Eastside Fire & Rescue board balks at price tag for proposed headquarters remodel
July 26, 2011
Within minutes of resolving to work out their differences so that Eastside Fire & Rescue could exist past its current 2014 expiration date, the fire agency’s board of directors grappled with a thorny issue as old as the agency itself.
Fire officials are pushing the agency’s partners to chip in for a remodel and expansion of the headquarters building, located on Newport Way Northwest in Issaquah.
In March, Deputy Chief Wes Collins proposed reconfiguring the inside of the building to add seven offices, a conference room, copy room and an upstairs women’s bathroom, as well as a storage building for EFR equipment that currently sits outside.
That plan’s approximately $500,000 price tag was a nonstarter for representatives from Sammamish, Issaquah and North Bend, some of whom questioned the wisdom of committing their taxpayers’ money to permanent improvements to a building that belongs to King County Fire District 10.
A hazy future for the agency also didn’t help.
Some partners were involved in discussions about an independent taxing authority for fire service and the agency’s interlocal agreement allows partners to withdraw from EFR in 2014.
Sammamish had never been interested in joining a fire authority, and discussions appear dead on arrival for cities like Issaquah, which would see a nearly 40 percent increase in the cost of its fire service, according to projections.
City planners consider proposal to build subdivision on steep site
July 26, 2011
The city Planning Department could decide soon on a 43-lot subdivision near Providence Point, but the site along Southeast 43rd Way could pose challenges.
Bellevue architect Dennis Riebe proposed the subdivision on 11.97 unoccupied acres along the south side of the street, across from Providence Point and west of the Forest Village neighborhood.
The project proposal includes single-family detached residences and townhouses. The site is zoned for single-family homes on small lots.
The plan also includes proposals for road-frontage improvements and access to Southeast 43rd Way.
Local teens fare well in junior golf district tourney
July 26, 2011
Sammamish’s R.P. McCoy watches his drive from the first tee box. By Christopher Huber
The Washington Junior Golf Association District 2 Championship tournament didn’t go quite as well as Li Wang would have hoped.
Over the two weeks prior, the incoming Eastlake High School junior had placed sixth and tied for fifth in two national American Junior Golf Association tournaments in Texas and Oregon and was ready to take this one by storm on the not-so-difficult Mount Si Golf Course.
After shooting a disappointing plus-4 76 on July 19, Wang managed to shoot on par (72) in the second round. But it wasn’t quite enough to take the title in his age group — the 16- and 17-year-olds.
Press Editorial
July 26, 2011
Highlands strip mall design is not wanted
It’s good news that Regency Centers has agreed to purchase land and develop a shopping center in the Issaquah Highlands. Residents there have been vocal about their desire for a nearby grocery store and neighborhood services.
Sometimes you do get what you ask for, but in this case we hope the city has learned that not all shopping centers are created equal. Issaquah should not settle for another strip mall surrounding a grocery store, similar to nearby Pine Lake Village and Sammamish Highlands centers, both part of Regency Centers.
Strip malls were acceptable 30 or 40 years ago when they were springing up around the country to service new housing starts. But the city of Issaquah has spent the last two years creating a central business district redevelopment plan to address the abundance of paved parking areas and the separation of stores, homes, offices and recreation.
How ironic it would be to allow a strip mall to be built in the newest part of the city while the older parts begin moving toward a mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented lifestyle!
Teens injured in crash near Beaver Lake
July 26, 2011
Injured occupants cut from mangled Subaru after high-speed crash
Medics rushed three people to the hospital early July 21 after a high-speed crash near Beaver Lake.
Police said a speeding car lost control, tore through a fence and then slammed into a tree near Southeast 25th Way and Beaver Lake Way Southeast, about a half-mile east of Beaver Lake Park.
Eastside Fire & Rescue crews extricated the occupants from the mangled wreck of the white Subaru Impreza and transported them to the hospital. Officials described the occupants’ injuries as serious but not life-threatening.
Officials identified the driver as an 18-year-old Fall City man and the occupant of the passenger seat, another 18-year-old man, as his brother.
The front-seat passenger managed to escape from the wreck. The emergency crew found him outside of the vehicle.
Katie Kinnear helps Issaquah dominate Senior Seattle Open
July 26, 2011
Skyline High School’s Katie Kinnear, who swims for the Issaquah Swim Team throughout the year, looks like she is headed for another successful high-school season this fall.
Kinnear, who won two events and sparked Skyline to the girls 4A state title last fall, had a dominating performance at the Senior Seattle Open July 7-9 at Seattle’s Colman Pool. In fact, she is one of many Issaquah Swim Team members who have had spectacular performances in recent weeks.
At the Senior Seattle Open, Kinnear finished first in three individual events and swam as a member of two winning relay teams. She won the 100-meter freestyle in 1 minute, .32 seconds, captured the 400 individual medley in 5:13.07 and took the 1,500 freestyle in 18:20.59. Kinnear also placed third in the 400 freestyle in 4:42.53.
The Issaquah Swim Team’s 200 freestyle relay team of Kara Beauchamp, Kinnear, Kayla Flaten and Nicole Lecoq finished first in 1:58.78. Lecoq, Flaten, Kinnear and Beauchamp composed the winning 200 medley relay team, clocked at 2:13.39.
‘Hairspray’ stars male performers in gender-bending roles
July 26, 2011
Andrew Gryniewicz, 15 (left), stars as Edna Turnblad in Hannah Lake stars as Tracy Turnblad in 'Hairspray’ at Village Theatre. By Jean Johnson/Village Theatre
“Hairspray” long ago earned a reputation for camp by casting a man in drag as mammoth matriarch Edna Turnblad.
The soon-to-open production at Village Theatre offers another gender bender: a male performer cast as a female character, in addition to Edna.
KIDSTAGE performers present “Hairspray” as a SummerStock production from July 30 to Aug. 7.
Andrew Gryniewicz, 15, a Sammamish Plateau resident and Bishop Blanchet High School student, stars as Edna, and Sheady Manning-Bruce, 17, a Renton resident and Liberty High School student, stars as smooth-as-silk television hostess Motormouth Maybelle.
Edna originated as a drag role. The drag queen Divine starred as Edna in director John Waters’ 1988 film and John Travolta donned a dress for the 2007 film musical.
The hefty heroine in the musical, Tracy Turnblad, is determined to sashay and shimmy on “The Corny Collins Show” — a segregated dance program in Baltimore — against unfavorable odds and Edna’s disapproval.
Kathryn Van Meter, “Hairspray” co-director and choreographer, adjusted the formula and cast a male performer as Motormouth, too.
The energy and sass Manning-Bruce unleashed during the audition tempted Van Meter to cast the actor in a less conventional role.
Golfers foil water tanker heist near Issaquah
July 26, 2011
State troopers arrested a Bellingham man and a Richland man near Issaquah early July 19 after motorists headed to a golf tournament noticed a water tanker from a Kennewick construction company on the wrong side of the Cascades.
The state patrol heard about the wayward tanker after employees from the construction company noticed the vehicle on Interstate 90 near North Bend.
The men, employees for general contractor Apollo Inc., noticed the vehicle traveling westbound as they headed to a golf tournament near Seattle.
The company did not have any construction projects in Western Washington, so the men made several calls to ongoing constructions to account for water tankers. The crew at a Yakima construction site reported a missing tanker.
So, the golfers called 911 and followed the tanker until troopers stopped the vehicle near Issaquah.
Troopers arrested the driver, a 27-year-old Richland man, Collin J. Simanton, and a 20-year-old Bellingham man, Christopher Siewert. Simanton told police they were headed to the Seattle Aquarium.
Authorities booked the men into the King County Jail for first-degree possession of stolen property. Meanwhile, the Yakima Police Department is investigating the stolen vehicle incident.
County Council honors Bellevue College leader, Issaquah campus advocate
July 26, 2011
Contributed King County Council members join outgoing Bellevue College President Jean Floten (center) during a July 18 recognition ceremony.
On July 18, King County Council members lauded outgoing Bellevue College President Jean Floten, the college’s longtime leader and a staunch advocate for building a satellite campus in Issaquah.
The recognition came as she ends a 22-year tenure at the Eastside campus.
“Jean Floten has been a tireless advocate for higher education in this state,” council Vice Chairwoman Jane Hague said in a statement. “Her tenure at Bellevue College will be a benchmark for excellence. I wish her the best in her new endeavor, but we’re going to miss her on the Eastside.”
Floten plans to resign from Bellevue College to serve as chancellor of WGU Washington, a nonprofit online university.
Floten arrived at Bellevue College in 1989 and helped build the Eastside institution into a college serving about 39,000 students each year. Only the University of Washington and Washington State University outrank Bellevue College in size.
The college administrator earned a reputation for expanding Bellevue College’s degree programs and transforming the institution from a community college.
The college purchased land for a campus in the Issaquah Highlands last year. Late last year, Floten outlined a bold plan for the campus in the decades ahead. No construction timeline has been finalized for the Issaquah campus, although construction is under way on a road to access the planned campus.
May Valley Alliance Church celebrates 50th anniversary
July 26, 2011
May Valley Alliance Church will celebrate its 50th anniversary Aug. 7 with a 10 a.m. service and barbecue.
May Valley Alliance Church, located at 16431 S.E. Renton-Issaquah Road, turns 50 Aug. 7. By Quinn Eddy
“The service will honor community members and former pastors,” the Rev. Dave Lawson said.
The barbecue will feature bouncy toys and a presentation of video taken over the years. The video will include footage of missionaries and their travels around the world. Mission trips have taken church members as far as Chile, Ecuador, North Africa, West Africa and Peru. On each trip, members have established their own churches.
Short-term mission trips have also taken members to Mexico. Once there, members construct houses for those who are less fortunate.
“People don’t realize the impact this church has had, not only locally but globally,” Lawson said.
The celebration is open to everyone. Past members, members and people who have never been to church are encouraged to attend.
May Valley Alliance Church had its first service on the first Sunday of August 1961 in the Coalfield Grange Hall across from Leonard’s Bar and Grill in Renton. There were 17 present for the first Sunday service.
