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The past year’s history of temperature extremes, floods, and hurricanes in other states serves to heighten one’s awareness that we are fortunate by comparison, but we still need to prepare for emergencies or disasters in our local neighborhood. Kennydale and the rest of Renton, like all communities in the Puget Sound area, is susceptible to any number of man-made disasters, including the probability of earthquakes, damage from wind storms, and the possibility of fires if we were to experience the critical combination of high winds and hot, dry weather. So, our reality here is: in a widespread disaster, communications will be disrupted, roads and bridges may be rendered impassible, and there simply will not be enough Emergency Services personnel to provide a timely response to every citizen in need. In other words, for the first few days, we will likely be on our own; everyday activities such as getting gasoline or food, or finding a working ATM may become impossible. And if your residence is made uninhabitable or inaccessible, even basic clothing and shelter could become a challenge (remember that family, friends and neighbors will have their own problems to deal with)!.
The good news is: the City of Renton’s Emergency Management Dept. has done an excellent job of preparing for emergency and disaster-related events, and also in providing increased awareness by its citizens that they too need to take responsibility for being prepared. A good way for residents to get on board is to visit the City’s website at: http://rentonwa.gov/government/default.aspx?id=2024 . There you will find a full slate of useful information such as how to:
Perhaps the best first step is to download the “Disaster Supply Kit, buy a couple of 40 gallon garbage cans, and look around your garage and closets for clothing, cooking supplies, extra food, basic camping gear and other items that appear on the Kit list.. You may need to buy some items, or perhaps do some trading with friends/neighbors so that you all are basically prepared (check out the Kennydale Neighborhood garage sale on June 23rd, too). Then find a secure storage area to put your containers where they will be accessible after an earthquake. Keep an inventory list, update it as needed, and keep an eye on the expiration dates for the food.
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As 2017 drew to a close, the KNA Board bid a fond farewell to three valued members who have retired from our board:
Keith Altenhof, who joined the board in 2016. Keith shared his experience as a teacher at Newport Senior High School to create for KNA a process for identifying high school students as potential candidates for the position of Student Board Member. Mary Erikson, who also joined the board in 2016. Mary became the administrator of our website and Facebook pages in August, 2016; her timely and well organized posts have really helped KNA to have a strong footprint in social media. Mac Jahnke, a long-time KNA member who joined the board in 2012 and also served as our Secretary during the period 2013 through 2016. KNA is pleased to announce the addition of three new board members, who were elected at the KNA neighborhood meeting on October 24, 2017. In addition to their other roles on the board, they will chair the following positions: Karen Edwards will be the Administrator of KNA’s Facebook and website (www.kennydale.org) pages. Marcie Palmer will continue to be Chairperson for the Fall Food Drive. Derrick Reese will be the KNA Liaison to Hazen High and Kennydale Youth. For the second year in a row, a Kennydale Elementary School Kindergarten class has won the Annual Kennydale Food Drive contest,…..but this year, it was Ms. Diane Mitchell's kindergarten students who won, by collecting 389 food items. Overall, the school’s students brought in 2321 food items, plus 70 pairs of brand new socks that were contributed by Ms. Emily Wong’s First Graders. As in previous years, the winning class will be treated to a pizza party, to be held in their classroom on January 19th. And again, Papa John’s Pizza at 4710 NE 4th Street has graciously offered to donate 5 large pizzas for this event.
As we have done in past years, all the donated items were transported to the REACH Center of Hope at City Hall. Volunteers who assisted in this daily effort include the Food drive chairperson, Marcie Palmer, and her son Michael, plus Kennydale residents Angela Troy, CarolAnn Witschi, Pam & Paul Miller, Kelsy Coha, Lew & Sally Jones, Leah Battin and her son Jack, Lynne Milnor, Marlene Winter, and Darius & Vicki Richards. And of course special thanks to all the students’ parents who supported their kids in this effort, and to other folks from the Kennydale community who brought items to the school. Construction work on the Eastside Rail Corridor regional trail through Kennydale is proceeding very well, and in fact all of the trail is walkable (except when a portion is closed due to nearby construction activity). The southernmost part of the trail starts at the northern boundary of Gene Coulon Beach Park. As you walk northward from that point, you will be on a smooth, graded surface consisting of gravel that is covered with well compacted and rolled fine gravel (almost like sand). This surface continues to the Ripley Lane N. trestle (north of the Seahawk,s training facility), where it transitions to a slightly less-finished surface, but still very walkable. The local road crossings at Mountain View Ave. N, N. 37th, 41st and 43rd Streets and the 2 driveway crossings at the Seahawk’s facility have all been converted to smooth asphalt pavement. The portion of the trail that parallel Ripley Lane N. up to the Renton City line is also very walkable. We did not review any of the trail building north of the Renton city limits. In all portions of the trail, walkers should use caution whenever they encounter an occasional uneven surface due to ongoing construction. Currently on selected portions of the trail, a timber border, anchored with steel posts, is being installed on the west edge of the trail. This is apparently intended to stabilize the gravel bed from migrating down the adjacent steep slope.
It is very encouraging to see the heavy use of the trail by walkers and joggers, and one can easily see that most of them now choose to use the trail rather than the pedestrian lanes on Lake Washington Blvd. North. Again, with the on-going placement of the timber border and possible other construction activity, please use caution on the trail ! |
AuthorKNA is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Kennydale and fostering community spirit. Archives
November 2018
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