PEOPLE: Police pedal power

• Thanks to one of its former officers, the Eatonville Police Department has added a pair of bicycles to its force.

Bruce Case, who left Eatonville in 2014 to become a Seattle Police officer, had his old employer in mind when the Seattle department replaced some of its patrol bikes with new ones. Two of the older bikes were donated to Eatonville and were put to use by officers patrolling the Independence Day celebration July 3.

Eatonville Police chief Brian Witt told the Town Council that the bikes, while considered surplus by Seattle, nevertheless are in “top condition.”

• Emily Padgett, a recent graduate of Eatonville High School, earned one of five $2,500 scholarships in the 2017 “New Car and Truck Dealers American Dream” program sponsored by the Washington State Auto Dealers Association (WSADA.)

During high school, Padgett took advanced placement and college-level courses. She also participated in student government, the cross country and track teams, and the National Honor Society. Away from school, she worked part-time at the Salvation Army's Camp Arnold and volunteered at CenterPoint Church. In other words, she's the kind of student the WSADA scholarships are made for.

“The judges were impressed not only with Emily’s essay" that was part of the application process, "but also her outstanding academic and community accomplishments,” said Vicki Giles Fabre, WSADA's executive vice president. “She is a highly capable, self-motivated and promising young person who will undoubtedly make a significant impact on her community in the future.”

Padgett received the scholarship earmarked for a family member of a WSADA member dealership employee. She's the daughter of Amy and Richard Padgett, who is an auto technician at Way Scarff Ford in Auburn.

Emily, who will attend Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn. beginning this fall, said the scholarship will help her fulfill "my dream of becoming a doctor so I can help people."