REPORTER
COVINGTON | MAPLE VALLEY | BLACK DIAMOND
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LOCAL | Search for new police chief progressing in Maple Valley [page 3]
Homegrown talent | A pair of local prep baseball stars have reunited on a Mariners FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 minor league affiliate [10]
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Covington seeks funding for LED lights
Donut Hole land sale crawls forward
BY ERIC MANDEL
BY KATHERINE SMITH
emandel@covingtonreporter.com
ksmith@maplevalleyreporter.com
The city of Covington is hoping for help in providing a brighter, cheaper glow to the city. In step with multiple other cities in the state, Covington is hoping to replace hundreds of its street lights with more energy efficient light-emitting diode lights. The problem is upfront cost — an estimated $144,000, Public Works Director Don Vondran said the city would like to swap between 290 and 336 of the 491 bulbs lighting the city. The lights in question are on green fiber glass poles, with cobra heads and mast arms. These lights were installed by Intolight, a division of Puget Sound Energy. Intolight is offering a rebate of $19,000 to convert to LED, leaving a net installation cost of $125,000. The annual cost for maintenance and power of the current
King County’s sale of 35 acres of property in the Donut Hole to the Tahoma School District for the site of the new Tahoma High School is slowly inching toward completion. Previously stalled talks between the district and the county were restarted after a state law MAPLE was changed VALLEY to allow the city to annex the property into the city of Maple Valley in 2013. An agreement was reached later that year after the state legislature kicked in $4 million for the purchase. Additionally, the district began moving forward with design plans for the new high school after voters approved a construction bond in November that will
[ more LIGHTS page 8 ]
Miners Day
Ken and Cindy Brown enjoy strawberry shortcake at the Black Diamond-Maple Valley Kiwanis booth Saturday during Black Diamond Miners Day. Gomer Evans and Joe Androsko participated in the fire engine dedication and Cooper the dog tries to cool down in front of a fan. DENNIS BOX, The Reporter
Father, son from Maple Valley complete STP ride BY KATHERINE SMITH ksmith@maplevalleyreporter.com
I
saac Johnson had been itching to ride in the annual Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic since he first heard about it at age 13. This year, at 16, it became a reality. Johnson, who lives in Maple Valley, set out on the 202 mile journey Saturday morning with his dad, Kenton Johnson, and his uncle.
“I always loved going places, and since I’m not that old, well right now I am, but I wasn’t old enough to drive and go places, so I chose bike riding,” Isaac said. “Basically, once I started bike riding to places – lakes, parks, and then to school - I just never wanted to quit, so I just kept going and then I learned about STP Seattle to Portland — and I always loved both cities, Seattle and Portland.”
[ more SALE page 7 ]
Isaac started riding his bike all over Maple Valley in 2011, easily racking up 20 miles a day, he said. This year he and his dad started increasing the miles, building up to between 70 and 80 miles at a time in preparation for the two long days to Portland. It wasn’t hard for Isaac to convince his dad, and then his uncle, to go along for the ride. “When I was his age I had my first road bike and I remember growing up riding on the BurkeGilman Trail and I’m from this area originally, so I grew up in these parts,” Kenton said. “It kind of brought back memories of enjoying riding and I really hadn’t [ more RIDE page 7 ]
Kenton Johnson, number 8071, and his 16-year-old son, Isaac, number 8085, cross the starting line in the annual Seattle to Portland bike race last weekend. Courtesy photo