Issaquah teen bowler is one of the best in nation
June 21, 2011
Lieber holds her competition bowling ball in the family garage, outfitted as the family’s full-scale pro shop, where she and other family members work on their bowling balls before matches. Contributed
If you find yourself bowling against 17-year-old Correen Lieber, good luck.
Issaquah Commons evacuated due to smoke alarm
June 21, 2011
Eastside Fire & Rescue and Issaquah Police Department crews responded to the Issaquah Commons shopping center June 16 after a smoke alarm sounded, prompting evacuations of several stores.
Though the alarm sounded, nobody reported smelling smoke or seeing flames, EFR spokeswoman Josie Williams said. The evacuated stores include some of the busiest at the popular shopping destination, such as Target.
Police responded to the Issaquah Commons for crowd control. The evacuation occurred just before noon.
The investigation into the reason behind the alarm sounding remains under investigation. The fire and police response raised concerns among shoppers and passers-by.
Puget Sound Energy seeks 2012 rate increases
June 21, 2011
Puget Sound Energy filed a proposal June 13 to increase electric and natural gas rates in 2012.
The utility is asking state regulators for rate increases to offset the costs of work to increase electric and gas delivery system reliability, as well as efforts to provide a cleaner energy supply.
The proposal calls for electric rates to increase 8.1 percent and natural gas rates to climb 3 percent for all customer groups. The average homeowner could expect to pay $8.37 more per month for electric service, based on 1,000 kilowatt-hours, and $2.84 more per month for natural gas, based on 68 therms per month.
The state Utilities and Transportation Commission is reviewing the proposal. If approved, the rates could take effect in May 2012.
The rate request is based on energy system improvements made in 2009 and last year, as PSE invested almost $1.1 billion in gas and electric delivery infrastructure and new electric-generation facilities.
Bellevue-based PSE serves more than 1 million electric customers and almost 750,000 natural gas customers in Western Washington, including Issaquah.
High-energy Lindsey Nicholson was Skyline’s game-changer
June 21, 2011
When Skyline High School girls basketball players would come to pre-game warm-ups, they would find the colorful artwork of senior guard Lindsey Nicholson covering the whiteboard.
Skyline High School senior Lindsey Nicholson stood out as a leader on the basketball court and the softball field. She plans to play softball at Boise State University. By Christopher Huber
She often drew pet animals for each player. The silly antics were meant to keep the mood light among the team members before game time, head coach Greg Bruns said, but Nicholson got down to business when necessary.
“She always had the mentality of team before herself, which is hard to find, at least among high school athletes,” longtime teammate and senior Michelle Bretl said. “She was never really about the recognition.”
Nicholson graduated from Skyline on June 10 having participated in all 12 sports seasons of her high school career. She excelled in softball from an early age — and was named the 2011 KingCo 4A softball MVP — but also ran cross country and became a leading force on the basketball court.
Buy fireworks to benefit church’s foreign missions
June 21, 2011
Doug Donaldson’s life changed when he handed the key to a newly constructed house to a struggling Tijuanan family in 2001.
Customers browse among the fireworks on display for sale at the Issaquah Christian Church stand, on Issaquah-Hobart Road Southeast, during last year’s missions fundraiser. Contributed
He and his fellow mission attendees and members of Issaquah Christian Church had spent the past year raising funds for the chance to spend eight days in Mexico building homes for the poor.
In 2005, Donaldson sold Northwest Computer Support — a computer repair and networking business he had been with for 22 years — to devote his life to helping families in need through the church’s mission trips.
“It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done,” he said. “You know, it was like my baby. Ultimately, it took a year for me to realize that it was meant to be.”
But Donaldson has no regrets — after treating patients with tuberculosis, HIV and machete wounds, he said his perspective and appreciation for his life in the United States have been altered forever.
Issaquah graduate scores soccer gear for Ugandan orphans
June 21, 2011
Thanks to the hard work of Blaire Brady, her friends and her family, two youth soccer teams in Uganda will have warm-up gear and matching uniforms.
Blaire Brady
Brady, a 2011 Issaquah High School graduate, has coordinated drives for Ugandan orphans for the past three years.
Mark Bowers, the African missions team leader at Issaquah Christian Church, contacted Issaquah High leadership teacher Emily Carl to see if any of her students could organize a drive for the church’s mission trip to Uganda.
Bowers had heard that orphans in Uganda had nary a soccer uniform.
“Their clothing is generally rags,” he said. “They do have some semi-organized soccer teams, and one of the pastors there said, ‘We would love to have any equipment you have, even if it’s torn up.’”
Cougar Mountain Zoo welcomes rare birds
June 21, 2011
Cougar Mountain Zoo recently welcomed Mia and Milo — two, rare red-vented cockatoos.
Red-vented cockatoos, sometimes called Philippine cockatoos, are listed as critically endangered. They are native to the Philippines and number less than 1,000 in the wild due to habitat loss and illegal trapping.
Cougar Mountain Zoo is only one of two zoos in the United States to have the red-vented cockatoos on display.
The zoo is open for general admission from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and is open for prescheduled programs seven days a week.
Learn more at www.cougarmountainzoo.org.
Eastside summer burning moratorium is in effect
June 21, 2011
Eastside Fire & Rescue crews responded to 14 brushfires in May and June — and a heightened risk for fires accompanies drier days ahead.
The agency’s burn moratorium went into effect June 15 for residents in Issaquah, Sammamish and nearby communities. Though a rain-soaked spring may make such a moratorium seem unnecessary, summer means a heightened risk for fires. The moratorium is in effect through Sept. 30.
For summertime cookouts, propane, natural gas and charcoal fires do not require a burn permit. Other fires require a burn permit from EFR. Call 313-3200.
Fires cannot be larger than 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet high. Use only dry, seasoned wood to fuel recreational fires.
The flames must be contained inside a barbecue pit, fire ring or a portable fireplace. Fires cannot be burned within 50 feet of fences, trees, structures or combustible materials. Importantly, only vegetation can be burned.
Burning to clear land is permanently banned in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
Firewise and EFR offer information for homeowners to create defensible spaces around residences at www.firewise.org and www.eastsidefire-rescue.org.
Lakeside Recovery wins fifth straight game
June 21, 2011
The Lakeside Recovery Senior American Legion baseball team entered this week riding a five-game win streak. The club got its fifth win June 19 by downing the Kirkland Merchants, 8-4, at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue.
Catcher Jimmy Sinatro, of Skyline High School, belted two home runs and drove in five runs in the victory against the Kirkland Merchants. Brandon Mahovlich, of Issaquah, and Travis Snider, of Skyline, each had two hits for Lakeside Recovery, which went to 13-5 on the season.
Lakeside Recovery trailed 4-3 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, but struck for five runs to overcome the Merchants.
Customers lose cable service after crew clips line
June 21, 2011
Crews responded to a cable outage impacting customers in Issaquah and elsewhere June 13.
The cut to the cable provider’s fiber optic line occurred at about 2:45 p.m. and also affected customers in Sammamish, Duvall, Echo Lake and Redmond. Broadstripe dispatched a repair crew to the site minutes later.
The company restored service to affected customers by 1 a.m. June 14.
The damage to the fiber optic cable came after a King County lawn crew working along a road in Duvall accidentally clipped it.
John Bjorn, executive vice president for Broadstripe’s Northwest Region, said such accidental cuts happen infrequently.
“Anytime they happen, however, they represent a major inconvenience for our customers,” he said in a news release. “We are sorry that our customers were inconvenienced yesterday.”
