News

Kent’s Marlatt Funeral Home plans Christmas memorial event, candle-lighting ceremony

Marlatt Funeral Home will have its annual Christmas Memorial and Candle Lighting Ceremony 7 p.m. Dec. 17. The event is held to honor the memory of those who have passed on. Local clergy will address the gathering with stories of inspiration and tips aboput making it through the holidays.

  • Dec 1, 2009
  • BY Wire Service
Gregory Richards

Police officer in Lakewood shooting started his career with Kent Police force

Kent Police considered Lakewood Police officer Gregory Richards "one of our own." Richards, 42, of Graham, was one of four Lakewood officers shot and killed Sunday in a Parkland coffee shop. He started his police career in 2001 in Kent.

Gregory Richards
Jody Metzger

Kent School District protects its valley schools with sandbags, relocation plan

With a shiny new namesake opened around the corner, the old Panther lake Elementary School on 108th Avenue Southeast sits empty these days. But if floodwaters rise this winter, the old school will be pressed back into service to house students from schools in the flood zone.

Jody Metzger
Don Ihry

PASSAGES: Kent’s Don Ihry leaves a legacy of tractors behind him

Don Ihry, known throughout Kent for the decorated antique tractors that lined his property on Benson Avenue, died this past weekend. He was 71.

Don Ihry

UPDATED: Kent firefighters battle two blazes over holiday

The Kent fire department responded to a house fire on Kent-Kangley Road early Friday morning that has displaced one local family. According to Captain Kyle Ohashi of the Kent Fire Department, firefighters received a call for a house fire at approximately 12:20 a.m. Friday and arrived at the 12100 block of Kent-Kangley to find the house in flames.

Writer Storme Webber talks with Park Orchard Elementary sixth grader Jean Marie Oughton Tuesday to help her find inspiration for her poem.  Park Orchard is the first Kent school to have the “Writers in Schools” program.

Writers in Schools program comes to Kent

Devin Stumpf does not look like your stereotypical poet. But when the sixth-grader at Park Orchard reads his writing – reluctantly, at first – his work connects him better to his feelings and a way to express them.

Writer Storme Webber talks with Park Orchard Elementary sixth grader Jean Marie Oughton Tuesday to help her find inspiration for her poem.  Park Orchard is the first Kent school to have the “Writers in Schools” program.

Council to discuss 2010 budget in workshops Dec. 2, 5

The Kent City Council has scheduled two special workshops to discuss the 2010 city budget.

  • Nov 25, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Election results certified: No major changes in Kent races

King County Elections Tuesday morning certified the results of the county’s first all-mail General Election, completely accounting for all ballots received and processed by the… Continue reading

  • Nov 24, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Kent Boeing employee’s death a suicide, medical examiner rules

The death of a 50-year-old Boeing employee Nov. 18 at the Boeing plant in Kent has been ruled a suicide, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. The agency released its findings Nov. 19. Firefighters from Kent and Tukwila responded at about 2 p.m. Wednesday to the plant near the corner of South 212th Street and the West Valley Highway.

  • Nov 24, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Kent’s ShoWare Center could see $340,000 loss

ShoWare Center officials say the new arena in Kent could post a loss of as much as $343,000 this year.

Poet Eric Ode sings and dances Daniel Elementary Principal Janet Muldrow

Kent schools’ Young Authors event: Putting the focus on writing

When she grows up, Andrea Alvarez wants to be a poet. Or an artist. Or an author. “I mostly like to write poetry and stories,” she said, telling a little bit about her most recent story, a tale of a boy waiting in the principal’s office. “I like writing because you can write whatever you want.”

  • Nov 23, 2009
  • BY Wire Service
Poet Eric Ode sings and dances Daniel Elementary Principal Janet Muldrow
Kent firefighters extinguish a residential fire May 15 on 116th S.E. in Kent. The Kent Fire Department may in the future be merged with Fire District 37

Will Kent fire department, fire district merge?

The Kent City Council will vote Dec. 8 whether to ask voters next spring to approve forming a regional fire authority merging the Kent Fire Department and King County Fire District 37.

Kent firefighters extinguish a residential fire May 15 on 116th S.E. in Kent. The Kent Fire Department may in the future be merged with Fire District 37

Kent Sunrise Rotary gets matching grant for homeless aid

The Kent Sunrise Rotary has received notification that it is one of 12 area clubs approved by Rotary District 5030 for matching grants. The club plans to fund a portable shower trailer for local churches collectively running a shelter for 30 homeless men.

  • Nov 23, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Warning from Better Business Bureau: Use caution when choosing contractors, donating to relief agencies

Western Washington residents may be feeling panicked and powerless as storms, high winds and floods destroy homes, buildings and other property. Better Business Bureau cautions homeowners, businesses and charity donors that faux charities solicit donations and fly-by-night repair companies seek to take advantage of those in need during times of natural disaster.

  • Nov 23, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Blotter: Kent Police arrest man after woman is stabbed with fork

Assault A 48-year-old man reportedly stabbed a 41-year-old woman in the hand with a fork during a dispute at about 12:10 p.m. Nov. 16 at a chemical dependency treatment center in the 500 block of Washington Avenue South.

Kent eatery shares holiday spirit with free Thanksgiving meal

While a lot of businesses close their doors for the Thanksgiving holiday, that is not the case at the Golden Steer. Thursday afternoon, while the restaurant may be open, it won’t be for business.

Kent apartment fire displaces three families

A Sunday evening fire at an apartment building on the West Hill has left three Kent families temporarily homeless. The Kent Fire Department, South King Fire and Rescue and Medic One crews were called to the scene of an apartment fire in the 23800 block of 30th Avenue South at approximately 11:30 p.m. Sunday.

  • Nov 23, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Kent man sentenced to 31 years for I-5 stabbing death

A 43-year-old Kent man was sentenced Friday to 31 years in prison for the stabbing death of his Kent girlfriend last year on Interstate 5. Christel David Murphy was sentenced at the King County Courthouse in Seattle by Superior Court Judge Palmer Robinson, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor’s Office.

  • Nov 21, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

State commission says PSE’s proposed rate increases too high

The state Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) has rejected most of a proposed rate increase for Puget Sound Energy electric and natural-gas customers.

  • Nov 20, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Kent City budget: It’s not over yet, and more meetings are scheduled

The Kent City Council continues to grapple with the 2010 city budget after a second public hearing about the budget this past week. The Council will have a budget workshop 5 p.m. Dec. 2 at City Hall, and is scheduled to adopt the budget Dec. 8, although that date could change.