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Park opening a celebration of community Tahoma BY KRIS HILL khill@covingtonreporter.com
Editor’s Note: To read more about the park opening, see Annie Livengood’s column on page 4. Tiny soccer players dribbled, scrimmaged and passed the ball around on the field at Covington Community Park as city officials celebrated the grand opening June 8. Opening the first phase of the park — the soccer field, a parking lot and trail system to name a few features — marks a significant milestone for Covington. “This is a really special occasion for the city,” said Covington’s Parks and Recreation Commission Chair, Steven Pan. “It has the ability to impact our entire community. This is the largest and first active use field park that we have and that’s wonderful.” Phase one is vital because it fills a critical need which is one of the highest priorities for residents according to research the city has done in preparing its Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Plan. Scott Thomas, the city’s parks and recreation director, told the Reporter in December there is a significant need to provide a Annabelle Cabrera, 4, kicks the ball around with Courtney Crocker, a Kent-Covington Youth Soccer Association board member at place for children to play sports. the Covington Community Park grand opening event June 8. The park was more than a decade in the making. KRIS HILL, The Reporter [ more PARK page 5 ] To view a slideshow go to www.maplevalleyreporter.com.
BY KRIS HILL khill@maplevalleyreporter.com
Norm Holcomb is excited to teach patrons of the Maple Valley Farmers Market about bees this summer. Holcomb, owner of Bees in the Burbs in Maple Valley, will bring a demonstration beehive to the market, which kicks off its 17week season Saturday at 9 a.m. at Rock Creek Elementary.
“I took it to the Kent Market last Saturday, and boy, it was a big hit,” Holcomb said. “I would say over one-third of our sales were due to that beehive. People would see the beehive then stop and talk about it, especially the kids.” The educational opportunity is hard to pass up, Holcomb said, and he plans to bring the demonstration hive to the market as long as the bees can handle it and he
JUNE SPECIAL
Officials from Tahoma School District and King County recently resurrected discussions related to the district’s purchase of 35 acres in the Donut Hole. This comes after both parties walked away from a years worth of negotiations in February. Recent developments in the state Legislature helped bring the parties back together, specifically the approval of Senate Bill 5417, which will allow the city to annex the property. Not long after that came about, the county lowered its asking price, according to information Tahoma Superintendent Mike Maryanski provided to the Maple Valley City Council during a joint meeting of the council, the Tahoma School Board and Maple Valley Fire commissioners May 29. In addition, state senators Joe Fain, R-Auburn, and Mark Mullet, [ more TAHOMA page 6 ]
can keep them healthy. Market Manager Victoria Jonas wrote in an email interview that the demonstration beehive is a perfect fit for the market. “It will become one more added and important attraction that makes our Farmers Market so special,” Jonas wrote. “It will become a natural conversation piece, I can only imagine the buzz of curiosity and conversations that will occur around the beehive! Bringing a live beehive to our market embraces the core foundation of our Farmers Market’s mission of providing a avenue for educational learning on the [ more BEES page 5 ]
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BY KRIS HILL khill@maplevalleyreporter.com
Natalie Holcomb of Bees in the ‘Burbs, a Maple Valley business, checks out a panel from a beehive the afternoon of June 7. KRIS HILL, The Reporter
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Bees in the ‘Burbs makes farmers market sweeter
and county resume discussions