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Phillip gets 25 years for Frankel murder BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
William L. Phillip Jr. receives a 25-year prison sentence for murder as attorney Kristen Murray takes notes. STEVE HUNTER, Kent Reporter
The two young daughters of Seth Frankel playfully moved around a hallway outside of a King County Superior Courtroom in Kent where their father’s killer had just been sentenced to 25 years in prison. The girls were only 8 and 4 when William L. Phillip Jr.
stabbed Frankel to death on May 21, 2010 at their father’s Auburn home. Frankel, 41 and divorced, worked as a city of Kent videographer. “More than anything he loved his children,” said Christina Frankel-Barton, the mother of the girls, to Judge Andrea Darvas before she sentenced Phillip last Friday. “His girls were the most important pieces of his life. He
took joy in their individuality and their wonder.” Frankel-Barton, the ex-wife of Frankel, gathered her girls from another room at the Maleng Regional Justice Center after sentencing. They were the focus of her comments to the judge. “The hardest thing I’ve ever done is to tell the girls that their dad died,” she said. [ more PHILLIP page 5 ]
Voters to decide whether to build new police station BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
Kent voters will decide on the Nov. 4 ballot whether they want to pay more in property taxes for a new police headquarters. The Kent City Council voted 6-0 on Tuesday night to approve an ordinance to send the measure to voters. Councilman Jim Berrios had an excused absence from the seven-member council. “We know how bad the jail is and how bad the (police) facility is, it’s crowded,” said Councilman
Chief Ken Thomas stands in part of a hallway turned into an office at the Kent Police station. STEVE HUNTER, Kent Reporter
Les Thomas prior to a vote by the council’s Operations Committee earlier Tuesday to send the ordinance to the full council. “You just have
Kent’s new charter school hires dean of academics BY ROSS COYLE rcoyle@kentreporter.com
to take one walk through there, it’s ridiculous.” City officials want voters to approve a $34 million bond to be paid over 20 years. The property tax rate would be 19 cents per $1,000 assessed value or about $57 per year for a $300,000 home. The bond measure requires 60 percent voter approval. Police Chief Ken Thomas asked the council at a workshop in April to send the measure to voters this fall. Kent has 144 officers and is expected to have 160 by 2016. The current [ more POLICE page 5 ]
year. A native from Medford, Ore., McCormick is returning to the Pacific Northwest after a four-year hiatus in New York. It’s the second time she’s moved back from the East Coast and the third time she’s moved for a job in academics. She received a bachelor’s degree from Willamette University in 1999 in Salem, Ore., and then spent several years in Massachusetts at a volunteer program. She returned to the Pacific Northwest several years later to get a master’s degree in public
Excel Charter School is one of the first charters in the state, and will set the example for future charter schools, as well as the public’s perception of charters in Washington. That means the dean of academics Myra McCormick has her work cut out for her at the new Kent school that plans to open for the 2015-2016 school [ more CHARTER page 4 ]
‘Stairway to Heaven’ The Led Zeppelin Experience featuring No Quarter shook Kent’s ShoWare Center last Saturday, delivering a potent dose of the British supergroup’s offerings. The Tacomabased No Quarter, included Lonny Rice, above, channeling Robert Plant on vocals and Chad McMurray playing bassist John Paul Jones. SHAWN SKAGER, Reporter