On March 20, West Point wastewater treatment plant staff rescued a man who had climbed over the fence, fallen into the channel, and was carried downstream about 500 feet where the current pinned  him to equipment in the partially-treated wastewater where he was difficult to see. In an amazing twist of luck, Operator Darek Kenaston happened to see the man through a grate during his routine area check. Thankfully, the operations team pulled the man to safety and he was taken to the hospital and did not appear to be injured. The… Read More

Aaron Porter, a fifth-grade student at John Muir Elementary school, has been a participant in the Public Health SNAP-Ed Eat Better, Feel Better (EBFB) nutrition education classes for the past six years, since kindergarten. And for the past several years, Aaron’s mother Akberet Gedlu has volunteered in his classroom. She sat in during several lessons when Public Health’s EBFB nutrition educator, Nancy Tudorof, taught students about healthy eating. She appreciated that the students chopped lettuce, sampled kale, and made healthy recipes that actually tasted good! Over the years, Akberet reports that Aaron began realizing that… Read More

King County’s redeveloped Bow Lake Recycling and Transfer Station was designed and built with sustainability in mind, and the U.S. Green Building Council has now certified Bow Lake with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. “Having a recycling and transfer station that is certified LEED platinum is an example of how our physical plants complement the work we do,” said Executive Dow Constantine. “We are more effective at protecting our environment when the facilities we operate are as sustainable as the services we provide.” The new recycling and transfer station reopened… Read More

On a blustery Saturday night last month, seven volunteers served a home-cooked meal to 150 homeless men and women at Operation Nightwatch, a ministry located in Seattle. The volunteers included stalwarts in the Department of Public Defense as well as their relatives – DPD Division Director Donald Madsen and his wife, Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, DPD Senior Staff Attorney Jonathan Newcomb and his daughter Natalie, DPD Seattle Municipal Court Supervisor Karen Murray and DPD financial controller Anne Dolan and her husband Cary. As that night’s coordinator, Karen had checked the kitchen pantry… Read More

Employees from the King County Noxious Weed Program are helping to keep invasive weeds off local store shelves, with City People’s Garden Store in Seattle being the first to pledge to stop selling any of the invasive plants or noxious weeds that appear on King County’s Noxious Weed and Plants of Concern lists. “These noxious weeds and invasive plants threaten our natural ecosystems by choking out native species,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “I commend City People’s for stepping up as the first store in King County to pledge not to sell these… Read More

Employees are invited to a lunch and learn to hear what a panel of their colleagues learned at the recent Governing for Racial Equity Conference in Portland, OR. Several King County employees attended the third Governing for Racial Equity (GRE) Conference on March 25 and 26 to learn more about what other governments are doing to achieve racial equity and eliminate institutional and structural racism. Join King County members of the GRE Planning Committee, conference presenters and other attendees as they share their learnings from the conference and help plan the next steps… Read More

The Washington Counties Scholarship Fund is now accepting applications for the 2014/2015 school year.  Applications are available online at http://www.countyscholarship.org. Completed applications are due by April 30, 2014. The Washington Counties Scholarship Fund awards five $3,000 scholarships to eligible children of county employees and county elected officials. Awards are given in the form of Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) credits. The Washington Counties Scholarship Fund is a joint project of the Washington Association of County Officials (WACO) and the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC). Funds for the scholarship are provided by members… Read More