Memorial to honor former Sammamish resident
March 17, 2009
Family and friends will host a fundraiser for the American Red Cross to honor Eastlake High School graduate Clayton Olney, who died Dec. 22. Contributed
Once, on a family vacation to Hawaii, Clayton Olney took his parents to a botanical garden to see a Bodhi tree. Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha, the founder of their faith, achieved enlightenment beneath the leaves of the sacred fig. Read more
Postcards from Iraq
March 16, 2009
National Guardsman corresponds from streets of Baghdad
Command Sgt. Michael Sangren says hello to an Iraqi youngster during a school visit in February. Contributed
When I volunteered to come to Iraq with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a mobilized Army reservist, I was wondering what I would be doing.
Being an Army Corps civilian, I knew my civilian job; however, I was coming to Iraq as a command sergeant major. Stateside district offices have no enlisted soldiers; however, in Iraq, districts do have soldiers. So, I was faced with the same question as many people who come to Iraq: What the heck am I getting into?
In a military unit, I am the senior enlisted person and my task is to take care of soldiers. However, here in Gulf Region South, only 25 percent of the district personnel are military, and of that, only 30 percent are enlisted.
It is far from a piece of cake, but is without doubt the most exciting and important job I have had in 37 years of military service. The civilians are volunteers, who have nice comfortable jobs in the States, but have given up the comforts of home to come halfway around the world, into an environment totally unfamiliar to them.
They’re also the friendliest and most outgoing group of people I’ve ever worked or lived with — always upbeat and willing to help with anything. They’re also extremely professional and mission focused — we only have about 100 civilians and our workload is about 139 active projects, so everybody has to do his or her job, plus.
Spelling bee champs are in Seattle regional
March 16, 2009
Austin Sivret
Siddharth Murching
Two Issaquah School District middle school students will be among about 50 competitors in the regional spelling bee March 22 in Seattle. Austin Sivret, a seventh-grader from Maywood Middle School and Siddharth Murching, an eighth-grader from Beaver Lake Middle School, won their respective school bees last month to advance to the regional competition featuring the top spellers from King and Snohomish counties. Read more
Health fair returns
March 16, 2009
The Overlake Hospital Issaquah/Sammamish Health & Safety Fair is from 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. March 21 at Pickering Farm. Admission is free. There will be free health screenings, children’s ID fingerprinting, home safety and emergency preparedness information from more than 50 professionals.
Community calendar
March 16, 2009
Events
The Mountains to Sound Greenway offers the following volunteer restoration projects from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Go to www.mtsgreenway.org for more information and to register or call 206-812-0122: Read more
Margaret Mae Hyatt-Parker
March 16, 2009
Margaret Hyatt-Parker
Maggie Hyatt, of Issaquah, resided in Edmonds, died March 9, 2009. She was 73. Read more
David Higginson Weekes
March 16, 2009
David Higginson Weekes, of Issaquah, died March 13, 2009, in the Evergreen Hospice in Kirkland. He was 53.
John David Hardin
March 16, 2009
John Hardin
John David Hardin, of Sammamish, died Sunday, March 8, 2009, in Torrance, Calif., from diabetes complications while taking care of his mother’s affairs after her recent death. He was 48. Read more
Gretchen Marie Forsman
March 16, 2009
Gretchen Forsman
Gretchen Marie Forsman, of Redmond, died March 7, 2009. She was 32.
Catherine Cornelia Fisher Flagg
March 16, 2009
Catherine Flagg
Catherine Cornelia Fisher Flagg, a longtime Issaquah resident, died in Spokane on Sunday, March 1, 2009. She was 84. Read more
