There's an old cabin two miles west of Orting that some residents would like to see moved to one of the city's main parks.

Members of the Orting Historical Society are talking to the owner of the old building about how they might acquire and preserve it. One option they've discussed is placing the building, shown below, in North Park on Washington Avenue North, the city's main drag.

Members also have discussed placing the building in Charter Park, located further south along Washington Avenue near the Orting Public Safety Building.

What exactly was the building used for? Society members weren't sure. But they know it's old, and that means it's part of the city's historic past.

They plan to invite the cabin's owner to their next meeting to see if she'd be willing to let them have it.

Should that happen, city officials would be willing to consider a proposal to place it in one of their parks, Mayor Cheryl Temple said.

"I'm sure it would be a wonderful thing if we could do that for our citizens," Temple said, "but there are still are many things that need to be looked into."

I'll be checking in with the Orting Historical Society next month to see if their plans have moved forward. Stay tuned.

Carrie Little, who has spent the last decade growing organic veggies and fruit for food banks supplied by Emergency Food Network, is leading in the race for White House Farmer.

No. There is no White House Farmer at present, though there is quite a lawn maintenance crew.

But Michael Pollan is making the case for one. He started with an Oct. 12 article in The New York Times Magazine. In it he makes the case for growing, and eating locally. It's healthier for consumers, he writes. It uses less fuel than the current system. It's better for the environment. It strengthens the nation's food security.

You can read the full text here.

He tops off the argument by urging the president to set the example for the nation by ripping up the White House's five-acre South Lawn and replanting it as a kitchen garden. The produce would feed the First Family and wow guests, with plenty left over for Washington D.C.'s food banks.

Eleanor Roosevelt kept a veggie garden, Pollan wrote, and inspired the Victory Gardens that kept Americans healthy during World War II.

With the Obama family in residence, Pollan's backers are keeping the idea alive with an internet campaign for a White House Farmer to join the White House Chef on the staff. Log on to whitehousefarmer.com for a vision of that.
You look at that bit of digital wizardry, and you can imagine Peter Rabbit crashing the White House Easter Egg Roll.

Here's the cool local angle: The site invites visitors to nominate that White House Farmer. On Wednesday evening, Little was the front-runner.

Voters can read the nominations for 20 farmers from Maryland, Iowa, Arizona, Indiana, Virginia, Washington and so on. It's encouraging that so many small farmers remain true to real food.

But former EFN director David Ottey's nomination of Carrie Little blows the others into the back fields. Read that nomination, and realize that at EFN's Mother Earth Farm between Sumner and Orting, "organic" does not merely refer to the soil. It describes the farm's place in the larger community.

So vote for Carrie Little. What she does has the power to inspire gardeners to till more, share more and dare more.

Then be grateful there's no chance Little will be planting carrots in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue's South Lawn any time soon.

We need her here.

It’s not too late to get a seat at the table as the local chapter of the American Red Cross honors 20 individuals for quick action and bravery at its 15th annual “Real Heroes” breakfast Friday.

Awards will be presented in the categories of fire rescue, law enforcement, medical rescue, military, workplace safety, youth humanitarian, spirit of the Red Cross and the Marvin Klegman Memorial Award.

Winners range from a teacher who saved a student from choking on a piece of candy, to a barista who donated a kidney to a coffee customer, to firefighters who responded to the Atlas Foundry explosion.

We'll be writing more about these "Real Heroes" in Kathleen Merryman's Saturday column and in the Sunday You & Me section, page B2.

The breakfast, co-sponsored by MultiCare Health System, will be held at 7:30 a.m. Friday in downtown Tacoma at the Hotel Murano Bicentennial Pavilion, 1320 Broadway Plaza.
Donors can give what they want, with proceeds benefitting local Red Cross programs and disaster relief efforts. Those wishing to attend should call (253) 474-0400. Contributions may also be sent to American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter, ATTN. Real Heroes, 1235 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, WA 98409 or make an on-line donation at www.rainier-redcross.org.

The American Cancer Society announced this week that the 2009 Sumner/Bonney Lake Relay for Life will hold a kickoff Feb. 8 at Calvary Community Church, 15116 Gary St. E., in Sumner.

The kickoff will feature 80’s music and costumes with food, fun and door prizes for attendees. The kickoff event begins with an open house and sign-in at 11 a.m. with the program beginning at 11:30 a.m. and concluding at 12:30pm.
The theme for the 2009 Relay For Life of Sumner/Bonney Lake which will be held Aug. 7-8 at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium in Sumner is “Back to the Future…Celebrating 25 years of Hope”.

For more information contact the American Cancer Society office at 253-272-5767 or 1-800-ACS-2345 or click here.