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Wednesday, November 28, 2012 | 75 cents
What’s Inside News.............................Page 1-5 Views...................................Page 6 Sports.................................Page 8 Pets...................................Page 4 Classified......................Page17-21
Longtime Enumclaw councilman dies Kevin Mahelona was 54 years old, suffered from rare lung disease By Dennis Box Editor
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Look inside... This holiday season, don’t give your pet the gift of gastrointestinal despair | All About Pets, 8
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Enu mclaw Cit y Councilman/Mayor Pro Tempore Kevin Mahelona died Nov. 16. The 54-year-old Mahelona suffered from acute interstitial pneumonia. The longtime councilman was first elected in
November 2001; he was re-elected twice and began serving his most recent four-year term in January 2010. Mayor Liz Reynolds stated by phone Nov. 17, “The council has lost one heck of a council member and the community has lost one heck of a council member. He had a high level of integrity.”
The loss has reverberated on the City Council. Councilman Jim Hogan said, “This is a true loss to the city. I’ve sat next to Kevin for almost 10 years now and can’t even begin to imagine not having him there anymore.” Councilman Chance LaFleur was elected in 2011 and began serving in 2012. He sought out Mahelona’s advice when he decided to run. “The best memory I have of Kevin is before I was
even on council with h i m ,” LaFleur s a i d . “When I was Kevin Mahelona debating on whet her to run or not, I sought out his counsel on the matter. One question I asked him that I will always remember his answer to was: Is it really worth it, Kevin? His answer
Serving up holiday cheer
Find us on facebook Weather 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.
was, “It will be challenging and difficult at times, but I can tell you this, it will be worth it.”” The council will have to appoint another mayor pro tempore and the members have 90 days to fill is position. According to state law, if the council does not fill the seat, the King County Council will appoint a member. The mayor said Mahelona made the Oct. 17 budget
See Mahelona, Page 2
City gets proposal for community center By Dennis Box Editor
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Enumclaw School District Superintendent Mike Nelson serves a plate of turkey with all the fixin’s during the Enumclaw Senior Activity Center’s Thanksgiving celebration Nov. 21. Visit www.courierherald.com to see a slideshow. Photo by Brian Beckley
The city may be seeing a community center in the future. At the Nov. 13 City Council meeting City Administrator Mike Thomas presented the beginning discussions the administration has had concerning a community center. According to Thomas, Village Concepts, a Federal Way developer, approached the city with a proposal to build senior apartment housing on the two acres owned by the city behind the Enumclaw Library. The preliminary discussion was for a land-lease agreement for the property to build the housing. For the lease agreement, the developer would build a 9,000 square foot community center
See Center, Page 2
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