A year in the (Slice of) Life, Part I

Editor’s note: With 2022 nearing a chilly close, Slice of Life looks forward to 2023 and the opportunity to tell more of your stories. Before embarking on the new year, we look back at the people and the stories from these pages, January to June. We’ll cover July through December next weekend. Do you have a story you think our readers would like to see? Send info to Slice of Life editor Craig Staszkow at cstaszkow@dnews.com.

January

Back home: Ryan Harms, a former Pullman High School student athlete, is back home this month, having returned to Pullman after teaching and working in Alaska for the past few years. Since graduating high school, Harms played college football, then embarked on adventures through Alaska, Mexico, Costa Rica and other corners of the globe. Harms was spurred to a life of adventure after meeting aging Alaska tourists who expressed regret they had not traveled more. The full story:bit.ly/3BRYrNm

To space and beyond: Moscow High School graduate and self-described “Star Trek” fan Dylan Taylor took a trip into space on the Blue Origin New Shepard Mission on Dec. 11, 2021. Taylor was part of a six-person crew which included “Good Morning America” host and former NFL player Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of astronaut Alan Shepard. Taylor now lives in Denver and is the CEO of Voyager Space, a space exploration firm. The full story:bit.ly/3jexOM2

Digital masterpieces: Ellie Pimentel was named a 2022 YoungArts Finalist in Design Arts in a nationwide competition. The Moscow High School student’s art represents her work with PERIOD, a club at Moscow High school which focuses on making feminine hygiene products more accessible. The full story:bit.ly/3YDu9rD

February

The road to the big leagues: Moscow’s Tayler Parsons, 19, is one step closer to becoming a Major League Baseball umpire following a stellar showing at the recent. Hunter Wendelstedt Professional Umpire School in Florida. Parsons did not land an immediate job as a professional umpire, but he’s one of a handful of umpires on a reserve list for the Appalachian League this summer. Should Parsons work his way into professional baseball umpiring he’ll become the second Moscow product to turn the trick in the past few years. Kellen Martin, a 2013 graduate of Moscow High School, now umpires at the High A level of the minor leagues. The full story:bit.ly/3vaMtL3

Theater lights: Pullman’s Regional Theatre of the Palouse has welcomed professional actors to complement the local talent in a performance of “Company” by Stephen Sondheim. The show is directed by RTOP’s John Rich and New York City-based actress Petralina Rae, who handles choreography and musical staging. The performance ends the two-year hiatus RTOP took because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The full story:bit.ly/3vgdVa4

Finding the right fit: Tyler Ochoa of Moscow is putting his degree in recreation, sports and tourism management from the University of Idaho to good use in his hometown. Ochoa is the recreation coordinator for the city of Moscow and organizes events like the Palouse Youth Triathlon, Breakfast with Santa and Light Up the Season Parade. The full story:bit.ly/3jj2Wdr

March

Best in fair: Moscow High School junior Caden Perry recently won four awards at the Idaho Panhandle Science Fair in Coeur d’Alene and now has the chance to attend the International Science and Engineering fair in Atlanta. Perry’s award-winning project combined the stability of a tricopter and the efficiency of a helicopter onto a drone. The full story:bit.ly/3BY9wN4

From Pullman to Italy: Kayla Ray, a master’s student at Washington State University, grew up singing at her Lutheran Church, so pursuing a career in music was a dream come true. Ray is one of 16 students from the United States accepted to the Accademia Vocale Lorenzo Malfatti program in Lucca, Italy. The classes last three weeks and include Italian, scene study and coaching. The full story:bit.ly/3GcIO5A

Uniontown Sausage Feed: For longtime volunteer Ken Oenning, the Uniontown Sausage Feed is time to see old friends and revive a decades-long tradition. Oenning has volunteered at the sausage feed since graduate school when his parents got involved. Now, at 7, he’s retiring to let younger volunteers take over. The sausage feed is in it’s 69th year and draws people from as far away as Spokane and Walla Walla. The full story:bit.ly/3GaLHEe

April

Neon night to remember: Ten Moscow Middle School students banded together to plan an eighth-grade dance after they learned the traditional eighth-grade-only dance was being turned into an event for the entire school. At a recent planning meeting, Anna Gray carried a three-ring binder with the team’s notes, waivers and plans. The group wants the dance to be something the whole class can experience together after an interrupted two years because of COVID-19. The full story:bit.ly/3Gfi3he

Barton’s haul: Genesee’s Cameron Barton will graduate this spring from Washington State University with a bachelor’s degree in music performance and will leave WSU with a few awards as well. Barton received a Top Ten Seniors award in Visual and Performing Arts and the WSU President’s Award for leadership. Barton was one of the only pianists in his cohort when he started college and has plans to pursue a masters degree at the University of Arizona. While at WSU, Barton participated in groups like Allegro, a student group which brings guest artists to campus for students to enjoy and was president of the Honors Student Advisory Council. The full story:bit.ly/3Q2cIx3

Shopping locally: Longtime business owner Laurie Barrie has opened her newest shop in downtown Pullman called Cherie Amour, a lingerie, loungewear, swimwear, activewear and beauty products shop. Barrie wants to make clothing shopping easier for women and to add to the shops on Main Street. Barrie is the co-owner of the photography studio, Creative Image, with her husband, Scott. The full story:bit.ly/3POseMx

May

Small space, big dividends: The St. James Episcopal Church in Pullman opened a free “little” children’s library in the summer of 2018. In March of 2020 the library had turned into a miniature food pantry and now two years later the church has expanded the food pantry to a freestanding box of its own. The panty, which is large to accommodate boxes of cereal standing up, aims to fill a need in the community. The little pantry is one of a growing number across the Palouse. The full story:bit.ly/3FRIVlE

A helping hand: More than 40 years after being accepted to Washington State University, Gary Rubens will walk across the stage at Beasley Coliseum and receive his degree. Rubens was accepted to WSU in 1981, but wouldn’t have the chance to attend because of tuition costs. He instead went to work and built a successful lighting supply company, ATGStores, based in Kirkland, Wash., which he sold to the Lowe’s Corporation in 2011. Rubens has made donations totaling about $31 million to the College Success Foundation and the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship since 2015. The full story:bit.ly/3vcPjPO

A return to the stage: The students at St. Mary’s Catholic Parish School in Moscow have been preparing for weeks to perform a stage version of “The Lion King” after the COVID-19 pandemic caused a two-year hiatus in their theater efforts. Music teacher Nikki Crathorne’s room has been overrun with costumes and savannah animals in the weeks leading up to the production. The plays, a staple in the school’s spring semester, include the whole school in various roles throughout the show. The full story:bit.ly/3I5mdJw

June

Remembering Cliffy: Mea and Cliff Moore recently installed and dedicated a bench at Pullman’s Sunnyside Park in the memory of their son, Cliffy Moore, a Pullman native who died in 2018 from an accidental overdose in Brooklyn, N.Y. Moore’s first claim to fame was in 1998, when at 8 years old he made it onto the Nickelodeon television network to be “slimed.” Cliffy would go on to become a production assistant for Warner Brothers and also work in the music industry. There is a QR code at the bench for people to scan and hear Handel’s “Messiah.” The full story:bit.ly/3WjuzBP

A second market: The Latah Farmers Market is ready for its second year at the Troy City Park. The market, organized by Erika Sattler, is for vendors from Latah County and a few surrounding counties in order to keep items on sale local. Shoppers cand find items like handmade soaps, produce and local raised meats from the vendors. The full story:bit.ly/3HWeu0k