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Raining eggs at City Hall
Safety top priority for traffic cop Swanson: Put your phone down and put your seat belt on when driving SAMANTHA PAK spak@redmond-reporter.com
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Hundreds of children converge on the Redmond City Hall lawn as treat-filled eggs are dropped from a Redmond Fire Department SLIDESHOW ONLINE www.redmond-reporter.com ladder truck during last Saturday’s Eggstravaganza event, which attracted more than 2,000 people under clear skies. Attendees got into the Easter spirit with an all-ages egg hunt, featuring 12,000 eggs scattered on the City Hall lawn. Council President Pat Vache dumped hundreds of eggs from high above off the ladder truck to kick off the egg hunt. Inside City Hall there was face painting, photos with Mr. Bunny and storytime with the Redmond Library. For more photos, see PAGE 10. Photo Courtesy of Christopher Bien
First Gentleman visits Einstein Elementary Governor’s husband, Mike Gregoire, reads to students, talks about his military service SAMANTHA PAK spak@redmond-reporter.com
Sixth graders at Albert Einstein Elementary School in Redmond had a special guest in the classroom Tuesday morning as Washington’s First Gentleman Mike Gregoire paid them a visit. Gregoire read Dr. Seuss’s “The Lorax” to students and after navigating through the author’s signature tongue twisters, he spoke a little bit about the story’s message about environmental responsibility and sustainability. He discussed his childhood in Everett and how the greater Puget Sound
area was filled with trees at the time. And while there has been a lot of development throughout the state, Gregoire said he is confident the younger generation will take care of the state’s natural wonders. “I’m very happy,” he told students. “I’m optimistic.” Gregoire was set to read to the Einstein students on March 2, Dr. Seuss’s birthday and the National Education Association’s Read Across America Day. His visit, however, was postponed because the funeral for fallen Washington State Trooper Tony Radulescu had been scheduled for the same day.
Karen Ollerenshaw, the sixthgrade teacher who organized the visit for her and teaching partner Karl Olson’s classes, said when they realized the First Gentleman would not be able to make the original date, he and his staff were very accommodating to find a date that would work for everyone. “They were very flexible,” she said. Ollerenshaw taught fifth grade last year and brought in Redmond Mayor John Marchione to read to her students. She said she has pretty much the same group of students this year, so she wanted to bring someone new to the
classroom to read to students. Ollerenshaw originally contacted Gregoire’s wife Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and her office. The governor was not be able to make it, but her husband Mike and his office said he could pay the students a visit. “I thought it would be a long shot,” Ollerenshaw said about her request. “They got back to me immediately.” She said she selected “The Lorax” to be read aloud because it ties into their upcoming outdoor education lessons and served as a nice segue. [ more MIKE GREGOIRE page 5 ]
hen Jeff Swanson first considered a career in law enforcement, he saw himself working in the fish and game department. But after three years of active duty in the U.S. Army and earning a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Washington State University, job opportunities in the field were limited. So he tested with a few local police departments and accepted a job with the Redmond Police INSIDE Department Editorial: (RPD). About Residents need to 23 years later, take action and Swanson is still avoid being a victim with RPD and to vehicle prowls has never regretand burglaries. ted his decision. See PAGE 4. “Once I got started here, there (was) a lot of comfort with the organization … The grass is not always greener in those other pastures,” he said, referring to other organizations. In his two-plus decades with the agency, Swanson has held a number of positions including police support officer, patrol officer and school resource officer for a number of elementary schools in the city. He is currently a traffic officer, a position he has been at for about three and a half years and has held in the past. Last Friday, Swanson spoke at the Redmond Senior Center’s monthly First Friday Coffee Chat about some of the most common traffic infractions he sees on the job. The chats began in the fall 2009 to give the public an opportunity to get to know city officials and employees such as the mayor, paramedics and poet laureate. The most common violations Swanson writes tickets for are talking on the cell phone while driving and not wearing a seat belt. [ more SWANSON page 3 ]