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  Eric Degerman is SportsTriCities.com's managing editor. Eric is a longtime Tri-City Herald sportswriter who spent several years covering a variety of sports, including the Tri-City Americans and golf. Eric now produces a regular Web-based sportscast that focuses on Mid-Columbia sports. Have a question for Eric? Click here to e-mail him |
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Thursday, May. 01, 2008
Richland art students using "Chair-ity" to help injured wildlife (w/ video)
By Eric Degerman, SportsTriCities.com
So much of what people see in the news section of newspapers centers on tragedy and ugliness.
In the sports section, it boils down to victory or defeat.
Whenever my wife, Traci, reads the weekly update from Blue Mountain Wildlife, there is a little of everything.
Thankfully, Lynn Tompkins' work produces a good win/loss record. And the volunteer, non-profit raptor rehabilitation center in Pendleton, Ore., provides heart-warming stories much of the time.
Tompkins travels throughout the Mid-Columbia year-round to educate people young and old about the birds that we share our environment with. Often, she brings along Ula The Golden Eagle and/or Angus the American Kestrel to classrooms, feed stores and other public events.
"Our purpose is to aid orphaned, sick or injured wildlife, primarily birds of prey, providing the treatment and care necessary to return them to their natural habitat," Tompkins states on her website. "Goals include training volunteers in rehabilitation techniques, enhancing awareness and appreciation of wildlife through public education, and providing a facility where concerned people can bring wildlife who need care."
Last October, I took my video camera to the Blue Mountain Wildlife open house. The focal point of that afternoon was when Henry Trease released a red-tailed hawk. The youngster from the Tri-Cities outbid other attendees for the right to return the rehabilitated hawk back to the wild.
On Saturday, Trease will help raise more money for Blue Mountain Wildlife.
The "Chair-ity Auction" will be held in Richland at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1322 Kimball Ave.
Each year, advanced students at Krista Hopkins' Tumbleweed Art Studio in Richland paint chairs to be auctioned as a fundraiser. According to Tompkins' site, Trease "convinced his fellow students that Blue Mountain Wildlife should be the recipient."
The auction runs 2-4 p.m.
Angus and Ula hope to see you there.
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