The week of New Year’s Day is the time The Reporter editorial staff looks back at the stories that define the past 12 months. The stories of 2015 were a mix of joy and sadness, election battles won and lost, graduations and a state championship. Here are the top 10 for 2015, and a few more.
No. 1 Teen drowns in Lake Wilderness
The top story of 2015 is also the saddest. A 14-year-old Tahoma Junior High student drowned in Lake Wilderness June 23. The boy was with a group of friends swimming near a private beach on the east side of the lake when he went under the water.
An off-duty Kent police officer, who was nearby with his family, called 911 and then jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue the teen.
Dive teams from the Renton Police Department and King County Sheriff’s Office arrived and pulled the teen out of the water, approximately 40 minutes after he had gone under the surface of the water.
Once he was out of the water, paramedics were able to get a heartbeat after CPR was performed.
The teen was then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center where he later died due to anoxic encephalopathy, or lack of oxygen to the brain.
No. 2 Russell Ridge closes
In March a letter was sent to parents announcing Russell Ridge, an alternative learning experience program in the Tahoma School District, was being closed. For several months it was a controversial subject in the Letters to the Editor and at the school board meetings.
After considerable discussion and consideration, the board members unanimously voted to close Russell Ridge.
“Rather than focusing on a program that was already in place, we want to start from scratch and design an AL program that meets needs of students here and is in line with state AL standards,” Kevin Patterson said, spokesperson for the district.
No. 3 Cmdr. Greg Goral dies
Black Diamond police Cmdr. Greg Goral died Aug. 16 after a three year battle with appendiceal cancer, or a cancer of the appendix, an extremely rare cancer that accounts for less than 1 percent of all cancer cases.
The Black Diamond and Enumclaw communities gathered to support Goral at the annual Boots and Badges basketball game on April 12, but they weren’t the only ones – Goral’s story resounded all around the state as donations came in from as far as Ocean Shores and Yakima to support his fight.
No. 4 Black Diamond incumbents lose elections
After a fiery campaign season, incumbents in the Black Diamond City Council lost their re-election bids in November.
In Black Diamond, challenger Brian Weber took Council Position 4 from Craig Goodwin with 68 percent of the vote, and challenger Pat Pepper unseated Ron Taylor with similar numbers.
In Maple Valley incumbent council members Noel Gerken, Position 5, and Layne Barnes, Position 3, chose not to seek re-election. Les Burberry , Position 3, and Megan Sheridan, Position 5, will join the council in January.
No. 5 Covington mayor retires gavel
Mayor Margaret Harto presided over her final Covington City Council meeting Dec. 8 when she announced she would not be serving another term as mayor. Harto served 10 years as mayor. She was appointed to the council in 2002 and was first elected in 2003.
At the meeting announcing her retirement Harto said, “It certainly has been my privilege and honor these last 10 year to serve and be the leader of this council, but it is time for a change. Each one of you, and all I have served with, have left a very significant footprint on my heart. Tonight I am telling you it is time for this mayor to retire…. The guy you call the mayor’s chauffeur, we’ve been together 54 years; I have decided he is the most important person in my life.”
No. 6. Washington’s smoke signals
Citizens of the state voted to legalize marijuana in 2012 and 2015 was the year retail shops opened in or around many communities. The Reporter published a in a four part series analyzing the history and politics marijuana.
The series won first place in the “Comprehensive Coverage of a Single Issue or Series” category of the annual Washington Newspaper Publisher’s Better Newspapers Contest.
Reporter Rebecca Gourley wrote on the continuing evolution of politics surrounding marijuana, focusing specially on the reconsideration of drug convictions, and the history of hemp in the United States.
Reporter Ray Still focused on the science behind cannabis and how it affects the body, and examined some myths and misconceptions about marijuana.
No. 7 Bears win state crown
May 31 the Tahoma Bears fastpitch team lifted high the state 4A fastpitch trophy at Merkel Sports Complex in Spokane after going on a four-game winning tear through the tournament.
After winning three and losing one during districts, the Bears entered the state tourney as the No. 3 seed.
Once at state, the Bears found the championship formula and went on 4-0 run for the crown.
No. 8 Covington ends school impact fees agreement
A legal battle between the city of Covington and the Kent School District triggered the nuclear option Oct. 27 when the Covington City Council unanimously approved an ordinance terminating the collection of school impact fees.
The dispute began more than a year ago and culminated in the ordinance that severed the interlocal agreement between the district and the city for the collection of impact fees that dates back to 1997.
The dispute began around May 2014 when Inland group requested a partial exemption from the school impact fees of $700,000 for a Town Center development for low-income families.
The city staff determined an 80 percent exemption was necessary for the development to be built. The city’s point was a developer cannot pass the cost of the impact fees onto a buyer because the price of low-income housing is determined by state law.
In October of 2014 the city officially granted the developer an 80 percent exemption.
The district filed a request for a declaratory judgment with the King County Superior Court on June 5. The city filed a motion to dismiss the district’s request.
According to the city documents the action to repeal the school impact fee ordinance and end the interlocal agreement was to stop the litigation, make the request for a declaratory judgment “moot” and halt the spending of public money.
No. 9 New chief of police in Covington
Andrew McCurdy took over as Covington chief of Police July 1 after former chief Kevin Klason retired June 30.
McCurdy is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area but has been living in the Puget Sound area since 1996.
McCurdy still works for the King County Sheriff’s Office but has been assigned as the chief of Covington under a contract between the sheriff’s office and the city, McCurdy wrote in an email.
McCurdy is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area but has been living in the Puget Sound area since 1996.
He comes from a family of police.
McCurdy said both his father and mother were police officers in California and his brother is a sergeant with the King County Sheriff’s Office.
His career in law enforcement started in 1991 where he was a community service officer in San Francisco.
Five years later, in 1996, McCurdy was hired as a police officer in Washington.
No. 10 New city manager in Covington
Regan Bolli began a trifecta of leadership change in Covington when he took over the city manager position Jan 12. He replaced Derek Matheson who took the chief administrative officer in Kent.
The 36-year-old Bolli came from Ephraim, Utah. Bolli earned his bachelor’s degree from BYU in American studies and a law degree from the University of Denver. He and his wife, Erin, have six children, whose ages range from 12 to less than a month.
Honorable mention
Black Diamond cops do good deed
Sergeants Brian Martinez and Brian Lynch of the Black Diamond Police Department went above and beyond the call of duty when they responded to a domestic violence call in late September.
The victim, a woman from outside of town, did not have any of her belongings or any money, and all of the nearby shelters were full for the night.
So the officers called the Enumclaw Cedar Inn and booked her a room for the night, with the Inn kicking in half the cost.
The story was sent to the Courier-Herald through Facebook by a reader.
“I can tell you that as the chief this is the stuff that makes you most proud,” Black Diamond Police Chief Jamey Kiblinger said. “It’s what our officers do when nobody is looking that you can see their character and selflessness.”
Roads and sidewalks proposition fails
For the second time in less than two years Covington voters voted down a transportation benefit district proposition or street and sidewalk maintenance and improvements.
The city proposition would authorize a 10 year 0.002 sales tax increase or 20 cents for every $100.
