Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 2, February 2003

Copyright 2003 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article and photos below in your research. Be sure to quote the Seattle Sun as your source.

Healthy Living Briefs

Eagle migration trip planned

The Seattle Parks Department will hold its annual eagle migration trip on Saturday, Feb. 1. The all-day trip begins at 7 a.m. at the Carkeek Environmental Learning Center, located at 950 NW Carkeek Park Road.

The group will proceed to the Skagit Valley, where participants will attend the Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival. There, they will be able to view one of the largest wintering Bald Eagle populations in the continental United States gather to dine on salmon. The trip will be led by a professional naturalist. The group will return to the Carkeek Environmental Learning Center at 5:30 p.m.

The cost to attend the trip is $25 per person ($15 each for children who are accompanied by an adult). The deadline for registering to participate is Jan. 29. For more information, or to register, call Carkeek Park at 684-0877.

Register now for Little League

The registration deadline for the increasingly popular Northeast Seattle Little League is Feb. 24. Bob Brittain, a spokesman for the league, said last year the league fielded 60 teams with over 950 boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 18 participating an increase of 200 from the previous year. "We'll expand as needed if we can get the fields from the parks department," he said. Parents can download a registration form www.eteamz.com/nesll, or call 525-6957.

MS neighborhood networks

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of King County is starting a new program to build neighborhood-based community groups for those with MS. The idea, according to MSA Executive Director Merrill Ringold, is to connect those who may feel isolated by their disease.

"What we are trying to do is get people (who are) disconnected out in the community, who might thing they are the only ones who have MS," Ringold said. "The intent is to match people together to get them to form their own community links."

While MSA will initially act as a coordinator, the idea is that the individual groups will eventually start neighborhood-based programs of their own by either holding regular meetings, inviting speakers, hosting fund raisers or anything else.

"These agencies can be very impersonal sometimes," said Ringold. "This is the first time we've tried a neighborhood program."

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of King County is based in Fremont. The organization is seeking volunteers to host the initial socials. For details, call 633-2006.