Covington/Maple Valley Reporter, April 04, 2014

Page 1

REPORTER

COVINGTON | MAPLE VALLEY | BLACK DIAMOND

NEWSLINE 425-432-1209

LOCAL | Kentwood Players prepare for ‘West Side Story’ [page 3]

Swinging For The Top | The Tahoma softball team returns key pieces for FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2014 another run at the state title [12]

A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING

Judo promotes Cherry Blossom Festival spirit Evolving business scene key to city plans

Kentwood High School judo team members mentor youngsters BY ERIC MANDEL emandel@covintonreporter.com

Elizabeth Ollom shoots her tiny, 2 1/2-year-old fists through the air and takes a forceful step forward, making a stern face and squeal. “Hi-yahh” … “Hiii-yahhh.” Ollom is trying to prove her equal with the nearby 6 to 12-year-olds, who are clad in pristinely white judo training outfits, rolling around on the mats. “Hi-yeahhh.” Ollom’s older sister, Elana Cueto is out mingling, helping raise money for the Kentwood Judo team. Her mother, Emily Cueto, knew the little fighter would prefer watching people her size in action. But Ollom is now pleading and about to scamper onto the mats. “You can’t do that right now,” Emily Cueto said, catching her daughter by the waist and explaining that she is still a little too little. “Mommy ppplease,” Ollom pleaded. “I will grow.” Ollom joined hundreds of [ more JUDO page 7 ]

BY KATHERINE SMITH ksmith@maplevalleyreporter.com

Economic development will be the focus of Maple Valley’s comprehensive plan update that will officially begin this month. The plan is updated every seven years, with the next update due in mid 2015. It was originally adopted in late 1999 and was last updated in 2008. “We’re starting now so we have a full 18 months to get on top of it,” said city Senior Planner Matt Torpey. MAPLE The plan is VALLEY divided into several sections: land use, capital facilities and public services, housing, environmental quality, parks and recreation, transportation, and utilities. Some of those sections have been updated over the past year, including the transportation and the parks and recreation plans.

Mayumi Lum-Lung , 7, right, attempts to throw her opponent, Jaclyn Takamiya, 6, during a judo competition at the Cherry Blossom Festival on March 28 at Kentridge High School. ERIC MANDEL, The Reporter

[ more PLANS page 8 ]

From me to we one at a time BY KATHERRINE SMITH ksmith@maplevalleyreporter.com

Kentlake student Shelby Greget throws up a hand sign at We Day Seattle at Key Arena on March 21. More than 15,000 students gathered for the event. ROSS COYLE, The Reporter

More than 15,000 students poured into Key Arena on March 21 including students from Tahoma Middle School, Kentwood High and Kentlake High. Students couldn’t buy tickets or sign up for We Day, they had to earn their spot. Specifically, they had to participate in community service projects — some with a focus on their local community and some with a global reach. Students from the three area schools participated in food and supply drives, raised thousands of dollars to support

international nonprofits, are taking part in events to raise awareness of struggles that people around the world face, and some are even traveling to Ghana, a country on the West coast of Africa, as part of community missions trip. According to the We Day website, the event, which is sponsored by several organizations including Free the Children and Me to We, is about empowering young people to make a difference and helping them realize the ability they have to impact both their communities and the world. That message is repeated over and over again to We Day

attendees: you are one person, but one person can make a difference. We Day reports that over 160,000 students from 4,000 schools have participated in a We Day event this school year. The event itself is about celebration for the work the students have accomplished and motivation for them to spread a spirit of service. Performances from popular singers are also mixed in. “All young people should experience something like this,” Kentwood junior Sarah Caviness said. Famous faces at We Day [ more WE page 7 ]


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