INSIDE: Gallery honors photographer’s work, page 5 . . . . Teens deliver toys to kids in hospital, page 11 . . . . Foothills Elementary leader named Principal of the Year, page 12 . . . . McGann sworn into Enumclaw School Board, page 12 . . . . Will Foster makes the leap to basketball’s big league, page 28
EARLY D NO EADLINE
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
What’s Inside Classified ...................... Page 23 Views .................................Page 7 Sports ............................ Page 28 Obituaries .................... Page 11 Art .......................................Page 5 Big & Small We Talk ‘Em All
All About Pets....
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Vet hospital teams with dog rescue, page 21
On the Web Breaking news Enumclaw police reports updated regularly Sports scores posted the following morning Updates daily. Go to: www.courierherald.com
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County axes its 4-H support By Kevin Hanson Editor
Nearly 400 youngsters throughout the greater Enumclaw area are facing the demise of their 4-H programs, now than King County has eliminated funding for the organization that seeks “to make the best better.” Those 400 kids belong to the 29 individual clubs that dot the Plateau north of the White River. While 4-H has its roots in agriculture and animal husbandry, the
organization has expanded its view to include things like cooking, public speaking and encouraging the arts and sciences. Still, 4-H is most often associated with animals and Plateau kids can be found raising and caring for cattle, horses, goats, rabbits, chickens, hogs and more. Now, 4-H leaders worry about the future of the program that originated around the turn of the 20th century and has gained a foothold everywhere, including King County.
County leaders, looking to trim money from a tight budget, eliminated 4-H funding in their 2012 spending plan. Pat BoyEs, working out of an office at the WSU Research Center in Puyallup, is the statewide program director for 4-H. She saw how King County had funded 4-H to the tune of $100,000 in 2010 and sliced that figure in half for 2011, but didn’t anticipate a zero sum for 2012.
SEE 4-H, PAGE 4
Weather Today, Wednesday, should bring rain and clouds, with a daytime high temperature near 46. The rain will continue in coming days with nighttime low temperatures dropping into the mid-30s.
King County’s recent work on a bridge and other improvements on the Foothills Trail outside Enumclaw along state Route 410 make it a more popular route for runners and walkers. Photo by Brenda Sexton/To view or buy photos go to www.courierherald.com.
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County blazes ahead with trail work By Kevin Hanson Editor
King County Parks and Recreation recently upgraded an Enumclaw stretch of the popular Foothills Trail and – with an eye to shaky budgets in coming years – still has plans for further improvements. The just-finished Phase I portion of the project saw about 800 feet of asphalt put down, along with an improved crossing at 252nd Street, a retaining wall and installation of a pedestrian footbridge over a
small stream that bisects the trail. Until now, a wooden bridge spanned the skinny creek identified only as Stream 5, a structure that has unknown origins, according to one county spokesman. Total cost of Phase I was $885,000, according to Doug Williams of the county’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks. Phase II, which has been shelved until funding can be identified, will see the paved portion of the trail extended to an area just north of Mud Mountain Road. The second
phase, Williams said, will carry a price tag in the neighborhood of $1.3 million. The trail follows a former Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway right-ofway and the biggest hurdle to extending the trail into Pierce County is the White River. Plans call for a pedestrian bridge connecting trails in Enumclaw and Buckley and the two cities have formed a partnership with the two counties involved. A study was commissioned in 2006, examining potential big options.
Care Van revving up for return By Brenda Sexton Staff Writer
The Enumclaw Regional Healthcare Foundation plans to have the Care Van back on the road this spring, but could use some help. The Foundation, with the local hospital operating the van, began offering the free Care Van service in 1987 as a way to transport seniors and disabled residents to medical, dental and eye appointments, hospital visits and the pharmacy. The van served people in the Enumclaw, Black Diamond, Buckley and east Bonney Lake areas. Since the nonprofit, volunteer-board Foundation was formed in 1982, it has raised more than $3 million to provide services, program and equipment for St. Elizabeth Hospital, area residents and organizations with the goal of fulfilling the healthcare needs of residents in the area. The Care Van is one of many programs ERHF oversees. According to statistics from ERHF Executive Director René Popke, in its first year of service, the Care Van delivered 844 riders to their destination. In 10 years, ridership grew to 1,800. When service was halted in June 2010, ridership was at 250 to 300 a month. The Foundation is poised to bring the current van, complete with a lift, into service. But, like the past program, it relies heavily on donations. Franciscan Health System recently made a major contribution of $15,000.
SEE CARE VAN, PAGE 4