Tukwila Reporter, December 16, 2015

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AN EKBERG ‘FIRST FAMILY

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SCHOOL CONNECTIONS: Tukwila School District update, pages 14-16

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REPORTER STAFFAzemina Gurdic was all smiles.The young woman, who came to Ameri-

ca from Bosnia-Herzegovina, officially be-came a U.S. citizens in a special naturaliza-tion ceremony at the Renton Library. She calls Tukwila home recently and works at Nordstorms.

“It’s a special day,” she said. “It also means I can now have a passport and travel.”

Gurdic, one of 29 new U.S. citizens, in-cluding from Tukwila, who took the Oath of Allegiance at the ceremony, led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Megan Kenny, U.S. Citizenship and Im-migration Services (USCIS) Seattle Field Office Supervisory Immigration Services officer, administered the Oath of Alle-giance at the ceremony, the first of its kind in the library since its renovation.

The new citizens, who all live in the local

area, come from 17 nations.Syveste and Glody Divava, brothers who

immigrated with family from the Congo nearly more than five years ago, enjoyed the moment. They both live and work in Kent.

“It’s a special day,” said Syveste, 19, who works for Amazon. “I took a lot of work but it’s great to become an American citizen.”

Glody, 21, who works for UPS, added: “It feels great. I can now have a passport.”

Gary Wasdin, King County Library Sys-tem director, was the keynote speaker.

One of the new citizens, Auburn’s Na “Nay” Young Park, performed the National Anthem. She sang professionally in her home country, South Korea. Park works in supply chain support for TMX Aerospace in Kent.

USCIS invited new citizens and their families and friends to share the experi-ence via Twitter, using #newUScitizen.

Local residents become naturalized citizens

Azemina Gurdic, of Bosnia-Herzegovina, leads the new U.S. citizens in the Pledge of Alle-giance during Monday’s ceremo-ny at the Renton Public Library. Gurdic lives today in Tukwila, MARK KLAAS, Reporter

Yes, swim in the winterWith the New Year on the way, we

want everyone in the community to consider coming down the Tukwila Pool and enjoy the warm water. There are many benefits to swimming and you don’t have to just swim laps to get some good exercise. Just playing in

the pool is a physi-cal activity that can be beneficial to your health. So, whatever age you are, the Tukwila Pool is a place that can be part of your healthy lifestyle.

For you serious lap swimmers out there, we are going to start posting the “Workout of the Day.” We hope this program will provide you some added motivation to get that laps.

We also want to remind every-

one that Tukwila Pool will host its monthly special event on Dec. 16 from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. The theme this month is “Winter Fiesta” and we will be having music from around the world, a cannonball contest and food for you to enjoy. So come join us for this fun event. Price is only $3.

Some important dates coming:• Dec. 16, Swim Lesson registration

for the January session will begin.• Dec. 21-24, Winter Break. Pool

will have open swim from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. and the price is only $2.

• Dec. 25, Pool will be closed.• Jan. 1, Bring a friend for free to

the Tukwila Pool.Thanks again for taking the time

to read this update. We hope to see everyone in the pool soon!

Dave Perkins is aquatics manager of the Tukwila Pool.

WE’R

E AL I

ND

ave

Perk

ins

A SWEARING INOn Monday, Nov. 30, 2015 at 6 p.m. history

was made at the Tukwila Pool as the first in-

dependently elected Tulwila Pool Metropolitan

Park District Commissioners were sworn in

before a standing room only crowd. Incoming

Commissioners Vanessa Zaputil, Ellen Gengler,

Christine Neuffer, Jeri Frangello-Anderson and

David Puki were elected by Tukwila voters in

the November General Election. Attendees

included Mayor-Elect Allan Ekberg as well as

City Council Members Joe Duffie, Dennis Rob-

ertson and Kate Kruller who administered the

oath. Melissa Hart, community member and

City of Tukwila Deputy Clerk generously volun-

teered her time to notarize the oaths. Also in

attendance were family members, community

members, District staff and State Senator Bob

Hasegawa.

The Tukwila Heritage Event 2015: An Evening of Poetry, Mu-sic, and Food, is 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, at the Tukwila Community Center ban-quet hall.

Tukwila Parks and Recreation together with Project Feast is presenting an evening of stories, music, and food to celebrate the diverse heritage of Tukwila resi-dents.

This year’s heritage event will serve as the book release celebra-tion for The Stories of Arrival: Refugee and Immigrant Youth Voices Poetry Project. The ELL students at Foster High School have written poems that share their experiences of leaving home and arriving in a new country.

The students collaborated with Project Feast graduates to cre-

ate a book that interweaves po-etry with recipes, highlighting the connections between food, identity, and home. Copies of the book will be available for sale and proceeds will go toward a college scholarship fund for the student poets.

There will be live poetry read-ings, a variety of dance perfor-mances from different cultures, chat with local service providers, and sample a variety of bite-sized dishes prepared by Project Feast graduates.

The free event will also fea-ture a live performance by Yam-ato Taiko, a traditional Japanese drumming ensemble based at Highline College.

Tukwila’s schools organized their own version of a flash mob, coming together at Foster’s Neu-

dorf Stadium recently to celebrate their diverse student bodies.

The festival is 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Tukwila Community Cen-ter, 12424 42nd Ave. S., Tukwila.

The day before Thanksgiving, students, school district employ-ees and community members came together to make this point: We welcome, support, and care for every one of our families; we are all now neighbors, no matter our origins; and we believe in the

unlimited potential of every stu-dent.

Students made signs written in Nepali, Samoan, Vietnamese, Arabic, Somali, Burmese, and Spanish. Among the immigrant families now in Tukwila are ones from Syria.

“This was not a political state-ment,” said Sara Niegowski, the district’s spokeswoman. “This was about our community coming together to support our diverse

families. We are a global commu-nity.

Foster High’s immigrants and refugees have been working with professional poet Merna Hecht to tell the stories of leaving their home countries and coming to Tukwila.

The Tukwila School District has posted photos and a video of the recording session here, http://tinyurl.com/jy7x3pe

A 19-year-old Federal Way man was in critical condition Dec. 8 at Har-borview in Seattle, after he was shot in the head during a fight with several others on Tukwila International Boulevard, according to the Tukwila Police Depart-ment.

His name wasn’t released the night of the shooting. The investigation is con-tinuing.

Witnesses reported the man was shot once at close range during the fight at about 5:15 p.m. in the 14800 block of the Boule-vard. Immediately after the

shooting, the group fled in different directions. A K-9 track was unable to locate any of the suspects in the immediate area.

Anyone with informa-tion about the shooting is asked to contact the Tuk-wila Police Department, 206-433-1808, and refer to case No. 15-8709.

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3 ourcultureTukwila will celebrate its rich diversity on Dec. 17.

4 ourschoolsSchool Supt. Nancy Coogan writes about the importance of the upcoming bond and levy election to the district’s STEAM program.

6 ourstoryLongacres barns are long gone, but if you go to the Nelsen mansion, you’ll see one that was saved from the wrecking ball.

10 ourmayorLearn about our new mayor, Allen Ekberg, and his family. The cover photo this month is by Bryan Camozzi.

12 ourpoliceRead about one of Tukwila’s outstanding police officers.

index

19426 68th Avenue South Kent, WA 98032253.872.6600 www.tukwilareporter.com

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Students, school district staff and the community gathered Nov. 25 at Neudorf Stadium at Foster High School to welcome refugees to Tukwila. Sara Niegowski/Tukwila School District

Tukwila to celebrate its diversity at cultural event Dec. 17

Th e Tukwila City Council is wise to take its time deciding whether to place before voters a measure to annex the city to the Kent Fire Department Regional

Fire Authority.It’s a major decision for council

and voters and there are myriad questions that need to be answered, probably a bunch that no one has thought of yet. And all property owners need to have a pretty clear picture of what the RFA’s new fi -nancing model will aff ect their

pocketbooks.Th e city administration has said there will be a ro-

bust and transparent process to vet the annexation. In the next few weeks, it will take what learned from City Council members at their meeting Dec. 7 and return with more information to answer the council’s questions, including what does it cost to operate the fi re department right now.

Right now, the council isn’t even considering a date for the election, although the administration had rec-

ommended April 16. Th ere was some concern about cost of the election, but that doesn’t seem quite as im-portant when you think about the magnitude of the annexation. It will take time to get this right.

Regionalization is not a new issue facing voters. In fact, two in our area, the City of Renton’s annexation to the King County Library System and the strategic alliance between UW Medicine and Valley Medical Center, became intense community and political de-bates. Th ose issues included ones Tukwila voters face today: costs and the loss of community (or hospital) identity.

But despite the controversies, Renton has a bright new library and services at Valley Medical Center (which serves many Tukwila residents) have im-proved and become more extensive. Th ink new fi re stations and more effi cient fi re services as corollaries to what happened in Renton and at Valley Medical.

Th is is one of those decisions for Tukwila voters to require their attention. And it’s good that the City Council is doing their due diligence for their constit-uents as they go through the process.

Almost daily, I am out in the community providing information about our three school measures — two levies and one bond — that will be on the Feb. 9, 2016, ballot. Just as frequently, I get questions about one of the bond’s most signifi cant projects: a new STEAM academic wing at both Foster High and Show-alter Middle schools. Th us, I want to take the time to talk

more about these pro-posed new classrooms that (if the bond’s ap-proved) will solve criti-cal space

needs and spearhead our movement toward enhanced, innovative, and relevant edu-cational programs for prepar-ing students for high-demand jobs.

First things fi rst, we need more space at all of our schools. As you can see, and your students have certainly told us, the buildings are full, and we expect between 18 and 44 percent more students in the coming decade! Th e bond, therefore, funds construction to provide additional class-room space for grade spans. At Foster and Showalter, that comes in the form of a new ac-ademic wing on each campus.

4 DECEMBER 2015 « www.TUKWILAREPORTER.comviewpoint

writestaff

regional publisherpolly shepherd

publisherellen morrison

[email protected]

editordean radford

[email protected]

425.255.3484, ext. 5150

circulationjay krause

253.872.6610

The Tukwila Reporter encourages reader

participation in your community newspaper.Share your thoughts in a letter to the editor (200 words or less) including your full name, address

and phone number.

HERE’S HOWTo submit a letter

to the editor, E-MAIL:editor@

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STORY IDEAS:dradford@

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tukwilacommentary

Fire annexation a critical issue

Levies, bond key to STEAM

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[ more COOGAN page 5 ]

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Fffi r

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No ChuckChuck Parrish is tak-

ing a break from his

column this month.

Once again welcome to the persecuted

During this season of Th anksgiving, the diff erence between our lives and those fl eeing violence around the world is thrown into sharp contrast. While we eat turkey, Syrian families are doing the

best they can to keep themselves safe.I hope that the leaders of our nation

and people in my community will take the opportunity this Th anksgiving holi-day to learn more about the struggles refugee families are facing. We cannot close our doors to them during this time of overwhelming need.

Our nation is great because we stand by our humanitarian ideals. Our ances-tors were welcomed centuries ago and I hope this holiday season sees America’s shores once again welcoming those seeking protection from persecution.

Verna Seal,Tukwila

letterto the editor


So why focus on STEAM for the addi-tions?

STEAM stands for Science, Technol-ogy, Engineering, Arts, and Math, and the Tukwila School District is moving to-ward becoming a premier STEAM leader across the nation. STEAM is much more than just a focus on these certain academic subjects; it is a way of teaching that helps students think deeply and critically as they use content knowledge to collaboratively solve real-world problems. Because busi-ness and industry are calling attention to the importance of these subject areas and their relationship to preparing students for the competitive workplace — where they will be expected to collaborate, cooperate, and communicate with team members us-ing project-based scenarios—the district must respond accordingly. Th erefore, Tuk-wila School District will began to redesign its facilities and curriculum to mirror the real world, to ensure content knowledge is interwoven, layered, and sophisticated, not experienced in isolation such as in tra-ditional education settings (separate math time, separate science time, etc.). Th e dis-trict’s commitment is that every student

will have many opportunities, from pre-school to graduation, to see and experience relevant, high-demand career-focused programs to pique their interest and build their skills. Our goal is to strengthen global competitiveness for our students.

We have chosen to dedicate the new academic wings at Foster and Showalter to STEAM because it will allow us to create class spaces to promote STEAM methods of teaching. We don’t know exactly what that looks like yet, but we are exploring in-novative classrooms, creative spaces and 21st century state-of-the-art technology. One potential model is called SmartLabs — a fully integrated learning environ-ment where everything from the furniture to the technology to the curriculum work together to support hands-on, minds-on learning. If you were to peek into such a lab, you’d see students moving and creat-ing, inquiring, building, exploring, and collaborating, working in pods with pre-sentation stations. Th ere is a buzz! Stu-dents lead their own learning with teachers guiding and facilitating. Students with all diff erent abilities and skills—not just those who gravitate toward math and science—are engaged and successful. Th is is par-ticularly powerful for gift ed students who want to dig deeper, for special education

students who may learn kinesthetically, for English language learners who understand through hands-on experiences, for un-engaged students who need relevancy in classwork—okay, this is a powerful model for all students! Our teachers and educa-tional leaders will be involved in every as-pect of designing the new classroom spaces to match these instructional practices.

We are also working on exciting new partnerships and programs that fi t our STEAM focus. Our region is rich with in-dustry: manufacturing, technology, medi-cal care, aviation, and more. Aft er meeting with business leaders, it is clear that they are hungry for graduates with skills to fi ll their job vacancies. We are speaking with some of these corporations about a nation-al certifi cated program that would usher a student directly into a living-wage, career-oriented job. If a student is college-bound, she or he would enter with advanced cred-its and skills. If we can train our students, business leaders have told us they have space for them in abundance! Our eff orts with students will begin early, helping even elementary children to identify career in-terests with job shadows, career presenta-tions, STEAM clubs, mentorships, science and technology fairs, fi eld trips and more.

Perhaps most simply stated, STEAM is

our eff ort to prepare our students with 21st Century skills for 21st Century jobs.

Th is is our commitment to invest in our local and global economy. We will cre-ate clear pathways for every student to a skilled, living-wage job that matches their interests. We will enhance our community through ensuring our students are well prepared for future employment with lo-cal industry. All of this will take focused business partnerships, and we have started those conversations. We already have an analysis in hand of the top 25 jobs in our region that will be the most in demand in the next few decades. Our students will be ready to fi ll them.

I hope this gives you some sense of the vision that’s included in our bond con-struction projects. If you want to learn more about the three school measures on the February 2016 ballot, please visit our homepage, www.tukwila.wednet.edu. You can also give me a call, 206-901-8006, be-cause I am happy to talk with individuals or groups, wherever and whenever you’re available.

In service,Superintendent Nancy CooganTukwila School Supt. Dr. Nancy Coogan

can be reached at 206-901-8006 or at [email protected].

[ COOGAN from page 4]

tukwila’sstoryFrom farms to furlongs at historic Nelsen mansionBY LOUISE JONES-BROWNT U K W I L A H I S T O R I C A L S O C I E T Y

James Nelsen, with brothers Herman and Fred, immigrated to the Duwamish River valley from Denmark in the 1880s. Th e farms they established stretched from Renton Junction (in the area of Interurban Avenue and Grady Way) to the area known as Orillia as well as Westfi eld Southcenter. A family home was built in 1905 and the structure is now known as the Nelsen Family residence. Helen, the youngest daughter of James Nelsen, was born in the home in 1906. She was a local business-woman, former Tukwila City Council member and founding offi cer of the Tukwila Historical Society.

A 1909 ban on gambling closed the racetrack known as “the Mead-ows” located on the south end of present day Boeing Field. Th e ban was lift ed aft er a bill became law on March 20, 1933. Th en on June 20th, 1933, Vinson “Joe” Gottstein founded the Washington Jockey Club. Some of the dairy land originally owned by James Nelsen was purchased by Gottstein and others to operate a one-mile track which became Lon-gacres Racetrack in August 1933. A permit was obtained and the Lon-gacres Racetrack was created in only 30 days.

Th e Longacres Racetrack was in operation from Aug. 3, 1933 until Sept. 21, 1992. At the time of the sale to the Boeing Co., the track was owned and operated by members of the Alhadeff family, who were re-lated to the Gottstein family. Th is facility hosted an exhibition by Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew, and saw the famous jockey, Gary Stevens, on several mounts at the track. A former paddock barn (featured in the photo by Richard McLeland-Wieser) which was originally located at Longacres can still be seen next to the Nelsen House.

Our annual December Holiday “Open House,” which is hosted by the Tukwila Historical Society and the Nelsen Family Residence Trust, will be held on Th ursday, Dec. 17, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tours of the home and refreshments will be provided. Please join us to celebrate the Sea-son.

Louise Jones-Brown is president of the Tukwila Historical Society. Th e society operates the Tukwila Heritage and Cultural Center, 14475 59th Ave. S., Tukwila. Th e center can be reached by phone at 206-244-HIST or via email at [email protected].

ABOVE is how the paddocks barns appeared at Longacres Racetrack in an historical photo. BELOW is a photo by Richard McLeland-Wieser that shows one of the barns that was moved to the Nelsen property.

Valley Medical Cen-ter this month received a Grade of “A” for hospi-tal safety by The Leapfrog Group, a national, inde-pendent nonprofit orga-nization which evaluates and scores 2,500 hospitals

across the country, accord-ing to a news release.

Leapfrog is the nation’s premier advocate of trans-parency to promote giant leaps forward in quality and patient safety in healthcare.

Valley is one of only 11

hospitals in the state with an A grade (43 were grad-ed). The Hospital Safety Score is the gold standard rating for patient safety, compiled under the guid-ance of the nation’s leading patient safety experts and

administered by The Leap-frog Group.

“This “A” grade demon-strates that Valley Medical Center is one of the safest hospitals in the region, and the nation, for patients to receive care. Our team is committed to delivering safe, high-quality patient care day in and day out,” Kathryn Beattie, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Valley Medical Center, said in a press release. “The safety of our patients has always been a top priority here at Valley, and we will con-tinue to strive to provide the best possible care to our patients and the commu-nity we serve.”

Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single A, B, C, D, or F score, repre-senting a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm.

More than 2,500 U.S. hospitals were assigned scores in October 2015, with 773 hospitals receiv-ing an A grade.


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How to submit storm damage reports from recent rainfall

Flooding, wind, and landslides from recemt storms have impacted residents and businesses across King County. Those that suffered property damage or other losses in the storm may be eligible for assistance to get their property back in order.

Eligibility is determined through a damage assessment process which takes into account the total reported losses within King County.

In order to compute the losses, individuals and busi-nesses are encouraged to submit reports to King County Emergency Management. A webpage, www.kingcounty.gov/damage, is now open to receive damage reports for individuals and businesses in King County.

In addition, a hotline number, 1-800-523-5044, will be available for individuals and businesses to record a dam-age report Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. be-ginning Dec. 14.

Submitting a report does not guarantee reimbursement.Damage reports are for uninsured losses. Before filing a

damage report with King County, residents and business owners should contact their insurance provider about existing coverage and deductibles. They are also urged to document damage with photographs and keep records of all cleanup and repair costs.

Residents in unincorporated King County whose

homes were damaged in the storm can obtain free build-ing inspections from the King County Department of Per-mitting and Environmental Review (DPER). DPER has waived the associated fee to help residents speed up repair to their property. Priority service will be given for dam-aged structures requiring permits for repair work.

Inspectors will evaluate the integrity of structures, as-sess if a structure is safe to occupy, and whether a permit is required for repair work. Inspection staff may also advise customers of the need to pursue a more detailed inspec-tion from a licensed structural engineer to determine the full extent of the damage. While storm damage inspec-tions are free, standard permit fees still apply.

To request a damage assessment inspection during busi-ness hours, call 206-296-6630. DPER’s customer service center operates 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. on Mon-day, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. The center is closed on Wednesdays. For minor repairs, permits may be issued over the counter at the DPER offices at 35030 SE Douglas St., Suite 210, in Snoqualmie.

Residents in the process of removing yard waste and woody debris can visit www.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste to identify local trash haulers, or companies that recycle wood.

Tukwilareporter.com:Tukwila news everyday

Valley Med earns top award for safety

Under new head coach James Johnson, the Foster High boys basketball team will learn how to play the game – and understand the science of basketball.

The Bulldogs got a boost in confidence in their come-from-behind win Monday, Dec. 7, over Sultan High School, 59-56, at Foster. The following Wednesday night, the Bulldogs beat Tyee, 58-52.

The Bulldogs lost their first two games to two seasoned teams, Chief Sealth, 65-46, on Dec. 1 and Kennedy Catholic (where John-son has coached) 70-30. Johnson had hoped for a least a moral vic-tory over Kennedy Catholic, but 40 points is moral victory, he said.

In the Sultan game, the Bull-dogs took an early lead but at half were behind. In the fourth quarter, behind by eight points, the Bulldogs rallied, stayed com-posed and won the game.

“It’s a good win. They see they can come back and win those sort of games,” Johnson said, and it’s something the team and coaches can build on.

Johnson replaces Isaac Tucker, who coached the Bulldogs for three seasons. Last year’s season ended one win short of the state

tournament.The Bulldogs lost some starters

from last season. Ronnie Rob-erson graduated and younger brother Freddie is now a sopho-more at Rainier Beach High School.

But new leaders are already stepping up.

Camet Soe, a 5-foot-9 junior guard, was an all-Seamount League running back. “He defi-nitely looks like a football kid playing basketball. But because of

his toughness - he’s willing work hard - he’s providing all that on the floor,” Johnson said.

Tyler Amin, a 5-foot-11 junior guard, hasn’t played basketball but he’s a “basketball stud,” said Johnson. “He’s playing great de-fense just because he’s a great ath-lete and a hard worker,” the coach said.

Senior Jordan Hunter, a 6-foot-1 wing, didn’t play basketball last year but played JV as a sopho-more at Renton High, so this is

his first action “in a long time,” Johnson said.

But he scored 16 or 17 points in the Sultan game. “He has come into his own,” Johnson said.

“The biggest thing that we are trying to preach here is show-ing respect for your teammates, coming every day, working hard, being on time. Those three guys have done that all year long,” Johnson said

It’s a learning year, Johnson said.

“We are just learning. We are just teaching. It’s just taking one day at a time. We are preaching progress and process. We aren’t trying to rush ahead. We are not trying to implement extra stuff. Not trying to do more stuff. Keep it simple. If you get good at simple stuff, then you’ll be surprised at how good you can be,” he said.

And it’s a rebuilding year, John-son added, but he thinks “we have pieces that if they work together and we can learn a little quicker, I think they can shock some peo-ple,” he said.

Becasue many of his players are inexperienced and his tallest player is Hunter, Johnson said he’s keeping his offense simple. And he said everyone will get a chance to score, “playing good team bas-ketball.”

The Bulldogs aren’t the tallest team in the Seamount, so they’ll rely on their quickness and ath-leticism on defense, Johnson said. They’ll extend their pressure to half-court but haven’t worked on extending the defense to full court, yet, he said.

Johnson talks about his role as coach. He has extensive experi-ence coaching throughout the region, including at high schools.

“As far as me, any coach isn’t just a coach. He’s a friend, he’s an uncle, he’s a mentor in a sense.


Under new coach, Bulldogs learn science of basketballBY DEAN A. RADFORDD R A D F O R D @ T U K W I L A R E P O R T E R . C O M

Coach James Johnson works on positioning with his players during a recent practice, including, from left, Mehtaab Buttar (5), Jordan Hunter (23), and Musa Leigh (3). Dean A. Radford/Tukwila Reporter

[ more HOOPS page 13 ]

8 DECEMBER 2015 « www.TUKWILAREPORTER.com www.TUKWILAREPORTER.com » DECEMBER 2015 9

TUKWILA CITY PAGESMAYOR: Jim Haggerton COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Kate Kruller

City of Tukwila • 6200 Southcenter Boulevard • Tukwila, WA 98188 • 206-433-1800 • Online: TukwilaWA.gov

Meeting agendas, City programs, recreation activities, publications and more… get the most current information at TukwilaWA.gov!

by Kate Kruller, 2015 Council President

Next Chat: Jan. 9

Speak with a Councilmember about what’s on your mind!

Billy Baroo’s at Foster Golf Links 13500 Interurban Avenue S

10:00 to 12:00

CouncilChat

Once the elections are behind us and the results

■ It is possible

■ It is also possible to be administered the

Winter is upon us – preparedness information

TakeWinterByStorm.org [Winter Weather preparedness tips for Western Washington]

mil.wa.gov/preparedness

www.wsdot.wa.gov [Traveler Information and Newsroom]

www.Ready.gov [Get Ready for Winter, Fol-low Ready on Social Media, Ready Publications]

Community.FEMA.gov [grassroots campaign for action to increase community preparedness and resilience]

www.FEMA.gov [download the FEMA app]

www.RedCross.org [disaster alerts, pre-paredness tips, ways to get involved]

win211.org

www.wrh.noaa.gov [Information for Seattle and other cities]

(3-day minimum)

■ TukwilaWA.gov/PowerOutage.pdf (windstorms, generator use, etc.)

■ TukwilaWA.gov/Flooding.pdf

TukwilaWA.gov/disaster/disasterprepare.html

A robust CBD

growth coming into

the mall and the river is destined to become a bustling area where

Serving residential neighborhoods

Tukwila Transit Plan needs your input

will assess how well tran

TukwilaTransitSurvey.com/

TukwilaTransitSurvey.com/es

TukwilaTransitSurvey.com/so

TukwilaWA.gov/PubWks/TukwilaTransitPlan.html

Council position to be filled by appointment

TukwilaWA.gov/CityCouncilApplication.pdf

on Monday, December 28, 2015

[email protected]

email to [email protected]

Military aircraft to test at Boeing Field

City-owned motels to be demolished

A final Mayor’s Message – Looking back proudly

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Here’s a look at the personal side of Tukwila’s new “fi rst fam-ily,” newly elected Mayor Allan Ekberg, his wife Trish and their children Karlin and Erik. It’s almost a politics-free zone.-Dean A. Radford.)

Christmas at the Ekbergs is usually low-key, a day to hang out, play crib-bage or watch football and maybe

dine on ham or pizza and chicken nuggets – the request of son Erik and uncle Bryan one year.

And there was that “awesome” chicken fettuccini, says Allan Ekberg – Mr. Mayor starting at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1.

Ekberg has been known to make a cake or pie and the pumpkin cookies he baked Th anksgiving morning “turned out pretty good, actually,” he says.

For years Trish Camozzi-Ekberg has baked rolled butter cookies for her family from a recipe in her mother’s 1960s cook-book. Th e cookies take time to make but they are good, she says. And you can paint them. (Th e recipe is on page 11.)

Trish “is actually a good cook,” Allan says of his wife, which apparently worked out well for him.

Trish’s fi rst taste of an Allan-cooked din-ner came before they married. He mixed together macaroni and cheese out of a box, tuna fi sh and frozen mixed vegetables. “It was great,” says Allan, of his “bachelor food.”

“I realized then that I would have to be the cook if we actually ended up becoming a family,” says Trish.

Th e Ekbergs celebrated their 30th anni-versary in April. During that time they’ve raised daughter Karlin, 25, and son Erik, 23, who both graduated from Global Con-nections High School at the Tyee Educa-tional Complex in SeaTac.

Karlin, 25, lives in Ellensburg, where she owns and boards horses, and works for Kittitas County. Erik, 23, is checking out graduate schools to pursue a doctorate degree. He graduated in May from Wash-ington State University, earning bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and psychology (in four years).

You could argue the Ekbergs will now take their place as Tukwila’s “fi rst family,” with the election of

Allan as mayor in November. Sharing the house with the Ekbergs are fi rst-dog Nikki, 12, an Alaskan Malamute; Kermit, about 15, the Quaker parrot, who does a good job of imitating blue jays and crows at the top of his voice, and Sara, about 12, the Indo-nesian box turtle.

“He has yet to say, ‘Go Hawks’,” Trish says of Kermit. “I keep working on that.”

Th e Ekbergs live in McMicken Heights, a block south of South 160th Street, the bor-der between the Tukwila School District (north) and the Highline School District (south). He thought his kids would go to his alma mater, Foster High School, when the family bought the house.

During that time, the Ekbergs have built very similar and successful ca-reers in the technology fi eld. Th ey met, more or less, at a class in COBOL programming (used by businesses for data pro-cessing) at Humboldt State University in north-ern California. A class-mate off ered to introduce the young woman sitting next to him.

Allan said, without looking, “Get out of my face. I am trying to get some code done.”

But the classmate insisted. “So I turned and looked at Trish and said ‘hello’ and when I looked, ‘It was love at fi rst sight for me’.” (Trish laughs from the couch.)

Th en he turned back to his coding.“Th ree or four days later I chased her

down and I asked her out. We went out and one thing led to another,” Allan says.

Trish grew up mostly in northern Cali-fornia; her father worked at hatcheries operated by the California Department

of Fish and Wildlife so they moved around a lot, mostly in the middle of nowhere, as she says. Aft er living a rural life, living in an urban area “took a little bit of adjustment,” says Trish.

Allan grew up in Riverton at South 126th Street and 35th Avenue South, within walking distance of Southgate School as a grade schooler.

It was during this time that he formed a close relationship with Paul and Betty Gully that would last for decades. Al-lan hung out with the Gully’s son Craig; Betty Gully was the

Cub Scout den mother and Allan’s mom helped out, too.

Allan found escape with the Gullies when his parents Phyllis and Roy “were going through some rocky times” when he was 11 or 12.

“Th ey always welcomed me to come in and be part of their family and do din-

ners with them,” Allan said of the Gullies. “Th ere were always like my second mom and dad as a little kid.”

Allan’s parents eventually divorced. Al-lan was 20 when his father died; his mother died in 1997 while he was serving his sec-ond term on the Tukwila City Council.

Paul and Betty Gully were the fi rst recip-ients of the “Treasures of Tukwila” award, now given annually by the City of Tukwila.

Betty Gully was heavily involved in the Tukwila community, especially the schools. Allan remembers punching

out button lapels for a school bond at the Gullies’ home, “just being part of the fam-ily.”

From Betty, he learned the art of com-promise, Allan said, to get something ac-complished.

“You have to be fl exible, adaptable and take in what people are telling you and then formulate an opinion,” he said. “It may not be the opinion they want to hear but you have acknowledged what they’ve told you.”

Allan graduated from Foster in 1977 in the Top 10. He was a member of the Na-tional Honor Society. “I was a very studi-ous student,” he said. He was a law enforce-ment Explorer Scout.


coverstory

Getting to Tukwila’s new ‘first family’

BY DEAN A. RADFORDD R A D F O R D @ T U K W I L A R E P O R T E R . C O M

Allan and Trish Ekberg have three pets at home, including their Alaskan Malamute, Nikki. Dean A. Radford/Tukwila Reporter. ONE THE COVER: The Ekbergs, from left, Karlin, Allan, Trish and Erik, stand with their Christmas tree at home in McMicken Heights.

“Three or four days later I chased her down and I asked her out. We went out and one thing led to another.”

Allan Ekberg, on his court-ship with Trish

[ more MAYOR page 11 ]

The City of Tukwila is looking for candi-dates for the City Council seat left vacant with the election of Allan Ekberg as mayor.

The City Council will appoint a new coun-cil member in mid- January to fill the final two years of Ekberg’s four-year council term through Dec. 31, 2017. Position 3 will be up for election in the November 2017 general election.

Ekberg will be sworn in officially before Jan. 1 so that he’s in charge at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1. A ceremonial swearing in is planned at the Jan. 4 council meeting.

Applications for the council seat will be accepted until 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 28, at Tukwila City Hall, 6200 Southcenter Blvd., 98188, Tukwila. To be eligible, candidates must be registered to vote in King County

and a resident of Tukwila for at least a year prior to appointment.

To receive an application packet, contact City Council analyst Laurel Humphrey at [email protected] or 206-433-8993. Application packets are also avail-able at Tukwila City Hall.

Candidates can hand deliver the com-pleted and signed packet to City Hall, mail it City Hall (attn: Laurel Humphrey, council analyst) or email it as a PDF to [email protected].

The City Council will interview the candi-dates at a special meeting tentatively sched-uled for Monday, Jan. 11. If necessary, the interviews would continue on Jan. 13.

After the interviews, the council will meet in executive session to discuss the candi-dates’ qualifications, then return to open session to vote. The new council member would be sworn in on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

He hung out with the jocks, the scholarship students and the “rowdy people,” he says. At the request of legendary coach Werner Neudorf, he helped out with the track team in a support role.

“He (Neudorf) saw something in me. He pulled me out of my shell basically and got me engaged,” Allan says. It also allowed him to hang out with the jocks, he says.

Ekberg wasn’t political at Foster – never gave a thought to running for mayor someday – but he served on the student council in college.

After graduation, Ekberg joined the Air Force, serving as a sergeant in the security force at March Field in California, with the Strategic Air Command. At the same time he earned his associate degree in criminal justice in 1981 from Riverside City College in Riverside, Calif.

He went on to Humboldt State Universi-ty, where he met Trish and earned a bach-elor’s degree in business administration, concentrating on Computer Information Systems, in 1984. He got a job right out of college. He and Trish married in April 1985.

“I’ve always been focused on what’s the next step in my life, what do I want to do

differently,” he says and what he needs to do to reach that goal. “I’ve always been that type of guy.”

Ekberg’s last day as a senior project manager in information technology at BECU is Dec. 25.

The Ekbergs worked at Weyerhaeuser, Trish for 26 years until she was laid off in a round of budget cuts. Now, she’s working for Alaska Airlines as an Office 365 coor-dinator. Like her husband, she says she’s a bridge between workers and the technical tools that they use on their jobs.

Before the election, the Ekbergs didn’t talk about the expectations Allan’s new job would place on the family, Allan says. Trish figured the routine of Monday night City Council meetings and other duties would just continue. But when Allan won the election, Trish realized it’s probably not going to work out that way.

“I think to me it was just kind of like, ‘OK, he’s going to be mayor. That’s cool’. And then everybody at work is like, ‘Your husband is running for mayor.’ And, I am thinking, ‘Wow, maybe this is a bigger deal than I thought’.”

A mayor’s spouse will attend some oc-casions, mostly ceremonial, and Trish says she’ll support her husband. But she jokes that she’ll attend three events a year, so “use them wisely.” And Allan says: “That’s her statement to me.”

“We’re pretty easy going. We go with the flow,” Allan says.Ekberg, 56, says he “had no vision what it would be like to be mayor.” He’s seen

other mayora at work, so he understands the role.“But until I get into it, it’s going to be pretty fascinating to uncover what’s going

on and the people you get to meet,” he says.


FINAL ELECTION RESULTSHere are the final certified results from

the Nov. 3 general election. The turnout

was estimated at about 35 percent in Tuk-

wila.

MAYORAllan Ekberg, 1,471 votes or 52.84 per-

cent

De’Sean Quinn, 1,302 votes or 46.77

percent

CITY COUNCIL, Position 2Kathy Hougardy, 1,997 votes or 98.52

percent

CITY COUNCIL, Position 4Dennis Robertson, 1,920 votes or 98.01

percent

CITY COUNCIL, Position 6Kate Kruller, 1,758 votes or 71.15 per-

cent

Charles Richard Tyson, 696 votes or

28.17 percent

TUKWILA SCHOOL BOARD, District 2

Steve Mullet, 1,293 votes or 62.04 per-

cent

Kevin O’Brien Gaw, 785 votes or 37.67

percent


Dana Scott, 1,416 votes or 95.87 percent


Dave Larson, 1,659 votes or 99.04 per-

cent

TUKWILA POOL PROPOSI-TION 1, creating a separately elected commission

Yes, 1,706, or 66.77 percent

No, 849 votes or 33.23 percent

POOL DISTRICT, commis-sion position 1

Vanessa Zaputil, 1,749 votes or 97.30

percent


Ellen Gengler, 1,748 votes or 97.38 per-

cent


Christine Neuffer, 1,731 votes or 97.30

percent


Jeri Frangello-Anderson, 1,726 votes or

97.40 percent


David Puki, 1,445 votes or 70.73 percent

Michael Robert Neher, 559 votes or

27.36 percent

“I’ve always been focused on what’s the next step in my life, what do I want to do differently.”

Allan Ekberg

[ MAYOR from page 10] City Council looking for council candidatesBY DEAN A. RADFORDD R A D F O R D @ T U K W I L A R E P O R T E R . C O M

‘Miracle baby’s first birthdayA bright-eyed Sian Hoih celebrated her

first birthday on Dec. 5, a year after the death of her mother Ciin Nuam, a Burmese refugee.

Ciin Nuam was cooking dinner for her family on Dec. 2, 2014, when she collapsed and died. The medical examiner deter-mined she suffered from heart disease.

She was six months pregnant with Sian Hoih, who was treated at the Swedish Hos-pital neo-natal unit in Seattle.

The Tukwila community and the larger

community as well joined with her family to mark her first birthday at at the Showal-ter Middle School Commons.

It’s that community that raised $52,000 through an online donation drive to help the Zam Khap family move forward and stay together in Tukwila. Six of the family’s children were enrolled in Tukwila schools.

The family is reported to be doing well and has moved into a new apartment. And Sian Hoih has been attending plenty of school and family functions.

Sian Hoih was born about three months prematurely.

For 10 years Tukwila’s drug dealers, prostitutes and car thieves have given Allan Baalaer, a Tukwila Police officer

and detective who has been recognized for his service, something to grin about.

“My niche is narcotics and being proac-tive,” Baalaer said. “That is what really puts a smile on my face.”

It was Baalaer who wrote the search war-rant that SWAT, detectives and police of-ficers served in August on a Tukwila house they believed was associated with a vehi-cle-theft ring.

After weeks on the run, a prime suspect is in custody.

Just six months into his career in Tukwi-la, Baalaer in 2006 became a hero, saving a handcuffed man on drugs from drowning in the Duwamish River.

“At that moment in time, I was just thinking this guy is going to die, if I don’t jump in right now,” he said. “I had to make a decision that fast.”

He decided to risk his own life. Now underwater, 10 feet from shore and in full gear, he grabbed man’s white t-shirt.

The man started fighting and yelled, “Let God take me. Let God take me.” Backup of-ficers arrived and helped Baalaer pull him to shore.

Baalaer received the Governor’s Lifesav-ing Award and the City of Tukwila’s Medal of Valor Award in 2006 for his heroic ac-tions that day.

His life-saving awards and his work ethic as a police officer were cited in the nomina-tion the Tukwila Police Department sent to the Delta-White Center Masonic Lodge in Tukwila, which has honored Baalaer earli-er as its outstanding police officer for 2015.

“Once he got to Tukwila, he hit the streets running,” the nominating letter reads. “He has proved himself in a very short period of time to be a proactive, reliable police of-ficer.”

Baalaer was hired by the Tukwila Po-lice Department after four years as a Detroit police officer. He was one of

hundreds of police officers laid off by that financially troubled city. He looked west to Washington, where he has family, for a new job. He considered Seattle and Tacoma and then only applied with Tukwila.

This was 2005.On a ridealong as part of the interview

process, he saw the city – “the beautiful mall” – and Tukwila International Bou-levard, which he was told was Tukwila’s high-crime area. He had worked in a “real-ly, really bad area” of Detroit, but he didn’t see any bars on Boulevard buildings nor did it seem intimating.

He started to second-guess himself, wondering whether he would find excite-ment in Tukwila. He decided to give Tuk-wila a shot. And that smile appeared on his face. “It was like ‘Wow,’ I started getting a lot of dope arrests, stolen cars and guns,” he said. Not quite like Detroit, but Tukwila did have a high-crime area.

“I just really enjoyed myself,” he said, pointing out he wasn’t comparing Tukwi-la’s to Detroit’s crime. But the job matches his proactive style of police work, he said, seeking out and ac-tively preventing criminal activity in known high-crime areas before it can happen.

“Once you become a police officer, ev-eryone finds their niche,” he said, from processing accident scenes to writing tickets to commu-nity policing. He had found his in Tukwila.

He was promoted to detective in 2009. He served on the fed-eral Valley Narcotics Enforcement Team, one of the leading of-ficers to make drug arrests for three years in a row. Later he would join a task force that targets vehicle thieves.

Duty on the narcotics task force took him to Mexico, basically wherever large-scale organizations operated. At home, the task force would seize packages at airports, hotels or the post office or other parcel-delivery locations.

Washington is on the West Coast drug thoroughfare between the main source, which is Southern California, and Canada, he said. Marijuana to Alaska flies out of Seattle and ecstasy and marijuana comes

down from Canada, so he was busy.“It’s a fruitful area for narcotics,” he said.

Local agencies handle the street-level drug crimes.

Baalaer worked at the Neighborhood Resource Center on The Boulevard, which he calls a “great resource” for officers be-cause they can monitor criminal active on cameras from there.

“It’s like you are sitting next to them at a bus stop and watching them,” he said. An officer can develop probable cause to make

an arrest from what’s seen on the camera. He credits the cam-eras for many of his arrests.

Baalaer patrolled The Boulevard at a time when criminal activity at four mo-tels was at its peak, he said. He was very busy.

“They were har-boring all these drug deals and prostitutes. And literally it was almost like shoot-ing fish in a barrel,” he said. “I mean you

could sit out there and you would watch drug deal after drug deal or Johns picking up girls for prostitution.”

With the closure of the motels, crime has decreased on The Boulevard. “It’s not like it used to be. But obviously there are still drugs and there are still things going on,” he said. “It’s just not in plain view like it used to be.”

A member of Tukwila’s Civil Distur-bance Unit at the time, Ballaer was part of the multi-agency raid in August 2013, in which the federal government seized The Boulevard, Great Bear and Travelers Choice motels. The City of Tukwila later

purchased the Spruce Motel. A contract has been awarded to demolish all but the Travelers Choice.

The crime rate on The Boulevard has dropped since the raid. “It made a huge difference,” he said. “It was a great time for Tukwila.”

Last July, Baalaer was assigned to the P.A.T.R.O.L. Auto Theft Regional Task Force. Soon, he was writing the search warrant SWAT and investigators needed to look for Kevin Michael Vaughn and any-thing related auto theft early on Aug. 27 at the house on 51st Avenue South next to Interstate 5.

He and other task force detectives were in the Tukwila Police briefing room, wait-ing for SWAT to secure the house so they could begin their investigation. “That’s the way it usually works,” he said.

Then “shots fired” came across police radios. “To hear that on the radio — shots fired — your instinct is ‘I want to get in my car and go down there’,” he said. But they couldn’t.

Two motorcyclists southbound on Inter-state 5 had fired at least seven times at in-vestigators at the house. No one was hurt.

The search began for Kevin Vaughn, who almost was taken into custody at least once. Baalaer had to cancel one interview, without saying why. Later, he explained that that attempt to arrest Vaughn at that time “didn’t work out as planned.”

“It would be great if somebody called me right now and said we have him in custo-dy,” Baalaer said at the time. “I would be so happy. He’s been a thorn in a lot of people’s side.”

Vaughn was arrested Oct. 15 in Lyn-nwood on numerous warrants and was be-ing held without bail in the King County jail downtown.

Baalaer wasn’t able to say much about Vaughn, other than describing him as a prolific car thief who has mul-

tiple convictions.“The problem is when you get some-

body who is reckless and fearless, that’s a bad combination,” he said. “When you’re not fearful of ramifications of your actions, that could be a really bad recipe for the safety of the public.”

Now, 10 years in Tukwila and despite ini-tial uncertainty, the city has given Baalaer plenty of professional excitement.

“I love it here. Tukwila has given me so much opportunity,” he said, including the two specialty task forces and his patrol du-ties, which many other police officers don’t get.

“It’s a fun place to work. I enjoy getting up every morning an dcoming to work,” said Baalaer, who plans to retire in Tukwila.

And he’s making a difference – smiling – knowing that at least for awhile someone he’s arrested won’t be committing another crime.

“That just makes me happy, knowing that the streets are that much safer every time you take somebody off the streets who shouldn’t be on the streets,” he said.


Finding his smile fighting crime in Tukwila

BY DEAN A. RADFORDD R A D F O R D @ T U K W I L A R E P O R T E R . C O M

“That just makes me happy, knowing that the streets are that much safer every time you take somebody off the streets who shouldn’t be on the streets .”

Allan Baalaer, Tukwila Police detective

Allan Baalaer honored as outstandingTukwila officer

Tukwila Police DETECTIVE Allan Baalaer has been recognized for his police work and life-saving efforts. Dean A. Radford/Tukwila Reporter

The Museum of Flight in Tuk-wila showed off for the first time Nov. 19 the restored remains of the F-1 rocket engines used to launch NASA’s historic Apollo 12 and Apollo 16 missions to the Moon.

Apollo 12 landed on the moon 46 years ago on Nov. 19, 1969, four months after Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the Moon.

The historic engines were re-covered from the sea by Seattle-based Bezos Expeditions in 2013 and have been under conserva-tion at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, according to a Museum of Flight news release.

At the request of the Bezos Ex-peditions team, NASA has now given the artifacts to the Museum for permanent display in Seattle.

Speakers at the event in-cluded museum President and CEO Doug King and Jeff Bezos, founder of Bezos Expeditions. One Apollo 12 artifact are on temporary public display .

“These artifacts not only launched humanity’s first expedi-tions to the Moon, they fired the imagination of young people who are now today’s leaders in the second great era of space explo-ration,” said King. “We trust that the legacy of these engines will continue to inspire a new genera-

tion of explorers who will set foot on Mars and other new worlds.”

These engines boosted the 40-story Saturn V rocket from liftoff until the edge of space, then separated with the first stage of the rocket and fell 40 miles through the atmosphere and into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Subsequent stages of the rocket propelled the Apollo spacecraft into orbit and on to the Moon. For the next 43 years the F-1 en-gines were lost and beyond grasp, deeper than the wreck of the Ti-tanic.

Bezos Expeditions found and recovered the engines from the bottom of the Atlantic in 2013. The engines were the last missing links to the first adventures to the Moon, according to the release.

“It took a lot of 21st century underwater tech and an extraor-dinary team of skilled profes-sionals to find and recover these historical treasures and, thanks to them, NASA, and The Museum of Flight, now a whole new gen-eration of young people will be able to see these amazing engines on display,” said Bezos. “When I was five years old, I watched Neil Armstrong step onto the moon and it imprinted me with a pas-sion for science and exploration

- it’s my hope that these engines might spark a similar passion in a child who sees them today.”

The relics are now part of The Museum of Flight, and will be on view for the public for the first time. One section of the Apollo 12 engine - the injector plate - will be previewed at the museum until Jan. 4, 2016. Then it will be moved to the museum archives until early 2017, when it will re-turn with the rest of the F-1 arti-facts as part of a new permanent Apollo exhibit at the museum.

This new permanent exhibit will showcase the salvaged Apollo 12 and Apollo 16 F-1 remains, other Apollo artifacts including lunar rocks, and large display the career of Apollo 12 Commander Pete Conrad.

The Museum of Flight is lo-cated at 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Tukwila, Exit 158 off Inter-state 5 on Boeing Field halfway between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $20 for adults, $17 for seniors 65 and older, $17 for active military, $12 for youth 5 to 17, and free for children under 5. For more information, call 206-764-5720 or visit www.museu-mofflight.org


My way of connecting with my kids is I just try to get to know them on a personal level, other than just basketball and school,” Johnson said.

And it helps, he said, that he’s a paradeducator at Foster.“I get to see these kids. One thing I think my kids should

know is that I care about them,” he said, checking on their grades, how they are doing. His players are “buying in.

“Wins will help that too. That’s a slow process. My kids know that this year, we preach it’s about a process, it’s a process, it’s a process. We’re not really worried about wins in the month of December. We’re kind of concentrating about wins in January, when we’ve had some time under our belt.”

[HOOPS from page 7]

Engines of Moon-bound Apollo 12 land in Tukwila

Jeff Bezos at the Apollo rocket engine unveiling ceremony at The Museum of Flight shows the injector plate from an F-1 rocket used on Apollo 12. Ted Huetter/The Museum Of Flight

County Council creates paid parental leave pilot programThe King County Council has unanimously approved a

proposal to create a one-year pilot program to offer up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave, making King County one of about a dozen public employers across the country to offer this type of program.

The program was proposed by County Executive Dow Constantine.

“I’m proud that King County is among the leading em-ployers in the nation to offer a program that has a positive, lifelong impact on a child’s development,” Constantine said in a press release. “It also demonstrates our commit-ment to recruiting and retaining the talented workforce we need to deliver the best outcomes for our community.”

The one-year pilot program will start Jan. 1, 2016.King County joins a few other major employers in the

region – including Microsoft, Amazon, the Gates Foun-dation and the City of Seattle – to begin offering paid-parental leave as a way to attract high-caliber talent. King County and Seattle are the only public employers in the state to offer this type of program. Slightly more than a dozen governments — mostly cities — offer paid parental leave, though most do not offer as much as King County.

The program aligns with Constantine’s Best Starts for Kids initiative, designed to improve the health and well-being of the region by focusing on birth through 5, when 92 percent of brain growth occurs.

It will also confront the inequity that exists in the coun-ty’s existing leave policies, which are less accessible to new-er employees and have an adverse impact on those who are at the lower end of the pay scale, according to a press release.

“Providing paid parental leave is the right thing to do for a progressive employer like King County, and an essential piece of the compensation structure for a best-run gov-ernment that attracts and keeps quality employees,” said Dustin Frederick, Business Manager for the Public Safety Employees Union Local 519 and King County Coalition of Unions Co-Chair.

Boeing completes final assembly of first 737 MAX 8Thousands of Boeing employees

in Renton recently marked another milestone in the evolution of the 737 – the completion of final assembly of the first 737 MAX 8, named the Spirit of Renton.

The 737 MAX 8 rolled into the paint hangar on Nov. 30, the exact date in the development schedule defined four years ago, and emerged with a special teal version of the Boe-ing livery.

Next, the Spirit of Renton, written

in script under the cockpit window, will continue to undergo pre-flight preparation in the Renton plant, be-fore heading over to Clayton Scott Field at the airport to continue flight-readiness testing, according to a Boe-ing news release.

The airplane is on track for first flight in early 2016. The launch cus-tomer is Southwest Airlines

The 737 MAX family has nearly 3,000 orders from 60 customers worldwide, according to Boeing.

“Today marks another in a long se-ries of milestones that our team has achieved on time, per plan, together,” said Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager, 737 MAX, Boe-ing Commercial Airplanes, in the news release.

“With the rollout of the new 737 MAX – the first new airplane of Boe-ing’s second century – our team is upholding an incredible legacy while taking the 737 to the next level of per-formance,” he said.


school connectionDECEMBER 2015Tukwila School District #406

Thorndyke named School of Distinction, state’s highest award for student growth

Thorndyke Elementary School has been honored as a 2015 School of Distinction for being in the top 5 percent in the state for sus-tained growth in language arts and math. Thorn-dyke joins an elite group of only 90 schools across the state (51 elementary schools) to earn the award.

“I’m so proud,” said Thorndyke Principal Kathy Page. “This is one of the hardest working staff s I have ever seen in over 15 years of being a principal. They are continu-ally searching for ways to reach stu-dents, think-ing outside of the box. They take to heart the unique needs of each student, and it shows.”

With a stu-dent population that is 83 per-cent in poverty, 50 percent Eng-lish Language Learners, and 20 percent homeless/housing insecure, Thorndyke educa-tors’ do much more than teach the curriculum. “They look at everything, which means being in tune to meet-ing even the basic needs of students,” Page said. That often includes food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and transportation, she added.

Page took over this year for long-time Thorndyke principal Brian Hutchison, who led the school during the period of growth recognized by the School of Distinction award. Dur-ing that time, the school began many intentional, student-focused initia-

tives that are continuing this year with added emphasis.

Educators at every grade level frequently come together in Profes-sional Learning Communities to analyze data and create support plans for specifi c students. Thirty minutes every school day is designated for literacy and math intervention for each child—stu-dents receive

instruction that matches their exact need, whether they are excelling or struggling. Thorndyke also identifi es students for additional before- and

after-school aca-demic services, which have been strengthened this year with more eff ective intervention tools.

In and out of the classroom, staff members recognize that positive, caring relationships with students are the founda-

tion for learning. Using a system called Positive Behavioral Interven-tions & Supports (PBIS), the school last year began analyzing discipline data and working to get to the root of what’s actually causing students to act up. They have also started proactive and fun campaigns to “beat the bell” (resulting in a 30 percent decrease in tardies last month), to clearly defi ne behavior expectations, to highlight and reward a new virtue every month, and to catch students when they are being role models rather than misbehaving.

“It’s all about relationships,” Page said. “All the research shows that we

need to connect to kids to increase their engagement behaviors, and that’s what we have been doing.”

Tukwila Superintendent Nancy Coogan said she is “exceptionally proud” of Thorndyke.

“Our students come to us from every corner of the globe, with a vast array of backgrounds and educational experiences,” Coogan said. “Our learning goals do not include a uni-form bar of achievement. We aim for more than a year’s worth of growth for each student during the school year. So to be recognized as the top in the state for growth is a phenom-enal honor, directly in line with our strategic plan.”

The School of Distinction awards are based on fi ve years of perfor-mance improvement on state assess-ments in language arts and math. They are sponsored by the Center for Educational Eff ectiveness (CEE) in partnership with the Association of Educational Service Districts (AESD), The Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP), Washington As-sociation of School Administrators (WASA), and the Washington Associa-tion of Supervision and Curriculum Development (WASCD).

Thorndyke staff will be honored in January during an awards ceremony at the Puget Sound Educational Ser-vice District.

Thorndyke student leaders promote Unity

Day to take a stand against bullying. Each

month, the school highlights a new virtue and

recognizes outstanding student role models.

The Tardy Queen—Ima Never Tardy—ap-

pears monthly to recognize classes that have

the fewest number of tardies as part of the

Beat the Bell program.

The four-year average tax rate is projected to stay the same if all three measures pass. These are renewal measures, taking the place of expiring levies and bonds.

A 4-$11.7 million in 2017; $12.2 million in 2018; $12.7 million in 2019; and $13.2 million in 2020. Covers the gap between what state funding provides and the actual cost of educating students.

Continues programs and essentials such as special education, curriculum, and lower class sizes.

Developed by a community-wide committee with parent, student, business, civic, and diverse representation.

happened since we passed our last bond in 1998! We need to: Alleviate overcrowding and dependence on portables. We are critically in need of space, according to demographers who project up to a 44% increase in student enrollment in the next decade.

Upgrade safety systems, including security cameras and secured front- Provide high-tech, hands-on math and science classrooms at the middle and high school to train students for the jobs of the future.

-

-century classrooms by:

Upgrading and modernizing laptops so students have computers to engage in real-world lessons and to help prepare students with technical career skills. Reshaping traditional classroom tables into collaborative, active-learning spaces with multimedia displays that support project-based learning in science, math, language arts, social studies, and art.


Tukwila School District #406 DECEMBER 2015

Foster High French teacher Claudia Van Cleemput has proven she’s among the best educators in the U.S. by recently earning her National Board Certification (NBC), one of the highest designations for professional excellence in teaching.

“Très bien, Claudia!” said Tukwila Superintendent Nancy Coogan. “The certification process is very rigorous, requiring deep content knowledge and best practices in instruction. When a teacher earns certification, it’s really our students who reap the reward—so thank you to Claudia and all of our National Board teachers.”

Washington led the nation in the number of new NBC teachers for 2015, a title our state has earned three years running; and in a state that tops the nation, Tukwila has one of the highest percentages of NBC teachers for a school district—about 23 percent of its total certificated staff.

NBC is a voluntary assessment program designed to recognize and reward great teachers—and make them better. While state licensing systems set basic requirements to teach in each state, NBC teachers have successfully demonstrated advanced teaching knowledge, skills, and practices. NBC is the only credential process that compares a teacher’s knowledge and skills with a national set of professional standards. Certification requires teachers to think about how they form and deliver lessons and how they demonstrate leadership in their schools and communities.

“The process helped me grow so much as a teacher,” Van Cleemput said. “It allowed me to reflect deeply on my teaching and how to effectively teach each student in my classroom. As a result, I feel like I am a more effective educator.”

Tukwila grows its high percentageof National Board Certifi ed teachers!

Stories of Arrival book releaseon Dec. 17 – get your copy!

“Voice is at the heart of our project. We believe that our community is made stronger when the voices of those who are not often heard are more widely celebrated.” —Poet Merna Hecht

Foster High immigrants and refugees are once again working on their “Stories of Arrival” poetry and art project—and this year, it’s bigger and even more beautiful. With the help of professional poet Merna Hecht, these students wrote about their incredible experiences leaving their home countries to come to Tukwila. The students’ poetry will be published for the community in two ways:

• Students recorded their poetry at Jack Straw Studios in early December. These audio clips will be featured on 91.3 KBCS 91.3 radio in April for National Poetry Month.

• A book with their poetry, “Our Table of Memories: Food and Poetry of Spirit, Homeland, and Tradition,” will be released during the Tukwila Cultural Heritage Festival, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Dec. 17, at the Tukwila Community Center. Come get your copy!

To learn more about the project and support it, go to www.indiegogo.com and search “Stories of Arrival.”

Foster High’s immigrant and refugee students recorded their Stories of Arrival poetry at Jack Straw Studios in early December.

Free “Grab & Go” breakfastfor all Showalter students

started in DecemberBreakfast makes brighter brains

We know that students learn more and con-centrate better when they have a nutritious breakfast, which is why we were excited to kick off the Grab & Go Breakfast program at Showalter in mid-December. It’s simple: All middle-schoolers now pick up a sack break-fast as they arrive, which they can either eat in the cafeteria or during the fi rst 10 minutes of class.

Showalter joins our elementary schools and an expanding network of schools across the country that provide free breakfast to all students as part of the regular school day. The problem with most typical school-breakfast programs is that students do not participate. Students must qualify and sign up based on their family income, arrive 30

minutes before the start bell, and eat in the cafeteria. Many students would rather not eat than deal with the added time and stigma. Grab & Go Breakfast (and Breakfast in the Classroom at the elementary level) removes these obstacles. All students get break-fast, simply by showing up to school at the normal time.

In its fi rst week, Grab & Go Breakfast at Showalter increased the number of students eating breakfast by about 400 percent!

One of the best parts? The breakfast is free to students and almost cost neutral to the district. With our demographics, the number of students who qualify for free meals is not much less than the student population in total. With Grab & Go Breakfast, we maximize our reimbursement from the federal government because almost all income-eligible students receive a meal.

Have you ever wondered what it would look like

to have every student at a school programming

computers at the same time? (Maybe like a junior

Microsoft?) Well, Showalter Middle School did

just that on Dec. 9 as part of the Hour of Code,

a global event in which millions of people try

their hand at coding. Each Showalter student

spent three hours following simple to complex

online coding projects, depending on their level of

expertise.

Hmmm—delicious breakfast or a

good book? Some students didn’t

have to choose during the Grab & Go

Breakfast kick off!



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