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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014
City officials strongly oppose possible clinic closure Public Health center serves thousands in the area
Dozens of sign wavers and petition gatherers protested the potential closure of the King County Public Health Center in Auburn during an August rally. ROBERT WHALE,
BY ROBERT WHALE rwhale@auburn-reporter.com
King County, faced with a $15 million dollar annual budget deficit, is proposing to close the Auburn Health Clinic and its sister clinic in Federal Way in 2015. On Sept. 2, the City of Auburn added its voice to the chorus of
Auburn Reporter
those adamantly opposed to the potential closure of the Public Health clinics. Also under the sword, clinics in Bothell and White Center. The City of Federal Way had already passed a resolution opposing the closures. In official terms, the City Council passed a resolution, without demur. In plainer terms, one councilmember explained why the idea is such a stinker. “Ten thousand of the citizens
in our community of 74,000 last year accessed the Public Health Department, and it’s imperative that we not close it,” said Councilmember Largo Wales. “I work with the schools, I see our kids,” Wales continued. “This is where many of our young moms get their first assistance, and a lot of our disadvantaged kids get their health care. We are a community that has dedicated itself to the [ more CLINIC page 7 ]
Schools take over DARE program BY ROBERT WHALE rwhale@auburn-reporter.com
SCRAMBLE FOR CHARITY Judy Pratt, Jim Barr, Eric Barr and Charlie Pratt play the ‘W hole’ at Washington National during the Scramble for Safe Families Charity Golf Tournament last Saturday. Players basked in the sunshine and took in a round of golf for a good cause. Proceeds benefited the Jennifer Beach Foundation, which provides
education, advocacy and assistance to the community, addressing issues related to child abuse and domestic violence. The event included a four-person scramble, a hole-in-one contest, a putting contest, a banquet, a silent auction, raffles and awards. To learn more, visit www.jnbfoundation.org. RACHEL CIAMPI, Auburn Reporter
Pacific hires new public works manager BY SHAWN SKAGER sskager@auburn-reporter.com
The Pacific City Council voted Monday to hire Lance Newkirk as the City’s public works manager,
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filling the final department head vacancy left from the controversial tenure of recalled Mayor Cy Sun. Newkirk and newly-hired Community Development Director Jack Dodge replace Jay Ben-
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nett, who occupied both positions before resigning soon after Sun assumed office. Newkirk, for whom the City Council voted unanimously to fill the position, previously served in
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public works director positions for Shoreline and Bainbridge Island. “He brings a wealth of knowledge to the City,” said Mayor Leanne Guier. “Between those two and the staff, I feel like we just took the City to a whole new [ more NEWKIRK page 3 ]
A police officer-led series of classroom lessons teaching children from kindergarten through the 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug-and-violencefree lives. From the beginning, the Auburn Police Department and the Auburn School District have worked Peloza together to make the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, or DARE, work. Now, the school district has taken over the DARE program entirely from the City. While the district recently tapped retired School Police Officer Robin McCluskey to [ more DARE page 7 ]
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