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FEATURE | 85-year-old Redmond Heights worker retires after nearly 30 years on the job [6] CRIME ALERT | Redmond Police Blotter [5]
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2013
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
SPORTS | Bear Creek boys soccer team heads into the Sea-Tac 2B League tournament [18]
‘We’re living in hard times’ Reporter examines the homeless situation in Redmond and how local police, the library and other organizations are there to lend a hand SAMANTHA PAK spak@redmond-reporter.com
A homeless person rests at one of the entrances of the Redmond Regional Library on Wednesday morning. ANDY NYSTROM, Redmond Reporter
As night slowly turns into day in the early hours of Wednesday morning, a man stands outside the Redmond Regional Library along Northeast 85th Street. Like most of the people surrounding him, he is waiting for the bus — in his case, the 232 to Bellevue. But unlike most of the people around him, he did not drive or take another bus to get there. That is because the man, who prefers to go by the nickname of Bear, is homeless. Born in Seattle and having grown up around the Eastside, Bear used to live near the Crossroads mall in Bellevue. He said he was kicked out of his apartment a few years ago and fell on hard times so he hasn’t been able to find another place to live. While Bear receives food stamps from the government,
he also has a number of physical ailments including scoliosis and a brain and heart infection and spends a lot of time going to see doctors. “I have my expenses even though I can’t afford to live anywhere,” he said, adding, “We’re living in hard times.”
HOMELESS BY CHOICE OR CIRCUMSTANCE
Dressed in a dark leather jacket and baggy pants, with a brown ball cap sitting backwards on his head and his personal effects in a green reusable bag attached to the walker he uses to get around, Bear is among a group of homeless individuals who spend time — and sometimes the night — in and around the library. The situation was brought to the Reporter’s attention after an anonymous reader, who commutes to work from the bus stop outside the library, called in to the Reporter. She said she and
other bus riders began noticing young people who appeared to be homeless hanging around the library and became curious. The reader said she was concerned about their well being and ability to access services as well as the fact that the weather is starting to get colder. Although the people who congregate around the library are all ages, Julie Beard, neighborhood resource officer (NRO) for the Redmond Police Department (RPD), said many of them are young adults from about 18 to early 20s — just as the reader and her fellow commuters noticed. “Sometimes we see no one there and sometimes we see as many as half a dozen kids sleeping there,” she said. Beard said the younger people tend to come together in groups. Older individuals like Bear, who is 40, are more often on their own and more transient. While [ more HOMELESS page 9 ]
Class prepares students for disasters
Catherine Robinson (right) instructs students on how to check for injuries during a CERT class at Redmond High. SAMANTHA PAK, Redmond Reporter
On Tuesday morning, Catherine Robinson’s classroom at Redmond High School (RHS) was filled with students laying on the ground, describing various injuries as other students checked on them. But this was not the aftermath of a major disaster. This was part of the school’s new Community Emergency Response
Team (CERT) class, in which students are learning how to respond to various emergency situations. “It teaches people to be prepared for disasters,” said Robinson, the course’s instructor, adding that the curriculum is based on the premise that emergency services will not be able to reach them. This is the first year the class has been offered, [ more PREPARE page 10 ]
At 2 p.m. on Saturday, zombies of all ages will gather at Redmond Town Center, lay down in the streets “playing dead,” then slowly rise (to the beat of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”) and begin a worldwide flash mob dance simulcast with other “Thrill the World” locations such as London, Sydney, Tokyo, Helsinki, New York and Brazil. For more information, visit www.Redmondzombies.com. The Redmond Reporter and Star 101.5 are co-sponsors for the event. Courtesy photo
Zombies will ‘Thrill the World’
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SAMANTHA PAK spak@redmond-reporter.com