News

Follow Steve and LeeRoy on their Journey and learn more about Needle2Square/Uzima Outreach:

Website: http://www.needle2square.com
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/Needle2square
Blog: http://needle2square.blogspot.com/

A Man and His Goat

By Brittany Voie / bvoie@chronline.com

A curious sight was seen South of Chehalis Tuesday afternoon. Walking along the side of LaBree Road was a man … walking his goat.

Steve Wescott and his goat, LeeRoy Brown, who was outfitted in a fluorescent orange vest and pack, are about two weeks into their cross country journey to Times Square in New York. They are walking to raise awareness and funds for Uzima Outreach and Intervention, an organization dedicated to reaching out and helping those suffering from substance addiction and street children in Kawangware slum, in Nairobi, Kenya, through Christian outreach and support. Wescott hopes to raise $200,000 over his 3,000 mile journey to build an orphanage.

“I started at the Space Needle in Seattle at 8:15 a.m. on May 2,” said Wescott. He also noted that May 2 is the 20th anniversary of his father’s death.

“It was an easy way to bring him into it,” he added. Wescott expects that it will take him about a year to reach Times Square.

“I just knew it was what I was meant to do. It’s about what God’s doing over there [in Nairobi],” added Wescott pensively.

Originally, Wescott had planned to make his trip with his beloved rottweiler, Louie. Wescott and Louie trained for their trek across the continental U.S. by walking together. But, according to Wescott, Louie tore his ACL before they could embark on their quest. After that, Wescott knew that he had to find a new walking partner. And that’s how he met LeeRoy.

Wescott adopted his goat from Arlington Goat Rescue. When asked what the goat’s name was, Wescott replied “Bad, bad LeeRoy Brown. Baddest goat in the whole darn town” in the sing-song manner of Jim Croce’s well-known song “Bad Bad Leroy Brown.” While Wescott was being interviewed for this article, LeeRoy laid down in the road next to where Westcott was standing, acting almost as a dog would laying as close to his “master” as possible.

“I can just sense when he’s tired,” Wescott said of LeeRoy. Wescott said that he walks until dark or until he or LeeRoy is tired. The pair stop for lunch and dinner and Wescott said he’s surprised how many people he meets who offer food, shelter, or a place to pitch their tent. Wescott also mentioned a night when he and LeeRoy stayed in a hotel room in Puyallup. “I had to sneak him in,” said Wescott sheepishly.

Wescott, originally from Spokane, was inspired to walk when on a trip to Seattle with his band. After the thought of walking across America struck him, he said that everything started to fall into place. But he wasn’t sure what he would be walking for. “I wanted to have a cause. A purpose,” said Wescott.

Shortly after Wescott began looking for a cause to walk for, his best friend Stephen Turner had returned from serving as a missionary in Nairobi, Kenya with Uzima Outreach. After hearing Turner’s stories, he decided that he would walk to raise awareness and hopefully raise funds to build an orphanage for the street children in the Kawangware slums. “It just felt like a God thing,” Wescott noted.

Uzima, which means “life” in Swahili, is a Christian based organization that shares the gospel of Jesus Christ, provides housing, enrollment assistance to schools, and substance abuse counseling when necessary. Substance abuse and addiction to sniffing — more commonly called huffing — glue and petrol is common among children and teens in the Kawangware slums.

“I pray a lot while I walk. For Uzima and their mission,” said Wescott.

You can follow Wescott’s journey online and learn more about his trip through his website at www.needle2square.com. There on the site, he has links to get his Facebook updates, his tweets on Twitter, and a link to follow his daily blog about his progress and location, complete with video updates from time to time. You can also donate money to his cause through the website by clicking on “Get Involved” or click the link on Wescott’s “Needle2Square” blog.

A Chronversation by Amy Nile

It’s not with every story that you find yourself changed as a journalist, or even as a person, at the end, but that’s exactly what happened when I met Chehalis guitar guru Eric Miller.

I covered Miller’s Hands On Guitar repair shop for one of my weekly business profiles in April. In drafting the piece, appropriately titled “Hands on His Craft,” I learned more about my own craft, writing.

Miller told me of his experience studying the craftsmanship of the premier American guitar maker, Jimmy D’Aquisto, famously known as one of the world’s finest repairmen.

He told me of his own development as a musician and guitar craftsman, while studying and teaching at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. He built such a name for himself, he even had Ray Charles’ guitar player fly in to have his guitar fixed on occasion.

In our interview, which turned out to be what all interviews should be, simply a great conversation, Miller told me he feels like providing people with instruments is just one part of his job. Because of this, he had arranged for John Stowell, a world-class jazz guitarist, visit and mentor artists in Chehalis.

Miller chose Stowell because he learned an important lesson from him. It’s one that he wishes someone would have taught him 30 years ago, and I now have the pleasure of learning at the beginning of my career.

“One thing you have to get comfortable with is that you’ll never be satisfied. You’ll never arrive, so take joy in where you are,” Miller said. “That’s incredibly freeing.”

Miller reminded me and really anyone doing anything creative not to criticize our work so much we no longer enjoy where we are.

Later, due to the engaging conversation we first had while crafting the story, Miller and I became friends. At lunch with him last week, I shared how his comments affected me as a writer. And how I have never actually liked anything I have written. I did find it freeing, or at least comforting, that other people also had this feeling.

I went on to tell Miller how I had always thought I was a talentless writer because I see written work in structures, and I am simply filling the appropriate words. However, I brought up the fact that music is comprised of simple mathematical structures, but I do see that as art which takes talent to create.

I always thought that I wasn’t much of a “real writer” because writing is not something I love to do, but something I don’t mind being paid for.

Miller told me that it is actually a common misconception that musicians love to play. And that they too often find it tedious to play, much like having to show up at an office everyday.

The great George Orwell once wrote in I believe his “Politics and the English Language” essay, which criticizes bad writers, that writing is something that is more work for real writers than others. I do find myself in that category, messing with a simple phrase or sentence for 30-plus minutes, making sure things are right and then hating them anyway.

Or like now, writing about myself in the first person, something that as a journalist and writer of nonfiction, I find myself very uncomfortable with.

So maybe Miller and I, just like everybody, are practicing the craft we are meant to. And the fact that it is hard work doesn’t make it any less real or take away from the artistry of it.

Ironically, the piece I wrote featuring Miller, and ended up walking away from super unsatisfied, has turned out to be one of the only articles I’ve written that I kind of like.,

Today is Earth Day (4.22.12) and it’s beautiful outside! Hopefully you’ve already got something planned, but on the off chance that you don’t, here’s a list of local parks you can visit with the kids (or, for me — my dog) and other things you can think about in honor of “Mother Nature” and our local environment.

Parks in Lewis County & Greater Lewis County

View Local Parks in a larger map

Remember, for a lot of these parks (state parks, or parks maintained by the State of WA), you may be required to have a Washington State Discover Pass. Discover Passes support the maintenance of local parks and help provide for their long-term existence. A Discover Pass gives you access to:

The Discover Pass offers you access to nearly 3 million acres of state recreation lands in Washington, including:

- Have a Picnic
Take your significant other, friends, family — even the family dog will appreciate a picnic. Enjoy local foods, support local farmers, and spend time appreciating nature.

- Plant a Tree
Planting trees can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, clean pollution, secure soil in place to prevent erosion, and provides homes for biodiversity in your backyard.

- Make Nature Crafts (i.e. Birdhouses, etc.)
Get together with the kids and build a birdhouse or make a bird feeder to encourage the local bird population, which plays an important role in our local ecosystem. There’s always the classic options like the pinecone-and-peanut-butter bird feeder, plastic-gallon-jug-with-a-hole-cut-in-it route, or get creative with items that otherwise would just be thrown away.

- Learn Something New About Your Local Environment
Earth Day is a good way to take time learning more about your local environment and how you can help to protect it. Think about the issues that concern you the most and what you can do to help. Or, join a local group that undertakes activities to help protect the environment in your area. Many local parks advertise events to help clean up local recreational areas.

- Stop on a Local Road and Clean it up as a Family
Rid litter from our roadways. Take a country backroad with the kids and spend time removing harmful trash that been left behind. It’s a wonderful community project. Great for scout troops, rotary clubs and student projects.

- Think About More Alternative Ways to Communte and Travel
Use your bicycle or other forms of human powered transportation to commute to work or school and to run errands. If you commute and biking isn’t feasible and you have a meeting near your office, consider taking your bike with you and using it to get to and from appointments.

- Go on a Nature Hike or Explore a Local Nature Area
Southwest Washington has a lot to offer in the way of nature and outdoor recreation. You could visit the Willapa Hills Trail in Chehalis and West County, Seminary Hill in Centralia, Mayfield Lake or Packwood Trails in East County, a local park in your community, or even your backyard. Get out and explore!

- Consider Going Paperless When Paying Bills
Lots of people have started paying credit card bills and viewing statements online instead of through the mail. It’s faster than writing checks, and you don’t have to store all that paper. And if everybody in the United States started dealing with money online, it would save almost 19 millions trees every year (source: IdealBite). It would also save some gas, since the post office wouldn’t have to deliver your statements and your payment. (HowStuffWorks.com)

- Write a Letter/Email to Your Local Government to Encourage “Green” Ideas
Just pick a cause — flooding, water safety, forest preservation, clean air, recycling, whatever speaks to you — and tell your congressman or congresswoman (Jaime Hererra-Beutler) how you feel. If you know of any pending legislation you can weigh in on, that’s even better. Tell your representatives (Richard Debolt) how you want them to vote! You never know when your opinion will have an effect. (And if you have kids, this can be a great civics lesson, too.) You can visit http://elections.chronline.com/ for all the contact information you might need. (HowStuffWorks.com)

- Consider/Try Using Non-Chemical Based Cleaners
Try making up a simple vinegar and water counter cleaner or swapping out your bleach cleaner for a less-toxic, orange-based one. Just try it. You don’t necessarily have to give up your heavy-duty cleaners, just try using them when you really need to disinfect, rather than simply clean.(HowStuffWorks.com)

- Set up a Compost Bin
Every time you throw out coffee grounds, paper towels or a pizza box, you’re adding to a landfill — and subtracting from your yard. All of this stuff, and much more, can be composted instead of trashed, and compost is an ideal way to fertilize your outdoor space. And once you set up a composting system — basically a bin in your kitchen to put in compostable waste, and a bin in your yard where it can decay — all of that rich fertilizer is free. (HowStuffWorks.com)

- Make a Committment to Spend Time Reducing Your Carbon Footprint
Reduce, reuse and recycle all day long. Avoid purchasing items that come in excessive packaging (many things you buy now have stamps or icons that indicate minimal packaging). Support our local growers and producers of food and products (these don’t have to travel as far and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions). Take your drink container with you, and don’t use any disposable plates or utensils. Consider swapping your plastic shopping bag habit for reusable bags.

6 million people. That’s the estimated number of Jewish people who were killed by the Nazi occupation in World War II. That would basically be like taking almost the entire state of Washington (approx. 6.5 million in population as of 2011) and just exterminating everyone in it. Just because they’re from Washington. Imagine for a moment: the whole rest of the United States starts circulating advertising and media, demonizing Washingtonians, claiming that we do sick and terrible things (learn more about Nazi propaganda: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_propaganda).

I realize that seems dramatic, but as a history buff (near the end of my junior year in a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science with a US History focus), too many of my peers and others that I talk to know so little about the Holocaust, World War II, the social implications and lessons to be learned from this terrible time in history. So, this is my attempt to educate and spark conversation about what we can learn about — and do to prevent — things like the Holocaust and other genocide and forms of racial/religious discrimination.

In 7th grade, I read “Anne Frank” (Anne Frank Guide, http://www.annefrankguide.net) for a school project — and I’ve never forgotten the impact it had on me, even at the young age of 13. In fact, I think the project is still displayed in my high school library. Ever since that project, I’ve spent a lot of time researching and absorbing all kinds of information about the Holocaust.

So, I hope that in the spirit of remembrance and respect for history, you’ll take the time to do something today to reflect and honor the memory of those who lost their lives during the Holocaust — read a book, watch a movie, learn about our local Jewish history — anything to take some time to think about why the Holocaust was important and what we’ve learned from it.

That being said, here’s some fact and interesting things you may not know about the Holocaust.

More Info From History.com (http://www.history.com/topics/the-holocaust)

• “The word ‘Holocaust,’ from the Greek words ‘holos’ (whole) and ‘kaustos’ (burned), was historically used to describe a sacrificial offering burned on an altar. Since 1945, the word has taken on a new and horrible meaning: the mass murder of some 6 million European Jews (as well as members of some other persecuted groups, such as Gypsies and homosexuals) by the German Nazi regime during the Second World War. To the anti-Semitic Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, Jews were an inferior race, an alien threat to German racial purity and community. After years of Nazi rule in Germany, during which Jews were consistently persecuted, Hitler’s ‘final solution’–now known as the Holocaust–came to fruition under the cover of world war, with mass killing centers constructed in the concentration camps of occupied Poland.”
• The site (http://www.history.com/topics/the-holocaust) also has some additional resources if you’re interested in taking the time to learn more.

More Facts You Might Not Know (from http://history1900s.about.com/od/holocaust/a/holocaustfacts.htm):

• In addition to Jews, the Nazis targeted Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the disabled for persecution. Anyone who resisted the Nazis was sent to forced labor or murdered.
• The Nazis killed approximately two-thirds of all Jews living in Europe.

• An estimated 1.1 million children were murdered in the Holocaust.
• The Nuremberg Laws, issued on September 15, 1935, began to exclude Jews from public life. The Nuremberg Laws included a law that stripped German Jews of their citizenship and a law that prohibited marriages and extramarital sex between Jews and Germans. The Nuremberg Laws set the legal precedent for further anti-Jewish legislation.
• During the night of November 9-10, 1938, Nazis incited a pogrom against Jews in Austria and Germany in what has been termed, “Kristallnacht” (“Night of Broken Glass”). This night of violence included the pillaging and burning of synagogues, breaking the windows of Jewish-owned businesses, the looting of these stores, and many Jews were physically attacked. Also, approximately 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
• After World War II started in 1939, the Nazis began ordering Jews to wear a yellow Star of David on their clothing so that Jews could be easily recognized and targeted.
• The Nazis built six extermination camps: Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Auschwitz, and Majdanek. (Auschwitz and Majdanek were both concentration and extermination camps.)
• Although many people refer to all Nazi camps as “concentration camps,” there were actually a number of different kinds of camps, including concentration camps, extermination camps, labor camps, prisoner-of-war camps, and transit camps.
• While concentration camps were meant to work and starve prisoners to death, extermination camps (also known as death camps) were built for the sole purpose of killing large groups of people quickly and efficiently.

Links:

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (http://www.ushmm.org/)

• This is an amazing site dedicated to preventing all forms of genocide and anti-semitism worldwide. They additionally focus on outreach, education and preservation of evidence — so that we will never forget the lessons of the Holocaust.
• Must See on the Site (Video, “Why We Remember”): http://www.ushmm.org/remembrance/dor/video/?content=whyweremember

WWII Today (http://ww2today.com/)

• “Follow World War II as it happened.” And, that’s exactly what this site does. It has extensive information and photos presented in a daily format, detailing exactly what happened during WWII on each day, post on the appropriate corresponding day.
• Must See on the Site (Photos & Video, Filem “Eternal Jew” is Released): http://ww2today.com/28th-november-1940-nazi-film-the-eternal-jew-is-released

UW, University Libraries Digital Collections, Jewish Archives Collection (http://content.lib.washington.edu/jhpweb/index.html)

• Washington State has a large and active Jewish community that has been part of its history for over 150 years.
• Must See on the Site: Temple Adath Israel building dedication, Centralia, Washington, 1930 (http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/jhp&CISOPTR=1041&CISOBOX=1&REC=1)

Movies:

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426578/

• Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year (2006) — Based on unpublished transcripts of interrogation, this film was recommended to me by a fellow history buff. A foreign film filmed almost entirely in german (with subtitles), the movie centers around Sophie Scholl, a member of the “White Rose” movement and proponent of the anti-Nazi agenda. Just 21 years old, Sophie and her brother are arrested by the SS for distributing anti-Nazi publications and newsletters at a German university. The rest of the film and screenplay is based on actual transcripts from the interrogations that followed, her time spent in prison, and the trial she faced. (Available on Netflix Instant Watch)

Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0914798/

• (2008) — This movie rose to popularity after winning a British Independent Film Award in 2008. I should note that I began watching this movie on the recommendation of a friend who knew that I was a history buff, but I had no idea what the film was about or even the subject matter of the film — and I think that added to the impact the film had on me. That being said, I will be brief in my description in say that this film is a very unique way of viewing WWII through the eyes of Bruno, and eight-year-old German boy, who is the son of the Commandant of a concentration camp (I researched after viewing the film, but cannot ascertain which particular camp it’s centered around). This film shocked — and impressed me — in the manner that it presents and navigates the difficult social issues of the time and shows it through many unique perspectives and point of views.

Everything is Illuminated – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404030/

• (2005) — This movie is a little known film based on a novel (which appears to actually be an autobiography) by world famous author Jonathan Safran Foer, about a young Jewish American man, Jonathan Foer, who travels to Ukraine in order to learn more about his grandfather. He ends up hiring a touring company run by some very eccentric locals to aid him in his search (and they add a lot of very witty comic relief to an otherwise dark subject). Jonathan, who calls himself a “collector” (you’ll learn more about that in the film), embarks on a wild journey to find a place that — today, in modern time — no longer exists. What he discovers changes his life forever.

Schindler’s List – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108052/

• Winner of 7 Academy Awards (1993) — This film takes place in Poland and follows Oskar Schindler, who witnesses persecution of his Jewish community during WWII. Directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Liam Neeson, and famous soundtrack score composed by John Williams (featuring arguably the greatest violinist of all time, Itzhak Perlman), this is the film that most people think of when considering movies about the Holocaust.

The Reader – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976051/

• Winner of Academy Award for Best Actress (2008) — Starring Kate Winslet (one of my favorite actresses of all time), this film is more romance than social commentary on WWII. But, it does center on Winslet’s character being prosecuted for war crimes following the end of the war. It made me question a lot of my beliefs because the film is asking a question: at what point does doing your job violate one’s moral beliefs? And how do you respond? If you were employed by someone and following orders from superiors, how responsible are you for your crimes? If you refused, would your life and that of your family’s be at stake? On a slightly related note (and funny story), I went with a friend of mine (who is very conservative) to see this movie. At the time, we had just met and this was our first time doing something outside of work together. Neither of us knew much about the movie, other than it got a “B” rating from Yahoo! Movie Reviews. The amount of nudity in this film was shocking and uncomfortable in mixed company (and I thought for sure that this new friend would never talk to me again), but it was well worth watching. And, we’re now very good friends.

Forgiving Dr. Mengele – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489707/

• (2006) — This documentary focuses on, Eva Mozes Kor, a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp and the infamous Dr. Mengele’s cruel and unfathomable twin experiments. She meets with fellow survivors and seeks healing through the process of reliving her past. Though difficult to watch, it’s an amazing story of a woman seeking closure who is trying to find ways to help others find peace through her amazing journey.  (Available on Netflix Instant Watch)

There are many, many movies and documentaries on WWII and specifically the Holocaust, including many movies which are viewable on Netflix Instant Watch and other places online. Here’s the biggest list I could find on the internet:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Holocaust_films (exhaustive list)

Additional Coverage by The Chronicle

• Historic Landmark Temple Won’t Be Affected by College Project
• Last Remaining Evidence of Once Vibrant Jewish Community
• Remembering the Jews of Lewis County