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COMMUNITY | Citizen of the Month: Beverly Triplett [8]
VOL. 18, NO. 5
MIRROR
F E D E R A L WAY
DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
OPINION | Johnson: Gender gains, gaffs and goals [4] Roegner: Keeping score of 2016 candidates [4] CONTEST | Decatur student wins writing award with WW II essay [3] RING OF FIRE | Jared Michael Brown and Cayman Ilika perform in the Knutzen Famiily Theatre. [18]
SPORTS | Basketball star Kendell POLICE | Driver flashes gun at teenage girls [38] FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 | 75¢ Harris overcomes obstacles [6]
Federal Way High School doors set to swing open in Summer BY RAECHEL DAWSON rdawson@fedwaymirror.com
Students and teachers at Federal Way High School will begin their last semester in portables next week. That’s because district officials estimate classrooms in the new school will be complete by this summer. “Come this summer, when students stop coming to school for the most part, we will move out of those portables and start moving into the building itself,” said Jason Nelson, the project manager of maintenance and operations for the Federal Way High School rebuild. “And then the portables will go away over the summer and [we’ll] start demoing that area over the summer.” Nelson recently presented a construction status update to the Federal Way Public Schools Board of Directors at their meeting on Tuesday. Since work on the new school began in August 2014, students have moved into classroom portables. The south end of the high school and the Kenneth Jones Pool
Nurses return from Africa Mercy hospital ship BY RAECHEL DAWSON rdawson@fedwaymirror.com
D
riven by a desire to help others, two Federal Way nurses decided to pack up, leave their homes for a month and board a ship docked off the coast of Madagascar, Africa. They spent one month there before returning home on Jan. 25. Theresa Cheung and Anne Turner were among 400 volunteers from 45 countries onboard the largest private hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, a vessel with Mercy Ships. “I saw the ‘60 Minutes’ presentation of what Mercy Ships did and I’m No. 1 a Christian and No. 2 a nurse,” Turner said. “It seemed to be a perfect match for me.” At age 63, her most recent trip marks her second voyage on Mercy Ships. “It was
were demolished and construction of the new common space is underway (the steel beams, which can be seen from the Pacific Highway South). Crews have installed air barrier windows and sheetrock in the southwest wing on the first and second floors. Nelson said there’s also brick going up on the south side of the building near South 308th Street. “A lot has taken place in the last few months since I gave the last report,” Nelson told the school board. In the coming months, framing will continue along Pacific Highway South, metal panels and masonry will progress and installation of all interior utility “rough-in,” such as plumbing and electrical work, will be done along with more sheetrock in the interior and work on the egg-shaped theater. While many heads are turned to what the new building will look like, Nelson said they haven’t forgotten about preserving the original building. “One of the things about a school as old as Federal Way is there’s a lot of historical features that we would like to bring forsomething I could do and be of service to people who don’t have access to health care,” she said. “I loved it so much and decided to go back.” This time around, she brought former colleague Cheung. The two had worked together at St. Francis Hospital as nurses for more than 20 years before Cheung, 66, retired. Cheung had also seen the “60 Minutes” episode. “I was a little bit anxious because I didn’t know what to expect, but the desire was strong,” Cheung said. “I felt I had to do it.” Cheung and Turner were both operating room nurses who worked on cleft lips, facial or neck tumors and burn victims who were suffering from contractures, a condition where scar tissue and muscle becomes stiff and can lead to deformities. “One of the big things is people cook on open fire there, small children get bumped and fall into the fire and the way that burns heal, without having help from medical people, is the skin contracts,” Turner said. Turner recalled a 6-year-old girl whose ear touched her shoulder from a contracture. She had arrived at Africa Mercy after being turned away from a local hospital because she didn’t have the funds to pay for treatment. Not only was she disfigured, but she had an infection. The girl’s treatment involved graft[ more SHIP page 16 ]
Construction crews will wrap up work by the end of the school year and school staff will move into the new building after the last day of school. Left is a graphic of the finished school. COURTESY PHOTO ward,” he said, adding that the district got together with stakeholders in the community, teachers and students to go over important features they wanted to preserve in the new building. A particular important element was a
capstone that sat at the original entrance to the building. Nelson said the capstone will be in the almost exact same place as before, an idea that generated a lot of positive feedback. [ more SCHOOL page 14]
City Hall home to PAEC Steinway piano BY RAECHEL DAWSON
990-pound instrument, Yvonne asked Steinway artist Mark Salman to accompany her to test it out. Salman has played Despite the year-and-a-half left on with the Federal Way Symphony before. the Performing Arts and Event Center’s “Ironically enough, it is the exact same construction deadline, city officials have year piano he has privately in his home secured the and he played it, venue’s concert pounded on it, piano. and it was just And it’s been glorious to listen nestled in the to him,” Yvonne corner of City said, adding that Hall’s lobby Salman said the since June. 1994 piano’s Performing quality was Arts and Event that of a new Center Exone. “Whoecutive Director ever owned this Theresa Yvonne piano never said the city played it. The purchased the harp isn’t even Jennifer Marshall plays the Steinway piano in City used Steinbroken in yet.” Hall’s lobby. RAECHEL DAWSON, the Mirror way and Sons Even though Concert Grand Yvonne and the Model D piano city knew the for $95,000 in May 2015 after it was listed bid for the Performing Arts and Event for $105,000. Center hadn’t even been awarded (that A new Steinway costs about $200,000 would take place in October 2015), they she said. had to lock down the “screamin’” deal But before they purchased the before the Steinway [ more PIANO page 15 ] rdawson@fedwaymirror.com