As 2012 comes to a close, the Courier-Herald staff is taking a look back over the previous year at the 10 stories that most affected our coverage area. From a new police chief to a state champsionship, several local council issues to an international incident that included a Lake Tapps resident and the deadliest summer on record on Lake Tapps, 2012 certainly kept all of us on our toes.
Here are numbers 10 and 9 on our list of the top stories of the year:
No. 10: Dana Powers named chief of police
When Bonney Lake Police Chief Mike Mitchell retired in Sept. 2011, Deputy Chief Dana Powers took over and became Interim Chief. After more than a year of leading the Bonney Lake Police Department, the champion swimmer and 23-year law enforcement veteran still had the “interim” at the front of her title.
Extended debate over whether Powers should retain civil service protections delayed her official promotion. The matter was settled Nov. 13, 2012 with the council voting to grandfather in civil service protections for current government employees promoted to at-will positions. Powers was sworn in as the city’s first female Chief that night.
No. 9: Bonney Lake and Sumner leave Pierce Transit
With the loss of bus service due to cost cutting measures, this year saw many of the small cities of East Pierce County officially pulling out of the Pierce Transit District.
Following the 2011 rejection of Pierce Transit’s Proposition 1, a new tax measure that officials said was needed to keep buses rolling, bus service was ended on all routes east of Meridian Avenue in Puyallup.
In late 2011, a Public Transportation Improvement Conference was officially called to discuss the Pierce Transit Boundaries and a new district map was drawn up.
Initially, Sumner was left in the district, but later also requested to be removed and were left out of the new Pierce Transit district. In July, the Pierce Transit part of the sales tax in those cities was dropped, lowering the rates throughout the eastern part of the county.
In April, Mayors Dave Enslow and Neil Johnson of Sumner and Bonney Lake, respectively, worked a deal with Sound Transit to keep alive the 496 connector bus that runs from Bonney Lake’s Park and Ride lot to Sumner’s Sounder station, a popular and highly used bus route.
On June 8, the final Pierce Transit Route 496 bus made its way up Elhi Hill and the following Monday, June 11, the first Sound Transit 596 took over the route.
