6pm, March 26 New Bethel High Groundbreaking

It has been almost 20 years in the making and the ground is not yet broken for the new Bethel High School site. Years ago, the large field was used by parachutists. Next, the Rainier View Chirstian Church was built on the front of the site, across the street from North Star Elementary School. At…

PLU announces education and care district in Parkland

Today, February 6, 2024, Pacific Lutheran University announced a partnership with Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicaine, and MultiCare. They plan to address health care provider shortages in Pierce County and other areas beyond. Here is the announcement: Today marks an exciting day for PLU’s future, and I want you to be among the…

The PO Box is due and prices are up again

Rent, property taxes and Post Office Boxes are all higher. Yes, even the Post Office Box for the Spanaway Community Association keeps going up. The PO Box annual cost is now more than the monthly rent on my first home. How times change. If you can chip in a few dollars to help, it would…

Scandinavian Christmas celebrations Dec 6, 10

The Scandinavian Cultural Center (SCC) at PLU will be hosting their annual Scandinavian Christmas Celebrations soon. On December 6, 2023, there will be a Christmas Service in Norwegian language. The Julegudstjeneste will begin at 7 p.m. in the University Center downstairs room 100. There will be Norwegian treats and coffee after the service. On December…

Donate to Stuff the Bus Dec. 2

The annual Bethel Stuff the Bus donation event will be December 2, 2023, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the WalMart on the Mountain Highway in Spanaway. This will assist local families in need. Accepted are toys, gift cards, canned and packaged food, children’s clothing and children’s books.

Historic Collins School becomes Gates High School

By Marianne Lincoln Today, November 8, 2023, was the Open House for the new Gates High School. The building is familiar, it was formerly Collins School. The Collins Elementary students are now in a new building to the west on 128th Street. This past year, the Franklin Pierce School District has been remodeling the building…

Nov. 1, participate in the Walking School Bus

Story updated below original story. This event is hosted by the Spanaway Middle School. The purpose of this event is to unite our community in raising awareness about the current lack of safe infrastructure for walking and biking routes for students in our area. We believe this is a matter of great importance and are…

Four bumps in the road

If you have travelled Waller Road or Military Road in the past several months, you may have noticed the orange “bump” signs that have been there awhile. Contractors have worked on the intersection and then seemingly abandoned it, leaving the drop offs to make the crossings uncomfortable at best, or damaging our vehicle undercarriages at…

Bethel School Board Community Forum Oct. 17

UPDATE: Terrance and John were the board members present. A great number of bus drivers were present and voiced their concerns. The early 5 a.m. mornings, the dark, lack of sidewalks, narrow roads, long 12 hour shifts, driver shortages, shifting routes, cancelled routes, are all making the job for bus drivers very difficult. And, of…

Live to 100 – Movie screening Oct. 13

The Blue Zones Project of Parkland Spanaway is offering a showing of the Netflix docuseries to the public on October 13, 2023 at PLU’s Karen Hille Phillips Center (aka Eastvold Auditorium), 6 p.m. The film is titled, Live to 100, Secrets of the Blue Zones. The film is currently available on Netflix as a series…

It’s ABC Day! October 7 – GK High School

One of the Bethel District’s most heavily attended events, ABC Day is happening at Graham Kapowsin High school this year. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and usually draws between 6,000 and 7,000 visitors. Set up is happening as I write this. BOB the bus was filled with boxes, students are helping…

All Bethel Community Day – Oct. 7

Saturday, October 7, 2023, is All Bethel Community Day, aka ABC Day. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., non-profit organizations, medical facilities, military and other local community groups will converge on Graham-Kapowsin High School and show who they are, what they do and how they interact with the Bethel area community. Each year, the event…