REPORTER
COVINGTON | MAPLE VALLEY | BLACK DIAMOND
NEWSLINE 425-432-1209
LOCAL | A robotics first for Tahoma High [page 3]
WEBSITE | Check the website for breaking CONKS FOR A CURE | Kentwood High students and football team embrace Breast news, sports and weather stories. maplevalleyreporter.com or covingtonreporter.com FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2012 Cancer Awareness game Sept. 28 [15]
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Soft glow of purple kicks off annual campaign
GSG to pay fees and fines in settlement
BY KRIS HILL
BY TJ MARTINELL
khill@covingtonreporter.com
tmartinell@maplevalleyreporter.com
Purple Light Nights in Covington and beyond has begun. Victoria Throm, founder of the Covington Domestic Violence Task Force, along with a number of community organizations as well as members of Kentlake High School’s drama department helped celebrate the start of the annual campaign Sept. 29 with a tree lighting COVINGTON kick off event. It is part of National Domestic Violence Awareness month with the color purple serving as a color used to associate education and awareness on the issue. The idea is to get purple light bulbs on every porch or strings of purple lights on trees throughout the city. When Throm first started the
The legal wrangling over GSG, a medical marijuana business in Maple Valley, has ended. The Maple Valley City Council approved two resolutions at its Sept. 25 meeting authorizing City Manager David Johnston to reach a settlement agreement with Green Society Group,which was described as a management company, over MAPLE a complaint of VALLEY moral nuisance in King County Superior Court. The first resolution was for a settlement with David Skvorak and Lisa Bowers, who own Frontier Village and had leased space to GSG. As part of the settlements, Johnston said, the owners will pay a fourth of the city’s legal costs,
[ more PURPLE page 4 ]
Mollett, 7, gives the bean bag toss a try after he finished the 2K Kids Dash at the Healthy Fun At Denver Summer’s End Fun Run Sept. 29 at Kentwood High School. The fun run was organized by Cruzin’ a community health initiative to get youngsters moving and eating healthy during End of Summer Passport, summer vacation. To view a slide show go to www.covingtonreporter.com KRIS HILL, The Reporter
Wings of Karen takes flight with first fundraising event BY TJ MARTINELL tmartinell@maplevalleyreporter.com
Kristi Blair has done the seemingly impossible. She managed to get 10-year-old boys and full grown men to wear bras while running in a 5K race to raise money for breast cancer research, and love every minute of it. With the help of the Maple Valley and Covington communities, her non-profit Wings of Karen raised $30,000 from the 5K Bra Dash Sept. 9 at Lake Wilderness Park. Blair will also be at the Seahawks’ Oct. 14 home game against the Patriots to receive a plaque from the Seattle Seahawks Women’s Association.
Wings of Karen raises funds to promote breast cancer research in the Pacific Northwest through the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, a collaboration between UW Medicine and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. For an organization that was formed earlier this year, it’s a good start out of the blocks for Blair, who said she learned of how much money had been raised within days after the event. However, she realized early on in the summer it would be successful, when hundreds of people quickly signed up. With a goal of 250 people, the race drew more than 800 runners in addition to 100 volunteers. Much of this came as a surprise to her, as she did not expect it to grow so quickly.
“I don’t know if we’re worried about success but since we’re a new foundation we’re figuring out how to get the word out about what we’re trying to do,” she said. “It’s a new grassroots effort in that respect we’re finding new ways to get the word out. When 100 people sign up in the first week, we knew we were going to pass our goal.” Much of the Bra Dash’s success — and Wings of Karen’s growth — is due to community volunteers, from the Tahoma High band and cheer squad to the Kentwood dance team. Blair also felt Wings of Karen’s mission to donate 100 percent of the money raised to research, which also remains in the region, makes up a large reason people are so willing to get involved. “It shows how amazing this community is too,” she said. “It’s pretty remarkable. We were taken back. I think the big support [ more WINGS page 2 ]
[ more SETTLEMENT page 2 ]
A pair of women cross the finish line together in the Wings of Karen 5K Bra Dash at Lake Wilderness Park Sept. 9. The event raised $30,000. DENNIS BOX, The Reporter