INSIDE | Kentlake students charged with firearm possession [3]
.com
REPORTER
NEWSLINE 253-872-6600
KENT
Sports | Tess Manthou shines on the court for Kentwood [13]
FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Focus groups say no to homeless shelter BY MARK KLAAS mklaas@kentreporter.com
Faced with opposition from a concerned community, a proposed homeless shelter is no longer a possibility for one downtown Kent location.
Based on feedback from focus groups examining the idea of a proposed shelter, Kent city officials will not proceed with a request to use the former city Resource Center at 315 E. Meeker St. for any specified capacity for now. “There was a consensus that we
would not be going on to an RFP (request for proposals),” said Dennis Higgins, city council president. “The outcome of the focus groups is that the recommendation is not to proceed with an RFP … for any purpose at this time.” The City Council at last week’s
workshop received broad feedback from the focus groups, a community outreach effort the city used to gauge ideas and concerns from various sectors, including the faith and business communities. The Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission and the Kent Homelessness
Partnership Effort (KentHOPE) proposed to transform the twostory, 5,700-square-foot publicly owned building on East Meeker Street into a day center and overnight homeless shelter. [ more SHELTER page 5 ]
Low-enforcement marijuana petition drive can start BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
Caitlin Brown takes her dog, Dexter, for a walk along the Green River Trail lined with sandbags. STEVE HUNTER,
Kent Reporter
When will sandbags be removed? King County considers funding to move them by fall BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
Caitlin Brown walks along the narrow path Tuesday of the Green River Trail only imaging what it
might be like without the giant sandbags covering most of the surface. “It’s an awesome trail,” said Brown, as she took her dog, Dexter, for a stroll along the paved path near her Kent condo. “I just wish the bags weren’t in the way.” It appears the sandbags could
remain along the trail until fall as city of Kent, Auburn, Tukwila and King County officials try to figure out how to pay for the estimated $7.6 million cost to remove the giant sandbags and Hesco barriers that line 26 miles of Green River levees. [ more SANDBAGS page 4 ]
Let the marijuana petition drive begin. Sensible Washington, which filed an initiative last month with the city of Kent to let voters decide whether the city should make marijuana offenses the lowest enforcement priority by Kent Police, received the go-ahead from Kent City Attorney Tom Brubaker to start to collect signatures. Brubaker told the group in a letter that they are “free to prepare, format and circulate your petition at any time.” The initiative would “make the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of non-violent marijuana of-
AARGH! PIRATE TEACHER MAKES LEARNING FUN BY SARAH KEHOE skehoe@kentreporter.com
Jeromie Heath, teacher and sometimes pirate, shares a game/ lesson with his bullionpossessing students. SARAH KEHOE, Kent Reporter
Fifth-graders at Pine Hill Elementary School have a classroom full of treasure, pirate flags and games. For the past month, their teacher, Jeromie Heath, has transformed himself into a pirate and teaches all classroom subjects around a pirate theme. Heath believes the kids will retain information better if they are entertained.
“It keeps them interested and their behavior in check,” Heath said. “If they break a rule or act out, I tell them they won’t be able to participate in our learning games or I’ll go put on normal clothes and they stop right away.” This isn’t the first theme Heath has come up with to promote learning. He incorporates a different theme in his room every six weeks. [ more TEACHER page 5 ]
fenses, where the marijuana was intended for adult personal use, the lowest law enforcement priority.” Initially, it appeared based on Kent City Code that the group would need to go through several steps before collecting signatures from Kent voters. Brubaker, however, determined the city code needs to be changed when it comes to petitions in order to fall in line with the state petition process. “Our code has extra steps in the petition process that are not consistent with the state code,” said Brubaker during a phone interview Tuesday. [ more MEASURE page 3 ]
Firm finds Kent STAFF REPORTS
Ingenium, a full-spectrum innovative environmental services company, has opened a new facility in Kent, with the capability to serve the Pacific Northwest. The company provides creative, sustainable solutions for regulated waste management. Corey Johnson, an environmental science professional with more 12 years in the industry, heads operations. [ more INGENIUM page 8 ]