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SENIOR RESOURCES GUIDE | Check out a special section devoted to Federal Way [11]
VOL. 15, NO. 17
Mirror
F E D E R A L WAY
division of Sound Publishing
OPINION | Bob Roegner: Will the mayor run unopposed in 2013? [6] Amy Johnson: Contraception vs. Hobby Lobby [6] TOURISM DOLLARS | City doles out grants to groups that enhance local tourism [2] CRIME BLOTTER | Police bomb squad responds to call about Nerf football [3]
SPORTS | Henderson retains UFC title, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 | 50¢ then proposes to his girlfriend [20]
Fatal bike accident qualifies Westway for traffic overhaul
CALENDAR | Indian cooking classes return; students perform ‘Chicago’ musical [19]
Community seeks closure in aftermath of shooting rampage
By GREG ALLMAIN gallmain@fedwaymirror.com
The Federal Way City Council voted to approve a major traffic flow overhaul for the Westway neighborhood. The plan would convert four roads — 23rd Avenue SW, 24th Avenue SW, SW 333rd Street and SW 334th Street — to one-way streets. The overhaul would also install two speed humps into the neighborhood, and provide for back-in angled parking in the neighborhood. A separate agenda item, but directly related to the traffic improvement program for the neighborhood, was also approved during the council’s April 16 meeting. This measure will change the speed limit throughout the neighborhood from 25 mph to 20 mph. Included in all of this was the council’s decision to exceed a $15,000 annual limit for traffic safety improvement projects, and instead spend approximately $30,000 for the project. The death of an 8-year-old boy last summer at one of the intersections in Westway [ more WESTWAY, page 4 ] NEWSPAPER RACKS: To see a list of rack locations for the print edition of The Mirror, visit federalwaymirror.com/about_us.
Pictured above: Sylvia Valdovinos, mother of shooting victim Ceasar Valdovinos, attended Wednesday’s community meeting at City Hall. Pictured left: Federal Way police search the Pinewood Village Apartments on Monday morning. PHOTOS BY ANDY HOBBS, The Mirror
Investigation continues; 8 officers on leave By ANDY HOBBS editor@fedwaymirror.com
A memorial at Pinewood Village Apartments, located along South 333rd Street off Pacific Highway. The victims were Justine Baez, Roland Scobee, Ceasar Valdovinos and Bradley Fischer.
Residents of the Pinewood Village Apartments are still in shock — and struggling for closure — after the deadliest shooting in Federal Way history. Dozens of people packed City Hall on Wednesday for a community meeting just days after 27-year-old Dennis Clark III went on a homicidal rampage. Around 9:35 p.m. April 21, Clark shot his live-in girlfriend, Justine Baez, 24, multiple times before killing three more people. Clark was shot dead at the scene by Federal Way police after ignoring commands to stop reaching for a handgun. One of the victims, 62-year-old Roland Scobee, was known among neighbors as an advocate who watched over the apartment complex. When the shooting broke out Sunday night, Scobee urged another resident to call 911. In an attempt to kill witnesses, the gunman breeched Scobee’s
door with a shotgun blast, then shot him. “He used to walk me to the store to make sure I was safe,” resident Linda Phillips said of Scobee, who often chatted with folks outside when he smoked. “He was just a really good guy.” Phillips and Mike Mellema have lived at Pinewood Village for four and a half years. They once lived in the same apartment unit where the gunman later resided, and had seen him around the complex. Fear and sadness now ripple through the apartment complex in the shooting’s aftermath. “I can’t see how a guy with that history can be allowed to have guns or rent an apartment,” said Mellema, concerned about criminal activity in the complex and nearby motels despite a steady police presence. “We were planning on moving when our lease was up. It’s a sure thing now.” Details revealed in the days since the shooting have highlighted Clark’s [ more SHOOTING, page 4 ]