Kirkland Reporter, January 30, 2015

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PAPER AND PLASTIC | Kirkland City Council examines potential bag ban ordinance [8]

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 CPR | Kirkland student saves father’s life [2]

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Sports | JHS football receives state sportsmanship award [5]

Firefighters to city: Change station siting plan or don’t build at all City officials frustrated with the lack of constructive talks on new fire station BY TJ MARTINELL tmartinell@kirklandreporter.com

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irkland firefighters told the City Council to either make changes to the proposed fire station siting plan or give the money for the new station back to taxpayers. Megan Keys, accompanied by roughly 30 other Kirkland firefighters, read a letter addressed to the council stating that the proposed siting

plan “contradicts the Fire Department Strategic Plan and Standard of Cover study recommendations,” though the letter does not state specific examples. “The Kirkland Firefighters cannot support it,” the letter reads. “The plan simply moves service, it does not improve it.”

The letter further calls on the city to sit down with all “stakeholders.” “With the absence of a plan that meets the recommendations of the Strategic plan we recommend giving the citizens their money back,” the letter concludes. Meanwhile, the city says it has been trying to figure out

just what changes firefighters want, other than adding more staff. The council meeting included a presentation by Kirkland Fire Department Chief Kevin Nalder, who attempted to address concerns raised by the union as to the way in which the new proposed dual station option

would affect service. Nalder argued that the new station would offer quicker response times to more places while offering minimal increase in workload for several firefighters who would be moved around during the relocation. There are six firefighters currently at Station 27. Under the proposed plans, three would be transferred to Station 24, the same staffing size as all

other stations in the city except for one. The city believes that while this means fewer firefighters at Station 27, the coverage area would also be divided with Station 24. Nalder admitted that under this plan, six firefighters would take on an additional 205 incidents, but this could be solved by adjusting the station response boundaries for Station 21 north to Northeast 124th Street. Following the presentation, council members [ more STATION page 3 ]

No charges for driver who killed Kirkland man in crosswalk BY TJ MARTINELL tmartinell@kirklandreporter.com

The driver who struck and killed Kirkland resident Kyle Warnick while he was in a crosswalk in September will not be charged. The Kirkland prosecutor has concluded that the incident was an accident with no proof of negligence. State law defines negligence as “failure to exercise ordinary care, and is the doing of some act that a reasonably careful person would not do under the same or similar circumstances.” Warnick was killed while out walking his dog when a woman in her 50s turned left onto 119th Place Northeast and struck him in the crosswalk. Warnick was sent to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with life-threatening injuries, where he later died. The driver claimed not to have seen him. In addition to the driver testing negative for alcohol or another substances, the investigation concluded that she was also driving under the speed limit at the time of the collision, between 14-19 mph in a 25-mph zone. Witnesses at the scene told investigators that she did not appear to be driving

very fast, nor did she seem distracted. Investigators attempted to recreate parts of the scene with the same make and model of the suspect’s vehicle. The officer driving the vehicle found it difficult to see an officer, standing in the same place as Warnick was when he was hit, due to both the position of the sun as well as the windshield pillar in the vehicle, which blocked the driver’s visibility. “While a very tragic accident occurred, the city does not believe that we can prove (driver’s name removed) failed to exercise ordinary care or acted in a manner that a reasonably careful person would not have under the same or similar circumstances,” stated a letter from Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Blakeley Warbinton while consulting the KPD on the investigation. The investigation conclusions seem to corroborate a comment Ron Zoeller made online on a letter to the editor published by the Reporter in which he claimed to have been at the scene of the accident. “My only observation as to a cause (of the accident) would be that the car at the [ more DRIVER page 3 ]

Gov. Jay Inslee and Lauren Thomas, chief executive officer for Hopelink, far right, speak with other Hopelink workers. Inslee attended a roundtable discussion on long-term unemployment in King County, which has continued to be a problem despite claims the economy is rebounding. TJ MARTINELL, Kirkland Reporter

Inslee visits Hopelink in Kirkland to discuss unemployment BY TJ MARTINELL tmartinell@kirklandreporter.com

During a roundtable discussion at Hopelink in Kirkland, Gov. Jay Inslee met with job seekers and various organizations to determine ways to reduce long-term unemployment in King County. Among the main points raised were hiring practices by employers and the negative effects of I-1163 that

one employer said has created a shortage of home care providers. While Inslee and others expressed their belief the economy had improved, among whom included Kirkland Deputy Mayor Penny Sweet, they admitted layoffs were still occurring and a significant percentage of people were having trouble finding work.

According to Marlena Session, CEO of Workforce Development Council of Seattle King County, there are approximately 30,000 people in the county who have been unemployed for more than six months and no longer show up in unemployment figures. One problem is that King County is known for its affluent communi-

ties, particularly on the Eastside where poverty isn’t considered an issue, according to Lauren Thomas, chief executive officer for Hopelink, who said there are 36,000 people living in poverty and 17,000 kids who qualify for free and reduced cost lunches at school. King County is the most populous in the state and 86th highest-income county [ more INSLEE page 7 ]


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