INSIDE | Community celebrates Juneteenth [2]
.com
REPORTER
NEWSLINE 253-872-6600
KENT
Inside | Mick Kelly’s Pub looking for a new home [3]
FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015
Police plan crackdown to defuse illegal fireworks BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
Kent Police plan a boom and bust approach this year to anyone discharging illegal fireworks. The department will send out
more than 50 officers during a five-day crackdown to catch people setting off illegal devices. Because of so many complaints from residents after last year’s Fourth of July weekend about
illegal fireworks going off in their neighborhoods, city officials worked with the police department to come up with a plan to try to slow down the explosions. “We will step up enforcement
of existing laws,” said Assistant Police Chief Derek Kammerzell to the City Council’s Public Safety Committee on June 9. “We will be utilizing emphasis teams with clear enforcement expectations
[ more FIREWORKS page 4 ]
New superintendent addresses inequity in school system
Police track down second suspect in Shell shooting
BY MARK KLAAS mklaas@kentreporter.com
BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
Kent Police believe they have tracked down the second man allegedly involved in a dispute that led to the two shooting deaths last year at a Shell service station. Dale D. Lewis Jr., 19, of Federal Way, remains in the King County jail at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent on an unrelated first-degree robbery charge with bail set at $100,000, according to jail records. Lewis has not yet been charged in connection with the Aug. 20 shooting deaths of two Shell employees, but he has been
from July 1-5.” Twenty teams totaling more than 50 officers will hit the streets during the five-day period to cite
more photos online…
Amphibious
kentreporter.com
Christopher Cutting, 32, prepares to enter the water before the start of the Lake Meridian Triathlon last Sunday morning at Lake Meridian Park. About 350 competitors took to the swim, bike and run challenge. Story, more photos, pages 10-11. HEIDI SANDERS, Kent Reporter
[ more SHOOTING page 5 ]
Calvin Watts recognizes inequities in the public school system and racial problems in society. And he wants to profoundly reach out and make his community better with the genuine support of others. The new Kent Watts School District superintendent addressed difficult issues in his profession – and the recent shooting deaths at a South Carolina church – as a guest speaker at the Kent Black Action Commission’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration last Saturday. “As we shed tears and lift up those in Charleston (S.C.), let us also cry out for the indomitable spirit of not just African-Americans, but for the rights, the lives and the liberty and [ more WATTS page 4 ]
TEACHING TANDEM RETIRES AFTER 44 YEARS thual 4 4 nn A
BY HEIDI SANDERS hsanders@kentreporter.com
For the past 44 years, Carol Calbom and Susan Stroomer have taught together in the Kent School District, including job sharing for 25 years. Now the pair is moving on to retirement together.
Susan Stroomer, left, and Carol Calbom retired this month from the Kent School District after each taught 44 years. HEIDI SANDERS,
They met in 1971 as first-year teachers at Cedar Valley Elementary in Covington. The school was an open concept, with six classes in a large room with no walls. “Within three days we just clung to each other because we were the first-year [ more TANDEM page 8 ]
Kent Reporter
Farming to Flying: JULY 125 YEARS
from
of INNOVATION
9-12
For more information, visit us at kcdays.com
1329090
Duo looks back fondly on a job they shared for 25 years