News
Airman
continued from page 1
WWII.
``There was nothing better in the world. In that biplane, the guy
wires between the wings were like musical instruments,’’ he told the
News Tribune of Tacoma in a 2011 interview.
But he also recalled in a 2009 Associated Press interview the
The grandson of slaves, Hickman
nurtured an interest in aviation as a
curious boy gazing up at the sky
above St. Louis
humiliation of being pushed off sidewalks in the South and spit at
while in uniform.
As a cadet captain, he was effectively blocked from flying when he
called out white superior officers for the mistreatment of a fellow
black cadet. ``I felt like I had really been mistreated,’’ he told the AP.
In 1955, he met and married his wife in Amarillo, Texas, while vol-
unteering with her mother at a local library, according to an Army
profile.
Doris Hickman was drawn to her husband’s character when they
first met.
He moved to Seattle in 1995 to work for Boeing and ultimately
was in charge of accounting Boeing training equipment. He retired
in 1984.
Hickman autographs copies of ‘Red Tails: An Oral History of the Tuskegee Airmen,’ for a fan last
year. The book was made into a film by George Lucas, which Hickman viewed at the director’s
invitation.
Veterans
continued from page 1
ans Affairs (VA).
“Most of society thinks that [veterans] can
just go to the VA and receive any service
they ever wanted and needed, which is not
the case,” Murch said. “Not every single vet
actually qualifies to get services from the
VA; not every single vet wants to get serv-
ices from the VA. For women in particular
… a big barrier for outreach is that they may
not identify themselves as being a veteran.”
That’s where Stand Down comes in.
Along with a host of services for both men
and women, the event will provide coun-
selors trained to treat MST, domestic vio-
lence advocates and representatives from
the Department of Labor’s Women’s
Bureau. There will also be manicures, mas-
sages and child care available.
“We’re trying to provide another way for
these women to access the services that they
need,” she said.
Adam Horton, director of Seattle Stand
Down and a veteran of the Iraq war, said
one of the event’s main goals is helping
female veterans reclaim their identity.
“We want them to feel comfortable being
called a veteran again and get themselves in
position to get all the services that they’ve
earned,” he said.
Horton planned last year’s Stand Down
with fellow members of SCCC’s veteran’s
club, motivated by a desire “to do some-
thing bigger for veterans.” He said Stand
Downs have been happening across the
country throughout the last decade and that,
despite the litany of services to be offered at
this year’s event, their goal is not to provide
ing hand, the Stand Down is also a way to
say thank you.
“This is a time to say, ‘we appreciate you;
we want to help you.’ We don’t want to give
you a handout because we know that’s not
what you want. But we’re here to tell you
that ‘here’s the services that are available—
‘Not every single vet actually qualifies to get
services from the VA; not every single vet wants
to get services from the VA. For women in
particular … a big barrier for outreach is that
they may not identify themselves as being a
veteran’
— Rebecca Murch, Seattle Stand Down
a handout, but to fill a gap.
“We feel there’s a disparity in the number
of veterans who get out of the service and
feel like they have no one there to turn to,”
he said. “There’s a gap between when you
get out of the service and when you find a
job or get into school. We’re trying to close
that gap.”
But for Murch, besides providing a help-
please take advantage of them.’
“We want to help them back up.”
Gowrylow said state law does not consid-
er medical marijuana a prescription drug.
Hiatt and others have also argued that dis-
pensaries are not selling the drug but
his facility is a donation to the collective
effort of producing the marijuana. He noted
that it is illegal to sell marijuana under both
state and federal law, so it would be prob-
Contact information for Seattle Stand
Down:
Phone: 206-934-5417
Website: www.seattlestandown.com
For partner organizations:
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Phone: (206) 762-1010
Website: www.pugetsound.va.gov
U.S. Department of Labor Women’s
Bureau, Region 10
Phone: 206-553-1534
Email: lock.betty@dol.gov
YWCA of Seattle
Phone: 206-461-3660
Website: www.ywcaworks.org
Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
program, King County
Website:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthser-
vices/health/personal/WIC
New Beginnings (domestic violence
advocates)
Phone: 206-522-9472
Website: www.newbegin.org
Andrew Gospe is a student in the Univer-
sity of Washington Department of Commu-
Pot
continued from page 1
on two marijuana dispensaries.
Some in the pot community have encour-
aged dispensaries to pay taxes as a means of
achieving legitimacy. But Seattle medical
marijuana lawyer Douglas Hiatt said he
doesn’t believe the state can tax medical
marijuana sales, nor would he allow one of
his clients to cooperate with an audit.
When the Department of Revenue recent-
ly tried to require one of his clients to pay
taxes, Hiatt said he threatened to litigate,
and the department backed down.
``There’s no way they can do this,’’ Hiatt
said. ``DOR doesn’t have the power to tax
marijuana. It’s not only that you can’t tax it
because it’s illegal, it’s that you can’t tax it
because it’s medicine. There’s an exemption
for prescription medicine under state law,
and an authorization is the functional equiv-
alent of a prescription.’’
Officials noted that the federal government
could come in and dismantle the whole thing
exchanging items as part of a cooperative.
None of that really matters from a tax stand-
point, Gowrylow said, because there is an
exchange of value taking place.
Steve Sarich, who runs a medical marijua-
na establishment in Seattle called Access 4
Washington, said any money exchanged at
lematic for any medical marijuana provider
to claim sales of the drug.
``If you pay sales tax, you’re admitting to
sales,’’ Sarich said. ``I wouldn’t advise any-
one to do that.’’
Sarich received a letter from the state
regarding the tax issue but hasn’t had any
further discussions with revenue officials.
Washington’s medical marijuana industry
has been left in a constant state of flux, with
federal authorities cracking down on some
dispensaries. Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed a
measure that would have provided broader
regulation of the sector, saying she was con-
cerned that the federal government could
prosecute some workers for overseeing it
all.
Now marijuana advocates are pushing an
initiative that would legalize pot and allow
sales at state-licensed stores. If that system
becomes fully functioning, state officials
estimate that it could raise as much as near-
ly $2 billion over the next five years.
But those projections are extremely
uncertain. Officials noted that the federal
government could come in and dismantle
the whole thing.
August 22, 2012 The Seattle Skanner Page 3