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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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."

Doris Jairala has been a faithful bus rider the past five years, taking the 53 route a few times a week to get to her housekeeping jobs.

Driving isn't an option for the 62-year-old University Place resident. She suffers from seizures and isn't allowed to get behind the wheel.

(To the left: Doris Jairala, of University Place, rides the Number 53 bus to her job as a housekeeper last month. The route will be eliminated in July as Pierce Transit reduces less-used routes such as hers. Joe Barrentine/The News Tribune)

So that means for her job, she hops on the bus to Lakewood, Steilacoom, UP and any other community in which her work takes her.

But she will be one of the thousands of riders who will have to find a new bus beginning July 12. Pierce Transit, squeezed by the economic downturn, opted to eliminate or reduce service on routes throughout the county that don't have a high ridership.

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The Puyallup Tribe won't participate in policy discussions organized by the newly formed Pierce County River Revitalization Task Force, tribal officials said in a letter Thursday.

The task force of one citizen and three city council members -- one each from Sumner, Orting and Puyallup -- invited tribal officials to participate in a policy summit July 8 to discuss flooding issues throughout Pierce County.

But tribal officials wrote the group June 4 and said they don't want to undermine the work of the Lower Puyallup River Executive Task Force by taking part in the new task force.

The letter also criticized the Pierce County River Revitalization Task Force's apparent focus on sediment removal -- or dredging -- as a solution to flooding problems.

"While dredging may, arguably, provide for a short term temporary solution in select areas, as we have discussed in the larger task force, dredging will not provide a long term solution due to the sediment loads naturally occurring within the watershed," wrote Puyallup Tribe Vice Chairman Henry John.

John also asked the group to stop what it's doing, saying the presence of too many flooding task forces in Pierce County could deter federal funding for solutions.

"The Tribe would like to ask the 'Revitalization Task Force' to reconsider attempting to forge ahead alone on a short sighted path that may limit the chance that a true comprehensive solution be reached," John wrote. "The Tribe is concerned that the true solution can never be realistically reached without federal funding support, and such support will not be forthcoming if we are divided among ourselves."

Evening Magazine watchers have spoken: Sumner is one of the best tiny towns in the Northwest.

The northeast Pierce County town came in third in voting for the Best Tiny Town. First place went to Leavenworth and second place to La Connor.

KING 5’s Evening Magazine announced Monday the 2009 winners in their annual Best of Western Washington Escapes contest that covers everything from the best bed and breakfast and scenic drive to best tourist town and outdoor adventure. There were 20,704 voters in the many categories.

“This is a great honor,” Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow said in a press release today. “We know we like Sumner, but it’s great to hear from other people that they enjoy visiting. They commented a lot about how friendly everyone is in Sumner, and that’s exactly what we want people to experience here.”

As Sumner works on reclaiming its traditional designation as the Rhubarb Pie Capital of the World, this vote of confidence from the people who live, work and visit Sumner reinforces the popularity of this little town, said city spokeswoman Carmer Palmer.

Among the postings on the voting Web site (http://best.king5.com/winners/northwest-escapes/4261) was this one:
“Sumner is complete charm. A lot of my favorite shopping spots are in Sumner. It is the perfect mix of modern and vintage with a friendly homespun feel. Sumner also has some of the best restaurants around. A day spent in Sumner is a happy day for sure.”

Another Sumner fan wrote: “Sumner is absolutely adorable. Main Street is covered with great mom and pop shops where you can find almost anything. … Mostly though I love the people. Everyone is warm, welcoming and inviting. Walking down the street or enjoying music in the park makes me feel like I’ve stepped back to a time when neighbors knew one another and kept an eye out for each other’s children. Sumner is an ideal place to spend time.”

Upcoming events in Sumner include the Sumner Arts Commission's Music Off Main, every Friday in July at 6:30 pm in the gazebo at Heritage Park plus Sumner Downtown Association's Mutts Off Main dog show on July 11, Classy Chassis car show on August 23, and Mystery Wine Walk on September 12. The wine walk will feature Sumner's recent "pairing" with the city of Prosser in Eastern Washington.

The sidewalks are filled to capacity along Main Street today, and in a small garden nearby there was a small ceremony as the City of Roses paid respect to the Land of Daffodils.
A group of 14 Rosarians (the Portland equivalent of Daffodilians) planted an Oregon Celebration rosebush beside the Ryan House Museum.
The
Rosarians had earlier ridden through Tacoma and Puyallup to show their colors (cream and red) to the people of Pierce County.
Daffodilians, by the way, have already offered the Rosarians a selection of daffodil bulbs.
"We think your parade was wonderrful," said "Lord High Sheriff" Rosarian Carla Stenberg. "Who could have asked for a better day."
Meanwhile, as the parade leaves Sumner, Pastor Lori Bunkoski of Christ the King Lutheran Church smiles at the profits from today's bake sale.
She estimates her church choir earned $300 from sales of popcorn and baked goods at a stand on Maion Street.
The biggest seller?
Chocolate chip.

And now, on to Orting.

Groups of volunteers are spending all day today putting the final touches on the floats that will appear in tomorrow's Daffodil Parade.

I went down to the Foss Waterway Seaport's Maritime Museum this afternoon to check out their progress. About four different floats were underway there about 1:30 p.m.

Below are some volunteers working on the City of Sumner's float.

Other groups of float-builders are setting up shop at the Active Construction, Inc., warehouse on River Road in Puyallup. Still more have their own storage areas.

In total, about 40 floats will appear in tomorrow's parade, along with about 80 other marching groups and dignitaries.

The parade starts at 10:15 in Tacoma, 12:45 in Puyallup, 2:30 in Sumner, and 5 p.m. in Orting.

Well, sort of.

What officials in flood-prone cities like Orting actually are looking for in the Puyallup River basin is something called scalping, gravel skimming, or -- to use an even milder term -- sediment management.

The difference? They only want debris to be removed from above the water line, not below. That approach is thought to be less damaging to fish habitat below the water. But local officials say it would still increase the capacity of the river, helping alleviate some of the major flooding Pierce County cities are starting to see on an annual basis.

Orting building official Ken Wolfe took me out today along one of the levees along the Puyallup River in Orting. He was trying to show me the extent of the sedimentation in the river, and how much the capacity of the river could improve just by skimming all that dirt off the top.

The topic has been a hot one among Orting citizens and business owners as well. Wolfe said if the gravel was removed from the river, it would take a more downpour for the river to flood surrounding housing communities.

This is some of the sedimentation he showed me today. In the foreground is the edge of a levy, while the gravel in the river and on the far side is all debris.

I'll be writing a story for next week on the issues surrounding dredging or scalping the river, and all the communities who are now asking for it. Besides Orting, there's also Sumner and plenty of private citizens and business owners.

At the urging of avid BMX racers, Pierce County Parks and Recreation is working to reopen the Riverside Park in Sumner, which has been closed since January's flooding.

Pierce County parks officials originally said they may not reopen the park due to the routine flooding it has endured in recent years.

"It's difficult for us to go back in and dump money into something that keeps getting flooded every 18 months," parks superintendent Kent Baskett said.

But Baskett said Monday that the department has working on an inexpensive plan to reopen the park.

Department officials are holding a meeting to update park users about the plan tonight at 6 p.m.

The meeting will be held at the Pierce County Parks and Recreation Headquarters, located at the Lakewood Community Center at 9112 Lakewood Drive Southwest.

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The Daffodil Festival is looking for volunteers to sit on a citizen advisory board and guide it through tough financial times.

Citizens on the committee would advise the Daffodilians, the group that runs the festival, about how to make 76-year-old event appeal to the local community.

Organizers have repeatedly said that without a substantial increase in fundraising, they won't have the money to put on the festival or its annual Grand Floral Parade in 2010.

The idea for a citizens committee came up in two public workshops the Daffodilians held in November. Citizens and local stakeholders said the festival organizers should seek community input through some sort of board or committee.

The committee will meet monthly with Daffodil Festival organizers and report to the Daffodilians' executive board.

"Initially, it will just be making sure we're on track and staying relevant," said Robyn DeLorm, the festival's development director. "We want to open our doors more and have the benefit of outside eyes."

The festival's Grand Floral Parade runs through Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner and Orting every spring.

Last year, 23 local high schools nominated Daffodil Princesses to compete for the title of Daffodil Queen and more than $50,000 in scholarships.

Festival spokeswoman Susan McGuire said she hopes citizen involvement will help raise awareness about all the things the Daffodil Festival does in the community.

"I don't think people understand what we do," McGuire said. "We're trying as hard as we can to keep it alive. That's why we're putting this idea in motion."

The first meeting of the citizen advisory committee is to be held 6 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 21. A location is still to be determined.

Anyone interested in being involved should contact Robyn DeLorm at 253-826-0275 or by e-mail at robyn@daffodilfestival.net.

The Association of Space Explorers is in Seattle for its 21st Planetary Congress. And tomorrow, astronauts and cosmonauts will be visiting school districts around the area to talk about science with kids.

We’re working on getting a full list of who’s going where. But here’s what we know so far:

Pierce
● Belgian astronaut Dirk Frimout will visit Tacoma MESA, Jason Lee Middle School, Stewart Middle School and Sheridan Elementary School in Tacoma
● Russian cosmonaut Alexander Poleshchuk will visit Pioneer Middle School in DuPont and Saltar's Point Elementary School and Steilacoom High School.
● Hungarian cosmonaut Bertalan Farkas will visit Sumner's Emerald Hills and Daffodil Valley elementary schools and Sumner High School.
● NASA astronaut John Blaha will visit Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way. Also, Khazakhstani cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev will visit Federal Way High School.
● NASA astronaut Vance Brand will visit Neely-O'Brien Elementary School in Kent.
● NASA astronaut Dick Richards will visit Chinook, Washington and Dick Scobee Elementary schools in Auburn.
● NASA astronaut Charlie Walker will visit Aviation High School and Midway Elementary School in Des Moines.
● NASA astronaut Tom Henricks will visit Peter G. Schmidt Elementary School in Tumwater and East Olympia Elementary School.
● NASA astronaut Millie Hughes-Fulford will visit Mountain View Middle School in Bremerton and Orchard Heights Elementary School in Port Orchard. Mongolian cosmonaut Jugderdemidyn Gurragchaa will also visit Orchard Heights.

(Any school PIOs out there want to e-mail me so I can add more to the list?)

We’re going to have a reporter (me) and a photographer at one of the visits tomorrow, but I’m not sure where yet. But I can promise I won’t use lame turns of phrase like, “This astronaut’s visit was out of this world!”