sammamishreview022912

By Caleb Heeringa

Words and terminology aremore than just semantics to Sageand Dana Alixander.

The Sammamish residents,who were married in Californiain 2008 and registered as domes-tic partners in Washington Stateshortly afterwards, may nolonger have to carry the asteriskof calling the person they lovetheir “domestic partner” in theeyes of the law. Gov. ChrisGregoire (D) signed into law abill recognizing same-sex mar-riage in the state Feb. 13,prompting gay marriage oppo-nents to begin collecting signa-tures for a referendum to put theissue before voters onNovember’s ballot.

For the Alixanders, residentsof the Vintage neighborhood,legal recognition of their devoted21-year relationship is long over-due. Dana Alixander said the

creation of a separate legalframework of domestic partner-ship felt almost belittling of whatshould be a basic civil right forher and Sage.

“Not to be flippant, but youcould just as easily have said‘You have to sit on the back of

the bus – but you’re on the bus,so what does it matter?’” shesaid.

All eyes were on Olympia inthe weeks leading up the StateSenate vote on the measure andseveral Sammamish lawmakersbucked their party and served as

deciding votes on the matter.Sen. Cheryl Pflug, who repre-sents most of the city in the 5thDistrict, and Sen. Steve Litzow,whose 41st District will cover thesouth half of Sammamish start-

Calendar...........16Classifieds........19Community........8Editorial.............4Police...............18Schools............12Sports..............14

A community

says goodbye

community page 8

She’s a top

teacher

schools page 12

February 29, 2012

Locally owned

50 cents

By Tom Corrigan

Hoping to take the lead in implement-ing a coming change in state law, localschool officials have settled on a teacherevaluation system that could end up beinga model for all of Washington.

The Issaquah School District will nowspend time ramping up to implementationof the new system, according to AssociateSuperintendent Ron Thiele, as well infor-mation released by the district.

The new teacher and principal evalua-tion system should be in place in time forthe next school year.

In fall 2013, every Washington public

school will be implementing a state-man-dated system to evaluate the performanceof teachers and principals.

According to the state Office of theSuperintendent of Public Instruction, thevast majority of districts in the state do notuse a research-based instructional frame-work to guide teacher evaluations. TheIssaquah district is an exception and dis-trict officials decided they wanted to be apart of any coming changes.

“We decided we wanted to be on theforefront of that,” said Sara Niegowski,executive director of communications forthe district.

The new teacher evaluation system was

the choice of a selection committee con-sisting of district administrators and repre-sentatives of the Issaquah EducationAssociation, the local teachers union.Frameworks under consideration initiallywere studied in 13 districts, or consor-tiums of districts, from across the state,Thiele said. Those initial studies earnedpast praise from Thiele, who said he fullysupports strengthening teacher evalua-tions.

“It’s good for the districts, it’s good forthe state, it’s good for the teachers,” headded.

In the end, local officials decided to gowith what is known as the Charlotte

Danielson framework, Thiele said, indicat-ing there were several reasons for thatchoice.

District officials claimed there is solidevidence of a direct relationship betweenthe use of the framework and improvedstudent learning. Additionally, severalother districts are using the framework.Those districts include Bellevue andBainbridge Island. As the implementationprocess moves forward, there could beopportunities for various districts to shareresources and information, Thiele said.Finally, the district already uses an older

Issaquah schools adopt new teacher evaluation system

See TEACHERS, Page 3

Marriagefor allGay marriage billcould change thelives of Sammamishresidents

ContributedSage (left) and Dana Alixander as they said “I do” in 2008 in California. Washington may legallyrecognize their marriage by the end of the year.

See MARRIAGE, Page 2

By Caleb Heeringa

Why send three people to do ajob that only takes one?

That’s been a common rhetori-cal question for fire officials try-ing to handle a steadily increas-ing workload – about two-thirdsof which are medical calls – in atime of tight public finances.Eastside Fire & Rescue and KingCounty’s Emergency MedicalService officials will be puttingthe theory to the test this yearwith a Community MedicalTechnician pilot program.

Under the program, the agencywill staff a one-person unit thatwill respond in an SUV to non-life-threatening medical calls – a bro-ken finger, bad back pain or anosebleed, for example. As of now,the standard EMT crew respondsto those calls in a fully-equippedaid car or fire truck, tying up threeresponders that might be neededat more major calls.

How manyfirefighters?Program could reducethe number whorespond to routinemedical problems

See CALLS, Page 2

By Caleb Heeringa

Eastside Fire & Rescue boardmeetings have seen their shareof conflict in recent years, withSammamish leaders balking atthe annual rise in their agencydues and blocking attempts toadd neighbors to the partner-ship.

Through the worst of the con-tentious battles, though, onepartner of the five-partner agen-cy has always had a secretweapon they have never wield-ed – mostly out of respect forthe governmental equivalent ofa gentleman’s agreement thatunderpins everything the agen-cy does.

King County Fire District 10,which covers Klahanie andunincorporated areas south andeast of Issaquah, has alwaysserved as the “employer ofrecord” for the agency – thelegal entity responsible for exe-cuting contracts with the agen-cy’s labor union and officiallycarrying out the directives ofthe EFR board.

As the partners have begundiscussing the future of theagency after the 2014 expirationof the current interlocal agree-ment, several partners havepointed out that the issue ofwho acts as the employer ofrecord could come back to bitethe agency if the board was everfaced with a truly irreconcilableconflict.

“(District 10 representativeson the EFR board) are in a posi-tion that could potentiallyrequire them to do somethingthat they feel is antithetical to

the best interests of their tax-payers,” Board Chairman RonPedee (who represents District38) said at a Feb. 16 meeting.“That’s an unfair expectation forus to have of them.”

Though the agency’s inter-local agreement gives the boardauthority to make decisions,several partners fear there isenough legal wiggle room in thecurrent agreement that an“employer of record” could acton their own, potentially lead-ing to a dissolution of the agen-

cy. While District 10 has nevermade any threats of actingagainst the will of the board,several partners pointed outthat future board members maynot be as cooperative and con-structive as the current ones.

“Right now we’ve got a boardthat all acts together,” District 10Commissioner Mike Mitchellsaid. “But one entity … couldpull the plug on all that. No onepartner should have that kind of

2 • February 29, 2012 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

ing in November, were two of thefirst Republicans to come out infavor of the measure. Rep. GlennAnderson (R-5), joined localDemocrats in favor of the mea-sure, which passed the Houseeasily.

Sen. Andy Hill, a Republicanin the 45th also voted for themeasure, though he was undecid-ed in the days leading up to thevote. Hill was on the receivingend of pointed questions abouthis vote at a Feb. 18 Town Hallmeeting at the Sammamish CityHall.

Hill declined to answer a ques-tion about his personal feelingson gay marriage, saying he was“conflicted,” but adding that hesupported the bill after fellowlegislators added amendmentsaimed at protecting private busi-ness owners like florists and

event planners who may bemorally opposed to renderingservices in gay weddings. Thosesorts of businesses could current-ly be held liable for refusing ser-vices to someone based on sexualorientation under the state’s anti-discrimination law. Hill said healso supports opponents’ effortsto bring the matter to a vote ofthe people.

“I voted for the bill once I gotassurances that those protectionswere in place,” Hill told the audi-ence. “I feel like we got a decentbalance between personal libertyand religious freedom.”

Democrat Larry Springer, whovoted for the measure along withother area Democrats, said hewas impressed with legislators’civility during debate over anoften-contentious matter.

“This year was by the far themost deliberate, most civil andmost honest floor debate I’veever seen,” he said.

Fellow 45th District DemocratRoger Goodman said it was more

appropriate to view gay marriageas a legal issue rather than a reli-gious one.

“You need to separate thesacrament of marriage from thelegal rights conferred to couplesin the law,” Goodman said.

Those legal rights are also onthe mind of the Alixanders andare why the Sammamish resi-dents continue to push for thefederal government to do awaywith the Defense of Marriage Actand recognize gay couples.

In the current system, wheremarriage laws vary state-by-state,the couple’s marriage may meannothing if they go on vacation.They fear a worst-case scenario,where one partner is hospitalizedin a life-threatening situation butthe other is not allowed to seethem.

Just as important, they say, isthe lack of access to federal bene-fits like Social Security. If Dana,as the primary income source inthe relationship, were to passaway, Sage would not have

access to her social security ben-efits. Federal law also doesn’t rec-ognize same-sex couples when itcomes to immigration issues ofmilitary veterans benefits.

Dana said she feels PresidentObama has been “very cautious”when it comes to pushing for gayrights at the federal level, thoughshe’s hopeful that the issue maygain traction if Obama is reelect-ed in November.

“I believe (his opinion) isgoing to evolve like Gregoire’sdid,” she said. “I’m more fearfulof the Supreme Court, given theconservative bent they’ve had.”

At the state level, theAlixanders said the prospect of areferendum on gay marriagebrings up bad memories ofProposition 8 in California, whichreversed a court ruling grantingmarriage rights to same-sex cou-ples. The proposition has beenruled unconstitutional but thatruling is being appealed.

The couple said they fear thatopponents will gather signatures

to get both an initiative definingmarriage as being between a manand a woman and a referendumrepealing the recently passed lawon the ballot, potentially confus-ing voters. Fundamentally, theysay it feels wrong to leave theirrelationship up to a vote of thepeople.

“My life should not be up for avote,” Dana Alixander said. “Itfeels like (people who voteagainst gay marriage) are bully-ing us. Not bullying like callingpeople names on the playground,but silently, by voting, they arebullying us.”

As far what should be up for avote, Dana said she has someideas.

“How about the Kardashians –how about we put their mar-riages up for a vote,” she said.“People laugh, but that’s what’shappening to us.”

Reporter Caleb Heeringa can bereached at 392-6434. ext. 247, [email protected].

MarriageContinued from Page 1

EFR chief Lee Soptich said thepilot program may prove to be amore efficient and cheapermodel than adding another fullservice unit to keep up with callvolumes – which have grownaround 3 percent a year recently.

“This gets us some data so thatwe can find out,” Soptich said.“Down the road it may be some-thing we can do to stem the ris-ing tide of calls … instead of hav-ing to add crews.”

The agency has around 5,100medical calls a year; DeputyChief Greg Tryon said the depart-ment estimates that the CMTwould be able to respond to about400 of those.

The pilot program is fundedby a $243,000 grant from KingCounty EMS, which handles life-threatening paramedic responseand is funded by a 30 cents per$1,000 of assessed value levyacross the county. About half ofthe firefighters in the agency –those who signed up for the hour-and-a-half training – will be eligi-ble to work the medical techni-cian program shift as overtime ontop of their normal EFR hours,Tryon said.

In addition to providing minormedical care, the unit is trainedin identifying patients who maybenefit from social services, likesenior citizens who may need apart-time nurse or help aroundthe house, for example.

Soptich said the pilot project ismodeled after a similar two-per-son Community MedicalTechnician program used by theKent Fire Department and SouthKing Fire and Rescue in 2010.Soptich said leaders in Kent cred-it the program for reducing callsby about 350 from people thatwere “familiar with the system.”

“A lot of them were peoplethat didn’t know that there wereany other options than to call thefire department,” Soptich said.

The unit will be on duty from11 a.m. to 11 p.m. – the hours theagency expects to have the mostminor medical calls. It will bebased out of EFR Headuarters, onNewport Way in Issaquah, butwill respond anywhere within a20-minute response radius – anarea that stretches as far north asStation 82 in the Sahalee area andas far east as the west part ofNorth Bend, Tryon said.

Sammamish Mayor TomOdell, one of the city’s two repre-sentatives on the board, said hewas skeptical that the agencycould afford the program oncethe county grant money runsout, but said the model makessense – not every medical inci-dent needs three people onscene. The agency’s board hasdiscussed using a similar modelto respond to some of the medi-cal calls at Providence Point, aretirement community nearStation 83 – which is mostlyfunded by Sammamish butspends more time responding toIssaquah than any other partner.

“I’m interested in seeing howthis turns out,” Odell said.“Conceptually it seems like agood way to go.”

Tryon said that no matter whathappens, the program is going togive local firefighters a deeperunderstanding of citizens’ needs.

“Whatever becomes of the pro-gram, the information that thefirefighters gain will be of greathelp in their day to day encoun-ters with the citizens of EastsideFire & Rescue,” Tryon wrote inan email. “This program is givingus access to resources for ourcustomers that we have beenunaware of in the past, andshould be of great help to ourpatients in the future.”

CallsContinued from Page 1

Funding model blues

It did not take long for EFR partners to be reminded of thepitfalls involved in changing the way they pay for fire serviceat a Feb. 16 meeting to discuss the future of the agency.

Cities and fire districts are currently charged based on theassessed value of the area being covered by a specific station.That has consistently irked Sammamish leaders, who point toStation 83, which spends much of its time responding to minormedical calls in Providence Point, but is mostly funded by thehigh-property value homes in Sammamish.

Sammamish Mayor Tom Odell, who represents the city onthe board along with Councilman Ramiro Valderrama, hasrequested that the agency look at finding some sort of hybridfunding model, taking into account the value of an area cov-ered as well as the amount of calls an area generates.

Fire Chief Lee Soptich said the partners went back and forthabout funding models during the last go-around on the agen-cy’s interlocal agreement, but settled on assessed valuebecause it is tied to partners’ property tax-based revenuestreams and doesn’t fluctuate from year to year like call vol-umes do. Just about every differing funding model wouldmake some partners’ contributions go up and others’ go down.

Mark Mullet, one of Issaquah’s representatives on theboard, summed up the conundrum facing the partners if theywere to change the funding model going forward.

“You’re not going to get someone to sign off on somethingthat makes him or her pay more,” he said.

The partners are scheduled to hold another meeting aboutthe future of the agency in April.

EFR considers changes toits governance structure

See EFR, Page 5

SAMMAMISH REVIEW February 29, 2012 • 3

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version of the Danielson system.“That will help us in training

our teachers and principals,”Thiele added.

In the past, a move toward anew evaluation frameworkgained the support of theIssaquah district teachers’ union.The district’s current methodscould use some toughening, saidPhyllis Runyon, head of theIssaquah Education Association.

“You have to know the nega-tives before you can move for-ward,” she said.

There has been some specula-tion that the state’s move towardstandardized teacher evaluationsis somehow linked to the idea ofteacher merit pay. That is not thecase, according to Thiele. Thestate legislation creating the pilotprograms and what eventuallywill be evaluation requirementsmake no mention of merit pay, hesaid. The issue also has not been alocal consideration, Thiele said.

“It’s not part of the work we’redoing,” he said.

TeachersContinued from Page 1

By Warren Kagarise

The local representative onthe King County Council will actas a leader on regional justiceissues, after the board reshuffledmembers’ assignments for 2012.

Following the annual reorgani-zation, the Sammamish represen-tative, Councilwoman KathyLambert, serves as chairwomanfor the Law, Justice, Health andHuman Services Committee.Members recommend policiesrelated to criminal justice andemergency management, plushuman services and housing pro-grams.

The council announced thechanges to committee assign-ments Jan. 30. In addition tocommittee assignments, all ninecouncil members serve on theCommittee-of-the-Whole.

“King County has achieved alot over the last several years, but

it’s critical that the council main-tain its focus on maximizing tax-payer dollars and improving ser-vice delivery,” council ViceChairwoman Jane Hague said.

Lambert serves on the Budgetand FiscalManagementCommittee —the groupresponsible foroutlining poli-cies related tothe 2013 coun-ty spendingplan.

In therecent reshuf-fle, the council created theGovernment Accountability,Oversight and FinancialPerformance committee which isresponsible for recommendingsteps to improve efficiency, effec-tiveness and performance incounty government. Lambert

Sammamish representative tapped forCounty Council committee posts

serves on the committee, too. The longtime councilwoman

also serves on theTransportation, Economy andEnvironment Committee. Thepanel handles a broad portfolio,

includingdevelop-ment, roadsand salmonrecoveryissues.

Membersalso appoint-ed leadersregional com-mittees. Theboards offer a

forum for development andreview of countywide plansand policies.

The committees includeelected officials from otherlocal governments, in additionto council members.

Lambert is a representative

to the Regional PolicyCommittee. The board reviewsand recommends policies relat-ed to criminal justice, environ-mental, public health, housingand waste issues.

In unanimous decisions, thecouncil also chose LarryGossett to continue as chair-man and Hague to remain vicechairwoman. The chairmanand vice chairwoman set theagendas for council andCommittee-of-the-Whole meet-ings, and coordinate legislationschedules.

“King County, along with thestate and federal governments,continue to face fiscal chal-lenges,” Gossett said. “We willmeet those challenges, and theresponsibilities of providingmandated services while sup-porting those in our communi-ty in crisis, in a bipartisan andtransparent manner.”

“King County, alongwith the state and

federal governments,continue to face fiscal

challenges.”– Larry Gossett,

County Council Chairman –

City OKs

recycling eventsSammamish will once again

offer citizens the chance to recy-cle scrap metal, electronics, usedoil and other hard-to-dispose-ofmaterials.

On Feb. 21, the council unani-mously approved contracts withOlympic Environmental Servicesto run four recycling events anddistribute cheap composting binsto citizens. The events are fund-ed through more than $100,000 ingrants from King County Solid

Waste and the Washington StateDepartment of Ecology.

Administrative ServicesDirector Mike Sauerwein saidmore than 3,000 people partici-pated in 2010’s events, droppingoff more than 100 tons of materi-al that might otherwise end up inlocal landfills. Citizens can alsopurchase outdoor compost bins atthe events for $25 – less than aquarter of their retail price.

The city has yet to schedulethe events for 2012, but hopes tohave them in the spring, summerand fall, Sauerwein said.

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SAMMAMISH REVIEW

TIMESAVERSWe are your eyes and ears at local government meetings.

Sammamish Forum

OPINIONReview editorialCaucus meetingsare worth the time

Republican caucuses will be held this Saturdayacross the state, including here in this area. It doesmatter.

There will be no presidential primary inWashington this year. Legislators decided to save the$10 million expense. Now it’s up to you to takeaction, but it will take more than an armchair voteand a stamp. Democrats will caucus April 15.

Four years ago, fewer than 100,000 people partici-pated in state caucuses, but 1.4 million voters castballots in the primary. With only the caucus in play,the turnout is expected to double.

Registered voters willing to attend their grouped-precinct caucus will have to sign a card declaringthat they do consider themselves to be a Republicanbefore being allowed to vote for their choice forRepublican Party nominee for U.S. President.

The best part of a caucus meeting is the conversa-tion among the participants. It’s an opportunity tomeet like-minded people who are your neighbors,but it is also a time to be open minded as you listenand learn from the discussions about the variouscandidates and their platforms. There is no need tovoice your own opinion, but the opportunity is thereif you choose to share your passion for one candi-date over another. The outcome of the caucus vote ismore of a straw poll than a mandate. It will give del-egates to the Republican national convention anindicator of who to support when the vote actuallydecides who the party nominee will be.

If attending the national caucus is your interest,the precinct caucus gathering could be the begin-ning of your quest. Delegates to the county conven-tion are elected, and those delegates in turn electdelegates to the state convention and so on.

The caucus is also a good place to find out how toget involved by helping to put up signs, work tele-phone banks, help with mailings, doorbell or make amonetary donation.

Registrations begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, with themeeting to begin at 10. Crowds are expected to belarge, so arrive early. Call 990-0404 for caucus sites,or go to www.kcgop.org/caucus-locator.

Letters Sammamish Review wel-

comes letters to the editor on anysubject, although priority will begiven to letters that address localissues. We reserve the right to editletters for length, clarity or inap-propriate content.

Letters should be typed andno more than 350 words.Include your phone number (forverification purposes only).

Deadline for letters is noonFriday prior to the next issue.Address letters to:Sammamish Review LettersBox 1328, Issaquah, WA 98027fax: 391-1541email: [email protected]

Published every Wednesday by

Issaquah Press Inc.All departments can be reached at 392-6434

fax: 391-1541 / email: [email protected]

45 Front St. S. / P.O. Box 1328Issaquah, King County, WA 98027

Annual subscription is $30 or $55 for two yearsAdd $15 outside King County / $20 outside state


Another

deserving nameLast week the local press reported

a proposal to name a stretch of233rd Avenue after Officer StanChapin, deceased, but there is aneven more deserving person afterwhom this long-awaited traffic circleought to be named.

Our former mayor and activeCouncilman Don Gerend, who wasinstrumental in bringing this accessto Eastlake about. I have workedwith him for many, many years onthis issue, and while I know we allmourn the passing of Chapin,Gerend had more to do with thistraffic circle than any other personin public service.

Why does a person have to die tobe recognized. Fortunately, Gerendis alive and well and surely deservesrecognition in his lifetime.

Let us honor Don Gerend withthis road.

Katja May Sammamish

Keep church

out of stateChurches have all the right in the

world to have their opinion regard-ing just about anything, includingmarriage.

On the other hand, in this coun-try we have a separation of churchand state. Therefore the churchwould have to keep their opinionbehind their church door.

When the church starts minglingwith the affairs of the state they stopbeing a church and become a politi-cal party. They should be treated assuch and lose all their rights andprivileges, including tax exemptions.

What difference does it make tothe church if two men or twowomen want to get married. If thechurch does not believe in same sexmarriage, then they have the privi-lege not to perform a religious cere-mony uniting the couple. Simple!

The law has passed, now thosebackward-minded people want tochange the law and impose theirwill upon same sex (not necessarilyhomosexual) couples.

What do you think the SupremeCourt would say if I start a petitionto ban the Mormon religion? How

about banning the CatholicChurch? Oh let us not forget theMuslims, Hindus, the Pentecostalsetc.

Leave those people who want tomarry their loved one alone. Ifyou think they will burn in hell,that is their business. In my opin-ion it is the priests, mullahs, rabbisand religious extremists who aregoing to burn, not the people atwhom they point their holy fin-gers.

Harry SaiyanSammamish

A belated thank you

During the unusually warmweather a couple of weeks ago, Itook my young children to PineLake Park for the afternoon. Afterthe snow, ice and wind storms thatwe’ve experienced this winter sea-son, the park was certainly inneed of some care and mainte-nance.

That afternoon, there was agroup of about 10 people, all ages,raking and picking up the largetree branches and various debrisleft by the recent storms in thearea. I asked one of the individualsif they were with a particulargroup, and was told it was just agroup of city volunteers.

I would like to say thank you tothose individuals, and any otherswho have helped our beautifulPine Lake Park recover a bit fromthe harsh winter. I am happy andproud to live in an area where wenot only have so many greatparks, but a community of volun-teers that help keep them enjoy-able for everyone.

Cynthia LorrainSammamish

Teach students CPR

Together heart disease andstroke take more lives in the stateof Washington than any othercause of death. In October 2009, at38 years old, I suffered sudden car-diac arrest. I was lucky to be at theright place at the right time andreceived immediate medical care.I now live with a pacemaker andcontinue to educate myself aboutheart disease.

Heart disease kills more womenthan all cancers combined every sin-gle year. I volunteer and advocatefor the American HeartAssociation’s Go Red for Womencause. That’s why I traveled toOlympia Feb. 13 for the AmericanHeart Association’s Heart DiseaseEducation Day. I went to speak toour District 5 Reps. Jay Rodne andGlenn Anderson.

It is my hope that they will sup-port House Bill 2294. This billrequires CPR to be taught in ourstate’s high schools as a graduationrequirement. Students can receiveCPR training in less than 20 minutesand at little or no cost to the school.Effective CPR can double or eventriple a victim’s chance of survival.

As a mother, it makes my hearthappy to think of a whole genera-tion of high school graduates withthe tools and knowledge to save mylife and the lives of the more than325,000 people who die in our coun-try of sudden cardiac arrest everyyear.

Cardiovascular diseases may bethe leading killer in Washington butthrough their actions, lawmakershave the power to improve thehealth of our families and children,and to help more patients becomesurvivors of heart disease andstroke.

Dawn McCutcheonSammamish

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To vote, visit www.SammamishReview.com.

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authority.”But with that authority comes

greater responsibility and risk –Pedee said the “employee ofrecord” could be on the hook ifthe agency was ever sued. Theagency’s agreement contains lan-guage ensuring that partners arenot held legally liable for “dam-ages … arising out of … negligentacts” by the agency, but that doesnot apply to the employer ofrecord.

“As soon as the lawsuits startflying … we assume that every-one is going to be a man orwoman and honor (the agree-ment,)” Pedee said. “We shouldn’thave to wait for a problem tooccur to test that.”

EFR Deputy Chief Wes Collinsfloated one possible solution –the formation of a non-profit togovern the agency. While thelegal details would need to beironed out, Collins said the arti-cles of incorporation of the non-profit could be written in a waythat keeps EFR’s current govern-mental structure. The main dif-ference would be that a non-prof-it could hire and fire employees,balancing the legal threatamongst the partners and elimi-nating the worst-case scenario of

a rogue partner, he said.EFR Fire Chief Lee Soptich said

in a later interview that the non-profit was a discussion starter toget partners thinking of differentmodels for the agency going for-ward and that there weren’t a lotof examples of non-profit profes-sional fire departments around.One of the tradeoffs would bethat, depending on how it was setup, a non-profit could give theagency some more permanence,making it easier to tackle long-term capital investments withoutthe renewal of an interlocal agree-ment always looming in the near-term future. EFR has struggled toget partners on board with majorprojects like a remodel of theirheadquarters in recent years –Sammamish, in particular, wasnot keen on spending up to$500,000 on a building thatbelonged to District 10.

“I like the more permanentside of things, but that may notmeet the needs of all the part-ners,” Soptich said.

No matter what the next ver-sion of EFR looks like, Pedee saidit would be a mistake to leave theemployer of record issue unad-dressed.

“This is an exposure that weall knew about,” Pedee said. “Aselected officials we should haveour heads examined ... that we’veallowed ourselves to have thisexposure.”

EFRContinued from Page 2

By Tom Corrigan

Probably to no one’s surprise,local officials are taking a wait-and-see attitude towards budgetand revenue news coming out ofOlympia.

The state House ofRepresentatives passed its ver-sion of a 2012 supplemental bud-get on Feb. 21.

In total, the spending planslices about $890 million fromthe current budget. While localschool officials have been steady-ing themselves for budget cuts,the House plan largely leavesfunding in tact, said IssaquahSchool District SuperintendentSteve Rassmussen.

However, Rasmussen quicklynoted the state Senate must stillact on its version of the budget.Rasmussen didn’t say so, but thetwo plans almost certainly willneed some work to blend theminto one document, which stillwould need approval by Gov.Chris Gregoire.

Notably, the House plan doesnot include Gregoire’s suggestionto cut the school year by fourdays as a cost-cutting measure.Local and state school officialshave come out firmly against that

proposal. One key feature of the House

plan moves a total of $405 mil-lion in education payments fromMay and June of 2013 to July2013. The change moves the pay-ments from the current bienni-um into the next budget cycle.

“It’s a bit of gimmickry they’vebeen using in recent years,”Rasmussen said.

For now, a proposal to elimi-nate local levy lid lifts seemedmore troublesome to Rasmussen.

According to informationreleased by the Washington StateSchool Directors’ Association, theHouse proposal reduces fundingunder the heading of Local EffortAssistance starting in August2013, though those dollars are notaffected in the 2012-2013 schoolyear. As part of the LEA reduc-tion, local levy lids would berolled back by 4 percent startingin January 2013.

In the face of past cuts, thestate legislature allowed districtsto put levy lid lifts before voters.Voters in both of Sammamish’sschool districts approved lifts upto the new maximum.

Under the House proposal,Sammamish schools would losethose extra dollars.

School funding cuts may notbe as severe as first expected

In the past, local officialsdescribed those added funds ascritical.

Even prior to the Housebudget announcement, therewas some potentially goodnews for the schools comingfrom Olympia.

On Feb. 16, the stateEconomic and ForecastCouncil revised its previousrevenue projections upwardsby $96 million.

“It has been a long timesince I’ve heard good news onthe economic front,” RandyDorn, state school superinten-dent, said in a press release.

Dorn went on to argue thosepreviously unanticipated dol-lars should mean no new cutsto basic education.

To back up his argument,Dorn cited January’s stateSupreme Court decision thatruled Washington still is notmeeting its constitutional obli-gation to fund education.

“Not only should there be nofurther cuts, we should begininvesting more in education,”Dorn said.

By Warren Kagarise

The state Department ofEcology requested input fromresidents as officials evaluatethe King County-developed planfor shorelines, including LakeSammamish.

The updated plan is designedto guide construction and devel-opment on almost 2,000 milesof marine, stream and lakeshorelines countywide.

The proposal combines localplans for future developmentand preservation, plus recentdevelopment ordinances andrelated permitting require-ments.

The county Shoreline MasterProgram includes some LakeSammamish shoreline in LakeSammamish State Park. ThoughIssaquah surrounds LakeSammamish State Park on allsides, the park is in unincorpo-rated King County, and countyrules apply to the lakeshoreinside the park.

“This is the first major updateof King County’s ShorelineMaster Program in threedecades,” King CountyExecutive Dow Constantine said

in a statement. “It will makeenvironmental protections morepredictable and transparent forour residents, and safeguard ourlakes, rivers, and Puget Soundfor generations to come.”

Citizens can submit publiccomment to the Department ofEcology until March 16.

Statewide, about 230 countiesand cities intend to updateshoreline plans in the yearsahead. Sammamish completedits update of the city’s ShorelineMaster Plan last year.

Under the ShorelineManagement Act, Departmentof Ecology officials must reviewand approve proposed shoreline

programs for counties and citiesbefore the plans can take effect.King County Council membersadopted the Shoreline MasterProgram in 2010.

State legislators passed thestate Shoreline Management Actin 1971, and the public lateradopted the measure in a refer-endum. The legislation resultedafter residents raised concernsabout permanent damage toshorelines caused by uncoordi-nated and unplanned develop-ment.

The state Supreme Courtupheld the Department ofEcology’s authority to conductsuch reviews last year.


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Can’t get enough Eastside news?

Claire Ellyn

Thompson

Jan. 15, 1992 – Feb. 12, 2012Claire Ellyn Thompson was

born to Diane (nee McKeand)and Lee Thompson on Jan. 15,1992, in Austin, Texas. She passedaway Feb. 12, 2012, in Redmond.

Claire attended Eastlake HighSchool and graduated in 2010.She was attending Seattle CentralCommunity College and plannedto transfer to the University ofHawaii tostudy nurs-ing.

Claireloved con-certs andget-togeth-ers, and hada real pas-sion formusic anddancing.She trulyenjoyedspendingtime with her friends.Throughout her junior high andhigh school years, Claire spenttime with and mentored specialeducation students, which ignitedher desire to pursue a nursingcareer.

Claire was a unique and won-derful young lady as evidencedby her beautiful smile, warm

heart, and dedicated love for catsand nature.

She is predeceased by herpaternal grandmother PatriciaThompson and her maternalgrandfather Kenneth A.McKeand.

Claire is survived by her lov-ing family: Diane and MorrieBenveniste (mother and stepfa-ther); Lee Thompson (father),brother Warren Thompson (21);sister Madeline Thompson (17);grandmother Judith McKeand;grandfather H. Keith Thompson;aunts Diana Teoli (Bill) and JanetSylvester (Doug); uncles ClayThompson and KennethMcKeand; as well as manycousins, extended family and car-ing friends.

Her family appreciates dona-tions in Claire’s memory toMEOW Cat Rescue, P.O. Box 58,Kirkland, WA 98083-0058.

A celebration of life was heldin Sammamish on Saturday,Feb. 18.

James Edward

HamstreetJames Edward Hamstreet,

long-time resident of Sammamishdied Feb. 10, 2012.

Jim was born on March 3,1943 in Sheridan, Wyo. His par-ents were James LewisHamstreet and Margaret EllenUpton. He is survived by hisbrothers, Chuck Hamstreet ofBellingham and RichardHamstreet, of Randall.

In 1994, Jim joined TheChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a mentor tomany young adults and was veryinvolved in scouting, helpingmany boy scouts reach the rankof Eagle Scout.

Jim will be missed by many inour community. He devoted hislife to helping others.

Obituaries

Claire EllynThompson

Get involved

Citizens can comment on the proposed King CountyShoreline Master Program until March 16. Direct commentsand questions to David Radabaugh [email protected] or 649-4260. Review the pro-posed program and related documents online at www.kingcounty.gov/shorelines and www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/shorelines/smp/mycomments/king_county.html. Or see the docu-ments in person at the King County Department ofDevelopment and Environmental Services office, 900Oakesdale Ave. S.W., Renton, or the state Department ofEcology office, 3190 160th Ave. S.E., Bellevue. Call 649-7190.

King County shoreline planfor lake is under review

County bumps

overdue property tax

notices from

September to JuneKing County plans to start

notifying homeowners about

overdue property taxes sooner,officials announced Feb. 21.

Officials plan to start sendingnotices in June, rather thanSeptember. County ExecutiveDow Constantine initiated thepolicy change after input fromtaxpayers and County

Councilman Bob Ferguson.The county assessor mailed

property tax bills in earlyFebruary. The deadline for first-half property taxes is April 30.

Though the county is not

See TAX, Page 20


By Tom Corrigan

Though she was defeated invoting for Western Position 3, for-mer Issaquah School Board mem-ber Connie Fletcher will retain aseat on the Washington StateBoard of Education thanks toGov. Chris Gregoire.

While appointments need leg-islative approval, Gregoire direct-ly names seven members of the16-member board.

Fletcher first began serving onthe state board in 2009. Her seatexpired in December and she losta bid for re-election to Mukilteo’sKevin Laverty.

In total, five members of thestate board are elected by publicschool board members fromWashington.

For the immediate future,Fletcher said she hopes to contin-ue what she called the stateboard’s amping up of high schoolgraduation requirements. Theeconomy is dependent, sheadded, on well-prepared highschool graduates.

And as more future jobs aregoing to require some college ortechnical school training,Fletcher said it is the job of pub-lic schools to ensure high schoolgraduates are ready for someform of higher education.

“It means we must increasethe rigor of the courses offered,”she said.

In that vein, the state boardlast year made changes in thenumber of credits students needto graduate from high school.Required English and social stud-ies credits were increased by oneand a half credits, while the num-ber of elective credits needed wasdropped.

Looking toward the future, theperceived achievement gapbetween students of differentbackgrounds needs to be closed,Fletcher said. Regulating or set-ting standards for Internet-basededucation also is on her mind.

“That’s a huge, burgeoningpart of the education systemright now,” Fletcher said.

School funding is obviously ahuge question in Washington, butFletcher said the state schoolboard has no direct control overstate funding of education.

Fletcher served on theIssaquah school board for 16years until 2009, when sheannounced she would not run foranother term. She also served forthree years as president and offi-cer of the Washington StateSchool Directors’ Association,according to a state board pressrelease.

Former IssaquahBoard member onstate education board

COMMUNITY8 • February 29, 2012 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

By Tom Corrigan

Behind her, a party is in full gear, withlots of noise and conversation, a clownblowing up balloons and younger childrenracing around a public room in the Churchof Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints onDuthie Hill Road in Issaquah.

For her part, Joyce Moore is in a clowncostume, as is the party’s guest of honor,her son Michael Stallman. Moore tells a vis-itor the event is a celebration and nothingless. It is a happy occasion, she insists.

“It is a celebration of Michael’s life,”Moore said.

Stallman, who will be 52 in March, hasDown syndrome. He has survived healthissues including open-heart surgery and ablood clot.

“He breezed right through it all,” Mooresaid.

In October, Stallman was diagnosed witha fatal brain tumor. Refusing to mar theatmosphere at her son’s party, Moore saidwith only the slightest cringe that her sonhas only a few months left. She got the ideafor the remembrance party after mullingover what to do for Stallman’s upcomingbirthday.

“He’s always been such a happy guy,”she said, touching on a theme that wouldcome up again and again among celebrants.

For his part, Stallman didn’t have a lot tosay. A button on his shirt stated, “To KnowMe is to Love Me.” Asked if that is true, hesmiled and nodded.

Now living in Sammamish, Moore spentmany years as a nanny for children in thearea.

“We became kind of like family,” MarkDisalle said.

He and wife Peggy Disalle describedMoore as a nanny and kind of a grandmoth-er to their children. Mark Disalle spentmuch of the party pushing Stallman aroundin his wheelchair while Peggy Disalle usedher cellphone to videotape people’sremembrances of Stallman. The coupleboth said that Stallman and their childrenhad become well known to each other overthe years.

“Michael has been a big part of theirlives,” Peggy Disalle said.

“He’s kind of a friend and an older broth-er,” said Emma Radich, 15. Moore was alsoher nanny when she was younger. Photo by Tom Corrigan

Friends and family gathered last week, in the words of his mother, to celebratethe life of Michael Stallman, seated center. His mother Joyce Moore stands

“A celebration of life” is amom’s gift to terminally ill son

See CELEBRATE, Page 9

By Lillian Tucker

Lizzie Parker’s clothing shop istucked away in Issaquah’sGilman Village surrounded bywooden sidewalks and flowerssprouting out of weathered bar-rels. Inside, Angus, an Englishbulldog, lies on the wood floorlooking up at the racks of clotheshis owner designed and madeherself.

Used to make herself, that is.Demand is far too great for thedesigner to handle on her ownnow that Parker’s line of modernknitwear is set to gain nationalattention when NBC’s realityshow “Fashion Star” premieresMarch 13.

Thus, Parker’s waxed jerseyleggings, dresses, tops and asym-metrical jackets are all being puttogether in Los Angeles – that’sone long commute for thisSammamish mother of two.

To get her designs on theshow, Parker draws a pattern ofthe design she envisions, fromthat she sews and perfects a firstsample. The sample is sent toL.A. where Parker regularly trav-els to consult with everyone fromthe person who treats the jersey– made from Parker’s fabric ofchoice — to the person who sewson the tag.

“Everyone assumes it’s so

glamorous,” said Parker. “But it’sa lot of physical work.”

Humble beginningsThe designer didn’t always

have this much help. Once upona time it was just Parker, hergarage and two industrial sewingmachines she bought offCraigslist that were constantly

being un-threaded by her cat. Parker was taught by her

grandmother to sew on a treadlesewing machine.

Using the foot pump on the

old-fashioned machine, shelogged many hours as a girl mak-ing teddy bears.

Taking a long break fromsewing, Parker grew up, earned abusiness degree and entered thecorporate world.

In 1998, she and her husbandwere both working for Microsoftand bought a house inSammamish. Three years latershe left her job to stay at homewith their new baby boy, andbefore too long Parker beganbrainstorming about businessesshe could start from home.

Then in 2003, she turned herfamily’s garage into a one-womanclothing factory, designing piecesthat fit her life experiences –from attending board meetings toattending bath time.

“I always started with jersey. Itis something I gravitate toward,”Parker said. “When I started myline the whole ‘designer denim’was going on and everyone waswearing knit tops, jeans and niceshoes.”

But it wasn’t just the fashion ofthe time that inspired Parker.The designer also pulls from themusic that has been blasting outgenerations of stereos.

“I have a closet love of metalmusic,” she confessed. “Clearly I

Sammamish designer goes for big time on NBC show

Photo by Lillian TuckerLizzie Parker reviews some of the clothing in her store in Issaquah.

See FASHION, Page 9

am not going to bring back span-dex and flannel.” However, shedoes draw on the look. Her“waxed Lizzie seamed legging”was inspired by the skin-tightleather pants worn in the musicvideo for Guns ‘n Roses “SweetChild O’ Mine.” To achieve therock-star look the leggings arehand-coated with a wax treat-ment that gives each pair aunique and worn-in look.

“I like it to have a little edge toit – but still be suitable forwomen of any age,” said Parker.She does not market to any onespecific age group and recallsselling the same dress to an 80-year old woman and an 18-year-old. “It’s about being versatile andcomfortable and making it yourown with your accessories andyour bag.”

Jodi Collins went into Parker’sstore one day just to look aroundand quickly became a devotedcustomer. The designer’s fabricswork well for Collins, who travelsoften and always with her LizzieParker pieces stuffed into hercarry-on – the only luggage shetakes.

“Lizzie is one of a kind - shetakes time out to help me pickout the clothes I need for mytrips,” said Collins. “I absolutelylove her clothes, her fabrics, herstyle, her sense of humor, her

honesty and most of all her will-ingness to make every womanlook her best at any function.”

Her big break?Parker’s fashions will be show-

cased, along with those of 13other designers, this spring onNBC’s “Fashion Star.” Hosted byElle Macpherson, the show fol-lows the contestants through var-ious challenges as they competefor a multi-million dollar prize tolaunch their line nationally. Eachweek they will be advised bymentors Jessica Simpson, NicoleRichie and John Varvatos and


Stallman is an uncle toBrittney Townsend, anotherparty attendee. She said Stallmanwould walk to her elementaryschool regularly, often bringingcandy bars for the two of them,candy apparently taken secretlyfrom a stash in his home.

“He’s the most honest andgenuine person I’ve ever knownin my life,” said Ron Lund, acousin of Stallman’s.

Stallman helped bring peopletogether, said Ron Lund’s wifeAmanda Lund.

“He bridges gaps,” she said.Some might remember

Stallman from the 14 years hespent washing dishes at TruckTown in North Bend. Othersmight have met him and Moorein the guise of their respectivealter egos, Sparky and Jingles.Stallman and Moore spent thepast 15 years or so working asprofessional clowns, which iswhy they decided to wear cos-tumes for the party. Moore saidshe and her son visited birthdayparties, schools and retirementhomes in the area.

Stallman reportedly has a fas-cination with firefighters. It wasremarked he had about worn out

his DVDs of the old “Emergency”TV show. To mark the celebrationat the church, Eastside Fire &Rescue sent a rescue truck to payStallman a surprise visit.Stallman was presented with amedal from firefighters, who alsolet him try on some turnout gear,including a coat and helmet.Stallman gave the firefighters animpromptu hand salute whileposing for a picture.

While Stallman has a keeninterest in firefighters, his pas-sion, several partygoers said, ishis “putt-putt,” a golf cart givenhim by an older brother. MarkDisalle said Stallman would livein the cart if allowed to do so.

“It’s one of his favorite thingsin life,” Disalle said.

A few days after the party,Moore said Stallman enjoyed hiscelebration but was apparently abit worn out. He went to bedwhen it was over and slept untilnoon the next day.

Ron Lund said the party was agreat idea and a lot of fun, butadmitted the occasion was obvi-ously bittersweet.

“You never want to be in aposition to have to say,‘Goodbye,’” he said.

Reach reporter Tom Corrigan at392-6434, ext. 241, [email protected]. To com-ment on this story, visitwww.SammamishReview.com.

CelebrateContinued from Page 8

FashionContinued from Page 8

judged by buyers for Macy’s, SaksFifth Avenue and H&M.Additionally, the day after eachepisode is aired the week’s win-ning design will be available forpurchase at the three retailstores.

“It’s about making clothingthat America wants to wear. It’snot about making a dress out ofgrass or banana peels,” saidParker. “It’s about the business offashion, which is one of thethings that attracted me to it.”

While the show was filmedover the course of several weekslast summer, Parker is contractu-ally obligated not to give any-thing away. But she did admitthat her biggest competition on

the show was herself. “You are really trying to be bet-

ter than you were last week,” shesaid. “I have a store, two kids, ahouse…for me to go and onlyhave to focus on design and real-ly think about who I want to bewas great.”

It doesn’t look like life will bethat straightforward anytimesoon for Parker. When “FashionStars” first airs on March 13Parker will be at the premiereparty in New York.

Immediately after that she isset to fly to L.A. for Fashion Weekwhere she is presenting her newline.

“Even though I didn’t have themost glamorous beginning I am

excited to have my brand bemore national,” said Parker. “Whogets to have this experience? Itwas great and I am thankful butyou have to have fun and enjoy it– and I did.”

After L.A., Parker said sheplans to focus more on her onlineexposure which will include pho-tographing her pieces in all sizesso that customers will have aneasier time deciding what’s bestfor them. To see her designs visitwww.lizzieparkerstore.com.

Reporter Lillian Tucker can bereached at 392-6434, ext. 242 [email protected] comment on this story, visitwww.SammamishReview.com.

Photo by Lillian Tucker

Lizzie Parker said she likes herdesigns to work for women ofall ages.

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Big Trees, Inc. providesinstant mature landscapingfor homes

Trees for shade, trees forprivacy, trees for color — BigTrees, Inc. has them all, andyou won’t have to wait foryour new trees to grow up!

Moving a mature tree inyour yard is another specialtyof Big Trees. Whether youwant to take a sentimentaltree with you or relocate atree on your property, thepros at Big Trees can do it.

Big Trees is a Snohomishretail nursery providing 300different varieties of largetrees 7 to 25 feet tall. BigTrees offers larger stock thanmost nurseries.

“We start in size where most nurseriesstop,” explains Nancy Latham, who co-owns the company with her husbandRoss. “We have evergreens starting at 10feet and deciduous trees starting with 2-inch trunk diameters and only get biggerfrom there! And we warranty all newtrees that are planted by our crews.”

For 30 years, Big Trees has providedprofessional installation by its transplant-ing crews.

“Planting and transplanting large treesrequires experience and skill,” said Ross.“Our crews have the knowledge to gettrees planted and moved successfully.”

Ross says that 60 percent of Big Trees’business is from homeowners looking forinstant impact in their yard. But the com-pany also serves cities, golf courses, uni-versities, corporate campuses and con-struction companies.

Nancy says the company is especiallyproud to play a part in saving trees whenthey might otherwise be destroyed.

Big Trees, Inc. helped kick-off a majorconstruction project at Seattle University.The library remodel required a completedemo of the area and eight trees up to 18feet tall were successfully relocated tonew homes within the campus.

“Big Trees, Inc. crews worked very hardunder very challenging site conditionsand did a great job getting these largetrees transplanted successfully,” recallsBecki, the facilities manager at Seattle U.

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Big Trees, Inc. provides instantmature landscaping for homes

From left, Jamie Whyte, Todd Holmes, and ownersNancy & Ross Latham

Shopping for home furnishingsand accessories can be exciting,but overwhelming. Having a well-organized showroom to help youenvision the possibilities in yourhome is a good first step. Having acomplimentary in-store designassistant help you meet your bud-get and lifestyle needs makes theshopping fun and easy.

Greenbaum Home Furnishingsin Bellevue has been furnishingEastside homes for 52 years, pro-viding the highest level of serviceand products along with profes-sional advice for all aspects of thehome. The 40,000 sq. ft. showroomprovides decorating ideas for yourprimary living spaces, but also for homeoffices and home theaters, children’s bed-rooms, breakfast nooks or vacationhomes.

Greenbaum’s offers products from over50 quality manufacturers. In addition tofurniture and accessories, you’ll find win-dow treatments, blinds, wallpaper, carpet-ing, hardwood flooring, installation, spaceplanning, shipping, delivery, service andset-up. If they don’t have what you’relooking for, then their goal is to help pointyou in the right direction so you can com-plete your project.

Greenbaum’s is a local family ownedand operated business that loves servingits community and its clients. Co-ownerJon Greenbaum says the family is pas-sionate about your home.

“We know there is a big differencebetween buying something out of purenecessity verses purchasing something tocreate an environment that feels goodevery night when you come home from abusy day,” said Jon.

He credits the amazing, knowledgeable

staff for keeping generations of customerscoming back.

“Our employees have worked for us foran average of 18 years,” said Jon. “Theyunderstand how important it is to listen aswe help you meet your needs.”

The Greenbaum family loves theirwork, but also loves helping to make a dif-ference in the community.

“We have worked with FredHutchinson Cancer Research Center, thePete Gross House and the Seattle CancerCare Alliance on many projects,” said Jon.“We participated in ABC’s Extreme HomeMakeover a few years ago. We work tosupport foster children and make count-less donations to organizations who pro-vide furniture to people in need.”

Greenbaum is proud to be “different bydesign,” a slogan that applies to their storemerchandise as well as their businesspractices. To learn more, visit www.differ-entbydesign.com or call 425-454-2474. FindGreenbaum just off I-405 at 929 118th AveSE, Bellevue. The showroom is opendaily.

From left, siblings and business partnersSteve Greenbaum, Cindy Greenbaum-Lindnerand Jon Greenbaum

Greenbaum Home Furnishingsoffers design assistance

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In 1977 the Kingdome opens and MM Comfort Systems is born. While things didn’t work out so well for the Kingdome, they sure did for MM Comfort Systems!Initially named B&B Heating, quality work and technical expertise brought great success to the new business. The company steadily grew and in 1986 moved to a larger facility in Redmond. It remains there to this day (behind Pomegranate restaurant) for quick access to all its Eastside and Puget Sound area customers. National Contractor of the Year

History highlights for the growing company include being named National Residential HVAC Contractor of the Year in 1991 and becoming part of a leading Seattle mechanical contractor in 1993. In 2001, key employees purchased the residential business, establishing the MM Comfort Systems name. Over the years, several local HVAC companies have been absorbed by MM Comfort Systems – most notably Heritage Heating of Tacoma which resulted the opening of a Sumner office in 2009.MM Comfort Systems is owned by long-time Sammamish resident Craig Williamson.

MM Comfort Systems provides service, replacement and remodel customers with expert, friendly solutions for:

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E.nopi, established in 1976,is one of the world’s largesteducational service providers,with more than 2.5 millionmembers world-wide, and isnow located in Sammamish atthe Pine Lake Plaza on 228thAvenue.

E.nopi caters to studentsfrom pre-school to high schooland has garnered numerous,prestigious awards for its con-tribution to the development ofsuccessful children’s educa-tional programs.

“Today, there is a large gapbetween what schools canoffer and the high expectationsof parents for their children’sacademic growth,” said owner BinitaMehta, a 7-year resident of Sammamish.

Sammamish E.nopi complementsschools and bridges parents’ expectationgap by offering after-school supplementalmath, reading and writing programs.

E.nopi’s curriculum, tests, workbooks,and teaching tools are presented to stu-dents through E.nopi’s philosophy - be at“eye-level” with the child. This means thatthe E.nopi program is individualized tothe student’s ability and needs.

“We believe that learning should befun, interactive, and engaging,” saidBinita. “Our curriculum reflects that.”

While fun, they are serious. E.nopi’scurriculum is recognized by the NCTEand NCTM.

Mathematics includes both “basicthinking” and “critical thinking”, enablingstudents to use reasoning skills such assequencing, comparing, planning,hypothesizing, analyzing and critiquing.Useful for all disciplines, critical thinkinghelps build problem solving skills and log-ical reasoning to unlock a child’s potential

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“A friend brought my wife to an E.nopicenter,” recalls Timothy. “She managed toconvince me to go with her. I wasimpressed with the syllabus and realizedthat I have bought many mathematicsbooks but what we actually needed was a“program” and not piles of textbooks.After two years in E.nopi, we are relievedthat our son is more confident and inde-pendent in his work.”

Classes are offered 3-7 p.m. Tuesdaysand Thursdays. Find out why Enopi hasmore than 2.5 million students in theworld! To learn more, visit www.sam-mamishenopi.com or call the Director ofSammamish Enopi, Ms. Binita Mehta, at425-890-0896.

February 29, 2012

Sammamish E.nopi teachesmath and English to all grades

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schools12 • February 29, 2012 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

By Lillian Tucker

Louise Elson, wearing a head-set microphone, effortlesslyblocked huge balls rolling aroundthe gym while funky rhythmsbounded from the stereo. As aphysical education teacher atMargaret Mead ElementarySchool, this is a typical day at theoffice.

“I just want them to enjoyexercise,” said Elson about herstudents. “The worst thing to mewould be if someone said theyhad a horrible P.E. teacher. I wantthem to feel like they could doanything they wanted.”

The opposite of her worst fearhas come true. On Feb. 10, shereceived the 2012 LakeWashington PTSA Council Awardfor Outstanding Educator.

“This is such a treat to be rec-ognized for something like this,”said the P.E. teacher who bringsnearly two decades of experienceto the job. “There are some greatpeople around me that thought toput my name up.”

This the second year thatElson was nominated for theaward.

“Lake Washington is a hugeschool district – it’s a hugehonor,” said Renata King, co-pres-ident of Mead’s Parent TeacherAssociation. “P.E. teachers arekind of pushed to the side some-times. She is just as instrumental

to those children as their all-dayteachers.”

Above and beyondHer nomination letter was

long, full of the many extras shedoes for the students; time-con-suming endeavors that go aboveand beyond Elson’s job descrip-tion.

“She is very involved in theschool. She gives up a lot of timewithout asking for reimburse-ment,” said King, “When I go bythe school on the weekend hercar is there in the parking lot.”

To begin with she foundedMead’s Running Club.

Each day she leads childrenon a run during the lunch breakand after school, that way regard-less of a student’s schedule theycan still join in.

Elson also works to coordinateruns with other schools andteachers.

Just like their teacher, whodoesn’t get paid for leading thejogs, members of the runningclub don’t get P.E. credit.However, they do get to countthe exercise toward the monthly“Fitness Star” program, anotherof Elson’s undertakings. Eachmonth she makes calendars forthe children to take home.

There they record what theydo each day to stay fit outside ofP.E. class. Those that completethe calendars and turn them in at

the end of the month get a prizeand get to sign a large poster thatElson hangs up in the gym toshowcase the student’s determi-nation.

At the end of the year childrenwho have completed at least

seven of the ten calendars get aFitness Star medal.

“That is a lot of record keepingfor someone in elementaryschool,” said Elson. “They reallywant it. It’s cute.”

When the school needed to

raise money using a walkathonElson immediately got her handsdirty coming up with differentobstacle courses and fitness sta-tions for the children to choose

Louise Elson, Teacher of the Year gives students her all


Louise Elson, recently named the Lake Washington School District’s Outstanding Educator corralsan omniken ball during class.

See ELSON, Page 13


Blackwell’s music students perform the kinder polka for the audience at the elementary school’sInternational Night.

Blackwell celebratesinternational diversityBy Lillian Tucker

Throughout the year AdrienneSabo teachers her music studentsat Elizabeth BlackwellElementary songs and dancesfrom around the world. So whenthe children were asked to per-form at the school’s internationalcelebration they were more thanready.

Thirty booths representing dif-ferent countries transformedBlackwell’s auditorium into aninternational fair Thursday, Feb.24. The place was packed for themusic students who sang andtrotted and polkaed their wayaround the globe.

The fifth- and sixth-grade stu-dents mixed things up with a tra-ditional English dance set to thesounds of a Belgium rock band.Fourth-graders joined the olderstudents for an American dance

they nicknamed “popcorn” forthe way they popped along withthe music. Children in Sabo’sthird-grade class paraded aroundthe stage, changing partners tothe song “I don’t care if the raincomes down.” The second- andthird-grade students borrowed apage from Sweden with aFjaskern dance while theyoungest students did a kinderpolka.

“They really love to dance,”said Sabo. “For them to hear thedifferent sounds and differentways to do things they are gongto be better at listening andappreciating different cultures.”

That’s what Blackwell’s“International Night” was allabout – students sharing theirown cultures and learning aboutthose of their classmates.

See NIGHT, Page 14


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from.“Our PTSA does a super job of

supporting us at times when themoney is cut back,” said Elson.With her help the walkathonraised thousands of dollars forthe elementary school.

Last year Elson went a stepfurther and served on the PTAboard as a teacher representa-tive.

This year she traded in thatrole to take on an even largerresponsibility as co-chairwomanof the Student Advisory Council.

After considering more thana dozen charity ideas the chil-dren voted on the Sparrow Club,which is a national non-profitorganization of school-basedclubs that assist children inmedical crisis.

“It’s about having kids seehow their work is actually help-ing someone,” said Elson. “It’sworth while so we are going tojump in.”

Juggling time“This year seems to be a little

crazier than most,” said Elson,who originally figured that

because her children were incollege she would have moretime. But overloading her sched-ule is nothing new.

While earning her Bachelorof Science at the University ofPittsburgh Elson spent two yearsas a student teacher and ran onthe Panther’s track team, com-peting in the 400, high jump andmile relay, which took her allthe way to the 1979 nationals.

Now with her Masters inAthletic Administration and hav-ing completed a two-yearWashington State professionalcertification program, Elsonteaches 37 classes a week.During the half-hour classes stu-dents play different games thatshe has either made up or readabout and adapted.

Elson was dodging balls dur-ing a game of “Asteroids,” wherestudents move around the gymon scooters trying to avoid ordeflect omniken balls, whichlook like huge beach balls.

“The kids get so excited whenthey come in and see those,”said Elson.

Another favorite is “CastleBall,” in which the childrenbreak into small teams and buildcastles by stacking hula hoopsagainst each other.

The students are responsible

for protecting their castles andrebuilding them when they areknocked down. At the sametime they can also go on theoffensive and throw balls atother castles.

“It’s great because they areworking on their throwing foraccuracy, offense and defense,”said Elson. “There is a lot of lifelessions: people have to get usedto their castle being knockeddown and be OK with it.”

Elson spends a lot of timecoming up with these gamesand reading about new onesonline.

Still, she fits in time to cycle,ski and train for the occasionalhalf marathon.

Most importantly, she said,you have to have your own sys-tem and perfect it.

“I’ve gotten a good pacingdown so that I can provide theright amount of energy to eachclass and still have some left.That is the key to this job,” shesaid. “The kids are great. I justdon’t think I could have a badday when I come in.”

Reporter Lillian Tucker can bereached at 392-6434, ext. 242 [email protected] comment on this story, visitwww.SammamishReview.com.

ElsonContinued from Page 12

“We see all different facts andfoods from all over the world,”said 13-year-old Avery Barleywho accompanied his little broth-er on stage to perform a hip-hopdance for everyone.

Alana Richardson, who movedto Sammamish from the UnitedKingdom when she was younger,showed off two traditional Irishdances.

Eleven-year-old Pooja Senapatiwas surrounded by her class-mates after she put on an Indian-style dance. The sixth-grade girlsall giggled when she said her jew-elry was very heavy.

Jane Williams, whose daugh-

ter attends Blackwell, said that atfirst she was reluctant to host theHawaiian booth purely becauseof her family’s busy schedule. Butin the end she made time – andcoconut pudding for the event.

“We wanted to do it for her,”said Williams. “It’s good for themto know different parts of theUnited States have different cul-tures.”

Ruth Odell, who is married toSammamish’s Mayor Tom Odell,used to teach at the school andmade a special visit to attend theevent. When she arrived she wasgreeted by hugs from several stu-dents.

“Blackwell is such a multi-cul-tural school,” she said. “Thisschool has that rich feel of cul-tures and the kids all get alongtogether.”

NightContinued from Page 12

Makenzie Malsam

makes dean’s listMakenzie Marie Malsam, of

Sammamish, was named to thedean’s list at Clemson Universityfor the fall 2011 semester. To qual-ify, students must have a GPAbetween 3.5 and 3.99.

EWU dean’s list

The following Sammamishresidents were named to thedean’s list at Eastern WashingtonUniversity for the fall 2011semester:

Jase Butorac, Mitchell Collier,Courtney Duda, Derek Gewald,Ashlee Harden, Colin Kamien,Cameron Lee, DanielleMatthews, Kristin Milton,Deanna Poulin, NicholasWashburn, Jeffrey White andKate Zopolos.

Andrew Hankey

on honors listAndrew Hankey, of

Sammamish, was named to thehonors list at GracelandUniversity. To qualify, studentsmust achieve a GPA between 3.65and 3.99.

Whitworth

announces laureatesThe following Sammamish

residents were named to theLaureate Society at WhitworthUniversity for the fall 2011semester: Mary Bosseler, LindseyHubbart, Kylie Grader and JennaHoole. To qualify, students need-ed to achieve a GPA of 3.75 orhigher.

Jordan Mixsell

on dean’s listLinfield College has named

Jordan Mixsell to its fall semesterdean's list. In order to qualify,students completed 12 gradedcredits and held a rank in the top10 percent of their class.

Heather Leavitt

on dean’s listHeather Leavitt was among

more than 560 students atEastern Oregon Universitynamed to the dean's list for the2011 fall term. To qualify, Leavittmaintained a GPA of 3.5 or high-er while completing a minimumof 12 hours of graded course-work.

Scores of Sammamish

athletes set to play in

college As the school year creeps clos-

er to spring and eventually grad-

uation, many of the area’s seniorathletes have already signed let-ters of intent to join collegeteams from around the nation.

From Eastlake High SchoolShayla Page will play women’s

soccer at Seattle PacificUniversity; Michael Gallager willdribble for the University ofWashington’s men’s soccer team.

Gino Bresolin is set to be anew addition to the football team

at the University of Texas, ElPaso; Ryan Lewis will play foot-ball at the University of Pittsburgand Kendra Morrison has signedon to sink three-pointers for thewomen’s basketball team at theUniversity of California, SantaBarbara.

From Skyline High SchoolJack Pruitt is set to join theUniversity of Denver’s lacrosseteam; Dom Randle will competein men’s soccer at the Universityof Southern California; NicoleCandioglos plans to playwomen’s soccer at the Universityof Nevada, Las Vegas; theUniversity of Denver’s women’ssoccer team will be getting TinaVargas.

Drew Mathews will run trackat the University of Kansas;Damian Greene is set to join thefootball team at the University ofWyoming; Maddie Magee willplay volleyball for the Universityof Oregon.

Will Parker has signed onSeattle Pacific University’s men’sbasketball team; Lucas Shannonwill play basketball at SaintMartins University; JimmySinatro is joining GonzagaUniversity’s baseball team.

Ali Northey will compete ingymnastics at the University ofWashington and Katie Kinnear

will swim for the University ofCalifornia, Los Angeles.

Sign up for spring

trail run in

SammamishRegistration is now open for

the May 26th Soaring Eagle TrailRun.

Participants can choose to takepart in the 5-mile, 10-mile,marathon or 50K. All runs willtake place in Sammamish’sSoaring Eagle Park whereEvergreen Trail Runs is hostingthe event. Registration is $25-$50.

Check in is Saturday, May 26at 7:30 a.m. at the park with thefirst run starting at 8:30 a.m.

For more information and tosign up visit www.evergreentrail-runs.com.

Sammamish

basketball players

named to KingCo

all-star team

Basketball players from bothEastlake and Skyline high schoolshave been selected for the

sports14 • February 29, 2012 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

By Lillian Tucker

Playing as if it were its lastgame the Eastlake girls basketballteam secured a trip to stateSaturday, Feb. 25 with a 75-37win against the Rogers Rams.

From the start to the sound ofthe final buzzer the EastlakeWolves overwhelmed Rogers,sinking two baskets for every oneof the Rams.

“That was a phenomenalgame,” said Eastlake coach SaraGoldie. She said that she saw asense of urgency at practice theday before what would have beenthe players’ last game had theynot won. “I thought if this isgoing to be my last practice withthe kids then we are going tofocus and have fun…it kind of gotcontagious.”

The determination was defi-nitely strong in senior guardBella Zennan, who led the teamwith 15 points, sinking 71 percentof her shots and racking up threerebounds and three assists.

“We are really lucky to be inthis spot,” said Zennan. TheWolves finished second in theKingCo conference, earningthemselves a shot at the 4A statechampionship. “I want to takeadvantage of it. I don’t want tolook back and have any regrets.”

That attitude was present onthe court as the Wolves continu-ally put the pressure on Rogers.By the end of the first half

Eastlake was up 43-15. But theplayers and the coach didn’t seethe score as an excuse to relax. Inthe locker room at half time

Goldie warned the girls thatRogers would come out of thegate hungry to close the gap.

“We knew that they were

going to come out really firedup,” said senior guard CaleighMcCabe, who scored 14 pointswith six rebounds, four steals andone assist. “We had to match theirintensity.”

The Rams did come back fight-ing and outscored the Wolves 15-14 in the third quarter. But thecomeback wasn’t strong enough.As Rogers missed more fieldgoals than usual, Eastlake pow-ered through the final quarter 18-5 with every player contributing.

“We knew that they were athreat from the outside so we hadto stay on them in the perimeter,”said senior Kendra Morrison, firstteam KingCo 4A all-conferenceteam. “Whoever came off thebench gave it their all.”

The Wolves are now in thestate’s top 16 and headed to statefor the second time since 1997when Goldie was a player, not acoach.

That year Eastlake finishedeighth. The Wolves also compet-ed in the state tournament in2007 but did not place. The teamis set to face Central Valley at 9a.m. Thursday, March 1 – thefirst game of the double-elimina-tion state tournament.

“Going to the Tacoma Dome

Lady Wolves pave the way to state with 40-point win

Photo by Lillian TuckerSenior guard Taylor Yoneyama holds off the ram’s defense at Saturday’s regional game.

See STATE, Page 15

Photo by Greg Farrar

Skyline students and their families take a break from signing their letters of intent to play college

sports.

See KINGCO, Page 15


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has been our goal since thebeginning of the year,” saidsophomore Marijke

Vanderschaaf, who landed 40percent of her shots inSaturday’s game. “If we keep upour energy it will do good thingsfor us at state.”

Skyline girls outThings did not go as well for

the Skyline High School girlsbasketball team last week.

In their final game of thedistricts tournament theSkyline Spartans lost toStanwood 50-61. The team fin-ishes the season with a recordof 17-8.

Photo by Lillian TuckerEastlake’s Kendra Morrison goes for a field goal. The KingCo all-conference first-teamer, whoaverages more than 13 points per game is ranked 16th in the state.

KingCo 4A Basketball 2011-2012all-conference teams. For theboy,s Will Parker from Skylinehas made first team.

Parker averaged 14.6 points,3.7 assists and 2.6 steals pergame this season with a total of306 points. Eastlake’s BrandonLester and Skyline’s LucasShannon made second team.

On the girls first team isKendra Morrison from Eastlakeand Megan Wiedeman of Skyline.

With a total of 327 points this sea-son Morrison averages 13.6points and 7.9 rebounds pergame.

Wiedeman scored 333 pointsfor her team this year, averaging13.3 points and 13.7 rebounds pergame.

Allie Wyszynski, also fromSkyline, made the second team.Eight players also received hon-orable mention, includingHayley Smith, Rachel Shim, MaxBrowne and Bryan Cikatz, allfrom Skyline, and MarijkeVanderschaaf, Caleigh McCabe,Eric Holmdahl and MichaelHwang, all from Eastlake.

KingCoContinued from Page 14

StateContinued from Page 14

By Lillian Tucker

The Skyline Cheerleadershave finished another successfulseason of competition with a sev-enth-place finish at nationals.

Skyline’s Silver and Greensquads traveled to Orlando,Florida Feb. 11-12 where theygathered with 22,000 athletes atWalt Disney World for theNational High SchoolCheerleading Championship.The more than 600 teams weresplit into different categoriesdepending on their size andtypes of routines. The SkylineSilver squad competed in the“Medium Varsity Non Tumbling”group where they finished sev-enth. Skyline’s Green team per-formed in the Medium VarsityDivision 1 category – one of thehardest divisions, according tohead coach Stephania Lemeshko– but did not place.

Before journeying across thecountry for nationals, Skylinetook on squads from around thestate on Feb. 4 and came out ontop. With a score of 231 pointsthe Green team took first place in

the medium 4A division, finish-ing ahead of Ballard, MarysvillePilchuck, Battle Ground andBellarmine Prep.

With just two points less thanMoses Lake the Silver team camein second in the large 4A catego-ry with 219 points total. After thestate competition finished,rumors made their way throughthe cheer community that therewas a possible scoring mistakethat would have put SkylineSilver in first place. However theWashington InterscholasticAthletics Association, who hostedthe state tournament, maintainsthat all the final scores are cor-rect and that the silver team didplace second.

“Unfortunately we had a judgethat misunderstood how our pro-cess worked and she was unableto contain her comments andthat caused some confusion,” saidMike Colbrese of the WIAA.“Someone thought there was amiscalculation of numbers andthere was not.”

Both Skyline squads took firstplace at the state championshipin 2011.

Skyline Cheerleaderstake 7th at nationals

Teen Late Night, featur-ing music, Xbox, pool,foosball, table tennis, $1slices of pizza and othersnacks for sale is from 7-

10 p.m. March 2 at the teen cen-ter. Free for members, $5 forsixth-12th grade students whoare not members.

An exhibition called“Love Songs” sponsoredby artEAST, includingthe work of someSammamish artists, is

running at the artEAST ArtCenter and UP Front Gallerythrough March 3. Visitwww.arteast.org for times andinformation.

Pioneer Quilts and theOregon Trail, this pro-gramwill fea-ture true

stories ofintrepid womenquilters whobraved the west-ward migration of the 1800s at 7p.m. March 7 at the SammamishLibrary.

How to Start aBusiness: Learn theresources that are avail-able to you through theSmall Business

Administration, the steps instarting a business, how to writea business plan, and how to doresearch at 2 p.m. March 9 at theSammamish Library.

eBooks 101:eReaders and DigitalDownloads, drop into look at populareReaders, OverDrive

and Adobe Digital Editions soft-ware, ages 13 and up at 1 p.m.March 10 at the SammamishLibrary.

Home Business Expo: Find outabout some of the home busi-nesses throughout Sammamish.The city has a large businessbase, many of which go unseen.the expo will allow people tofind what the SammamishChamber of Commerce calls“hidden treasures” across thecity. The expo is set for 10 a.m.-3p.m. March 10 at theSammamish EX3 Teen Center.Home businesses may sign up atwww.sammamishchamber.org.

MasterChorusEastside,featuringseveral

Sammamish residents, willhold a St. Patrick’s Day concertMarch 11 at 3 p.m. at the Kirkland

Performing Arts Center. Ticketsare $20 or $15 for students andsenior citizens. Call MasterChorus Eastside at 392-8446.

Education Expo: Informationfor parents with chil-dren aged newborn toteen. Exhibits includeschools, tutors, cogni-

tive trainers, camp providers andmore from 4-9 p.m. March 15 atSkyline High School.

Get Loose with Seuss, is forchildren ages 3-7 withan adult. Get to knowthe work of Dr. Seusswith music, theater,

rhyme and movement at 1 p.m.March 16 at the SammamishLibrary.

The Macro Asset Perspective:A WealthAccumulationSeminar, discover thevalue of proper hori-zontal diversification -

diversification between tax treat-ments and the potential rewardsof this strategy at 7 p.m. March21 at the Sammamish Library.

Feng Shui Tips for aHarmonious Homeand Life: discoverhow to create greaterharmony inyour home

using Feng Shui, theChinese art of place-ment and design toenhance positive living at 7 p.m.March 22 at the SammamishLibrary.

calendar16 • February 29, 2012 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

March 1Sammamish Planning

Commission, 6:30 p.m. at CityHall

March 6Sammamish City Council

meeting, 6:30 p.m. at City Hall

March 7Sammamish Parks

Commission meeting, 6:30 p.m.at City Hall

March 9-11Lake Washington School Board

retreat in Leavenworth


study session, 6:30 p.m. at CityHall

March 14Issaquah School Board meet-

ing, 7 p.m. at district headquar-ters, 565 N.W. Holly St. inIssaquah

March 15Sammamish Planning

Commission, 6:30 p.m. at CityHall


meeting, 6:30 p.m. at City Hall

Sammamish Arts Commissionmeeting, 7 p.m. at City Hall

March 20City Council office hours, 5:30

p.m. at City Hall

March 26Lake Washington School Board

worksession, at 5 p.m. followedby a business meeting at 7 p.m.at the L.E. Scarr Resource Center,located at 16250 N.E. 74th St.,Redmond

Paper reveals its shape

The art exhibit “Come Sit a While,” featuring the work of Hannah Viano, opens March 9 atCity Hall.

Events

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publiccalendar

Wednesday Night YouthGroup for sixth to 12th grade stu-dents. The group meets from 7p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdaynights at SammamishPresbyterian Church.

Wednesday night youthgroup will have games, worshipand fun for students in grades

six-12 from 7-8:30 p.m.Wednesdays at SammamishPresbyterian Church.

Mothers of Preschoolers(MOPS) allows mothers ofyoung children time to makefriends share stories and growspiritually. The group generallymeets twice a month onThursday mornings at Mary,Queen of Peace Church. Visitwww.mops.org.

A Toast to the Lord, a faith-based Toastmasters club, meetsfrom 7 to 8:30 p.m. every Fridayat the Fire Station No. 83 on

Issaquah–Pine Lake Road. Theyoffer job interviewing skill devel-opment for those seekingemployment or a career change;motivational and inspirationalspeaking training. Call 427-9682or email [email protected].

Mary, Queen of Peace youthgroups are for children in sixth-eighth grade and ninth-12thgrades. Meetings are at 6:30 p.m.Sundays. Call the church at 391-1178, ext. 129.

Faith United MethodistChurch offers “Faith Cafe” forwomen of all ages. Drop-in coffee

time, scrapbooking/stamping,mom and baby playgroup, quilt-ing/knitting and walking group,classes, studies and themed days.9:30 a.m. Wednesdays. Call JoLucas at 837-1948.

Healing Prayer Service. Ifyou desire to make space for Godin a peaceful setting. The fourthTuesday of every month, 7 p.m.,at Pine Lake Covenant Church.Email [email protected] orcall 890-3913.

Celebrate Recovery is aChrist-centered program offeringsupport on Mondays, 7-9 p.m.,

Pine Lake Covenant Church.Visit www.missiolux.org, or call392-8636.

Griefshare, a support groupfor those who have lost a lovedone is from 7-9 p.m. Thursdays atSammamish PresbyterianChurch.

Moms in TouchInternational invites Christianmoms and grandmas to replacetheir anxiety with peace andhope through prayer. Visitwww.momsintouch.org. ContactLinda Yee at [email protected].

focuson faith


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Free School Shuttle Service!

Beginner ESL Class, 7 p.m.March 1, 8, and 15.

Intermediate ESL Class, 10a.m. March 6.

Hindi Story Time, for chil-dren 3 and older with an adult,4:30 p.m. March 1, 8, 15, 22 and29.

Spanish Story Time, forchildren 3 and older with an

adult, 10 a.m. March 5, 12, 19and 26.

Swaddler Story Time, forchildren birth-9 months with anadult, 11 a.m. March 1, 8, 15, 22and 29.

Waddler Story Time, forchildren 9-24 months with anadult, 10 and 11 a.m. March 2, 9,16, 23 and 30.

Toddler Story Time, for chil-dren 2-3 with an adult, 10 and 11a.m. March 7, 14, 21 and 28.

Preschool Story Time, forchildren 3-6 with an adult, 10a.m. March 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29.

Pajama Story Time, for chil-dren 2-6 with an adult, 7 p.m.March 5, 12, 19 and 26.

Talk Time, conversationpractice for adults who want toimprove their English languageskills, will take place at 12:30p.m. March 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29.

Musik Nest, for children 2-3with an adult. Share songs,dance, rhythm and new ways toenjoy music with your toddler,10:30 a.m. March 24.

The Sammamish BookGroup will meet at 7 p.m.March 21. Contact the library forthis month’s title.

Libraryactivities

Saint Patrick’s Day at thePreserve, volunteers will meet toclean up and maintain the EvansCreek Preserve from 9 a.m. to 1p.m. March 17.

The Sammamish Symphonyneeds volunteers to help with aconcert from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.on Feb. 26 at Eastlake HighSchool. Jobs include: box officeticket sales, will call line, handingout programs, taking tickets, linemanagement and setting uptables with marketing materials.

Visit residents in nursinghomes. Friend to Friend matchesvolunteers with residents inSammamish nursing homes andassisted living facilities.Volunteers are asked to visit resi-dents a couple times a month fora year. Orientation will be provid-ed. Background check required.Call 1-888-383-7818.

Evergreen Healthcare isseeking volunteers to help servepatients throughout King County.Volunteers, who will be assignedto help people in their ownneighborhoods, provide compan-ionship, run errands, do lighthousehold work, or give a breakto primary caregivers. Volunteerswill be supported by hospitalstaff. Call 899-1040 or visitwww.evergreenhealthcare.org/hospice.

The King County Long-Term Care OmbudsmanProgram needs certified long-term care ombudsman volun-teers. After completing a four-daytraining program, visit with resi-dents, take and resolve com-plaints and advocate for resi-dents. Volunteers are asked todonate four hours a week andattend selected monthly meet-ings. Contact Cheryl Kakalia at206-694-6827.

Eastside Bluebills is a Boeingretiree volunteer organizationthat strives to provide opportuni-ties for retirees to help others inneed and to assist charitable andnonprofit organizations. 10 a.m.-noon, the third Wednesday of themonth at the Bellevue RegionalLibrary. Call 235-3847.

LINKS, Looking Into theNeeds of Kids in Schools,places community volunteers inthe schools of the LakeWashington School District.Opportunities include tutoring,classroom assistance and lunchbuddy. Email [email protected] orvisit www.linksvolunteer.org.

Eastside Baby Corner needsvolunteers to sort incoming dona-tions of clothing and toys andprepare items for distribution.Visit www.babycorner.org.

Volunteers are needed tovisit homebound patrons withthe King County Library System’sTraveling Library Center pro-gram. Volunteers must be at least18 years old and have reliabletransportation. Call SusanLaFantasie at 369-3235.

Sammamish Citizen CorpsCouncil needs volunteers to helpsupport the CommunityEmergency Response Team andother groups. Email [email protected], visitwww.sammamishcitizencorps.orgor attend the meeting from 7-8p.m. first Wednesday of everymonth at Fire Station 82.

Volunteer drivers are need-ed for the Senior ServicesVolunteer TransportationProgram. Flexible hours, mileage,parking reimbursement and sup-plemental liability insurance areoffered. Call 206-448-5740.

VOlunteers needed

Custodial interferenceOn Feb. 18, police made con-

tact with a divorced couple in adispute over who was to have cus-tody of their children during mid-winter break.

Police consulted a court-ordered parenting plan that saidthat the father should have thechildren for mid-winter breakduring even years and advisedthe mother, a Sammamish resi-dent, to arrange to have themdropped off.

The case was documented forthe courts.

Stolen lock box

A real estate lock box wentmissing from a home on the20700 block of Northeast 38thStreet between Feb. 12 and Feb.17. There were no signs that any-one had accessed the home.

Vehicle prowl

A stereo was stolen out of avehicle in the parking lot at TheKnolls Apartments overnight Feb.14.

The suspect somehow forcedopen a locked door and took thestereo. Police have no suspects.

Boot theft

A pair of tan Sorel boots werestolen from the front porch of ahome on the 2900 block of 204thLane Northeast Feb. 11 or Feb. 12.

Mental health issue

Police trespassed a NorthDakota man from a Sammamishhome in which he used to liveFeb. 12.

The owner of the home calledpolice after finding the man inher back yard. The man, who suf-

fers from schizophrenia, toldpolice that he used to live at thehome and was returning to“check on the house.”

The owner found the backdoor of the home unlockedthough it had been locked whenshe left.

The man was trespassed fromthe property.

Vehicle prowl

A GPS unit and a laptop werestolen from two unlocked vehi-cles at a home on the 18700 blockof Northeast 55th Street overnightFeb. 9.

Burglary

A laptop was stolen from ahome on the 20600 block ofNortheast 34th Place overnightFeb. 10.

The resident told police thatthey had heard their dog barkingat around 3:30 a.m. Feb. 11 butthought nothing of it.

When the resident got up thenext morning, the door to theirvehicle, which was parked in thegarage, was ajar and the laptopwas missing from the trunk.

Police are unsure how the sus-pect entered the garage, as therewere no signs of forced entry andthe garage door was locked.

The case remains under inves-tigation.

Driving high

A 17-year-old Sammamish resi-dent may face a driving under theinfluence charge after beingpulled over near the corner ofNortheast 16th Street and 216thAvenue Northeast at around 3a.m. Feb. 11.

The officer pulled the teenover after clocking him driving 38mph in a 25 zone and failing touse a blinker when turning.

The teen exhibited signs ofintoxication and performed poor-ly on field sobriety tests.

A search of the vehiclerevealed two small pill bottlescontaining marijuana.

The teen, who admitted tosmoking the marijuana earlier inthe evening, was transported tothe hospital for a blood draw todetermine his level of intoxica-tion.

He was released to his father.

Stolen lock box

A real estate lock box wasstolen from a home on the 3600block of 211th Place Northeastbetween Feb. 4 and Feb. 9.

There were no signs that any-one had accessed the home.

Suicide attempt

A Sammamish woman in her30s was transported to the hospi-tal after attempting suicide Feb.18.

The woman’s boyfriend calledpolice after finding her unrespon-sive after swallowing prescriptionmedication and alcohol.

Police stood by as she wasrushed to the hospital for medicalattention and a mental healthevaluation.

Stolen car

A Sammamish resident report-ed that someone had stolen hiscar at around 12:40 a.m. Feb. 18.

The resident left the vehiclerunning in the parking lot of theMadison Apartments and went toQFC.

When he returned “two orthree minutes later,” the gray2000 Mitsubishi Galant was gone.

Driving is a privilege

An 84-year-old Sammamishman was arrested for driving witha suspended license the after-noon of Feb. 17.

The officer pulled the man’svehicle over on the 4400 block ofIssaquah-Pine Lake Road becausethe vehicle did not have function-ing brake lights.

A check of the man’s licenserevealed that it had been sus-pended the day before because herefused a court order to retake the

driver’s exam. He was released at the scene.

Copper theft

A resident on the 500 block of207th Avenue Northeast reportedthat someone had stolen two cop-per light pillars from the front ofhis driveway between Feb. 7 andFeb. 10.

The pillars, which cost around$2,000 to replace, were likelystolen to be sold as scrap metal.

Vandalism

A resident on the 700 block of218th Avenue Southeast reportedthat someone had thrown a soft-ball-sized rock through one of hiswindows at around 12:50 a.m.Feb. 15.

The resident told police he sus-pected it had been two males intheir 30s that he had confrontedearlier in the evening.

The resident said he had seenthe two males walking down thestreet with a wheelbarrow full offertilizer and with a bicyclestacked on top.

Thinking that the items werestolen, the resident confrontedthe men and “words wereexchanged.”

A neighbor on the 21700 blockof Southeast Eighth Street report-ed that someone had slashed thetires of their vehicle and a horsetrailer overnight that same night.The case remains under investi-gation.

Domestic violence

A 28-year-old Sammamishman was arrested on suspicionof fourth-degree assault afterallegedly holding his girlfriendagainst the wall by her neckFeb. 14.

The girlfriend told police thatthe man had come home intoxi-cated and argumentative.

The two got into an alterca-tion while giving their son abath, during which time heallegedly held her against thewall, causing noticeable redness


POliceBlotter

around the neck. The man, who had scratches

and cuts on his face from thewoman, told police that she hadthrown the first punch.

The man was booked intoIssaquah Jail on suspicion ofdomestic violence.

Beauty king

Police responded to the homeof a 28-year-old Sammamishman who had sent his ex-girl-friend a text message threaten-ing to cut himself Feb. 14.

Police called the man, whotold police it was a big misunder-standing and that he had onlysent the message to gain atten-tion from the ex-girlfriend.

Police met the man at his par-ents’ house to confirm that hewas not a danger to himself. Theman, who was drinking from atequila bottle, appeared intoxi-cated but showed no signs ofhaving cut himself and did notappear suicidal.

According to the policereport, the man told police thathe was not going to harm him-self because he was “too prettyfor that.” The man’s fatheragreed to keep an eye on hisson.

Lunch break

Two high school students werefound in possession of marijuanaparaphernalia near the corner ofBeaver Lake Way and 259th PlaceSoutheast at around noon Feb. 13.An officer stopped the teens afterseeing them stopped at a deadend acting suspiciously.

The inside of the car smelledof burnt marijuana and the teensturned over a glass pipe and anempty jar with marijuana residue.

The officer called the parentsof the driver and advised them ofthe situation. They were escortedback to school to attend theirafternoon classes.

Vandalism

A vacant home on the 27200block of Southeast 13th Place wasspray painted overnight Feb. 11.The suspect or suspects spray-painted several curse words onthe home and a nearby bulldozer.The vandalism caused around$1,400 in damage.

The case remains under inves-tigation.

Items in the police blotter comefrom Sammamish Police reports.

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required to send a delinquencynotice, officials send a courtesynotice in late September to about9,000 taxpayers. The property owners receivingthe notice missed the April dead-line and did not pay propertytaxes by Sept. 1.

Officials timed the notice to beclose to the Oct. 31 due date forsecond-half property taxes.

Officials said the June noticewill go to about 14,500 taxpayers.The county expects about half ofthe taxpayers receiving thenotice to pay before July 1 toavoid the monthly interestcharges and December penaltyoutlined in state law.

School officials offer

information on

planned constructionThe Issaquah School District

administration and the districtcapital projects staff plan an

informational session on pro-posed capital improvements atClark Elementary, IssaquahMiddle and Tiger MountainCommunity High schools.

The public session is set for5:30 p.m. March 8 at IssaquahMiddle School, 400 First Ave. S.E.

Voters can fund the projectsthough passage of a $219 millionbond issue appearing on the bal-lot in the April 17 special elec-tion.

Plans call for replacement,expansion and relocation of allthree schools. If the projects go for-ward, Issaquah Middle wouldmove to the current site of ClarkElementary.

Clark Elementary and TigerMountain would share the currentIssaquah Middle location.

The total estimated cost of allthree projects is $85.9 million.

According to the district, thecoming presentation will coverthe logistics, possible timing andpotential layout of all the newcampuses as well as how the con-struction might impact neighbor-ing communities.

Under state law, district offi-

cials are not permitted to pro-mote the bond package to voters.School officials are allowed tooffer the public information onthe bond and the proposed capi-tal improvement plan.

State enlists teenagers

to clean up litterIssaquah teenagers can join

the effort to clean up Washingtonparks and roadsides soon.

The state Department ofEcology’s Northwest RegionalOffice in Bellevue plans to hireabout 72 teenagers to help cleanup area roadsides, parks andrecreation areas during the sum-mer. Ecology Youth Corps mem-bers also learn how to better carefor the environment through theprogram.

Youths ages 14-17 can applythrough April 10 to work withone of Ecology Youth Corpscrews cleaning up litter this sum-mer in King, Skagit, Snohomishand Whatcom counties. Crewswork Monday through Friday,from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., in afour-week session.

Sessions run from June 28through July 25 and again fromJuly 26 through Aug. 21.Participants earn $9.04 per hour.

Teenagers can pick up applica-tions through area school coun-selors and at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/eyc/nwro.html.

Dollars for the Ecology YouthCorps program comes from adedicated fund called the WasteReduction, Recycling and ModelLitter Control Account.

The account is funded by avoter-approved tax on items relat-ed to the litter problem.

Learn about King

County’s 911 system

at citizen academyKing County residents can

learn how the 911 emergency dis-patch center operates as the KingCounty Sheriff’s Office hosts a911 Citizen’s Academy nextmonth.

The academy is meant to edu-cate citizens about the role 911communications specialists fill inthe public safety system.

The program is also designedto prepare people for dialing 911.

Plans for the daylong classMarch 31 include informationabout the history of 911, call tak-ing and police dispatching, train-ing, King County geography,agency partnerships, citizentraining and what national certifi-cation means for residents.

In addition to the classroomsession, academy participantscan spend a two-hour sessionwith on-duty communicationsspecialists. The “sit-along” time ismeant to offer a practical demon-stration of the lessons learned inthe academy.

The academy is open to any-one at least 18 years old withouta felony conviction who lives orworks in King County.

The application is available atthe sheriff's office website,www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sher-iff/Enforcement/911Center/2012CitzensAcademy.aspx, or by calling206-205-6625 or by [email protected].

Space for the program is limit-ed. The application deadline isMarch 9.

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