Home Care In Auburn, WA

More than 200 students at Auburn University were baptized Tuesday evening as a campus worship program erupted into what observers called a spontaneous revival.

The baptisms — in a small lake and illuminated by automobile headlights — took place about a half-mile from the Neville Arena site for “Unite Auburn,” an event connected to a city-wide revival taking place in Auburn, an eastern Alabama city of 75,000.

“Unite Auburn” featured Christian worship band Passion and speakers Jennie Allen, a Christian author, and the Rev. Jonathan Pokluda, lead pastor of Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.

An estimated 2,000 to 2,500 students crowded around the lake near the university‘s “Red Barn,” where six pastors and others — including Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze — helped baptize the young adults wishing to signify a Christian commitment.

Video posted to social media shows the students cheering in approval whenever one of the students emerged from the immersion.

Auburn senior Kristen Carr, a journalism major and editor-in-chief of student newspaper The Auburn Plainsman, said in a telephone interview with The Washington Times that she went to the rally “originally just as a spectator,” but decided “I just needed to start covering this and videoing because it was so unusual. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”

Tonya Prewett, the wife of assistant basketball coach Chad Prewitt and the evening’s principal organizer, said the event was designed to help students struggling with the pressure of post-pandemic life on campus.

“We had stories of kids who were isolated in their closet and just feeling like they can’t cope, they can’t go on, they don’t want to live another day,” Mrs. Prewett said in a telephone interview. “And some who are bound by addictions that they think can’t seem to get free from and it’s just keeping them full of shame and isolation.”

Mrs. Prewett said she began praying in January with several students she’d been mentoring. She continued to meet and pray weekly with those students through May.

About six weeks ago, she said, plans came together for the “Unite Auburn” event, which she anticipated would end with attendees singing some worship songs.

However one student indicated an interest in getting baptized right away, and Mrs. Prewett said Ms. Allen went back on stage and made an appeal asking if anyone else wanted to be baptized. Nearly half of the 5,000 students in the arena then made their way to the water nearby.

Ms. Carr said the response on campus mirrored events in the city of Auburn, where churches such as the Auburn Community Church she attends have been packed out with revival crowds.

“It’s not just my church, it’s a lot of the churches in the area,” she said. “They’re having to live stream the services because there’s so many people that want to be at church.”

Jeremy Napier, a pastor who is chaplain for the Auburn basketball team, said “entire pledge units of fraternities [have] show up” at local churches to worship.

Ms. Carr said the spiritual awakening “is like the Billy Graham thing of our generation,” a reference to the late evangelist whose citywide meetings across the U.S. often moved large numbers of people to commit religiously to follow Christ.Mrs. Prewett said she believes what happened at Auburn is only the beginning of a national spiritual movement.

“I do believe that God wants to heal this nation of mental health things, of the bondage that students find themselves in and just kind of the crisis is going on around our nation,” she said. “I believe that that will happen through prayer and through God moving across this nation.”

Of Tuesday’s event Mrs. Prewett said, “it started here, but it’s not going to stop here.”

One organizer told The Washington Times they’ve had calls from ten other schools asking how those campuses can hold similar events.

A similar spiritual breakout happened in February at Asbury University, a private school in Wilmore, Kentucky. There, classes shut down for two weeks as pilgrims from across the U.S. and even overseas flocked to the small town to be involved in a 24/7 prayer meeting.

Big casinos are great, but the smaller card rooms have a special place in the affections of patrons, too.

Ryan and Sokha Kunkel are betting on it with the Imperial Palace Casino, which they celebrated last Thursday evening in the digs of the former Iron Horse Casino.

Why the confidence? It’s personal, they say.

“People will come here for the same reason they always have, because it’s personal,” Kunkel said under the shadow of the big sign bearing the new name overlooking 15th Street Northeast. “It’s why small card rooms exist. Everyone that’s in here is a regular and you know them by name, they know the dealers. It’s just different.

“…When you go to the big tribe, it’s great — local tribe, love the entertainment — but you’re one of thousands there. Here you’re one of maybe a hundred,” Kunkel said.

Ryan and Sokha bought the casino in August 2022, and through all the controlled chaos of a multi-phased renovation, have operated it since.

So, what’s new there?

Well, 24-hour gaming Thursday through Sunday, late night and early morning happy hours, a designated pull-tab bar with more than 34 bowls, a VIP gaming room, a 24-hour restaurant that offers an updated menu with new Asian dishes, yet still keeps many of the favorites.

“When we bought the casino back in August, a lot of the regulars talked about how it used to be a 24-hour diner back when it was Steiner Diner before the Iron Horse, so we thought we’d bring it back and it’d be nice to have,” Kunkel said.

Kunkel said his lead chef worked for the Iron Horse for several years.

Card games, Kunkel said, number all variations of blackjack, pai gow, baccarat, midi baccarat, Spanish 21 and player’s edge.

The couple, which Kunkel called “a one-two punch,” are veterans of the industry.

By 2011, Kunkel had been a blackjack dealer for almost 10 years and Sokha for almost 18 years, odd-jobbing it in various casinos in Washington and California, loving the life.

But as they watched a large company gobble up smaller card rooms, one after the other like a ravenous Pac-Man, Ryan said, some of the fun went out of the experience, and in 2011 they left the industry.

That year the couple opened up the first for-profit marijuana dispensary in the state of Washington, ultimately growing that business into five stores. The couple sold that business in 2019, but it still operates today under the name “Have A Heart CC.”

During “free time” afforded by the COVID pandemic, Kunkel said, he noticed Freddie’s Casino was having a lot of financial trouble and was for sale. So the couple bought the Freddie’s in Everett with an eye to turning it around.

“I wanted to get back into casinos, so I bought the Iron Horse and hired the best in the industry, some of whom used to work for me, to operate the business. We are opening a second location this summer in Tukwila,” Kunkel said.

A heat wave will be boosting temperatures predicted to be up to 95 this week, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Here’s the latest “Excessive Heat Warning” from NWS, issued Monday, Aug. 14, 2023 at 5:12 a.m.:

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“EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT WEDNESDAY… *

“WHAT…Dangerously hot conditions with daytime temperatures in the low to mid 90s and lows in the 60s and 70s expected. This will pose a major risk of heat-related illness. *

“WHERE…Bellevue and Vicinity and Seattle and Vicinity. *

“WHEN…Until 11 PM PDT Wednesday. *

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“IMPACTS…Major Heat Risk level poses a major risk for heat- related illnesses for anyone without effective cooling or adequate hydration.

“PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. For sheltering information and other human services in your area, dial 2 1 1 during business hours or visit wa211.org anytime.”

Below are some local Auburn resources available this week for people needing to cool down:

Day Centers:

Emergency Shelters with Drop-in:

Existing Public Spaces (No Services):

Spray Park at Les Gove Park:

Here’s the detailed forecast:

Investigators said someone too young to be driving flew through a stop sign and T-boned an elderly man.

SEATTLE — It's a quiet day in the Lake Geneva Neighborhood near Auburn.

"Over the years we have made this into our little garden oasis," said Jeremy Robinson.

An oasis giving Jeremy Robinson a front-row seat to some of the speeding issues he's seen in his 23 years living in this home. Specifically, cars running the stop sign at South 349th Street and 46th Avenue.

"I've said for years that something was going to happen at this intersection and now something has," said Jeremy.

On Monday, a 15-year-old girl driving a car full of teenage girls ran the stop sign.

"A white full-size truck was coming up doing approximately 10 miles per hour and was T-boned," said Jeremy.

Jeremy captured the crash from a home security camera.

Video shows neighbors running to help and pulling the 76-year-old man out of the truck.

"He didn't have a chance, she hit him so hard," said Brenda Robinson.

The 18-year-old passenger of the car flew through the windshield. Both she and the man were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The King County Sheriff's Office said the 15-year-old driver showed signs of impairment.

"I heard what sounded like a bomb going off so I just stopped and grabbed a phone and called 911," said Brenda.

There are two sheriff's deputies assigned to this area called the George Sector which is unincorporated Federal Way and Auburn.

Brenda Robinson said it's not enough, "We were told a long time ago we were pretty much on our own. They can only do so much."

The Robinsons hope the county can add stop signs or speed bumps to the road.

"At the end of the day it's safety with the kids, the people in this neighborhood and we're really just fed up," said Jeremy.

Because Brenda said one thing is certain.

"Definitely it will happen again, there's no doubt," she said.

According to the King County Sheriff's Office, three teenage girls ranging from 14 to 18 years old were taken to the hospital as well as the man driving the truck. Their conditions are unknown at the time.

As smoke smothered the East Coast this week, a dry May increased the potential for more serious fires later this summer in Western Washington — with a new forecast showing the region has one of the worst outlooks in the nation.

The National Interagency Fire Center released its updated fire report on June 1 and it noted all but the southeastern tip of Washington were at “above normal” fire potential for July to September. According to the fire center, this means “a greater than usual likelihood that significant wildfires will occur.”

On June 6, the National Weather Service issued its first red flag warning for west of the Cascades this year, another sign fire season is here.

Reid Wolcott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said it was the earliest red flag warning issued for the region since at least 2006 — and perhaps ever. Warm temperatures, wind speeds and dry forests can result in a red flag warning.

“We’re kind of getting into unique territory as far as how dry the spring and now early summer are looking,” Wolcott said. “And there’s really no significant chance of widespread precipitation at all on the horizon.”

There were 19 red flag events in Western Washington last year, according to the National Weather Service.

An otherwise wet spring has resulted in new underbrush. The problem is all that brush begins to dry out due to warmer temperatures in the summer and fall. It becomes fuel.

There also have not been a lot of big fires in Western Washington over the last several hundred years. Some time around the year 1700, there was a massive fire that burned millions of acres, but since then there have been few catastrophic fires west of the Cascades.

Fuel loads of up to 300 tons per acre were reported at the Bolt Creek fire last year, according to fire officials. Without consistent prescribed burns or other means to control forest density, the risk of destructive wildfires increases.

“There is a lot of fuel to burn once it becomes dry,” Wolcott said. “That’s one of the big concerns here in the Pacific Northwest. We haven’t had a long history, at least in the last century, of large wildland fires because we’re typically pretty wet. As we get drier and we have warmer and drier summers, that’s concerning.”

The Pacific Northwest is now in El Niño cycle, with the Climate Prediction Center announcing the climate pattern was officially here on June 8. El Niño years bring above normal temperatures, but do not have a strong correlation with precipitation, Wolcott said.

According to the state’s Department of Natural Resources, fuels dryness is already at normal August levels.

“We’re a couple months ahead of schedule,” said Kevin Killian, district manager with the Department of Natural Resources.

While the fire season has been off to a slow start in the lower 48, firefighters at the DNR use the time to train. Firefighters go through seasonal class trainings and then a physical fitness test where they hike 3 miles with a 45-pound pack.

The agency operates eight helicopters and eight small single-engine tankers. Several larger helicopters and scooper planes are also contracted by the department.

“This month, all that air force is coming on board,” Killian said. “… That’s our preparation.”

At the national level, the U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief Jaelith Hall-Rivera reported during a U.S. Senate budget hearing June 8 that 10,068 wildland firefighters have been hired as of May 30. That is 89% of their goal. The Forest Service is requesting funding for another 970 firefighters for fiscal year 2024.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, of Washington, is on the committee and spoke about the fire danger approaching for her home state. The hearing came as the East Coast was blanketed by Canadian wildfire smoke, an event that has become commonplace each year in the West.

“My whole state is in the forecast for this summer being the epicenter of this,” Cantwell said.