Boston Marathon attack
inspires Washburn High sophomore to run
WASHBURN NEWS
by Beth Boddy
Derek Baker, son of Kelly and Stacey Baker of Wade, is a sophomore at Washburn District High School. Derek has been playing basketball throughout his school years.
Photo courtesy of Beth Boddy
Derek Baker is a cross country runner from Washburn High School who took up running after the Boston Marathon attack. He hopes to run the race in Boston in 2014. 
He was approached in the past to join the cross country team but had never wanted to, preferring to focus on basketball. This all changed after the events in Boston this past April during the Boston Marathon.
During the summer of 2012 when Derek was at basketball camp, a bone tumor was found in his leg. Worried that it might be cancer, the Baker family went to the Children’s Hospital in Boston that fall. The tumor was found to be Oster Rocondroma and was not cancerous, but still needed to be removed. They discussed going back to Boston over Thanksgiving vacation to have the tumor removed, until Derek learned that he would not be able to play sports for eight to 10 weeks. Not wanting to miss out on basketball season, he wanted to wait, and doctors agreed that would be fine. The surgery was scheduled for April vacation of 2013.
The surgery was scheduled for Friday, April 19, but to make the most of the trip, the Bakers left for Boston on Sunday along with two of Derek’s friends and classmates, Brandon Croepley and Jarrett Olson. They were planning on watching the Boston Marathon on Monday and had tickets to a Celtics’ game on Tuesday night.
Monday Stacey woke up with a bad migraine headache and was not able to leave the room. Kelly and the boys decided to go see a family friend, Mike Roberts, a Perham native, who is the director of Roberts Tennis Academy at the Willows Racquet Club in North Andover, Mass. Stacey woke up, and 20 minutes later the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon, one mile from where the Bakers were staying.
The cell phone towers were all jammed and Stacey was not immediately able to communicate with her family or the parents of the other two boys who had accompanied them to Boston. It would have usually taken Kelly and boys about 30 minutes to get back from the Tennis Club, but with Boston on lockdown, they were not able to get back until late that evening.
The city was shut down, nothing was open and the Celtics’ game was cancelled. Kelly and Stacey were understandably frightened and became very protective of the boys during the rest of the week, not letting them walk anywhere alone. The boys, used to the relative safety of The County, were confused and unnerved — not fully understanding the fear in the adults.
Then Thursday night about 20 minutes away from the Bakers, the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing killed an MIT police officer and the resulting car chase left one of the suspects dead and the other still on the loose.
The following morning the Bakers called the hospital to make sure the surgery was not cancelled and were told to head over; this was about 7 a.m. They arrived to find the hospital barricaded to prevent easy entry and guarded by heavily-armed military personnel. Shortly after arriving, the hospital went on lockdown. Derek was all prepped for surgery when hospital official informed the Bakers that they needed to keep the operating rooms free in case of another shooting or attack that would bring in casualties.
Taking into account the distance Derek had to travel and the time off already taken for the trip, the hospital agreed to do the surgery. Derek went in for surgery at 9 a.m. and everything went very well. Even though Derek was fine, because of the lockdown, if he left the hospital and there was an issue he would not be able to get back into the hospital unless it was by ambulance. The Bakers did not leave the hospital that day until after 3 p.m., escorted by armed guards. They returned back home on Saturday, very relieved to be back in The County.
Derek, who had never been interested in cross country running, decided to run in the Washburn August Festival race, even though he had not been able to do any training throughout the summer as his leg healed.
At the start of the school year Mr. Waugh, the cross country coach at Washburn District High School, approached Derek yet again about running cross country. This year to everybody’s surprise Derek decided to give cross country a try. Derek took this commitment very seriously and because he had missed so much training he ran most every night during harvest break after working 13-hour days. He placed third in his first two races, and helped the boys’ cross country team make it to the state competition, where Derek placed 20th.
All of these events have led Derek to want to run in next year’s Boston Marathon. The Roberts Tennis Academy will be sponsoring some runners for next year’s marathon in memory of Mike Robert’s son, Nicholas, who was born with a heart valve defect and passed away at the age of 5 months — never having left the Children’s Hospital. All the money raised by Derek will go to the Children’s Hospital in Boston.
West visits Washburn Elementary
Photo courtesy of Beth Boddy
Spencer West, a motivational speaker, talked to Washburn Elementary students about how to “redefine possible,” during a recent visit to the school.
On Thursday, Nov. 14, Washburn District Elementary School had the great honor to meet with Spencer West.
Spencer was born with a genetic disease which affected the muscles of his legs; subsequently he lost his legs at the age of 5.
His positive attitude and humor allowed him to “redefine possible.” In high school he was not only a good student but also a member of the cheerleading squad (they were also state champions!). He graduated from college with a degree in communication. In 2012 he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro — the highest mountain in Africa — and in 2013 he walked 300 km (from Edmonton to Calgary) to raise money for fresh water.
Spencer met with the students, teachers and staff of Washburn Elementary and shared his message: redefine your possibilities, pick up your challenge, never give up and remember to ask for help. He answered a lot of questions and even presented a handstand!
Grade 5 students made posters illustrating Spencer’s message. The After School Program participants worked on the project designed by the UMPI Elementary Education Program students for two weeks prior to the meeting.
Spencer is a motivational speaker working for the Me to We, and Free the Children organizations. Both organizations “provide people with better choices for a better world.” For more information, visit www.metowe.com and www.freethechildren.com.
Holiday wreath orders
The Washburn District Student Tour group is now taking orders for holiday wreaths. All proceeds will be going toward their next trip which will be to Scotland and Ireland. The wreaths are 30 inches across, and cost $25 for a decorated wreath and $15 for undecorated. They can be all balsam fir or mixed evergreens. Customers can choose the color of their decorations. To place an order you can call Tracy Reed at 455-4501 or contact any tour participant. The wreaths are hand-made and very full. They will be taking orders until the end of November and the wreaths can be delivered as early as Thanksgiving, as long as the orders are received a week ahead of time.
Advent Festival
The Lidstone United Methodist Church in Washburn will be holding their Advent Festival on Saturday, Dec. 7, from 10 a.m. to noon. Children in kindergarten thru 4th grade are invited to come and join us for refreshments, caroling and Christmas craft making. There is no charge to participate but your RSVP would be appreciated. You can call Lisa Reed at 493-0989 to register so we can make sure to have enough materials. Hope to see you there.
Birthdays/anniversaries
Those celebrating a birthday between Nov. 27 and Dec. 3 include: Nicole McLaughlin, Heather Bragg, Kelsey Churchill, Billie Jo Allen, Douglas Everett Sr., McCall Turner, Glenna Ewing, Tammy Bragg, Troy Bragg, Anthony Viola, Josh Matowitz and George Howe.
Those celebrating an anniversary between Nov. 27 and Dec. 3 include: Wayne and Linda Connolly, and Andrew and Kolbie Churchill.
Beth Boddy is the correspondent for Perham, Wade and Washburn. She can be reached by calling 455-8427 or by e-mailing bethwood@hotmail.com.
