Morgan Alexander was expecting maybe a dozen people to show up for a meeting about whether there's a chance to convert nine surplus Tacoma Power substations into parks or community gardens.

He had the chairs all set up in a circle.

Instead, close to 40 people came to the meeting Monday night at the main Tacoma Public Library.

They showed up not because they liked the concept of preserving public property for public use. They came because they want a stake in specific sites. They want a say in what happens at 1009 S. 35th near Lincoln Park, 3008 N. 16th, 543 N. Stadium Way, 1920 N. Adams and 3404 S. 45th.

The sites have been empty for years, and Tacoma Power has maintained most of them as attractive, though fenced, assets to the neighborhoods. The water-view lot on Stadium Way is lush, unfenced lawn.

Rose Perino, a Safe Streets organizer, says people in South Tacoma are hungry, literally, for community gardens. The South 45th Street site has a cement pad and gravel that could support raised bed veggie plots accessible even to people in wheelchairs.

The site near Lincoln Park drew the most people, neighbors who said they're eager to use a community garden as a way to grow food as well as a healthy community.

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At just 11 years old, Brooke Bowman already is a hall-of-famer.

The Evergreen Elementary School fifth-grader is among a distinguished group of 10 kids statewide who have been inducted into the AAA Washington Safety Patrol Hall of Fame for their safety patrol prowess.

Brooke is a safety patrol captain at Evergreen, a Clover Park School District school on Fort Lewis. She’s the daughter of Sgt. 1st Class Mark and Jennifer Bowman. She’s the third Evergreen student inducted into the Hall of Fame, following in the steps of Oralia Rodriguez in 2007 and Dylan Rochan in 2006.

“Brooke is a wonderful advocate and role model for Evergreen students,” said safety patrol advisor Dawnise Johnson, who nominated Brooke for the award. “She has boundless energy and a strong commitment to safety and community service. Her organizational skills, leadership and dedication make her very deserving of this honor.”

Johnson says Brooke is so organized, she created a contingency plan in case she’s ever late for safety patrol duty.

Besides holding the patrol flag across the crosswalk for pedestrians, safety patrol kids also watch the kindergartners as they line up outside classrooms before school starts. That's one of the duties Brooke enjoys the most because it allows her to see what kids of different ages like to do.

“We try to entertain them while they’re waiting for their teacher to come get them,” Brooke said in an interview. “We try to interact with them so they don’t get too wild or crazy.”

But there’s more to Brooke than safety patrol. She practices ice skating every morning before she comes to school. She’s also a wheelchair driver – a trained student who helps classmates in wheelchairs navigate Evergreen’s hallways and playground. Many special needs students attend Evergreen, which is near Madigan Army Medical Center.

To become a driver, Bowman passed a written test and driving test developed by the school.

Not everyone can be on safety patrol. Students must be recommended by a teacher. Three squads of 12 students each serve on the safety patrol team, which promotes leadership and responsibility.

Brooke and her fellow inductees will be honored at a Mariners game against the Oakland Athletics on May 1.

But unlike those baseball heroes batting in the .300s in the Cooperstown version of the Hall of Fame, Brooke has a perfect record.

She’s never missed a day of safety patrol duty in two years, Johnson said.

“I enjoy helping younger kids at my school and making sure they are safe,” Brooke said. “Contributing my time and talents to help others is very important to me.”

Debby Abe: 253-597-8694

Brooke Bowman stands outside Evergreen Elementary School on Fort Lewis. Photo credit: Clover Park School District

You might have caught this news update about Lakewood leading a $500,000 effort to improve Interstate traffic near Fort Lewis.

Given its proximity and relationship with the installation, the city is the ideal candidate to take the lead on the project. The Lakewood City Council started the process Monday night by approving $500,000 worth of studies to the corridor.

City officials say Fort Lewis is somewhat unique from other installations in that it’s located next to an urban area. I-5 gets nasty in the morning and afternoon when traffic from the post, along with McChord Air Force Base, floods nearby roads.

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It turns out art displays in Puyallup aren't only of the outdoor variety.

The new Puyallup City Hall also features a rotating gallery, which displays works provided by Valley Arts United.

The City Gallery's second-ever exhibit begins today. It consists of watercolors, acrylics and pastels by local artist Mary Johnson.

A reception for Johnson's exhibit will be held on the fifth floor of the Puyallup City Hall from 5:30 to 7 p.m. tonight, just before the Puyallup City Council meets.

Puyallup spokeswoman Glenda Carino said that the gallery exhibit will change about every three months.

She said city officials wanted to make the interior of its recently completed city hall as artistic as the outdoor portion of its campus, which features sculptural and architectural touches that mimic the geography of the Puyallup Valley.

The city also wanted to carry the spirit of its renowned downtown sculpture gallery, run by the nonprofit Arts Downtown, into the building, Carino said.

"Mostly we wanted to make sure a lot of visitors come in and they see the art and know that we support the local artists," Carino said. "We wanted have two dimensional art on the inside that showed the artistic qualities of our valley residents."