Briefly

Black Diamond Community Center is looking for local people interested in exhibiting their model trains at the Black Diamond Train Show during Labor Day Weekend Aug. 31-Sept. 1.

Got model trains? Show them at Black Diamond show

Black Diamond Community Center is looking for local people interested in exhibiting their model trains at the Black Diamond Train Show during Labor Day Weekend Aug. 31-Sept. 1.

Exhibitors must register by Aug. 1 by calling the center at (360) 886-1011.

The show will be held at Black Diamond Elementary School.

Lakeside housing project gets an OK

A controversial proposal by developer Bill Floten to build 27 homes on the banks of Lake Meridian has taken a step forward.

The Kent City Council voted 5-1 July 1 to approve a rezone application by Floten to allow six homes per acre rather than 4.5 homes per acre on the 6.3-acre site on the northwest shore of the lake, which is just west of Covington.

But the development remains tied up in King County Superior Court on other matters connected to the proposal. Developer Bill Floten has appealed an April 15 decision by the council that affirms a decision last year by a city hearing examiner to approve, subject to wetland issues, a preliminary plat application by Floten to build the homes.

Floten’s appeal seeks to remove the conditions that six lots near the shoreline of the proposed Meridian Banks development may be unbuildable because of potential harm to wetlands. He contends the restriction would set a precedent in which property owners would lose their existing shoreline frontage on any remodel or building permit.

The development site is at 135th Lane Southeast.

Presentation on raising puppies for guide dogs for blind

Recruitment of people to help raise puppies to become Guide Dogs for the Blind is scheduled for next Tuesday at Covington Library.

Starting at 7 p.m., members of PUPS2C4U, a south King County-area organization, will explain how to become a volunteer puppy raiser or puppy sitter. Current puppies in training will be at the presentation.

More information is availabsle at (253) 639-8868.

The library is at 27100 164th Ave SE.

Ex-Tahoma student finishes basic training

Kyle Knox, a former Tahoma High School student, has completed basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Knox, an Air Force Reserve airman, graduated from Tahoma in 2005.

Covington Days includes chalk art

Street and sidewalk chalk art will be part of Covington Days next Saturday.

Participants can create their art in front of the Wal-Mart store on Southeast 270th Street from 1 to 5 p.m. July 26. A spokeswoman for the Covington Arts Commission, which is sponsoring the free event, said to look for the “Street Art” poster, where chalk will be available.

Covington Days will start July 25 and continue for three days, with most activities at or near the MultiCare clinic.

Annexation proposal leading to meeting

The Maple Valley City Council has scheduled a meeting July 28 with property owners in the Maple Ridge/Maple Woods area regarding a proposed annexation of those neighborhoods.

The meeting, is in response to a petition process calling for annexation.

Maple Ridge/Maple Woods is in the Four Corners area.

Local firefighters fighting wildfires in eastern Washington

Mountain View Fire amd Rescue, whose normal service area includes the city of Black Diamond, has sent a team of wildland firefighters to eastern Washington to help battle wildfires there.

The worst damage of fires’ damage is in the Spokane Valley, where at least seven homes have been destroyed.