issaquahpress122612

By Warren [email protected]

Santa Claus traded the sleigh for a police SUV not long before Christmas.

Issaquah Police Department officers joined the jolly old elf to deliver some holiday cheer and — most importantly, for some fortunate children — Christmas gifts.

The department adopts at least one local family each Christmas, and the officers in blue collect gifts and then join Santa to make the family’s holi-day merry and bright. Just after Thanksgiving, police officers and employees started prepar-ing to brighten the holidays for a pair of families.

Throughout the holiday sea-son, police officers and employ-

ees spent their own money to buy gifts. The children in both families ranged from 1 to 17, so officers headed out shopping, wish lists in hand.

Then, officers and Santa piled

into police vehicles Dec. 19 for the deliveries.

“The kids just had these huge


Challenges — whether eco-nomic, political or social — de-fined the year.

Construction started on a long-awaited retail center in the Issaquah Highlands as city lead-ers eyed redevelopment else-where. Residents rallied to help one another after crippling snow and ice storms hit the region. The community came together to confront a threat against Skyline High School students.

Milestones from the past 12 months show how the community rose to face challenges.

Issaquah bans plastic bags at most retailers

Issaquah joined a string of cit-ies along Puget Sound to outlaw plastic bags at local retailers June 4, after months of acrimo-nious debate about adverse im-pacts to the marine environment and the regional economy.

In the end, concerns about the environment led the City Council to decide 5-2 to eliminate most retail uses for plastic bags. The legisla-tion — and a 5-cent fee on paper bags — go into effect next year.

The council listened to advocates from environmental groups and the plastics industry in public meet-ings throughout April and May, and then again before the decision.

The plastic bag ban sponsor, Councilman Mark Mullet, pre-sented the legislation as a way to reduce the estimated 10 million plastic bags the city sends to the King County landfill each year.

Proponents said plastic bags pose problems at recycling facilities and use up space at the local landfill needed for nonrecyclable items. Opponents said outlawing the bags could hurt businesses in the region, including plastics manufacturers and mom-and-pop stores.

Next: Retailers plan to roll out the plastic bag ban and a 5-cent fee on paper bags in March, under the legislation adopted by the council.

Threat prompts Skyline High School closure

Skyline High School closed Sept. 20, after a former stu-dent threatened to unleash a Columbine-style attack and shoot students on campus.

Issaquah School District ad-ministrators characterized the decision to close the Sammamish school as a precaution, and the school reopened the next day, albeit at a later time and as extra police officers, parent volunteers and counselors greeted students.

The decision to close Skyline for a day rattled the tight school community and spurred a far-reaching investigation encom-

INSIDE THE PRESS QUOTABLE

A&E ............... B8Classifieds ...... B7Community .... B1Let’s Go! ......... B2

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““He’s a tremendous person, first of all. He has a great attitude, great personality, and he’s worked so hard.”

— Russell WilsonSeahawks quarterback, about Skyline High School senior Max Browne, who was named Gatorade Player of the Year (See story on Page B4.)

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THE ISSAQUAH PRESSTHE ISSAQUAH PRESSTHE ISSAQUAH PRESSWednesday, December 26, 2012

INSIDEPolice blotter highlights, Page A3Best (unseen) photos, Page B1Top sports moments, Page B4Entertainment highlights, Page B8

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Milestones from 2012 reflect challenges

A1


City leaders raised the build-ing height limit to 125 feet in the business district and raised the stakes for redevelopment in the decades ahead.

The roadmap to redevelopment — a document called the Central Issaquah Plan — also creates a framework to add more than 7,000 residences on about 1,000 acres stretched along Interstate 90.

In a series of decisions reached Dec. 17 after years spent re-envisioning the business district, a relieved City Council adopted the Central Issaquah Plan, but delayed action on a key piece until at least April.

“It’s the right plan at the right time,” Councilman Fred Butler said. “It will not happen over-night, but when the time is right,

we will be ready.”Officials said the document

offers a guide to transform the area from strip mall suburbia into a dense urban core in the next 30 years. Critics derided the plan as a step to remake the city as a “baby Bellevue” and under-mine Issaquah’s character.

The existing business district includes regional retail destina-tions — Pickering Place, and the Meadows and Issaquah Com-mons shopping centers — but 75 percent of land in the area is paved parking lots.

If implemented, guidelines in the Central Issaquah Plan could reshape the community on a scale larger even than devel-opment in the Issaquah High-lands and Talus urban villages throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

Cost to public is uncertainThe document sets Issaquah on

a path to add a regional growth center designation to the busi-ness district. Issaquah needs to add dense development and meet other benchmarks to qualify for

BY JaCQUeLINe KerNeSS/ISSaQUaH poLICe DeparTmeNT

Officer Karin Weihe holds 3-year-old Storie Seawright as the Issaquah Police Department delivers Christmas gifts to local families Dec. 19.

BLUE CHRISTMASOfficer trades blue

uniform for red suit to play Santa for families

BY JaCQUeLINe KerNeSS/ISSaQUaH poLICe DeparTmeNT

Santa Claus delivers gifts to 7-year-old Blanca Gomez and 6-year-old Sergio Gomez Jr. as the Issaquah Police Department delivers Christmas gifts to local families Dec. 19.

City OKs buildings up to 125 feet tallRedevelopment plan calls for more than 7,000 residences

See PLAN, Page A6

TOP NEWS STORIES OF THE YEAR2012120121FOR

See TOP 10, Page A2


The all-volunteer organization Issaquah Community Services provided more than $88,000 in assistance to local families last year, in the form of rent and util-ity assistance, or emergency aid.

But the nonprofit organiza-tion could provide less help in the future, because the Merry Christmas Issaquah fundraising drive is 45 percent under the $75,000 goal for the year.

Now, as the fundraising drive nears completion, Issaquah Community Services still needs to raise $33,093 to meet the goal.

Only once before, in 2003, did Merry Christmas Issaquah fail to meet organizers’ annual goal.

The city provides office space and overhead, so 100 percent of donations go to people in need.

Holiday donations through Merry Christmas Issaquah enable the organization to help people in the coming year. Payments do not go directly to clients.

The organization offers a place to turn for local families in need of some extra help. Most clients need assistance to pay rent or a utility bill.

The holiday fundraising drive accounts for about 65 percent of Issaquah Community Services’ annual budget. The organiza-tion faces increased demand for aid — so great the organization shut down for more than a week

Christmas fund is 45 percent under goal

See FUND, Page A5

See SANTA, Page A5

passing local and federal authorities.

Investigators spent the days after the discovery attempting to pinpoint the user behind the threat post-ed Sept. 19 on the online bulletin board 4chan. Police traced the post to a proxy server in Sweden — a common technique to mask computer users’ identities — and hit a dead end.

Police said a trail of Facebook comments led investigators to a suspect in the threat. Facebook taunts directed at Skyline students and information from friends linked the incident to a 16-year-old Edmonds boy, a former Skyline student.

Next: The boy pleaded not guilty to felony harass-ment, and is scheduled to go to trial next year. In the meantime, a King County Juvenile Court judge ordered electronic home detention and restricted computer access as pun-ishment.

Construction starts on highlands retail center

Finally, after years of plans and promises, developers and officials gathered in the Issaquah Highlands early June 26 to launch construction on a $70 million retail center in the neighborhood — a long-awaited amenity for residents and, in recent years, a symbol for the anemic economy and rebound.

Fields ceded to grasses and wildflowers as a diffi-cult economy slowed plans to build a retail center in the neighborhood should transform in the months ahead to accommodate stores, restaurants and a 12-screen multiplex.

The effort to add more retail options to the neigh-borhood stretches back to the mid-1990s — and lead-

ers from the city, highlands developer Port Blakely Com-munities and Florida-based retail center developer Regency Centers treated the groundbreaking ceremony as a watershed moment.

The planned retail cen-ter, Grand Ridge Plaza, en-compasses 10 blocks and 15 buildings spread across 280,113 square feet. The announced tenants include a Regal Cinemas multiplex, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Marshalls, RAM Restau-rant & Brewery, Safeway and more.

Next: Expect the initial offerings — Regal Cinemas and some restaurants — to open at about the same time in the spring. Con-struction is poised to start on Safeway early next year.

Storms, and then blackout, cripple Issaquah

In the days after a snowstorm pummeled the region, blackout chased whiteout, as residents uneasy about thorny com-mutes and missed meetings instead confronted sinking temperatures and toppling trees — all sans electricity.

The major snowstorm dropped 3 to 6 inches across the Issaquah area Jan. 18, but the struggle started the next day, as a rare ice storm led to wide-spread power outages and caused trees to send ice- and snow-laden branches earthward.

The harsh conditions test-ed road crews, prompted spinouts and fender benders around the region, and led Issaquah School District administrators to cancel school for almost a week.

Ironically, snowfall on the ground early Jan. 18 came from a less-severe-than-predicted snowstorm. Still, the snowstorm left deep snow in local neigh-borhoods, especially areas at higher elevations.

The toughest challenges came in the days after-ward, as ice encased pow-er lines and tree branches fell to the ground.

The recovery effort

lurched into gear before snow and ice melted, but city residents and officials continued the daunting cleanup for several weeks.

Next: Issaquah, King County and state emer-gency planners gird for ex-treme weather and natural disasters.

Issaquah Salmon Hatchery marks 75 years

The iconic Issaquah Salmon Hatchery opened along Issaquah Creek 75 years ago and, in the de-cades since, developed into a symbol for the commu-nity and a lifeline for fish species.

Community and Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery leaders celebrat-ed the milestone through-out 2012.

Conservationists and longtime Issaquah residents credit the hatchery for re-storing the historic Issaquah Creek salmon runs after decades of logging and min-ing damaged the creek and surrounding watershed.

Works Progress Admin-istration crews started to build the hatchery complex on a former city park and bandstand in 1936, and the hatchery opened the following year.

In the 1970s, as the Is-saquah Labor Day cel-ebration morphed into the Salmon Days Festival, the hatchery served as a focal point during the festivities.

Despite the success, of-ficials confronted a grim future for the hatchery in the early 1990s. State leaders eyed the hatchery for closure amid a budget crisis. FISH formed in 1994 to preserve the hatchery, and spearheads educa-tional programs in school classrooms and at the facility — the most-visited state-run hatchery.

Next: Crews plan to replace a problem-plagued dam upstream from the hatchery after securing more than $250,000 in city funds and $4 million in state funds for the long-envisioned project.

City adopts roadmap for redevelopment

Issaquah leaders ad-opted a long-term plan Dec. 17 to transform the business district from strip mall suburbia into a dense urban core punctuated by buildings up to 125 feet tall.

The roadmap to the more urban future is the Central Issaquah Plan, a far-reaching guide to development for the area stretched along the inter-state from the Bellevue city line to Northeast Gilman Boulevard.

In a decision reached after years spent re-envi-sioning the business dis-trict — about 1,000 acres stretched along Interstate 90 — a relieved City Coun-cil adopted the Central Issaquah Plan, but delayed action on a key piece.

Supporters said the change outlined in the Central Issaquah Plan is not going to occur over-night, and noticeable changes could require years to come to fruition.

The document could act as a guide to a future Issaquah or, as some crit-ics suggest, invite more sprawl to the community, further clog already-con-gested roads and mar the mountain panorama.

Next: The council is likely to reconsider Central Issaquah Plan design and development standards — rules for buildings, com-munity spaces, landscap-ing, signage and more — in April.

City creates groundbreaking marijuana rules

Months before Wash-ington voters approved marijuana for recreational use in November — and imparted a different mean-ing on the nickname Ev-ergreen State — Issaquah pioneered rules for medi-cal marijuana operations.

GreenLink Collective opened in late 2010 at a former daycare cen-ter near Issaquah Valley Elementary School in a

neighborhood not zoned for commercial operations. Officials ruled against GreenLink’s initial appli-cation for a city business license.

The ruling started a monthslong process to establish rules for medical marijuana operations.

In December 2011, after listening to emotional testimony from medical marijuana users — and only a handful of com-plaints from opponents — the City Council adopted rules to limit such medical marijuana operations near schools, parks and other collective gardens.

GreenLink opened at a storefront along Northwest Gilman Boulevard in early 2012.

Other cities studied the successful process Issaquah used to craft the ordinance, but the voter-approved measure to legalize marijuana for recreational use, Initiative 502, led officials statewide to prepare for additional changes next year.

Next: State officials plan to spend up to a year to establish rules for grow-ing, processing, selling and possessing marijuana.

Voters decide bitter, surprising Senate bout

The candidate no longer in the race loomed over the contest for the 5th Legislative District’s state Senate seat.

Cheryl Pflug, a Re-publican former senator and erstwhile candidate, lingered as a constant presence in the acrimoni-ous race contest between Issaquah City Councilman Mark Mullet, a Democrat, and Snoqualmie Republi-can Brad Toft.

In May, Gov. Chris Gre-goire appointed Pflug to a $92,500-per-year spot on the Washington Growth Management Hearings Board. Pflug unexpectedly withdrew from the race and later resigned from the Senate, setting up a head-to-head contest be-tween Mullet and Toft.

The actions opened a rift between Pflug and other Republicans.

The race turned increas-ingly bitter in the clos-ing weeks, as Democrats seized on Toft’s past legal troubles and Republicans attempted — and failed — to link Mullet to a deal between Gregoire and Pflug to claim the seat for the Democrats.

Mullet came out on top in the unexpectedly ugly contest to succeed Pflug in the Senate, 54 percent to 46 percent.

Next: Mullet assumed office in the Senate last month. Once he resigns from the Issaquah City Council in January, mem-bers intend to move quickly to appoint a successor.

Sting nets former bus driver for child porn

Issaquah School District and Eastside Catholic High School officials sought to reassure parents and students May 11 after federal agents arrested a substitute bus driver for the Issaquah district and

former Eastside Catholic teacher for possession of child pornography.

Andrew Bernard Rek-dahl, 29, faced child pornography charges after federal prosecutors said the Carnation resident shared explicit images and videos of boys online from his home computer.

Department of Homeland Security agents arrested Rekdahl at a school district facility May 10 after a monthslong sting operation.

Federal agents arrested Rekdahl and 189 other suspects in a nationwide sting dubbed Operation Orion. The sting targeted the possession, receipt, transportation, distribution, advertisement or production of explicit images or videos.

Before the case went to trial, Rekdahl — a popular teacher at Eastside Catho-lic — succumbed to cancer Aug. 29.

In 2010, Eastside Catholic students and parents had raised more than $17,000 to support Rekdahl as he underwent treatment for aggressive duodenal carcinoma, or intestinal cancer.

Next: Officials at the school district and Eastside Catholic said no complaints occurred against Rekdahl at either organization.

Salmon Days Festival sets attendance record

The ode to salmon mi-gration, Issaquah’s iconic Salmon Days Festival, lured a record crowd in early October — more than 180,000 attendees.

Salmon Days Festival attendees packed like sardines on downtown Issaquah streets in early October, as sunshine and balmy temperatures lured a record crowd to the event.

Salmon Days reeled in attendees for a parade, carnival games, street snacks, arts and crafts, and, of course, a chance to see migrating chinook and coho.

Crowds jammed the bridge across the creek on the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery grounds and pressed close to portals to see the fish up close.

Salmon Days is a com-munity celebration rooted in a long-ago Labor Day parade. In the 1970s, as the former celebration morphed into Salmon Days, the hatchery served as a focal point during the festivities.

Since locals established the festival, Salmon Days transformed from a small-town celebration into re-gional festival — and a ma-jor draw for out-of-towners and tourism dollars.

Next: Organizers started planning the 44th annual festival, a salmon-centric celebration set for Oct. 5-6, not long after the last Salmon Days concluded.

A2 • Wednesday, December 26, 2012 The Issaquah Press

A2

MOST-READ ARTICLES Throughout the year,

readers turned to www.issaquahpress.com for updates about local events and issues. The most-read articles from 2012 reflect a thirst for details and news breaks, as well as a strong appetite for entertainment tidbits.1. Mouseketeer Ginny Tyler, voice artist and Issaquah resident, dies — July 232. Skyline High School to close over mass shooting threat — Sept. 203. Student dies on Skyline High School campus — Dec. 144. Quarterback Jake Heaps glad to be at Kansas, out of spotlight — Aug. 285. Lindzi Cox, Liberty High School graduate, is still in the hunt for ‘The Bachelor’ — Feb. 286. Issaquah residents con-front power outages amid icy conditions — Jan. 197. Facebook clues led police to suspect in Skyline shooting threat — Oct. 38. Maker of Excedrin, Bufferin announces recall — Jan. 239. TV’s ‘The Bachelor’ meets local contestant’s parents — Feb. 2010. Costco looms large in race between Barack Obama, Mitt Romney — Oct. 30

Top 10from page a1

The Issaquah Press Wednesday, December 26, 2012 • A3

A3


Snow crept into forecasts in recent days, but aside from a dusting in higher-elevation neighborhoods and a delay for Issaquah School District students, winter weather did not cause significant disrup-tions in the area.

In response to slushy conditions on roads and some snowfall overnight, school district administra-tors delayed the start of school two hours Dec. 18. The day before, as fore-casters issued a winter

weather advisory for West-ern Washington, Issaquah and King County road crews prepared for snow.

National Weather Service meteorologists pre-dicted snow for Issaquah overnight from Dec. 17-19, but said residents should expect to see accumula-tion of 1 inch or less as temperatures dipped into the 30s and the snow level dropped low enough to encompass local neigh-borhoods. Temperatures started to rise into the 40s by Dec. 19, and the snow turned to rain.

The city, county and

state Department of Trans-portation stockpiled salt, sand and anti-icing agents at locations throughout Is-saquah and the surround-ing area. Crews readied plows and sanders, and crews started to receive road-clearing assignments before Thanksgiving.

Issaquah and King County divide streets into priority levels for snow removal.

City snowplows initially focus on Priority 1 routes — important arteries and access to hillside com-munities, such as Squak Mountain and the high-

lands. Crews then address side streets as conditions allow.

City crews toil around the clock in 12-hour shifts to remove snow from the roadway and, if necessary, drop sand and de-icing fluid onto the roadway.

The county also puts crews on 12-hour shifts during significant snow-storms to provide around-the-clock response in unincorporated areas.

The prospect of snow led King County Metro Tran-sit to remind bus riders to plan ahead for getting around during winter

weather — especially since many bus route changes recently occurred.

Even minor snow and icy conditions can delay or reroute buses on some of Metro Transit’s 240 routes. The agency offers tools to help riders stay informed during inclement conditions.

Metro Transit buses go to snow routing as neces-sary, depending on road conditions in a broad geographic area. Planners assign every bus route to at least one of seven geographic areas in King County and riders can check each area’s status.

BEST OF BLOTTERThroughout the year, the

police blotter chronicles criminal masterminds, traffic snags and occasional oddi-ties beneath tongue-in-cheek headlines.

The items included below — culled from 12 months of police reports — highlight humorous and strange hap-penings from the year:

Private eyePolice contacted a

Sammamish woman after she drove over a planter strip in the 3300 block of Issaquah-Pine Lake Road Southeast on Jan. 26. The collision damaged the under-side of her vehicle, causing it to leak transmission fluid. She told the officer she believed she had been fol-lowed and her vehicle had been bugged with surveil-lance devices.

Donation frustrationPolice responded to suspi-

cious activity at a donation bin in the 600 block of Northwest Gilman Boulevard at 3:25 p.m. June 7 as a man and his girlfriend attempted to retrieve cloth-ing accidentally placed in the bin earlier. The girlfriend

verified the story, and the man retrieved the items and departed.

American idlePolice responded to a noise

complaint in the 100 block of Northwest Dogwood Street at 11:39 p.m. June 20 after a caller reported a man sing-ing loudly in the area. Police located the man on the roof of his home and asked him to keep the noise down.

LateFlintoft’s Funeral Home &

Crematory, 540 E. Sunset Way, requested a police escort for a funeral before 11:24 a.m. July 13. When officers arrived for the detail, they discovered the proces-sion had already left the funeral home.

H is for hoodlumPolice responded to mali-

cious mischief in the 200 block of Southeast Clark Street at 10:44 p.m. July 15 after a call-er reported a child vandalizing a sign. The officer contacted an 8-year-old girl who admitted to pulling down half of the letter H from a sign. The officer took the girl to her mother, and the mother said she intended to make arrangements to pay for the damage.


The gravel quarry carved into the hillside below the Issaquah Highlands is poised to transform into businesses and homes in the next 30 years, after the City Coun-cil approved a landmark development agreement to reshape the area.

The landowner and quarry operator, Issaquah-based Lakeside Industries Inc., proposed the pact last year for about 120 acres on both sides of Highlands Drive Northeast. The coun-cil approved the develop-ment agreement Dec. 17, despite concerns about building height, traffic con-gestion and contamination in the Lower Issaquah Val-ley Aquifer, a key drinking water source for the city.

“There was a lot of push and pull, a lot of compro-mise, and I think it’s an agreement that both is good for my family and is also good for the city of Issaquah, and that we will live to see a development on this site that enhances

the city,” Lakeside Indus-tries CEO Tim Lee said be-fore the unanimous council decision.

The city blueprint for long-term growth, or Comprehensive Plan, calls for mineral resource land to undergo “adequate rec-lamation and enhancement of the site” once quarry-ing or mining activities conclude.

The deal between the city and Lakeside In-dustries is similar to the agreements underpin-ning development in the highlands and Talus urban villages, and Rowley Properties land along state Route 900.

Developers can build hundreds of homes, plus businesses, roads and other infrastructure, and parks and trails on the existing gravel quarry and other land nearby.

The area farthest from the highlands and closest to Interstate 90 is expected to continue as industrial land for the foreseeable future, but construction could start on land near the highlands as early as

next year.Councilman Mark Mullet

said the timeline offers the city a chance to study — and correct — possible impacts related to develop-ment.

“This is the beauty of this whole arrangement,” he said. “We get a great length of time to re-ally study to make sure it works.”

Former Councilman David Kappler, Issaquah Alps Trails Club president, said the long-term agree-ment could carry benefits for the site.

“The more they know what they can do with the site over the long term, the more efficient they’ll oper-ate the site,” he told the council.

Still, concerns about building height and the potential for aquifer contamination dominated the discussion before the council decision.

“I consider myself an en-vironmentalist — I love the lake, the animals that eat all of my flowers, the fish, the native plants. I know they’re all connected, but

let me be clear — clean, safe drinking water is the top of my environmental pyramid,” Issaquah resi-dent Denise Smith told the council.

Kappler also cautioned the council about the aquifer contamination, and noted the expense of purchasing water from the regional Cascade Water Alliance.

“If we have to go into any kind of treatment of that water, or have to switch and buy more from CWA through there, it’s going to be extremely ex-pensive for residents in the city and residents on the plateau,” Kappler said.

City Economic Develop-ment Manager Keith Niven said the agreement con-tains safeguards to prevent contamination.

“The idea here is that we’re not just going to put a bunch of storm water in the ground and walk away,” he said. “There will be monitoring. There will be pretreatment. There will be a lot of source con-trols in Lakeside, similar to Issaquah Highlands.”

Snow causes few disruptions for residents WHAT TO KNOWLearn more about

Issaquah winter weather plans, and find snowplow routes at http://bit.ly/Ta4QIm.

Call 206-296-8100 to report problems on roads in unincorporated King County.

King County Metro Transit riders can receive up-to-date information about route changes at the Transit Alerts website, http://1.usa.gov/5c064v.

Find local forecasts and alerts at the National Weather Service, www.nws.noaa.gov.

Council approves pact to transform gravel quarry to urban village

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Newsroom:[email protected] Editor Kathleen R. MerrillReporter Christina Corrales-ToyReporter David HayesReporter Warren KagariseSports Reporter John LeggettReporter Lillian TuckerPhotographer Greg Farrar

Publisher Deborah Bertophone: 392-6434Fax: 392-1695

www.issaquahpress.com

We’d like to take a moment to salute those people who took the time to write a letter to the editor in 2012. Their written voice provokes, challenges, encourages and thereby builds a stronger community for

us all. We aren’t able to publish every letter we receive, but here’s a list of the 122 authors, in alphabetical order, who did get ink this year.

Thanks to our many letter writers

‘The Sound of Music’

High school musical was as good as professional production

I recently attended the first high school musical I’ve ever seen: “The Sound of Music,” by Issaquah High School’s performing arts depart-ment. In summary: Wow! It was a superb performance.

Annika Dybevik, the senior who played Maria, was flawless and has a voice equal to any I’ve heard at the Village Theatre, 5th Avenue or the Paramount.

After Maddy Bennett’s mov-ing “Climb Every Mountain,” I noticed quite a few teary eyes in the audience. There were other wonderful performances (sorry, can’t name you all), fabulous scenery and a great orchestra.

If you’ve never thought about attending a high school show, you should give it a try. You’re in for a treat if you attend performances at IHS (and probably the other district high schools, as well). Fi-

nancially, it’s a steal compared to other theater options. And, per-haps best of all, you get to support all the students who appear on, behind and below the stage.

Matthew BarryIssaquah

Liberty schedule

Thanks for the right decisionI want to thank the Issaquah

School Board for the courage and leadership the members showed at the board meeting in regard to the Liberty schedule change. I know it was not easy for the board to vote against the super-intendent’s recommendation.

It was clear that they had looked at the data and listened to the community input on the issue. As was mentioned by members of the board, Liberty clearly has something special going on that the community values, but that the school district doesn’t fully under-stand or know how to measure.

The community conversation that has started around what makes a successful well-rounded student that is ready for the chal-lenges of today’s world is a good one and should continue.

What responsibility does the dis-trict have to teach our kids beyond the core subjects? How do we place value on these expanded educa-tional opportunities? How should we measure the value delivered in our schools beyond subjects that have standardized tests?

I applaud the board for thinking broadly about this subject. There is more national conversation about what elements are needed for a balanced educational of-fering beyond core subjects. We are a progressive school district where the administration, board and community clearly are aligned around the goal of doing what is best for our kids.

Let’s help lead the way by keeping the conversation going around how we can deliver and place value on a broader range of educational opportunities for all of our students.

Julie Colehour-MitchellLiberty parent and schedule committee member

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oPInIonA4 • Wednesday, December 26, 2012

From The WebConnecticut school massacre

I am very disturbed that on the day of the Connecticut shootings at an elementary school the folks at the Issaquah Sportsmen’s Club continued to shoot.

My kids attend Clark Elementary School and after hearing of the hor-rific shooting, resulting in 27 lost lives, mostly children, it seemed ex-tremely insensitive to have to listen to the firing of shotguns ricocheting across our playground. Can we not build an underground range? In such an idyllic environment, hearing gunshots does not add to the peaceful surroundings.

Amy Eberhardt

Electoral CollegeWhy are all these votes going

to President Obama when 40 percent of the state voted against President Barack Obama?

I feel that I am not represented by the government, as I voted for Mitt Romney and will not have equal representation based on all 12 electoral votes going to Obama. It should be divided based on the percentage of the vote, or 7-5 Obama and Romney.

Benton Ramsey

Ours is a multiparty system, not just two. Why are all of the electors of a state only from one party? Def-initely time to rid ourselves of the Electoral — outdated — College.

Sherry Scott

Seriously! Having the elec-toral votes divided proportionally

across the nation would’ve been great for the 2000 election.

Mark Roberts

Central Issaquah PlanPeople say this is all about the

character of the city and how it can continue to “evolve.”

Look at how Bellevue has evolved, or Redmond, Kirkland or even Renton. Why do they all look the same? That is not evolution — it’s cloning. A town that is unique, right now, is Issaquah. Why do we need to change so we can meet some absurd 80-year growth goal?

Building more density lowers property values, increases traffic and, still, nobody on the council has figured out how this will all be paid for. Tragic.

Bryan Weinstein

There isn’t enough space in a parking lot to transform it into a “pedestrian-minded” anything. Buildings would have to be de-stroyed and moved, and then you still wouldn’t have a place to park.

Yes, this metamorphosis could lead to affordable housing, and developers could build affordable housing now if they wanted to. I get a sense that they don’t want to. If we let new development be built without parking, whether it be a parking lot or parking garage, we’re in for trouble!

“If they could afford to live in Issaquah, get on public transpor-tation, go to work, come home, walk a block to a grocery store so they didn’t have to rely on their cars, it’d be ideal,” he said.

Postmaster:Send address changes to TheIssaquah Press,P.O. Box 1328,Issaquah, WA 98027

Have you tried to go to Costco without your car? Enough said! Also, most of our grocery stores aren’t located in residential areas! Safeway, QFC and Fred Meyer are farther than a block from any housing. This is a fan-tasy and should never happen.

Ralph Montez

Troopers’ tractor-trailer enforcement

I’d like to see the lower speed limit enforced for trucks.

I recently came back from Spokane along Interstate 90, and there were trucks passing trucks passing trucks, some of them doing substantially more than 60 mph, others seriously impeding traffic — this under somewhat adverse road conditions.

Yet, although I drive this route pretty often, I have never seen a truck pulled over and cited. Yes, the tailgating speed demons in cars are a problem, but so are the truckers.

Rick Francis

The Issaquah PressThe Issaquah PressThe Issaquah Press

Kendrick AllenGlenn AndersonLesley AustinMichael T. Barr Matthew Barry WSP Chief John R. BatisteDavid BatySuzannah BeemanJulia BensonFamily of Bill BentzHeather BerryKaren BloomquistDon BorinKim BoromMatthew BottMark Bowers Larry BrickmanBob BrockKimberly BoromFred ButlerBillie CairnsRobin CallahanMargo Campbell C.A. ChristensenLaurie ClarkJulie Colehour-Mitchell Tony CowanBen CrowtherBarbara de MicheleClaudia Donnelly Bill ElderTiffany EndresBarbara Extract Ray ExtractRosemary FaheyBette FilleyLeo FinneganTina Fisher FordeConnie FletcherLaura and Bob ForemanDerek Franklin Joan FrielRick GainesWendy GhioraPat Martin and Francie Greth-PetoTom HarmanMike Harrington Helen HedmanDon Hindman Shupe and Mary Holmberg Sylvia HookerIngrid JarvisNancy and Jeff JuliusMary Jo KahlerKate KaluznyCori KaukJanda KeenanMaggie KoepplerKen Konigsmark Joyce KormanyosTom Knollmann

Terry J. LaBrueJim LemingBarbara Lyall-GambaChad MagendanzScott MallardErica S. Maniez Chris MarneyPat MartinTola MartsEyrlis McClishBob McCoyHamilton McCullohDawn McCutcheonKevin MillarJessica MitchellAnne MooreHeather MooreJody Mull Mark MulletWright A. Noel Fred and Mardi Nystrom Chuck OlsonKarthik PalaniappanElizabeth PanniMichael PayantJames C. PappCheryl PflugJack and Beverly PorterDr. Steve RasmussenMollie RobertsWilliam RobertsJay RodneJeffrey RowePhyllis RunyonDorothy RussellNathan RyanJoshua SchaierRoland Segers Ken Sessler Don ShaferBarbara SheltonEileen Sherbon Jacque SorrellRobin Spicer Leigh StokesHank Thomas Shannon TiceSteven TochkoJohn TraegerJane Ulrich Camille VaskaMillie VierraBryan Weinstein Becky Wilder Janet Wall Nancy WhitakerPaul WilliamsWendy Eng YeeMary C. ZieglerMelanie ZimmermanRenee Zimmerman

A4

The Issaquah Press Wednesday, December 26, 2012 • A5

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in June after exhausting funds for the month.

Merry Christmas Is-saquah is Issaquah Com-munity Services’ most important fundraiser all year. Other organizations pitch in during the annual Merry Christmas Issaquah fundraising drive, but the vast majority of donations come from the community.

St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church hosted a Sing & Play Along Messiah! on Dec. 16 to raise more than $1,050 for Merry Christmas Issaquah.

The annual Merry Christmas Issaquah fun-draising drive serves as a reminder to community members about the need for social services in the area. Recipients said dona-tions from the organization come at a critical time,

after other options dry up and disappear.

The all-volunteer nonprofit organization is responsible for dispersing the donations to families living inside Issaquah School District boundaries.

Merry Christmas Is-saquah — spearheaded by The Issaquah Press since 1981 — set a dona-tion record last year, but the $77,362 raised could barely meet demand. The number of donors

last year, 231, also set a record.

2012 GOAL: $75,000 TO DATE: $41,907

HOW TO HELPHelp by making a tax-

deductible donation to Issaquah Community Services. The organization is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Send donations to Merry Christmas Issaquah, c/o The Issaquah Press, P.O. Box 1328, Issaquah, WA 98027. The names of donors — but not amounts — are published in The Press unless anonymity is requested.

ON THE WEBMiller Family Dermatology, 450 N.W. Gilman Blvd., Suite 301A, is donating $1 for each Facebook like it receives to Merry Christmas Issaquah through December. Like Miller Family Dermatology at www.facebook.com/MillerFamilyDerm.

smiles on their faces, and with their parents, it was the same thing,” Police Chief Paul Ayers said after the deliveries. “It was quite a thing to see.”

The process started weeks earlier, after Police Communications Special-ist Jacqueline Kerness reached out to the Is-saquah School District for some help with finding families in need.

Kerness bought Christ-mas trees for the families

at a Black Friday sale and dropped off the trees not long after Thanksgiving.

“I couldn’t sleep after Thanksgiving,” she said. “I went to bed and woke up at 1 o’clock in the morning and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I remembered that Target was open, so I went over to Target and got two trees.”

Once delivery day ar-rives, officers and Santa — spoiler alert — motorcycle officer John Lindner, in a red suit, headed to the families’ homes.

“Usually, the parents know to have the kids answer the door, and once they see Santa, their faces light up,” Kerness said.

Then, Kerness and other department staffers serve as elves, handing gifts to Santa and answering chil-dren’s questions.

“They asked why Santa didn’t have a sleigh, and we said, ‘Well, the sleigh is in the shop and one of

the reindeer had a flat,’” Kerness joked. “That was the best thing I could come up with.”

Police asked children to open only one gift during the event and save the oth-ers for Dec. 25.

“They want to open those gifts now, and we make sure to say, ‘You can only open one. You have to wait until Christmas,’” Kerness said.

The deliveries marked the latest holiday project for the police department. The agency served as a collection site for Opera-tion Bald Eagle’s Toys for Troops drive and sent officers to participate in a recent Shop with a Cop event in Factoria.

The project to adopt a family each Christmas is a department tradition among officers and em-ployees.

“I get a lot of feedback that they look forward to it every year,” Kerness said.

Fundfrom Page a1

Holidays alter garbage collection schedules

Customers should not expect regular garbage ser-vice on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The haulers serving Issaquah do not collect garbage and recycling on the holiday. Instead, if a customer’s collection day falls on Christmas, service is delayed one day.

Customers with garbage and recycling collection on Tuesday receive Wednesday service the day after the holiday, and Wednesday customers receive Thurs-day service.

Santa: Police deliver

good cheer from Page a1

A6 • Wednesday, December 26, 2012 The Issaquah Press

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transit funds in the future.Planners envision 7,750

residential units in the business district by 2031 — up from about 750 now — and growth from 13,000 jobs in the area to 19,225 jobs. Under growth targets set by the state, Issaquah is expected to add at least 5,750 residential units and 20,000 jobs citywide by 2031.

“If we want to see mixed-use, modern devel-opment, we need density and maybe even a little more height,” Councilman

Joshua Schaer said.The regional growth

centers receive higher priority for state and federal funding in order to connect the regional hubs, but transportation funding is increasingly scarce due to the fragile economy and the belt-tightening political climates in Olympia and Washington, D.C.

The total public invest-ment for eventual im-provements to roads and other infrastructure in the business district is unde-fined, although the city is expected to shoulder some costs and pass others on to developers.

“I think there were some legitimate issues raised from residents of the com-

munity about how you’re going to fund the infra-structure improvements,” Councilman Mark Mullet said. “I think if you don’t have the center designa-tion, I think getting those grants to actually fund the infrastructure investments is going to be next to im-possible.”

(In addition to serving on the council, Mullet, a Democrat, is also the state senator for the 5th Legis-lative District, and plans to resign from the council next month.)

Criteria set by the re-gional planning authority require such a center to accommodate businesses and residences, incor-porate features for mass

transit, pedestrians and bi-cyclists. The standards also call for a compact footprint and smaller blocks meant to entice pedestrians.

‘Send a strong message to the market’

The council called city leaders to reach out to King County Metro Tran-sit, Sound Transit and the Puget Sound Regional Council — the planning authority for King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties — as Issaquah ap-plies for a regional growth center designation.

Decisions, such as ex-tending a light rail line to Issaquah or bus routes in the business district, fall to planners at Sound Transit

and King County Metro Transit, not the city.

“What agencies have more to do and to say with whether or not we achieve those — and therefore potentially achieve the true vision and goals of the whole plan — than PSRC and the transportation agencies?” Councilman Paul Winterstein said.

Leaders at the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce and Forterra, a Seattle-based conservation group, sup-port the regional growth center designation.

But the city Planning Pol-icy Commission, a growth advisory group comprised of residents, balked at the proposal. Though the commission recommended for the council to adopt the Central Issaquah Plan, members questioned the need to include a regional center designation.

Connie Marsh, Issaquah Environmental Council president, a business owner along Northwest Gilman Boulevard and a former council candidate, said the designation cre-ates unrealistic targets for growth.

“I would prefer to actually have a Central Issaquah Plan that we could do in 30 years as our plan,” she told the council. “I think this is an 80-year plan, and I would like to cut it shorter to something that we actually could grasp and achieve. Half-way through it, we could revisit and say, ‘OK, well now we’re getting a little further, let’s increase our vision.’”

Issaquah Chamber of Commerce CEO Matthew Bott said adopting the Central Issaquah Plan as-is bolstered the city’s repu-tation to potential busi-nesses.

“In the short term, it will send a strong message to the market, to regional property brokers and po-tential new businesses that Issaquah is in a position for them to invest in,” he told the council.

Limit on building height elicits comparisons to Bellevue

Officials held off on another complicated component in the Central Issaquah Plan — a deci-sion about design and development standards, or the rules for buildings, community spaces, land-scaping, signage and more. The council is likely to reconsider the design and development standards April 1.

“It is my hope that this vision will indeed be fulfilled in the decades ahead, that the plan pro-vides for the proper mix of regulations, incentives and flexibility to achieve this vision,” Janet Wall, a longtime local environ-mentalist, told the council. “But I also agree with the proposed delay to go over some of the details of the design and develop-ment standards. It’s worth the extra time and effort to ensure that we get it right.”

The provision to in-crease building height to 125 feet in the commer-cial core — up from 65 feet — attracted the most scrutiny from opponents and elicited comparisons to Bellevue. The height limit for buildings in

downtown Bellevue is 450 feet.

The initial step to trans-form the business district started late last year, as the council approved a 30-year agreement between the city and longtime Is-saquah developer Rowley Properties to overhaul almost 80 acres and allow buildings up to 150 feet tall on Rowley Properties-owned land.

Skeptics suggested 10-story buildings in the business district could mar the Issaquah Alps pan-orama.

Winterstein cited the intersection of Northwest Maple Street and 12th Avenue Northwest to illus-trate changes outlined in the Central Issaquah Plan.

“People express angst about taller buildings that block the view and about becoming too much like Bellevue,” he said. “Well, the buildings that could be built in the vicinity of 12th and Maple would be about a third of the height of the towers in Bellevue. Plus, our code ensures that there will be adequate spacing between them, specifically so the views of the hills and mountains are preserved.”

TIMELINEThe process to adopt the

Central Issaquah Plan start-ed in the late 2000s, even as construction boomed in the Issaquah Highlands and Talus urban villages. The document is meant to re-envision development in the business district for the next 30 years.

42007 — City issues report outlining conditions in business district.42007-08 — City hosts public workshops and open houses to gather residents’ input.42009 — Mayor appoints citizen task force to devel-op draft Central Issaquah Plan.42010 — Central Issaquah Plan Task Force delivers draft after more than 1,000 hours of work.

20124March — The revised plan is sent to the municipal Planning Policy Commission, and a draft environmental review is issued.4June — The final envi-ronmental review for the Central Issaquah Plan is issued.4July — Planning Policy Commission holds final public hearings on the plan.4August to November: City Council delves into the document at a retreat and through council com-mittees.4December: City Council adopts Central Issaquah Plan, but delays design and development stan-dards until April.

Sources: City of Issaquah, The Issaquah Press archives

Planfrom Page a1

COMMuNitySection

B WednesdayDecember 26, 2012

the issaQuah Pressthe issaQuah Pressthe issaQuah Press

BEST (UNSEEN) PHOTOS OF THE YEAR2012120121FOR

SLIDESHOW

Find more photos from the best photos of 2012 you never saw at www.issaquahpress.com.

BEHIND LENS

At top, a duck pauses on the lip of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery weir Sept. 28 to watch Chinook returning to spawn as the annual Salmon Days Festival approaches. Above, Joe Tonnemaker, Issaquah High School senior, throws Connor McCaw, of Woodinville, to the mat during their 145-pound match on 50th Anniversary Alumni Night Jan. 11. Tonnemaker won by a technical fall, giving the Eagles the final 54-24 margin of victory over the Falcons.

Above, Brady Williams, 5, of Talus, ‘flies’ with the assist of his mom Lesli during the Aug. 14 Concert on the Green. At right, Sabina Honig (left) and Amir Feinsilber cross the Issaquah Creek bridge on Newport Way Southwest during the fourth mile of their marathon run Nov. 4, which they ran at the same hour the cancelled New York City Marathon was to have been held.

At left, Jennie Reed, an Issaquah High School graduate of the 1990s, shows the design of her London 2012 Olympic silver medal in women’s team pursuit cycling. Above, Tania Saxena, 11, of Sammamish, shows off her abstract art July 17 during the annual Chalk Art Festival at the Community Center. At right, postal carrier Laura Gilliam delivers mail Jan. 20 on Idylwood Drive Southwest after a major snowstorm hit the region.

the

Above, Kaitlyn Ochu, 4, of Maple Valley, slides down playground equipment at Squak Valley Park May 12. At left, Raymond Ha, Liberty High School junior, carves the water to a 3A state championship medal Feb. 18 in a 100-yard breaststroke time of 57.46 seconds.

Liberty High School cheer-leaders (from left) Sara Belali, Sophia Davis, Jenny Haselden, Sara Bluhm, Leah Jackman, Lauren Lee, Jamie Spurgeon, Lily Dunlap, Emily Culbertson and Alaina Irving, donate their day July 14 to cheer Rotary Challenge Day gravity car rac-ers.

Photos by Greg Farrar

B1

B2 • Wednesday, December 26, 2012 The Issaquah Press

LET’S

GO!New Year’s Eve Party7:30 p.m. Dec. 31

Third Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration featuring Darren Motamedy. Seating starts at 7:30 p.m., dinner will be served from 7:30-10 p.m., music starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $25 and include champagne toast at mid-night and dessert. Reservations are required. Call 392-5550.

DON’T MISS

PLAN FOR THE WEEK OF

DEC. 27 - JAN. 2Send items for Let’s Go!

to [email protected] by noon Friday.

WEDNESDAY JAN. 2

THURSDAY/FRIDAY DEC. 27-28

SATURDAY/SUNDAY DEC. 29-30

MONDAY DEC. 31 TUESDAY JAN. 1

ONGOING EVENTS

Wednesday Nigh Trivia, 7:30 p.m., Zeeks Pizza, 2525 N.E. Park Drive, 893-8646

Amateur Radio Club: 7:30 p.m. senior center, 75 N.E. Creek Way

Eastside Welcome Club: 10 a.m., call Pat 572-0474

Issaquah Emblem Club: 7 p.m., Elks Lodge, 765 Rainier Blvd. N., 392-1400

Upcoming‘You and Your New Baby,’

for new mothers with infants up to 12 weeks, 10 a.m. to noon Wednesdays, Jan. 2-31, Overlake Medical Clinic, Highmark, 1740 N.W. Maple St., $55, 688-5259

Women’s Self Defense Class, for adults and teens, 7 p.m. Jan. 16, Issaquah Library, 10 W. Sunset Way, free, 392-5430

Steampunk, for adults and teens, 7 p.m. Jan. 30, Sammamish Library, 825 228th Ave. S.E., 392-3130

Issaquah Parks & Recreation presents a new adult, 7-on-7 flag football league, starting Jan. 12 at Central Park Fields. Call 837-3388.

Small Works Holiday Exhibition, through Dec. 29, artEAST Art Center, 95 Front St. N., 392-3191, www.arteast.org

Volunteer: YWCA Family Village youth mentors, activity

helpers, computer lab, after-

school program, 270-6804, [email protected]

Volunteer: Seattle Tilth’s veggie crew plant, tend and harvest the community learning garden at Pickering Barn, for ages 18 and young-er, RSVP to [email protected] or 206-633-0451, ext. 110

Volunteer: Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank customer service or sorting inventory, Friday and Monday needed most, [email protected] or 392-4123

WHAT THE ICONS MEAN

Thursday

Ladies Night at Zeeks Pizza, half-price cocktails, 2525 N.E. Park Drive, 893-8646

Open house of Pickering Barn for those planning upcoming events, noon to 4 p.m., 1730 10th Ave. N.W., 837-3321

Fish & Chips for Thursday night dinner at the Lake Sammamish Elks

Lodge, $10/person, 6 p.m., 765 Rainier Blvd. N., 392-1400

Greater Issaquah Toastmasters Club No. 5433: 6:45 p.m., Bellewood Retirement Home, 3710 Providence Point Drive S.E., [email protected]

Friday

Issaquah Quilters: 10 a.m. to noon, Issaquah Depot, 50 Rainier Blvd. N., [email protected]

Issaquah Valley Rock Club: September through June, Issaquah Valley Senior Center, 75 N.E. Creek Way,

[email protected]

Creme Tangerine, 7:30-10:30 p.m., Amante, 131 Front St. N., 313-9600

A Toast to the Lord — a faith-based Toastmasters

club: 7-8:30 p.m., Eastside Fire & Rescue Station No. 83, 3425 Issaquah-Pine Lake Road S.E., 427-9682, [email protected]

Providence Point Kiwanis: noon, 4135 Providence Point Drive S.E., 427-9060 or [email protected] for $5 lunch reservations

UpcomingOur Stories, Ourselves: ‘Places of Interest Across the Globe,’ in the card room after lunch, senior center, 75 N.E. Creek Way, 392-2381

Saturday

Black Velvet 4, 7:30-10:30 p.m., Amante, 131 Front St. N., 313-9600

Upcoming

Hunting and Fishing Tales of Old Issaquah, for ages 10 and older, 11 a.m. Jan. 12, Train Depot, 150 First Ave. N.E., free

Issaquah Ski & Snowboard School, for grades 4-12, 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Jan. 5 to Feb. 23, Saturdays, Snoqualmie Pass, costs vary by class, 572-6786

Issaquah/Sammamish Health & Safety Fair, free health screenings, children’s fingerprinting, home safety and emergency preparedness, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 9, Pickering Barn,

1730 10th Ave. N.W. free admission, [email protected] or 392-6434, ext. 222

Father/Daughter Valentine Dance, for girls in grades one through five and their dads, 7-9:30 p.m. Feb. 9, community center, $20/couple, www.issaquahparks.net

Sunday

Rhythm and Reins Women’s Equestrian Drill Team: Sunday, Rock Meadow Equestrian Center, 20722 S.E. 34th St., Sammamish, 222-7100 or [email protected]

The Triple XXX Rootbeer Drive-in 2013 Sunday car show schedule is now out. Go to www.triplexrootbeer.com to see when to schedule an appearance by your classic ride.

Family Night at Zeeks Pizza, kids eat for free, 2525 N.E. Park Drive, 893-8646

The Julius Boehm Pool will close early at 3:30 p.m. and the community center at 5 p.m. for the New Year holiday.

Issaquah Valley Grange: 7:30 p.m., Issaquah Myrtle Mason Lodge Hall, 57 W. Sunset Way, 392-3013

New Year’s Eve Party, fea-turing the Roof Shakers, 8 p.m., Amante, 131 Front St. N., $45, reservations only,

313-9600

Upcoming

Read & Discuss: ‘Remarkable Creatures,’ by Tracy Chevalier, 6:30-8 p.m. Jan. 14, Issaquah Library, 10 W. Sunset Way, free

Live music nights, Zeeks Pizza, 2525 N.E. Park Drive, 893-8646

Elks Lodge No. 1843: 6:30 p.m., 765 Rainier Blvd. N., 392-1400

La Leche League of Issaquah: 10 a.m., Overlake Medical Center Issaquah, 5708 E. Lake Sammamish Parkway S.E., www.lllusa.org/web/ sammamishwa.html

Rotary Club of Issaquah:

12:15 p.m., Tibbetts Creek Manor, 750 Renton-Issaquah Road, www.issaquahrotary.org

Upcoming

Learn to Ice Skate, for ages 5 and older, 6-6:30 p.m. or 6:30-7 p.m. Tuesdays Jan. 8 to

Feb. 19, Castle Ice Arena, 12620 164th Ave. S.E., Renton, $120, 254-8750 or [email protected]

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CITY COUNCIL VACANCY- NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS -

The City of Issaquah is looking to fill an upcoming vacancy on the City Council, Position No. 1.

Qualified candidates must be at least 18 years of age, be a registered voter and a resident of the City for at least one year. The appointed person will serve until a qualified person is elected at the November 2013 General Election, who then resumes the remainder of the term (expiring December 31, 2013).

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The Issaquah Press Wednesday, December 26, 2012 • B3

Obituary

B3

Town & Country Square 1175 NW Gilman Blvd.

Suite B-4, Issaquah (425) 391-9270

BEST OF ISSAQUAH

15 CONSECUTIVE YEARS!

1996-2011

Total: $41,907from 160 donors

2012 Goal: $75,000Thank You! to this week’s donors:

Send contributions to:Merry Christmas Issaquah

c/o The Issaquah PressPO Box 1328, Issaquah, WA 98027

Name will be published unless anonymity is requested.

Rana KasselMargaret & Rodger Shute

James & Theresa RandolphPenny & Dave Short

Virginia MillerBecky & Dick Powell

Alan DunkinWanda & Richard DicksonMarsha & Keith Kringlen

Charles & Carol BaumannRuben Nieto & Bobbie Olin

Dale & Jeanett DePriestPaul & Mari Haugland

Steve & Joanne AdkissonMartha DeCastro

Kris & Chip CollianderDouglas & Victoria TriggGerald & Lucille HerseyJames & Leslie Austin

Karen LueckingMatt & Barb LePage

Oscar & Suzanne WallernPauline & David Harris

Tom Norton & Debbie BertoDavid & Joanna Wood

Julia Benson

In Memory of: Sally, by Karen Luecking

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Kringle Celery

Barbara Espeseth Barbara Espeseth, 85, a

longtime resident of Bel-levue and Providence Point, passed away Dec. 1, 2012.

She is survived by her daughter Karen (Will) Snow, of Palo Alto, Calif.; daughter-in-law Cynthia, of Woodinville; and grandchil-dren Madeline and Jesse.

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Dec. 30, at Sammamish Presbyte-rian Church, 22522 N.E. Inglewood Hill Road, Sam-mamish.

Make contributions to the Issaquah Food & Cloth-ing Bank, 179 First Ave. S.E., Issaquah, WA 98027.

WhO’s NeWs

Issaquah resident wins video competition

Tony Elevathingal, of Issaquah, was one of three youth award filmmaker winners in Seattle Cen-ter’s Next 50 Civic Ac-tion Month A Story Runs Through it: Neighborhood Film Project. Watch his video “Issaquah” at http://bit.ly/XrrUWe.

Providence Marianwood hires new administrator, director of therapies

Provi-dence Mari-anwood recently hired Chris Bosworth as its new adminis-trator and Maricor Lim as its director of therapies.

Bos-worth has more than seven years in a number of leadership and management roles. Most recently, he was the administrator and market-ing manager for Willow Springs Care in Yakima.

Lim most recently worked as a facility rehab coordinator for several nursing homes in Indiana before relocating with her family to the Issaquah Highlands. She excels at working with physicians and care teams to develop individualized therapy goals for each resident and patient.

Swedish/Issaquah receives patient satisfaction honor

The Swedish/Issaquah emergency room was recently named a 2012 Summit Award Winner by Press Ganey Associates.

The ER received the award by achieving and maintaining patient satisfaction scores in the 95th percentile or above for at least three consecu-tive years. The Swedish/Issaquah team also won in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

The Press Ganey Sum-mit Award is the health care satisfaction industry’s most coveted symbol of achievement bestowed annually. The Swedish/Issaquah ER is one of 114 health care facilities in the country to receive the prestigious honor in 2012, and one of only 101 to receive it for achieving and sustaining excellence in patient satisfaction.

Issaquah resident wins Ballard Pokémon title

After a full day of head-to-head Pokémon Trad-ing Card Game battles Nov. 19, Connor Lee, of Issaquah, clinched first place in the Junior Divi-sion at the Ballard Poké-mon City Championships.

Along with the title and city championship trophy, Lee earned champion-ship points, which count toward earning an invita-tion to the 2013 Pokémon World Championships, in Vancouver, B.C.

Kelly Rowley Richardson earns CCIM designation

Kelly Rowley Richard-son, of Rowley Properties, was one of only eight Washing-ton real estate profes-sionals to earn a Certified Commer-cial Investment Member designation in 2013.

The CCIM designation is the highest professional certification one can earn in commercial real estate.

Kelly Rowley Richardson grew up around the fam-ily business, obtained her business degree from Drake University and, after selling in residential real estate for a few years, joined the family business in 1989. She has been leasing commer-cial real estate since 2005.

Issaquah resident wins blog of the year

Career Woman Inc., (www.careerwomaninc.com) a Seattle-based career coaching and consulting firm founded by Issaquah’s Lisa Quast,

Local students make UW dean’s list

The following Issaquah students were named to the dean’s list at the Uni-versity of Washington for the 2012 summer quarter:

Emoniel Isakharov, Simerjot Singh, Fablina Sharara, Dexter Hu, An-dres Orams, Akumbom Tunyi, Brendan Smith, Cortney Schirman, Brit-tany Guilbert, Joseph Sturtevant, Lindsay Gard-ner, Jordan Nugent, Blake Johnston, Steven Lau, Kev-in Nguyen, Dawn Cheung, Lynda Ochs, Stephanie Wang, Eric Parker, Chris-tine Quach, Vincent Quach and Keiji Hiramoto Jr.

To qualify, students must have completed at least 12 graded credits and have a grade point average of at least 3.5 (out of 4).

Local student chosen for world debate

Conor Summers, of Is-saquah, was one of four members of the Carroll College Talking Saints debate team selected for debating four university students from Afghanistan via the Internet in a spe-cial international exhibi-tion debate.

Summers was selected for his strong performance Nov. 9-11 at the Linfield College forensics tourna-ment in McMinnville, Ore., involving 29 colleges and universities. The Carroll team won more than 20 awards.

Local Linfield College student to study abroad

Katherine Allison, a 2010 graduate of Issaquah High School, is among 56 students at Linfield Col-lege, in McMinnville, Ore., participating this fall in its study abroad program.

Allison, a sophomore majoring in international business, is studying at the American University Center in Aix-en-Provence, France. She will partici-pate in community service activities while living with a host family.

She is the daughter of Karen Allison, of Bellevue, and a member of Linfield’s tennis team and Alpha Phi Sorority.

Local students graduate from EOU

Issaquah residents Molly Fransen graduated along with Melissa Neil (Cum Laude) with Bachelor of Science degrees in busi-ness administration from Eastern Oregon University, in La Grande, Ore.

COllege NeWs

Karthik Palaniappan has a lot to celebrate this holiday season. The senior at Issaquah High School is one of only four students worldwide who earned a perfect score on last spring’s Advanced Place-ment U.S. Government and Politics Exam, taken by 239,513 students.

“I definitely have a pas-sion for politics, which is why I did not mind putting in the work,” Palaniap-

pan said in a statement released by the Issaquah School District Dec. 18. “I really enjoyed the class, especially our daily discus-sions of current news.”

AP exams are written and scored by college professors from around the world and are designed to cover a full year of intensive, college-level knowledge and skills. In 2012, 3.7 million AP exams were taken and only 88 perfect scores.

“We are so proud of Karthik,” Issaquah High Principal Paula Phelps said. “This is a testament not only to his personal passion and work ethic but also to the rigor of our Social Studies Depart-ment.”

Palaniappan is also an officer of his school’s Junior State of America chapter, a political aware-ness and civic engagement club.

Student nets perfect AP social studies score

recently received the Gold Blog of the Year award from the Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

CareerWomanInc.com also received a Bronze award in the Website of the Year category.

Fundraiser tops 10 tons, $3,000 for food banks

Eastside Fire & Rescue’s food, toy and clothing drive Nov. 23-25 netted 10 tons of donations and $3,800 in cash, all to go toward the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank and the Mount Si Helping Hand Food Bank, in North Bend.

Local youth playwrights honored

Honored at the Young Playwrights Program Cel-ebration at ACT Theater in Seattle on Dec. 10 were seven local Eastside Catho-lic seventh-grade play-wrights. Honored were:

Sammamish: Zach Tlachac’s “George and Wilson – Secret Agents”; Emmie Head’s “What Hap-pened to Alex?”; Grace Jendrezak’s “Joseph the

Janitor”; Nicole Cowan’s “Is He Worth It?; Blake Ro-galski’s “Rapper Trouble”

Issaquah: Alex Kenne-dy’s “Sweeping Beauty”

Newcastle: Nick Reeve’s “Diablo Woods”

ACT Theater selects eight outstanding plays by young playwrights each year and showcases them in staged readings at ACT in the Young Playwrights Festival, which takes place in early March 2013. Tlachac’s play was chosen as one of the outstanding eight plays from the 400 submissions from area middle and high schools. For the Young Playwrights festival, he will be part-nered with a professional director, dramaturg, stage manager and actors. His play will receive two per-formances by ACT and will also be included in the an-nual ACT anthology, PLAY.

Head and Jendrezak were also honored and will be produced by Seattle’s Twelfth Night Productions. Kennedy will be produced by Macha Monkey Productions.

All of these plays will be performed in Seattle in spring 2013.

Chris Bosworth

Maricor Lim

Kelly Rowley Richardson

SPorTS WednesdayDecember 26, 2012B4

THe ISSaQUaH PreSSTHe ISSaQUaH PreSSTHe ISSaQUaH PreSS

B4

The Issaquah School District high school sports teams have a strong tradition of excellence, and 2012 was no different.

Athletes took home conference titles, state championships and even national awards.

Skyline quarterback Max Browne ended his storied career with a state title, earning Gato-rade’s National Football Player of the Year along the way.

Issaquah boys swimmers earned their best state finish ever, taking home second place.

In November, the Liberty girls soccer team made it to state again, under the tutelage of yet another new coach, coasting to a fourth-place finish.

Here’s a recap of the top local sports stories in 2012:

Skyline football legacy continues with fifth state title in six years

The Skyline High School Spartans dominated high school football this year. The team culmi-nated its perfect 14-0 season Dec. 1 with its fifth state title in eight years by beating Bellarmine Prep, 49-24.

“I feel awesome. This is the very best,” Coach Mat Taylor said. “It continues to get better every year.”

Within Skyline’s first drive of

the night, Max Browne became the state record holder in career passing. By the time Browne had thrown his last pass as a high school quarterback, he had broken Brian Lindgren’s (DeSales) 14-year-old record of 12,575 passing yards. Browne now holds the record at 12,951.

That same week, Browne was named one of six finalists for the 2013 U.S. Army Player of the Year Award, given to the nation’s most outstanding senior in high school football participating in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Liberty loses a legendThe Liberty family was dealt

a devastating blow in October, when the community learned that

longtime announcer Dan Braillard had passed away.

Braillard spent 25 years an-nouncing Liberty football games and 15 years calling Patriot bas-ketball games.

After Sept. 11, before every game, Braillard would ask fans to stand and honor the servicemen and servicewomen stationed around the world with a moment of silence. It became his signature call.

“Friday night at Liberty was kind of a production,” Liberty football coach Steve Valach said. “Dan used that microphone as a way to just enhance the whole experience. It was kind of like a Shakespearean performance.”

Braillard’s passion for the blue-and-green ran deep. For him, there was nothing better than sitting down in the bowl that is Liberty’s field, watching the sun set and rooting for the Patriots.

Liberty football games will never quite be the same without the “Voice of the Patriots.”

Issaquah grad Jennie Reed wins Olympic silver in London

After going on to become a world champion sprint cyclist and participating in two Olympiads, Jennie Reed was ready to hang up the bike in the metaphorical garage and retire. When she was invited to be part of the team pur-suit for the 2012 games, she knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

When Reed found herself competing in the summer Olym-pic games bicycle racing, it was the attention that the sport gets in London that probably sent her over the moon emotionally and consequently provided her with the impetus to claim silver.

The biggest difference for Reed about London compared to her previous two Olympiads in Bei-jing, China, and Athens, Greece, was the interest that Great Britain has in track cycling.

“It was cool going in because I’d never experienced that before. The athletes engaging in this sport are like national heroes. There was a lot more media, a lot more attention on it. You run into people, fans, and all of a sudden people know exactly what you’re

By Larry StoneSeattle Times staff reporter

At midmorning Dec. 18, Skyline High School quar-terback Max Browne was called out of class by his football coach, Mat Taylor, on the pretense that he was needed at an emer-gency captain’s meeting.

Browne fell for it hook, line and sinker. What awaited him in the upstairs classroom stunned him — his parents, a gaggle of cameras, a crowd of friends and, emerging from a hid-den spot, Seahawks quar-terback Russell Wilson.

Wilson had been sum-

moned to present Browne with the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year Award, one of the most prestigious honors in high school athletics. They had managed to keep it secret from Browne, who later was formally presented the Gatorade trophy during a ceremony in the school’s the-ater packed with classmates.

“I had no idea,” Browne said afterward of the ruse. “Totally surprised. It was awesome.”

Wilson first met Browne last summer at a Nike camp in Beaverton, Ore., and the two bonded. Wil-son eagerly accepted the

opportunity to come to the Sammamish school’s cam-pus on the Seahawks’ day off before their showdown with the 49ers.

“He’s a tremendous person, first of all,” Wilson said. “He has a great at-titude, great personality, and he’s worked so hard. Gatorade found the best person in the country.”

The statistics certainly bear that out. Browne finished his career as the state leader in passing yards (12,951) and was third all-time in touch-downs (146) while leading Skyline to two straight Class 4A state titles. As a

senior, he threw for 4,526 yards and 49 touchdowns with just five intercep-tions in 377 attempts (277 completions).

But the Gatorade honor also recognizes academics and community service. Browne maintains a 3.5 grade point average at Sky-line, and volunteers locally on behalf of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and Generation Joy.

“His stats are unbe-lievable. But if you had a statistic for leader-ship, he would win this

Max Browne named national player of the year

By KeN LamBert/the seattLe tImes

Skyline High School football quarterback Max Browne, sur-rounded by his teammates, was named Gatorade National Football Player of the Year on Dec. 18.See BROWNE, Page B5

After ending the first half 12 points behind Dec. 19, the Skyline High School girls basketball team re-turned for a comeback and beat Woodinville, 56-53.

“The first half, we just weren’t playing with the same intensity that we have defensively,” head coach Greg Bruns said. “Every time we answered, they would knock down a three.”

When the Spartans en-tered the locker room down 29-17, the coach told them to step it up and take more pride in who they are. They did. Haley Smith came out in the third quarter to score 10 of her 14 game points; Alex Daugherty put five on the board, including a 3-pointer. Skyline swept the third quarter, 23-11.

“Those are big shots when the game is on the line,” Bruns said.

The win against Wood-inville gave the Spartans a 5-0 league record.

The Liberty High School boys basketball team went up against one of the top teams in the state when the Patriots hosted sixth-ranked Mercer Island on Dec. 18.

But despite a big game from Matthew Campbell, who scored 18 points, the Patriots fell to the Island-ers, 75-59.

Liberty players Tynan Gilmore and Dayton Mackay also netted double-digit points, scoring 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The Islanders led, 33-24, at halftime, but pulled away after a big third quarter when the team scored 25 points.

Not to be outdone, the Patriots put together an impressive quarter them-selves, outscoring Mer-cer Island, 24-17, in the fourth quarter. By then, the deficit was too much to overcome.

It was a reunion of sorts for Liberty coach Omar Parker who played for legendary coach Ed Pepple at Mercer Island and later became an assistant at his alma mater.

Skyline girls stay perfect

Matthew Campbell nets 18 in

Liberty loss

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

TOP SPORTS STORIES OF THE YEAR2012120121FOR

By greg farrar

Jubilant members of the Issaquah High School boys swim team and their coaches hoist their state 4A second place team trophy and give themselves a cheer Feb. 18 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

See TOP 10, Page B5

By LILLIaN tUCKer

Above, Daniel Richardson, Skyline High School midfielder (left) tussles with a Woodinville player during the first period of their May 1 soccer match. At right, Jennie Reed takes a turn in front drafting teammates Dotsie Bausch (middle) and Sarah Hammer (left) during the semifinal heat to beat Australia and go to the gold medal round in women’s team pursuit cycling in August at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Dan Braillard


B5

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ScoreboardBoys basketball

KingCo 4A standingsCrown Division Conf. OverallGarfield 4 0 4 1Newport 3 2 5 2Ballard 2 2 3 3Issaquah 2 2 4 2Roosevelt 2 3 2 4Skyline 1 3 1 4 Dec. 18 gameBothell 67, Issaquah 64Bothell 20 14 18 15—67Issaquah 15 12 15 22—64Bothell—Zach LaVine 35, Perrion Callandret 12, Josh Martin 10, Aaron Wilks 5, Kellen Webster 3, Peer Fisherkeller 2Issaquah—Ty Gibson 18, Brian Watson 16, Ryan Sexton 11, Jake Henke 10, Grant Blair 5, Gage Lenheim 4, Cory Nevin

Girls basketball

KingCo 4A StandingsCrown Division Conf. Overall W L W LSkyline 5 0 7 1Newport 4 1 5 1Issaquah 3 1 5 1Ballard 2 3 3 4Garfield 0 4 2 5Roosevelt 0 5 1 6

Dec. 19 gameIssaquah 65, Bothell 33Bothell 11 7 4 11—33Issaquah 18 16 13 18—65Bothell—Randi Dixon 10, Erin Burns 8, Sharon Akoto 3, Sami Scuden 3, Brenda Akoto 2, Sierra Cole 2, Jessi Howe 2, Chloe Lium 2, Melinda Akoto 1 Issaquah—Mandie Hill 16, Quincey Gibson 15, Aimee Brakken 12, Katrina Clements 8, Paige Montague 5, Sara Beatty 4, Jozie Crissafulli 2, Miranda Hansen 2

Dec. 19 gameSkyline 56, Woodinville 53

Woodinville 15 14 11 13—53Skyline 8 9 23 16—56Woodinville—Kim Frost 15, Sabin Keo 13, Erin Hamilton 7, Midon McElwee 6, Emily Spencer 5, Keenae Tiersma 4, Tynan Gable 3, Madison Ramire

Skyline— Haley Smith 14, Rachel Shim 10, Lacey Nicholson 9, Shelby Kassuba 8, Bryn deVita 6, A. Daugherty 5, C. Daugherty 4

KingCo 3A/2A standings Conf. Overall W L W LBellevue 4 0 7 0Juanita 4 0 5 2Mercer Island 3 1 2 2Lake Washington 3 2 4 3 Liberty 2 2 4 4 Mount Si 1 3 2 5Interlake 0 4 3 5Sammamish 0 5 3 5

Dec. 19 gameMercer Island 53, Liberty 46Mercer Island 9 18 13 13—53Liberty 4 15 13 14—46Mercer Island—Jessica Blakeslee 14, Renae Tessem 12, Kris Brackmann 9, Rachael Tessem 8, Julia Blumenstein 4, Yasmeen El-Rafey 2, Jamie Mounger 2, Christina Williamson 2Liberty—Sierra Carlson 12, Cherelle Demps 9, Avery Granberg 7, Danielle Demps 5, Alicia Abraham 4, Ashlan Applegate 4, Sarah Bliesner 3, Tara Johnson 2, Devin Anderson, Rebekah Campbell, Tara Johnson, Adele Payant

Wrestling

KingCo 4A Crown Division MatchesDec. 20 league matchSkyline 35, Issaquah 24106—Nathan Swanson, S, pinned Dakota Kutz, 0:30113—Torre Eaton, I, pinned Kody Nguyen, 3:16120—Justin Manipis, S, dec. Jordan Hamilton, 3-0126—Joseph DeMatteo, S, maj. dec. Louden Ivey, 8-0132—Garin Swanson, S, pinned Spencer Tickman, 5:59138—Alex Smith, S, maj. dec. Seth Hartman, 10-0145—Joseph Gurke, S, dec. Colby Starren, 15-10152—Jerdon Helgeson, I, pinned Tyler Aguirre, 3:50160—Boden Longmore, S, dec. Parker Hamilton, 7-6170—Michael Mecham, S, pinned Chance Gunte, 3:12182—results not reported195—Double forfeit220—Ahmed Ahmed, I, dec. Sean McAlhaney, 6-4285—Jonathan Norris, I, won by forfeit

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award, too,” Taylor said. “I’ve never been around a greater leader on our football team, but more importantly, in the class-room, too.”

Dec. 18 was also Browne’s final day in a Skyline classroom. He is graduating early so he can enroll at USC for the winter semester. He begins classes Jan. 14 and will participate in spring football for the Trojans in March as he competes to succeed Matt Barkley at quarterback.

“It’s crazy,” Browne said. “It hasn’t really hit me. I always thought I’d stay in high school. I’ve loved it. It’s been a fun 3 1/2 years, on and off the field. It will probably hit me when I’m down at USC and see all my friends posting stuff about high school.”

Browne, regarded as the nation’s top quarterback recruit, said the opportu-nity to get a jump-start on his college career swayed him to accelerate his en-rollment at USC.

“You notice a lot of quar-terbacks doing that now,” he said. “It just helps get-ting to know the offense, getting to know the college atmosphere. That extra six months is just critical.”

Browne became just the second player from Wash-

ington to win the Gatorade national award for football, following Brock Huard, of Puyallup High School, in 1994-95. The honor in-cludes a trip to Hollywood for Browne and his parents Cheryl and Mike, in July, with Gatorade winners in other sports for a banquet to announce one overall athlete of the year. He’ll also get to walk the red carpet at the ESPY awards, Gatorade marketing execu-tive Nancy Laroche said.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Browne towered above Wilson as they stood on the stage. The Seahawks quarterback promised to follow Browne’s career, and Browne said he hoped to be able to pick Wilson’s brain for advice.

“He has so many great qualities,” Wilson said. “He just draws a room. He just knows how to light up a room.”

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or [email protected]. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Brownefrom page B4

talking about.”

Skyline cheerleaders earn state and national honors

Skyline High School cheerleaders finished another successful season in seventh place at the Na-tional High School Cheer-leading Championship.

Skyline’s Silver and Green squads traveled to Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 11-12 and gathered with 22,000 athletes at Walt Disney World for nationals. The more than 600 teams were split into different cat-egories depending on their size and types of routines.

The Skyline Silver squad competed in the Medium Varsity Non Tumbling group; they finished sev-enth. Skyline’s Green team performed in the Medium Varsity Division 1 category — one of the hardest divi-sions, according to head coach Stephania Lemesh-ko — but did not place.

Before nationals, Skyline took on squads from the state on Feb. 4 and came out on top. With a score of 231 points, the Green team took first place in the me-dium 4A division, finishing ahead of Ballard, Marysville Pilchuck, Battle Ground and Bellarmine Prep.

Issaquah girls’ tennis goes undefeated and wins KingCo

As far as KingCo 4A tennis was concerned in 2012, there was a new sheriff in town.

The Issaquah High School girls tennis team went 10-0 on their way to the KingCo

conference championship. Along the way, they defeated quality opponents in Skyline and Woodinville, and even beat Newport, who had not lost to another school in more than 10 years.

“After we beat New-port, we caught fire in the conference,” head coach Shannon Small said. “It was quite an accomplish-ment for the girls … they were ecstatic.”

After toughing out some terrible weather early in the season, Issaquah was able to put in hard work in the limited practice time they had.

“A lot of them gave up other sports to focus on making varsity,” Small said. “It’s just great for them to be able to walk away from their high school career as KingCo champs.”

The road to the state

championships was next, for which Small said she has two hopefuls — Sa-mantha Garrard and Kelsey Wilson. But for now she’ll sit back and take in their accomplishment.

Spartans relay swimming prowess into state title

When the Skyline High School girls 200-yard med-ley relay team marched out to the pool at the 2012 4A Girls State Swim and Dive Championships, it was ready for battle.

First off the block in lane four was Spartan Kristaley Umezawa; next to her in lane five was Stacy Maier, swimming backstroke for the Issaquah Eagles. The two emerged for their first breath at the same time, throwing their arms back in synchronized windmills. Maier edged ahead and Issaquah’s Kayla Flaten maintained the slight lead over Andi Scarcello in the second leg.

Then, Stephanie Munoz, of Skyline, dove in for the third leg and passed Eagle Kellie-Marie Langan. Keeping the momentum going, Maria Volodkevich dove in the pool for the final leg and pulled ahead of everyone to take the title for the Spartans with a time of 1 minute, 49.12 seconds.

Skyline, which won the overall state title in 2009, 2010 and 2011, finished fifth overall with 132 team points.

Skyline soccer wins another state championship

For the fourth time in five years, the Skyline High School girls soccer

team claimed the 4A state title Nov. 17. When the dust cleared that eve-ning at Puyallup’s Sparks Stadium, the Spartans had blanked their KingCo 4A nemesis, Issaquah, 1-0 to claim the state crown.

At the 15-minute mark of a hard-fought game, Skyline sophomore striker Isabella Marshall regis-tered the encounter’s soli-tary goal when she took a picturesque assist from fellow sophomore forward Amanda Johnston and, amid heavy traffic in front of Issaquah’s goal, legged in a left-footed rocket from about 5 yards out.

“When you work hard, believe in yourselves and play confidently … you can achieve great things,” Marshall said.

Top 10from page B4

photos By greg farrar

Above, Issaquah High School wrestlers, coaches and team managers howl as they pose for photos after winning the KingCo 4A Tournament team championship Feb. 4. Below, Matt Sinatro, Skyline High School senior wide receiver, snags a 55-yard scoring touchdown pass near the end of the third quarter of the state 4A state football championship game Dec. 1 against Bellarmine Prep.

By greg farrar

Tara Johnson (11), Liberty High School junior midfielder, jossles for the ball with Holy Names Academy sophomore midfielder Hannah Powers during their state 3A consolation final Nov. 17 in Puyallup.

Issaquah High School has a new club: Global Problem-Solving Club, or GAP, led by sophomore President Amy Lee.

Last year in Lisa Sibbett’s world studies class, students kept up with current events and learned how to be global citizens. Toward the end of the eye-opening, motivational year, several students applied for a program called Global Youth Leadership Initiative, run through the World Affairs Council.

After an intense summer studying foreign policy and humanitarian aid, the students decided to share their passion with their peers.

“We thought creating a club was the best method to raise awareness in our community,” sophomore Natalie Fetsch said.

At a typical meeting, the students discuss current events. They analyze how the world could influence those events and how they personally could influ-ence those events.

“Last meeting, we had a lengthy discussion about a ty-phoon in the Philippines and how the U.S. should respond,” Fetsch said.

The long-term goal of GAP, ac-cording to Fetsch, is to “include all of IHS in changing their life-styles to be more involved with current events.”

“Peace on Earth and goodwill toward men. Buy now and your cost will be only $9.95.”

That is the Ameri-can holiday season in a nut-shell; the time of year in which we celebrate love, peace and incred-ible savings.

It seems that every year, however, the incredible savings start sooner, and the love and peace get pushed further into the back-ground.

As soon as Halloween is over, the holiday sea-son has begun. Stores start selling Christmas lights and decorations. Santa Claus appears on TV, advertising cars and clothing.

Holiday music loops endlessly in the mall. Every year, the on-slaught of commercials starts a little sooner in an attempt to extend the lucrative period of holiday shopping for as long as possible.

To anyone selling something, that is all Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s are: opportunities to turn a profit. But that thought process is missing the fundamental reason for the holidays’ existence.

The holidays are meant to be periods of togetherness and hap-piness, when families

reunite from wherever they have spread out to, and enjoy a couple of days in each other’s company. Winter break is meant to be a period of relaxation and con-tentment.

Giving gifts is meant to be a sign of how much you care for somebody, not an unfortunate duty or an opportunity to make money.

The increasing com-mercialization of the holiday season dilutes this experience, turning it into nothing more than a chance to satisfy one’s greed.

People forget the meaning of the holidays, fighting each other for a chance to get the best deals, instead of being happy with what they have.

Of course, many will argue that the two do not have to be mutually exclusive. Why can’t I love my family and still take advantage of low prices? And the answer is you can. It is entirely possible to partake in holiday sales while still adhering to the holiday spirit.

Unfortunately, many don’t, and lose sight of the true meaning of the holidays over the din of advertisements and discounts.

So, next time you see that cool new thing you want for 50 percent off, stop and take a min-ute to remember what the holidays are really about.

Eastside Catholic

“My New Year’s reso-lution is to smile more and to stop overthink-ing every-thing and just have fun.”

Amanda Scotland,senior

“My New Year’s resolu-tion is just to help everyone have a better day when I’m around.”

Ethan Miller,senior

Issaquah High School

“I want to clean my room every day so when I go to college in the fall it’s not a total disaster!”

“I want to work hard to make the varsity soc-cer team.”

Liberty High School

“I don’t really feel like the new year is really that different. It’s just an excuse for people to say they’ll do some-thing bet-ter, which I don’t think is true.”

“To be less shy and talk to more people.”

Rachel Shaw,senior

Skyline High School

“My New Year’s reso-lution is to get involved in more school clubs and activities.”

Arjun Kumar,

freshman

“My New Year’s reso-lution is to do at least 15 acts of kindness a day.”

Michelle Chauvin,junior

TALK TO USEmail story ideas to

[email protected]. Like The Beat on Facebook. Follow

@issaquahbeat on Twitter.

WHAT’S YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION?

Teen Talk

Liberty High School seems to have something for everyone searching for an extracurric-ular club. One of the quirkier new editions, created this year by club president and senior Hannah Park, is the Doctor Who Club.

“Doctor Who Club was started not only to celebrate the longest-running sci-fi series on television, but also to introduce others to Brit-ish culture and the fandom surrounding the Doctor” the show’s time-traveling hero, Park said.

Club members participate in various Doctor Who-themed games, and occasionally watch episodes of the show. One of the more interesting activities is the writing of “Trock,” or Timelord rock, a genre of music well known among the show’s fans that celebrates the show and its characters.

“My favorite part of the club is interacting with the other members and knowing that there are other geeky people out there besides myself,” Park said. “It’s very welcoming.”

Those interested in becom-ing a member of Doctor Who Club — longtime Whovians, sci-fi fanatics or fans new to the genre — can attend a club meeting any Thursday after school in room 518.

Following the spirit of giving back this holiday season, SHOCK Club at Skyline High School continues to engage in service for its community.

Started in April by co-presidents Jon Yee and Prab-ha Dublish, SHOCK stands for Skyline High Outreach Community of Kids. The club’s mission is simply to make the world a better place.

During its weekly meet-ings, the club organizes drives and other functions that raise money for other youths in the community on a local as well as international level. So far, the club ran a successful change drive for Echo Glen Children’s Center that raised more than $300.

The club is currently plan-ning a supply drive for March that will contribute to the organization GenJoy, which aids children in South Africa. SHOCK is also planning an-other change drive in May.

“Helping children in a place far from where we live is re-ally cool, because although you cannot actually see the impact of your work, you are still impacting someone else’s life,” Dublish said.

Learn more about SHOCK Club and its mission at http://shsshockclub.wordpress.com.

Eastside has many interesting clubs and activities but Asia Club is definitely one of the most unique.

Asia Club is a fairly recent club (started in the past sev-eral years) open to anybody interested in learning about and delv-ing into Asian studies — languages, culture or food. The club meets once a week and learns about different Asian cultures and im-merses itself in celebrating different foreign practices.

The club does a large amount of fundraising to support kids and people in general in many underprivi-leged areas in Asian coun-tries. For different holidays, there are different kinds of candy grams that go around the school that are spon-sored by Asia Club to raise money. Around Halloween there are Halloween candy grams; during December there are candy cane candy grams, and during February there are Valentine’s Day candy grams that people can send to their friends. All of the money earned is sent to the charities they support.

Asia Club stands out for working to actively promote cultural awareness and diversity throughout its high school and community.

Learning experience continues in school clubsIssaquah forms Global Problem-

Solving Club

Veronica Austin Liberty High

School

New club celebrates

science fiction

Sampurna BasuSkyline High

School

Difference makers —

Skyline SHOCK

Shreya TewariEastside Catholic

High School

Club opens students to

Asian culture

Wednesday, December 26, 2012Page B6

Jacob BrunetteIssaquah High

School

When did the holidays go up for sale?

Courtney Brauff,senior

Quinn Freet-Johnson,junior

A red bow provides the finishing touches for a Christmas tree. According to www.penitents.org, the scarlet ribbon is a sym-bol of Christ’s sacrifice of himself, which saved people from eternal damnation.

By Shreya Tewari

Teens, want to win a cool prize and have your photo chosen for photo of the

month? Email your cool school photo along with your name and school name to

[email protected].

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

SPONSORWe’d like to thank the parents of Beat staff members and friends of The Beat for generously sup-

porting and sponsoring this page, and continuing to support this project. If you would like to help us continue The Beat teen journalism project, email Press Managing Editor Kathleen R. Merrill at [email protected]

Grant Rayfield,sophomore

Sophie MittelstaedtIssaquah

High School

OpiniOn

B6


RolledA wallet and iPhone were

stolen at the Rollin’ Log Tavern, 50 E. Sunset Way, before 11:48 a.m. Nov. 22.

ArrestPolice arrested a woman on a

Renton warrant in the 100 block of East Sunset Way at 12:27 a.m. Nov. 23, and released her to the Renton Police Department.

FlattenedA Ford flatbed truck was

stolen in the 1000 block of Lake Drive before 4:05 p.m. Nov. 23.

ArrestPolice arrested a 62-year-old

Bellevue man for theft at Costco, 1801 10th Ave. N.W., at 4:45 p.m. Nov. 23.

AssaultPolice arrested an 18-year-old

Issaquah woman for assault in the 23100 block of Southeast Black Nugget Road at 5:25 p.m. Nov. 23.

AssaultPolice arrested a 33-year-old

North Bend man for assault and on Issaquah warrants after he assaulted a store employee at Fred Meyer, 6100 E. Lake Sam-mamish Parkway S.E., at 8:01 p.m. Nov. 24.

Dinosaur dilemmaA mailbox was damaged, a

4-foot-tall, mechanical dinosaur Christmas lawn ornament was stolen and garbage was dumped on a lawn at a residence in the 25800 block of Southeast 28th Place before Dec. 9.

Cheers!Police responded to QFC,

2902 228th Ave. S.E., at about 10 a.m. Dec. 9 after employees reported men stealing liquor. The employees said one man attempted to distract employees as the other loitered near the liquor aisle. The suspects had left by the time police arrived, but were located nearby at Bartell Drugs, 526 228th Ave. N.E., acting in a similar fashion. Police contacted another man in the group as he waited in a car outside the store. The car contained bottles of liquor, in-cluding one with a store security cap still attached. Police confis-cated the bottles, but did not file charges because officers could not prove the liquor had been stolen from the businesses.

Over and outA resident at Jacobs Creek, in

the 4000 block of Issaquah-Pine Lake Road Southeast, reported finding a walkie-talkie near his or her mailbox Dec. 12. Police determined the device belonged to the Issaquah School District, but could not determine how it became lost. Police returned the walkie-talkie to the school district.

ArrestPolice arrested a 37-year-old

Sammamish man for driving in a lane of oncoming traffic before crashing near the corner of East Lake Sammamish Parkway South-east and Southeast 22nd Street.

The Press publishes names of those charged with felony crimes. Information comes directly from local police reports.

EASTSIDE FIRE & RESCUE REPORTS FOR DEC. 8-15At 10:43 p.m. Dec. 8, two

engines were dispatched to the scene of a motor vehicle acci-dent in the 100 block of 22nd Place. There were no injuries.Three engines were sent at

6:27 p.m. Dec. 9 to the scene of a motor vehicle accident in the 100 block of Northwest Gilman Boulevard. There were no injuries.Three engines were sent at

10:10 p.m. Dec. 9 to investigate an overheated motor in the 18700 block of Southeast 43rd Street.An engine was needed at

2:39 a.m. Dec. 11 to extinguish a building fire in the 18100 block of Northeast 76th Street.An engine was dispatched

at 8:04 p.m. Dec. 11 to inves-tigate the smell of smoke in the 1500 block of westbound Interstate 90.

pOliCe & FiRe

B7

By Lillian O’[email protected]

Clayton Dungey and his family have always loved Disneyland. Whenever they got the chance, the five of them would jump in the car and spend a long weekend there.

But for Clayton, the big-gest thrill wasn’t Mickey Mouse or Splash Mountain — it was the marching band on Main Street.

The Eastside Catholic High School sophomore, an Issaquah tuba player, will join the Bands of America

Honor Band in January, perform at Disneyland and march in the 2013 Tourna-ment of Roses Parade.

“That’s one of my favor-ite things to do on tuba is playing, and seeing little boys looking and seeing how cool it is, because that is how I felt as a little boy looking at the tuba player,” Clayton said. “I really like to perform for others, and this opportunity to play for millions of people is really awesome. I am really ex-cited for this opportunity.”

Clayton comes from a fam-ily of musicians. His father Phillip Dungey is his school’s

music director and suggested Clayton apply and send in an audition tape for the national honor band.

“He loves to perform. So anytime he gets a chance — and he is always a ham about it, too — he always holds his tuba up high, so proud he is the one play-ing the big instrument,” Phillip Dungey said. “It’s an exciting opportunity for

him … This would be much grander scale than anything I have ever marched in.”

Hundreds of students from across the country vied for a spot in the Bands of America Honor Band, a program of the Music for All organization. In all, 325 musicians and dancers were chosen to take part in the band’s performance at the 124th annual 5.5-mile Rose Parade.

“To be selected for this unique opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these students and a testi-mony to their excellence and achievements,” Music for

All President and CEO Eric Martin said in a statement Dec. 10. “Their participation deserves the admiration and support of everyone in their community.

“The Rose Parade is one of our country’s national pageantry treasures, and the 2013 Honor Band mem-bers will be ambassadors of America’s bands, and of their states and communities.”

Clayton will spend a week in southern California, where he will have rehears-als, performances at the Tournament of Roses Band-fest and Disneyland, special activities and a featured

appearance in the parade. The honor also means

Clayton will trade in his 25-year-old white fiberglass tuba for the week for a new brass sousaphone.

“I’m excited to play a nice new instrument,” he said. “I can’t wait.”

a&eTHe iSSaQUaH pReSSTHe iSSaQUaH pReSSTHe iSSaQUaH pReSS


Entertainment came to Is-saquah in some surprising forms throughout 2012.

Besides the usual retinue on the page, stage and screen, a doc-umentary peeled back the layers at Costco and big-name authors signed books for local readers.

The city hosted celebrities, spotlighted residents on the national stage and celebrated big debuts in recent months. The boldface names earned cred through stints on reality TV, titles on bestseller lists and hardware aplenty — a Tony Award, a Na-tional Book Award.

Reality TV plugs in local contestantsLindzi Cox

pursued “The Bachelor” and Lizzie Parker competed for the title “Fashion Star” as local women added grace to reality TV contests.

Cox, a 2003 Liberty High School grad, competed against 24 other bach-elorettes to win a rose from the titular bachelor, Ben Flajnik, and reached the final round on the ABC dating game.

In the end, however, Flajnik proposed to bachelorette Court-ney Robertson rather than Cox. (Flajnik and Robertson broke up after filming concluded and as the series aired, and then reunit-ed, but split again in October.)

Parker, a Gilman Village shop-keeper and Sammamish resident, earned attention from fashionistas on the NBC reality TV competition.

In the debut episode, Parker scored a clothing deal with Macy’s after her asymmetrical, jersey tunics, featuring a single capelike sleeve, earned praise from Macy’s buyer Caprice Willard.

Doc demystifies Costco’s appealIssaquah-based Costco sells

$4 billion in produce, almost $2 billion in televisions, 55 million rotisserie chickens, 2.6 billion gallons of gasoline and 3 million pairs of eyeglasses each year.

The eye-popping numbers led CNBC to peek behind the scenes at the largest warehouse club chain on the planet for the documentary “The Costco Craze: Inside the Warehouse Giant.”

Carl Quintanilla examined how Costco expanded to 600 stores and $93 billion in annual sales by attracting affluent customers and shoppers on a budget. The documentary also explores the “Costco Effect” — the tendency of members to succumb to discounts and buy more than expected.

Bestselling authors greet local readersMeanwhile, in another Costco

effect, bestselling authors head-ed to the flagship warehouse throughout the year.

Timothy Egan, a correspon-dent for The New York Times and a National Book Award win-ner, came to Issaquah to promote “Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher” — a biography of 19th century Seattle photographer Edward Curtis.

The list of authors signing books at Costco amid the over-sized containers of cashews and rotisserie chickens included, appropriately enough, Food Network star and celebrity chef Giada de Laurentiis and seminal Seattle chef Tom Douglas.

Lee Child, the author behind the Jack Reacher series, stopped at Costco to promote the latest entry into the Reacher canon — “The Affair” — months before Tom Cruise starred as the char-acter on screen. “Jack Reacher” the film opened Dec. 21.

Library marks page-to-screen changesOther blockbuster novels

transitioned from the page to the screen, and the Issaquah Library hosted bashes to celebrate “The Hunger Games” and “The Hob-bit” franchises.

Imagine “The Hunger Games” as a mishmash of “Survivor” and “The X Factor” set in a “Lord of the Flies”-style arena.

Participants joined activities inspired by the book — although nothing as dangerous as the titular games — and nabbed prizes inspired by the book and the film.

The library chose a tamer activity to celebrate the release of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” and invited Middle-earth dwellers over for second breakfast.

Titanic continues to captivate“Titanic” returned to movie

theaters in April, and the Ki-wanis Club of Issaquah invited Titanic historian Don Lynch — a consultant on the 1997 film — to discuss the ill-fated ocean liner.

Even a century after the Ti-tanic departed the surface, the disaster — 1,514 passengers and crewmembers perished in the sinking — continues to capture imaginations. Only about 700 people survived the catastrophe.

April 15 marked 100 years since the Titanic tragedy un-folded about 400 miles from Newfoundland.

In the mid-1990s, as Cameron prepared for a film about the Titanic’s last hours, the “Aliens” and “The Terminator” director turned to Lynch’s “Titanic: An Il-lustrated History” as a reference. Lynch later descended to the Titanic shipwreck in August and September 2001.

Lynch’s visit prompted Jill Carrizales and daughter Jennifer Ramsey — relatives of Titanic survivor Ruth Becker — to travel from Gastonia, N.C., to Issaquah for the discussion.

‘Million Dollar Quartet’ returns to roots“Million Dollar Quartet” — a

multimillion-dollar phenomenon — experienced a homecoming of sorts as the rock ‘n’ roll musical shaped a half-dozen years ago at Village Theatre toured to Seattle.

The show about the “million dol-lar quartet” — Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis — collaborating for one night at the storefront Sun Records studio, led to successful runs at Village Theatre in Issaquah and Everett, and then in Chicago, New York City and London.

In 2010, “Million Dollar Quar-tet” garnered a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Musical and a statuette for the piano-pounding Lewis in the Issaquah and New York productions, actor and musician Levi Kreis.

Century 21 goes back to the futureThe year marked a half-centu-

ry since the Century 21 Exposi-tion added the Space Needle to the Seattle skyline and put the Pacific Northwest on the map.

The future envisioned in 1962 resembled something lifted from “The Jetsons” — space-age cool, conveniences galore and opti-mism as boundless as the cosmos.

Paula Becker and Alan Stein — staff historians for HistoryLink.org, collected memories from the fair in the book “The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and Its Legacy” — appeared at the Issaquah Library to discuss the expo’s impact.

The book unearthed stories from local fairgoers, includ-ing the 9 millionth visitor to the fairgrounds, a then-6-year-old girl. The girl nowadays is Paula Jones, a fifth-grade teacher at Sunset Elementary School.

Factitious families lock horns on stageVillage Theatre examined

parent-child relationships in the original musicals “It Shoulda

Been You” and, more darkly, in “Lizzie Borden.”

The tension at the Steinberg-Howard wedding is as tight as a bridesmaid’s dress in the rom-com “It Shoulda Been You.”

Rebecca Steinberg is about to marry Brian Howard — even if the union between a Jew and a gentile causes heartburn for the Steinberg and Howard clans. But, just before the couple is due to step down the aisle in showy ceremony, Rebecca’s old boy-friend crashes the wedding and asks for another chance.

“Lizzie Borden” delves into a more fractured familial relation-ship.

Long before Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, O.J. Simpson and Casey Anthony turned legal proceedings into media circuses, a comely ax murderess morphed into a cause célèbre.

The musical lifts facts from the court transcripts and adds a rock ‘n’ roll score to Borden’s tale.

Residents sip, shamble downtownDowntown Issaquah hosted

film buffs, oenophiles and, of course, zombies to attract resi-dents to shops and restaurants.

In February, Downtown Is-saquah Association leaders launched the First Friday Wine Walk to encourage folks to sip and shop.

Then, in September, organiz-ers rolled out the debut Issaquah Film Festival at Village Theatre’s First Stage Theatre.

Just before Halloween, undead dancers shuffled down Front

Street North during the Down-town Zombie Walk.

Unlike the mindless mobs in “The Walking Dead” and George A. Romero flicks, zombies in Issaquah caused more grins than grimaces. The horde shambled to the Issaquah Library to dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

Community mourns artist, entertainersRichard Beyer, creator of

downtown Issaquah’s most rec-ognizable sculpture, died April 9 — almost 11 years after a unveil-ing a life-size piece depicting late City Clerk Linda Ruehle across from City Hall.

The piece depicts Ruehle, ledger in hand, seated atop a bench fashioned from city code books. The late Ruehle served as city clerk for 27 years before she retired in 2001.

Before the Salmon Days Festi-val turned into a Pacific North-west icon, organizers turned to a bona fide Pacific Northwest icon — J.P. Patches — in 1970 to lead a parade at the celebration.

Chris Wedes, a.k.a. Julius Pier-pont Patches, died July 22 after a long battle against multiple myeloma, a blood cancer.

Disney legend Ginny Tyler — a former head Mouseketeer on “The Mickey Mouse Club” and a noted voice artist — died July 13 in Issaquah.

Tyler maintained a lifelong pride in TV and film roles for Disney after succeeding Annette Funicello on “The Mickey Mouse Club.”

Clayton Dungey

Memorable moments entertain, educate

Wednesday, December 26, 2012 • B8a&e

Memorable moments

LIGHTS! CAMERA! ISSAQUAH

!

TOP A&E STORIES OF THE YEAR2012120121FOR

Lindzi Cox

Lizzie Parker

FiLe PhOTOS

Above, the cast of the national tour of the jukebox musical ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ performs a song in the Tony Award-winning show. Below, Paula Jones, fifth-grade teacher at Sunset Elementary School, holds a sign from Oct. 14, 1962, when then-6-year-old Paula Dahl set a Century 21 Exposition milestone.

B8

Eastside Catholic tuba player to march in Rose Bowl ParadeWHAT TO KNOW

Watch the 124th Rose Parade at 8 a.m. Jan. 1 on ABC, Hallmark Channel, HGTV, KTLA (Tribune), NBC, RFD-TV and Univision.

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