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Mild-mannered engineers are also terrors on eight wheels
 Brandy
Rettig and Katherine Merrell are two respected members of the King
County Road Services Division. Rettig is an engineer in the Engineering
Services Section, and Merrell is an environmental engineer. But they
also command respect in another “arena” outside of work.
Both Merrell and Rettig are members of the Rat City Rollergirls,
Seattle’s first and only all-female roller derby league. Named after a
historic term for a South Seattle neighborhood, the league was
established via a grassroots movement of strong-minded women in April
2004. It is comprised of four teams with more than 70 member/owners and
alumni. These teams participate in competitive roller derby bouts on a
flat track in an amateur athletic season that lasts from March through
October.
 “Being
involved in the Rollergirls allows me to compete in a sport in the way
that no other sport offers,” said Rettig. “In addition to being able to
be trained by amazing coaches – one of whom helped set up the programs
for Olympic inline speed skating – I have a community of strong,
passionate, and motivated women as friends, league mates and business
partners.”
Merrell, who is a co-founder and business operations manager for the
league, is excited to be back skating after two major knee operations.
“I am also working directly on our upcoming national invitational with
One Reel Productions at this year's Bumbershoot Festival at the Seattle
Center,” said Merrell. “The national invitational will feature the Rat
City Rollergirls competing for a cash prize against seven other flat
track leagues from across the nation.”
If you can’t wait until that event in September, you can catch Rettig
(aka “Rettig to Rumble”) and Merrell (aka “Dixie Dragstrip”) at their
next bout this Saturday, March 25, at Hangar 30 at Magnuson Park in
Seattle. Check out the
Rollergirls’ website for details.
New South Sammamish Park-and-Ride opens for service Tuesday
 King
County Metro Transit will begin serving the new South Sammamish
Park-and-Ride on Tuesday morning, March 21.
Metro routes 216, 269 and 927 will pick-up and drop-off passengers at
one of two new stops, either inside the park-and-ride or southbound
along 228th Avenue Southeast in front of the lot.
The park-and-ride was built by Sound Transit, and will be owned and
operated by Metro. For more information about service, see specific
route timetables on Metro Online.
For information about the project, see
Sound Transit's project website.
Construction now underway at Mercer Island Park-and-Ride
King County Metro Transit’s
Mercer Island Park-and-Ride is now closed for approximately one year
for the construction of a new parking garage. Sound Transit is building
the new garage with 450 stalls on two levels.
During the temporary closure of the park-and-ride lot, all Metro and
Sound Transit buses that now stop at the North Mercer Way boarding
locations near the Mercer Island Park-and-Ride will continue to stop
there. Several parking alternatives are available for transit
passengers, both on and off the island.
Metro and Sound Transit are providing shuttle service via routes 202 and
205 to three nearby parking locations to help island residents connect
with off-island bus service.
Non-island residents who have been using the Mercer Island Park-and-Ride
are strongly encouraged to use one of the other park-and-ride lots along
Interstate 90 – particularly the Eastgate Park-and-Ride or the new
Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride.
For more information about bus service and alternative parking locations
during the closure of the Mercer Island Park-and-Ride, visit
Metro Online. For information
on the new parking garage, visit
Sound Transit’s website.
Executive Sims honored by Aviation High School
 King
County Executive Ron Sims was recently honored by the staff and
students at Aviation High School (AHS). Sims and retired Highline School
District Superintendent Dr. Joe McGeehan received the first “Break of
Day” Award at the Second Annual Dan Hartley Memorial Scholarship Dinner
on March 14.
AHS Principal Reba Gilman and Erik Lindbergh, pilot, noted artist, and
grandson of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, presented the award. The
award acknowledged Sims and McGeehan’s key leadership in opening the
unique school two years ago. More than 300 people attended the event and
raised several thousand dollars for college scholarships to benefit AHS
students.
AHS is the first four-year high school in the nation to emphasize
aviation studies. Any student with a passion for aviation and aerospace
may apply to attend, and can come from any school district. The students
have a close relationship with
King County International Airport. KCIA and the more than 150
aviation businesses at Boeing Field serve as a real-world laboratory for
the school and its students.
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