Bailey and Banjo inspire pet photographer to help fight against canine cancer
February 7, 2012
Julie Clegg embraces the pets, Bailey and Banjo, that inspired her photography business. Contributed
Speak with Issaquah’s Julie Clegg for even a short amount of time and one or two things become very clear.
She loves her family and her dogs. In fact, her two yellow Labradors — Bailey, age 7, and Banjo, 5 — clearly have center stage in her life.
“The connection is as strong as family,” Clegg said of the relationship between dogs and owners.
A few years ago, Clegg said she couldn’t help but take notice when the dogs of a few of her friends died from canine cancer. According to Clegg, there are two types of living beings that just should never have to suffer through cancer: children and dogs.
Pastor finds inspiration in unlikely place
February 7, 2012
Tale of forgiveness inspires message of peace, healing in wake of Rwandan genocide
With some photos from his several trips to Rwanda on the wall behind him, Pastor Larry Thomas said he has become very attached to that country and its people. By Tom Corrigan
The message is one of reconciliation and forgiveness, symbolized by a photo on the wall of Larry Thomas’ office in Issaquah’s Our Savior Lutheran Church.
The church’s lead pastor, Thomas has been involved with the Seattle-based Rwanda Partners for five years. He serves on the group’s board of directors and was chairman for three years.
That photo on his wall is of two men, Narcisse Ruhangintwari and Pascal Niyomugabo. During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Ruhangintwari murdered the other man’s wife and unborn child along with other members of Niyomugabo’s family. After Ruhangintwari was released from prison, Niyomugabo went to visit him. The latter man wanted the other to know he already had been forgiven. According to Thomas, the men are now the best of friends.
Join discussion on future of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery dam
February 7, 2012
The public is invited to attend a free presentation, “It’s Time to Replace the Issaquah Hatchery Dam,” by Cleve Steward, senior fisheries scientist with AMEC Earth & Environmental Inc., and Kerry Ritland, surface water manager with the city of Issaquah.
The Feb. 15 talk will focus on plans to replace the existing dam and fish ladder that lies across Issaquah Creek upstream of the hatchery. The slide presentation will show schematics and diagrams of the proposed replacement for the dam and provide information about the effects the dam has on salmon recovery.
Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery presents this talk as the second in its quarterly educational seminar series focused on the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, salmon culture and environmental stewardship. The talk is open to the public and will take place in the Watershed Science Center, on the south side of the hatchery grounds along Newport Way. It begins at 6:30 p.m.
Churches’ men’s clothing drive runs through Feb. 26
February 7, 2012
Seattle area streets serve as home to a population of roughly 8,900, according to Jim Rockstad, of Issaquah Christian Church.
Of that total, an estimated 80 percent are men, he said. At the same time, however, about 80 percent of the clothing donated for the homeless is for women and children.
“There is a real need for warm men’s clothing,” Rockstad said.
For the third year in a row, Rockstad is helping organize a winter men’s clothing drive benefiting Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission and the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank.
Issaquah native Melanie, makeup maven, leaves mark on fashion, commercials and silver screen
January 31, 2012
Makeup artist Melanie (left), of Issaquah, prepares a model for a recent shoot. At top is a model after her complete transformation by Melanie. Contributed
Imagine a job where you are flown to New York one day, Milan the next and then are out on a boat, performing a job you love, knowing your work will be seen my millions of people.
That description fits Issaquah resident and internationally known makeup artist Melanie.
“I started going by one name 15 years ago,” Melanie said. “It differentiated me from the start, and that’s what I needed in a town full of thousands of other hair and makeup professionals.”
Since she began her career 20 years ago, Melanie has worked on more than 30 films, hundreds of commercials and thousands of print ads. Though it sounds like glamour and first-class tickets, her career is filled with long days away from home, many times in uncomfortable circumstances.
On one commercial set, she had to create the face of the Ivar’s sea captain, working on his beard, hair and makeup, all the while on a boat that was rocking to and fro. For a major motion picture, she and her crew had to arrive at 3 in the morning every day for several months as she delicately glued hair and makeup to the main actors.
Newcastle mom wins IKEA’s Stuff the Bug contest
January 31, 2012
The Seattle IKEA yellow Volkswagen Bug is filled with soft toys to promote its annual campaign. Contributed
There is no such thing as a free lunch, but Newcastle resident Angela Weber often attends IKEA’s free Monday morning breakfasts with a group of friends.
That’s how she found out about the Stuff the Bug Contest.
But on one trip in particular, it paid off big.
“I thought it was really fun to see a VW bug stuffed with toys,” she said.
The yellow classic Beetle was stuffed with soft toys to promote IKEA’s Soft Toys for Education campaign.
IKEA held its annual Soft Toys for Education campaign from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24. Since 2003, the IKEA Soft Toy campaign has donated $47.5 million to UNICEF and Save the Children — a contribution that has provided access to education to about 8 million children in nearly 40 countries.
For every colorful soft toy purchased at stores throughout the U.S. during the contest, IKEA donated $1.30, or the equivalent of one Euro, to UNICEF and Save the Children’s global projects designed to improve children’s education.
REI employee braves sub-zero temps for a good cause
January 31, 2012
Linsey Warren, an Issaquah resident and avid outdoorswoman, with the Olympic Mountains behind her in a view from Issaquah Highlands, plans a trek through Quebec in February to raise money for the oncology department at St. Jerome’s Hospital near Montreal. By Greg Farrar
There’s a reason Linsey Warren works at the Issaquah REI store.
“I grew up in the outdoors and I’ve always liked the idea of a challenge,” she said.
Now, Warren’s taking her love of the outdoors and adventure and using it for a good cause.
This month, Warren and two others will race Ski-Doos in the province of Quebec. The expedition will raise money for the oncology department at St. Jerome’s Hospital, located just outside Montreal.
The trek begins at the Inuit village of Puvirnituq and proceeds north toward the villages of Akulivik and Ivujivik, on the northern tip of the province in the arctic region of Nunavik. The group expects to cover several hundred miles during the journey.
Craig Ross, a first aid instructor at the Nunavik Arctic Survival Training Center, created the project.
Ross has a personal connection to the cause. His wife received successful treatment at the hospital when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“He wanted to take everything that he knows about the north and everything that the hospital was doing to fight for his wife, and combine it into one dream,” Warren said.
Community invited to enjoy love of fiddling
January 24, 2012
From left, Tami Curtis, and Ken and Martha Neville from the Rovin’ Fiddlers play at the Railroad Depot in June 2009. Contributed
Fiddle music is filling the air in Issaquah and beyond. Two locally based bands aim to bring joy to the public through fiddle music.
Rovin’ Fiddlers was formed in the summer of 2008 and consists of six to eight regular members, ages ranging from 40s to 60s. Besides performing at senior centers, retirement homes and the farmers market in Issaquah, they also rove around the greater Seattle area.
“Our group was originally called the Firehouse Fiddlers … but we changed it because we move around the local area to perform,” said Ken Neville, the group’s coordinator, who has lived in Issaquah since 1972.
Other regular band members include Ken’s wife, Martha, Tami Curtis and David Edfeldt, all of Issaquah.
Huntington Learning Center helps celebrate Catholic Schools Week
January 24, 2012
The Issaquah Huntington Learning Center is supporting the 39th annual Catholic Schools Week 2012 from Jan. 29 through Feb. 5.
“America’s youth are shaped by their education, and Huntington is pleased to join the Catholic schools in the state in giving elementary and secondary students the best education possible,” said Brian Riddick, of Huntington Learning Center of Issaquah. “We applaud all schools that uphold high educational standards and integrate values-based teaching into their curricula.”
The 2012 theme of Catholic Schools Week is “Catholic Schools: Faith, Academics, Service,” which highlights the three distinctions of Catholic schools.
“Huntington Learning Center is a part of many communities across our nation, and we recognize that Catholic schools play an important role in our educational system,” Riddick said. “We’re proud to partner with Catholic and other schools of excellence to help students reach their potential and give them the foundation to become good citizens.”
Huntington supports a variety of national events focused on education, including Read Across America, Math Awareness Month and American Education Week.
Learn more by calling 391-0348.
Donate sweaters to neighbors in need at PCC Natural Market
January 24, 2012
The spirit of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” has come to Issaquah and the Puget Sound region during a sweater drive for neighbors in need.
PCC Natural Markets and KCTS 9 teamed up for the annual Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive to collect thousands of sweaters for local nonprofit organizations.
The greatest need is for children’s items, but the drive accepts all new and gently used adult and children’s sweaters and coats. Find collection bins at PCC Natural Markets and the KCTS 9 lobby through Feb. 12.
Donors can drop off sweaters and coats at the Issaquah store, 1810 12th Ave. N.W., or other locations.
The sweaters go to Wellspring Family Services, a group formed to help families achieve self-sufficiency.
Donors dropped off more than 6,000 coats and sweaters during the 2011 drive.
The drive is a takeoff on Fred Rogers and the cardigan he donned at the start of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” episodes. The famed red cardigan is enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution.
