The Highline Schools Foundation is now accepting nominations for this year’s Gold Star Awards, which will honor outstanding teachers, staff, administrators and volunteers in the Highline Public Schools.
All members of the school community are invited to nominate their peers, and the deadline for nominations is April 1st.
Winners will receive a cash award and will be honored at the Foundation’s Gold Star Luncheon on May 21st.
Nomination forms will be available through school administrators and on the Foundation’s website: www.highlineschoolsfoundation.org, or you can download the form directly here.
The Gold Star Teacher of the Year will also be eligible to represent the District in the region’s Teacher of the Year contest.
Here’s more info on the May 21st awards luncheon:
Simply titled “ten”, this year’s luncheon is May 21, 2010 at the Double Tree Guest Suites Hotel and will feature programs of HSFFE over the past ten years and the impact we’ve had on the district. The emcee this year is none other than Highline High Schools famous alumnus Peter Fewing.
Each year, four Gold Star Awards are presented to an outstanding teacher, administrator, classified employee or support staff and volunteer of Highline Public Schools. All members of the district and community are invited to nominate an outstanding individual. Winners receive a cash award and will be honored at the luncheon. The Gold Star Outstanding Teacher will also be eligible to represent the District in the region’s Teacher of the Year contest. The deadline for nominations is April 1, 2010.
The proceeds from this luncheon support one of our major programs, classroom grants, which enrich the education experience for our students. We look forward to partnering with you this year and hope to see you at the 10th Annual Gold Star Luncheon!
Please see the links below for more information on becoming a sponsor at this years Gold Star or to download the Nomination form. For tickets, contact the Foundation Office at (206) 248-5196 or holly@highlineschoolsfoundation.org.
The Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence was established in 1999 with the purpose of providing community resources to help Highline Public Schools succeed. We believe that by helping to enrich the classroom and school experience, we can engage students to reach a higher level of learning, and the entire community will benefit. The Foundation is governed by a dedicated group of volunteer Trustees and is the only 501(c)(3) organization supporting all Highline Public Schools. The Foundation strives to be the single point of contact for community members, local and national business, service organizations and other foundations to connect their philanthropic efforts with a single school or the entire district.
If you’re not familiar with the Highline Schools Foundation, here’s a video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCeUYwozaIM[/youtube]
It was an election that didn’t get much attention, but it happened Tuesday (March 16), and on Wednesday (March 17), the King Conservation District announced results of its public election for board of supervisor position.
From our estimates, only 4,232 registered voters bothered to vote in this election.
Here’s the release from the King Conservation District:
Max Prinsen of Renton has been elected to a three-year term as a member of the King Conservation District (King CD) board of supervisors following a final canvassing of votes cast in the district-wide election held March 16, 2010.
The final vote tallies for elected board position included:
- Prinsen (1,772)
- Mara Heiman of Auburn (1,488)
- Mary Embleton of Seattle (519)
- Kirk Prindle of Seattle (402)
- Teri Herrera of Redmond (51)
The unofficial election results will be certified by the Washington Conservation Commission at its business meeting in May. Prinsen will be sworn in at the June 14th King CD board meeting.
The 2010 vote total of 4,232 marked a major increase over the 2,757 ballots cast in the 2009 election and reflects successively larger turnouts in King CD elections over the past five years, according to Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Knutsen.
“The higher level of activity at the polls this year can be attributed to increased interest in the King CD, including our voluntary conservation and stewardship efforts with private landowners, and enthusiastic campaign efforts by candidates,” said Knutsen.
King CD, working with Bellevue-based election administrator Election Trust, provided seven polling locations across the district (which includes most of King County). The election is held in accordance with Washington Revised Code RCW 89.08.
The all-volunteer, five-member board includes three elected members and two who are appointed by the Washington State Conservation Commission. All supervisors serve three-year terms. As public officials, their responsibility is to ensure that the King CD meets its legal and public trust obligations.
The board of supervisors conducts regular public meetings to oversee the district’s budget and provideguidance and oversight to district staff.
Supervisors are expected to help identify critical resource conservation needs in their district, communicate with the public and seek feedback about conservation programs from district residents.
The King CD provides information and technical assistance programs that are available to all landowners within the district’s boundaries on a voluntary, non-regulatory basis. It is hands-on, site specific, action and results oriented; and it initiates community outreach activities that include workshops, education programs, site visits, farm plans, and consultation on land, water, and wildlife management.
As one of 47 conservation districts in the state, the King CD is a natural resources assistance agency authorized by the State of Washington and guided by the Washington State Conservation Commission.
For more information on the King Conservation District, visit www.kingcd.org.
WLB Advertiser State Farm Insurance’s Vickie Bergquist has offered up some safety tips for traveling with kids in your car – this is worth knowing:
Vehicle safety of our children is of the utmost importance. Below are some guidelines for keeping your young child safe in a vehicle.
Infants up to 20 lbs and at least one year of age: Use rear-facing car seat correctly in a back seat every time your baby rides in a car. Use the vehicle’s safety belt or latch system to lock the car seat into the car – never use both. Use your baby’s car seat rear-facing and reclined no more than 45 degrees. Read the car seat instructions. Keep your baby rear-facing until at least age 1 and 20 pounds.
Children 1-4 years and 20-40 pounds: Use forward-facing car seat correctly in a back seat every time your toddler rides in a car. A child is too big for the seat when the shoulders are above the top slots, the top of the earns are above the back of the seat or the weight limit is exceeded.
Children 40-100 pounds: Use a booster seat correctly in a back seat every time your child rides in a car. Older kids get weighed and measured less often than babies, so check your child’s growth a few times a year. Use a booster seat until your child weighs between 80-100 pounds, is about 4 ft 9 inches tall and can pass the Safety Belt Fit Test. A booster seat uses no harness. It uses the vehicle’s lap and shoulder belts only. Never place the shoulder belt under the child’s arm or behind the child’s back.
Children under 13 years old must ride in the back seat – it’s the law.
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by In the epilogue to a contentious period in Des Moines politics, city council members agreed on March 11 to pay former Councilman Gary Petersen $58,000 to settle his long-standing claim against the city.
The settlement compensates Petersen for legal fees incurred in his successful defense against a conflict-of-interest allegation involving his business – Pete’s Towing, the company’s contract with the city for towing services, and his concurrent position on the council.
After more than years of litigation, the Washington Supreme Court held in 2006 that Petersen had no conflict of interest in owning Pete’s Towing while serving on the city council.
“I am glad the courts have finally vindicated me,” he told me following the Supreme Court decision. This “completely [discredits] the attacks on my honor and integrity.”
But his legal expenses from that case remained an unresolved issue until last week, when six council members voted to approve the settlement. Councilman Dave Kaplan, who was defeated by Petersen in the 2001 city election, voted “no.”
Shortly before Petersen’s first council meeting in 2002, then-City Manager Bob Olander and then-City Attorney Gary McLean told him that, as a councilman, he would have a conflict of interest as owner of Pete’s Towing.
Pete’s Towing provides towing and impound services for the Des Moines Police Department and other city agencies, which it has done for almost 50 years.
Then, not long after Petersen took office, a group of local citizens publicly demanded that he relinquish the Pete’s Towing contract with the city, or divest himself of any interest in the company, or that he resign from the council.
When Petersen declined to do any of these things, the citizens’ group filed a lawsuit seeking his removal from the city council.
At trial, King County Superior Court Judge Laura Gene Middaugh ruled against Petersen, finding him in violation of state conflict-of-interest laws governing local officials.
But instead of taking any action against him, Middaugh declared that both state law and case law were vague as they related to Petersen’s case. She encouraged him to appeal her decision.
Earlier in 2006, the Court of Appeals unanimously reversed Middaugh’s ruling and dismissed the case against Petersen.
The Supreme Court subsequently issued a mandate stating that it agreed with the findings of the appellate court.
“Gary’s willingness to persevere on behalf of himself and other business owners throughout Washington has resulted in significant and important new case law,” Scott Missall, Petersen’s attorney, said in a statement to me after the Supreme Court action.
“The court’s decision upholds the intent of [state law] to encourage business owners to run for elected office. It’s been a hard-fought battle, but worth it because justice prevailed in this case.”
A "Class C" Pete's Towing truck.
Commenting on the unanimous ruling, Petersen said at the time, “The court has once again recognized how hard I have worked to conduct myself honestly in everything that I have done for this city.
“The will of the voters who elected me has again been upheld. This decision underscores the fact that this lawsuit was nothing more than a political attempt to discredit my honor and integrity.”
| Mar |
| 17 |
| 5:00 pm |
The Clarion Hotel in SeaTac will be holding a special St. Patrick’s Day Spaghetti Feed & Auction fundraiser for the Des Moines Area Food Bank next Wednesday, March 17th from 5pm – 8pm at their location at 3000 South 176th Street in SeaTac.
Cost is $10 in advance for adults ($13 at door); Students & Seniors $7; or $25 for a Family Pack.
All proceeds go to the Des Moines Area Food Bank, so come on down, have some good spaghetti and help your hungry neighbors.
Here are the details:
WHAT: St. Patrick’s Day Spaghetti Feed and Auction fundraiser for the Des Moines Area Food Bank.
WHEN: Wednesday, March 17th, 5:00PM-8:00PM.
WHERE: Clarion Hotel, located at 3000 S. 176th St. in SeaTac.
COST: Adults $10 in advance, $13 at door; Students & Seniors $7; Family pack $25.
INFO: Proceeds go to the Des Moines Area Food Bank.
RSVP: Please call 206-676-3742 to RSVP, or click here for more information.
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