INSIDE: Park Board recommends spring vote | Page 3 . . . ‘Grandparent scam’ strikes again | Page 5 . . . Election spending about quality, not quantity | Page 6
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Wednesday, November 28, 2012 | 75 cents
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This holiday season, don’t give your pet the gift of gastrointestinal despair | All About Pets, 8
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Community rallies behind injured gymnast By Daniel Nash Staff Writer
Following a training accident that left a Puyallup gymnast with a grave spinal cord injury, Roach Gymnastics is raising money for the girl’s medical care. Jacoby Miles, a 15-year-old competitive gymnast, was practicing on the uneven bars at Roach Gymnastics when a double back dismount went awry. As Miles described it to coach and gym
owner Melanie Roach, she became “lost” in midair, losing a sense of her bearings and landing on her neck. She was transported to St. Joseph’s in Tacoma, then Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she underwent surgery Saturday to correct a dislocated C4 vertebrae. Injuries to the cervical vertebrae of the neck carry a high risk of compromising diaphragm breathing functions, and at least partial quadriplegia in the long term;
an injury to the C4 is associated with a significant loss of function in the biceps and shoulders. Miles’ family has been postJacoby Miles ing updates on her condition through a Blogspot, “Get Well Jacoby.” Surgeons found the spinal cord had been pinched, but not severed.
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See Jacoby, Page 14
City council comes to a compromise on Eastown sewers By Brian Beckley
Today, Wednesday, should bring rain and clouds with high temperatures in the lower 50s, falling into the lower 40s overnight. Expect it to be slightly less wet tomorrow, and merely cloudy by Friday. Clouds are expected to continue through the weekend.
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Miles is presently paralyzed below the mid-chest area, and the hope is that she will regain feeling in her arms while recovering from surgery. A doctor warned her family that regained use of her legs would be in the “miracle category,” according to a Nov. 17 post. Miles is breathing on her own and is able to perform biceps curls and shrug her shoulders, but is unable to put her arms back down,
Staff Writer
The Sumner Bridge Lighting, an annual holiday tradition and promotion event for the Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse, returned with the usual enthusiasm Friday night. People from all over the region came out to pack the old East Valley Highway bridge before the lights came on and fireworks exploded over the river. Photos by Daniel Nash
The Bonney Lake City Council appears to have reached a consensus that will bring sewers to the Eastown section of the city. The council next month is expected to pass a trio of ordinances that should lead to an agreement for the city to partner with landowners to develop a “backbone” sewer system, as well as change the rules regarding septic systems in the region, following a discussion of the matters during the Nov. 21 workshop meeting. The decision comes two months after the council voted down a utility latecomers agreement with Eastown landowners, who formed a corporation in hopes of partnering with the city to put pipes in the ground, allowing them a better chance to develop or sell their property. The new agreement is one worked out by Deputy Mayor Dan Swatman, who supported the ULA and Councilman Randy McKibbin, who did not. Swatman called the package a “three-legged
See Eastown, Page 2
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