April 9, 2007: Eatonville High School Senior lovely  Chelsea Newkirk, 17, was selected as May Queen last week from a field of over twenty candidates. Chelsea is the daughter of Phil and Dawn Newkirk and attended Weyerhaeuser Elementary School. Her mother, Dawn, owns Dawn's Floral and Gifts located at 100 Washington Avenue North.
     Blaine McNichol, 17, was chosen eighty first May King. Brian is the son of former Eatonville Police Sergeant Rex McNichol and Bonnie. Rex left the Eatonville Police Department last November to work for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.
     May Day festivities will be held Friday, May 4 at Eatonville High School.

      March 26, 2007: During the March 26 council meeting Mayor Tommy Smallwood introduced "new interim fire chief Josh Wikander." Smallwood praised Wikander for his "leadership skills." Wikander lives just out of the town limits with his wife, Teckla and their two young sons, Wade, six and Ladd, three-years-old.
      Wikander is the son of John and Sandy Wikander and is a home town man. He graduated from Eatonville High School in 1993, and joined the Eatonville Volunteer Fire Department in 1992 while still a student. Wikander works for Randles Sand and Gravel. When introduced by Mayor Smallwood Wikander, a friendly young man who is quick to smile, simply said, "I'm proud to serve." He replaces long-time chief Bob Holt who resigned recently.

     The Town of Eatonville is beginning a planning project to develop a trail plan for Eatonville with regional connections to Mount Rainier National Park, surrounding cities, existing trails, and other nearby destinations and attractions.  The ultimate goal of the project is to create a plan that will describe the community vision for such a trail network including proposed routes; type of use; design concepts; potential management and operation needs; partnerships; likely funding sources; and recommendations for implementation.
      To help facilitate the process, the Town of Eatonville successfully applied for assistance from the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program of the National Park Service. ‘Rivers and Trails’ is a program of the National Park Service that provides non-financial grants of planning assistance to communities working to protect local open space resources and enhance close to home connections to recreation and nature.
      The Mayor of Eatonville, Tom Smallwood, had this to say about the project, “A trail network emanating from Eatonville will provide many health, recreation, and economic benefits to residents and visitors to Eatonville and throughout the Upper Nisqually Valley.”  The National Park Service and the Town of Eatonville will be working with an advisory committee consisting of representatives from other public agencies and interested community members to develop the trail plan. 

    "Friends and Neighbors of June Potter and Her Family" are accepting donations to help ease the financial burden of laying to rest Brenda Potter who was killed Saturday, February 17 in a motorcycle accident near Eatonville on Highway 161. June lives in Eatonville on Washington Avenue.
    Donations may be dropped off at Venture Bank, 121 Washington Avenue North or The Holly Hut, 129 Washington Avenue North. Holly Hut owner Nancy Iames says they will be collecting donations for about two weeks. 
    Brenda was riding on the back of her father, Chuck's, bike when he lost control and slid into an oncoming pickup truck near Ohop Valley Road East. The father is currently in critical conditions, in a coma at Tacoma General Hospital.

     Brenda A. Potter, 36, from Roy was killed Saturday afternoon when a motorcycle driven by her father smashed into a Ford pickup truck near Ohop Valley Road East on Highway 161. The father, Chuck Potter, 62, from Graham, was critically injured and, at last report, was on life support. The accident happened about 4:30 p.m., in daylight, as the father and daughter followed another motorcyclist through the dangerous Ohop Valley curves.
     The motorcyclists were heading north, were driving recklessly through traffic and passing on blind curves according to witnesses. The Graham man lost control of his bike and crashed into the pickup which was southbound, killing his daughter who was riding with him. The pickup driver wasn't injured.
     The other motorcycle driver was booked at the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of vehicular homicide. It is believed alcohol is implicated in the deadly crash.

     February 2, 2007: Jennifer Dvorak of Parametrix Engineering points out traffic options to about twenty people, less staff and consultants, who attended the last Town Revitalization meeting recently. Once again there was a lot of discussion about traffic flow and building a new street between Washington Avenue North and Mashell Avenue. 
     Mark Spitzer of Arai Jackson Ellison Murakami Architects told the group he had met with some members of the LeMay family who own a large portion of property on Washington Avenue North. Spitzer said LeMay was still cautious about some of the revitalization proposals, but wasn't against the project.
     "Ball park costs" put forward regarding how much the revitalization might cost the town add up to about ten million dollars. The figures presented at the last meeting are:

     "North Town Entrance. " This  figure of three-million-four-hundred thousand dollars represents a change in the entrance to Eatonville below the high school which would require a retaining wall. Spitzer explained this figure could be lower by half. None of the figures are set in stone. They could go lower or higher.

      The next steps for revitalization include going to various groups for grants. To keep informed, and see what progress is being made, please see the Revitalization Web site Downtown Revitalization Home Page and follow the links to diagrams, grants and funding information. You will also find information about the Eatonville Downtown Development Association (EDDA).
      EDDA officers are President Kirk Heinz, Vice-President Rich Williams, Secretary Bob Williams and Treasurer Mike Jeffries. The EDDA board meets February 6 at 6:15 p.m. in the town hall.
      For more about EDDA please see  Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws

     Artist's rendition of Aviator Heights Development at the Eatonville airport, Swanson Field. The red strip down the middle of the graphic represents hangers. The airport is being developed by Jerry Nybo with backing by Summit Properties. 
      After a three-hour special planning commission meeting January 29, the commission, consisting of five members, voted unanimously to approve the airport development and send the issue to the Eatonville Town  Council for final approval.
      The motion to approve the preliminary plat was made by Commissioner Bob Schaub, who lives near the airport. Elizabeth  (Betsy) Harris, attending her first meeting as an appointed commissioner, seconded the motion. Town Planner, Nick Bond ,has put twenty-one conditions on the development. The project shouldn't be approved unless all conditions are met. To read the conditions please see 21 Airport Conditions

     January 23, 2007: Tony Sirgedas preserved  "a nice stack of lenticular clouds over Mount Rainier just before noon," Tuesday, January 23. Lenticular clouds form at high altitudes when stable moist air flows over mountains. This type of cloud has been mistaken for Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) which may be the reason Mount Rainier is believed by some to be a "home" for UFOs.
     Few areas of Mount Rainier National Park are open to the public as the November flood damage repair continues. It is estimated the park sustained $36 million in damages. Norm Dicks, Washington's U. S. Representative is working hard to help the national park find the money to get it back into full operation. 
     Dicks, a Democrat, is now chairman of the House Interior appropriations subcommittee. This committee controls money given of many federal agencies, including the National Park Service. So far Dicks has managed to get the National Park Service to generate $18 million for park repairs. Two million dollars will go toward opening roads to Olympic National Park which were destroyed by storms.
     More money needed for road repairs is supposed to come from the Federal Highway  Administration funds for emergency repairs on roads owned by the federal government. Everyone hopes the park, including Paradise will be open in the spring. The devastating floods, rock and mud slides, at Mount Rainer came from the November 6 and 7 storm which dropped eighteen inches of rain on the park. Repair of the park has been hampered by winter weather.
     To view Paradise at Mount Rainier Web cam please see http://mms.nps.gov/mora/cam/paradise.jpg

     January 29, 2007- by Dixie A. Walter: Elizabeth Harris took her seat on the Eatonville Planning Commission during a special meeting/public hearing about Aviator Heights, the controversial airport development.  
     Mayor Tommy Smallwood said he spent forty-five minutes with Harris, found her a very "pleasant person," and felt she would be an asset to the commission. She has lived in Eatonville around seven months and, according to Smallwood is a friend of former commission chair Phil Beach. Smallwood added that Harris moved to Eatonville to be near a relative, Jack Westerfield, and thought she was a very "pleasant person." He also pointed out the town is in "short supply on planning commission people." 
    The planning commission, by Eatonville Municipal Code, should consist of nine members. Prior to the appointment of Harris the commission has only had five members for two months after the resignation of Steve Pruitt in November 2006. Before his resignation the commission had six members for several months.
    Harris, who did not attend the meeting, lives in town and is retired from Wachovia, a financial service. She has a BA in social studies education from the University of Illinois and a MBA in accounting and information services from Emory University. Her husband was a city manager. Harris also volunteers weekly at Mountain Community Co-op as office manager and cashier.         
    After over three hours of hearing from town staff, developer Jerry Nybo's attorney,  Eatonville's new town attorney, commissioners and citizens, the commission surprised no one by unanimously voting to approve the preliminary plat application and send it on to the Eatonville Town Council for approval or disapproval. Harris seconded Commissioner Bob Schaub's motion to approve the plat.
    Planning Commissioners attending were: Chairman Steve Lind were: Elizabeth Harris, Jim Valentine, Bob Schaub and Phil Beach. Commissioner Larry Frink, with an excused absence, did not attend.

     Steve Lind, Chairman of the Eatonville Planning Commission, (with back to audience) welcomes Elizebeth Harris by presenting her with the official name plate. The pair were posing for town photos.

    Thursday, January 18 the Pierce County Regional Council (PCRC) voted Mike Lonergan, Tacoma City Council, as chair and Bobbi Allison, Eatonville Town Council, as vice-chair. Allison has been attending PCRC meetings nearly six years. She began participation while a member of the Eatonville Planning Commission, then as an alternate and as the town's representative. Allison is also on the PCRC sub-committee for affordable housing.
    "Having Eatonville represented at the PCRC level is a benefit to the town. We need to be present to make ourselves and our needs known," Allison explained. The first Eatonville official to hold a chair position on PCRC added, "Participation never hurts and it builds our town's respectability which has been hurt in the past."
     She is in her fourth year on the Eatonville Town Council and served two years on the Eatonville Planning Commission prior to being elected to the council.
     The Pierce County Regional Council consists of elected officials from twenty-three towns, cities, Pierce County, and the Port of Tacoma. PCRC's responsibility is "to ensure that the Growth Management Act requirements are coordinated with the County and the region." For more information please see Pierce County Regional Council Home Page   
     Also during the January 18 meeting the Buildable Lands Employment targets were passed.