Military Life
"One man's trash is another man's treasure." So the saying goes, but for the Puget Sound Treasure Hunters Club, everyone's trash is their treasure. Well, maybe not all of the trash is technically treasure - the market for old pull tabs, beer cans and other detritus that would set off
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Christmas specials have been a holiday staple since the advent of television. In many cases, the original shows that spawned them - along with some of the cast members - have long since gone away, but the lone Christmas special remains, gracing our screens each year and serving as a
Music
Square dancing's been around since the 1600s. It's a quintessential piece of Americana. You need only turn on a Hee-Haw! rerun to learn everything you need to know, but I'll explain it anyway: A group of people ranging younger than 10 to over 90 gather together in a dance hall
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Any pet owner in the South Sound knows Mud Bay. Since 1988, the Olympia-based company has provided food, toys, treats and other supplies for cats and dogs, and its annual - and currently ongoing - Tons of Love campaign provides thousands of dollars in donations and supplies to animal shelters each
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The small-town holiday experience is alive and well in Sumner. With the city proper covering less than eight square miles and a population just shy of 10,000 people, the "Rhubarb Pie Capital of the World" hearkens back to the good old days when everyone knew everyone's name, and you could
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Climate change is a bit of a hot topic these days. (Pun fully intended.) For all the talk this election season, the nation appears to be divided between two extremes - one side thinks it doesn't exist, while the other side thinks we'll be living in the movie Waterworld in
News Front
The American Military Partner Association (AMPA) is the largest resource network for LGBT servicemembers, veterans and their families in the country. Conceived in 2009 and founded in 2012, the nonprofit organization is the brainchild of Stephen Peters, who served his country as a marine for four years before he was
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After 2,000-plus Christmases, the reindeer need a break, so Santa's scuttling his sleigh for the South Sound leg of his trip this holiday season in favor of something a bit more high-tech: the railroad. Passengers aboard the 47th Annual "Santa Train" at the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie will get to
News
To say the military influenced the South Sound's growth is like saying Gen. Grant influenced the outcome of the Civil War. Joint Base Lewis-McChord has served as the major military hub in our area since the waning days of World War I. Collaborating with Seattle, our shipyards built over 100
News Front
"Ambassador" is one of those honorifics that sounds a bit antiquated, like it's from the same bygone era as "Viceroy" or "Archduke", but it's still in use today. In fact, the Army Reserve has been using it ever since ye olden times of 1998. Army Reserve Ambassadors act as liaisons between
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Veterans Day is a high priority for the brave men and women serving at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Since Nov. 3, service personnel from JBLM have been participating in Veterans Day programs communitywide in a 10-day-long observance and outreach campaign that includes 23 local schools, one church and 14 community/civic organizations
News Front
By the very nature of the responsibilities and risks they assume by serving, the men and women of the Armed Forces already give much more than their fair share in service to their community, but that's not enough for them. Over 150 military personnel gathered at the Thurston County Fairgrounds in
Military Life
Vince Lombardi famously said "Leaders are made, they are not born." With all due respect to the late, legendary NFL coach, some leaders are born, some leaders are made, and Jiemyjoyce Reduque suggests that some leaders are born and made. Jiemyjoyce Reduque - a junior at Steilacoom High School and the
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How much is a good night's sleep really worth? According to one 20-year veteran in the mattress market, it's less about worth and more about our personal tastes and how much we want to spend. "A high price doesn't always correlate to a better bed. I've had customers find that a
Military Life
"Coffee's for closers only." So said malevolent real estate agent Blake (Alec Baldwin) in 1992's Glengarry Glen Ross. That's the entirety of my real estate knowledge. And forget about VA loans; I'm not a veteran. I'm completely clueless, or at least I was ... Last Wednesday, I attended Veterans National Lending
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Military service requires sacrifice, and not necessarily the traditional one. It's been said that a veteran is someone who wrote a blank check to the United States for an amount up to and including his or her life, and that "up to" is a caveat loaded with forfeiture, both mental
News Front
The Thurston County Chamber of Commerce and the Olympia Yacht Club celebrated their 54th annual Foofaraw last Friday, bestowing upon all present the right to say "foo" to their duties and responsibilities for one day. It's a very enticing offer, especially for the military personnel that the Foofaraw welcomes as
Arts
For the be-inked among us, Flaming Dragon needs no introduction. This South Sound fixture will celebrate 20 years of tattooing Tacoma next month. Don't let the taxidermy tarantulas, oni masks or the cell phone impaled to the wall with a butcher knife scare you away; these are two of the
News Front
Classically beautiful, enduringly elegant and Italian. Lamborghinis are the Monica Bellucci of cars. And just like the lovely Ms. Bellucci, they're hopelessly out of my league. And out of yours, too, at least until today. (Lamborghinis, I mean. Not Monica Bellucci.) Courtesy Auto Service and Tire of Tacoma is giving one
Music
It's hard to believe, but it really has been two whole decades since Lakewood first incorporated into a city. That means that right around the time the rest of us were nervously re-spooling our Scotch-taped Tragic Kingdom cassettes with a #2 pencil, ensuring our Jinco pants had the precise amount
