Kirkland Reporter, October 18, 2013

Page 1

KIRKLAND .com

REPORTER

NEWSLINE: 425.822.9166

SENTENCED | Rapist who attacked elderly Kirkland woman sentenced to 22.5 years [3]

Rail removal | Crews remove the last load of FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2013 rails along Cross Kirkland Corridor [14]

A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING

Girl kicked by a horse takes back her life

BY RAECHEL DAWSON

rdawson@kirklandreporter.com

A

fter more than 40 days of recovering from a traumatic brain injury, Alexa Clark, 11, is ready to begin her first year at Kirkland Middle School. A horse kicked Alexa in the head during the last days of summer vacation as she prepared for a big horse show in Montana. The injury left her unconscious

with brain surgery in her future. Now, after numerous acts of love and support from the Kirkland community, her positive upbeat attitude and doctor-pronounced miracles along her recovery, the soon-to-be 12-year-old is ready to take back her life. “She’s surprisingly super excited to go back to school,” said Lacey Clark, Alexa’s mother, adding

she’ll attend school parttime at first. But the outcome hasn’t always looked so positive. On Aug. 29, Alexa was visiting her grandparents in Victor, Mont. to spend time with them and ride their pony. She was also preparing for the Montana Hunter Jumper Association horse show at Rebecca Farms in Montana. Alexa has been showing horses for about five years and has earned

Election | Councilman files PDC complaint against candidate [13] Alexa Clark is supported as she gathers the strength to walk. After being an induced coma for her brain trauma, Clark slowly made progress on Sept. 18 as she walked 10 steps with the help of her physical therapist. Now, she is able to walk on her own. CONTRIBUTED

several awards, including the 2013 Junior Montana Hunter Jumper Sportsmanship Award by the competition. On the evening of the accident, Alexa and her adult friend checked a horse before they went riding in preparation for her competition. Her friend checked the bridle and Alexa checked the girth but all of a sudden her friend [ more LIFE page 6 ]

Man stabbed during home invasion robbery bed to the basement as his family slept. The suspects then assaulted and injured A 19-year-old Kirkthe victim using an edged land man is recovering weapon before the man left at Harborview Medical his home to search for help. Center after he was cut Miles Calvert said he several times during a first didn’t see anyone until home invasion robbery he walked around to the at his Kirkland home on front entrance of the house Saturday morning. and saw the victim “just According to Kirkland standing there.” police, the man’s parents “I caught a look at him discovered their son was and he was just bloody, missing after head to toe,” Miles finding signs of Calvert said, addstruggle and items ing it happened so in disarray at their fast he didn’t have home, located in pants or shoes on. the 13200 block of Miles Calvert, 136th Ave. NE. who received his Officers EMT license in responded to the Burglary suspect 2010, immediately burglary call and went into action. missing persons He set the report that the parents victim, who had already made at 6:01 a.m. Saturday collapsed in Miles Caland found the man nearby vert’s arms, on the stairs. with several injuries. He turned his vehicle’s The 19-year-old had headlights on to assess escaped from his home and the wounds and grabbed was able to get help after bungee cords to create a banging and screaming tourniquet for the victim’s on the door of a nearby leg, which had a huge cut. neighbor. During this time he also Miles Calvert, the called 911 and his father, neighbor who helped him, Todd Calvert, who lived said he awoke to the man close by. screaming for help and that Miles Calvert said there “they were gonna kill him” were cuts or stab marks all and “he was gonna die.” over the victim. Two unknown sus“I thought maybe it was pects forced entry into random, but for somebody the residence and took to come in and somebody’s the 19-year-old from his [ more BURGLARY page 7 ] BY RAECHEL DAWSON

rdawson@kirklandreporter.com

Kirkland City Council incumbent Amy Walen addresses the audience during Monday’s candidate forum at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Kirkland. Candidates weighed in on city issues that included homelessness, the budget, zoning and the comprehensive plan. CARRIE RODRIGUEZ, Kirkland Reporter

Council candidates tackle city issues at forum BY RAECHEL DAWSON rdawson@kirklandreporter.com

Kirkland City Council candidates explained how they would combat poverty, straighten out the budget and update the Kirkland 2035 Comprehensive Plan during a candidate forum that drew about 40 people to Holy Spirit Lutheran Church on Oct. 14. Four candidates faced off, while three unopposed incumbents also gave their views on a wide variety of issues during the event that the church hosted. Ballots for the Nov. 5 election, which were mailed to voters on Oct. 16, include

five Kirkland seats up for bid: Position 1 challengers Jay Arnold and Martin Morgan, Position 2 unopposed incumbent Shelley Kloba; Position 3 unopposed incumbent Penny Sweet; Position 5 unopposed incumbent Amy Walen; and Position 7 incumbent Deputy Mayor Doreen Marchione and challenger Bill Henkens. During the forum, several candidates said they want to see an update in the neighborhood plans but also a fix in the process in which those plans are created during the Kirkland: 2035 Comprehensive Plan update that will take place throughout the next few years.

Arnold suggested engaging the neighborhood associations and a nonprofit to streamline a grassroots effort. Sweet said the neighborhoods are “clamoring” for an update that the city can more easily respond to and that neighborhood plans should be more representative, compact, “templated” and something that doesn’t take two years to develop. Henkens said zoning needs to be addressed in the Comprehensive Plan because many are concerned about the increasing densities. And Morgan said he simply wants a better way to inform neighborhood citizens of when

there will be a change by the Planning Department. However, Walen stated she was concerned about how Kirkland would continue to pay for its services. “There are some communities in our region that are paying for services purely out of property taxes,” Walen said. “I think it’s terribly important that regular people, working class people, people who are aging in our population can live in their hometown and that means we have to have a diverse tax base and we do have to have economic development.” Nearly all the candi[ more FORUM page 2 ]


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Kirkland Reporter, October 18, 2013 by Sound Publishing - Issuu