Homeowner associations can join Sustainability Challenge
March 29, 2011
Friends of Quadrant Homes, a social network hosted by Quadrant Homes, has launched a 90-day sustainability challenge, lasting from March 15 through June 15.
Anybody living in a homeowner association can participate. The two HOAs that make the most creative environmental changes will receive $2,000 grants.
Of the HOAs that place, one will be urban and the other suburban, which includes communities in King County.
To register, HOA residents must do the following:
- Register online.
- Make a pledge to do at least one of the items in each of the three categories.
- Create a pledge of their own.
Participants can make a difference by being conscientious of their energy, water and land use, including giving up paper cups for beverage mugs, replacing outdated showerheads with low-flow ones or planting a tree.
In addition to sustainability commitments, participants can share their photos, videos and stories on the Friends of Quadrant Homes Facebook page.
Off the Press
March 29, 2011
Council vote was almost a time warp
Greg Farrar Press Photographer
As the Issaquah City Council’s first vote to fill its vacancy ended in a 3-3 tie, my life suddenly began flashing before my eyes.
And all I could think after the second ballot was, “Thank you, Joshua Schaer!”
If it hadn’t been for his wisdom and flexibility, I might’ve relived one of the craziest news stories of my life, the headline being, and I’m not making this up, “56 ballots to a council deadlock” in the Edmonds Enterprise in January 1984.
That was during my first full-time newspaper job just out of college, and not only was I doing the photography, but on that small staff one of my writing beats was Edmonds city government.
Here are hypothetical questions for you: What if the Southeast Bypass was still the major policy issue dividing Issaquah’s City Council? What if Maureen McCarry’s retirement had left the council in two evenly split coalitions?
Leadership Eastside is committed to change
March 29, 2011
Leadership Eastside’s mission is to create fundamental changes — within the community and within the individuals who participate in the organization.
“One of our alumni recently said that the real project is you,” said James Whitfield, president of Leadership Eastside.
The nonprofit, officially launched March 16, 2005, “partners with the community’s greatest assets, its leaders, to meet the community’s greatest needs,” Whitfield said.
Indeed, the combination of community involvement and personal enrichment has seen much success during its past six years, largely due to what Whitfield refers to as LE’s primary product, a three-year leadership-development program, which accepts 40 to 45 applicants per year.
Issaquah Highlands resident Stuart Linscott, who was drawn to the program in 2006, said he believed the training would give him a “toolkit of skills” which could then be applied to many aspects in life, including furthering his community leadership, as well as personal and business relations.
Additionally, the people you encounter in the process, who share your values and goals of moving the community in a positive direction, often become lifelong friends, Linscott said.
“I think the neatest thing about the organization is that the people are all passionate about community involvement, and that really struck a chord with me,” he added.
Edgar Martinez now swings a hammer
March 29, 2011
Local resident is passionate about giving back
To say Frank Perry is a busy man is quite an understatement.
Frank Perry (left) and Edgar Martinez pause in the middle of work to wave while building a home in February with other Habitat for Humanity of East King County volunteers in Puerto Rico. Contributed
Between volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity, The Martinez Foundation, The Moyer Foundation, the College Success Foundation, Washington State Mentoring and Zion Preparatory Academy, Perry is always busy with something. And to top it all off, Perry serves on the boards of a couple of those organizations.
Did I mention he also he does human resource consulting on the side?
“The days and the weeks just fly by with activities,” Perry recently said with a laugh.
Yes, Perry — a former senior vice president of human resources at Lanoga/ProBuild — is a busy person, but that didn’t stop him from taking five days off to help build a house for a low-income family in Puerto Rico.
The East King County affiliate of Habitat for Humanity organized the trip, which took place Feb. 14-18.
The trip was special not only for the work that the group was able to accomplish, but also for one of the members who joined them: Seattle Mariners legend and Puerto Rico native Edgar Martinez.
Baskets and Buddies fundraiser is ‘hysterical’
March 29, 2011
Baskets filled with goodies — coffee and tea, flowers and gardening tools, and Italian food — will be for sale at the Issaquah Women’s Club third annual Baskets and Buddies live auction April 14.
Every year, the club hosts two big fundraisers: Harmony and High Tea in the fall and Baskets and Buddies in the spring. The club has already put its funds to use, donating $17,000 to student scholarships and 13 local schools and organizations, including the YWCA Family Village at Issaquah and Issaquah High School, at its March 3 meeting.
“I just think it’s a great venue to be able to give to the local charities that you may or may not have known about,” club member evé Martinez-Petrut said.
Baskets and Buddies starts every year with the creativity of the ladies in the Issaquah Women’s Club. Members fill baskets with themed treats, such as spa products, chocolate truffles or handmade quilts. Some women combine forces and create baskets together.
Issaquah City Councilman Fred Butler will act as auctioneer, much to the delight of club members.
“He makes the event absolutely hysterical,” club community outreach chairwoman Mary Mallett said. “I think lots of the ladies come just because of Fred.”
Kiwanians offer help for stricken computers
March 29, 2011
Forget the Geek Squad. Bring ailing PCs to downtown Issaquah for some TLC.
Members of the Issaquah Kiwanis Young Professionals plan a free computer clinic April 2. The session runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Gibson Hall, 105 Newport Way S.W.
Members can run hardware diagnostics, scrub machines of viruses and spyware, and conduct some performance tuning. The team can also offer advice and tips on buying a computer.
People should bring only computers and power cords to the clinic. The club has monitors, keyboards and more to plug in for testing.
The computer help is free, but club members accept donations. Funds raised during the event support the group’s community service programs.
The group is also offering free recycling for computers, laptops and monitors at the event.
The clinic is part of a worldwide day of service for Kiwanians. Members of the local club plan to scan documents for the Issaquah History Museums, remove invasive plants from parks and collect items for Eastside Baby Corner.
Issaquah Kiwanis Young Professionals formed more than a year ago as a spin-off of the Kiwanis Club of Issaquah.
To the Editor
March 29, 2011
DownTown Issaquah Association
Merchant resigns membership over unwelcome leadership change
Greg Spranger and Michael Johnson are examples of individuals who are so passionate about their work that it is contagious. They created projects that they would do for free, and in fact did, until one day an association saw fit to compensate them a little for the countless volunteer hours they spent.
Front Street owes its entire historical restoration to Greg, without whom it would just be a run-down bypass on the way out of town. Music on the Streets and ArtWalk would not exist without Michael Johnson.
People like this are one of a kind. You cannot advertise their “position” and fill it on a 15-hour a week “salary.” I’m sad to say it, but I cannot see a way that the association will accomplish anything meaningful after the elimination of Greg Spranger, followed by the voluntary resignation of Michael Johnson. Downtown will not be the same, and that’s a shame.
Wanted: gardeners and home improvers
March 29, 2011
Spring is in the air, and the longer days cause many people to consider gardening and home-improvement projects.
For upcoming coverage in the Home & Garden section, The Issaquah Press seeks Issaquah School District residents for pieces about the following topics:
- Does your home need a seismic retrofit to prepare for earthquakes? Have you undertaken any seismic upgrades in recent years?
-Does your yard feature any unusual plants — palm trees and other exotic species, for instance?
- Is a better mattress — and a better night’s sleep — in your future? Have you gone on the hunt for the perfect mattress and come back with tips and stories to share?
- Do you have experience in adding ponds or other water features in turning backyards into oases?
- The arrival of spring means the return of migratory birds to the area. What species land in your yard, and how do you foster a good environment for backyard bird watching?
- Do moles thwart your attempts to create a perfect lawn year after year? Do you have tips and stories to share about the battle of man versus mole?
Email your contact information to editor@isspress.com by April 6. Or contact us on Twitter @issaquahpress, or Facebook.
College News
March 29, 2011
Local students graduate from the University of Idaho
The following students from Issaquah recently graduated from the fall 2010 commencement ceremony at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho:
Benjamin Lavigne, Bachelor of Science in accounting and doctorate in education; David Xiong, Bachelor of Science in business; Christopher Pelchat, Bachelor of Science in marketing.
Local students make Gonzaga president’s list
Kuylie R. Clark, Michael D. Johnson and Monica M. Zender, all from Sammamish, have earned placement on the president’s list for fall 2010 semester at Gonzaga University, in Spokane.
To qualify, a student must earn a 3.7 to 4 grade point average for the semester.
Issaquah Eagles battle Skyline Spartans to 1-1 draw
March 29, 2011
Zach Lawless, Issaquah High School sophomore midfielder (left), gets an elbow on the neck of Woodinville junior defender Nick Norton during the first period of their March 24 soccer match. By Greg Farrar
When the Issaquah and Skyline boys high school soccer teams get together, it is usually a battle down to the final second.
On March 26, the two Issaquah district teams had another spirited battle that ended in a 1-1 draw in Gary Moore Stadium.
