News

Kent Police offer block watch class

The Kent Police Community Education Unit will offer a Block Watch 101 class from 6:30-8 p.m. Jan. 19 at the Kent City Hall Council Chambers, 220 Fourth Ave. S.

  • Jan 4, 2011
  • BY Wire Service

Kent travel advisory: Neighborhood streets reopened after icy morning

City of Kent road advisory as of 10:47 a.m. Jan. 3: Due to icy conditions on these steep neigborhood streets, 42nd Avenue South is closed to general traffic from S 262nd Street to Hampton Way and 46th Avenue South is closed from South 262nd Street to Carnaby Way. They will be re-opened as soon as they can be cleared for safe travel.

  • Jan 3, 2011
  • BY Wire Service
Sisters Ashley and Allysa Swanson went home with their new cat

First pet of new year adopted at Kent animal shelter

At 4:30 p.m. Jan. 2, sisters Ashley and Allysa Swanson went home with their new cat, named Patty. Patty was the first adopted pet of the New Year from the Kent animal shelter, according to a Regional Animal Services of King County media release.

  • Jan 3, 2011
  • BY Wire Service
Sisters Ashley and Allysa Swanson went home with their new cat

Car chase goes from White Center to Kent; shots fired, suspect eludes deputies

A driver of a 1997 Acura Integra fired several shots at a red sports utility vehicle during a chase that started Jan. 2 in White Center and ended along southbound Interstate 5 near the Kent-Des Moines Road when King County Sheriff's Office deputies lost sight of the Acura.

  • Jan 3, 2011
  • BY Wire Service

Make plans to recycle Christmas trees in Kent

Boy Scout troops will collect and recycle Christmas trees 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 8 in Kent neighborhoods for a $5 donation.

  • Jan 3, 2011
  • BY Wire Service

New Year’s Eve fire displaces Kent family

A Kent Fire investigator is looking into the cause of a house fire which took place at 1:12 p.m. Dec. 31, in the 23000 block of 112th Place Southeast on Kent’s East Hill. Kent firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the flames in the attached garage of the two-story, single-family residence.

  • Jan 1, 2011
  • BY Wire Service
Christian Alberto Rangel

Lakewood Police still looking for three missing men last seen in Kent

Lakewood Police are still trying to find the three Pierce County men who disappeared after they were last seen Dec. 12 at a Kent apartment complex.

  • Dec 30, 2010
  • BY Wire Service
Christian Alberto Rangel

State Patrol trooper injured in Highway 167 accident in Kent

A Washington State Patrol trooper sustained minor injuries after his car collided with another vehicle at about 10 p.m. Dec. 29 along Highway 167 near the Central Avenue exit in Kent.

  • Dec 30, 2010
  • BY Wire Service

Kent to open severe weather shelter

The city of Kent is opening its severe weather shelter for the homeless the nights of Dec. 30 through Jan. 2 at Kent Lutheran Church due to predicted dangerously low temperatures.

  • Dec 30, 2010
  • BY Wire Service

Kent plans new sidewalks along West James Street

Pedestrians will have improved access along West James Street after the Kent City Council approved a $196,000 contract to Road Construction Northwest, Inc., to construct new sidewalks and pedestrian signals.

  • Dec 30, 2010
  • BY Wire Service
Crews from CDK Construction Services of Duvall work Dec. 23 to re-roof an apartment at the Cascade Apartments in the Panther Lake area of Kent as part of a $3.5 million King County Public Housing Authority project.

Kent public housing project to get $3.5 million renovation

Work has started on $3.5 million in improvements to the apartments and community center at Cascade Homes, a 108-unit public housing complex with 327 residents in the Panther Lake area on Kent's East Hill.

  • Dec 29, 2010
  • BY Wire Service
Crews from CDK Construction Services of Duvall work Dec. 23 to re-roof an apartment at the Cascade Apartments in the Panther Lake area of Kent as part of a $3.5 million King County Public Housing Authority project.

Burmese New Year event planned Jan. 1

The community is invited to attend a Burmese New Year celebration Jan. 1 at Kent Covenant Church, 12010 S.E. 240th St., Kent.

  • Dec 29, 2010
  • BY Wire Service
Auctioneer Thomas Hayward

Thrill of the hunt draws crowd to Kent auction

The excitement at Kent's Door-to-Door Storage on Dec. 16 was palpable. The weather was cold and damp, and topping it off, there was a cutting wind. But that didn't deter the crowd of about 60 who showed up, hot for a treasure.

Auctioneer Thomas Hayward

Men escape serious injury in Kent after car flies 40 feet and strikes tree

Three men escaped serious injury after their car left a Kent street, flew 40 feet through the air and struck a tree 9 feet above the ground. Seat belts and airbags saved the lives of the driver and two passengers in the after 3 a.m. Dec. 24 crash in the 26600 block of Woodland Way South on the East Hill, according to a Kent Police media release.

  • Dec 29, 2010
  • BY Wire Service
Angus Wilson

Willow’s Place: Serving help and hope to the homeless of Kent

Angus Wilson had worked his way up in the trucking world. He drove for 20 years, and was pulling in $80,000 a year as a driver trainer. But the wheels, quite literally, came off for Wilson, due to a lapse in judgement. He was arrested for drunken driving. “One night turned my life upside down,” Wilson said. He lost his job. Eventually, he lost nearly every material possession he had. Already going through a divorce at the time of his DUI, he lost his wife and two children, too. One Thursday in December, a now-homeless Wilson was queuing up for dinner and a respite from the winter cold. Along with his friend Joey Smith, also homeless, Wilson was getting a hot meal from a group of kindly volunteers in the basement of Kent Unity Church.

Angus Wilson

Where to help with meals for the homeless in Kent

In Kent, there are meals served every day of the week for the homeless and the struggling. Here is a running list of who is serving and where, along with phone numbers if you wish to help

  • Dec 28, 2010
  • BY Wire Service
Michael Tuckman

Sale of Kent Predators indoor football team falls apart; new coach resigns

The Kent Predators of the professional Indoor Football League are looking for a new owner after a deal to sell the team to the Michael Tuckman-led West Coast Sports collapsed just two months before the start of the 2011 season. The Predators also need a new coach. Heron O'Neal has resigned as coach just a month after a Nov. 18 press conference at the ShoWare Center that announced him as the new coach and Tuckman as team president.

Michael Tuckman

Suspect in Frankel murder continues to fight extradition; governors must sign paperwork

It will take at least another four to six weeks before the Portland man arrested Dec. 10 in connection with the killing of a Kent city employee is brought to Washington to face a murder charge.

Allied Waste Services puts out its ‘Naughty and Nice’ holiday recycling list

Allied Waste recently published a list of “Naughty and Nice” recycling tips to help its customers through some complex recycling choices. The company says that, even for diligent and dedicated recyclers, “holiday decorations and gift wrap may present a challenge.” So, just what is acceptable for the recycle bin?

  • Dec 27, 2010
  • BY Wire Service
Devin Topps

Prosecutors file firearm charge against man suspected in Kent’s Devin Topps killing

A 20-year-old man, who Kent Police are investigating in connection with the shooting death of former Kentridge High school standout Devin Topps, was charged Dec. 23 by King County prosecutors with first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Jorge Luis Lizarraga, who had been living in a Des Moines motel over the last few weeks, remained Dec. 27 in the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center jail in lieu of $750,000 bail.

Devin Topps