Issaquah, Skyline to battle for state football championship
November 29, 2008
NEW 9:29 p.m. Nov. 29
Issaquah and Skyline football fans, get ready for another showdown. This time it will be at the Tacoma Dome for the 2008 Class 4A state title.
Issaquah has now won four straight in its run to state after beating the Central Kitsap Cougars 31-13 Nov. 29 at the Tacoma Dome. Issaquah is now 11-2.
The Skyline Spartans beat Ferris 24-21 in its semi-final bout Nov. 29 in Spokane. Junior quarterback Jake Heaps threw for 266 yards and connected with sophomore receiver Kasen Williams for a touchdown. Skyline improved to 13-0.
Issaquah looked like its healthy self, Saturday, as it used a balanced offensive attack and strong defensive line. With all of its top starters playing, Issaquah stifled any Central Kitsap momentum throughout the afternoon game.
“They did a great job against the run,” said Issaquah head coach Chris Bennett after the semifinal game in Tacoma. “But at this point in the season everybody plays good and you’ve got to find ways to move the football and we did that.”
Issaquah out-gained the Cougars 276 yards to 179.
The Eagles play Skyline in the first ever all-Issaquah School District Class 4A final at 7:30 p.m., Friday at the Tacoma Dome.
Check back for the full game stories later.
‘Nutcracker’ opens tonight in Seattle, features local dancers
November 28, 2008
NEW — 11:15 a.m. November 28, 2008
Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 25th anniversary production of the beloved Stowell/Sendak “Nutcracker” opens tonight, and some young dancers from Issaquah and Sammamish will be featured performers as the production unfolds on the McCaw Hall stage.
Pacific Northwest Ballet dancer Benjamin Griffiths with company dancers and school students in 'Nutcracker.' — By Angela Sterling
Root for local comic in Seattle competition
November 26, 2008
NEW — 7 p.m. November 27, 2008
Justin Rupple, of Issaquah, is one of five finalists in the 29th annual Seattle International Stand-Up Comedy Competition.
Thanksgiving is top day for home cooking fires
November 26, 2008
NEW — 6:05 p.m. November 26, 2008
In 2006, Thanksgiving Day topped the charts once again as the peak day for home cooking fires. There were 1,400 home structure fires involving cooking equipment that year, more than three times the daily average, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Read more
Metro will have different holiday schedules Thanksgiving Day, day after
November 26, 2008
NEW — 2:50 p.m. November 26, 2008
Bus riders should be aware that King County Metro Transit will have reduced service for the Thanksgiving holiday on both Thursday, Nov. 27, and Friday, Nov. 28 — and the schedules will be different for each day. Read more
Volunteer Call
November 25, 2008
Does your nonprofit agency or civic club need volunteers? Call 392-6434, ext. 237, or e-mail newsclerk@isspress.com.
Something to smile about
November 25, 2008
Young fans
Max and Isabelle Eastern and Amanda and Tyler Karl (from left) anxiously waited for the arrival of Deion Branch, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver, at Sunset Elementary School last week. The students’ parents bid on the speaking engagement at the football player’s foundation auction, benefiting children diagnosed with meningitis.
Patriots select their prince
November 25, 2008
Liberty High School juniors honor classmate with Down syndrome at homecoming
Breanne Faehnrich and Kevin McCarthy are recognized as homecoming royalty for the junior class at Liberty High School. By Mackenzie Maynes
Kevin McCarthy is a prince of a young man. Last month, his Liberty High School classmates elected him homecoming royalty for the junior class.
McCarthy, who lives in the China Creek neighborhood of Newcastle, outpolled two classmates to earn the title of homecoming prince. At Liberty, the senior class picks the homecoming king and queen among fellow seniors, while the junior class selects a prince and princess.
McCarthy was nominated a week earlier and he felt he had a good shot at wearing the crown. The 17-year-old special-needs student with Down syndrome captured the hearts of his fellow students with his positive attitude and unwavering kindness. Read more
Zoo’s holiday festival features live reindeer
November 25, 2008
Santa stands on the porch of his home-away-from-North Pole home at Cougar Mountain Zoo, overlooking the reindeer yard. By Greg Farrar
Santa’s reindeer look forward to December all year long, and not just Christmas night. The reindeer have been logging extra flying sessions to make sure they are ready for the big night. For the first three weeks in December, they’ll be holding court at the Cougar Mountain Zoo’s 20th annual Reindeer Festival.
“The reindeer do enjoy this time of year, since they get apples every day and they love apples,” said Robyn Barfoot, general curator at the zoo. Read more
Basking in Bolivia
November 25, 2008
Issaquah man longs to return to South American country after Peace Corps mission is cut short
Members of the Sartañani Cultural Center, whose mission is to give voice to the indigenous cultural and language groups within Bolivia. Instruments shown are the zampoña (panpipes) and huanca (skin drum). By Sartañani Cultural Center.
Daniel Burnett arrived home in Issaquah in August planning to take a short break from his service in the Peace Corps.
But political destabilization in Bolivia forced many U.S. citizens and the U.S. Embassy to leave the country, a place Burnett called home for nearly two years.
“I would have packed up everything, especially my photos and my instruments, and took them with me, but I was supposed to go back,” he said.
A strange beginning
Burnett arrived in the small town of Quillacas in Oruro, about 400 miles from Le Paz, the country’s capital, in August 2006, after joining the Peace Corps as a way to use his Spanish degree.
He had graduated that spring with bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and music, and a minor in philosophy, from Wheaton College in Chicago.
“I have a curiosity to get to know the rest of the world. Plus, I was a college kid without any money and I had a desire to help people,” he said.
“This was the logical conclusion to his Latino studies emphasis,” said Don Burnett, Daniel’s father and pastor at Evergreen Community Church in Maple Hills. “It was a chance to become 100 percent proficient with the language, but also a chance to expand the Christian service side of himself.”
Daniel Burnett arrived to find the town in the throes of celebration.
“The square was full of people dancing and dressed in their traditional get-up,” he said. “There were bands playing and I was shaking hands with everyone. Some were more sober than others. The mayor wasn’t.”
The town of 400 permanent residents had more than 2,000 people celebrating its fall fiesta. Many had come for the occasion from larger cities where they hold permanent jobs.
After days of celebration, Burnett said he realized preparations for his arrival — housing, work and contacts — hadn’t been made.
“You’re completely on your own,” he said. “The people down there didn’t even know what was up.”
Getting to work
He made the most of his first few weeks, trying to talk to people and waiting for a family to give him shelter so he could begin his work.
“We basically do a diagnosis of what is the biggest need or what support they need and what type of funding is required,” he said.
The Guarachi family took him in and he was able to build his first project — a functioning, sanitary bathroom for the family.
He then helped to create fresh water wells and helped start other village sanitation projects.
“The biggest need is sanitation,” he said. “There is none. People go to the edge of town and that’s it. The illnesses they have are contributed mostly to the lack of sanitation, and most infant deaths are a result of diarrhea.”
He helped promote use of a newly built health clinic, which people were wary of; went to local schools promoting the English language; edited a magazine, which educated people about the area; and helped his host family by helping raise then slaughter llamas for food or cooking for family functions.
“He applied his faith and learning in a concrete setting,” Don Burnett said. “He really ended up doing much more than creating bathrooms and digging wells. He did a lot of community building through music, education and journalism.”
But while he was in the mountains conducting his work, the lowland regions of the country were becoming more restless as the government tried to nationalize privately owned resources, he said.
“It is a volatile country, but he was held together by the safety net of people that knew him and his work,” he said. “When we visited him, they had adopted him as a part of their community.”
Developing understanding, friendships
Though the work was important, friendships and people Daniel Burnett met gave his work meaning.
“I’ve never seen kinder people,” he said. “When you made an effort, they’d make an effort. But if you were withdrawn, you’d let the language barriers become a big problem.”
He said he spent much of his time visiting and speaking with people about cultural perceptions, current events and politics.
“They are real curious about politics and they want to know about Bin Laden, what was in our news and about President Bush, too,” he said. “They have an image of all our military power, our wars and our aggression. I wanted to show them something else, another side of America.”
He said his work determined how people perceived him.
“It’s about going beyond politics, making that human connection,” he said. “What we are doing speaks louder then our politics. The fact that we are there, helping them and with them, gives them a different understanding.”
He said he misses his discussions, the family he had become part of and his favorite meals.
“There’s nothing like fresh roasted llama in the field,” he said.
A new future
Since returning home, Burnett has been busy filling out job applications and interviewing.
“I’m trying to get hired with a company, save money and then I’m looking to go to graduate school,” he said.
If he had returned to Bolivia, he had planned to start a grant-writing process to secure funding for greenhouse gardens, to help residents grow crops and better understand nutrition and health.
He said he still hopes to return someday.
“I’d love to get involved with a business that imports and exports machinery from the U.S. to there,” he said. “Long term, it could mean a big improvement in their standard of living.”
Reach Reporter Chantelle Lusebrink at 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com.
