Letters To The Editor
September 23, 2008
By Administrator
Gary Moore
Issaquah High coach’s legacy deserves changing name of football stadium
After reading Gary Moore’s obit last week and news articles, I believe Gary’s attributes as an Issaquah High School coach and teacher are worthy of a stadium name change. While many of the administrators and the many newcomers to the area might not have known him, it is important to keep what Gary stood for as an example for our district today.
For 39 years, he gave his all to the students and community of IHS. Gary started his career in Issaquah in 1963 at Issaquah Junior High School and retired from IHS in June 2002. During his tenure, he was a teacher in special education, physical education and traffic safety, and spent almost 28 years as the IHS head football coach. His overall record was 129-76-3, and he won three KingCo Conference Championships. Gary was a member of the Washington Football Coaches Hall of Fame.
“He always expected more than you thought you could give. At the same time, he was a very engaging teacher-coach-mentor-father,” said Clete Caspar, a former IHS player.
A precedent was set in February 2003 by naming the IHS gym for a previous coach, Pat Hatmaker. What an honor it would be to the Moore family to keep Gary Moore’s values and accomplishments alive by adding his name to the campus! As Issaquah High School gets its major face lift, I am suggesting a name modification for the new stadium to the Gary Moore Memorial Stadium.
Our family was fortunate enough to have known Gary as a teacher and coach, as well as knowing his wife Mary Lou and son, Chris. Won’t you please join us in endorsing this memorial to this very special person and integral part of IHS history?
Mardi Nystrom, Issaquah
Thank you
Contributions from the community helped Chandler after loss of leg
Issaquah — A wonderful caring community.
Two years ago, my son Chandler lost his leg at the hip in an accident in Lake Sammamish. The accident directly involves both of my sons, my daughter and me. Most readers know the details. Thanks to many of you and the grace of God, Chandler is doing well and is beginning his freshman year at Brigham Young University.
What you may not know is the story of the love and care that members of our community showered on our family. We feel healed and we need to put closure to this chapter of life by thanking our community. We have lived here 19 years and know many of you, but the outpouring of charitable service we experienced has been a life changing experience for our family. No judgment, just love and caring.
Many of you supported us emotionally, spiritually and physically during our time of need. What is interesting is how individuals from many different organizations in the community we have been a part of served us. At the risk of leaving some out, they included, in alphabetical order: Eastside Fire & Rescue; Issaquah High School students, staff and alumni; IHS Lacrosse Club; IHS tennis; Issaquah Little League alumni; Issaquah Soccer Club alumni; Issaquah Youth Lacrosse; Pine Lake Middle School alumni and staff; Sunset Elementary School alumni and staff; the greater South Cove neighborhood (wow — what great neighbors!) and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
We feel blessed to live in such a caring community and know that miracles of healing happened due to the power of prayer and to the exercise of faith in God exhibited by people of all denominations on behalf of Chandler and our family. In times of need, you came to help and it will always be appreciated. Thank you!
Steve and Susan Balkman, Issaquah
School animal policy
Editorial defending pets on campus was nothing but thinly veiled racism
I’ve read the Sept. 10 Press editorial, and it is no less then veiled racism. The article is basically blaming the ban on “other cultures” and their nontolerance of animals. It’s using the school’s pets ban as a rallying cry to defend against changes in the neighborhood, all in the name of protecting “traditions” and “the American Way” — which is clearly racist language. The letter is ignorantly defensive, accusatory and deceptively racist. You should be ashamed to print such hateful slur.
I am one of those other “cultures” that have lived in the U.S. all of my life. I don’t recall any “tradition” of schools and animals, coveted by students and teachers alike, in any of the schools I’ve attended. The only animals I remember in school were dead frogs in formaldehyde and fruit flies. Maybe if I grew up in a more rural area, I would understand this “animal tradition” more — but I highly doubt it.
How dare you take a safety issue from public school and turn it into cultural racism. You speak of teaching kids to be tolerant of other cultures, then turn right around and blame these “other cultures” for causing the district to ban dogs and ruining an American tradition. I’ve never heard more asinine, ignorant, nonsense.
You know, the U.S. is rated academically, like, 47th in the world. Instead of putting energy toward asinine issues like bringing animals back into the classroom, we should maybe concentrate our collective efforts on other things, like math, science, writing and art. Academic excellence — now there’s a tradition I believe every “culture” should respect and uphold.
You owe this entire community an apology for that editorial. Shame on you and The Issaquah Press.
Tan Le, Issaquah
School boundary review
Arbitrary changes are seemingly made to make Grand Ridge Highlands only
I would like to express my frustration with the school district’s boundary review process. The current plan has my area (Overdale Park/Outlook Pointe) switching from Grand Ridge Elementary School to Clark Elementary, while at the same time the new West Highland Park community is switching from Clark to Grand Ridge.
I believe that this is an arbitrary and capricious change with political motivations to somehow turn Grand Ridge into a “Highlands-only” school. The justification for this move was described as three things: (a) adding more students at Clark, (b) eliminating a bus run to Grand Ridge and (c) providing room for growth at Grand Ridge. I think the swap refutes the justification.
This swap will not add any more students to Clark or remove any more students from Grand Ridge. All it does is disrupt the children of two communities.
The swap does not eliminate any bus runs. The West Highland Park children are 1.4 miles from Grand Ridge and will need to be bused. In addition, there are eight to 10 children off of Southeast Black Nugget Road who will be bused to Grand Ridge in the current proposal. We’ll be bused to Clark. It seems like the same number of children will be bused regardless of the swap.
Lastly, if there is room for West Highland Park at Grand Ridge after moving us to Clark, then there should be room for us to stay at Grand Ridge if West Highland Park remains at Clark.
After spending countless hours investigating this change, I infer that the primary reason is politically motivated. At the last Boundary Review Committee meeting, a committee member stated that they had already decided that Grand Ridge was Highlands only. I don’t think that the taxpayers approved a bond for a “Highlands-only school” (otherwise, Port Blakely should have foot the bill).
I think it is unfair to disrupt my community’s well-established relationships, just to satisfy some political agenda, particularly when the district has a history of respecting these in previous boundary changes.
Antonette Wood, Issaquah
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After the shock of the loss of my loving cousin, Gary Moore, words are absolutely inadequate to express my heartfelt gratitude for the overwhelming outpouring of love, comfort and support to our family – especially Mary Lou, Chris and Trisha. Gary was everything and more everyone has so lovingly expressed and we all miss him greatly! He was a Godly man who was a pillar of integrity, strength, compassion, humility and joy! Thank you, again, for all the wonderful articles! God bless you!