INSIDE | Gov. Inslee visits Kent, wants a transportation deal done [3]
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Community | Song and dance from many cultures comes alive at Kent International Festival [2]
FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015
Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub set to close in late June
Investigation continues in death of K-M student BY STEVE HUNTER
BY STEVE HUNTER
shunter@kentreporter.com
A Kent-Meridian High student could still face charges in connection with a March 31 vehicle accident that resulted in the death of Lupo Benson, 18, a senior at the school. “We haven’t made a charging decision,” said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in a Monday email, about the student driving the car when Benson fell off the hood. “The case is still under review.” Kent Police spokesman Melanie Robinson confirmed that accident investigators turned the case over to prosecutors. Benson died on April 1 from injuries he suffered falling off the hood of a car in the school’s parking lot shortly after school let out on March 31. “(Benson) was riding on the hood of the vehicle and was thrown from the vehicle when the vehicle made a sharp turn while in the school parking lot,” according to a Kent Police media release. [ more BENSON page 10 ]
shunter@kentreporter.com
No eyes are smiling about the expected closure of Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in Kent. “It’s not by our choice,” owner Mick Purdy said about the June 30 expiration of a five-year lease he signed in 2010 with the city of Kent to run the restaurant at the city-owned Riverbend Golf Complex. But a late development this week might give Purdy a chance to keep the restaurant going. Purdy said on Wednesday that Mayor Suzette Cooke has agreed to a meeting on Friday to discuss possible ways to keep Mick Kelly’s operating. “If a solution can be hammered out, I want to do that,” Purdy said. “I talked to the mayor about a resolution and she said let’s get together. It’s a positive sign.” City staff has notified Purdy that Kent won’t [ more PUB page 4 ]
Detectives find possible human remains in Kent
SILVER STREAK
BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
Kentridge High’s Tanner Conner points to the sky after finishing the 110-meter high hurdles race at the state 4A track and field meet at Tacoma’s Mount Tahoma High School last weekend. Gonzaga Prep’s Nick Johnson edged Conner for the win. Conner also took second in the 300 intermediate hurdles. Story, page 8. RACHEL CIAMPI, Reporter
Detectives from the King County Sheriff ’s Office continue to investigate what is believed to be human remains found the evening of May 27 near the 24900 block of Frager Road South in unincorporated Kent. [ more REMAINS page 16 ]
Class discussion prompts Black Lives Matter rally at Green River College BY HEIDI SANDERS hsanders@kentreporter.com
After hearing about and discussing rioting and looting in Baltimore last month, students in Carlos Adams’ Race and Ethnicity in the Pacific class at Green River College decided to take action. They hosted a Black Lives Matter rally on the college’s main campus Monday. The unrest in Baltimore followed the death of Freddie Gray, a young black man who died of a spinal cord
injury in police custody. His death comes in the midst of several unarmed black men killed by police across the country over the past year. “I asked the question, “Could (a situation similar to Baltimore) happen here?’” Adams said of the discussion in his class. “The students all felt it could.” The students discussed what they could do about the situation. “We all agreed, ‘Yes, we want to do something about it,’” said Keith Beasley, a student in Adams’ class who helped organize the rally.
Adams was pleased the students took leadership of the rally. “It is neat,” he said. “Most have never done this before. … To watch them do it on their own, I haven’t felt this good about something in a long time.” Beasley and other participants in the rally recruited passersby to sign a petition, asking the college to implement training programs for its security personnel and nearby first responders and civil servants. [ more RALLY page 10 ]
Green River College students and faculty joined together on Monday for a Black Lives Matter rally. HEIDI SANDERS, Kent Reporter