Fire hits, heavily damages garage
A garage at a residence was heavily damaged in a fire Sept. 23, according to Mountain View Fire and Rescue.
A neighbor reported the fire near 400th to 9-1-1, according to a fire department spokesman. When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found an attached garage was fully involved in flames. They were able to keep the fire contained to the garage area.
No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire hasn’t been released.
VFW’s annual student essay contest begins
Maple Valley-Black Diamond VFW Post 5052 has kicked off the 61st year of the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Voice of Democracy scholarship competition for local high scho!ol students.
The competition is for thousands of dollars in scholarships and a trip to the nation’s capitol.
Students begin by competing at the local level, with an entry deadline of Nov. 1. Post-level winners advance to District 11 and, from there, the state competition.
The state winner will receive a four-day trip to Washington, D.C.
A total of $149,000 will be awarded to national finalists. The monetary first-place prize is $30,000.
Annually, VFW provides more than $2.2 million i scholarships nationwide.
Students must write and record a three-to-five minute essay on this year’s theme, “Service and Sacrifice by America’s Veterans Benefit Today’s Youth by … ”. The entries will be submitted locally to Post 5052 Junior Vice Commander H. Wayne Humphrey, head of the youth essays program.
Humphrey can be reached at (206) 850-1956 and hwhumphrey@comcast.net for more information.
Entry blanks are available at .
Arboretum hosts wreath-making workshop
A wreath-making workshop is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 18 at Lake Wilderness Arboretum.
The session, focusing on how to create a fall or holiday wreath, is free for arboretum members. The fee for non-membrs is $15. Materials will cost $30. Advance registration is required. That and other information is available from the arboretum at www.lakewildernessarboretum.org.
Courthouse threats, alarms turn up empty
Two separate threats at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent Oct. 1 turned out to be false alarms.
At about 9:30 a.m., several phone calls were made from an unknown person indicating that there was a bomb at the center, which includes courtrooms. Several hundred people were evacuated from the building, and the connected county jail was put on lockdown. After no bomb was found by authorities, the building reopened at 11 a.m.
Then at about 2:30 p.m,, mail clerks at the center opened an envelope that was mailed to the facility with no specific person as an addressee and found a white powder inside, officials said.
In case the substance was toxic, eight people in close proximity to the substance were isolated in an office. But the powder was determined through tests to be a non-hazardous, dietary supplement, according to the King County Sheriff Department.
Halloween carnival planned
A Halloween carnival for children 12 years old and younger is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 18 at Dance Expressions Studio, 23730 Maple Valley Hwy. SE.
Costumes are encouraged.
