Included in an award-winning photo essay of opening day of the 2006 Evergreen State Fair was this picture of Monroe resident Marika Dunham participating in a 4-H event.

Valley View editor recognized for excellence in photo journalism

Valley View editor Lisa Allen has been taking pictures for the paper since her days as a freelance writer for the publication, 20 years ago.

“I remember the old black and white days of rolling our own film and developing it in the office bathroom,” says Allen with a chuckle. “Just as I finally got good at the developing part, we went to color. Color’s certainly nice to have now.”

Courtesy photo
Anu Garg of Woodinville founded Wordsmith.org, an online community devoted to the magic of words.

As far as he can recall, Anu Garg has been fascinated with words.

The Woodinville man was always a voracious reader and early on, he realized that each word in a story has its own story. He says, “Each word has a biography and it tells us about its parents, where it was born, what corners of the world it traveled and the route it took to reach where it is today. It’s so easy to fall in love with words.”

Garg’s passion for language led him to found Wordsmith.org, an online community devoted to the magic of words.

Photo courtesy of the Rhone family
Steven Rhone Jr. was hit and killed by a drunk driver on June 2.\

Legal proceedings can sometimes help to bring closure to tragic incidents, but more importantly, they can signal the beginning of the healing process.

Though they continue to grieve and realize that the scars will never completely disappear, the family and friends of Steven Rhone Jr. feel that they can now move forward. The four individuals responsible for Rhone’s senseless hit and run death have been given the maximum sentences allowed under state law for their crimes.