ELK PLAIN, WA — The site has been the Elk Plain Cafe since the 1940’s and a gas station since about 1901. Earlier this year, the Elk Plain Cafe building was removed along with old manufactured homes and the tall trees. This week, the excavation began for the new O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store on the…
Category: Spanaway
Spanaway community
Uncle Sam’s is music and community first
By Marianne Lincoln If you are a music lover near Spanaway, you may already know why Uncle Sam’s American Bar & Grill is so packed with cars and motorcycles regularly. The owner, a musician himself, cares a great deal about the vibes at his bar. Craig Arrowood’s life began with a father who played bass…
New project on 176th St. E begins July 8
Construction work along 176th Street East from B Street East to 14th Avenue East in Spanaway will begin July 8. This project is one of several Pierce County projects to improve safety and relieve traffic congestion through the 176th Street East corridor. Beginning in July, crews will clear areas outside the existing roadway, then excavate and…
Parkland L&W to cease water fluoridation
By Marianne Lincoln OPINION Parkland Light and Water was the lead name on the lawsuit to prevent the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department from mandating fluoridated water across the county in 2002. When the matter was headed to the Washington State Supreme Court, they balked and signed the agreement to fluoridate the water. It cost their rate…
Spanaway Lake’s choir camp will dazzle their audience Saturday
SPANAWAY, WA — Spanaway Lake High School is hosting the second annual Vocal Jazz and Show Choir Summer Camp. It runs through Saturday, June 29 when the group will hold their concert at 1:30 p.m. Cost is $5 Award-winning choreographer Damon Brown, and Music Company director Bernard Crouse are running the camp with the assistance…
The Post Office hole on SR7 needs to go away
Editorial opinion This photo is of a drainage ditch on Pacific Avenue in Spanaway between Les Schwab and the Spanaway Post Office. This is the single biggest mistake in the sidewalk project for SR7. This little ditch 1) Almost never fully drains 2) Hides a very deep hole between the two locations 3) Creates a…
Impact of smelting operations on arsenic in urban lakes
UW Tacoma — The ASARCO smelter in Ruston, Washington contaminated the south-central Puget Sound region with heavy metals, including arsenic and lead. This study finds that arsenic is highly mobile in these urban lakes. Current knowledge of the chemical, physical and biological factors affecting arsenic mobility in regional lakes will be discussed and initial data on…
Bethel – Correction in Summer Meal Program site
BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT, Spanaway, WA — Lunches will be provided at the following sites from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Monday to Friday, June 24 to August 16, 2013 (except July 4) Spanaway Lake High School, 1305 168th St. E., Spanaway, WA 98387 253.683.5600 Thompson Elementary: 303 159th ST E, Tacoma, WA 98445, 253.683.5894 Also, new this year, Child Nutrition…
Toxic algae bloom in Spanaway Lake
Tacoma Pierce County Health Department — There currently is a toxic algae bloom in Spanaway Lake. A toxic algae bloom is easily identified by the unusual color or appearance to the water. Usually a bloom makes the lake surface green, looking like pea soup or green paint, but sometimes the bloom is a different color. Wind and rain…
Local Author’s ‘DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal’ Slated to be Released by Futureword Publishing on June 28
SPANAWAY, WA — Spanaway native and Tacoma copywriter Kristine M. Smith has been making the rounds locally and virtually lately, speaking at Rotary South Tacoma, JR’s Whistle Stop and local schools. She will be speaking on June 25th at Ricky J’s on 176thsometime between 8 and 9 a.m. Smith’s presentations resonate on several fronts: She talks…
2013 Challenger High School graduation
Tuesday at Olsen Auditorium in Parkland, 95 graduates of the total of 172 for the entire class of 2013 participated in the graduation ceremony. It was Principal LaBounty’s last year, but he helped increase the size of Challenger’s graduating class significantly. Congratulations and best of all things to the Class of 2013!
The carnival has come to Sprinker
A couple times each year, the carnival comes to Sprinker Recreation Center. As you can see from the photo, they are set up for this weekend, June 7-9.
Pierce Prairie Post 