Saturday, April 30   9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Cedar River Park, 1717 Maple Valley Hwy.
 
Clean up, spruce up, plant trees, spread mulch, etc. Free lunch and a T-shirt to celebrate your hard work!  To register, call 425-430-6700 or go to www.rentonwa.gov/cybersignup  and enter course 56419 in the box.

• ​July & August, 2016 – No Book Club meeting
• Sept. 10, 2016
  “The Great Bridge” by David McCullough 

The KNA Book Club welcomes all who are interested in participating.

​If you are not already on the Club’s email list, please contact Chairperson Sharon Weibler at sweibler@hotmail.com or 425-226-9299 for more information, meeting times and locations, etc.

​This is a partial re-print of an article that appeared in the Kennydale News in April, 2015.  Sadly, we are still seeing property crimes occur here in Kennydale, so now is the time to implement whichever of the following precautions that you don’t already have in place:
 

1. Install lights by all exterior doors, and the motion detecting type at front and garage doors (or install LED lamps on a timer and run them all night).
2. Trim shrubs back from doors and windows
3. Don’t leave exterior lights on during the daytime; that suggests that you are away from home
4. Always close your garage door, and cover “view” windows so that no one can see inside
5. Always lock your doors and windows, even when you’re at home
6. Do not hide keys outside; leave them with a trusted neighbor
7. Add drop bars, wooden dowels, or pinning devices to windows and sliding glass doors
8. Keep valuables in a safe deposit box
9. Take outgoing mail directly to the post office or a blue Postal pick-up box
10.  Never let strangers into your home.  If someone knocks, answer them through a closed, locked door and keep it locked until you verify that they have legitimate business with you.
11.  Consider installing a residential alarm system
12.  Consider installing a good quality video surveillance system
13.  Leave nothing in your car; lock; park in garage if possible 

While on vacation:
14)  Place a radio and interior lights on timers
15)  Put mail and newspapers on hold
16)  Ask your trusted neighbor to pick up any packages or fliers from your driveway or porch, and to “keep an eye on things”
17) Sign up with the Renton P.D.’s Vacation House Check Program (425-430-7571 or www.rentonwa.gov .

As Officer Cyndie Parks notes, “It falls upon those who live in a neighborhood to be vigilant and to remember: utilizing 911 as a resource tool as opposed to an emergency-only number is incredibly important.  Reporting suspicious activity can make a very big difference when it comes to deterring criminal activity – please be a heavy handed 911 caller”.  After you call 911, get on social media, if you are so inclined.  Finally, if you have never set up a Block Watch on your street, or if yours has become inactive, please call Officer Parks at 425-430-7521 to get one established or reinvigorated! 

​ 
Planning is well underway for the ERC Trail, and there has been a significant outreach effort by the project team to keep the public informed about these plans.  If you have not taken time to learn about the project, here is some information, gathered from the ERC Trail Draft Master Plan and from public meetings to date.
 
The southern end of the ERC Trail will start in Kennydale at the north end of Gene Coulon Park, and proceed northward in Kirkland, for a total distance of 16.7 miles.  The trail will utilize the former Burlington Northern Railroad right-of-way for its entire length.  The goal of this project is to connect the Eastside’s communities by linking to: existing and planned regional and local trails; transit centers, park & rides and the East Link light rail stations (in Bellevue); and residential, commercial and business centers.  Throughout its length, the ERC Trail will provide non-motorized active transportation options (bicycling, for example) and expanded recreational opportunities (walking, running, etc.).
 
The project planning process is complex, and includes all sorts of considerations, including: parking and access points for the public, safety (particularly in places where roads cross the trail), drinking water, bathrooms, attractive landscaping, and overall ambiance.  Although it is expected that the trail will be located on the same path as the existing railbed, the planning process does include off-railbed placement in some areas where it makes better sense to do so.  In general, the plan envisions 12-14 feet of pavement with a 6 foot wide gravel shoulder on one side and a 2 foot gravel shoulder on the other.
 
Outreach by the Project leadership to the public has been good.  Their website, www.kingcounty.gov/erc provides you with access to the complete Draft Master Plan and EIS; copies are also available for viewing at local libraries, public open houses have been held at public locations (ours was at Kennydale Elementary on 3/22), and recently, meetings were held in private homes along the length of the corridor.  Out of all of this transparency and willingness to hear the public’s input, there is a general acceptance by people (especially those who live directly next to the corridor) that if the trail is designed and built as a “world class” trail, it will be an asset to residents and visitors alike.

Tuesday, April 26th,  6:45 pm*
At Kennydale Elementary School, 1700 NE 28th Street
 
Special Presentation by:
Erica Jacobs, Project Manager, Eastside Rail Corridor Regional Trail
 
Ms. Jacobs will provide an overview of the ERC Trail project and provide details on Kennydale-specific considerations; also she will provide information on how residents can stay informed and involved, and what lies ahead as far as project milestones
 
Special Presentation by:
Karen Bergsvik, City of Renton Human Services Manager
Commander Jon Schuldt, Renton Police Dept.
 
Ms. Bergsvik will be sharing information on the homeless population in Renton, the local and South King County efforts to work with these populations, and the local resources that are available to them.
 
Commander Schuldt, who oversees the patrol division who interacts with the homeless, will share his experiences and insights with you.
 
Ample time will be provided at the end of each presentation for your questions and comments.
 
All Kennydale Residents are invited to attend this quarterly meeting
 
* Check in at 6:45 pm, grab some refreshments and socialize with your neighbors; m

Editor’s Note:  The following is the fifth in a series of articles that have been written for the Kennydale News by long-time resident, Pauline Kirkman

When my grandson, for a college class, asked me to be interviewed on the subjects of the Great Depression and World War II, my response was "yes" on the time of poverty and "very little" on the war. I still do not want to remember one thing about it. In fact, my response to him was in the event of war, lives are simply put on hold until it ends. However, I can make some attempt. It is probably obvious that I more than share my expertise on everything, but this may be short.
 
When I was a senior in Renton High, on Sunday December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed. Unbelievable! So we declared war on Japan, their ally Germany declared war on us, and we found ourselves with two major conflicts. Some boys in our class did not even graduate with us. I went on to the "U" that Fall, having a half-time job to pay my tuition and expenses, but living at home. Why send girls to college? They'll just get married and never work again. Hah! That history has also changed. When it was announced that the salary of working wives would be included in making buyers eligible for home loans, my husband's response was "Now women will always have to work."
 
We were reminded we were at war by gas rationing and food stamps. Here on the West Coast we even had a few blackouts by not allowing any light to show in darkness. In my scrapbook is a U.S. Treasury check for $.20 in payment for something to do with tire retreads—they glued some more rubber on tires for longer use. That scrapbook also has programs for many events, indicating we were not entirely in pain except our young men were gone or going. My brother was allowed to finish his engineering degree at the University of Washington, and he even pitched on the Husky baseball team several seasons. First he was on a mine-sweeper in the South Pacific and spent 4 hours in the water when they hit a mine. Then he was around Hawaii and Alaska before landing in Seattle for repairs. On their way out they ran into the locks, requiring more repairs on the boat AND the locks. Their full speed astern had been mistakenly full speed ahead. All war-time work was apparently not perfect, but we learned quickly. Instead of cars, Ford made planes. Instead of railroad cars and logging equipment, Renton's Pacific Car & Foundry made army tanks. Boeing of course continued with airplanes, and the Brits say our B-17's won the war, probably by bombing the daylights out of Germany.
 
My brother's last arrival here was after peace had been declared, when he sailed his mine-sweeper into Lake Washington to be decommissioned. Where else?---- at a dock in Kennydale. Those relatively small boats (not ships) were popular purchases, John Wayne being one buyer.
 
Meanwhile, having fulfilled his duty to raise his children, in 1943 my Dad parted company with Bethlehem Steel in Seattle, where he was locked into a mediocre position, to make his 'fortune' in places like Portland, Vancouver BC. California, and Edmonton, Alberta. We visited them everywhere. Some special education and his experience gave him the ability not only to operate steel rolling mills but to design them also. Young mechanical engineers subsequently spent time with him, as that was a special field not included in their training. The whole process is mechanically handled today.
 
With the war winding down, I decided my upcoming marriage could use more financing, and was hired at Renton's Pacific Car & Foundry in the Terminations Department, where they were closing out government wartime contracts. When finished, all were terminated except me, the reason being my two years of college and secretarial training they had not enjoyed previously. During the war, employers took what they could get and made do. I was also trained there to operate the switchboard, a big wall of holes that accept phone plugs. I am sure they do not exist any longer either.
 
Becoming the Chief Engineer's secretary, I learned a lot of the engineers' wartime experience. They actually spent a great deal of time with the shop mechanics putting tanks together. I'll never forget they had to cross Sunset to get to a proving ground somewhere near the Greenwood Cemetery, and they didn't have to pay any attention to cars using the street. We became adept at avoiding them, or I wouldn't be here.
 
One answer to our ultimate victory must have been we could out-produce the world and the war did end. Although many men sadly did not, many came home. My high-school best friend and I were married on June 29, 1946, and enjoyed over 50 years together. The first little house he built, learning as he went along, with a lot of help from See's Lumber Market and McLendon Hardware, is still there on 35th Street, in Kennydale, MY HOMETOWN.
-Pauline Kirkman

The Seahawks will be hosting a 12K run for the 7th year in a row which will go throughout lower Kennydale on Lake Washington Blvd. Click here for more information and registration details