A blue Volkswagen Bug burst into flames on Friday morning, Aug. 28, while its driver, an Island woman, was heading north on Island Crest Way, shortly after Merrimount Drive.

According to Mercer Island Firefighter Barry Collier, the woman was driving along when she heard “a big bang” and the Volkswagen’s back engine caught fire. The woman was not injured.

The fire department arrived at the scene shortly before 8:30 a.m. and quickly extinguished the engine flame. Collier said that the driver had owned the car for 20 years and was very attached to it.

“It was clearly sentimental to her. She called the car Betsy,” he said, adding that the collectable Bug “is still salvageable.”

YFS receives grant, hopes to build endowment

The Thomas H. Maren Foundation recently awarded a grant to the Mercer Island Youth and Family Services Foundation. The purpose of the award is to establish a Youth Development Endowment to support the Youth and Family Services community service and involvement programs that engage youth in the social and economic issues of the greater Seattle area.

The YFS Foundation is now conducting a campaign to increase the amount of its endowment. Tax-deductible donations can be accepted securely online at www.miyfs.org. Click on “Donate Now!” and select “Youth Development Endowment” from the drop-down menus.

VOICE (Volunteer Outreach in Communities Everywhere) provides structured group community service opportunities to high school-aged youth during the summer. Through the VOICE SVP (Summer Volunteer Program) is essentially the same as VOICE, except that it is aimed at middle school-aged youth.