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KENT
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FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2012
Sandbag removal signals valley to open for recreation again Old Timers King and Queen for Kent Cornucopia Days: Barbara and Ed (Butch) Reitan have enjoyed the good life with their deep ties to the community. SARAH KEHOE, Kent Reporter
FOREVER CONNECTED TO KENT COMMUNITY BY SARAH KEHOE
AGR Contracting, Inc. was awarded the sandbag removal contract by the city of Kent to remove the nearly 20,000 bags within Kent’s city limits. AGR is using heavy equipment to load the bags – each BY SARAH KEHOE skehoe@kentreporter.com
Sandbags set up across the Green River Valley three years ago to combat flooding threats are finally getting removed. Community and business leaders and trail enthusiasts joined officials
approximately 1 cubic yard in volume and weighing about 1.5 tons – into dump trucks for removal. The bags are expected to be removed from Kent by the end of September. SARAH KEHOE, Kent Reporter
from the King County Flood Control District, King County and the city of Kent to celebrate the start of the sandbag removal Tuesday. “Removal of the sandbags means life is moving forward in the valley,� said King County Flood Control District Chair Julia Patterson, also a member of the County Council.
“Bicyclists can once again enjoy full access to the trail, people who live here in the Green River Valley can return to their normal lives, and businesses in the valley can get back to doing what they do best – keeping our regional economy strong.� [ more SANDBAGS page 5 ]
skehoe@kentreporter.com
INSIDE
Ed (Butch) and Barbara Reitan were chosen to be the Old Timers King and Queen for the 2012 Kent Cornucopia Days because of their lifetime ties to the community. Ed, 74, has been a lifetime resident of Kent since his family homesteaded here from Norway in the 1900s. Barbara, 69, has lived in Kent since she married Ed in 1971, and use to work the field on his grandfather’s farm near Reiten Road in 1960.
Kent Cornucopia Days are here. For more details, see page 4.
Kent church spreads hope in Sudan
Coleen Bertino teaches the alphabet in Malwal’s outdoor “school.� Kent Lutheran provided a portable library, English-Nuer dictionaries and picture books to South Sudan. COURTESY PHOTO,
SPECIAL TO THE KENT REPORTER
In the midst of increasing conflict in the nation of South Sudan, one local church is sharing hope and providing important supplies for the African country. A team of 14 volunteers recently returned from the remote village of Malwal in the Republic of South Sudan. The team provided
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education, medical help, clothing and food to the residents in the isolated community. Malwal was the site of the beginning of Sudan’s bloody civil war, which began in 1984 and ended with independence for the South in 2011. But Malwal, which is directly on the border of Ethiopia, [ more SUDAN page 2 ]
“I’m just comfortable here. I don’t think I ever thought of living anywhere else,� Ed said. “My family is here. We have history here and it’s just a great place to be.� Ed went to Kent Elementary and graduated from Kent-Meridian High School. [ more COUPLE page 4 ]
Kent Police, SWAT team arrest man on the state’s most wanted list BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
A 20-year-old man surrendered peacefully Wednesday morning after a SWAT team surrounded a Kent apartment in the Panther Lake area. Kent Police arrested Donvea Adams for investigation of fourth[ more ARREST page 4 ]
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