The rough outlines resemble doodles more than a far-fetched blueprint, and the instructions on the page defy explanation.

Ronald Ficker

In hand-scrawled notes about a manmade island scattered among the sketches, the creator urges, “Start building Atlantis.”

The creator later stuffed the notes, sketches and more than $23,000 in Swiss francs into a safe deposit box at the Bank of America branch in Issaquah.

The stack of documents contained instructions for the reader.

“If I get hurt, must take this to police.”

The sentence outlined the future. The man behind the notes, Ronald W. Ficker, 51, died in a police shootout on the Clark Elementary School campus Sept. 24.

Police uncovered the locked safe deposit box in the subsequent investigation.

The documents and other materials from the investigation, obtained from King County authorities through a public records request, offer a glimpse at the days before Ficker abandoned a rental car at a downtown Issaquah intersection and set off for school campuses.

The information presents a man detached from reality in the days before the shootout, a paranoid loner accosting store employees and ranting to police about a device to save the planet. The man presented in the documents is also hardworking and polite, but also socially awkward and quiet. The information shows a dutiful son and a handyman interested in a real estate career.

Ficker is again the focus as King County prosecutors prepare for the inquest into Issaquah police officers’ actions amid the shootout. The inquest, or fact-finding hearing, into the incident is scheduled to start May 21.

A late-night visit

Clues to possible turmoil started not long before the shootout.

Ficker traveled to Concrete in rural Skagit County — 111 miles from his home in rural Maple Valley — to visit his parents about a week before the incident. Ficker’s father later told police his son seemed “disturbed” during the visit.

Ficker’s sister said her brother held a long distrust of government, although family members, friends and tenants considered him to be more quirky than threatening.

Ficker arrived at his elderly parents’ home after 10 p.m. as they prepared for bed, Ficker’s sister later told police. He immediately told them they needed to go to Washington, D.C., because the world was going to end.

Ficker’s sister said their parents listened calmly as he asked for $200 to invest for his parents. Ficker’s father gave him the money, but as he prepared to leave after about 20 minutes, he returned the money and said did not need the money and just wanted to see if his parents believed him, his sister told police.

He then said he needed to go to Wenatchee to tell his brothers and, although his parents asked him to stay the night, he left, his sister told police. Before departing, he asked his parents to withdraw their money from banks.

Ficker acted “as normal as can be” during a phone conversation the next day. He had not traveled to Wenatchee as he said he planned to do the night before.

Ficker’s parents also called his sister and told her they wanted family members to keep in better contact with him.

His family attributed the actions to a lifelong pattern of offbeat behavior and did not believe Ficker posed a threat to anybody. Ficker did not have a record in the FBI’s criminal database or a record of involuntary commitment in King County.

Ficker’s father later told police his son “has some weird ideas” and preferred to remain “very private.”

A complicated man

Ficker’s sister described her brother to police as “socially awkward” but also “very calm, very sweet.” She told police she remembered her brother as the reserved one in a family of outgoing personalities. He was kind to children in the family, and made a point to remember them on their birthdays and Christmas.

Ficker was shy around women, she told police, but was married for a time to a woman from Colombia. His ex-wife relocated to Atlanta after their divorce, and they became Facebook friends not long before he died.

Frugality defined Ficker from childhood. When he and his siblings were children, he saved his money and then charged his siblings exorbitant interest rates to borrow money from him. Later, in adulthood, he maintained the same thrifty habits and disliked borrowing money.

Former employers described Ficker — a former heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration technician — as hardworking and respectful. Later, he obtained a real estate license and managed his home as a rental property.

Transcripts show Ficker was a good student at Renton Technical College. He attended courses from July 2006 to June 2007 to be a certified office professional executive assistant.

But Ficker displayed unusual behavior to police and others in the last days of his life.

The initial interaction between him and Issaquah police occurred during a late-night visit to Issaquah City Hall.

Just before midnight Sept. 15, Ficker stopped there and asked for assistance from a police officer. He carried a handgun, and told the responding officer a strange tale about being chased and saving the planet.

Ficker did nothing against the law, and surrendered the handgun after officers asked for the weapon. He asked for police to file a report in case the devil or demons caught up with him.

He had a familiarity with guns since childhood, and owned several firearms.

The last days

Though he asked his parents to withdraw their money from banks, Ficker engaged in a strange series of financial moves. He headed to a Bank of America branch in Issaquah days before the shooting to purchase Swiss francs and Canadian dollars.

In mid-September, Ficker entered the Tukwila Costco and told a store employee in the electronics area he wanted “the best of everything.” When the employee asked for specifics, Ficker insulted her and used sexist language. Later, a manager helped Ficker load up $7,000 in electronics — TVs, videogame consoles, Blu-Ray players and more. Ficker only had $3,000 in cash for the haul, so the store placed the items on hold.

Ficker said he intended to come back later and pay for the items, but he did not return in a timely manner.

On Sept. 19, Ficker returned to the store and attempted to purchase more than $8,000 in electronics, but carried only $4,000. He left the money at the store and set out to get more money, but when he did not return, the manager placed the money in the store safe.

(Ficker was a Costco member in good standing since the late 1990s.)

Ficker finally returned to the store Sept. 23 and caused a minor scene. The on-duty manager did not know about his earlier visits, and Ficker had to be escorted from the store. He returned later in the afternoon to retrieve the cash he left behind during the Sept. 19 visit, and purchased and activated a cellphone at a kiosk in the warehouse.

Ficker identified himself to a phone kiosk employee as a commander in the Air Force space program and told him to “watch the news.”

The same day, in the late morning or early afternoon, Ficker rented a silver Kia Forte sedan with California license plates at the Budget counter at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (The car closely resembled Ficker’s silver Hyundai Accent.)

Unanswered questions

Ficker told the Budget employee he did not know he long he might need the vehicle, but told the employee he intended to see Mayan ruins in Central America. He also referred to himself as “commander of the Army” in chitchat with the Budget employee.

In the next 24 hours, Ficker put about 450 miles on the vehicle traveling to military surplus and camping supply stores in King and Pierce counties, and British Columbia.

Issaquah police encountered Ficker again at 9:39 a.m. Sept. 24, alongside the stalled Kia on Interstate 90 near the exit for downtown and the Issaquah Highlands. Police came upon the rented sedan parked unoccupied along the interstate. Ficker, carrying a gas can, approached the vehicle as a police officer examined the car.

The car ran out of gas again just after 11 a.m. heading toward downtown on Front Street South just before Newport Way Southwest near the Julius Boehm Pool. Then, he abandoned the vehicle and set off to Clark Elementary, toting rifles and ammunition.

Ficker layered in a jacket, a long-sleeved thermal shirt, long underwear, a long-sleeved T-shirt, cargo pants and a belt even as the temperature notched into the 70s. The sales tag still dangled from the Old Navy jacket — $59.94.

Investigators later recovered 952 rounds of ammunition — mostly light and small ammunition for .22-caliber firearms — on Ficker’s body and stashed in the pockets of his cargo pants. Investigators also discovered $4,000 in cash on his body.

Ficker’s brother told police Ficker became depressed and withdrew from people in the months before the incident. Then, a week before the shootout, Ficker seemed confused. Ficker’s brother said he believed his brother committed suicide in the police shootout.

Police encountered Ficker on the Clark Elementary campus at 11:38 a.m., after a caller said he attempted to break into a driver’s education car. Then, after several minutes of shooting, the campus fell silent.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Andrew Rekdahl

Issaquah School District and Eastside Catholic High School officials sought to reassure parents and students May 11 after federal agents arrested a substitute bus driver for the Issaquah district and former Eastside Catholic teacher for possession of child pornography.

Andrew Bernard Rekdahl, 29, faces child pornography charges after federal prosecutors said the Carnation resident shared explicit images and videos of boys online from his home computer.

Department of Homeland Security agents arrested Rekdahl at a school district facility May 10 after a monthslong sting operation.

Federal prosecutors charged him with one count each of possession and distribution of child pornography. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison.

Rekdahl served as a substitute bus driver for more than a dozen routes throughout the school district between Nov. 14 and May 10 and as a science teacher at Eastside Catholic in Sammamish from 2005 to June 2010.

Officials at the school district and the parochial school said no complaints occurred against Rekdahl at either organization.

“This is obviously a very serious charge, and our first priority is making sure that he acted as a professional at all times while driving for us,” Issaquah School District Superintendent Steve Rasmussen said in a message to parents.

Rekdahl served as a substitute teacher at Eastside Catholic once after he lost his job due to budget cuts.

“Eastside Catholic is not presently, nor has it ever been, aware of any concerns regarding Mr. Rekdahl’s conduct during his association with our school,” Sister Mary Tracy, Eastside Catholic president, said in a message to parents.

Rekdahl was a well-liked teacher at Eastside Catholic. In 2010, students and parents raised more than $17,000 to support him as he underwent treatment for aggressive duodenal carcinoma, or cancer of the small intestine.

In a customary procedure for bus drivers, school district officials cleared Rekdahl through mandatory state and federal background checks before he started driving in November. Both background checks accurately indicated a clean record.

Federal agents told school district officials no evidence exists to indicate any inappropriate or illegal activities occurred as Rekdahl worked for the district.

Following the arrest, school district administrators immediately stopped employing him with future substitute assignments.

The district is also investigating footage of him driving on bus routes. Officials confirmed he never activated or used his employee email account.

In May 2011, a federal agent created an undercover account on a peer-to-peer file-sharing website to target users sharing child pornography.

In January, the agent noticed a user named Hboyandy sharing explicit videos through the file-sharing website. Then, using a publicly available software program, the agent identified the IP address of Rekdahl’s computer.

The next day, the agent requested information from Comcast for the subscriber information attached to the IP address.

In April, Hboyandy again made explicit images and videos available for sharing through the file-sharing website.

The agent then obtained Rekdahl’s driver’s license photo from the state Department of Licensing and matched the photo against Rekdahl’s Facebook page.

In early May, the agent conducted surveillance on Rekdahl’s residence in Carnation and checked to see if somebody else shared the files through an unsecured Wi-Fi network attached to Rekdahl’s IP address. The only unsecured account near the home came from the nearby Carnation Library.

On May 9, the agent obtained a search warrant, and the next day, federal agents and Duvall-Carnation police officers searched the home and located multiple digital media storage devices. Rekdahl was not at home during the search, and agents entered the residence through the unlocked front door.

Investigators searched a laptop computer at the scene and discovered 194 files of child pornography.

Following the search, agents interviewed Rekdahl at a school district facility in Issaquah. During questioning, he admitted to sharing child pornography online. Agents arrested him at about 10:30 a.m.

The next day, as the school district and Eastside Catholic faced questions about the arrest, administrators used the Internet to share information and address parents’ concerns.

“We also believe it important to highlight on this sad occasion that Eastside Catholic maintains strong policies to address any inappropriate conduct by our staff,” Tracy said. “This is consistent with our unwavering commitment to the safety of our students and community as well as long-standing resolve to fulfill our Catholic educational mission.”

The school district posted a list of Rekdahl’s bus routes. The substitute bus driver covered routes throughout the district, serving elementary, middle and high schools.

The district stretches from Preston to Newcastle, and from Sammamish to Renton, and includes 107 school bus routes.

The district employs 24 substitute bus drivers, but only 10 are available every day at all times of day. The others are available sporadically throughout the month. District officials did not specify Rekdahl’s availability, citing personnel privacy policies.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Days later, in early October, King County Sheriff’s Office investigators raided the house and discovered 62 Chihuahuas and Japanese Chins confined in filthy carriers.

On May 3, King County prosecutors filed animal-cruelty charges against the homeowner, a dog breeder and a past judge for the American Kennel Club, a prestigious registry of purebred dogs. Prosecutors said Issaquah resident Margaret Ann Hamilton, 70, hoarded more than 100 dogs at homes in Issaquah and Burien.

Detective John K. Pavlovich said Hamilton and her since-deceased husband hoarded the animals at a home in the 5900 block of 189th Avenue Southeast on Cougar Mountain, about a mile south of Cougar Mountain Zoo.

Hamilton is due in King County Superior Court for arraignment May 17 on two counts of second-degree animal cruelty, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and up to 90 days in jail.

Investigators, alongside Burien and Regional Animal Services of King County animal control officers, raided the Issaquah and Burien homes after receiving a tip from Pasado’s Safe Haven, a nonprofit animal rescue organization in Seattle.

Police discovered 38 more dogs at a Burien home owned by Hamilton’s brother-in-law.

Investigators “noted and documented the overpowering stench of urine, feces, decay and dirt,” Pavlovich told the court. “It was so bad that protective face masks were necessary. Several detectives and RASKC officers reported that they were ill for several days after the service of the warrant.”

Veterinarians later euthanized 14 ill animals — 13 dogs from the Burien home and one dog from the Issaquah home. Officers later placed many dogs seized from the homes with CARES of Burien, a nonprofit animal-rescue organization.

In mid-September, a caller alerted Pasado’s Safe Haven employees about dog hoarding and dirty, malnourished animals at the Burien home, court documents state.

Pasado’s Safe Haven employees illegally entered the home through an unlocked back door Sept. 27. In the basement, they discovered 30 to 40 small dogs locked in small carriers. The employees said paper covered the basement windows and no light reached the basement.

The employees shot a short video to capture the deplorable conditions in the basement. Pasado’s Safe Haven later provided footage to law enforcement officers showing Chihuahua, Pomeranian and Japanese Chin dogs. The video showed dogs in rusty, feces- and urine-soiled cages.

“Most of the dogs had no food or water in the crate, many displayed what they described as ‘neurotic’ behavior, such as circling repeatedly in the small crates,” Pavlovich continued.

The employees traveled to the Issaquah home Sept. 30. They later told police they smelled “a strong odor of feces” and “they could hear multiple dogs barking from inside the residence.”

Pasado’s Safe Haven then alerted the sheriff’s office to possible animal cruelty at the homes.

Police and animal control officers received a warrant and descended on the Burien house at about 6:15 p.m. Oct. 6.

The law enforcement team discovered Hamilton’s 72-year-old husband and 74-year-old brother-in-law in the basement.

“They appeared to be in the process of moving some of the dogs from crates into a dog run,” court documents state.

Officers conducted triage at the scene to determine the dogs’ conditions and need for medical care.

“The majority of the dogs had either no food or water. Several had a significant amount of feces and urine in their individual crates, indicating neglect,” Pavlovich continued. “All of the dogs had significant issues with their teeth, feet and nails based on unsanitary living conditions.”

Later, a veterinarian at a Seattle clinic euthanized 13 dogs suffering from malnourishment, heart murmurs and advanced periodontal disease.

Just after 11 p.m. Oct. 6, police and animal control officers reached the Issaquah home. Officers discovered 62 dogs in filthy crates covered in accumulated dust, dirt and dog hair.

“The Hamilton home displayed physical signs of classic hoarding; debris, clothes and household items were stacked from floor to ceiling in every room in the house, and in the main bedroom, clutter was everywhere, with pathways only wide enough to move in and out.”

Pavlovich said the Hamiltons purchased or bred the animals as show dogs. (Hamilton’s husband died in late October from natural causes.)

Police said Hamilton put four Chihuahuas in a van inside the garage. She intended to show the animals at a dog show in Enumclaw in the days ahead and worried police might seize them.

Of the animals seized at the Issaquah home, a veterinarian at a Bellevue clinic later euthanized a dog suffering from congestive heart failure and periodontal disease.

“Hoarding is likely a factor in what was occurring, as the Hamiltons were clearly unable to part with dogs that they had collected over the years, even after the dogs were past a show or breeding age,” Pavlovich wrote.

Police and animal control officers managed to place the animals into the care of foster families and animal control agencies.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Cheryl Pflug

Questions about long-term funding for a proposed concession and event facility at Lake Sammamish State Park led Gov. Chris Gregoire to eliminate the $3.1 million legislators had set aside for construction.

The long-term plan for the state park included the concession and event facility as a supplement to the aging amenities at the lakeside destination. Officials questioned a plan from the cash-strapped state parks system to pay for the facility.

The governor struck the state park facility from the supplemental capital budget. The document authorized more than $1 billion in public works spending statewide, including a $4 million project to replace a problem-plagued Issaquah Salmon Hatchery dam.

Gregoire signed the supplemental capital budget April 24.

State Sen. Cheryl Pflug, a Maple Valley Republican and the representative for Issaquah, joined other senators to pressure the governor to preserve funding for the state park facility, but also raised questions about long-term funding.

The plan to fund the proposed state park facility included $1 million from long-term bonds. Gregoire vetoed the project due to concerns about the facility not generating enough revenue to cover initial operating costs and bond-related debt.

Pflug said the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission estimated the cost of paying off the bonds at $170,000 per year against $250,000 in projected revenue per year.

“Is the parks commission saying the concession facility would generate $250,000 in new revenue, or is that $250,000 already being derived from current fees, with no allowing for the additional revenue from the concession facility?” she asked in a statement. “We need those answers, and more — like why the projected annual surplus of $80,000 is not adequate. How much overhead is being attributed to this facility?”

Legislators created the Discover Pass, a $30 annual recreation pass, last year to generate revenue for the state parks system and other agencies responsible for state lands.

“We’re in a really tight spot,” commission spokeswoman Virginia Painter said. “We’re depending upon Discover Pass sales to make our budget happen — to make operations continue and so forth — and there’s a question about what kind of horsepower do we have or what kind of capacity do we have to pay a loan like this?”

Pflug raised concerns about revenue from the Discover Pass and other user fees at the state park to pay off the facility.

“That’s my concern, is that the $250,000 is actually existing revenue and they weren’t actually figuring in what the new concession would be, that they were wanting to use the existing revenue to tide them over,” she said in a later interview.

Pflug voted against legislation to create the Discover Pass, but in the 2012 legislative session she cosponsored a measure to make the pass transferable between vehicles. (The transferability legislation later passed and Gregoire signed the measure into law.)

“I’ve been pretty reluctant to see that as a good idea anyway, because it is kind of that last bastion of family activity that doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg,” she said in the interview.

“This isn’t over yet. Our community has contributed a lot of money and labor to building and maintaining recreational enhancements at Lake Sammamish State Park. We also drive a fair amount of revenue in the form of current use fees,” Pflug said in the statement. “The parks commission had better think again if it believes it can thank us for our donation and siphon all the funds off to pay for other facilities.”

Meanwhile, Gregoire approved funding for a project to demolish the aging dam upstream from the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery and add boulder weirs in Issaquah Creek.

The shelf-like apron on the dam blocks adult salmon attempting to migrate upstream to spawn. The fish, marooned on the structure, die in large numbers on the dam each year.

The project, a long-held priority for local and state leaders and environmentalists, could start as soon as next spring.

“This is great timing,” city Surface Water Manager Kerry Ritland said in a statement. “We are just finishing up the design plans now, so the project will be shovel-ready.”

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Should the state parks system operate more like a hospitality industry, a public conservation asset based mostly on grant and tax funding or a system of parks operating as community nonprofit entities? What do people enjoy about their park system? What improvements need to be made?

Citizens can offer answers to the questions as the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission starts a broad public outreach effort. The commission is seeking ideas through email, and in meetings with legislators, stakeholders and in public meetings.

Officials plan to use the input to create a transformation strategy to guide the park system through the next five years and beyond.

Participants at the public meetings can listen as parks staff members present a “state of state parks” report and ask for ideas and comments about three visions for the future. Participants at each meeting can discuss the themes and share ideas.

The meeting closest to Issaquah is scheduled from 7-8:30 p.m. June 6 at the King County Department of Development and Environmental Services office, 900 Oakdale Ave. S.W., Renton.

Find public comments, questions and suggestions received about the future of state parks at www.parks.wa.gov/Beyond2013 as the process proceeds.

Individuals, groups and organizations interested in joining the email list for updates regarding the planning process should email Strategic.Planning@parks.wa.gov.

Jeffrey Roh, of Milton, purchased the right to sell spirits at a liquor store under construction in the Klahanie Shopping Center. By Greg Farrar

The availability of liquor in Issaquah is poised to expand beyond a single storefront in Issaquah next month, as major retailers prepare to add spirits to store shelves and the state completes the process to privatize liquor sales.

Bartell Drugs, Fred Meyer, Front Street Market, Rite Aid, Safeway, Target, QFC, Walgreens and Costco received licenses to sell liquor. (QFC received licenses for the Northwest Gilman Boulevard and Klahanie stores.)

Until the transition to liquor privatization is completed, liquor is available only at a state-run store.

In the meantime, entrepreneurs purchased the rights to apply for a retail spirits license at the state-run liquor store along Northwest Gilman Boulevard and a liquor store under construction in the Klahanie Shopping Center.

State records show the right to the Issaquah store sold to Seattle merchant Leon Capelouto for $251,000. The right to the unfinished Klahanie store sold to Milton entrepreneur Jeffrey Roh for $82,100.

Construction on the Klahanie store started before a statewide liquor privatization initiative passed last year.

Issaquah-based Costco — the largest employer in the city — led the push to pass the measure, Initiative 1183, in November. Statewide, almost 60 percent of voters supported the liquor-privatization measure. I-1183 garnered lopsided support in the Issaquah area.

The measure requires state-run liquor stores to close and for the state to get out of the liquor business. The measure also calls for the state to license private enterprises to sell and distribute hard liquor, set license fees based on sales and regulate licensees.

I-1183 limits hard liquor sales to stores of at least 10,000 square feet. Under the initiative, licensed and qualified businesses can start liquor sales June 1.

The state raised almost $31 million by selling rights to the network of liquor stores statewide. The auction ended in a flurry of bidding April 21, and the Washington State Liquor Control Board awarded rights to 121 bidders.

Successful bidders earned the exclusive right to apply for a liquor license at the current state store location. Every state store property is less than the 10,000-square-foot threshold established in I-1183, but can still sell spirits due to exemptions in the law. (The store in Issaquah measures 4,707 square feet.)

The next step for bidders is to secure a lease from the property landlord. If a bidder cannot secure a lease, he or she may resell the right or request another location within a 1-mile radius of the existing store.

State records show the Issaquah liquor store generated $6.6 million in gross sales during the 2011 fiscal year and $6.4 million in gross sales during the 2010 fiscal year. Officials estimated the store employed about seven people.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

By Dona Mokin

Issaquah Highlands residents, long limited to a single east-west route uphill through the hillside neighborhood, celebrated the opening of another road link May 10.

The city opened a pair of connected roads — Northeast College Drive and Northeast Falls Drive — to connect motorists to the area from Grand Ridge Elementary School to a proposed retail complex downhill from the campus.

The roads supplement the existing east-west corridor, Northeast Park Drive. The project is also meant to address congestion caused by morning and afternoon drop-offs and pick-ups at Grand Ridge Elementary.

The link starts at Central Park, runs behind the school and terminates at 10th Avenue Northeast. The link — completed by developers — is meant to offer additional access to the school, residences and a planned Bellevue College campus. (Hence the name Northeast College Drive.)

Developers shouldered most of the roughly $1.75 million project cost.

Highlands residents raised concerns throughout the years about a major earthquake or another natural disaster leaving Northeast Park Drive impassable.

“Since the highlands was first built, there’s basically been Park Drive as your only east-west corridor, and this provides an alternative route,” said Doug Schlepp, project manager for the road link. “At times of emergency, there’s another way in and out of the highlands.”

Crews also added 13 parking stalls behind Grand Ridge Elementary to offer some relief during busy student drop-off and pick-up times.

“This also will allow people who choose to drive their kids to school another means of pick-up and drop-off,” Schlepp said.

The school is a frequent bottleneck along Northeast Park Drive during the school year.

“This is going to take pressure off of Park Drive, especially people heading westbound and wanting to turn into the school,” Schlepp said.

Though the roads opened to traffic May 10, crews continue to finish landscaping and paving.

The city plans to open additional road connections in the summer, including 15th Avenue Northeast at Northeast College Drive, and 14th Lane Northeast and the adjacent alley.

“That north-south connection will also provide a different route for people, especially if, say, you’re coming home and you want to go through the new commercial area, then you don’t have to get back on Highlands Drive or Park,” Schlepp said.

The retail complex received approval from the Urban Village Development Commission on May 1. Construction could start as early as next month and businesses could start to open next year.

Councilwoman Stacy Goodman, a highlands resident, said the road link is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

“It hopefully provides another convenient access down the hill,” she added. “When all the roads are done and connected up there, hopefully there’s more than just one way to get in and out.”

Schlepp said a highlands resident excited about the opening waited along the road for city crews to arrive and remove the barricades at about 12:15 p.m.

“I got a picture of the first person to legally use the road, and she had a big smile on her face,” he said.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

The fee, billed as a Congestion Reduction Charge, is meant to prevent cuts to King County Metro Transit bus service. The county starts collecting the fee on June renewals sent out by the state Department of Licensing. The charge remains in effect until May 2014.

The renewal forms also include information for motorists to obtain tickets for eight free ride tickets on Metro Transit. The ticket incentive program is designed to build ridership.

Motorists must fill out a request form in order to receive the tickets. The value of the tickets also can be donated to a fund to support low-income residents relying on bus service.

Find information about the ticket incentive program and eligibility requirements at www.kingcounty.gov/metro/tip. Learn about the Congestion Reduction Charge at www.kingcounty.gov/metro/crc. 

Officials estimated the charge should generate about $50 million for transit service.

During filing week, candidates can file online 24 hours a day until 4 p.m. May 18. Candidates can also file in-person from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily until May 18 at King County Elections headquarters, 919 S.W. Grady Way, Renton. The other option is for candidates to file by mail. Filings made by mail must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. May 18, regardless of the postmark date.

Find updated lists of candidate filing on the King County Elections website, www.kingcounty.gov/elections, at noon and by 6 p.m. each day until the filing week concludes.

The complete list of offices up for election, plus additional information about candidate filing and a manual for candidates, is available at www.kingcounty.gov/elections/candidates. 

The contests on the ballot include federal, statewide and legislative races. No elected positions in Issaquah municipal government or the Issaquah School District come up for election this year.

Jenaya Ray, 7, flips through her book ‘The Unicorns’ Magical Powers,’ which she also illustrated. By Lillian Tucker

The outside campus of Sunny Hills Elementary School was crawling with smiling, chatty students, hopped up on ice cream, pizza and the pleasure of being at school with friends and not having to hurry to class.

Inside the gym, students dug through piles of their classmates’ writings and searched displays for their own work to show off to their families.

It was Young Authors Night May 10 at the elementary school. And, while the title might provoke images of a group quietly listening to one student read out loud, the event was a social flurry.

“The kids really look forward to it,” Principal Sarah White said.

In the days leading up to the event, she said the students were very excited having their work put on display.

“It’s just fun talking to the kids about their writing,” she said. “They are so proud of it.”

Around the room, tables and displays were set up to showcase at least one piece of writing from each student. Pieces included essays by the fifth-graders, imaginative tales about dragons and magic, poetry and story quilts.

“It’s really amazing reading their stories,” White said. “They have a lot to say.”

“I like it because you get to write freely … I write in my free time, whenever I can,” 9-year-old Vanessa Tang said.

The third-grade student said she likes reading her stories to her little sisters. Seven-year-old Mia and 5-year-old Hanna huddled close as their sister Vanessa looked for the book she wrote about the legend of why bees buzz.

“I was thinking of an animal book and then I thought of bees for some reason,” Vanessa said.

In her book, the bees keep stinging the animals and getting away with it because they are so quiet. The goose and the raven decide to fix the situation by putting a noisy spell on the bees so that they would buzz.

At the first grade table, 7-year-old Jenaya Ray showed her dad and younger brother her illustrated book, “The Unicorns’ Magical Powers.” It tells the story of how three unicorns stop a hungry dragon from eating them. To avoid becoming lunch, the three use their magical powers to turn the dragon into a vegetarian.

Jenaya’s father said his daughter has been a self-proclaimed vegetarian for a year. Every night, he said, they make two different meals to accommodate her choice.

“I just thought of some of my favorite things and created them,” Jenaya said. “Writing is hard work at first but once you get used to it you’re right on track.”

“It’s just to get kids excited about writing for an authentic audience,” White said.

The principal explained that preparing for the event helps the students go through all of the steps to develop their pieces for an audience.

She said the Young Authors Night also gives parents a chance to see the progression of a child’s work. The kindergarten table features folders of writing samples from throughout the year.