Auburn Skies

Volunteer Cindy Clark, left, and Councilwoman Leanne Guier load an abandoned recliner into her truck Saturday, during Pacific's Earth Day cleanup. CHARLES CORTES, Auburn Reporter

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Kudos to volunteers in Pacific for their show of muscle.
The City celebrated Earth Day with its fourth consecutive volunteer-powered Pacific Parks Pick-up Plus effort last Saturday.
Activities included trash pickup from city parks, trails and open spaces, with individual and team competitions determined by the amount of debris accumulated.
The event has gained support in recent years, growing from seven volunteers in 2007 to more than 40 workers who collected a record two tons of trash last year. This year’s official numbers are not out yet.
The Pacific Park Board, Pacific Partnerships, White River Valley Lions Club, City of Pacific, and Friends of the Lower White River (FLWR) sponsored the event.

Auburn, your turn
Auburn will roll up its sleeves for a community-wide cleanup effort, the traditional Clean Sweep set for the morning of May 7.
The City needs volunteers to help make it go.
Groups paint, clean, weed, landscape and complete general maintenance projects in downtown Auburn and other locations.
The project will kick off at City Hall at 7:30 a.m. with group registration and a pancake breakfast prepared by Kiwanis Club of Auburn. Volunteers will then participate in a ceremonial Clean Sweep down the Main Street sidewalks at 8:30 a.m., followed by the collective volunteer projects at various sites around Auburn beginning around 9 a.m.
To volunteer to participate or for additional information, please visit the City’s website at www.auburnwa.gov, call 253-931-3043, or email jbrewer@auburnwa.gov.

Paul Metivier, head of Green River Community College's ceramics department, shows some of his beautiful clay work.

Potters, craftspeople, educators and others work with the community to create handcrafted bowls.

Thus, Auburn is throwing an Empty Bowls event on May 17, and they need your help.

To learn more, ready my story here.

Kudos to KUBE 93 FM and Arco AM/PM on Auburn Way North in providing some relief at the pump for motorists during its recent promotion.

Let’s hope more relief is on the way before we experience major pain at the pump this summer.

To read more, visit:www.pnwlocalnews.com.

Did you know that many children in the Auburn School District are embarrassed by ill-fitting, torn or soiled clothes and cannot afford new clothing? As a result, students miss class time and develop low self-esteem.
But now you can help,
Please join Communities In Schools of Auburn during the month of April for the second annual district-wide “Clothes 4 Kidz” drive.
Your donation of gently-used clothing will help stock the school nurse’s clothing banks, helping hundreds of kids and families. These items will ensure students can return to the classroom more quickly and with confidence.
From April 4-29, during normal business hours, all schools and the larger community are encouraged to donate clean, gently-used clothing (size child 4 to adult M) and shoes. Also needed are new underwear and socks (in original package) for children ages 5-13.
You can drop off donations at the following locations:
• Valley Regional Fire Authority Fire Station No. 31 (by Fred Meyer), 1101 D St. NE
• Valley Christian School, 1312 2nd St. SE, Auburn
• Auburn Parks, Arts & Recreation Office, 910 9th St. SE
• Auburn School District Administration Building, 915 4th St. NE
• Auburn City Hall & Annex (2nd Floor), 25 W. Main St.
• Auburn School District Transportation office, 615 15th St. SW
• Dick Scobee Elementary School, 1031 14th St. NE
• Terminal Park Elementary School, 1101 D St. SE
• Mt. Baker Middle School, 620 37th St. SE
• Auburn Library, 1102 Auburn Way S.
For more information, please contact Communities In Schools of Auburn at cisauburn@comcast.net or visit www.auburn.ciswa.org.
All clothing items will be given to Auburn schools. A tax receipt is available upon request.

Scarff Ford and Azure Dynamics have joined the effort with an electronic fleet plugging into the Eaton charging station.

Auburn is plugging into new technology in a move toward clean-air transportation.
Eaton Corporation marked the installation of two electric vehicle chargers at its Auburn satellite facility on Friday morning.
Eaton officials joined industry leaders and city dignitaries in ushering in the new charging stations during a ceremony.
The charging stations are part of Eaton’s range of products and services that will provide critical infrastructure for “EV” corridors in the Northwest and across North America.
Eaton is focused on creating innovative and affordable technologies that help customers reduce their impact on the environment.
“Auburn welcomes this,” said Mayor Pete Lewis. “It is the start of new technology. What better place to usher in the new technology than Auburn.”

Should the City adopt an official flower? If so, what flower would best represent Auburn? Send your suggestions to:
submissions@auburn-reporter.com.

The Auburn Reporter is conducting a month-long survey, accumulating opinion and votes.

From an early glance, pansy has the edge. About 20 or so resident have expressed their opinions.

What do you think?

Auburn’s golfing community recently came out to support one of their own.
The Garrett Light Golf Invitational at Auburn Golf Course attracted 33 players and raised nearly $6,000 for the American Cancer Society.
Auburn Mountainview High School DECA students Madison Goodwin, Maggie Henderson and Monica Trainor organized and hosted the tournament. The DECA trio gained inspiration for the project after one of their classmates, Light, who was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma last school year and is doing well.
Light, who is the captain of the school’s golf team, is an active member of Young Life, a Christian organization.

A golfer works from the fairway during the Nov. 20 Light Invitational.

Andy Jones gets ready to take his friendly boy-girl Boxers, Harry Truman, left, and Abbie, for an important walk.

Auburn, like many suburban communities, keeps putting its best paws forward.

Dogs and their masters recently converged for the inaugural 2 Million Puppy Up! Walk at Auburn’s Roegner Park. The two-mile walk, which raised awareness and money for canine cancer and comparative oncology research, drew an estimated 100 walkers who basked in Sunday morning sunshine.
“It met every expectation,” said Ja Cee Crull, event organizer. “Even the weather cooperated.”
Auburn was one of 12 cities across the country to hold a Puppy Up! walk on Nov. 7, part of a national effort organized by 2 Million Dogs, a non-profit organization committed to discovering the common links between canine and human cancers and the causes of the cancers through comparative oncology research.

I enjoyed meeting the people, sharing stories about their beloved dogs and discussing the importance of the walk.

Such a walk may well be an annual event, based on its success.

You can read the complete story at http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/aub/opinion/108793834.html.

Students, resourceful students, are stepping up in the fight against diabetes and obesity.

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and the Auburn Mountainview DECA class has organized an awareness campaign, involving 15 Auburn restaurants. Next month, DECA students from Auburn High are putting on a ‘Commit to Fit’ day of activities.

It’s refreshing to see how youth are leading the way to bring more attention to a terrible disease and help others prevent and manage it.

For more on Mountainview’s campaign, check out http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/aub/community/107070333.html.

The City of Auburn looked internally and hired Bob Lee to succeed Jim Kelly as police chief.

It was Kelly’s hope that the City would hire from within. Lee, the assistant police chief, has been on the Auburn force since 1981. He has paid his dues, earned his promotions and now, gets a shot to lead.

I spent some time time with Kelly, the outgoing chief. We wish him well as he makes a career change by becoming deputy director of the SCORE regional jail. My story on Kelly also can be found online.

Jim Kelly leaves his legacy in 31 years with the department, 11 as police chief.