Well, the first week of December is over, thankfully ….just kidding …every year I wonder why I decide to do a Festival of Trees tree and why I do the Twinkle Light parade and usually, it is even busier with the Breakfast with Santa, which was not held this year. Then a few hours after it is all over …I am ready to do it all again next year!!
Team Rubicon
I had not heard of Team Rubicon before last week and it was great to meet Michael Chiu as he stopped by the Forks Forum office last week seeking newspapers to stuff into the wet boots of the volunteers in his group. The Team was in the West End helping many of the victims of our recent flooding.
Chui lives in Fall City and was the Leader of Operation November Rain – Forks. Chui said Team Rubicon assists those who may be overlooked by other types of help because of their remote location.
A little info from Wikipedia:
Team Rubicon formed in January 2010 following the Haiti earthquake, when William McNulty and Jacob “Jake” Wood led a medical team into Port-au-Prince three days after the earthquake. The first Team Rubicon was an initial team of eight. They gathered funds and medical supplies from friends and family and flew into the Dominican Republic. They rented a truck, loaded their gear, and headed west to Haiti. The team treated thousands of patients, traveling to camps deemed “too dangerous” by other aid organizations. They ventured outside the traditional scale of disaster response, focusing on those who would be overlooked, untreated.
That experience was the beginning of Team Rubicon. Team Rubicon wanted to solve two problems: (1) Inadequate disaster response which is often slow to respond, has an antiquated infrastructure, and is not using the best technological solutions or well-trained members, and (2) inadequate veteran reintegration into civilian life. Military veterans’ training, skills, and experience make them well suited to disaster response while helping others can promote healing and community to alleviate some of the reintegration issues that drive a high suicide rate among veterans.
The death of fellow Rubicon member Clay Hunt from suicide redoubled Team Rubicon’s organizational mission towards veteran reintegration. The team’s role in domestic disasters is both to provide humanitarian assistance and to provide veterans an opportunity to continue to serve.
The name “Rubicon” is from the phrase “crossing the Rubicon,” an idiom to mean passing a point of no return. The red and dark brown logo is made up of a sideways cross, a traditional symbol of first aid but here on its side as a departure from the traditional, with a river running through the logo, as a symbol of the gap between disasters and disaster relief.
Terry and Barbara Nowicki were one of many homeowners who were hit hard by the flooding and I hope to have more information on their experience and the Team that helped them and others in the West End in next week’s paper.
Santa Bucks Winners
Congratulations to Lynda Rowland and Char Carte who won Santa Bucks in the COVID-modified Holiday promotion sponsored by West End Business and Professional Association. There will be one more drawing of $50 and $100 in Santa Bucks, winners to be notified on Monday, Dec. 20. Remember to ask for WEBPA blue tickets when you shop local. Deposit them, with your name and phone number, at Outfitters Service Center.
Now …time to decorate my office!
Christi Baron, Editor
