Mirror
POLICE | Robbery suspects hit victim in head with handgun [7] SENTENCING | Man gets nine years in prison for killing woman on I-5 [8]
SPORTS | Todd Beamer grad Sean Okoli FRIDAY, january 17, 2014 | 75¢ joins Seattle Sounders FC [10]
CALENDAR | Free public screening of ‘Inequality for All’ [16]
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VOL. 16, NO. 3
F E D E R A L WAY
division of Sound Publishing
OPINION | Q&A with Mr. Federal Way: School board travels and traffic lights [5] Roegner: Legislative outlook [4]
SCHOOLS | Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps at Todd Beamer [13]
Skip Priest cleared over campaign signs case
Movers and shakers’ oral history of city By Carrie Rodriguez editor@fedwaymirror.com
By Carrie Rodriguez editor@fedwaymirror.com
T
he Attorney General’s Office is not planning to file criminal charges against former Federal Way Mayor Skip Priest, who was caught removing cityconfiscated campaign signs last September. “The actions of the suspect, while perhaps viewed as suspicious to the reporting officer given the time of evening when the suspect chose to retrieve his campaign signs, do not amount to a crime,” said Scott Marlow, assistant attorney general, in a letter he sent to the King County Prosecutor’s Office on Jan. 9. He noted the Washington State Patrol’s initial investigation revealed a “complete lack of criminal activity in this matter.” Priest said the outcome of the investigation “confirms what I’ve said all along … that I acted legally and appropriately when I picked up the signs.” [ more SIGNS, page 3 ]
Above, Rick Johnson speaks about the history of Federal Way at his Redondo home during an interview with the Historical Society of Federal Way in October 2013. Johnson is surrounded by several Federal Way artifacts that he has collected over the years. He is one of 10 notable community members who were interviewed as part of an oral history project. Left, Phil Eichholtz, who owned New Lumber and Hardware before he died of cancer on Dec. 31, 2013, is interviewed at his business in November of 2012. Eichholtz’s sons currently operate the store, which has been in business since 1954. photos courtesy of Historical society of federal way
When Phil Eichholtz scouted the Federal Way area 60 years ago, he saw a cluster of businesses along Pacific Highway South. There was a service for nearly every need, including a grocery store and meat market across the street that sold everything from beef to appliances. There was a drug store and a hybrid post office that also sold books. He saw an electrical hardware store, an insurance company and three gas stations. And a lumber store. A Pennsylvania native, Eichholtz served as an officer in the Army Air Corps during World War II and became interested in merchandising, before transferring to Spokane, where he met his wife. While they were looking for a place to settle down, he turned to his father-in-law for advice, who was a representative of a lumber magazine and familiar with lumber yards and manufacturers. “My father-in-law said, ‘Phil, if you’re interested in merchandising, you ought to get into the retail lumber business,’” recalled Eichholtz, 91, during an interview with the Histori[ more HISTORY, page 14 ]
School district seeks participants for Grading Advisory Committee
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by Greg Allmain gallmain@fedwaymirror.com
One of the outcomes over the most recent uproar concerning Federal Way Public Schools (FWPS) grading system is the formation of a FREE
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“District Grading Advisory Committee.” The district began advertising this committee on Monday, with Assistant Superintendent of Teaching for Learning Marie Verhaar giving a brief report to the
FWPS board of directors during the board’s Tuesday meeting. Verhaar says the applications were already rolling in the one day between posting the notice for the committee and her presentation.
“The openings have been advertised widely, and we have 37 applications already,” she said. Verhaar touched on some of the goals of this committee, saying the “purpose of the committee is to share
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[ more SCHOOL, page 3 ]
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