.com
SCHOOL | Teacher reprimanded for improperly handling student [3]
VOL. 16, NO. 34
MIRROR
F E D E R A L WAY
DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
OPINION | Editor’s Note: Take action on Public Health Clinic closure [4] Roegner: What are the city’s priorities? [4] BUSINESS | Young couple opens MadiKat Cupcakes at The Commons [8] COMMUNITY | Police, community rally to help U-Haul theft victim [20]
Sports | Athletes take first, second at FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2014 | 75¢ Hershey’s Nationals [11]
POLICE | Construction worker injured during police pursuit of stolen car [21]
Council approves tall memorial flagpole
Police officer who struck suspect with vehicle back on duty
BY GREG ALLMAIN
3 robbery suspects arrested; 2 charged
gallmain@fedwaymirror.com
The Federal Way City Council unanimously approved the installation of a 60-foot memorial flagpole on South 320th Street between Pacific Highway and 20th Avenue South. The project was approved with a proviso to not exceed $35,000, and city staff estimates they should be able to keep the project under that price tag. There is also current discussions about renaming the stretch of 320th Street on which this project will be placed “Veterans Way Boulevard” as a way for the city to have a “permanent reminder and memorial to the people that have given their life for their country,” said Mayor Jim Ferrell, although he noted the renaming idea is one that’s still being “bandied about.” Regardless, Ferrell said he was a “firm no” before sitting down and talking with Federal Way resident Bob Kellogg about the project. The mayor said the project’s aesthetic appeal was what eventually won him over. “Now when I first heard this, I was a little skeptical,” Ferrell said during the Council’s Aug. 12 meeting. “I had some concerns when I sat down [ more FLAG, page 2 ]
BY CARRIE RODRIGUEZ editor@fedwaymirror.com
A
Federal Way police officer who was placed on administrative leave after he struck an armed robbery suspect with his vehicle in July has returned to duty. According to documents the Mirror obtained of the police department’s internal
investigation, Officer Justin Wilson reacted appropriately when he hit the suspect. An administrative memorandum from Commander Steve Neal stated Wilson’s force against the suspect was “within the accepted practices and in compliance with Federal Way policy and procedures.” “It is impossible to predict [ more POLICE, page 2 ]
Hearing examiner rules on High Point project appeals BY RAECHEL DAWSON rdawson@fedwaymirror.com
Thousands attend Desna Cup cultural festival Thousands flocked to Saghalie Park in Federal Way on Aug. 15-16 for the seventh annual Desna Cup. The event featured a soccer (above) and volleyball tournament and cultural festival (left). Soccer teams from Washington, Oregon, California and even Brazil competed for the cup. Event proceeds will benefit Mission Possible to fund orphanages in former Soviet Union countries. Courtesy of Bruce Honda
27YEARS OF SERVICE
After one year of controversy, a public meeting, two project appeals, one Hearing Examiner hearing, 18 days of deliberation and one decision, it appears the 308 apartment units that make up the proposed High Point mixed-use project will eventually become a reality. On Aug. 15, Phil Olbrechts, the city of Federal Way’s Hearing Examiner, issued a 19-page decision on two High Point project appeals that were heard together on July 28. Olbrechts ruled the initial approval of the mitigated determination of non-significance and Process III permit were sustained but with three modifications. Developer Jack Hunden of DevCo, Inc. is now required to keep several tall laurel trees on the northern side of his property where single family homes abut his property line. He’s also required to prepare a dust
control plan that ensures the contaminated dust will not affect the neighboring properties during clean up of the contaminated site. Before he can obtain his grading permit, he must follow the recommendations of a third party report, which includes investigating the southwest corner of the site for contamination, prior to receiving a grading permit. Hunden declined to speak with the Mirror about the High Point project until midSeptember. More than 80 Federal Way residents opposed the 15-building apartment complex proposal that will cater to low-income tenants because of its close proximity to their neighborhood and its large scale. The developer proposes the buildings range from three to six stories, which is within zoning code but contrasts with single family homes that abut the north side of the 9.8 acre property, [ more APPEALS, page 22 ]
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