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CITY | Mayor announces new city attorney [3] COMMUNITY | Reach Out fundraiser features Lenny Wilkens; man speaks about homeless hardships [8]
Sports | Rough Week 1 in FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014 | 75¢ football for local schools [10]
Police investigating dead puppy found in crate BY GREG ALLMAIN gallmain@fedwaymirror.com
Federal Way police are investigating the suspicious death of a pit bull puppy that a Weyerhaeuser security guard found in a field near the campus on Sept. 5. The 4-month-old female was discovered suffocated inside a crate that was wrapped in a “heavy, blue, quilted moving pad-type blanket,” according to the police report. Someone drove a knife blade through the blanket that was firmly affixed to the ground with a folding knife, the report continues. Police believe the puppy died of a heat stroke and/or suffocation, as temperatures reached 88 degrees that day. The security guard reported that he found the crate almost directly in the middle of the field along Interstate 5, a popular area for dog walkers. The red-colored puppy was wearing a black and silver nylon collar. She was not microchipped. The responding officer noted that “it appeared perhaps someone had sat with the puppy on the blanket while it died, or the dead puppy had been brought out to the field and the blanket used to partially cover the kennel.” Due to the presence of fresh urine and feces, the officer noted that “it appeared the puppy had either died inside the kennel or been placed in it immediately after death.” Police spokeswoman Cathy Schrock said the pit bull will undergo a necropsy to determine its cause of death.
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VOL. 16, NO. 37
MIRROR
F E D E R A L WAY
DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
OPINION | EDITOR’S NOTE: School lockdown a teachable moment about suicide [4]
POLICE | Man on ladder peers over balcony at babysitter then flees [15]
School board opposes Public Health clinic closure BY RAECHEL DAWSON rdawson@fedwaymirror.com
T
he Federal Way Public Schools board of education on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution that officially opposes the closure of the Seattle-King County Public Health centers in Federal Way and Auburn. In a budget proposal to be adopted in November, Public Health officials axed funding for Public Health centers in Federal Way, Auburn, Bothell and White Center. The budget also calls for the centers in Columbia City and North
Seattle to transfer their primary care services to other hospitals. “This is consistent with our commitment to equity for all of our students and families in the community,” said Chris Willis, the director of Student Support Services with the district. “Because without King County Public Health in the area, primary care for services for women and children will go unmet.” With the cessation of the disease prevention program, awareness of how to prevent diseases such as tuberculosis, whooping cough and measles will be affected, he said.
“We have a huge need here in Federal Way,” Willis said at the meeting, noting a 2012 Healthy Youth Survey found that schools within King County and Washington are over the state average in obesity rates, mental health problems and the use of alcohol and drugs. Maternity Support Services and the WIC (Woman, Infant, Children) supplemental nutrition program will cease. Willis said the Federal Way Public Schools nurses might also be impacted because not only could they use these services, but they help con[ more CLOSURE, page 2 ]
Habitat for Humanity, Delta Air Lines begin milestone renovation BY RAECHEL DAWSON rdawson@fedwaymirror.com
Federal Way resident Mireya Valdovinos, 33, helps renovate her home with Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County and Delta Air Lines volunteers on Monday. Rebecca Ellison Photography, www.rebeccaellison.com
Mireya Valdovinos, 33, found herself and three children living in her father’s leaking trailer. The Federal Way resident of 10 years knew that the two bedrooms weren’t enough for her and her children, ages 3, 4, and 17. “I was working hard, putting everything aside, getting ready to own my own home but I couldn’t save a lot,” Valdovinos said. “Having three kids and being a single parent, I mean you know, you can’t really save making a little bit of money.” For two years, Valdovinos, a nurse’s assistant in south King County, tried to save money but the leaking trailer caused her family to move again to an apartment. Now, that’s all about to change. Valdovinos was selected by Habitat for Humanity and Delta Air Lines to receive a renovated singlefamily home in the Westway neighborhood of Federal Way. “It’s a life change because I was always trying to buy a home, trying to save money and get up there and be a homeowner but now with Habitat, now that I got in and have been selected … it’s a blessing,” she said. Valdovinos, Habitat for Humanity and Delta Air Lines volunteers started the house renovation project on Monday and will spend the next six weeks transforming it.
As part of the program, Valdovinos will put in about 250 hours of “sweat equity” and learn new homeowner skills through various classes the organization provides. She said she’s already put in 120 hours. In somewhat of a coincidence, the house also represents the 400th project for Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County and the 200th project for Delta Airlines. It’s also the 50th home under the partnership with the city of Federal Way’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program. “This is home 400 since 1986 when we started but what it really represents is a whole bunch of hope,” said Kevin Hunter, the vice president of development and community engagement with Habitat for Humanity. “It’s hope for the family who’s going to call this home. Hope for a community that’s important to preserve … It can be a stable and vital place in Federal Way.” Habitat for Humanity and the city of Federal Way have worked together with federal grants to renovate about 10 homes in the greater Westway area for the past three years. Hunter said throughout the years, he’s seen more city and community investment in the neighborhood, which was known for high crime and poverty some time ago. “There’s a new soccer field, there’s a coalition called Build the Bridge, [ more HABITAT, page 2 ]