blood products a patient can donate; each blood type will match with an ideal donation process.

For example, whole blood donations are ideal for type A blood. Whole blood donations offered at the INBC and during bus drives are the most basic form of collection during which one pint of blood is donated, according to the INBC website.

“We always need donors,” Messina said. “Any time the blood supply can change rapidly; it’s as easy as making an appointment online.”

The INBC has three permanent collection centers located in Spokane, Coeur d’Alene and Lewiston. Volunteer work and donor participation are always greatly appreciated.

“Not Exactly the Nice Person Most People Think:” Hillyard Santa’s Past

by Monica Calderon

With the reputation that Hillyard has of being a rough neighborhood, maybe it’s appropriate that the Hillyard Santa come from a rough background.

A short bald man with a large belly and glasses – like Santa – Clyde Decker collects toys year-round so that lower-income families in Hillyard can have toys for Christmas. But this Santa’s past includes trauma from a friend’s death, three stints in jail, and four marriages.

Decker’s Childhood

Decker was born July 4, 1938 in Kingston, Idaho. He attended five elementary schools in three years as his family moved from Kingston to Post Falls to Spokane looking for work during the Great Depression.

“[My father] was looking for work wherever he could get it,” Decker said.

Decker had an older brother and sister and a grandfather who spoiled him; his large family made it fun growing up, Decker said, with the exception of 1943.

That year, his left hand middle and ring fingers were almost severed as he played in a dump. He also contracted diphtheria, for which he spent ten days in complete isolation at a hospital. A tooth infection added to the misery of that year.

“Life was simpler then,” Decker said of the troubles a 5-year-old experiences.

When Decker was 11, he experienced an accident with a childhood friend. The pair was in a wood about one mile west of Kellogg, Idaho when they saw a piece of copper wiring lying on the ground. Decker’s friend picked up the copper, which turned out to be a downed electrical cable.

Decker doesn’t even remember what he did after rushing out of the woods to alert adults, after which he did not return to where his friend had died. Only the thought of how lucky he was that his friend picked up the wire first has crossed his mind, he said.

“I can’t even remember his name,” Decker said. “And I’ll never forget that smell…[the event] is just something I’ll never forget. Everything in life affects our outlook.”

Decker lived in Spokane for most of his childhood but never in the HIllyard area, Decker said. He was 14 when he first moved to Hillyard and began attending North Central High School. Living in Hillyard was a good experience for Decker: he says he has met some of the nicest people in the world there.

Time would eventually bring Decker back to Hillyard, where he currently resides.

“I’ve always liked Hillyard,” Decker said. “We have a bit of a problem here [with mental illnesses and medical problems] but the community is changing.”

From School to Work

Decker’s Life Events

After high school at North Central, Decker enrolled in the Eastern Washington College of Education. At that time tuition cost $48 a quarter and books about $30. He was studying to be a teacher and was 19 years old when his girlfriend got pregnant.

Bonnie Decker on April 1, 1958, seven months after her parents’ wedding. After 14 months of marriage, Decker answered the front door to find the police asking about his wife. She had been caught in a public park with another man.

“It was very important to me that my daughter be well taken care of,” Decker said. “I just remember what a happy little girl she was.”

Decker dropped out of school the next day, packed up his things, took the baby, and left Spokane. He eventually made his way to Las Vegas, where he obtained a divorce. Decker’s daughter, now Bonnie Rosco, was surrounded by relatives during her childhood, making Decker’s experience with single parenting a positive one.

When Bonnie was 4, Decker was back in school and remarried. After graduation, he worked as a research chemist at U. S. Oil and Refining in Tacoma until he was able to return to school and finish his bachelor’s degree at Eastern Washington in 1965. Bonnie was raised by Decker and lived with him until 18.

It was his second wife, Decker said, who essentially put him through work to get a teaching certificate.

“Got bored with working in the lab,” Decker said when asked why he quit his job as a research chemist. “I do love to talk…And I hate chemistry. Well, I didn’t hate it until I got bored.”

In Grand Coulee, where he and his wife moved from their home in Edgewood near Tacoma, Decker began teaching physics at Coulee Dam High School in 1970, which later became Lake Roosevelt High School, and later math and life science in seventh grade at Grand Coulee Dam Jr. High, now Grand Coulee Dam Middle School.

Decker said he met some nice children while teaching, but also children who needed someone to look after them.

Decker has many memories behind why he continues to try to make Christmas special for children. Decker remembers one student he taught in 7^th grade in Grand Coulee the other children said would never talk in class.

“He was all by himself, in his own little mind,” Decker said as a description of the child’s behavior.

At 16 years old, the student was kicked out of his house without a shirt or shoes. He stole a pickup, drove to Coulee City, and broke into a house. When the elderly woman who lived in the house woke up and started calling the police, the child didn’t argue.

Instead, he merely asked the owner of the house for a hug before the police got there, Decker said.

“[Teaching] affected my attitude. Because I knew those kids,” Decker said. “The kids were always welcome at my house. The door was open.”

One night, Decker and his wife were going home from the Wildlife Rest and Lounge in Grand Coulee in the pre-dawn hours. To their surprise, they found some children sitting outside the Lounge waiting for their parents to pick them up.

“I just felt that it was all wrong. They shouldn’t have been waiting for their parents out there,” Decker said. “They should’ve been at home in bed…Kids love their parents…but that doesn’t mean it’s returned. Kids are special, and they need to be treated special.”

In fact, Decker’s involvement with his junior high students affected his religious persuasion. He calls himself a Catholic to this day because of two students in his first year of teaching who eventually sponsored Decker for confirmation.

Decker was so comfortable with his students that some people accused him of dating former a student when he met up with her for dinner.

This student, Debbie, would “always bring her boyfriend to the house to introduce him,” Decker said. “Some of em you’ve got to [take a father role] because some of them don’t have fathers.”

Decker remembers one child from his experience student teaching as a part of his program in the College of Education. The student came into the school year two or three days late because he had been attending his own mother’s funeral.

Imagine the trauma of coming from your own mother’s funeral, Decker said, adding that you can never tell what struggles children are experiencing.

“I enjoyed teaching,” Decker said. “I taught for 11 years. But I discovered something. You can’t tell the parents to kiss your ass.”

Grand Coulee was a small enough town that he knew everyone there after 11 years, Decker said, and the superintendent of the high school told Decker that his contract with the school would not be renewed because of Decker’s comment.

Decker moved to Electric City, one mile south of Grand Coulee. Decker bought Electric City Tavern there and owned it for 5 years.

“Dealing with drunks is a lot like dealing with junior high schoolers,” Decker said. “The liquor board loved me because about 60 percent of my sales were food.”

Decker was moving again 5 years after buying the tavern because he was broke. The tavern went bankrupt, and Decker just walked away from it, he said.

Prison and Back to Hillyard

Decker was involved in selling drugs within a year, he says. He bought and sold cocaine for about a year before police were tipped off by another seller and arrested him for distribution of a controlled substance, to which Decker pled guity. Decker described selling cocaine as fun because he never got bored.

“I got to be a guest of the state for 40 and a half months,” Decker said, referring to his stint in prison from December 1989 to February 1993.  “Our prison system’s a joke. An absolute joke. Waste of money…The inmates are basically running the place…Oh, definitely [typical]. Cause I seen it.”

One hard thing about prison was that sometimes he got tired of being around all the other inmates, Decker said.

Originally, Decker’s sentence had been for 60 months. Decker’s lawyer eventually got this lowered to 40 and a half months, but a year of community custody had been added onto the sentence without Decker’s knowledge.

“I was pissed because it didn’t follow the agreement we had,” Decker said. Eventually, Decker would sue the Spokane County Sheriff for seizing Decker’s property when he was arrested and settle for $1,100, he says.

Decker had also sued another man for emotional distress and settled out of court for $15,000, he says.

In the following years, Decker had a man’s arms broken because he stole from Decker. The man told Decker that he understood, but wished Decker had warned him before taking such an extreme measure of retribution.

“I’m not exactly the nice person that most people think I am,” Decker said. “But I don’t hide it.”

At least the message was clear: nobody stole from him, Decker said.

The fact that he was an ex-convict affected his work prospects after getting out of jail, Decker said, but that didn’t bother him much.

“It didn’t bother me cause I didn’t care what I did,” Decker said.“I can’t sell myself. I can’t think of what I can do. I really can’t.”

In 1999, Decker went to work for the Seattle Weekly as assistant to the distribution manager. He worked in Seattle and lived in a house in Renton. After he retired from that job in 2002, Decker found living in Renton too expensive and moved back to Spokane, renting a room from two former students living in the Hillyard area.

Decker now collects toys for his “Hillyard Santa” project and served thousands of kids with over $7,000 last December.

Contact:

Monica Calderon: 512.944.8245
Outlaw Cafe: 509.484.7015
Bank of America Hillyard: 509.353.6090
White Elephant: 509.328.3100 (North Division store)
KXLY: 509.324.4000
Clyde Decker: 509.220.2885
Hillyard Variety Store: 509.487.1138

Uniform communication key in emergency response plan

By Kyle Kim

NIMS Emergency Response

Whitworth’s emergency response plan, which outlines response strategies in times of campus emergencies, provides flexibility while still providing a uniform and efficient guide to managing disasters, said the university’s risk management official, who compiled the plan.

The university emergency plan that complies to standards set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is a departure to previous Whitworth response plans where emergency procedures have been categorized by incident, said Marisha Hamm, manager of environmental health, safety and risk management, who developed the plan.

“Emergencies aren’t predictable so you can’t have a predictable emergency response plan,” said Hamm. “The whole point of ICS is that you can’t plan emergencies.”

The Whitworth University Emergency Response Plan follows the structure of an Incident Command System (ICS) which is an approach developed by the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Homeland Security.

Homeland Security developed NIMS and ICS to create “a core set of doctrine, principles, terminology, and organizational processes to enable effective, efficient and collaborative incident management at all levels,”  according to the FEMA website.

Uniform language key to emergency response
The history of ICS reaches back to 1970 where the state of California adopted the procedure after experiencing hampered efforts to put out a costly wildfire.

The main issues that were identified were that there was a lack of coordination and clear communication between state-wide fire departments and other agencies.“It’s so critical in [emergencies] that you’re not missing that communication piece,” director of communications Nancy Hines said.

After the events of 9/11, a federal commission further recommended the adoption of ICS to a national level to increase emergency response efficiency.

A main reason why the university updated its emergency plan was to adopt a more universal procedure, university officials said. A basic ICS plan was created in response to a 2003 Homeland Security mandate that sought to develop a national incident management system.

A key difference between the Whitworth emergency response procedures compared to older versions is the lack of a universal language system that can be used between emergency responders outside the college community. The lack of a common language system can pose a challenge during emergencies where several outside agencies needed to be involved.

Additionally, the procedures in the 1994 Whitworth emergency plan are separated by incident types like fire, medical and bomb emergencies. The most current ICS response plan does not separate emergency types, and instead, creates a universal risk management procedure that is aimed to cover all emergency scenarios.

“[The new plan] is not ‘hide under your desk,’” Hamm said. “It’s assess the emergency and address it.”

The change in Whitworth emergency response plans was more revision than a complete overhaul, said Greg Orwig, chief of staff and former director of communications.

The primary aim of ICS is to establish a universal response protocol and uniform communication between groups like police, firefighters and other groups responding to emergencies ranging from local fires to a nation-wide natural disaster, according to FEMA.

“An independent plan is not a good plan, ” Orwig said.

A prototype of a NIMS compliant emergency plan at Whitworth was created in 2004. Homeland Security provides the response plan template in which Hamm contextualized ICS protocol to a college campus.

Although there is an initial learning curve in learning the jargon used in ICS, having a common language between different agencies is key for an effective emergency response, Hines said.

How the emergency response plan works

The Incident Command System designates the Incident Commander as the individual in charge who must evaluate and coordinate necessary actions for a given emergency. At Whitworth, the Incident Commander will most likely be a high-level staff member who has been trained how to implement the Emergency Response Plan.

At Whitworth, the Incident Commander relies heavily on individuals called “building monitors” who know what is going on in their buildings, Hamm said.

“These people are the ‘its’ of Whitworth,” Hamm said.  “The Linda Yochums of the HUB, Toni Sutherlands of the Chapel, RA’s of the dorms.”Additionally, the Incident Commander reports to the president and cabinet members that comprise the Incident Command Policy Group. The Policy Group is also in charge of the oversight and termination of the Emergency Operations Center, a physical location set in place to allow the various functions in emergency response to operate.

While Whitworth’s emergency response plan designates facilities services as the location of the operations center, Hamm said mobility and the context of the emergency could largely determine the location of operations.

Security supervisor Mark McFall declined to comment regarding questions on the Emergency Operation Center located in Facilities Services, as outlined in the plan.

Emergency plans were not Hamm’s area of expertise when she joined the Whitworth staff in 2004 and has received six years of training so far for emergency response planning.

The crash-course process of having to learn about the emergency plan regulations were initially “completely mind-boggling,” Hamm said.

The Incident Commander works with logistics, finance, planning and operation departments that are set up to compartmentalize issues that need to be addressed in cases of emergencies, according to the Emergency Response Plan.

The amount of departments that need to be implemented largely depends on the scale of the emergency. At full capacity, over 23 departmental units will be in operation.

Although particular staff members are assumed to fulfill certain roles laid out in the organizational chart, there are no set people assigned to the roles with the exception of the policy group.

There is a level of ambiguity with ICS protocol but various exercises have been put in place for staff and students to address uncertainty, Hamm said.
“[ICS] is a hard concept,” Hamm said.

Training includes practice scenarios involving cabinet members and the president known as tabletops. The frequency of training has increased from annually to every semester this year.

How students are notified during emergencies

Expecting students to know and follow the Emergency Response Plan is unrealistic, chief of staff Greg Orwig said. The expectation is that the staff and leaders trained in response protocol will direct students during emergencies, he said.

“The fact that students don’t know the ERP page by page shouldn’t be the concern,” Orwig said.

Although the Emergency Response Plan largely applies to how staff members need to respond in emergencies, there are systems in place to notify students and faculty members in times of crisis.

Rave and Safe Connect are campus communication systems implemented by the Information Systems department to notify students, staff and faculty when immediate alerts are essential.

“Generally we feel pretty safe [at Whitworth] but we don’t know what might happen,” information systems director Ken Brown said.

Rave is a short message service notification system implemented in 2010 by Whitworth alerting cellphone subscribers during emergencies. The system also has an additional function capable of sending campus-wide or group-specific emails to anyone in the Whitworth network.

An SMS notification system was put in place partly because of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, Brown said.

No SMS emergency notification system has been implemented prior to Rave.
Currrently, 23 percent of students and 27 percent of Whitworth employees have subscribed to Rave, based on data provided by Information Systems.

Although less than a quarter of students have subscribed, Brown said a 100 percent student coverage is not necessary.

“It’s pretty rare that people are truly alone on campus,” Brown said. “Whitworth will be in good shape with a 50 percent coverage.”

The Safe Connect System is capable of taking over any computer connected through the Whitworth network by creating a pop-up alert that can override the monitor, whether a professor is giving a PowerPoint lecture or if students are checking their email.

The Information Systems department is planning to unroll a new web portal application for the next academic year similar to a Google home page where email, calendar, Whitnet and other services can be accessed in one location.

Additional methods to supplement current communication systems include electronic display boards on campus.

The Tinman Gallery and Tinman Too: cozy places to experience art and literature

Among the locally owned businesses in the Garland district, two neighboring stores draw a great deal of attention from art and book lovers: the Tinman Gallery and the Tinman Too.

The gallery, which opened in February 2003, connects artists and art collectors together in the local region, and puts on new art exhibits every month.

“We try to fill a niche that we haven’t seen get fulfilled very well in Spokane,” employee Christopher Bradley said. “There have traditionally been a lot of art galleries that have opened and closed.”

The limited number of galleries in Spokane is what pushed owner Susan Bradley to open the gallery. She has been an artist all her life and started working professionally as a landscape painter in oil since 1990, she said.

“There weren’t enough venues for painters and I wanted to broaden the collectors in the community,” Bradley said.

The gallery also features a wide range of contemporary novels and art books, some of which are written by local authors.

“I’m a sucker for books. I thought it was a good mix for keeping the gallery open,” art professor Scott Kolbo said.

In order for an art gallery to be successful, it must have a good business strategy and a good sense of art, said Kolbo, who has worked with the owner at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture before.

“Sue is great because she kind of has both things. She’s a business person; she knows how to market and run a business,” Kolbo said. “There’s stuff that you can buy there at all sorts of price points.”

To Christopher Bradley, stressing Spokane’s art talent is important and the gallery makes that one of its priorities, he said.

“It’s refreshing because it shows the local public the art that is being done,” he said. “We are trying to show people what we think they should learn out of art.”

Walking through the art gallery’s door, customers enter into a crisp, clean room with white walls that hold up the artwork of the featured artist for the given month. Following a small staircase, customers can continue to see art hung up on walls farther back in the store, and also encounter shelves of books, gifts, candles, lotions, ceramics, and toys.

The gallery stresses for quality in all of its additional store items, especially in its collection of books, Christopher Bradley said. The balance of literature and art has enabled the gallery to provide customers with a well-rounded art experience.

“We like to think of classical or well written literature as part of the art experience,” he said. “The books are supposed to compliment the art. Literature is art in itself.”

Opening up the business with his mother has opened new opportunities for Bradley, who is passionate about art and loves to write non-fiction novels in his spare time, he said. For the past three years, he has organized a writer’s group that meets every second and fourth Wednesday of every month.

“I think [working at the gallery] has helped to further my interests. It’s exposed me to different styles of art,” Bradley said. “It’s also been a lesson on learning a business.”

One of the Tinman Gallery’s most exciting nights was a Harry Potter midnight book release party in 2007, Bradley said.

“It was very good for our business. It was fun for everyone who attended,” he said. “We made a lot of friends that way, a lot of customers who I consider friends still.”

The Tinman’s mission, as stated on its website, is “to expand the visual

arts community in Spokane by encouraging and supporting established and emerging artists, educating and developing collectors and art lovers, inspiring patrons to learn more about art and create art, to have a new and refreshing experience on each visit.”

Two ways that the gallery tries to educate and develop art lovers is by the collection of art books in the gallery for adult customers, and weekly-scheduled art classes and workshops for children, taught by certified art teachers. The Tinman Gallery’s newest addition, the Tinman Too, is located next door and provides an art experience aimed for children.

The current Tinman Too building used to be a shoe store owned by Susan Bradley, called “The Ruby Slipper.” All that remains of the old business, which sold American-made shoes, is the old sign, displaying the red sparkly shoes sitting above the store entrance.

“We were looking at what kind of business would bring more people to Garland. The economic downturn just nailed us in many ways,” Susan Bradley said.

Instead of continuing the financially burdened shoe store, Bradley remodeled the building last summer, along with the main gallery, intending for it to be a children’s bookstore. The children’s bookstore mirrors the main gallery in that it also sells artwork, toys, etc., but also provides art workshops for children.

Because of a massive shift in the education system, children and teens are not receiving the art experiences that matter, said Tresia Oosting, a Tinman Too art teacher for a year and a half. Oosting teaches children from ages four to seven every Tuesday in using multi media, constructing things, sculpting, drawing, and gluing.

“In the public education system, they are not doing a lot of art with kids, and since the Spokane Art School closed, there are not a lot of venues for art classes,” she said.

The children bookstore’s focus is on promoting creative thinking and developing art skills, Schuyler said.

“If you look at what the Tinman is trying to do, which is to get people to read and be involved in art, those are both things that require education,” Kolbo said. Making sure that kids get involved in them early makes a lot of sense.”

Working with kids has inspired both Oosting and Tinman Too employee, Melinda Schuyler, they said.

“Everything is an adventure for them. The enthusiasm that they show is heart-warming,” Schuyler said. “As adults, we sort of forget to show our enthusiasm for simple pleasures.”

The books, artwork and toys are all personally selected, with some toys made locally, to provide children and parents with a more interesting experience, Schuyler said.

“It really does bring literature and art to a child’s level,” Schuyler said. “I have a mother and son that come over every week. He takes his time selecting his new story for the week and he gets so excited.”

Susan Bradley plans to get more attention from the public with new marketing and hopes to open up a web store for the gallery by this summer. The web store will feature about 35 store items first and then put on more, she said.

The employees at the Tinman Gallery continue to delight in art’s impact on people and expect it to grow in the community.

“I think we get the most excited when we get to match the artist to the art lover,” Susan Bradley said.

Local artist paints the world brightly

A woman who has explored the world underwater and above, Melissa Cole’s imagination and travel experiences reflect in her paintings that hang in this month’s Tinman Gallery exhibit.

Cole was raised in different cities around the world, including Hong Kong, London, and Bombay, although she was born in Albany, Oregon. Now she lives in Spokane with her husband, Brandon, with whom she’s been married for 15 years.

From a young age, Cole had experience with art and drew support from her family members, particularly her mother who is a painter.

“My mom was artistic, my dad and brother always supported the arts,” she said. “We always had clay to sculpt with, crayons, and pencils, so it was just a part of life.”

Cole started painting 12 years ago, experimenting with different textures and materials. Now, she commonly uses acrylic paint, patterns, bright colors, and pays special attention to different media pieces in her paintings, like coins, ceramic tiles and glass.

“I like the way things look when a different media is next to another one. That’s why I like texture,” Cole said. “It just adds more dimension.”

Her paintings have traces of Australian and Indian styles (like dots and detailed patterns) interspersed in her designs, inspired by her travels to both the countries. One particular signature of her work is a painted pattern around the outside of her designs that acts as a border.

“It was more of an excuse to add more patterns to my work. The people don’t have to frame it as well,” Cole said, laughing.

Although Cole has painted a variety of different animals and sea creatures, the things Cole loves to paint most are wildlife from the northwest, like ravens, salmon and horses, as well as mythical creatures, like mermaids and dragons.

“I’ve always loved animals and my degree is in zoology. It’s what I feel attracted to,” Cole said.

Cole received a bachelor’s degree in zoology and a minor in marine ecology from Oregon State University, which she described as challenging, but worthwhile.

“I’m glad I got that degree. I think it helped me learn how nature works and how things connected, which is what I use in my paintings a lot,” she said.

Cole still travels a great deal with her husband, a wildlife photographer for various magazines like National Geographic and children’s magazines. The couple often scuba dive together and have done so off the coasts of Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, New Zealand, and Africa.

“Because of his job, I’ve been able to see many places all over the world underwater,” Cole said. “We photograph for up to 18 hours sometimes when there’s light.”

Painting every day for three to eight hours, gives Cole an outlet for her imagination and memories of diving with fish and outdoor activities like hiking.

“It takes me away into another world,” she said. “You start painting and you don’t realize that the time is passing.”

Photo from Melissa Cole's blog

Cole wishes to create and display more of her artwork publicly, like her current large display painting called “Riverdance” in the Spokane Convention Center. She has had more than 50 art exhibits, one of which was in India.

“The India one was really interesting because I had to ship the canvases. I painted things specifically for them, so I did some Indian wildlife, their deities, and some photographs from my travels and from living there,” Cole said.

Cole plans to learn to how to make mosaics and cement sculptures to display inside and outside of hospitals and mental institutions, she said.

“I like the idea of having a lot of people be able to see the artwork in a public display, rather than a private buyer,” she said.

To view some of Cole’s artwork, check out her blog.

Students prefer library, coffee shops when studying

As the end of the school year approaches, students populate certain areas of Whitworth University’s campus to complete projects due within the next few weeks.

The most common places that students choose work are in the library, in personal dorm rooms, and in the Mind and Hearth coffee shop. Some students also find it helpful to go off campus to study, going to nearby coffee shops such as the Rocket Bakery on Hastings road or the Service Station off Nevada, right next to WinCo.

Heather Wermers, a sophomore nursing and psychology double major, works best in her room because there are fewer distractions.

“I get really distracted when there’s other people around,” she said. “I people-watch too much.” If studying with someone else, Wermers said she would study in the coffee shop so that her roommate doesn’t get distracted.

Jessica Shepherd, a freshman studying art and psychology, also prefers to study in her room.

“I’m just way more comfortable in my room,” she said. “When I study other places I just find that I don’t like it.” Shepherd said that, when studying other places besides her room, she gets too distracted and can’t finish the homework she started.

There are some students, however, that prefer to work in Harriet Cheney Cowles Memorial Library or in the Mind and Hearth coffee shop. When working on larger papers or studying for upcoming exams, freshman Rachel McKay prefers the quiet of the library, especially when working in one of the study rooms.

“I’ve only been in it twice, and they were the best study times of my life,” she said. “It’s totally secluded and there’s great lighting.” McKay also suggests finding different places to study in the academic buildings on campus.

Erica Cox, a senior elementary education major, also prefers to study in the library. The academic atmosphere of the library helps to increase focus and reduce distractions, she said.

“I keep finding little, cool nooks around campus,” McKay said. “That’s a really good way to get to know your professors, too, because they see you in there and they’ll talk to you, and, hello, instant resource.”

Allison Vorderbrueggen, also a freshman, prefers to study in the coffee shop on campus, and sometimes mixes it up by going to a new, low-key coffee shop, such as Starbucks.

“Sometimes I like to go off campus to study…because it’s a new environment,” she said. “If you’re going to new places, it’s kind of fun in a way.”

Sam Fischer, who will graduate this spring with a degree in Business Management, likes to get off campus to study and finish homework. For research papers and group projects, however, he found that the library is a good location.

“I do a lot of studying off campus at coffee shops, partially because I’m a coffee addict,” he said. “For doing group stuff, the library works really well.”

Collegethrive.com, an online source for tips on college life, suggested heading to the nearest park or studying at a friend’s house, since studying in one’s own room can get distracting. A similar website, Academictips.org, also suggested studying in an empty classroom, and both resources included the library in their lists of optimal study areas.

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