Amber Morse may have a form of Muscular Dystrophy, but she’s not letting it run her life.
Proof that attitude is everything, the 27-year-old Kent woman has ice-skated, gone on airplanes, taken a trip to Hawaii and ridden a train. All the while operating from a wheelchair.
It was a science-lover’s dream come true Feb. 26 at the Kent-Meridian High School cafeteria.
A total of 115 students vied for top honors at the district’s middle-school science fair. Judging their projects were 27 scientists and engineers from Boeing, Puget Sound Energy, Green River College and Kent Community Foundation.
The high-tech event featured all kinds of science know-how from the district’s sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.
For many youngsters in Kent, Earthworks Park Feb. 24 was the place to be. It was the day of the big snow, and the park’s hilly topography was perfect for high-speed runs, with a nice big pool of mud at the bottom.
Charlie Edgmon, 7, was one of those kids feeling the need for speed. The only difference being that he was maybe even more excited than the rest of them.
It was his first time ever riding a sled.
Kent business leaders came away pleased Tuesday with changes the Kent City Council unanimously adopted to its transportation-impact fees - especially a controversial part of the previous ordinance that would have automatically bumped the fees up every year for the next six years. As a result of the change, Council members now will evaluate whether to increase those fees each year, as opposed to the previous automatic increase.
King County Executive Dow Constantine says reforms to make government more efficient and improved infrastructure will put the county in position to rebound as the economy recovers.
Constantine unfurled his plan Monday during his State of the County address at a special Committee of the Whole meeting of the Metropolitan King County Council on the third-floor rotunda at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
Kent's Stefano Langone will appear Tuesday night on "American Idol" as one of the top 12 male contestants.
Viewers will determine which men move on. Viewers will be able to vote by phone, text or online through Facebook.
The family of Kent Police officer Rob McCuistion has invited the public to attend a memorial celebration of his life on Saturday.
The service will start at 11 a.m. at the First Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 19800 108th Ave. S.E., in Kent.
King County prosecutors charged a city of Kent corrections officer Tuesday with nine counts of third-degree theft for allegedly stealing money from property boxes used for storing cash and personal belongings of inmates.
Sen. Joe Fain along with Reps. Pat Sullivan and Mark Hargrove will host two in-person town hall meetings on Saturday, March 12. District residents are encouraged to attend and bring their questions and concerns. The morning meeting will be a roundtable discussion of any and all issues before the Legislature. The afternoon discussion will focus solely on education.
The times and locations of the meetings as follows on Saturday, March 12:
• Cutter’s Point Coffee
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
16739 S.E. 272 (next to Fred Meyer)
Covington, WA
• Auburn School District Board Room
2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
915 Fourth Street N.E.
Auburn, WA
A 23-year-old Fife woman was struck and killed by a vehicle while walking along Interstate 5 in Kent.
The incident occurred at about 1:30 a.m. Feb. 26 near South 248th Street.
The Kent Police Department has terminated a 42-year-old Kent corrections officer after allegations of employee misconduct were sustained. Corrections Officer Michael Pickens, who worked for the past 3 1/2 years at the Kent City Jail, was fired after an extensive investigation.
The Kent City Council is expected to vote on several changes to its new Transportation Impact Fee ordinance at its 7 p.m. regular meeting March 1 at City Hall.
Beatrice Wambui may be young, but she’s got big plans.
At just 16, the Kentlake High School student already has a national leadership law forum under her belt, and she’s continuing her studies in earnest, in hopes of pursuing a law degree.
“I’m dedicated to want to be a lawyer,” said Wambui, a Kenyan-born teenager who is now a U.S. citizen and who speaks English along with Swahili and Kikuyu, the last two the languages of her former homeland.
She wants to practice family-court law.
“I’ve always wanted to look out for children,” the Covington teenager said.
Thanks to a pilot program between the University of Washington and Kent School District, Wambui may be getting a heightened chance of attaining her dream.
In coming years, she could be starting at the UW with her freshman year already behind her.
Called the UW Accelerated Learning Program, the new alliance between Kent and the Huskies operates similar to Running Start. But instead of earning an Associate’s Degree at a community or technical college as a graduating high-school senior, students who pass their coursework in the UW Accelerated Learning Program can start their university career as sophomores. Due to an agreement between the UW and the Kent School District, they could be learning their way through their freshman year in college, while still in high school.
Communities in Schools of Kent, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping youngsters stay in school, is having its biggest fundraiser of the year and you’re invited.
The CISK Annual Fundraising Breakfast runs 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. March 16 at the Kent Senior Activity Center.
Kent Elementary and Kent Mountain View Academy, both of the Kent School District, are recipients of the 2010 Washington Achievement Award. The two schools joined 184 other Washington State schools receiving the award based on three years of data from the Washington Achievement Index. The state index has several functions including providing feedback to schools and districts and identifying exemplary student and school performance. The Washington State Board of Education and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction sponsor the award.
King County Executive Dow Constantine will deliver his 2011 State of the County address at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 28 on the third-floor rotunda at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
A 13-year veteran of the Kent Police Department has been fatally injured in a local traffic accident. Officer Robin McCuistion, 53, was driving home early Thursday morning when his car left the roadway on Kersey Way Southeast in Auburn. The car traveled down a steep embankment and struck a tree. Officer McCuistion died of his injuries at the scene.
