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LOCAL POET | Richard Wakefield, an awardwinning poet, enlightens young writers [2]
VOL. 14, NO. 48
Mirror
F E D E R A L WAY
division of Sound Publishing
OPINION | Roegner: Who will fill two vacant city council seats? [4] Johnson: Slavery and sex trafficking in Federal Way [4] CRIME BLOTTER | Police catch an alleged vehicle thief napping inside a vehicle [3] CALENDAR | Upcoming events include holiday bazaars, Christmas music [10-11]
SPORTS | Season previews for basketball COLORING CONTEST | Kids can win a prize FRIDAY, Nov. 30, 2012 | 50¢ and Benson Henderson at KeyArena [15] in The Mirror’s coloring contest [14]
Training targets student discipline in schools Data: most referrals involve black males
Gay couples await legal marriage ‘We’ve got to thank all the straight people’ By ANDY HOBBS editor@federalwaymirror.com
After 38 years together, Sue Huff and Donna Caldwell will tie the knot. “We can finally make it official,”
said Huff, who met Caldwell in ing that Referendum 74 — which college when both women were in asked Washington voters to aptheir early 20s. “We’ve always prove or reject same-sex marbeen committed and always riage — passed with nearly will be.” 54 percent in November NEWS The couple will wed election. The bill goes into Dec. 15 at Wayside United effect Dec. 6. Church of Christ in Federal The couple wish to thank Way. This marks the church’s Wayside church, as well as first legal same-sex marriage. Huff one key voting demographic, for and Caldwell felt relief upon learnmaking their marriage possible in
UPDATE
Sound Transit seeks federal funding for light rail extension
By GREG ALLMAIN gallmain@fedwaymirror.com
Federal Way teachers will undergo mandatory “cultural competency” training to curb inequities in student discipline. According to the statistics compiled by the district and the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), a stark disproportionality exists in the district when it comes to discipline for male students and AfricanAmerican students. At all levels, from elementary to high school, males make up anywhere between 69 percent to 85 percent of all disciplinary referrals. Those referrals can include being sent to the office, in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension or outright expulsion. The Federal Way School Board received an executive summary [ more DISCIPLINE, p. 22 ] NEWSPAPER RACKS: To see a list of rack locations for the print edition of The Mirror, visit federalwaymirror.com/about_us.
Washington. “We’ve got to thank all the straight people,” Caldwell said. In February 2012, same-sex marriage was legalized in Washington when Gov. Chris Gregoire signed Senate Bill 6239 into law. Two days later, Preserve Marriage Washington submitted more than 200,000 signatures to block the legislation [ more MARRIAGE, p. 23 ]
By ANDY HOBBS editor@federalwaymirror.com
Enterprise Elementary helps Hurricane Sandy victims The student council at Enterprise Elementary School sponsored a coin drive to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy. From Nov. 15-19, the school raised $700 for the Red Cross. Enterprise fifth-grader Zachary Yoon, who is president of the student council, helped lead the coin drive. At a school assembly Nov. 27, Zachary (pictured) was presented with a humanitarian award from Deputy Superintendent Mark Davidson. “I’m really proud of our whole school,” Zachary said. The original goal was to raise $400. In late October, Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast. Damage is estimated at more than $70 billion. States like New Jersey and New York were especially hit hard as thousands of people lost their homes. ANDY HOBBS, The Mirror
With the contentiousness over the delay of light rail to Federal Way dying down in recent months, the Federal Way City Council and Sound Transit are discussing the next steps. At the council’s Nov. 20 meeting, officials talked about the current process Sound Transit is undergoing in trying to make light rail a reality in Federal Way. Ric Illgenfritz, an executive planning and project director for Sound Transit, reported to the council about current activities regarding the light rail project. “We are fully funded to take the project through to construction to Kent/Des Moines,” Illgenfritz said, referencing the ST2 ballot measure and its associated projects that voters approved in 2008. “We are funded to complete the environmental review and preliminary engineering through to a
Light rail has been delayed to Federal Way. COURTESY PHOTO record of decision, all the way to the (Federal Way Transit Center). And what that does is put the project in a shovel ready status for possible future implementation if we can find the funding.” Illgenfritz said Sound Transit is looking at pursuing federal funding to meet the tax revenue shortfall caused by the economic downturn that began in 2008. “Our goal here is to make this project eligible for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) ‘New Starts’ funding,” he said. “If we can’t solve the funding problem, [ more TRANSIT, p. 22 ]
See details of our two holiday shows on page 12