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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2012
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
District decides schools will stay open
Residents asked to call 911 by Kent Police
BY SARAH KEHOE
BY STEVE HUNTER
skehoe@kentreporter.com
shunter@kentreporter.com
Kent School District staff are no longer talking about shutting down two elementary schools for the 2012-2013 school year. Officials announced a new recommendation to look into keeping all schools open at the Feb. 8 meeting of the district’s Board of Directors. “The full report and recommendations will Debbie Straus be presented to the board in two weeks as previously scheduled,” said Debbie Straus, school board president. Of course, our school board believes in transparency and so I didn’t want to wait two weeks to share the information.” The board had previously planned to review closing Jenkins Creek and Cedar Valley elementary schools in order to sidestep budget cuts. The schools were under consideration because they had the smallest enrollments in
Kent Police want more residents to call 911 whenever they see something that “just doesn’t feel or look right.” If a vehicle or person in a neighborhood looks suspicious, call 911 so officers can check out the report and see if there might be a connection to a burglary, vehicle prowl POLICE or some other criminal activity. “If it just doesn’t feel or look right,” said Kent Police spokesman Pat Lowery about when to call 911. “There are concerns about taxing the system unnecessarily. People are gun-shy about using 911 unless there is physical impact. A lot of people perceive it’s an inconvenience to police or fire unless there are flames coming out of a window or a burglar at a window.” But even what might seem like a small detail could help police bust a burglar or car prowler if people call 911 right away. Lately,
TALK
A Happy Camper Kitty
Sgt. Chelsea Eykel with King County animal control in Kent holds Funny Face, one of 73 cats and a dog that were taken into custody when they were found living in a camper in Auburn. The cats will be available for adoption along with other animals at the shelter. DENNIS BOX, Kent Reporter Story on page 8. To buy photos go to www.kentreporter.com and click on the photo reprints tab.
[ more SCHOOLS page 7 ]
[ more 911 page 7 ]
City hoping for $280,000 from feds for storm costs
Damage report sent to Federal Emergency Management Agency BY STEVE HUNTER
shunter@kentreporter.com
Kent city officials hope to get reimbursed for as much as $280,000 by the federal government for costs spent during the January snow and ice storms. The city submitted a preliminary damage report last week to King County as one of the steps
to eventually get funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The ice storm destroyed the large net at the city’s Riverbend Golf Complex driving range. It will cost the city more than $100,000 to replace the net, said Dominic Marzano, city emergency manager, who oversees the reimbursement request. “The ice tore it down,” Marzano said about the net. “We also had a lot of overtime costs for people to keep the roads clear.” As many as a dozen city crews
with anywhere from 30 to 50 employees worked to clear streets of snow and branches and to clean up parks. The ice storm brought down tree branches all across town that landed on city streets. “The ice part was more devastating than the snow,” said Tim LaPorte, city public works director, during a phone interview. “This storm had all of the branches to clear up. That work is still ongoing.” Employees from public works, parks and the police departments worked overtime hours during the January storm. The city uses money out of the general fund or an emergency fund to cover the extra costs [ more COSTS page 8 ]
City of Kent crews clean up down trees from the January snow and ice storm Jan. 21, on the East Hill near Daniel Elementary. CHARLES CORTES, Kent Reporter