Restorative Mediation making a difference for youth
Earlier this year, Juvenile Court implemented a Restorative Mediation Pilot option for youth in diversion. The pilot has since expanded beyond diversion and is now available to adjudicated youth. It provides youth with the opportunity to reduce time on supervision or in place of court-ordered community service hours. Restorative Mediation is an opportunity for an offender to have a facilitated conversation with the victim, giving the victim an opportunity to express how the event affected him/her, to provide space for understanding what took place for both parties, and to restore relationships that were… Read More
Women in Trades: King County Road Services
Mari Jane Friel is up to her knees in mud as dark as chocolate cake and smiling broadly. “I love what I do,’’ she says. “It’s something different every day.” Friel, 58, a laborer with King County’s Road Services Division 2, previously worked in corrections and as a chef in downtown Seattle. Her first day on the job, she was assigned to dig a ditch. Today, she’s wielding a shovel and a siphon to clear a drainage ditch of mud and weeds so that salmon can pass through during the rainy season…. Read More
Kudos! Metro Transit names Operator, Vehicle Maintenance Employees of the Year
Metro Transit employees John Boone and Ryan Stringfellow were recently honored with the Operator and Vehicle Maintenance Employee of the Year awards. Bellevue Base operator John Boone was honored on June 24 as Metro’s 2014 Transit Operator of the Year. At the surprise ceremony, held in the East Base Vehicle Maintenance bay, he was interviewed by local TV outlets before being escorted on stage. Boone was chosen by his fellow 2014 Operators of the Month because of his long and excellent record of providing high-quality customer service to his riders. One of… Read More
CASA program needs volunteers
Each year in King County, more than 12,000 children are separated from their families due to abuse or neglect. With the support of foster programs, many of the children are placed in foster care for the time being their parents are in court. But who represents the children in court? Court Appointed Special Advocates are trained volunteers who represent the children and their best interests during the legal process. “We say that a CASA is the voice of the child,” Pamela Beatty, a CASA volunteer said. “We do the speaking for the… Read More
Going mobile to manage hazardous waste
How can King County keep dangerous, hazardous materials from finding their way into landfills and the environment? One solution is the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program’s Wastemobile. Rather than a fleet of vehicles driving to various locations in King County, each “wastemobile” is a temporary tent location set up on the weekends, usually in parking lots of businesses or schools, where small businesses and home owners can bring their hazardous waste to be properly disposed of. “A little hazardous waste in the environment goes a long way and is very bad for… Read More
Fun Fest teaches teamwork, cooperation and more to detained youth
As part of King County Juneteenth celebrations, King County Juvenile Detention threw a Fun Fest for youth detained in the facility. For the youth, it was an opportunity to expand their learning during the break between school sessions. For those volunteering, it was opportunity to teach young people different life lessons. Spanning three days, Fun Fest offered three different programs for youth to participate in, picking one that interested them. The most popular was the Football Camp, which taught the youth the importance of teamwork and trust as well as football fundamentals…. Read More
Transportation program helps employees, environment and the region
With congestion on our roads growing as King County continues to grow, the Employee Transportation Program (ETP) is helping employees save money and time while reducing our impact on the environment with benefits including free rides on all regional buses, Sounder trains, Link light rail, Seattle Streetcar and the West Seattle and Vashon Island Water Taxis. But the benefits don’t stop there. “We aim to make it as easy as possible for our employees to leave their cars at home,” Hossein Barahimi said. As ETP Manager, Barahimi is in charge of developing… Read More
Sheriff’s employees run to end domestic violence
On Saturday, July 18, members of King County Sheriff’s Office along with their friends and family, readied themselves on the starting line by Safeco Field. For the second year in a row, the Sheriff’s Office was represented at the Refuse to Abuse 5K. An avid runner, Detective Jason Houck first heard of the race last year. Wanting to participate, Houck wondered if he could get any other Sheriff’s Office employees involved and sent out a department wide email in hopes of putting together a team. He received responses from all over King County, from non-runners to avid runners like himself. While the members had different reasons for joining, they all… Read More
Retired vehicles given life after VanPool with nonprofits
The dark blue King County Commuter VanPool Program vans are a familiar sight in our region. For some, the vehicles are a necessity for getting to and from work each day. But what happens once the vans have passed their useful economic life with the program? Since 1996, VanPool has been working with Metro’s Accessible Services and King County Councilmembers to pair nonprofits, in need of vehicles to meet their transportation needs, with retired vanpool vehicles. If a nonprofit agency meets the criteria of having adequate insurance and the ability to cover… Read More
Helping King County’s animals, from lost dogs to injured horses
When our animal friends need a helping hand, who’s there to help them? King County TV recently rode along with employees from King County Animal Control Services as they responded to reports of injured or escaped animals. “We are a relatively small unit,” Dr. Gene Mueller, manager of Regional Animal Services, said. “We are covering almost a thousand square miles and almost a million people in our jurisdiction.” Animal Services covers all of unincorporated King County and 25 contract cities, and responds to anything from dog bites to animal cruelty complaints, Animal Control Sergeant… Read More
Employee News 