Front Pedestrian Gates Damaged

Below is an email from Tim and Tricia (placed on the blog with their permission). It's in regard to children swinging from one of the pedestrian gates out front. The other gate is already hanging from one hinge.

I am emailing this for concern of more property damage. This morning Tim took my son to the bus stop. He noticed that the neighborhood boys were swinging on the gate out front. The side gate (the one that is still in working order) where the you enter via the sidewalk. He, in a nice calming manner collected the boys together and just stated, "Guys, you can play around up here, but please don't swing on the gate". We didn't want to call anyone out; however, it was a group of boys. If you wish to know if you son was involved feel free to contact Tim. He was just trying to keep out community nice.

Email the blog (address at the right) and we'll put you in touch with Tricia. Like she said, she and her husband don't want to publically point anyone out. Thanks for the information, Tim and Tricia.

Community Meeting - Oct 14

Jim Ehnborn and a couple neighbors are organizing another community meeting. The date is October 14 (7-9pm) at the fire station. Jim has been placing flyers on everyone's door. If for some reason you didn't receive one, email the blog with your address or contact Jim for a copy. Please try to make it to the meeting, as there are some important issues on the agenda.

Mastro Bankruptcy

Jen and I are receiving emails from neighbors who are concerned about the bankruptcy letters we've all been receiving. At this point, the only information I really have is what I've found online (Google "Mastro Properties" and "bankruptcy" and you'll find news articles.. the Puget Sound Business Journal has several articles as well).

See the comments section for some information from Jim Ehnborn, who has been closely following this issue for some time.

Revisiting Issue of Kids in the Street

A neighbor emailed the blog with concerns about kids in the street. The issue has been addressed on the blog before but when it comes to safety, I think it's okay to bring it up again. Please let me preface this with the fact that no one is accusing ALL kids of playing in the street. Here's an exerpt of the email we received from the concerned neighbor:

Is it possible to put some sort of a reminder out there for parents to sit down with their children and discuss with them the dangers of walking in the streets? I saw the post of the unfortunate accident of the little girl. That could happen at any point when there is a small child on a bicycle. However I'm actually more concerned about the children that walk down the street in the middle expecting cars to go around them, and also the children that just stop and gather in the middle of the street and give the cars trying to get to their perspective home a dirty look. It seems to be a problem with the older children that by now should know better. It might be that some parents think their children do know better and don't know their children are doing this. I just want everyone to talk to their children before we have an accident in our neighborhood. Nobody wants kids to learn a life lesson by way of getting hurt!

A Great Big "Thank you!"

I thought it was only appropriate to take some more recent photos the park, and just some of the kids who have been helping put forth tremendous effort in keeping it clean and safe. I was told by a few of the kids there today that it was Matt and Paul (a couple close by neighbors) who took initiative and repaired both the play toy and the benches at this particular park. I would personally like to say thank you...the park looks wonderful! So, here are a few pictures of some of the neighborhood kids, who were not at all shy when asked if I could photograph them for this blog. Thanks again to all adults, and all the kids, who are helping to make the Grand Central Park a fun, clean, and safe place for all!

Park Items Fixed

The Big Toy and bench have been repaired, but no one knows who did it! We'd love to know so we can thank that person.

News Tribune Article

From a neighbor...

A sad reminder that tragedy can occur anywhere, even in the driveway at slow speed:

Parkland Girl, 4, Killed By SUV Pulling Into Garage, by Stacey Mulick, The News Tribune

A 4-year-old girl was killed Friday when she rode her bicycle in front of an SUV pulling into the garage of a home on 115th Street East in Parkland. The girl, whose name was not released, was declared dead when she arrived at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said. The accident happened about noon in the 600 block of 115th Street East. The SUV driver was pulling into his garage and stopped for a group of kids from the neighborhood riding their bikes past him, Troyer said. When he thought all the children had passed, the driver pulled forward and hit the 4-year-old. The driver apparently didn’t see the child because of her height and because she was riding in the gutter along the sidewalk. “It appears to be a tragic accident,” Troyer said. Bystanders started CPR on the girl, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, Troyer said. She suffered severe injuries and head trauma, Central Pierce Fire & Rescue reported. A chaplain responded, and deputies interviewed the driver and other witnesses. The driver, who was distraught, was not cited. “There was no intent, no reckless driving,” Troyer said. The investigation was continuing.

Comment Rules

Jen and I had a talk tonight, and we're going to make a slight change when it comes to comments. You will still be able to leave comments by logging into your account, leaving your name, or remaining anonymous. However, comments will not be published until they are approved by Jen or me. The park issue has obviously touched some nerves, and a few people are becoming angry and frustrated. This anger and frustration is resulting in some comments that really don't belong here. Jen and I don't want the blog to be a place for people to argue, chastise, demean, or pick fights. We know that people will disagree, and that's okay! But please, be nice about it.

Also, it's really not necessary to leave a string of 3-4 comments where you restate the same issue. We get it. Repeated comments where the author repeats him or herself several times will be deleted.

Jen and I also discussed the anonymous feature again. We're on the fence as to whether to disable that. The concern I have with disabling it is that people will be required to create an account to leave a comment. I'm worried that it will discourage people from participating. So please, keep the anonymous comments kind and fair.

Most of the neighbors who use the blog are great. It's just a few bad apples that apparently need reminding. Thanks everyone.

The Destruction of Grand Central Park...

Here are some recent pictures taken of our community park on 229th street, Grand Central Park. Not only is this park a complete eyesore in the community, but it has become so dangerous to any child who might want to play there. The wooden planks that USED to enclose the trash can are now thrown and piled all over the park. The benches are missing the majority of thier wood...and it honeslty looks like a tornado has ripped through the entire area. It is completely unacceptable and unfair to those living in the community. It's unfair to those who take pride in both thier homes and thier neighborhood parks. I guess the next question would be...who is doing all the vandalism? While I am very much aware that there are children from other neighborhoods constantly riding thier bikes and loitering here in Grand Firs, I also know that assuming it is someone else's children is extremely naive. And while it may seem easier to put the blame elsewhere, I have seen the vandalism first hand by many of the youths that I know for a fact live here. There is such a large amount of kids in our neighborhood, and it is damn near impossible to know where each and every child lives. This fact alone makes it almost impossible to pinpoint and follow through with a visit to the parents of the offenders. And yes, I used the word...offenders. So, what do we do? How do we go about fixing this issue? I know of so many parents who are scared to let thier children play at the park. It has become an unsafe enviroment for our younger kids. Bottom line. And it's incredibly unfortunate. Our parks, much like our neighborhood, was intended to be a safe place. So again, who do we hold responsible? Who is going to fix all the damage done? If you know that your kids spend a large amount of time at the parks, ask them what they know. The next time I personally see kids maliciously destroying someone else's property, I will not hesitate to call the police. And I would hope that everyone else will do the same. In all my posts, I try to be diplomatic for fear that I might seem offensive, or come across harshly. But this is ridiculous...I'm hoping this post will spark some sort of insight as to what is going on with the overall lack of respect in our neighborhood when it comes to our younger residents. As always, feedback is always welcomed on these posts.