Damaged sprinkler causes Issaquah Middle School evacuation
September 23, 2010
UPDATED — 9:30 a.m. Sept. 23, 2010
Issaquah Middle School students briefly evacuated the school Thursday morning, after a damaged sprinkler triggered a fire alarm.
Sara Niegowksi, Issaquah School District spokeswoman, said a sprinkler in the gymnasium had been damaged after a ball struck the sprinkler. The sprinkler started leaking onto the floor and left a considerable amount of standing water on the floor. The damaged sprinkler caused the alarm to activate, and students evacuated as if in a fire drill.
Children returned to class after the brief evacuation.
Niegowksi said district facilities employees were headed to the school to determine the cause and the extent of the damage.
The district called in a restoration company to estimate the damage, due to the considerable amount of water on the floor.
Washington drivers rank among highest nationwide for buckling up
September 23, 2010
NEW — 8 a.m. Sept. 23, 2010
Washington drivers and passengers buckle up more often than almost anyone else in the United States.
The information comes from a survey released Tuesday by the state Traffic Safety Commission. The seat-belt use rate among Washington residents has climbed to 97.6 percent — among the highest in the nation.
The rate inched upward 1.2 percent from last year.
“These last few percentage points represent people who have simply not gotten the message about the value of seat belts,” Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste said in a news release. “It appears that enforcement is the only way to win their compliance, and we will not hesitate to use that tool.”
County leaders promote volunteerism Friday on Day of Caring
September 23, 2010
NEW — 6 a.m. Sept. 23, 2010
King County Council members recognized volunteers and urged other people to become involved in community activities by declaring Friday as a Day of Caring.
The proclamation is in conjunction with the countywide Day of Caring organized by the United Way of King County. The efforts fit into a national effort to promote volunteerism and community service.
The council issued the proclamation Monday.
The goal of the program is to demonstrate the lasting changes of volunteering on just a single day.
Council approves contract for next city administrator
September 22, 2010
UPDATED — 3:20 p.m. Sept. 22, 2010
City Council members praised Mayor Ava Frisinger’s choice for city administrator and approved the Wyoming, Ohio, city manager for the post Monday night.
The unanimous council decision marked the final step to hire Bob Harrison, 42, as Issaquah city administrator, the No. 2 official at City Hall.
Harrison is due to start Oct. 11. The next administrator stands to earn a $150,000 base salary, plus benefits. The city also offered the administrator $15,000 if he relocates to the Issaquah School District.
Liberty High School Patriots torch Totems
September 22, 2010
NEW — 10 a.m. Sept. 22, 2010
The Liberty High School girls soccer team won its third straight 3A/2A KingCo Conference game Tuesday when the Patriots walloped visiting Sammamish 5-0.
Sara Duvall and Cassidy Nangle each scored two goals for the Patriots, who took over sole ownership of first place.
Liberty led 2-0 at halftime. Duvall scored an unassisted goal at the 17th minute and a minute later Cassidy, assisted by Mollie Cooke, scored.
Goalkeepers Macaire Ament and Jennifer Rucker shared the shutout.
In other action, Mercer Island knocked Interlake out of a first place tie with Liberty by beating the Saints 1-0; it was Juanita 3, Bellevue 0; and Lake Washington 1, Mount Si 0.
King County auctions used vehicles, equipment Saturday
September 22, 2010
NEW — 6 a.m. Sept. 22, 2010
Pick up a former King County Sheriff’s Office patrol car Saturday as the county auctions surplus vehicles.
Bidding at the semiannual auction of surplus vehicles and equipment is scheduled to start at 9 a.m.
The auction features pickups, vans, cars and several former sheriff patrol cars, plus used buses, street sweepers, landscape material and other equipment. The event will be held at 3005 N.E. Fourth St., Renton, near Renton Technical College.
Previews start Thursday and Friday at the auction site from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., and Saturday starting at 8 a.m. Learn more at the auction website.
The county Fleet Administration Division manages the auction.
Mayor hires Ohio official as Issaquah city administrator
September 21, 2010
Robert Harrison
The next Issaquah city administrator is a plainspoken Midwesterner and longtime city manager of a Cincinnati suburb.
Robert “Bob” Harrison — the city manager in Wyoming, Ohio, for the past 12 years — has accepted the No. 2 position at Issaquah City Hall and is due to start Oct. 11.
Harrison, 42, emerged as the leading candidate last week during closed-door interviews with community leaders and city department chiefs. Mayor Ava Frisinger announced the appointment Sept. 16.
The mayor offered Harrison the job Sept. 8, the same day as the interviews. Frisinger hailed the hiring as the “perfect match” for the community.
Ohio lawsuit did not impact decision to hire city administrator
September 21, 2010
Robert “Bob” Harrison, the choice for Issaquah city administrator, is part of a lawsuit filed by former city employees in Ohio. The suit did not dissuade Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger from selecting Harrison, and Frisinger said she had been made aware of the lawsuit during the monthslong search.
“We asked people if there was anything that we needed to be aware of, specifically anything that involved terminations, although predominantly of the employees themselves,” Frisinger said. Read more
FBI: Crime rate dropped in 2009
September 21, 2010
Crime in Issaquah dropped last year due to a dramatic decline in thefts from 2008 levels, even as violent crime inched upward.
FBI crime figures released Sept. 13 show 19 violent crimes and 633 property crimes reported in Issaquah last year. People reported 17 violent crimes and 814 property crimes to the Issaquah Police Department in 2008.
Violent crime is identified as murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. The breakdown for last year shows no murders, four forcible rapes, nine robberies and six aggravated assaults.
Police recorded a murder, a rape, six robberies and nine aggravated assaults in 2008.
County proposes tax hike to stave off cuts
September 21, 2010
Proposed increase to generate $500,000 for Issaquah
Deep cuts to the King County Sheriff’s Office budget could force the agency to shut down police storefronts — a popular crime-prevention tool in rural King County outside of Issaquah.
But the best bet to limit cuts to the sheriff’s office — a proposed sales tax increase dedicated to public safety — rankles Tom Carpenter, a resident and community leader in the Four Creeks Unincorporated Area between Issaquah and Renton.
“Why would you ever trade preventative for reactive?” he said.
The county has asked voters to raise the sales tax rate two-tenths of 1 percent, or 2 cents per $10. The measure on the Nov. 2 ballot aims to raise the sales tax from 9.5 percent to 9.7 percent in order to preserve sheriff’s deputies, county prosecutors, public defenders and court employees.
