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NEWS | Man sentenced to two years in jail for role in stabbing [5] CRIME ALERT | Redmond Police Blotter [2]
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2014
COMMUNITY | Diwali Festival set for tomorrow at Evergreen Middle School [8]
‘Vicar of Baghdad’ discusses ISIS, more at Bear Creek School them. The children refused and as a result, were killed. “The crisis is very much At The Bear Creek School determined by what these in Redmond, part of the evil people will do,” White school’s vision is to raise stutold the crowd. dents with wisdom, compasGephart said one of the sion and courage. reasons they wanted to have To show students an White speak at the example of school was because someone living it is easy to live in their life this way, Redmond and be the school hosted insulated from what Canon Andrew is going on in the White Wednesday outside world. evening. “This is an area As the chaplain we should be aware Canon Andrew White of St. George’s of,” Gephart said. Anglican Church He added that in Baghdad, White White’s visit was, has experienced firsthand “an opportunity to hear from the threat of the Islamic State somebody firsthand. It’s not a in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and reality that we deal with.” while at Bear Creek, White Despite the dangers he sat down with the Rev. Jeff faces in Baghdad, he has not Gephart, dean of students at been deterred from his work. Bear Creek, to share some of In addition to having his those experiences, including own church, White is also how Christians and other president of the Foundation religious minorities in the for Relief and Reconciliation area are being attacked and in the Middle East (FRRME), slaughtered for not denounc- a charity based in the United ing their religion. Kingdom. The foundation “They killed many and funds a free medical and many fled,” White said about dental clinic at St. George’s, what he has seen in Baghdad. where nearly all the patients One example he gave are Muslims, and offers other of these attacks was when services. members of ISIS forced a While reconciliation is a member of his congregation major focus of White’s work, to denounce Jesus Christ and he admits it is not easy. He claim Islam or else the group said he does not believe there would kill the man’s children. will be peace in the Middle White said the other man did East any time soon as the as he was told, adding that he area is so torn by conflict. would have done the same White — who is no stranger in order to not see children to death threats against killed. himself as well as others “I would’ve said those who work with him — said words,” said White, who is the only way to bring about also known as the “Vicar of peace is by love and there is Baghdad.” not a lot of that in the Middle He went on to add that East right now. once ISIS realized that Throughout his talk on threatening parents with Wednesday, White also killing their children was emphasized that an enemy not working, the group went is just someone whose story straight to the children and you have not heard and once told them the same thing: you hear their story, they can Deny Christianity and turn become your friend. to Islam or they would kill [ more VICAR page 6 ] SAMANTHA PAK
spak@redmond-reporter.com
Redmond police prepares to enter Redmond High School during an “active-shooter” drill. The drill was a collaboration among the Redmond police, fire and Office of Emergency Management as well as the school and Lake Washington School District. SAMANTHA PAK, Redmond Reporter
Preparing for trouble at ‘active-shooter’ drill SAMANTHA PAK spak@redmond-reporter.com
The Redmond Police Department (RPD) spent last Friday at Redmond High School (RHS) after receiving a call about an “active shooter” in the building’s B wing. It was a no-school day for students and a work day for faculty and the call that came in was actually part of an active-shooter exercise. The drill was conducted by the police in collaboration with the Redmond Fire Department (RFD) and Redmond Office of Emergency Management (OEM), as well as RHS and Lake Washington School
District (LWSD). The exercise was run through twice to give as many people within the various departments and agencies the opportunity to participate as possible.
THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKING TOGETHER
The exercise took more than a year to plan and RPD Chief Ron Gibson said the purpose of integrating all the different agencies into the drill is to make sure everyone’s protocols and procedures are aligned with each other. [ more DRILL page 6 ]
Driver gives intense and moving speech about his journey from homeless to hero ANDY NYSTROM anystrom@redmond-reporter.com
Donald Driver addresses the crowd on Monday at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. ANDY NYSTROM, Redmond Reporter
Donald Driver doesn’t hold anything back. When the former professional football player tells his story to people, they get the whole deal. It’s an emotional and riveting ride dotted with harsh times — experiencing poverty and homelessness — that lead to victory in the end. While speaking to the crowd at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue on Monday, Driver
stopped for a few seconds as his eyes welled up with tears. As the 1,400 attendees at Redmond-based Hopelink’s 19th annual Reaching Out Benefit Luncheon fell silent, Driver slowly gathered himself and forged onward to finish his inspirational, gut-wrenching speech. Driver, 39, grew up in Houston, Texas, in the menacing 5th Ward neighborhood. For about a month as a teen, the boy and his mother and four siblings lived in a U-Haul truck under a bridge. [ more DRIVER page 9 ]