Covington/Maple Valley Reporter, November 14, 2014

Page 1

REPORTER

COVINGTON | MAPLE VALLEY | BLACK DIAMOND

NEWSLINE 425-432-1209

EDUCATION | Public input sought on school improvements [page 7]

On to State | Tahoma volleyball will head WEBSITE | Check the website for breaking to the 4A state tournament Friday. news, sports and weather stories. maplevalleyreporter.com or covingtonreporter.com FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014 [10]

A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING

King County partners to keep health clinic open

Incumbents dominate legislative elections

BY ROBERT WHALE

BY REBECCA GOURLEY

News Reporter

rgourley@covingtonreporter.com

For the 11,000 people every year from Auburn to Black Diamond who rely on the services King County’s Public Health Center in Auburn offers, the news could hardly have been better. The clinic will stay open. King County Executive Dow Constantine announced last week in a news conference at Auburn City Hall that he and Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus have put together public and private partnerships that will contribute in total between $550,000 and $700,000 to help maintain services at the Auburn clinic through the 201516 biennium. “This partnership brings together cities, tribal government, nonprofits and business – united in a shared commitment to the health and prosperity of the peo-

As election results keep rolling in, the races for the 5th and 47th Legislative Districts are becoming even more one-sided, with incumbents prevailing. With a few more votes to count, it’s still hard to say if Initiative 1351, which aims at reducing class sizes for K-12 education, will pass or not. As of press time, it was passing by a slim margin.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 47

seniors Taylor Wall, right, and Kara McGee, middle, along with junior Emmy Link, left, Bundling up Tahoma attempt to stay warm and cheer on their peers during a district soccer match Nov. 8. Tahoma for victory defeated Curtis 2-0 to finish third and earn a spot in the 4A WIAA State Tournament. ERIC MANDEL, The Reporter

[ more CLINIC page 3 ]

Senator Incumbent Joe Fain, R, won with almost twice as many votes, 63.9 percent to Democrat Carol Barber’s 36.1 percent. State Rep. Position 1 Incumbent Mark Hargrove,R, took 55.9 percent to Democrat Chris Barringer’s 44.1 percent. State Rep. Position 2 Incumbent Pat Sullivan, D, won [ more ELECTIONS page 6 ]

Trees down and power outages from Tuesday wind storm REBECCA GOURLEY AND DENNIS BOX rgourley@maplevalleyreporter.com

High winds knocked trees down and caused power outages Tuesday in Black Diamond and South King County. As of Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service forecast windy conditions were expected to continue through early Friday morning. The service recorded east winds from 25 to 45 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. On Tuesday, Puget Sound Energy reported power outages in the Covington and Maple Valley area, affecting thousands of people. In Black Diamond, officials said six trees were down in the area on Tuesday as of 1 p.m. One tree fell over a power lines on 224th Avenue Southeast in Black Diamond and more hot lines were down on the road

on Southeast 296th Street. The PSE website showed areas of between 501-2,500 customers affected in the Kent area and Auburn was at more than 2,500 affected customers. Capt. Kyle Ohashi, Kent Fire Department public information officer, said crews received “a lot” of calls in the area about scattered, momentary power outages Tuesday morning but said there had been no significant damage resulting from the wind in Kent. Puget Sound Energy cautioned residents about downed power lines, saying on its website to “assume it’s energized and stay clear.” The company recommended residents using portable heaters should keep them away from furniture, draperies and other flammable materials. Check the PSE website for updates.

At least six fallen trees were reported in the Black Diamond area by 1 p.m. Tuesday after wind gusts reaching up to 60 mph blew through the region. DENNIS BOX, The Reporter


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