The application, the first step in the construction of the 8,000 square-foot $4.3 million facility, is now in review at the Duvall Planning Department, a process which can take as long as 28 days.

In the meantime, KCLS will also present its preliminary plans to local residents at a public input meeting set for Tuesday, March 16, 6:30 p.m. in the Duvall Fire Hall, 15600 1st Ave. NE. Johnston Architects will present its initial designs for the public to comment on. Duvall Library Board members will also attend the meeting to help ensure that the communication in both directions is clear.

"We have more history (than the general public) that would be good to have at the meeting," noted board member Karen Wallin at the February board meeting.

Don Barden added that "sharp questioning" on the part of the board could really help facilitate the overall discussion about what the library will look like and how it will function.

Board chairperson Paige Denison summed it up as "We’re really there to ensure community input is heard, and to absorb all that input." To do that, though, she said the board first needs to focus on "getting people there, getting the flyers up, spreading the word…"

Citizen input will be considered and could affect the library plans, the board agreed. Depending on the feedback at the March 16 meeting, KCLS may host another public input meeting later in the spring, to present revisions based on public feedback.

The community will also have an opportunity to provide input on the art selections for the new building, through a committee that will advise the KCLS art selection committee.

Laura Boyes said the advisory committee usually includes a library board member, and a member of the community, or a representative of the arts community, and suggested the board start considering possible members to appoint when the selection process begins in the future. Board members asked to have all three representatives on the committee.

No firm dates have been set yet for the art selection process, and the dates for the permit application process are also somewhat fluid. Following the Planning Department review, the city will post a determination of completeness within two weeks, and will post notices on the property and send letters to nearby property owners within another two weeks. The next steps can vary in their duration, but it generally takes between three and four months to receive a decision from the city.

Board member Denny Redman mentioned that he’d researched the history of the library for a presentation to the Duvall Historical Society and found some great information. "If you understood where this library came from, it would be to your immense satisfaction," because the library, created in the early 1930s, truly was built by the community.

Joe Lee Davidson, representing the Duvall Civic Club and Friends of the Library, updated the board on the group’s upcoming events. The book sale, set for Saturday, March 20 in the Rose Room of the library, will be the first sale of its size in Duvall, and "there are going to be some amazing books in the sale," he added. There will also be a preview sale for club members the evening before, with provisional club memberships available for $5.

Boyes noted that circulation at the Duvall Library increased another 6 percent in January.

Carnation students Nina Fossen (l) and Danielle Thomas include their pennies for peace. Courtesy photo.

Students at Carnation Elementary have joined hands with tens of thousands of other school children around the world who share the vision and dedication to empower communities through education in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Carnation students are embarking on a Pennies for Peace campaign to broaden their cultural horizons and become members of a global family dedicated to peace.

How can a penny bring peace? It may not buy much in Duvall or Carnation, but in the villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan, it can buy a pencil, start an education, and transform a life. In a region where terrorist organizations recruit uneducated, illiterate children; that pencil can empower a child to read, write and learn.

The Pennies for Peace program goal is to encourage children, who are ultimately our future leaders, to learn the value of philanthropy by collecting pennies for global peace.

Carnation students have had the opportunity to study the cultures of Afghanistan and Pakistan, learn to work and share together in their Pennies for Peace campaign, and come to understand their own capacity as philanthropists – "one penny at a time."

The pennies that the students collect can add up to make a real difference … 1 penny = a pencil, 2-3 pennies = an eraser, 15 pennies = one notebook, $20 = one child’s school supplies for one year, $50 = one treadle sewing machine and supplies, $100 = maternal healthcare supplies for one year, $300 = one advanced student’s annual scholarship, $600 = one teacher’s annual salary, $5,000 = support for existing school for one year and $50,000 = one school building and support for up to five years.

The Pennies for Peace campaign is a program of Central Asia Institute (CAI), founded by Greg Mortenson, author of the New York Times best seller "Three Cups of Tea." CAI is a registered 501©3 nonprofit organization that promotes and provides community-based education and literacy programs.

Carnation teacher Kriss Fridenvalds says, "The Pennies for Peace campaign has provided our kids with ownership of a major social issue – the education of children from impoverished countries. With one penny at a time, our students are helping improve the educational opportunities of children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have already collected hundreds, if not thousands of pennies from our drive. Now it is just a matter of counting them all!"

WHS senior Michael Crawford points to Hamburg, Germany on the map in the classroom of Michael Antley, right. Student and teacher will participate together in the International German Olympics there this summer. Photo by Don Mann.

Let the games begin.

Woodinville High School senior Michael Crawford is headed back to Germany for the third consecutive summer — but this time the German government is footing the bill.

Crawford was selected to represent the United States in the International German Olympics, "Internationale Deutscholympiade," a world-wide competition that will take place in Hamburg from July 19 to August 1 with all expenses paid for by the Goethe Institute.

"That’s the cultural linguistic arm of the German government," WHS German teacher Michael Antley said. "It’s basically an academic good-will program that recognizes the achievements of international students of German."

Only two Americans are selected from the entire nation, Antley said, and they’ll be joined by two from 55 other countries participating in the two-week competition in the areas of German language competence and knowledge about Germany.

The pair of students from each country — along with a teacher as coach — will compete as a team in the "games."

And this year’s American teacher, by sheer coincidence, is Antley — an honor based on merit awarded by the American Association of Teachers in German (AATG) , not the fact that he’s Crawford’s high school teacher.

"Really and truly, it’s just a happy coincidence," said Antley, who’s been at Woodinville for three years.

Crawford earned the honor by participating in a preliminary round of competition in Chicago back in November, where two finalists were selected among the 12 most highly-recommended candidates during a national contest — also sponsored and paid in full — by the Goethe Institute.

"There was a written test and a listening test, where we had to write down everything we heard and get it exactly right," Crawford said.

"And then we made a five-minute presentation on a random topic — everything in German."

What types of things were on the written test? "It was mainly geography, but also some history, culture and politics." But mostly there was language — lots of it.

Antley said the competition in Hamburg will be comprised of something similar, but more intense, including a series of presentations before a panel of judges.

"Exactly what they’ll be asked about we don’t know," he said. "And they do that for a reason. They don’t want us to be able to prepare in advance, so they leave it vague on purpose."

Crawford said he was up for the challenge, and was just thankful for the opportunity.

Fact is, he lucked out.

"Mike was not initially chosen," Antley said. "What happened was they chose two students in Chicago and sent me a nice e-mail saying sorry, but he didn’t make it. And that was fine with both of us; we were just really happy he made it Chicago and had that experience. And then they found out that one of the kids had grown up with some native German speakers in his home, which is not allowed."

When he heard the news, Crawford — a third-year German student — said he was stunned.

"It was months later I got an e-mail and found out about it," he said.

"I was like ‘Wow!’ It was a nice surprise. I’ll take a free trip to Germany," he said with a laugh.

If nothing else, he’ll get to see old friends.

Last summer he participated in an exchange program and stayed for a month with a host family in Hamburg.

The summer before that, he and his mother took a personal trip, he said, driving across the country on vacation visiting friends, where they hit all the major cities: Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart.

Those excursions, it seems, served to enhance Crawford’s German ear and tongue, the qualities that send him to the head of the class, Antley said.

"It’s his grammatical competence — how he flows when he speaks — that sets him apart from the others," he said.

Crawford was asked what it was about the German language that he found so attractive.

"I’ve just always liked languages," he said. "I actually took two years of Spanish in junior high and when I got to high school I had an open period and saw they offered German and thought it would be cool.

So I took it as an elective, kind of on a whim. And I liked it so much that I dropped Spanish and continued to take German."

Crawford, a top-shelf student, has been accepted to the University of Washington where he will major in biochemistry.

"With a German minor," Antley reminded him, and teacher and student had a good laugh.

"I’m definitely continuing to study German as long as I can," he said.

And Crawford may get yet another special opportunity: The winners of the International German Olympics will receive a grant for a three- week language course in Berlin, at a time of their own choosing.

"Really?" Crawford asked with eyes wide open. "I didn’t know that. Cool."

Meanwhile, Antley is also digging on his trip to Deutschland, which will be a return engagement.

"I used to teach high school there, and I’ve got friends in Hamburg," he said. "Hey, I’ll take a free trip to Germany anytime, too."