Waste Management garbage truck drivers represented by Teamsters Local 174 went on strike at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday affecting King County, including Maple Valley, and Snohomish County.
Michael Gonzales, spokesman for Local 174, said the union went on strike because of “unfair labor practices. We are trying to get them to come back to the table and negotiate. All they do is say, ‘this is their final offer.’ That is not negotiating.”
• Early childhood classes – Introduction to Music Class for 1-5 year olds
Maple Valley Parks and Recreation and Musically Minded are offering a music class designed for children 1-5 year olds and their parents. Songs, stories, instruments and dance from around the world will be featured as children learn about music and the special people who make it. Songs, games, chants and other musical skills will be addressed as children explore music for the first time.
Shuffling students around isn’t the best solution for overcrowded classrooms at Lake Wilderness or Glacier Park elementary schools, but short of building a new school, it’s the best Tahoma School District officials said they can do right now.
King County residents are reminded to avoid feeding wildlife, keep domestic pets away from wild animals and be sure their pets’ vaccinations are current, in response to a suspected outbreak of canine distemper in area raccoons.
Covington and Maple Valley police blotter through April 18
A troop of Girl Scouts needs a caring person to join them and help lead the group for the 2010-11 school year.
The troop meets just twice a month for a total time commitment (planning, meetings) of about eight hours a month. Training and support are provided and the fun is free.
Contact Lori at loriac@girlscoutsww.org or 425-656-9175 for more information.
A man was run over by a front end loader at a gravel mine near Maple Valley Monday morning.
As a retired member of the Armed Forces, I settled down in a part of my home state that I consider being very pleasant and rich in history. I love visiting all the interesting museums here in our local area around Maple Valley and visiting the quaint little communities such as Black Diamond, Ravensdale and even strolling through the grounds of what was once Franklin. Another activity that I occasionally enjoy is going for a leisurely walk through cemeteries in the surrounding areas. It just so happened that a couple of weeks ago I was visiting the final resting place of those before us in Black Diamond when I discovered that several of the tombstones had been desecrated, some completely destroyed beyond irreparable restoration. How could a person or group of people be so demented and bend on cemetery vandalism at all I asked myself.
Maple Valley resident, Paul Bokor, has been a Community Emergency Response Team or CERT Captain for a two years and recently become the city’s very first CERT battalion chief. He was recognized at the commissioners meeting April 1, but this was no April Fools joke.
Bokor exchanged his red helmet for a white along with accepting more duties. Paul has donated hundreds of hours to help the community receive the best training possible.
CHILD BIRTH: S.E. 232 Street near SR 18. Emergency personnel were dispatched to assist a King County Sheriff’s deputy with an imminent child birth. Aid 81 responded to assist the officer with the delivery. The mother and her new born daughter are doing fine and transported to a local hospital by King County paramedics.
The Maple Valley Pony League 11-12-year-old Green Machine baseball team won 12-6 over the Dirtbags Saturday at the Black Diamond Elementary School field.
The 12th Annual Curves March Food Drive exceeded all expectations.
This year Maple Valley Curves had a friendly competition with the Enumclaw Curves. Maple Valley Curves collected 4,914.5 pounds of food while Enumclaw Curves collected 2,732 pounds.
Air Force Airman David Brussel-Smith graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, basic warfare principles and skills.
Covington has set up an informal forum for its residents to offer input on a variety of topics at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 28, in City Council Chambers at Covington City Hall.
The forum is a chance for citizens to talk to city staff and learn about topics that are of concern as the agenda is specifically tailored to current issues in Covington.
Anette Lusher has been an artist since she was a child and now her abstract acrylic on canvas paintings are on display at Covington City Hall.
Lusher, who now lives in Southeast King County, was born and raised in Germany where she earned a bachelor’s degree in art and photography in 1971.
At 11:59 p.m. Thursday, April 15 the Black Diamond Hearing Examiner, Phil Olbrechts, released his decision stating the final environmental impact statement for The Villages and Lawson Hills to be adequate, which allows the master planned developments to move to the next round.
Former tagger turned graffiti artist Tyler Clark used to spray-paint the sides of buildings, fences and walls, or ‘tag’ in Covington, until he got caught.
Now Clark helps to clean up graffiti around town, working part-time for the city’s maintenance department while he goes to college.
When asked about his views on tagging he said he hadn’t realize what pain and trouble his graffiti had caused others.
The contract dispute between Teamsters Local Union 174 and Waste Management continues with no resolution in sight.
The union represents garbage truck drivers working for the Houston, Texas-based Waste Management.
The contract between the union and Waste Management expired March 31, but the drivers have continued to pick up garbage, recycling and yard waste on schedule.
Paying the bills flared into a hot topic Monday at the Maple Valley City Council meeting.
City Councilwoman Linda Johnson walked out of the meeting rather than vote on paying a bill from the Seattle law firm Foster Pepper.
A routine check showed the registered owner of the vehicle was driving with a suspended license. After making contact with the driver, the officer determined the man had no vehicle insurance. Upon placing the driver in custody, a search revealed marijuana in his pocket. The vehicle was impounded and the driver was cited with driving while license suspended, no vehicle insurance and possession of marijuana. The driver was cited and released.
