Social Media Spotlight: King County, WA on LinkedIn
King County is one of the best places to work in Washington and one of the state’s largest employers. With more than 14,000 dedicated employees, we are changing the way government does business and delivering vital services for more than 2 million residents.
Join more than 16 thousand others; check out King County on LinkedIn today and follow us!
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We’ve got a #PicturingTrails winner!
Crossposted from King County Parks Plog
By Gabriel Avila-Mooney, Communication Specialist for the King County Regional Trail System
We’re super excited to announce the June winner of our #PicturingTrails photo contest! Meryl Schenker took this photo on the Preston Snoqualmie Trail and got 69 likes! She also met all the criteria for the contest (pays to read the rules and regs!) since she took the shot from one of our Regional Trails.
Preston Snoqualmie Trail, King County Parks, “Picturing Trails” by Meryl Schenker.
We can’t wait to give her the prize of an S-Zone Camera Bag, an REI Camp Blanket, a Klean Kanteen Water Bottle, and a pair of tickets to see Willie Nelson at the Concerts at Marymoor!
Want to be our July winner? Go to PicturingTrails.com and follow the steps to win! We’ll award our July prizes to the image that meets all the criteria and has the most likes.
So get out there, visit a Regional Trail near you, snap a photo on your phone and enter to win!
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Pet of the Week: Loki
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC
There’s nothing low key about Loki, our Pet of the Week!
This young boy is a spirited cat with a fun-loving personality, so he’s one of our “Rambunctious Red” pets. With all that youthful energy, Loki is a very active cat who loves to play! A couple of his favorite pastimes include chasing lasers and playing with ping pong balls. He is also full of surprises and he will keep you on your feet.
Loki enjoys being around people, but he can play a bit rough sometimes, so he would do best with a cat-savvy family that can give him lots of exercise. He does best when he has lots of places to explore and fun ways to get all of his energy out.
Loki seems to do well with other cats that have a strong personality like his. He would do best with a slow introduction to any other cats in his new home.
Loki is litter box trained, neutered, current on vaccinations, and microchipped. His adoption fee includes a certificate for a free veterinary exam and 30 days of free pet insurance through Trupanion.
Loki is available at our Eastside Pet Adoption Center inside Kirkland Petco. You can learn more about him, or any of his adoptable friends, at KingCounty.gov/AdoptAPet.
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KCIT deploys new tool to protect data and systems
KCIT has now deployed a new security tool that will help protect the entire King County network from cybersecurity attacks. The new tool will operate behind the scenes, helping to protect our data and systems from both external and internal cyber threats.
This deployment should affect neither your computer nor your day-to-day business operations. If you are blocked from a work-approved website or application, either submit a Help Desk Ticket to HelpTicket@KingCounty.gov or escalate the issue through your technical support group.
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Training Spotlight: Igniting Employee Development
Tuesday, July 24, 12:30 – 4:30 p.m.
People leaders (supervisors, managers and directors) are key to creating a culture of respect where all employees are inspired to grow, thrive and serve! According to the engagement survey, employees are looking for more development opportunities – this workshop for people leaders will support employees to do just that! Empowering individuals to reach their full potential to do their best work for the people in our community is critical to continuous improvement and equitable workplace efforts.
Igniting Employee Development will help you support Investing In YOU goals to build a workplace where employees have the tools and support to innovate, achieve career goals and do their best work for King County as a Best Run Government.
Learn more and register on Eventbrite before the session fills up!
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Pretrial, probation and parole supervision week July 15-21
Crossposted from American Probation and Parole Association
Shared by Michelle Mihail, King County Superior Court Juvenile Probation Counselor
The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) recognizes the nearly 100,000-strong members of the community corrections and supervision workforce for your dedication to and influence on the justice system. Each year during Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week, we make an extra effort to acknowledge your compassion, strength and determination. You make a difference, even though over the past two decades, caseloads have grown exponentially, exceeding five million people at their peak; and resources are still minimal.
There does appear to be a great deal of attention and focus on our industry, and there is a move afoot to shift the way others – policymakers and the public alike – think about the best ways to enhance public safety and improve justice system outcomes.
Public safety is important to everyone! As an industry, we must be more visible so people will recognize the significant role pretrial, probation, and parole practitioners play to enhance the safety of our communities. APPA is working to ensure all our external stakeholders are aware of the valuable contribution our industry makes in this area. We hope you are also ensuring the voice of our industry is heard!
For far too long, community corrections/supervision professionals have been relatively quiet, fearing we would do more harm than good to our work if we spoke about our occupation externally. We now know it is our responsibility to speak up about what is needed or required to make progress that will make a difference for every American.
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PeopleSoft Outage, 3 p.m. Friday, July 20 to 6:30 a.m. Monday, July 23
To allow for system maintenance, the PeopleSoft system will not be available this weekend, beginning at 3 p.m. Friday, July 20 until 6:30 a.m. Monday, July 23. During this planned outage, the PeopleSoft team will apply vendor updates and maintenance. This work will begin on Friday, July 20 at 3 p.m. and is scheduled to be completed by 6:30 a.m. on Monday, July 23. The system will not be available for access by any County staff during this outage window. An email communication will be sent to all County staff when the system becomes available. We realize that this outage impacts PeopleSoft users. We appreciate your understanding and support.
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Parks Specialist Anthony Haapasaari awarded Polish Armed Forces Medal
Anthony Haapasaari is a Parks Specialist with King County Parks’ South Trails Crew, and he recently received the Polish Armed Forces Medal during a visit to Seattle by Major General Cezary Wiśniewski, Defence Attaché at the Embassy of the Polish Republic in Washington D.C.
Pictured from left to right: Cross of Polonia Restituta recipient Mr. Andrzej Mroz, Assistant Defense Attaché at the Embassy of the Polish Republic Lieutenant Colonel Karol Sobczyk, Anthony Haapasaari, Shaan Haapasaari (Anthony and Kristin’s son), Defence Attaché at the Embassy of the Polish Republic Major General Cezary Wiśniewski, and Kristin Haapasaari (Anthony’s wife).
“Receiving this award was a very humbling experience,” said Haapasaari. “It recognizes the work I have been doing at public events and military ceremonies here in Seattle and Vancouver, Canada to commemorate and increase awareness and appreciation of the heroic – yet little known – contributions of the WWII Polish Armed Forces to Allied victory in Europe during WWII. I also work to increase awareness of the significant assistance the Polish Armed Forces have provided to the United States in both Iraq and Afghanistan since the start of combat operations after 9-11, and I provide support to the last of our Polish WWII veterans and their widows in the Seattle area as a volunteer “military attaché” for the Polish Honourary Consulate in Seattle.”
“The Polish Armed Forces Medal was established in 1999, to recognize civilians and military personnel abroad for their effort to support Poland and – in this case – Polish and U.S. cooperation, in the tradition of the Polish armed forces,” said Lieutenant Colonel Karol Sobczyk, Assistant Defense Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington D.C. “In recognition of that, the Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak decided to award Anthony Patrick Haapasaari with the Polish Armed Forces Medal.”
The Polish Minister of National Defence Coin (left), the Polish Armed Forces Medal (center) and the Defense Attaché for the Embassy of the Republic of Poland Coin.
“On behalf of the Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak, I present you with this Polish Armed Forces Medal,” said General Wiśniewski. “I think that building relationships between nations is not about our leaders and officials only, but about the people. So, with this medal, we would just like to thank you for your dedication, your commitment, to the U.S. Polish people. Building relationships is important for us because we don’t have a consulate here, there’s no embassy in each town, but you just take this role and spend a lot of time and money just to build relationships between Poles and Americans. That’s really important from our perspective. So, thank you very much.”
Haapasaari is a member of the Polish Riflemen’s Association (Związek Strzelecki), a group founded by Marshall Józef Piłsudski during the First World War to fight for Polish freedom. Związek Strzelecki is considered the first Polish military force of the 20th Century and, today, most of its members are teens, young adults, and veterans who train to perform as a reserve force for the Polish Army. To the best of Anthony’s knowledge, he is the only member in the U.S. He began working with Parks in 1985 as a seasonal employee while in college, and has been a full-time employee since 1991. “I enjoy being a public employee and working in nature every day,” added Haapasaari. “Working on the Cedar River Trail and Green to Cedar River Trail in Southeast King County, I meet people from all over the world and – as my own father was an immigrant from Poland – it is especially important to me that our immigrant population feel welcome at our King County Parks facilities.”
Anthony Haapasaari (left) after receiving the Polish Armed Forces Medal from Defense Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland Major General Cezary Wiśniewski.
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White Center Teen Program helps local youth thrive
The White Center Community Center, also known as the Log Cabin at Steve Cox Memorial Park, houses King County Parks’ White Center Teen Program and serves the community by fostering a safe positive place for local youth to partake in recreational and educational programs.
The Log Cabin at Steve Cox Memorial Park
The goal of WCTP is to reduce youth involvement in violent, criminal or gang-related activities and increase young people’s connection to community through civic and volunteer opportunities.
“We want to keep them out of trouble, and we want to also keep them in school,” said Darlene Sellers, Recreation Coordinator for Natural Resources and Parks. “We are trying to provide every youth in White Center with recreation.”
The WCTP has 1,400 registered kids age 12-19, and has served more than 26,000 kids since its creation in 1991. More than 80 percent of the teens attending the program are from White Center, and more than 30 languages and dialects are spoken.
Program participants enjoying a game of basketball.
The program, which takes place five days a week, has raised high school graduation rates among participants by 19 percent and more than 200 youth participants have earned their GEDs.
The community center offers a recreation room, basketball court, outdoor fields, a playground, cooking classes, gardening lessons, college application help, homework tutoring, free dinner, kendo martial arts, visual and performing arts classes, and the youth also volunteer throughout the community. WCTP volunteers annually during White Center Refresh, formerly known as White Center Spring Clean, picking up litter and painting murals.
“Kids are taking pride in their neighborhood, and the work that they are putting into it,” said Sellers. “They are also able to put their community service on their resumes.”
Their program is also connecting young people to employment. The recent 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament and Job Fair known as Peace N the Hood was hosted by WCTP June 8, and it led to 46 kids receiving job offers.
Program participants attend a Peace N the Hood Job Fair
Steve Cox Memorial Park is currently undergoing renovations to improve conditions and better serve local youth. The project will construct a multi-use synthetic turf athletic field with LED lights and a ten-foot-wide paved walking path around the perimeter. The field will be lined for soccer, lacrosse, and two baseball diamonds.
For more information on the White Center Teen Program and Steve Cox Memorial Park, contact ParksInfo@KingCounty.gov.
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Measuring Change in King County
The cranes dotted across the Seattle skyline may lead you to believe that King County has only begun to experience rapid growth within the past decade. However, in a new video, King County Demographer Chandler Felt discusses how the County has been booming and diversifying for the past 40 years.
“Looking over a period of almost 40 years, King County’s population growth has been very steady gaining 400,000 people in the last 17 years to a population of more than 2.1 million,” Felt says in the video.
Prior to 2010, the majority of King County growth occurred in South King County, but the focus shifted back onto urban King County with the start of the Growth Management Act (GMA). The GMA focused on protecting farm and forest land while simultaneously focusing on building growth in urban growth areas.
The GMA and its impact is just one of five big trends that Felt identifies as he looks at events that have affected King County. Since 1970, Felt has identified economic diversification, increasing race and ethnic diversity, increasing income inequality, age and household changes, and shifting locations of growth within the county as key trends in its evolution.
Click the image above to watch Felt’s full presentation.
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