For years, school officials have been lamenting the state's underfunding of transportation.

Without adequate funding from the state, they say, districts must devote more and more of their local levy dollars to get kids to school.

One of their loudest charges: the state doesn't reimburse districts for transporting students whose homes or daycares lie outside a one-mile radius from school. And instead of calculating the actual route mileage, the distance is measured as a direct line from school to home or daycare. Or, in the colloquial, "as the crow flies."

Actually, says Allan Jones with the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state does provide some money to bus kids within the one-mile radius. But not much.

Jones, director of pupil transportation, says the state gives districts some funding based on the total number of kids in kindergarten through through fifth grade within the one-mile radius.

The original intent was to help districts defray the cost of transporting youngsters who faced hazardous walking conditions, even though they lived close to school.

But it's a lower rate than what the state funds for students living outside the one-mile minimum. And the districts don't have to have hazardous walking conditions to get the money. They don't even have to use the money to transport kids within that radius.

Here's how Jones explains it, and the "crow flies" business in an e-mail to The News Tribune.

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It felt somber the minute I heard the cadence music coming from where the memorial to Army 1st. Sgt. Jose Crisostomo was parked.

Today marks the memorial for the 59-year-old Spanaway man who was killed last week in Afghanistan. The viewing and Mass took place at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church.

Driving up, the church's exterior was lined with Patriot Guard Riders holding American flags. Parked near the church entrance was a Chevy pickup truck, the back of which served as a makeshift memorial to Crisostomo, who was a leader in the local Chamorro community.

If featured the ceremonial boots, rifle, helmet and dog tags, also known as a soldier's cross. The bed was lined with greenery and Guam flags, a testament to the Chamorro heritage of "Sinbad," as friends and family called him.

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Kevin Cavanagh with Pierce County Information Technology points out that the link we published in the printed paper for the weather tracker system left off one symbol.

The correct link is http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/PC/

If you can't bring it up, click here.

On the left side, it's titled "How hot is it?"

It's pretty cool. According to the site, "Eleven weather stations around the county record temperature, wind speed, relative humidity and more. Data is updated every 15 minutes."

Update: Zach's brother, Almanza, called me to say that he received the bronze in the 25-meter-assisted walk, not the softball throw. Sorry about the mix-up.

Of all the shirts people donned at today's Special Olympics Summer Games at Fort Lewis, the ones that read "Team Zack," were the some of the loudest.

The family of Zach Mendes of Everett made the shirts to show their support. Unfortunately, the company that printed the shirts spelled his name with a "k," rather than an "h."

but the misspelling didn't stop the 12 members of his family from Everett and South Hill to cheer their lungs out at every chance.

Danny Almanza, Zach's brother from South Hill, said every Special Olympics in which his brother competes is special.

At 9 months old, doctors discovered Zach had gotten spinal meningitis and didn't give him long to live. Today, he is deaf and developmentally impaired, but he's walking and winning medals at the Special Olympics.

Zach even has his own slogan, which was splashed in bright letters across the backs of his family's t-shirts: "Zack Attack."

"Yeah, go Zach!" Almanza screamed as his brother picked up a bronze in the 25-meter assisted walk. "Zach Attack!"

Ever wonder what you would say if a reporter asked you what you enjoyed most about winning in the Olympics?

Well, that's what happened to Nancy Roberts, a Lakewood resident and member of Pierce County Friends and Athletes.

She took silver in the 100-year trot. After the medal ceremony, I asked her what was her favorite part of Saturday.

"The sunshine," Roberts said, her smile beaming.

At these games, the old saying of "winning isn't everything" really is true.

Kevin Anderson is a 10-year veteran of the Special Olympics.

The 26-year-old from Tacoma was taking a break from his events Saturday at Cowan Stadium at Fort Lewis. Minutes removed his gold medal-winning performance in the shot put as a member of the Metro Parks Panthers, he was mentally preparing to sprint in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes later in the afternoon.

That's right, Anderson is a multi-sport athlete, a la Bo Jackson, the super athlete of the 1980s. (Remember lines such as, "Bo knows golf," etc.? That's Kevin)

Anderson, who has down syndrome, doesn't let his skills on the field get to his head. However, he did predict a strong showing in the running events.

"I'm super-speed," he said, pointing to his chest.

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UPDATE: Officials say more than 2,500 athletes competed in the Special Olympics

I'm here at the annual Summer Games for Special Olympics Washington at Fort Lewis, where cheers and high-fives are in no short supply.

It's amazing to see the enthusiasm and effort these athletes put into these games. It's also amazing to see their families and friends travel from places such as Eastern Washington, Vancouver and Arlington to cheer them on.

In the seating area of the track, various colored tents help identify where these teams are from. I've already spotted one team from the South Sound - the Fort Lewis Tigers.

I'll be posting from these games throughout this sunny Saturday. Stay tuned.

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’s official: I Corps is heading to Iraq next year to take on day-to-day operations.

And the unit that runs Fort Lewis will have two familiar brigades under its command.

The Department of Defense announced the major units in its next rotation Tuesday, and joining I Corps will be the 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division and the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division – both based at Fort Lewis. The announcement likely caught few people by surprise on post, where personnel have expected this decision.

A firm timetable hasn’t been set, but I Corps is expected to arrive in the winter. The two Stryker brigades will arrive during by summer; a more exact time or location hasn’t been determined because it’s not certain which units they will replace, I Corps spokeswoman Maj. Kathy Turner said.

With smaller units also expected to deploy, as many as 10,000 Fort Lewis personnel will be serving in Iraq next year, Turner said.

This will be I Corps’ first combat deployment since the Korean War. 3rd Brigade will make its third trip to Iraq, and this will be the first time 5th Brigade sees combat.

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Preston Sheldon wore a gold bar on his beret, a new patch on his chest and a wide smile on his face.

His grandfather, an 87-year-old Army veteran who served in three wars and his personal hero, stood about 15 feet away.

“It’s a little emotional,” said Sheldon, a 35-year-old from Burien. “I’m trying to hold it in right now, to be honest. I’ve been trying to make him proud since I joined the military.”

And nothing, he said, compared to Sheldon’s promotion from staff sergeant to second lieutenant during a modest ceremony at Fort Lewis on Friday.

Sheldon – a Reservist with the 3rd Battalion, 414th Regiment, a unit of the 1st Brigade, 104th Division – became an officer through the direct commission program, which allows experienced enlisted service members a chance to apply for a commission.

He applied during the waning months of his deployment, in which he served from February 2006 to April 2007 on a military interim transition team training Iraqi soldiers on their base at An Numaniyah, southeast of Baghdad.

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It’s been almost 13 months since Shawnie Salgado’s husband deployed to Iraq. That’s 13 of loneliness. Thirteen months of juggling work and motherhood. Thirteen months of apprehension every time someone knocked on the door or called in the middle of the night.

Those 13 months ended Saturday.

Her husband, Capt. Joseph Salgado, and 110 other members of an advance party of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division returned to Fort Lewis, and enthusiastic friends and family members greeted the returning warriors.

The advance party consists of soldiers from each of the brigade’s battalions and companies. They returned early to help prepare the redeployment of the brigade’s remaining 3,500-4,000 soldiers, who will be coming home in the upcoming months.

Hundreds filled bleachers at Sheridan Gym for the ceremony. A live video feed projected onto a large screen on one of the gymnasium’s walls followed the return of the troops, beginning with footage of their commercial charter jet landing at McChord Air Force Base.

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Nick Miller had only 24 hours to spend with his family. His wife, Melissa, wanted to make the short stay memorable.

A Washington pizza restaurant helped make it unforgettable.

Nick and Melissa met when he was stationed at Fort Lewis from 2003-05. His unit from the Missouri National Guard was filling in for the 170th Military Police Company, which was in Iraq. She worked as a gate guard at the post. Some of their first dates were at the Farrelli’s Pizza restaurant in DuPont. The two liked the wood-fired pies and fell in love with each other.

The couple and their two kids live in Linneus, Mo., now. Nick’s unit is preparing to deploy to Kosovo. It trained during February and March at Camp Crowder outside Neosho, Mo., and the Guardsmen had 24 hours of leave before deploying on March 23 – Easter Sunday.

Melissa’s plan to make the short leave memorable began weeks before that. She called Farrelli’s in DuPont and asked if they shipped pizzas.

“I was more than willing to pay for the pizza and the shipping and all that,” she said. “I figured we’d be eating a $75 pizza. But I would do that for my husband.”

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