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COVINGTON | MAPLE VALLEY | BLACK DIAMOND
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LOCAL | Maple Valley on tight deadline for selling land to school [page 3]
Halloween Events | Check out the calendar of spooky events in Covington, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2014 Maple Valley and Black Diamond [2]
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Elk Run closing as Donut Hole sale becomes reality Covington to nullify impact fee denial BY REBECCA GOURLEY
rgourley@maplevalleyreporter.com
The Elk Run golf course and restaurant will be permanently closing its doors Sunday, Oct. 19. Earlier this year, King County bought out the golf courses’s lease on part of the Donut Hole property and gave the owners notice to vacate the property by the end of the year. Because it’s going to take time to demolish buildings and remove their infrastructure, they are closing up shop now, MAPLE according to Roy VALLEY Humphreys, general manager and co-owner. Humphreys and his co-owner Daryl Connell still own the golf course land west of 228th Avenue, approximately 70 acres according to parcel maps. When asked why they were closing the entire course, Humphreys said, “(Nine-hole golf courses) are just not economically feasible.” There are no official plans in the works for the remaining land but they are working on a couple of ideas. It’s likely there will some kind of residential development in place of the golf course, according to
[ more CLOSING page 7 ]
BY ERIC MANDEL emandel@covingtonreporter.com
Bryan Takechi of Fairwood gets some putting practice in Oct. 10 at the Elk Run Golf Course. The course and restaurant are scheduled to close permanently Sunday, Oct. 19. REBECCA GOURLEY, The Reporter
Kentwood volleyball full of young talent BY REBECCA GOURLEY rgourley@maplevalleyreporter.com
Young aspiring volleyball players flocked to the Kentwood High School gym Oct. 10 to better their skills in the sport. With the help from the current volleyball players and their head coach Bil Caillier, the 60 or so young athletes received a crash course in proper passing form, spiking footwork and setting. Among the instructors for the evening was starting varsity libero, Aleina Gabriel. Even though she’s a sophomore, it’s Gabriel’s first year as a Conk. She spent her freshman year at Holy Names Academy, an
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all-girls, private Catholic high school in Seattle. She also played libero at Holy Names, but she was on the junior varsity team. Gabriel was elated to find out she had made it onto the varsity team at Kentwood and even more so that she was starting the first game as libero, or the primary defense specialist. She averages about 5-6 digs per set. To put that in perspective, University of Washington’s libero, Cassie Strickland, averaged about 2.9 digs per set in 2013. Gabriel’s talent is not just noticed by her own coach, either. “She stands out enough in most matches that the coaches and referees have commented about her skill,” Caillier said in an email. Her transition to Kentwood, Gabriel says, has been a big one. Not only in terms of playing on the varsity volleyball team, but the school itself is a whole lot bigger. Holy Names has a total enrollment this year of 690, while Kentwood enrolls about 2,000 - which [ more TALENT page 9 ]
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The city of Covington appears ready to move forward with granting an impact fee waiver for a pair of apartment complexes despite opposition from the Kent School District. The apartment complexes are part of Covington’s proposed Town Center project. The Kent School District Board of Directors denied a request Oct. 8 by the Inland Group for a reduction on school impact fees for the Polaris apartment buildings it plans to build for the Town Center project. The development would be located adjacent to Covington Elementary School. Richard Hart, Covington community development director, said Tuesday that he sent a decision to the city’s attorney that would disregard the school district’s [ more FEES page 6 ]
Cassidy Poore, 10 of Auburn, learns to pass a volleyball with the help of varsity starting libero, Aleina Gabriel. REBECCA GOURLEY, The Reporter Hours: Mon. Tue. Wed. Thur. and Fri.7am-7pm; Sat 8am-6pm; Sun: Closed
Covington Animal Hospital
27045 174th Pl. SE (behind Jiffy Lube, adjacent to WalMart) • www.vcacovington.com