Kent Reporter, March 06, 2015

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INSIDE | City optimistic about medical pot ban [3] Sports | Kentwood grad McGuire continues to develop in Pirates’ system [14]

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015

Salary commission to decide pay for mayor, council City panel to review what other cities are paying elected officials

BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com

A five-member Independent Salary Commission will decide later this year whether the Kent mayor and seven City Council members should get pay raises, pay cuts or

keep the same pay. The council approved the formation of the salary commission on Tuesday night. The mayor will appoint the five board members who must be confirmed by the council. “This item came out of the council retreat,” said City Attorney

Tom Brubaker, who presented the proposal to the council’s Operations Committee on Tuesday. “Neither the council nor the mayor has had a salary increase for well over 10 years.” [ more COMMISSION page 4 ]

Mayor Suzette Cooke says Kent’s economic outlook appears bright with business development and more jobs. STEVE HUNTER, Kent Reporter

Cooke boasts about city’s successes, hopes to get FAA offices BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com

WHERE EAGLES DARE Photographer Ken Morain recently captured this image of two mighty bald eagles in their nest overlooking the Green River. Last year, these eagles

hatched two chicks, and come May or June, you may be able to see them flying around the nest, according to Morain. COURTESY PHOTO

Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke hopes to be able to brag even more in a few weeks than she did on Wednesday during her State of the City speech. The U.S. General Services Administration plans to pick a site on March 30 from among applications from several cities for a 300,000-square-foot Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility to handle about 1,600 employees. Kent wants the facility to be built where the city-owned Riverbend Golf Complex’s par 3 course now sits. “The deal is truly a grand [ more COOKE page 4 ]

Show of steel drums at Sunrise School, PTA, director keep a tradition alive for sixth-grade musicians

BY MARK KLAAS mklaas@kenteporter.com

The beat goes on for steel drums at Sunrise Elementary School, where the unique sound has resonated for 25 years. Gary Gibson is determined to keep a good thing going. When the Kent school contemplated mothballing the after-school program a few years

ago, Gibson decided to step up and step into the specialized role as director for the Mustangs’ steel drum band. A critically acclaimed and internationally known percussionist, Gibson makes the long commute from Edmonds twice a week to teach 38 Sunrise sixthgraders how to play the naturally [ more DRUMS page 5 ]

Gary Gibson directs the Sunrise Elementary’s School steel drum band in practice. Gibson instructs 38 sixthgraders on how to use a variety of pitched drums and pans. MARK KLAAS, Kent Reporter


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