REPORTER
COVINGTON | MAPLE VALLEY | BLACK DIAMOND
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GUN FREE ZONE | First part of series explores history of school safety [page 3]
SURGERY TO CHAMPION | Tahoma’s Denham Patricelli makes a comeback in FRIDAY, JULY 12, 2013 the javelin after Tommy John surgery [12]
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Miners memorial garden dedicated
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Community ranks top desires in May survey
BY DENNIS BOX
BY KRIS HILL
dbox@covingtonreporter.com
khill@covingtonreporter.com
Black Diamond’s history and heritage was celebrated July 6 with the city’s annual Miner’s Day Festival which culminated with the unveiling and dedication of the Black Diamond Coal Miners Memorial. The honor garden includes a 13-foot bronze statue of a coal miner sculpted by Ellensburg artist Paul Crites and a 28-foot granite wall, engraved with the names of miners who have died in mines throughout Washington state, and engraved bricks at the base of the statue and wall. Surrounding the memorial and historical museum is a landscaped garden. According to Black Diamond Historical Society President Keith Watson, the idea for the memorial began years ago, but started in earnest about two years ago when he and former Black Diamond Mayor Howard Botts and their wives made a trip to Roslyn, Wash. There they saw a memorial
Covington residents told surveyors in May they want more entertainment as well as recreation and they believe the police department is the most essential city service, among other things. From May 14-26 Elway Research conducted phone interviews, explained Karla Slate, the city’s community relations coordinator. In addition, thanks to a grant, Elway sent out invitations in the mail to participate in a web survey. Phone interviews were conducted with residents who listed a phone number on their voter registration. A majority of the questions were similar to those asked in the city’s last survey conducted in 2009, Slate said, to measure how Covington was performing on those benchmarks according to residents. “We had previously done surveys and it’s a best practice,” Slate said. “It allows us to see how our
[ more MINERS page 7 ]
Fly Away Home
Tigger Birch prepares to release a great blue heron into a King County-owned swampland of 64th Avenue South in Kent July 6. Birch, a veternary technician at Lake Sawyer Animal Hospital, rehabilitated the bird for six weeks at South Sound Critter Care. KRIS HILL, The Reporter
Passions and learning collide for Tahoma grad BY KATHERINE SMITH ksmith@maplevalleyreporter.com
Sean Messenger, a 2011 graduate of Tahoma High School and student at Harvey Mudd College works on the final assembly of a robot. Photo courtesy of Sean Messenger
A high school interest in robotics has turned into a career path for Tahoma High graduate Sean Messenger, one he hopes to continue to build on as a Robert Day Scholar. The Bear Metal robotics club
at Tahoma was a launching pad for Messenger, who will start his junior year at Harvey Mudd College in Southern California in the fall. He is pursuing a double major in engineering and computer science. The college specializes in math, science and engineering degrees with a liberal arts twist. It is a part of The Claremont
[ more SURVEY page 8 ]
Colleges – an association of five undergraduate liberal arts colleges and two graduate schools. The Robert Day Scholars program is offered by the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance at Claremont McKenna College, one of the partner schools. The program for students attending one of the five undergraduate schools focuses on preparing students to be leaders in business, government, finance and nonprofits. “What we (the scholars) all get [ more GRAD page 7 ]
JULY 20 - 21
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