Issaquah doc has eye for aiding the sightless 7,000 miles away
June 30, 2009
An elderly Nepalese woman covers her left eye during a free vision-screening test. The screening is part of a traveling clinic that temporarily sets up in remote regions of Asia, Africa and Nepal. Photos By Tracy Prescott, and Daniel and Jodi Karr
If you could give someone sight, how far would you go to do it?
Joining with the Himalayan Cataract Project, Dr. Janet Barrall, an ophthalmologist for Virginia Mason in Issaquah, traveled nearly 7,000 miles to give the gift of sight to 158 people in need.
“It’s profoundly deep and completely life-changing to give sight,” she said. “It is so necessary to their way of life.”
Today, there are 37 million blind people throughout the world, according to the World Health Organization. Many suffer from cataracts. Read more
Liberty grad follows family legacy to USC film school
June 30, 2009
Alex Bell, a Liberty High School graduate, works on a home movie project from his laptop, a skill that helped get him accepted to the University of Southern California film school. Contributed
Maybe it’s in the genes.
Alex Bell, 18, of Newcastle, a 2009 Liberty High School graduate, is one of only 20 incoming freshman accepted into the film school at the University of Southern California.
About 1,200 high school students applied to study at the same school that produced George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Gene Fowler Jr.
Though not as well known as Lucas and Spielberg, Fowler Jr. was a prolific editor and director of film and television. His efforts won him a Golden Globe, four Emmys and an Oscar. He studied film editing at 20th Century Fox as a student at USC. Read more
Grand Ridge Grows a Garden
June 30, 2009
Grand Ridge Elementary School students and employees celebrated the opening and dedication of their new Grizzly Patch, a garden where students will learn the fundamentals of how to grow their own food and learn about farming and the
environment. Students, teachers and parents were given garden tours by the school’s
garden volunteers during the day. Organizations like the Issaquah Schools Foundation,
the school’s PTSA and Port Blakely provided funding for the garden. Contributed
Eagle project is community garden
June 30, 2009
Boy Scouts install the first of three raised garden boxes at the Rose House. Those whose faces you can see are (from left to right) Ed Belleba, Troop 571 Scoutmaster; Zak Vdolek, Eagle Scout and assistant Scoutmaster; Scout Zach Molina; Eagle Scout candidate Nathan McKorkle; Scout Jimmy Boyle; Scout Toby Brown; and Scout Jordan Rabold.By Janine McKorkle
Completing an Eagle Scout project is a huge challenge all Boy Scouts must complete before attaining an Eagle rank.
The project must benefit the community, but the main objective is to demonstrate leadership of others. Fourteen-year-old Nathan McKorkle, of Sammamish Troop 571, had a perfect idea for his project — lead a team to build an accessible raised garden for the residents of Rose House in Issaquah.
“I had a lot of great help. I led mostly younger Boy Scouts, but there was some older ones and some adults, too,” he said. “Even some of the residents’ family helped, too. I had a lot of volunteers and everybody did a really good job.” Read more
Fancy fenders fill Front Street
June 23, 2009
Thousands attend weekend car show
‘Got Wood,’ said the car with the canoe on top. Not only were many of the cars at the event classics, but some had personal touches as well.
Student filmmakers host their own Oscars night
June 23, 2009
Seventh-grader Jaden Mongauzy acknowledges the crowd as teammates Michael Butler, left, and Tanner Laine accept the award for best use of sound effects at the BLMS Oscars night. By Christopher Huber
For his age, Beaver Lake Middle School eighth-grader Cody Hatfield is good at making movies. He and his friends often make videos for fun and post them on YouTube.
But Hatfield also has a knack for acting, directing and editing movies in teacher David Clymer’s Advanced Video class.
He won the Steven Spielberg Award June 10 at the second annual BLMS Oscars night.
“I thought it was pretty cool,” Hatfield said. “Everyone told me that they thought I should win it.”
The award went to Hatfield because as a director and editor, he demonstrated skills that went above and beyond what Clymer taught in class. The Steven Spielberg Award was one of 13 categories highlighted at the event in the school library. About 25 students gathered with friends and family members to view the year’s best productions from all four production groups.
“I was pleased with it. It really represented just the overall breadth and creativity they put into all their productions this year,” Clymer said after the event. “It’s really fun to see what comes out of the favorite ones. It’s not always what you think it’s going to be.” Read more
Radio club set to have a field day
June 23, 2009
On June 27, the Issaquah Amateur Radio Club operators will work to set up field radio communication stations, get on the air and try to contact other operators in the U.S. and Canada as part of the American Radio Relay League’s annual Field Day. Read more
Giving girl scouts
June 23, 2009
Brownie Girl Scouts from Troop 42719 recently donated several children’s birthday kits, including cake pan, cake mix, frosting, candles, plates, napkins and invitations, to the Issaquah Food Bank. The Scouts assembled the kits from items they collected while earning the Manners Try-It Badge. The girls, who attend Cougar Ridge Elementary School and Puesta del Sol, are (top row, from left) Lauren Ponte, Makayla Dixon, Eliza Badiozamani, Ally Salvador and Stephanie DeMarco; (bottom row, from left) are Hannah Smith, Audrey Jacobson, Hanna Zakharenko and Samantha DeMarco. Not pictured is Alyson a.
Congrats, Tiger Mountain class of 2009
June 16, 2009
The graduation ceremony was a small, personalized event where each graduPhoto By Adam Eschbachate received praise from staff members.
Tiger Mountain Community High School celebrated 23 students successfully earning their diplomas June 11 on the school grounds. Read more
Dare to go bare in skinny-dip record attempt
June 16, 2009
A nudist park south of Issaquah is participating in a national skinny-dip record attempt next month and you can join in. Read more
