Rapid Response
September 27, 2011
Issaquah is in the midst of a six-month moratorium to assess and determine how to address medical marijuana operations. How would you solve the issue to balance the city’s and patients’ interests?
Seems to me that the interests of a suffering patient far outweigh those of the city. We must figure out how to make this palliative necessity for some patients easily accessible at an affordable price.
Meredith Prock, Issaquah
Public Meetings
September 27, 2011
Sept. 28
Issaquah School Board
7 p.m.
Issaquah School District Administration Building, 565 N.W. Holly St.
Judge rules against Salmon Days ‘expression areas’
September 27, 2011
NEW — 3:45 p.m. Sept. 27, 2011
City and Salmon Days Festival officials cannot prevent a man from distributing religious literature at the festival, a federal judge decided as she ruled against the event’s “expression areas.”
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle last month, Snoqualmie resident Paul Ascherl said Issaquah police officers threatened to arrest him for handing out Christian literature in places outside the pair of downtown “expression areas” on festival grounds last year. Ascherl relocated to the “expression areas” after police and a festival official intervened.
In a Sept. 21 ruling, Judge Marsha J. Pechman said the “safety and congestion concerns” related to the Salmon Days leafletting ban “are likely speculative,” and issued a preliminary injunction to prevent city and festival officials from stopping Ascherl if he distributes leaflets at the upcoming festival.
Salmon Days returns to Issaquah on Saturday and Sunday.
King County authorities identify Issaquah gunman
September 27, 2011
NEW — 3:10 p.m. Sept. 27, 2011
King County authorities identified the gunman slain in Issaquah on Sept. 24 as Ronald W. Ficker, a 51-year-old Maple Valley man.
Ficker died from multiple gunshot wounds, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office reported Tuesday afternoon.
Issaquah police fatally shot Ficker on the Clark Elementary School campus after the gun-toting man abandoned a car on a downtown street and led police through downtown Issaquah. Officials said Ficker died at the scene.
King County property records indicate Ficker purchased a house in rural King County south of Issaquah in 1989.
Ficker posted a link on his Facebook page Sept. 18 to a New Zealand-based support group called the Hearing Voices Network.
“We believe that hearing voices is a normal variation of human experience.It is estimated that between 3-5 percent of the population hear voices, yet less than 1 percent are ever diagnosed with an illness,” the group’s website states.
Liberty brings back John Martin as baseball coach
September 27, 2011
NEW — 1 p.m. Sept. 27, 2011
Liberty High School athletic director Stark Porter announced Monday that John Martin has been hired to be the Patriots’ new head baseball coach.
Martin was a pitching coach at Liberty for several seasons. He was on the staff when Liberty won the 3A state title in 2003.
Among his prized pitchers that season was future Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants.
Martin has spent the past few years as an assistant coach at Auburn Mountainview. He has also coached summer select baseball teams.
Martin replaces Steve Darnell, who directed Liberty to a 6-8 record last season. The Patriots were knocked out in the first round of the KingCo Conference 3A tournament.
Cold Stone Creamery offers free ice cream Tuesday
September 27, 2011
NEW — 6 a.m. Sept. 27, 2011
Cold Stone Creamery stores in Issaquah and elsewhere host the “World’s Largest Ice Cream Social” on Tuesday evening.
The annual event benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Head to a Cold Stone Creamery from 5-8 p.m. for a free taste of the Sprinkled with Wishes Creation — sweet cream ice cream, brownie, rainbow sprinkles and fudge.
The local Cold Stone Creamery is at 6100 E. Lake Sammamish Parkway S.E.
Cold Stone Creamery is accepting donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation through the end of the month. Customers can visit any Cold Stone Creamery and support the Make-A-Wish Foundation by purchasing a Make-A-Wish paper star for $1.
Issaquah school reopens as gunman’s identity remains unknown
September 26, 2011
NEW — 9:30 p.m. Sept. 26, 2011
Clark Elementary School reopened to students Monday morning after a lethal shootout on school grounds days earlier.
The investigation into the death of a 51-year-old Maple Valley man in a fusillade of gunfire from Issaquah police officers continued, although the King County Medical Examiner’s Office did not release the gunman’s identity as expected Monday.
The gunman’s identity is due to remain unreleased until the medical examiner’s office can identify the body using DNA or dental records.
Clark Elementary School administrators, teachers and volunteers sought to reassure students as the campus reopened.
Salmon Days Ohfishal Festival Program 2011
September 26, 2011
Gunman dies in shootout near Issaquah High School
September 24, 2011
Guardian One, the King County Sheriff's Office helicopter, takes off from the Issaquah Community Center lawn during the search for a gunman. By Christina Lords
UPDATED — 8:45 a.m. Sept. 26, 2011
Issaquah police shot and killed a gunman Saturday after police said the man opened fire near downtown Issaquah schools as children and spectators gathered for sporting events.
The man parked a car on Front Street South at Newport Way Southwest and then headed on foot, carrying two rifles — including a bolt-action hunting rifle — to the area near Clark Elementary and Issaquah High schools at about 11:15 a.m. on a muggy fall day.
Police said the man menacingly pointed firearms at passers-by as he headed about a half-mile to Clark Elementary School.
National Weather Service changes flood warnings for Issaquah
September 24, 2011
NEW — 11 a.m. Sept. 24, 2011
Less than a year after conflicting flood information confused Issaquah residents during a December deluge, the National Weather Service plans to adjust flood warning levels for Issaquah Creek.
The agency plans to base flood warnings on the creek’s flow, rather than height. The agency plans to make the adjustments Oct. 1.
The switch is meant to avoid confusion between National Weather Service data and the city’s flood warning system.
The city bases warnings on real-time data from a gauge upstream from Issaquah in Hobart. The system can usually provide a few hours of lead time before flooding impacts Issaquah.
The data collected by the National Weather Service comes from a downstream gauge near the creek mouth in Lake Sammamish State Park.
