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LOCAL | KW grad headed to Malawi for a six month project with Construction for Change [page 2]
State-bound Bears | The Tahoma softball team advanced to state despite FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 some surprise losses [3]
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Victoria Jonas resigns City Council seat
Tahoma planning for summer projects
BY DENNIS BOX dbox@maplevalleyreporter.com
Maple Valley City Councilwoman Victoria Laise Jonas announced at the Tuesday City Council meeting she will be resigning her seat on June 24. She has been on the council for 15 years and was first elected in 1999. Jonas said she is stepping down because Victoria Laise Jonas she is moving out of the city. “My husband, Scott and I, have decided to pursue one of our lifelong dreams of living by the ocean,” Jonas said. “We are preparing to move and relocate to the Key Peninsula area.” The councilwoman described the announcement as a “very bittersweet decision. Coming to Maple Valley 20 years ago was the best move I ever made. Maple Valley has been a wonderful place to live and raise my family. Our community is just amazing and the people of this community are incredible.” Deputy Mayor Sean P. Kelly said, “Under her leadership and [ more JONAS page 4 ]
BY KATHERINE SMITH ksmith@maplevalleyreporter.com
MAPLE VALLEY
COVINGTON
Tahoma Memorial Day
Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry, a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions during a battle in Afghanistan, addressed the gathering at the Tahoma National Cemetery Memorial Day services. Petry lost his hand when he threw an enemy grenade saving the lives of two soldiers. Jamison Johnson, 13 months, came with her parents to the service. DENNIS BOX, The Reporter
Antiquing where everybody knows your name BY ERIC MANDEL emandel@covingtonreporter.com
Brenda Evenson says the inanimate objects in her store talk to her. Well, not audibly, of course, but that they all say something. “We sell memories,” said Evenson, who owns Black Diamond Antiques, which opened Dec. 20 and had its ribbon cutting ceremony May 8. “It’s like they talk… It would be nice to know what they’ve been through.” After 20 years in the antiquing business, the love for collecting stories and history runs through
Evenson’s blood. After running shops in Enumclaw and Buckley, she moved into the 2,500 square foot behemoth in Black Diamond, just a few steps from the Railroad Museum on Railroad Avenue. Evenson said the store has been busy since the doors opened. “I think the area needed something like this,” Evenson said. “It gives them a place to sell stuff.” Evenson said she has about 25 consignors, from the area and other cities, as well as about 40 people who have individual pieces shown at the store. Evenson
receives 10 percent of sales on the consignors items and 25 percent on the individual pieces. Evenson said she was drawn to the gargantuan space and the friendliness of the neighborhood. Beyond being an antique shop, she considers it a community gathering spot where the coffee is always brewing. One customer told Evenson that, “It’s like cheers without the beer.” She moved from a roughly 1,800 square foot space. “I was kinda nervous if I was going to fill it, but it didn’t take long,” she said. Evenson’s passion began when she found something that reminded her of her grandmother. “Then you’re hooked looking for memories,” she said. [ more ANTIQUING page 6 ]
A list of “warm, safe, and dry” projects to be done this summer have been presented to the Tahoma School District School Board. The projects will begin after school gets out for the summer in mid June and will be paid for by funds from the school bond that was passed in November and by a grant related to energy efficiency from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The estimated cost for the projects is $3 million, with the exact cost to be determined after bids are awarded according to district spokesman Kevin Patterson. The grant from OSPI is for $258,000, which will pay for building weatherization and lighting improvements at several of the schools. At Rock Creek Elementary the project list includes siding and paint, siding and paint for the play shed, roofing for the play shed, HVAC controls and exterior lighting upgrades. [ more TAHOMA page 12 ]
Brenda Evenson holds a whale’s baleen plate, one of the many odd collectables at Black Diamond Antiques. ERIC MANDEL, The Reporter