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LOCAL | Black Diamond Council opposes proposed TBD tax bump [page 3]
Tahoma Fights Back | The Bears wrestling squad finished in the top nine FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2014 for the 20th time in 25 years. [9]
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
City Council postpones decision on trash hauler
Ravensdale Park gets funding green light BY ERIC MANDEL
BY KATHERINE SMITH
emandel@covingtonreporter.com
ksmith@maplevalleyreporter.com
The Metropolitan King County Council authorized funding to complete phase two of the Ravensdale Park project on Monday night, with hopes that the new ballfields, parking lot and concession stands will be ready by August. The council Reagan Dunn gave unanimous approval to a use agreement between King County and the Ravensdale Park Foundation, clearing the way for construction of two synthetic ballfields and all related infrastructure at Ravensdale Park, which is located at Southeast Kent-Kangley Road and 272nd Avenue South. “This is really the last piece
Maple Valley City Council members decided to put off making a decision on the city’s next trash hauler until after another public comment period at its March 10 meeting. Community members and garbage hauler MAPLE employees VALLEY packed the Maple Valley City Council meeting to standing room only on Monday night. More than a dozen people spoke during the opening public comment period at the meeting, including representatives from Waste Management, Republic Services and Recology CleanScapes, as well as Maple Valley residents, and residents from nearby communities.
[ more PARK page 8 ]
Classic Coach
Chris Feist, Tahoma High wrestling coach, motions to Cooper Thomas Feb. 21 during the first day of the Mat Classic state wrestling tournament at the Tacoma Dome. Thomas took seventh at 195 pounds. The Tahoma team was fifth at the tournament with Cruz Velasquez bringing home a second place medal. Story on page 9. DENNIS BOX, The Reporter
Students giving hope to victims of war in Uganda BY KATHERINE SMITH ksmith@maplevalleyreporter.com
Half a world away from the Ugandan bush Tahoma School District students are reaching into their pockets to help victims of war. For students at Tahoma Junior High, the idea of coming together to make a global impact came from participating in We Day Seattle last year. The event challenges students to start a movement of serving not only their community, but the global community as well. Northern Uganda is a region torn apart by civil war. For more than 20 years the country was
terrorized by Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army in Africa’s longest war. Tens of thousands of children were reportedly kidnapped over the course of the conflict and forced to join the ranks of the rebels, serving as child soldiers. Many were made to murder their families, and young girls were taken as wives by rebel commanders. Warrants were issued for Kony and several other LRA leaders in 2005 by the International Criminal Court. Kony and the LRA reportedly left Uganda for neighboring countries in 2006. That same year the LRA signed a cessation of hostilities agreement, but ultimately failed to
[ more HAULER page 7 ]
sign a final peace accord in 2008. Those children who survived the conflict and returned to their homes often found there was nothing left — no family, no village, and no one who trusted them. Years before Joseph Kony’s name would go viral through a video campaign by the nonprofit organization Invisible Children, Suzy Benson Gillies found herself gripped by what she was learning about the land-locked country in East Africa. On a trip to Uganda, Benson Gillies met a man who was living in a camp for people who had been displaced by the war. He challenged her to tell Americans what was happening in his country. Benson Gillies promised him she would. It was a promise Benson Gillies took seriously. Upon her return to the states she founded African Promise Foundation. [ more UGANDA page 6 ]
Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe shared her story of helping women and their children in Uganda with students at Tahoma Junior High on Monday. Photo courtesy of Kevin Patterson