Fired journalism teacher to teach one more year

A Cascade High School journalism teacher, fired when she was accused of helping students publish an underground newspaper on school time, has reached an agreement with Everett Public Schools to get back into the classroom for one year before retiring.

Kay Powers, 65, was fired in November after a five-month investigation in which the district said Powers disobeyed orders by helping in the publication of The Free Stehekin during school hours.

Powers' attorneys had planned to argue for her reinstatement in a public hearing scheduled for last week; however, Powers and the school district announced they had resolved the dispute.

Powers, who taught over two decades at Cascade, will be reinstated this month as an English teacher at Jackson High School and has agreed to retire in August 2009, according to the settlement agreement.

The agreement states Powers will not be allowed to teach journalism in the classroom or have involvement in student news publications. Woodinville

Free course on

local planning

Understanding governmental planning can be one of the most vexing challenges facing the public, but Woodinville is offering some help.

From 6-9 p.m. today, the Woodinville Planning Commission will host a free course to explain the basics of local planning in Washington state. The session will be at City Hall, 17301 133rd Ave. N.E.

The course will cover such subjects as the legal basis of planning, comprehensive planning and plan implementation and the role of planning commissions. Information is available from Hal H. Hart, development-services director, at 425-489-2754.

Snohomish

Fire district gets

$1.7 million grant

Snohomish County Fire District No. 7, which serves the Snohomish area, will receive a $1.7 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

FEMA's Region 10 deputy administrator, Dennis Hunsinger, is scheduled to present the grant check during a ceremony Thursday morning at the fire station.

The grant program is intended to increase the number of trained, front-line firefighters in communities and to increase response times in emergency situations.

Brier

Resident advised on

home break-ins

Residents in Brier have been buzzing about what they believe has been a rash of break-ins in the small town near Mountlake Terrace.

Brier Police Chief Donald Lane sent a letter to residents last week, saying there have only been three house break-ins in which items were taken this year.

The police department said there were eight total instances of burglary this year and one attempted burglary. These included two instances where garages were left open and items were taken and one attempt to steal something out of a resident's backyard.

Lane said there were no weapons or injuries involved in any of those instances.

Residents who see things that look out of the ordinary should call 911, he said.

Mountlake Terrace

Zoning-code

changes considered

Mountlake Terrace is considering zoning-code changes to create more housing choices for residents.

The Mountlake Terrace Planning Commission will consider revising the residential code at a public hearing Monday at 7 p.m. at City Hall. One of the potential changes would allow the sizes of lots in some parts of the city to be smaller than the standard minimum size; another idea would allow cottage homes built around common green space.

Most people in the city have to choose between a single-family home on a large lot or complex-style living, the commission said, and the potential changes may help give them more options.

Monroe

Speedway to host

fundraiser

Firefighters and law enforcement from all over the state will battle it out in drag races at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe this weekend at an event aimed at fighting domestic violence.

The drag-racing event, called Rapid Intervention Drags or RID, will be held from 6-10 p.m. Friday. Proceeds from the event will go to the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

This is the first fundraiser put on by Everett-based nonprofit Rapid Intervention Drags, but the group hopes to make this an annual event.

Tickets at the gate are $10 for adults and free for ages 14 and under.