REPORTER
COVINGTON | MAPLE VALLEY | BLACK DIAMOND
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LOCAL | Wings of Karen Vaccine headed for clinical trial in 2015 [page 2]
Dream Homecoming | Former Kentwood soccer star Cam Weaver returns FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014 home with the Seattle Sounders [12]
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Wilson’s World
Missing major bones in his arms and a leg, Wilson Brunner is taking on the world in his own way BY ERIC MANDEL emandel@covingtonreporter.com
H
ope Brunner splashes her feet in the water of a small outdoor swimming pool that’s sitting in front of her family’s Maple Valley home. Hope, 5, speaks to her brother, Wilson, gently, in the way every parent wishes an older sibling would. She sees Wilson squirming and asks if he wants help getting into the pool. Wilson is a Terrible 2-year-old in Ninja Turtles swim trunks, defiant like any other kid his age. “No, no. I want to get in by myself,” he responds. Ever since Wilson Brunner was born, people have assumed he’s needed extra help. But that’s just never meshed with his personality. “If he wants it he does it in his own timing,” said Rebekah Brunner, Wilson and Hope’s mother. “He shows us that he is very capable; very wanting to be successful in life.” Rebekah and Jason Brunner thought they understood the pregnancy drill when they walked into their physician’s office for a 20 week ultrasound. Would they be having another girl or their
BY KATHERINE SMITH ksmith@maplevalleyreporter.com
Wilson Brunner, 2, from Maple Valley, has shown his parents and physical therapists tremendous independence and [ more WILSON page 10 ] resourcefulness in his everyday life despite being born without major bones in both of his arms and one leg. ERIC MANDEL, The Reporter
Covington Town Center plan starts to take shape BY ERIC MANDEL emandel@covingtonreporter.com
The dream of constructing a Town Center in Covington is still years from becoming a reality, but the first building block may be on its way. Representatives from the Inland Group, based in Spokane, presented their concept plans to the Covington City Council a few months ago. They have applied for
Return to No Child Left Behind for schools
a commercial site development permit for housing on the seven acres located south of Rite Aid and north of Covington Elementary, which is known as the Ashton Property. The plan includes 354 units in top, with retail and office space on the ground floor and underground parking. “It’s a large project and the first concrete step toward the City Council’s vision for a traditional
Washington state schools, including those in Kent and Tahoma, will be required to have all students passing state assessments in reading and math this year or be labeled as “failing.” Washington was launched into uncharted territory April 24 as the first state to lose its federally granted waiver from requirements in the No Child Left Behind Act. The Department of Education’s revocation of the waiver means that schools must meet the Annual Yearly Progress benchmark of 100 percent of students passing state exams in reading and math in 2014. The short list of consequences includes reallocation of a portion of federal funding that schools receive, and having to notify students’ families that schools are failing to meet federal standards. However the details about how [ more SCHOOLS page 8 ]
town center in what is a fairly new community,” City Manager Derek Matheson said. Matheson said the council will need to approve the development agreement and property tax exemption by late summer so construction can begin construction this winter. The developer has been working out details of the project and applied for the permit in the last three weeks. Matheson said Covington citizens have clamored for a traditional town center concept since the city incorporated in 1997. He said the city’s first 12 years were focused on building a tax base [ more COVINGTON page 4 ]
The Covington Town Center would encompass the current Covington Elementary School land and beyond. Courtesy Image