Community Extra: Applause

State remembers Everett organ donor

Family of Sharon Ballenger, who lived in Marysville, plan to attend the Gift of Life Awards on Monday in Olympia, where Ballenger will be remembered and honored for the donation of her kidneys and liver, an act that saved three lives.

Ballenger worked as a registered nurse for 30 years. A member of Seattle Women’s Hockey, she subsequently founded Everett Women’s Hockey and played for the Everett Ravens. She died March 30, 2011, of cardiac arrest. She was 55.

“Sharon was born to care for others. It is no wonder that her last act on this earth was to, once again, help others through the act of organ donation,” said Scott Ballenger, her husband.

Gov. Jay Inslee and LifeCenter Northwest will honor Ballenger and five others at the ceremony, which coincides with Donate Life Month.

Hunt brings 1,579 pounds of food

Participants in the Eggstravaganza Egg Hunt on March 30 in Mill Creek donated 1,579 pounds of nonperishable food items as well as cash donations for the Mill Creek Food Bank.

The event was organized by Mill Creek Parks &Recreation and the Youth Advisory Board.

Drop off donations for the food bank weekdays at Mill Creek City Hall, 15728 Main St.

Volunteers put on successful hunt

Boy Scouts from Lake Stevens Troop 41 assisted the Lake Stevens Kiwanis Club in running the annual Easter Egg Hunt on March 31 at Highland Elementary School. About 500 children, ages 1-11, attended with family and friends.

The Lake Stevens Fire Department provided transportation for the Easter bunny and sounded a siren to start the hunt. And the Lake Stevens Police Department donated bicycle helmets to prize winners.

Darrington volunteers repair canoe shed

A group of Darrington volunteers spent a recent weekend fixing up a shed that houses an ancient Sauk-Suiattle canoe.

The canoe is located across Highway 530 from the Darrington District office of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Darrington.

The volunteers included Brian Berggren, Pete Selvig, Scott Morris, Rich Dahl, Adrienne Hall, Bob Reece, Geoff Kemp, Mayia Mencucci, Kellen Mencucci, Martha Rasmussen, Sierra Mencucci, Nels Rasmussen, Forrest Clark and Paul Wagner.

Marysville teenager runs weather site

Tanner Petersen, of Marysville, runs a volunteer, nonprofit online weather station, WeatherOn.

Tanner said he became interested in weather when he was in fifth grade during the December snowstorm of 2008. The site combines forecasting with blogging by other young weather aficionados. “I really believe WeatherOn is the future of weather sites,” Tanner said.

You can find the site at www.weatheron.net.

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