70 and still going strong
December 1, 2008
Squak Mountain resident walks round trip to community center for workout
Margaret Van De Sompele and her husband, René, usually walk the track together for their three-times-a-week workout at the Issaquah Community Center. Photo by David Hayes
For her 70th birthday, Margaret Van De Sompele decided to do something a little different.
The longtime Issaquah resident already amazes her friend and neighbor, Kathy Walsh, with her exercise routine. For the past eight years, three times a week, she has walked to and from her home on Squak Mountain to the community center to work out for 30 minutes, about a three and a half-mile round trip.
“She is in such good shape for somebody her age,” said the 51-year-old Walsh. “I hope I’m in that good of shape when I’m 70.”
On Nov. 26, Van De Sompele eschewed the weight machines and took to the center’s second-floor track, completing one lap for each of her years. According to the center’s staff, 11 times around equals one mile.
“I figure it was about six and a quarter miles, maybe like doing a 10K,” Van De Sompele said. “I used to do a lot of 10Ks. But that’s been some years.”
Society didn’t have many competitive sports for girls when she attended high school, so Van De Sompele got most of her exercise walking.
“I walked to and from school my whole life. It was just a natural thing to do,” she said.
Van De Sompele has led a healthy lifestyle ever since she and her husband, René, moved to Issaquah in 1963. They’ve enjoyed many of the outdoor activities for which the Pacific Northwest is renowned, especially hiking, backpacking and camping.
In fact, in 2001, the couple hiked the Northern Loop Trail at Mount Rainier, a tidy distance of 33 miles. However, Van De Sompele was slowed in 2003 by corrective back surgery for scoliosis. Since, she’s lived with two metal rods running the length of her spine, “from the T2 to the L5,” she said.
“Exercise really helps with my back,” she added.
Where they used to make frequent trips to hike the mountain’s trails, they only made it once this year.
So, the next best thing is her thrice-weekly treks down Squak Mountain and back.
“I just like being outside better,” she said. “I just do the weights in the middle for variety.”
She usually heads to the gym at 6 a.m., when there’s mostly older members working out.
“Most of them do fantastic things,” she said, deflecting her own accomplishments.
On her birthday trek, René kept pace for a while, clicking off the laps, before falling out at 50.
“She is the more fit between us,” the 73-year-old admitted. “I can’t keep up with her.”
When Van De Sompele is not working out, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her 6 1/2-year-old granddaughter. But her week revolves around her walks.
“I encourage everyone to get out and walk,” she said, proving that following her own advice keeps her looking younger than her age. “Doing things helps keep a person moving.”
Reach Reporter David Hayes at 392-6434, ext. 237, or dhayes@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.issaquahpress.com.
Santa greets all at Preston firefighter open house
December 1, 2008
Santa, his reindeer and a magical sleigh are all part of Eastside Fire & Rescue’s Station 74 annual free holiday open house.
Raelynn Fleisher tells Santa (Earle Soderman) what she wants for Christmas. By Ryan Fleisher
The event Sunday, Dec. 7, in Preston, has been an annual happening since the 1950s.
Michelle Overholt, who’s been the event planner for more than a decade, said the open house is a great way for the community to come and get to know their local fire department officials.
“The community can come and meet us all under nice circumstances at this event,” she said.
Along with meeting fire department employees, adults and children alike can check out the fire engines and fire equipment, as well as enjoy cookies and juice. Children will also receive candy bags as gifts. Read more
Holiday open house needs volunteers
December 1, 2008
Celebrate the holidays with the Issaquah History Museums at its annual holiday open house. Festivities include a handmade craft fair, a children’s craft table, holiday refreshments and a visit from Santa Claus. Read more
Highlands festival has global goal
December 1, 2008
The Issaquah Highlands Christmas Festival will not only celebrate the season, but seeks to raise funds for some international causes.
I-Camp offers technology fun for kids during holidays
December 1, 2008
Edara Daum (from left), Treehouse Community Outreach Coordinator Celene Mielcarek, Gabby Mendoza and Sydney Weber pose with several large bags of gently used and new children’s clothes that members of Issaquah Girl Scout Troop 121 recently delivered to Treehouse, an agency committed to improving the lives of children living in foster care. Learn more about Treehouse at www.treehouseforkids.org. Contributed
The city Parks and Recreation Department is partnering again with Children’s Technology Workshop to hold its second i-Camp on Dec. 29-31.
CTWorkshop is a global company that joins with community organizations around the world to give children in local areas the opportunity to attend the camps. During i-Camp, children use a wide variety of technology to explore, create and invent new things.
Children ages 8-14 can design robots, video games, animation, digital video and digital art while attending i-Camp.
Parks and Recreation Coordinator Cathy Jones said she’s very happy to be partnering with workshop staff to make i-Camp possible in Issaquah.
“As a recreational coordinator, I strive to offer a variety of programs that will attract all types of kids with many different interests,” she said, adding that she believes i-Camp is a great opportunity for children to boost their self-esteem, and to promote science and technology for girls. Read more
Sammamish man launches nonprofit to aid Washington’s starving children
December 1, 2008
Eirik Olsen is the kind of person who takes action. So, when he realized the vast numbers of hungry
Eirik Olsen, through his Feed Washington program, is using small donations to make big progress in feeding hungry children. Contributed
children in Washington state, he didn’t just make a donation; he started a nonprofit organization to help get money to the right people.
Getting food into the bellies of poor children, he said, is a goal within reach.
“We don’t have to cure anything. We don’t have to do research. We just have to get the money out there,” he said.
Olsen’s charity, Feed Washington, strives to do just that. Those who know Olsen said they are not surprised at what he did.
“Instead of just donating, he came up with an idea,” said Dan Brown, a friend who has known Olsen for 19 years. “He’s the guy that makes it happen.” Read more
Video games come to life with new program Sword Fit
December 1, 2008
William Johns, Sword Fit founder, carefully watches the students’ techniques during a class designed to bring their video game fantasies to life through physical fitness and safety. Photo by Chantelle Lusebrink
Jedi light sabers and swashbuckling adventures in the Caribbean are just one of many things keeping children inside and glued to the television.
But how do you get your child off the couch, detached from the controller and back to reality? Bring the fantasy to life, according to William Johns, a certified instructor and master of sword and martial arts.
His new program, Sword Fit, brings the excitement of sword fighting into reality and gets children moving.
After seeing increasing obesity rates among children in the news, on television and in his classrooms, Johns, a former New York state public school teacher, started the program when he moved to Issaquah.
“I was tired of seeing kids out of shape,” he said. “So, I started a nonprofit designed to increase their physical fitness in a fun way that they understood.” Read more
Patriots select their prince
November 25, 2008
Liberty High School juniors honor classmate with Down syndrome at homecoming
Breanne Faehnrich and Kevin McCarthy are recognized as homecoming royalty for the junior class at Liberty High School. By Mackenzie Maynes
Kevin McCarthy is a prince of a young man. Last month, his Liberty High School classmates elected him homecoming royalty for the junior class.
McCarthy, who lives in the China Creek neighborhood of Newcastle, outpolled two classmates to earn the title of homecoming prince. At Liberty, the senior class picks the homecoming king and queen among fellow seniors, while the junior class selects a prince and princess.
McCarthy was nominated a week earlier and he felt he had a good shot at wearing the crown. The 17-year-old special-needs student with Down syndrome captured the hearts of his fellow students with his positive attitude and unwavering kindness. Read more
Zoo’s holiday festival features live reindeer
November 25, 2008
Santa stands on the porch of his home-away-from-North Pole home at Cougar Mountain Zoo, overlooking the reindeer yard. By Greg Farrar
Santa’s reindeer look forward to December all year long, and not just Christmas night. The reindeer have been logging extra flying sessions to make sure they are ready for the big night. For the first three weeks in December, they’ll be holding court at the Cougar Mountain Zoo’s 20th annual Reindeer Festival.
“The reindeer do enjoy this time of year, since they get apples every day and they love apples,” said Robyn Barfoot, general curator at the zoo. Read more
Basking in Bolivia
November 25, 2008
Issaquah man longs to return to South American country after Peace Corps mission is cut short
Members of the Sartañani Cultural Center, whose mission is to give voice to the indigenous cultural and language groups within Bolivia. Instruments shown are the zampoña (panpipes) and huanca (skin drum). By Sartañani Cultural Center.
Daniel Burnett arrived home in Issaquah in August planning to take a short break from his service in the Peace Corps.
But political destabilization in Bolivia forced many U.S. citizens and the U.S. Embassy to leave the country, a place Burnett called home for nearly two years.
“I would have packed up everything, especially my photos and my instruments, and took them with me, but I was supposed to go back,” he said.
A strange beginning
Burnett arrived in the small town of Quillacas in Oruro, about 400 miles from Le Paz, the country’s capital, in August 2006, after joining the Peace Corps as a way to use his Spanish degree.
He had graduated that spring with bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and music, and a minor in philosophy, from Wheaton College in Chicago.
“I have a curiosity to get to know the rest of the world. Plus, I was a college kid without any money and I had a desire to help people,” he said.
“This was the logical conclusion to his Latino studies emphasis,” said Don Burnett, Daniel’s father and pastor at Evergreen Community Church in Maple Hills. “It was a chance to become 100 percent proficient with the language, but also a chance to expand the Christian service side of himself.”
Daniel Burnett arrived to find the town in the throes of celebration.
“The square was full of people dancing and dressed in their traditional get-up,” he said. “There were bands playing and I was shaking hands with everyone. Some were more sober than others. The mayor wasn’t.”
The town of 400 permanent residents had more than 2,000 people celebrating its fall fiesta. Many had come for the occasion from larger cities where they hold permanent jobs.
After days of celebration, Burnett said he realized preparations for his arrival — housing, work and contacts — hadn’t been made.
“You’re completely on your own,” he said. “The people down there didn’t even know what was up.”
Getting to work
He made the most of his first few weeks, trying to talk to people and waiting for a family to give him shelter so he could begin his work.
“We basically do a diagnosis of what is the biggest need or what support they need and what type of funding is required,” he said.
The Guarachi family took him in and he was able to build his first project — a functioning, sanitary bathroom for the family.
He then helped to create fresh water wells and helped start other village sanitation projects.
“The biggest need is sanitation,” he said. “There is none. People go to the edge of town and that’s it. The illnesses they have are contributed mostly to the lack of sanitation, and most infant deaths are a result of diarrhea.”
He helped promote use of a newly built health clinic, which people were wary of; went to local schools promoting the English language; edited a magazine, which educated people about the area; and helped his host family by helping raise then slaughter llamas for food or cooking for family functions.
“He applied his faith and learning in a concrete setting,” Don Burnett said. “He really ended up doing much more than creating bathrooms and digging wells. He did a lot of community building through music, education and journalism.”
But while he was in the mountains conducting his work, the lowland regions of the country were becoming more restless as the government tried to nationalize privately owned resources, he said.
“It is a volatile country, but he was held together by the safety net of people that knew him and his work,” he said. “When we visited him, they had adopted him as a part of their community.”
Developing understanding, friendships
Though the work was important, friendships and people Daniel Burnett met gave his work meaning.
“I’ve never seen kinder people,” he said. “When you made an effort, they’d make an effort. But if you were withdrawn, you’d let the language barriers become a big problem.”
He said he spent much of his time visiting and speaking with people about cultural perceptions, current events and politics.
“They are real curious about politics and they want to know about Bin Laden, what was in our news and about President Bush, too,” he said. “They have an image of all our military power, our wars and our aggression. I wanted to show them something else, another side of America.”
He said his work determined how people perceived him.
“It’s about going beyond politics, making that human connection,” he said. “What we are doing speaks louder then our politics. The fact that we are there, helping them and with them, gives them a different understanding.”
He said he misses his discussions, the family he had become part of and his favorite meals.
“There’s nothing like fresh roasted llama in the field,” he said.
A new future
Since returning home, Burnett has been busy filling out job applications and interviewing.
“I’m trying to get hired with a company, save money and then I’m looking to go to graduate school,” he said.
If he had returned to Bolivia, he had planned to start a grant-writing process to secure funding for greenhouse gardens, to help residents grow crops and better understand nutrition and health.
He said he still hopes to return someday.
“I’d love to get involved with a business that imports and exports machinery from the U.S. to there,” he said. “Long term, it could mean a big improvement in their standard of living.”
Reach Reporter Chantelle Lusebrink at 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com.
