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Jumping for joy | Sky-line sluggers knock o� state’s top ranked team [Sports 19]REPORTER
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A parkout ofplace?
Issaquahgirls face charges of cyber crime
Dave Rotheberg, who works at the nearby Microsoft buildings, walks his dog Sam at Lake Sammamish State park. A rural park full of natural areas, it’s a stark contrast to new development that’s sprung up in the past 20 years. PHOTOS BY CELESTE GRACEY, Issaquah Reporter photos
Lack of attention, repairs limit use of Lake Sammamish State Park despite its location in an increasingly urban area
BY CELESTE GRACEY
Two Issaquah girls ac-cused of hacking into a classmate’s Facebook page and posting lewd messages were charged Monday with cyberstalking and � rst-de-gree computer trespassing.
� e investigation of the 11- and 12-year olds began a� er the alleged victim’s mother called Issaquah Police on March 18 and took her story to broadcast media. � e Reporter does not name juveniles charged with crimes.
Prosecutors allege the girls used the victim’s Facebook account to send out messages o� ering sex to boys at school and to post lewd “updates,” according to charging papers.
Police believe the girls got access to the Facebook account, a� er the login was saved to one of their computers.
� e girls later gave writ-ten statements to police.
If convicted, both of the girls could face up to 30 days in juvenile detention.
� e 11-year-old must � rst go through a capacity hearing, to see if she knew what she was doing was wrong. Washington state law presumes children ages 8 to 11 aren’t capable of committing crimes.
� e 12-year-old is scheduled to be arraigned May 10 at Juvenile Court. � e 11-year-old could also be in court that morning, depending on the results of her hearing May 3.
Celeste Gracey can be reached at 425-391-0363, ext. 5052.
Editor’s Note: � is is the � rst of a two-part series looking at Lake Sammamish State Park and examining its problems. � is week’s story focuses on the park’s biggest struggles. Next week will focus on possible solutions.
BY CELESTE GRACEY
From a distance, the popping sounded like � reworks, illegal but not uncommon at Lake Sammamish State Park.
But then a park aid who had been cleaning a restroom called over the radio: some idiot had just unloaded 10-15 gunshots into the air to break up a brawl.
Before Ranger Tor Bjorklund, a 15-year vet-eran at the park, had time to react, a second call buzzed across the radio.
“Oh shit, someone just shot him.”� e ensuing gun� ght le� two dead and several
more injured, all at a favorite picnic spot � lled with families.
While the July 2010 shooting was isolated – nothing like that had happened in 20 years – it caused locals to look anew at the park. What became obvious was years of neglect at a once rural state park, which is now seemingly out of place in an urban area.
Fallen facilitiesIt’s a soggy April a� ernoon and park rangers
are ripping out the interior of the Sunset Beach restrooms. � e building isn’t heated in the win-ter, so mold turns the stalls black, and leaks rot out window frames.
Typically the rangers take buckets of bleach to the inside of the 1950s bath house, but this year they were given permission to renovate them, at a cost of about $6,000.
� ey’ve had the money and the supplies for
a few years, but were told to hold o� , while the state tried to win grant money to build an entirely new building. � e money never came. � at’s been the story at Lake Sammamish State Park for years.
� e last major park improvement was in the early 1970s with the open-ing of Tibbetts Beach, which has a small concession stand and a place to rent boats.
However, Sunset Beach, which has been used for swimming since the
1950s, has been overtaken by weeds and goose poop. � e parking lot resembles 1,000 small
Ranger Tor Bjorklund, a 15-year veteran of Lake Sammamish State Park, was the � rst on site during the July 2010 shooting that left two dead and several more injured. Albeit an isolated event, it got people talking about the park.
[ more PARK page 17 ]
HOME & GARDEN | Get your gardens gussied up this spring with The Reporter’s special section [9-16]
[17]FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011www.issaquah-reporter.com • www.sammamish-reporter.com
lakes in the spring and is closed during winter. � ose who try to walk through adjacent grass picnic � elds risk losing a shoe to the mud.
� e state also cut money for lifeguards in 1992. � ey came back for a two-year pilot program, but the guards were gone again in 2010, said Ranger Rich Benson, the park manager.
Last summer, a man drowned on the unwatched beach. Some say it could have been prevented.
“As park manager that operates two swim beaches, I’d like to see lifeguards come back,” Benson said. However, he added, lifeguards aren’t a priority for state parks.
CrimeA month a� er the July shooting, Lake Sammamish was
back to its typical attendance. Today, most park visitors don’t even know about the deaths, Bjorklund said.
Shootings aren’t typically good indicators of crime prob-lems, he said. “Someone just brought their problems into the park.”
Lake Sammamish is certainly safer today than it was in the ’70s, said Ranger Benson, who has been at the park since 1979. A woman hasn’t been assaulted in years – a big change from the days of serial killer Ted Bundy.
Penniless� e park’s facility problems were addressed in a 2007
master plan, but like all the plans before it, the money fell short.
“It was a victim of timing,” said Peter Herzog, a state parks stewardship program manager, who has taken the park to heart.
� e economy is bad, but state parks have been short on money for much longer than problems with the state’s budget. It’s become an annual state project to publish a list of park closures.
Nevertheless, the Lake Sammamish advisory committee still felt its master plan was solid, and it began applying for money.
It nailed a large grant, but without matching dollars from the state or other grants, construction � zzled.
“We tried several times, but ultimately the types of proj-ects getting funding by the state parks commission were more geared toward � xing what you had,” Herzog said. “� ere was a real resistance to get into something new or expanded.”
� e e� ort didn’t go without a minor reward. � e group won money to at least design the � rst phase of improve-ments.
It also was able to begin replacing � ve aging boat ramps, a major draw for visitors, but it’s not the catalyst the park needs to get people excited about picnicking again.
Meanwhile, state park plans have life spans, and without money, this one is beginning to become history.
� is year state parks asked the Legislature for about $84 million, which would have included a new bathhouse for Sunset Beach. However, Gov. Chris Gregoire came back requesting only $18 million, said Daniel Farber, capital program manager for the Northwest region.
It will be at least another six years before the state sees � nancial recovery, said Sen. Cheryl P� ug, whose district includes the park.
Urban settings� e biggest eyesore at the park seems to be everywhere
picnickers step – geese dump all over the lawns, said Bud Dale, who has been walking weekly in the park for 23 years.
Unlike other jurisdictions, the state is resistant to killing wildlife and generally sees its land as an animal sanctuary, said Ranger Benson.
� e poop issue is one of many ways Washington State Parks’s rural mission is di� erent from heavily developed park lands like King County’s Marymoor Park or Renton’s Gene Coulon Park.
Both of those parks focus on what drives crowds and makes revenue. � ey lease restaurant space and rent out � elds for concerts and baseball games.
Lake Sammamish was swept into the same philosophy in 2003. Planners envisioned a Coney-Island-style boardwalk with restaurants and souvenir shops. � ey discussed con-cert venues, massive indoor facilities, including a baseball
� eld.� e planning team drew up di� erent designs, but state
parks had a change of mind, Herzog said. “� ere was a signi� cant community resistance.”
Today’s plan is to have a balanced approach between the demands of urban families who focus on soccer � elds, and providing access to nature, Herzog said.
� e hope now is to renovate the beaches, build new restrooms and a boardwalk around the Sunset Beach swim area.
� e plan would also reclaim a small piece of developed parkland to create a wetland bu� er along Issaquah Creek. About 70 percent of the 512-acre park is preserved wet-lands.
“Because it is in an urban setting, what is most impor-tant is that it is a natural oasis in the setting,” Herzog said.
Ranger Benson added that if the park’s soccer � elds weren’t already built several years ago, state parks would never let them be built today.
� ough support for the new park plan has been strong, it still clashes with many family’s expectations of an urban park.
“� ey don’t have a strong recreation component,” said Sen. P� ug, who went to bat for the Issaquah Soccer Club building more � elds. “� is one really needs to be much more recreational use.”
Mike Alvorson has been taking his son to play soccer at the park for three years, but he didn’t even know it had a beach or picnic area. Soccer mom Anna Voigt picnics at the park occasionally, but the facilities and no lifeguards are a turn o� .
She’d like to see more speci� c uses, like volleyball courts, and thinks the area already has a strong enough focus on conservation, she said. “I think they need to draw in more people.”
Next week: Are there solutions and does the park have advocates?
Issaquah Reporter sta� writer Celeste Gracey can be reached at 425-391-0363, ext. 5052.
[ PARK from page 1]
Park has master plan, but no money from state
Boys from the Issaquah Soccer Club stretch before one of their � rst games of the season. Only about 30 percent of the park is developed for recreational use, and much of that space is dedicated to soccer � elds. CELESTE GRACEY, Issaquah Reporter
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EMERGENCY TRAINING | Eastside Fire & Rescue trains nearby police and � re departments on river rescues [3]Playo� fever | Issaquah soccer and baseball teams prepare of KingCo 4A playo� action this Saturday [Sports 7]REPORTER
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BY CELESTE GRACEY
Rolling his truck through ankle-deep puddles, the ranger turns toward the empty beach and passes by a 1950s picnic shelter. Mud clings to the hem of his green pants, but noth-ing quite sticks like the memory of his � rst summer at Lake Sammamish State Park
“It was nuts,” said Ranger Rich Benson, as thoughts of the Fourth of July in 1979 trapped a smile.
So many families brought � reworks, the rangers gave up on enforcing the ban and focused instead on making sure people were being safe.
� e place was packed with people. It was among the glory years for both the
ranger and the park.With declining facili-
ties and a beach � lled with weeds, the Eastside’s aging gem is now struggling to attract the picnickers and swimmers it once did.
Few know Lake Samma-mish more intimately than Benson, and, like most park rangers, few have worked harder to � nd money to keep the park going.
However, the solution isn’t just more money, he said. It’s in � nding people willing to champion Lake Sammamish over the long haul.
While Benson has not been alone in his work, it takes a community to save a park.
Finding supportSimilar to Lake Sam-
mamish with its urban
placement, Bridle Trails State Park struggled to keep its gates open for about 20 years.
One of Kirkland and Bellevue’s largest natural areas, the 482-acre park was on the verge of closure before its neighbors formed a foundation in 2002.
� e group expects to pay for half of the park’s operat-ing costs, about $30,000 yearly, for the next 30 years.
It’s a “primo” example of how park groups can part-ner with Washington state, said Ken Hite, president of the Bridle Trails Park Foundation.
� e group also organizes community events like pho-tography hikes, mushroom walks and school programs that challenge the park’s stereotype of being “just for horses.”
Its annual Party in the Park attracts about 2,000 people, most of whom don’t own horses.
Lake Sammamish could use something similar, said Ranger Benson, who man-ages both of the parks.
� e closest the park came was a committee that spent several years working on a park improvement plan. � e group stopped meeting a� er the � rst set of grant applications failed.
It’s been three years of silence since.
But Hite and others agree that a new “friends” group could rekindle local interest in the park – and keep it in the minds of state legisla-tors.
Although the Issaquah Soccer Club has received
Lake Sammamish State Park manager and Ranger Rich Benson says the park could use some help from groups, similar to the case at Bridle Trails State Park between Bellevue and Kirkland. CHAD COLEMAN, Reporter Newspapers
Can Lake Sammamish State Parkfind a future, support in community?Nearby Bridle Trails State Park o� ersa look at how community can help
Condemnationto help secure landfor Boys, Girls Club siteLINDA BALL
Sammamish Reporter
� e Sammamish City Council voted 6-0 April 18 to move forward with condemnation procedures to secure a small triangular piece of property to alleviate tra� c con-cerns at the proposed Boys and Girls Club.
“It’s a process we’ve been working on for a year,” said Jesse Richardson, parks and recreation director for the city. “We’ve decided to go ahead with condemnation procedures.”
Richardson said the city is dealing with an out-of-state corporation, Grand Real Estate, a limited partnership in Delaware, adding to the complexity of the situation. She said an o� er was made by the city, with no response.
“It was le� on the table,” she said.City attorney Bruce Disend said the city is obligated to
o� er fair market value based on an appraisal.“We haven’t heard anything from them,” Disend said.
“� at’s why we’re moving forward. We hope to get things resolved before it would have to go to court.”
Disend said that Grand Real Estate is aware of the emi-nent domain action.
� e city, in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club, is renovating the old King County-Sammamish Library to ac-commodate the center. � e city bought the 10,000-square-foot facility from the King County Library System early in 2010.
Boys and Girls Club executive director Jane Ronngren said the organization has been trying to form a club in Sammamish for 16 years. � e project is in the planning and permitting phase now.
Acquisition of the triangular landscaped parcel, adjacent to Grand Real Estate’s apartment complex and situated between the city’s property and Inglewood Hill Road Northeast, is required for the development of the second-ary access driveway. � e city is responsible for the design and construction of a secondary driveway to improve access and circulation, so there is another way to access the club other than o� of 228th Avenue, a dangerous le� -hand turn into the center.
� e city has proposed an access road from Inglewood Hill Road, entering at the southwest corner of the site, trav-eling under the yet to be built gymnasium, then connecting with the existing parking lot north of the main building.
“We need to raise $3.5 million for the gymnasium, of-� ces and restrooms,” Ronngren said.
� e proposed 20-foot-wide secondary access driveway would connect Inglewood Hill Road Northeast to the existing parking lot via the west side of the building. � e contract for the proposed 20-foot-wide driveway includes grading, drainage, pavement surfacing, the driveway apron, a temporary erosion and sediment control plan, and the storm water management approach for � ow control and water quality treatment, according to the city website.
Linda Ball can be reached at 206-232-1215 ext. 5052. [ more PARK page 16 ]
FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2011[16] www.issaquah-reporter.com • www.sammamish-reporter.com
support for play fields from Sen. Cheryl Pflug, few have asked about the picnic areas, she said.
“Most people understand when you have a $5 billion state deficit, it’s maybe not the time to be expecting that we’re going to be doing a whole lot of development,” she added.
Not everyone agrees.While the recession makes money harder to find, it’s not
an excuse, said Stacy Goodman, Issaquah’s newest council member, who plans to bring the ailing park to the city’s attention.
“There is money, because some money is being spent,” she said. “We need to open up the dialog.”
Her hope is to stir the pot, although she hasn’t decided on a specific plan.
What Goodman does know is that Lake Sammamish State Park used to be the first place she thought of when taking her kids on a picnic. Now it’s the last.
“We as a community,” she said, “need to reclaim the park.”
Mountains to SoundA worker in black rain boots passed by the forlorn picnic
areas with a pleasant smile. Her wheelbarrow pointed straight to the park’s wetlands.
A couple times per week, Mountain to Sound Greenway Trust posts a sandwich board inviting people to join a restoration project at Lake Sammamish Park.
Restoring the wetland areas, which make up 70 percent of the park, is one aspect of the park plan that has moved ahead.
It’s easier, because there is more grant money for environmental projects, said Peter Herzog, a state parks stewardship manager whose taken the park to heart.
The wetlands were once filled in by farmers, and then taken over by invasive plants, like blackberries. Today, it has one of the area’s largest heron rookeries.
Rough trails pass through open fields, which are tailored by a mix of native plants and towering deciduous trees.
While the horizon is defined by the Sammamish Plateau and a Microsoft complex, the park is a quiet retreat for a handful of visitors on a lunchtime walk.
“I’m a big natural person,” said Patti Hoyopatubbi as she took her dog Charlie on a walk.
Preserving natural areas not only helps to balance devel-opment east of Seattle, but it also helps to balance park use between swim beaches and green areas, Herzog said.
While the progress has been encouraging, the wetlands weren’t the main focus of the park plan.
The goal was to see people return to the place that was once a mecca for swimming on the Eastside, he said.
Discover PassDay-use parks like Lake Sammamish and Bridle Trails
drive high attendance compared to their campground counterparts, but without a way to make money, they lose priority.
“Day use parks don’t get the same money camping parks get,” Benson said. Herzog agreed.
However, the focus could shift to day-use parks with a new user fee that the Legislature passed this spring.
Day-use visitors will now have to pay $10 to enter the park for a day or spend $30 for a Discover Pass that lasts all year.
Selling the passes is the only way the parks department will be able to pay for its $60 million budget.
So parks like Lake Sammamish, which have heavy use, but no campgrounds, will now be able to earn their merit as moneymakers.
The bill didn’t come without contention from lawmakers and park staff.
“We loathe to define ourselves by revenue. It’s about providing public service,” Herzog said.
There are also concerns for how it could drive down at-tendance numbers.
A yearlong parking fee experiment about five years ago took a heavy hit on Lake Sammamish’s attendance, Benson said.
Sen. Pflug voted against the bill, calling it an easy target for raising state revenue, because it can pass with a simple majority.
Chances are, she said, the money will eventually end up in the general fund instead of the parks department.
It’s also an issue of equity. Poor families could be less in-clined to buy the pass in favor of free county and city parks.
“This is supposed to be a safety valve outlet for families in difficult times,” Pflug said.
While uncertainty and speculation drives most of the conversation, there is hope that the fees will be a more reli-able money source than the Legislature.
“If it provides stability and predictability, and if it’s less susceptible to the vagaries of the budget process, then I think that in itself, it’s good,” Herzog said.
Issaquah Reporter staff writer Celeste Gracey can be reached at 425-391-0363, ext. 5052.
Ken Hite, president of the Bridle Trails Park Foundation, says the organization expects to pay for half of the park’s operating costs, about $30,000 annually, for the next 30 years. CELESTE GRACEY, Issaquah Reporter
[ parK from page 1]
‘Community needs to reclaim the park’
Ever feel like there’s nothing to do in Sammamish if you’re a teen? Feel like your ideas are not being heard?
Well, here is your chance to make a dif-ference. The Sammamish Youth Board is currently seeking teens who have the drive to make change in Sammamish.
The Sammamish Youth Board’s mission is to unite youth, adults and government to form a relationship that promotes equality and mutual respect, as well as to create ac-tivities that lead to a stronger community.
Helped by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department youth board has produced and promoted numerous activities:
* Coordinated a variety of commu-
nity service opportunities for local youth including adopt-a-road clean ups, local trail restoration, and food distribution to homeless youth;
* Produced a police/youth video “info-mercial” on the risks of speeding for the local Channel 21 television station;
* Coordinated a garage sale and “Sample Sammamish” to form relationship with lo-cal businesses, raise funds for the American Cancer Society, and support the Board’s Relay for Life team;
* Coordinate a variety of teen social events such as a volleyball tournament or ice cream social to increase social opportu-nities for teens and break down barriers;
* Awarded a mini-grant to send local youth representatives to the Washington State Drug and Alcohol Prevention Summit in Yakima;
* Offered the annual youth/police BBQ to increase youth/police communications and understanding;
* Partnered with local organizations to sponsor community events such as Nightmare at Beaver Lake, Sammamish Highlands Holiday Celebration, Battle of the Bands, and Spring Eggstravaganza;
* Participated in quarterly meetings with the Lake Washington School District superintendent.
To be eligible for the Sammamish Youth
Board, the applicant must reside, work, go to school, or perform some legitimate activity within the Sammamish city limits.
The applicant must be currently in 7th-11th grade, or in a program equivalent to the grades listed above.
Those interested should complete an ap-plication and submit it to Lynne Handlos at [email protected] by May 9 to be considered. An application is available at http://www.ci.sammamish.wa.us/Group.aspx?ID=6
The board meetings are open to the public and held from 6-7:30 p.m. at Sam-mamish City Hall, 801 228th Ave. S.E.
Sammamish Youth Board applications available now
rich Benson, manager of Lake Sammamish State Park, returns to the ranger station at the end of the work week. He said the park could use help from a ‘friends’ group. CHAD COLEMAN, Reporter Newspapers
COMPASSION HELPEDThe Washington State Patrol
would like to thank all the won-derful people of Washington who showed their compassion and care following the tragic death Trooper Tony Radulescu.
When we in law enforcement lose one of our own, the outpour-ing of support from Washingto-nians is a big factor in easing a very diffi cult time, and helping with the healing process that follows. We fi nd real comfort in a community that cares, and I can assure you, so do the family and friends of the fallen offi cer.
So on behalf of all of us who work to protect our citizens, I want to express our gratitude for all of the support we have received from the communities, citizens, agencies, media and others. Thank you for the funds, food, time, and so much more. Your support helped all involved better grieve and honor Trooper Radulescu’s life.
Trooper Radulescu’s death is not only a loss to our agency and the state of Washington, but to law enforcement as a whole. We are always mindful of the price that is paid to safeguard our citizens. Trooper Radulescu will
never be forgotten.Thank you for your care and
kindness.Chief John R. Batiste, Washington
State Patrol
EDUCATION DAMAGEDWhen three Democratic
senators joined all 22 Republican senators Feb. 2 in passing a Sen-ate budget, they broke the public’s trust in two important ways: � rst, by going back on their promise to make education a priority, and second by denying the public any opportunity to comment on the proposed budget.
Since the beginning of the legislative session, the Republi-can mantra in Olympia has been “Fund Education First.” With the passage of the Senate’s budget it is di� cult to see how Sen-ate Republicans can claim they were sincere about the education promise.
� e budget made $44 million in additional cuts to K-12 educa-tion and $30 million in additional cuts to higher education. For a party that claims to put education � rst, they sure have a funny way of showing it.
Adam Sherman, vice president, UW Graduate and Professional Student Senate, Seattle
The decision by Eastside Fire and Rescue to stop sending a fi re truck to every medical call might concern some people. After all, such calls would bring a paramedic or emergency medical
technician to the scene.But the decision is the right one for all concerned. Emergency
medical calls only make up a tenth of the agency’s call volume.Better and smarter is the new plan, which has a trained medical
technician handle non-emergency calls, freeing up fi re crews to focus on heart attacks and house fi res.
The medical technician still will be a fi refi ghter or EMT, but they will have additional training in social services.
The program also will cut the cost of wear and tear on expensive aid cars and fi re engines, saving the agency money that can go to other needed services. The trained medical technicians use a SUV.
The cost of the program – $243,000 a year – is being paid by King County Public Health, plus money for new equipment.
These days, more and more people are using 9-1-1 for non-emergency needs: someone has fallen, a person is drunk and can’t stand up, the caller doesn’t have medical insurance and doesn’t know where else to turn. A medical technician with the additional skills can deal with these.
The new medical technician program is based out of the EFR’s headquarters in Issaquah on Newport Way. That location means a technician can respond to Issaquah, most of Sammamish and parts of North Bend within 15 minutes.
As Greg Tryon, EFR’s deputy chief of operations, aptly put it, “The purpose is to create a more effi cient emergency response sys-tem by sending right people to the right call.”
THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN
For Rush Limbaugh for calling Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” after she talked about the importance of having contraception services covered
under government-required health insurance plans. Limbaugh later apologized saying, “I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke. … My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir.” Really? We’re not sure he’s just mean, stupid – or both.
For National Football League teams and coaches paying bounties to players for knocking opponents out of games. An investigation by the NFL has targeted the New Orleans
Saints, but players around the league say it happens elsewhere, too. Tough play is one thing. We expect that in professional football. But trying to purposely hurt, maim or end a player’s career is something else. Penalties for this must be severe.
For Republicans who fl ocked to precinct meeting spots Satur-day to begin the process of picking delegates to that party’s national convention. The huge turnout across the Eastside
and state is grassroots politics at its best.
– Craig Groshart, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter
9-1-1Eastside Fire and Rescue makes right call
to use new medical technician
LETTERS
The � rst time I met a Washington State Patrol Trooper, I had reported a drunk driver on SR 520.
It was around midnight, and I was heading home from an internship at the Seattle P-I when I saw the woman’s car sway between lines wherever the road snaked. She was totally sloshed.
Less than a minute a� er calling dispatch, I saw the man in blue speed by my little red truck. Help arrived, and I gained this unexpected sense of pride.
I never met Trooper Tony Rad-ulescu, whose life was snatched away at the hands of a thief two weeks ago, but he was the type of man who believed with each DUI arrest, he was saving a life.
He wasn’t wrong.As I waited behind the trooper’s
Crown Vic, watching the driver in the Volvo sob in her guilt, my annoyance and anger turned to fear. She was driving a death machine 80 mph down a highway without the coherence to drive straight, much less stop. She could have killed me or some unlucky kid waiting at a red light.
Like all troopers, Radulescu saved lives we never knew were endangered. It should be to no one’s surprise that when our protectors are turned into murder victims, it strikes a bitter chord in the com-munity.
� e men who have allegedly gunned down several of our o� cers these past few years didn’t just
murder good people, they attacked society. � ey’ve declared war on a system that we’ve
cra� ed to keep people accountable for their crimes.Prosecutors hoped that by convicting those who
helped Maurice Clemmons elude police, others would learn to disown suspected murderers. Clem-mons, known to have killed four badges in Lake-wood, never made it to trial, but his getaway driver earned 420 years in prison.
� is e� ort wasn’t in vain, but as far as we now it didn’t do much in Radulescu’s case.
� e Legislature did the right thing in passing the Blue Alert system this week. Similar to the Amber Alert, it will help o� cers track down suspects in in-cidences where o� cers have been seriously injured or murdered.
� e law had been tied up in legislation for a few years. However, Radulescu’s sacri� ce brought atten-tion to the legislation. His memory is now immor-talized with the law.
His son, Erick, put it well by reading a poem at his memorial.
It � nished: “Do not stand in my grave and cry, I am not there – I did not die.”
Issaquah Reporter sta� writer Celeste Gracey can be reached at 425-391-0363, ext. 5052.
A state trooper’s sacri� ce
Craig Groshart, [email protected]
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REPORTER’SNOTEBOOK
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www.issaquahreporter.comFriday, March 16, 2012
CATCHING UPBond would rebuild Issaquah’s oldest schoolhouses
BY CELESTE [email protected]
A waterfall of rain pours down on Sunny Hills Elementary, slops over the gutters and splashes onto its out-
door walkways.Sidestepping one of many puddles, Princi-
pal Sarah White � ips up her hood and heads for the 11 portables that make up much of her campus.
� e wooden structures have been a � xture at Sunny Hills for so long, they’re counted among the 31 permanent classrooms. Some have even seen remodels.
� ey’re the biggest reason why White is hoping for a new school; the list of needs – including gutters that don’t behave like water fountains – continues to grow as the 1960s facility ages.
A new school building, ticketed at $27 million, is among the top projects in the Issaquah School District’s hopes to pay for through its April bond.
“We’re so excited,” White said. “� e sta� al-ready talks about ‘When we get a new school building…’”
� e district is asking residents to pay $219 million over the next eight years. � e bond would replace an expiring one with a lower
tax rate.For the past two decades, the district’s
focus has been on keeping up with growth. Since 1991, the student population has almost doubled in size.
“It was a tough challenge to keep buildings coming up fast enough,” said Steve Crawford, director of capital projects.
While the district scrambled to � nd space for students to sit, thoughts of renovating older schools like Sunny Hills and Liberty High School were put on hold.
April’s bond would rebuild ISD’s oldest
facilities. It also comes with perks such as $12 million for football stadiums at each high school.
Finishing LibertyLiberty High School Principal Mike De-
Letis adjusts the fan in a new science lab. It sends a gentle whoosh through the room, and puts a smile in his eyes.
As simple as it might seem, it’s a point of pride. Without a fan, the students can’t use
SEE BOND, 13
� e gym at Sunny Hills Elementary
School was built as cheaply as possible, and
now resembles something close
to a portable building. April’s
bond would replace it.
From the le� , Elizabeth
Kaiser, Yasmeen Gallagher,
Daniela Knutson, Stephan
Daghofer. Below, Principal Sarah
White. CELESTE GRACEY, Issaquah &
Sammamish Reporter
“I think people want good schools. � at’s why people move to Issaquah.”– Principal Mike DeLetis
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� e Issaquah Salmon Hatchery is hosting its � rst major fundrais-er for saving the Kokanee Salmon.
� e fresh water � sh, which looks much like a sockeye, is nearing extinction. However, it failed to make the federal govern-ment’s endangered species clas-si� cation last year.
� e Coho Café plans to cater the event at 6 p.m., March 23 at the hatchery.
“� is possible extinction is literally happening right in our own backyard and if a community as educated and a� uent as King County cannot turn this critical situation around, then I’m not sure there is hope,” said Heather VanDorn, catering manager at Coho Café.
� e hatchery began a program a couple years ago to spawn the � sh in streams that run through Issaquah and Sammamish. � e costly process requires sta� to hall water from the streams to the hatchery, so the � sh will learn the scent.
Tickets to the event are $60 and available at the Coho Café or by phone at 425-391-4040.
Rare salmonFundraiser for nearly extinct Kokanee
Kokanee Salmon before being released into laughing Jacobs Creek. FILE PHOTO
Bunsen burners – common lab equipment.
The district added the fans when it remodeled two of Liberty’s sci-ence labs, but the remaining science classrooms won’t get the improve-ments until another bond passes.
Before the remodel, teacher Alisa Jermica was in one of the least-equipped rooms. Her students worked on long tables instead of at lab stations – waist-high booths equipped with gas and plenty of electrical outlets.
Her space is now so enviable that she’ll occasionally swap rooms with teachers so they, too, can run larger experiments.
At first the district didn’t plan to fully remodel Liberty. The last capi-tal bond provided $15 million for a new performing arts space.
The project is now well under way. The finished product would be simi-lar to Issaquah High School with a 600-seat auditorium, orchestra pit and black box theater.
As a planning committee began filling out the details for the new arts center, DeLetis encouraged them to take a second look at Lib-erty.
The group decided the school needed more extensive improve-ments. The district got a head start by giving a few extra dollars for classroom remodels, including Jer-mica’s science lab.
The school is depending on April’s bond to provide another $44 million to finish the remodel.
The plan touches every part of Liberty’s campus, except the main gym, which received upgrades in the 1990s. The narrow A-frame entry-way would be combined with the student commons to create an open space. Administrative offices would move to the front of the school, giv-ing a better view of whose coming and going.
Heading to the ground floor of the classroom wing, DeLetis greets a teacher in the hall. It’s state test-ing week, but he wants to show the cramped classrooms.
Unlocking the door to a math room, he flips on the lights.
“We call it the bunker, because there are no windows,” he says.
Rooms that have windows aren’t much of an improvement. They’re just a bit larger than a dog door.
Plans for a remodel would provide enough natural light that most days
teachers won’t need to flip on all of the light switches, says Steve Craw-ford, director of capital projects.
New buildings use up to 30 per-cent less energy, because of natural light and better insulation. That’s operations money that can be spent on teachers and curriculum, he said.
The district can’t use saved capital projects money to pay teachers, but it can use the money to make the facilities as efficient and durable as possible. New buildings cost less to operate.
For DeLetis,
the remodel is as much an improve-ment for student learning as it is about the community taking pride in its high school.
“I think people want good schools,” he said. “That’s why people move to Issaquah (school district).”
Issaquah Reporter staff writer Celeste Gracey can be reached at 425-391-
0363, ext. 5052.
Friday, March 16, 2012 www.issaquahreporter.coM page 13
Othello, WashingtonMarch 23-25, 2012
15 T H A N N U A L
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BondCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Above, teacher-Alisa Jermica and Principal Mike De-Letis in the newly remodeled science rooms at Liberty High School. Below, Principal Sarah White and Teacher Kelsey Jensen at Sunny Hills El-ementary.
BY CELESTE GRACEY, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter
Auburn man falls to death
An Auburn man plummeted to his death off Rattlesnake Ridge on March 9 in what so far appears to be an ac-cident.
Another hiker saw the 32-year-old man near the ledge. When the hiker looked back again, the man was gone. The hiker saw the man’s body laying 300 feet below.
He hiked down to find the man had died. Sheriff ’s deputies con-firmed his death.
A team of about 30 search and rescue responders helped carry the man’s body out. Rattlesnake Ridge is just east of Tiger Mountain and south of Sno-qualmie.
Fix A Leak Week in Issaquah
As part of national Fix A Leak Week, Cascade Water Alliance and the city of Issaquah sent toi-let leak detection mailers to about 100,000 homes throughout the county March 12.
The average American home wastes around 10,000 gallons of water each year from running toilets, dripping faucets and other household leaks, according to a Cascade press release.
The mailers include dye strips that help de-termine whether there is a leak. For more information on leaks and other conservation programs visit www.cascadewater.org.
St. Patty’s Day volunteers
The City of Sam-mamish Trail and Plant Stewards will lead a volunteer work party to plant and restore ap-
proximately 7,300 square feet of a wetland buffer near the upper park-ing lot of Evans Creek Preserve from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., March 17.
Volunteers will plant stakes (red and yellow dogwood) sword ferns and other plant materi-als at this site. They will also remove blackberry and ivy.
Attendees will need to wear heavy shoes, work gloves and to dress for the weather. The event will happen rain or shine.
Those interested should register at www.ci.sammamish.wa.us/vol-unteer/VolunteerAgree-ment.aspx.
Celebration time at IHS
Issaquah High School plans to celebrate the completion of its new facility with the public April 3.
The school is plan-ning a presentation on the construction project, tours of the building and student music and art showcases.
The event is at 6 p.m. at the new school, 700 2nd Ave. S.E. The per-forming arts wing was opened to students in the Fall, but the staff wanted to wait until the space received its final touches, before inviting the com-munity to celebrate.
The rebuild was result of a 2006 bond measure.
AROUND TOWN
$219 million is the total bond cost
$63 million to rebuild issaquah Middle school next to issaquah high school
$44 million to finish Liberty high school’s remodel
$27 million to rebuild sunny hills elementary school
$19.5 million to remodel and move clark elementary school to the iMs site
$12 million to remodel and add covered stadiums to issaquah, skyline and Liberty high schools
Top Bond Projects
ReporterReporterReporterReporterReporterReporterReporterReporterISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
www.issaquahreporter.comFriday, September 30, 2011
SEE CONCUSSIONS, 11
Blake Miller, a senior at Issaquah High School, had high hopes for the 2011 football season and continuing his career in college. But a� er three concussions in the past calendar year, Miller was sidelined permanently and is now an assistant coach for the Eagles. CHAD COLEMAN, Bellevue Reporter
BY JOSH [email protected]
From afar, Blake Miller looks like any other up-and-coming high school football coach. He exudes energy, clearly possesses a knowledge of the game and has a seamless connection with the players he works with. Probably because just a few months ago, he was one of them.
During a jamboree in June, Miller, now a senior at Issaquah High School, su� ered the sixth concussion of his life and third in the past calendar year, prematurely ending his football career.
“I don’t remember it,” Miller said of his most recent concussion. “But when I got hit, I knew I was done. It was rough.”
Unfortunately, Miller is far from alone.A concussion is de� ned by the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention as “a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head that can change the way the brain normally works.” Symptoms
include headaches, nausea, trouble balanc-ing, dizziness, sensitivity to light or sound and concentration or memory problems, among others. Around 90 percent of concussions do not result in any loss of consciousness.
Dr. Stephen Hughes is a primary care physician specializing in traumatic brain injuries at Overlake hospital in Issaquah and has served as the team doctor for the Mount Si High School football team since 1990.
“We want people to be very much aware that a concussion injury, in many cases, is something you can’t prove with a medical test (CT scan, MRI etc.),” Hughes said. “A concussion is a collection of symptoms.”
� ose symptoms are signs the brain is still attempting to recover from trauma and more importantly, they are a warning.
“If you take another injury, the brain has lost its ability to regulate the environment and you end up with something more seri-ous,” Hughes warns.
Few understand that better than the Lystedt family.
Victor Lystedt is like any proud father. “Every time Zack was up at the plate, I
would always get butter� ies to see how far he was going to hit the ball,” Victor said. “When he was on the football � eld, I loved to watch him run and tackle. As a father, you want to see your son perform.”
But all of that changed on a fateful Octo-ber day in 2006, when the youngster from Maple Valley su� ered two concussions over the course of one junior high football game. Lystedt collapsed a� er the game as a result of severe brain hemorrhaging and eventu-ally had both sides of his cranium removed. He spent nearly three months slipping in and out of a coma.
It was nine months before he was able to speak and over a year before he moved on his own. He was forced to eat from a feed-ing tube for 20 months.
HEAD GAMESConcussions to young athletes getting increased attention
SEE SHOOTER, 13
BY CELESTE [email protected]
Several days a� er police shot down a gunman at Clark Elementary school, the sheri� ’s o� ce is still trying to piece together what exactly happened that day.
Ronald W. Ficker, 51, was shot � ve times by four Issaquah police o� cers, a� er he reportedly walked through south downtown Issaquah baring two ri� es, and carrying 952 rounds of ammo.
Police painted a picture of a disturbed and possibly mentally ill man, who hid behind a berm and � red 11 shots at � ve o� cers on the school playground.
It was a “deadly mixture” of factors – � re arms, large groups of people and a suspect willing to shoot, said Steven Strachan, Chief Deputy at the King County Sheri� ’s O� ce, which is investi-gating the incident.
“Five Issaquah o� cers were put into the middle of that,” he said in a press conference. “I believe in my heart that they saved lives, perhaps a lot of lives.”
Police � rst interacted with Ficker Sept. 15, when he walked into the Issaquah Police Station openly carrying a sidearm at his hip. He told the o� cer that he had concerns for his safety, because he had an invention that would save the planet.
Shooterhad 900 roundsof ammoIssaquah Police creditedwith saving lives,‘perhaps a lot of lives’
Photo shows all of the weapons found in, but only the ammo recovered from the car. CELESTE GRACEY, Issaquah Reporter
Friday, September 30, 2011 WWW.ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM Page 13
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Ficker willingly surren-dered his � rearm to police, while they checked to make sure he possessed it legally. It was a peaceful conversa-tion, and the o� cer had no legal way to detain him.
� e day before the shooting, Ficker rented a 2011 silver Kia Forte with California plates, which was similar in size and shape to his Hyundai.
By time police seized the car the next day, he had driven 450 miles. It’s still a mystery where Ficker drove. Police also don’t know where the car he owns is located, and have no leads to where it might be.
An o� cer made contact with Ficker again, a� er seeing his rental on the side of the road the morning of the shooting. � e o� cer stopped, but found Ficker walking with a gas can to � ll the car. Not seeing any-thing unusual, the o� cer moved on.
� e car ran out of gas again at 11:11 a.m. on Front Street and Newport Way. Ficker abandoned the car, and carrying two ri� es, � lled his pockets with ammo.
He walked by the Julius Boehm Pool to Issaquah Middle School, where he � red a single round. He then continued walking toward Second Avenue.
Police are still trying to sort out statements from several witnesses, many who reported Ficker’s whereabouts, Strachan said.
At 11:38, an anonymous caller told police dispatch he had seen the gunman behind Clark Elementary School.
Five o� cers in two groups approached Ficker, who laid down in a berm about 100 yards away.
Police � red over 90 rounds using AR-15 ri� es, leaving a hole in the chain link fence behind where Ficker lay.
Ficker shot 11 rounds from a .33-caliber lever ac-tion ri� e, hitting a portable classroom just inches from where o� cers took cover, Strachan said.
� e incident ended when Ficker got up to climb a fence, which would have lead him into a neighbor-hood. Fearing for the neighbors, the o� cers shot him 5 times.
Police later found two more ri� es and a shotgun in the trunk of the abandoned rental car. A hunting bow
was found next to the car. A warrant revealed
Ficker’s home, which was once orderly, in disarray with a “great deal of rotting food.” O� cers also found
10 empty half-gallon Vodka bottles, Strachan said.
In days leading up to Sept. 24, Ficker reportedly told people to “watch the news” because “something big is going to happen,”
Strachan said.Members of the Sheri� ’s
o� ce, Police Chief Paul Ayers and Mayor Ava Fris-inger praised the depart-ment for its quick response in � nding and eliminating the threat.
If police hadn’t stopped Ficker, “God knows what he would have done,” said Sheri� ’s Sgt. Jim Laing. “(� e police) did exactly the right thing in stopping him from getting away.”
� ere hasn’t been an in-cident like this in Issaquah history, although there has been an o� cer-involved shooting in the past � ve years, Ayers said.
“Some say it shouldn’t happened in Issaquah,” Frisinger said. “It shouldn’t happen anywhere.”
Celeste Gracey can be reached at 425-391-0363,
ext. 5052.
Steven Strachan, Chief Deputy of the King County Sheri� ’s O� ce, shows the location of the shooting. CELESTE GRACEY, Issaquah Reporter
SHOOTERCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
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BY CELESTE GRACEY
A World Word II veteran and re-tired Boeing test engineer, Irv Levin understands suburban communities by a way of history. His generation helped build them.
His perspective couldn’t � nd a greater contrast than Saj Sahay. Born in India and once a world traveler, he’s settled in nearby Klahanie with a high-tech job.
� e two men, both members of Issaquah’s Planning Policy Com-mission, represent two contrasting perspectives of what should become of Central Issaquah, which is now dominated by single-story industry, concrete and parking.
Sahay and Levin are by no means alone in sharing their views on the commission. But they each repre-sent lifestyles that are driving the PPC’s debate over how tall build-ings should grow into the Issaquah skyline.
Levin doesn’t want to see anything above four stories. Nothing should block his view of the precious Is-saquah Alps that � rst attracted him to the city.
He also doesn’t want the tra� c that urban density brings.
For Sahay, it’s important to pre-vent more suburban sprawl. It’s hard on the environment to expand out-ward. It’s better to grow up, he says.
He favors going as high as 14 stories in some places.
It would hardly be a downtown Bellevue, but would provide an alter-native to expanding deeper into the mountainside.
� e commission’s � nal recom-mendation, a set of building and transportation regulations called the Central Issaquah Plan, will be set before elected o� cials for approval sometime next year.
� e plan would set the course of the city’s development over the next 30-50 years.
Studies and charts aside, the heart of the debate isn’t a matter of what would work, but which lifestyles to champion. A former Boeing engineer and World War II airplane navigator, Irv Levin takes a more traditional suburban perspective to
the table in the city’s discussions over the Central Issaquah Plan. He stands before a new neighborhood he wouldn’t mind seeing at the center of the 50 year plan. CELESTE GRACEY, Issaquah Reporter photos
Saj Sahay, once a world traveler and now an accomplished IT manager, brings a progressive urban approach to downtown Issaquah in the city’s discussion over the valley � oor’s future. He stands on a road he hopes will be replaced with mixed-use condos and apartments.
A Tale of Two Cities 60 days and counting
Old libraryon track to benew kids’ club
BY LINDA BALL
Sammamish Reporter
� e renovation of the old King County-Sammamish Library at the corner of Inglewood Hill Northeast and 228th Avenue Northeast began last week. Within 60 days, a new Boys and Girls Club should stand in its place.
� e city bought the 10,000-square-foot facility from the King County Library System early in 2010 and in partnership with the club, is renovating the old library to accommodate the center. “� ey’ve taken out the carpeting, torn out walls,” said Jeremy Peck, resource development manager with Boys and Girls Club. “� e outer shell of the building will remain the same.”
Andersen Construction of Port-land (Seattle o� ce) will complete the project, which will include a technology lab, teaching kitchen, performance stage, games room, study space, multi-purpose room and a future gymnasium.
Previously, Jane Ronngren, the Boys and Girls Club executive direc-tor, said the organization needs to raise $3.5 million for the gymna-sium, o� ces and restrooms.
� e center will be called the Sam-mamish EX3 Teen and Recreation Center, which stands for “Explore, Experience and Excite.”
� e Boys and Girls Club has raised more than $1 million for the project from individuals, along with foundation and corporate gi� s including a contribution from Mi-croso� . � e $1 million raised already is just for renovation of the current facility, not the proposed gym.
“We plan to complete the renova-tion, get it up and running, then move forward with fund raising for the gym,” Peck said.
� e Boys and Girls Club will also embark on a community campaign to raise funds for operating costs.
� e center will be operated by the Redmond/Sammamish Boys and Girls Club. Ronngren said the organization has been trying to form a club in Sammamish for 16 years.
For more information or to get involved contact Ronngren at [email protected].
Linda Ball can be reached at 206-232-1215 ext. 5052.
As city’s Planning Policy Commission debates downtown’s future,two of its members advocate strikingly di� erent views
[ more DOWNTOWN PLAN page 8 ]
FRIDAY, JulY 29, 2011[8] www.issaquah-reporter.com • www.sammamish-reporter.com
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Saj’s view: Live, work, playRattling off facts, Saj Sahay paces down
Northwest Mall Street past an auto parts store and along a chain-link fence.
Barren parking lots make up about 70 percent of the area, there are few if any residents, and most of the steel buildings are single-story.
“There is no community here,” he says of the empty streets, before meandering across the road.
Had he his way, this would be the heart of the city – “a neighborhood of its own.”
Plans for a new I-90 overpass would connect the neighborhood to Costco’s headquarters. The corporation wants closer places for its employees to live, that mes-sage has been clear, he said.
In his ideal world, new townhomes
would mix with apartments, condos and even a 14-story building or two.
The tallest buildings would be spread apart, as to not block the view of the moun-tains.
Don’t think about downtown Bellevue, think something closer to Mercer Island or Kirkland, Sahay reiterated. “I don’t want to be a Bellevue, because I think it’s very monolithic. It’s a lot of concrete.”
Unlike Bellevue, Issaquah has a high water table. Underground parking would have be built like a bath tub, which isn’t cost-effective, said Trish Heinonen, plan-ning manager with the city.
Issaquah can’t hide stories underground, so parking garages would make up the second and third stories, she said.
In the CIP, restaurants, office space and retail would take up the ground floor. A
green necklace of small parks and walking paths would connect the area.
The basic concept is residents could live, work and play all within the neighborhood. Families would only need one car.
It’s the new West Coast way, Sahay says. It’s also a dream.He’s remodeling his house to better fit his
family of six in their Klahanie home, but he’d give it up for the chance to live in such a neighborhood, he said.
“I’ve lived that way in Europe. I lived that way in India,” he said. “If we achieve this, I would move here.”
Irv’s view: Two-car homesRaised in New York’s Brooklyn in the
1930s, Irv Levin spent his whole childhood living, studying and playing in the city.
Like many soldiers returning from World War II, he embraced the automobile and suburban life.
The core idea behind the Central Is-saquah Plan hinges on people’s willingness to walk most places, but that’s not possible in the suburbs, he says.
Levin’s defense of keeping Issaquah’s buildings short is a defense of the automo-bile lifestyle.
Families don’t walk to the grocery store, just like kids don’t walk to soccer practice, he said.
People won’t be able to walk to work, because Issaquah doesn’t have the high-waged jobs that are needed to own a home in Issaquah, he added.
The CIP is a way to manage growth by increasing density in one part of the city. For transportation to work, new residents would have to change their driving behav-ior, said Heinonen, a city planner. “It’s a new way of living.”
Levin disagrees.
“I think the government should react to people, not direct them,” he said. “I don’t want to change the way people behave. Hitler did it. Mussolini did it.”
A few years ago Levin, now 87, settled in a condo on the valley floor. He liked the slower pace of life, the mountainside.
“I don’t like the walls around me,” he explained, looking out the window and up at the tree tops.
There is nothing wrong with urban liv-ing, he said, but Issaquah isn’t the place for it. He doesn’t want to see buildings above four stories because they limit the views.
Density also causes traffic problems, he said.
He’s not interested in being another Kirkland or Mercer Island. He doesn’t want that much growth.
“Issaquah doesn’t have to be the place people move to,” he said, giving approval to expanding North Bend for more housing.
If not allowing buildings to go up to nine stories means people can’t move to Issaquah, he said. “I say, too bad.”
Legally speaking, there are things a city can do to stunt growth. However, it’s a free country, and landowners have a right to build, Heinonen said. “You can’t be a com-munity that says we don’t want any more growth, period.”
If growth happens, it should be organic and unforced, Levin says.
Peering out the car window, he points to a new development near Issaquah Valley Elementary – three-story town homes.
They’re a bit high, but perfectly accept-able, he says. They don’t block the moun-tainside and there is space for two cars.
Issaquah Reporter staff writer Celeste Gracey can be reached at 425-391-0363, ext. 5052.
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Issaquah’s downtown: taller buildings or keep them short?
