Crews restore power to some Issaquah residents, but others wait
January 20, 2012
NEW — 6 p.m. Jan. 20, 2012
Puget Sound Energy crews had restored power to many Issaquah neighborhoods by early Friday evening, but large swaths remained in the dark as workers race to restore power across the region.
Downtown residents reported power coming back just after 5:30 p.m. Crews restored power for residents in some areas, including the Issaquah Highlands, late Thursday.
Puget Sound Energy estimated 8,876 customers in Issaquah without power early Friday evening — down from about 18,000 customers without power midday Thursday. Crews continue to work on restoring power to the areas left in the dark.
Still, despite the success, officials remained concerned about the possibility of additional weather challenges in the days ahead.
Officials urge residents to check on elderly neighbors as outage lingers
January 20, 2012
NEW — 11 a.m. Jan. 20, 2012
The pummeling from winter weather for several days means many people, especially senior citizens and people of limited mobility, have been stuck at home for almost a week.
Officials urged residents in Issaquah and elsewhere in King County to check on people in their neighborhoods to see if they need assistance. Consider inviting people without power to a warm place to heat up amid the ongoing power outage.
(Puget Sound Energy estimated about 11,000 customers without power in Issaquah early Thursday morning.)
Residents can also seek refuge at a 24-hour shelter at the Issaquah Community Center, 301 Rainer Blvd. S. The shelter is operated by the city and the American Red Cross.
Officials also reminded people to limit calls to 911 to actual emergencies.
Issaquah Community Center opens as 24-hour shelter
January 19, 2012
Barry Morgan (right), American Red Cross volunteer, registers the 100th client at the Issaquah Community Center at 3 p.m. Jan. 20 for a place to stay. Volunteer Stan McKenzie and service dog Katsu are at left. By Greg Farrar
NEW — 9:20 p.m. Jan. 19, 2012
The city and the American Red Cross partnered to turn the Issaquah Community Center into a shelter for people without heat and power.
The 24-hour shelter opened Thursday night at the community center, 301 Rainier Blvd. S.
City activates Emergency Operations Center, Eastside Fire & Rescue opens shelters
January 19, 2012
NEW — 5:10 p.m. Jan. 19, 2012
City officials opened the Emergency Operations Center on Thursday afternoon to coordinate the response to a major snowstorm and ice storm, and subsequent power outages across Issaquah and the region.
The decision came as more than 18,000 customers in Issaquah faced nightfall without power and temperatures in the low 30s. Puget Sound Energy is in the midst of a colossal effort to restore power to about 200,000 customers in Western Washington. In a tweet posted at 4:59 p.m., PSE said people without power should not expect to have power restored Thursday night.
Meanwhile, Eastside Fire & Rescue opened Fire Station 82, 1851 228th Ave. N.E., and Fire Station 83, 3425 Issaquah-Pine Lake Road S.E., as warming shelters.
Off the Press
January 17, 2012
Lessons learned in fire and ice
Warren Kagarise Press reporter
Journalism often requires reporters to meet people under undesirable circumstances — behind police tape or against a flickering backdrop of emergency lights.
Under such circumstances, we strive for compassion, but sometimes, we forget about the people on the other side of the notebook amid the clamor to chase down a story or ferret out some key detail.
I experienced a story on the other side of the notebook early Jan. 16 and, hopefully, came away a little more enlightened and understanding.
Just before 4 a.m., a neighbor pounded on the door to my apartment in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood.
“Get out! There’s a fire!” he yelled, and then headed down the corridor to warn sleeping occupants in other apartments.
Seeking local ties to devastating Turkey earthquake
October 25, 2011
NEW — 11 a.m. Oct. 25, 2011
Rescuers continue to search for people trapped amid rubble after a strong earthquake rattled Turkey on Oct. 23.
The magnitude-7.2 earthquake is the most powerful to hit Turkey in more than a decade and, so far, has claimed almost 300 lives. The temblor struck a remote region near the Iranian border.
The Issaquah Press seeks Issaquah School District residents connected to the earthquake or involved in relief efforts.
Email your contact information to reporter Warren Kagarise at wkagarise@isspress.com, or contact the paper on Twitter or Facebook by noon Friday.
Turkey received aid offers from dozens of nations around the globe, but so far has not accepted international aid.
Turkish Red Crescent is among the largest disaster response organizations in Europe. The organization is prepared to respond to large earthquakes. Officials at the American Red Cross and local international relief organizations, including Medical Teams International, continue to monitor the situation, in case Turkey requests assistance.
King County reminds locals to prepare after Vancouver Island earthquake
September 9, 2011
NEW — 2:10 p.m. Sept. 9, 2011
Many King County and West Coast residents felt the earth tremble Friday afternoon as a magnitude-6.4 earthquake occurred off Vancouver Island.
The tremor struck at 12:41 p.m. at about 14 miles beneath the surface. The earthquake occurred about 170 miles west of Vancouver. Residents as far south as Seattle reported feeling the tremor.
King County Executive Dow Constantine used the earthquake as a reminder for local residents to prepare.
“Over the past 10 years, in concert with our regional partners, we have worked to build a whole-community approach to disaster planning, response and recovery,” he said in a statement. “Strong communities begin with each of us making a personal commitment to prepare, and then reaching out to our neighbors to build the networks that will be crucial when disaster strikes.”
County employees aid disaster victims across Pacific
July 5, 2011
King County employees donated more than 8,100 hours of accrued leave to disaster victims in Japan and New Zealand.
The county converted leave from 458 employees into a $286,815 cash donation to the American Red Cross for continuing earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.
“This outpouring of support for our neighbors across the Pacific is another example of the determination to make a difference,” King County Executive Dow Constantine said in a statement. “I am so proud of King County employees for donating their hard-earned leave to help the people of Japan and New Zealand as they continue to recover from these tragic events.”
Constantine authorized the leave donation program in March, shortly after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan. Because that disaster followed a major earthquake in New Zealand, the county opted to combine efforts and help the victims of both disasters.
The county enacted a similar donation program after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Following that disaster, 367 employees donated more than 5,500 hours of leave, or almost $200,000 for Global Impact, a federation of 55 international aid agencies.
Eastside Fire & Rescue, Red Cross urge CPR preparedness
June 6, 2011
NEW — 3 p.m. June 6, 2011
For National CPR and AED Awareness Week, Eastside Fire & Rescue and the American Red Cross encourage residents to consider CPR training.
Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 165,000 out-of-hospital deaths each year. Only 7.9 percent of people survive sudden cardiac arrest. Overall, less than one-third of the afflicted people received CPR from a bystander.
In many cases, effective bystander CPR provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival. Time is crucial and ,unless CPR is provided within minutes of collapse, the victim has very little chance of survival. Performing CPR before emergency personnel arrive can make the difference between life and death.
EFR holds monthly CPR classes; the next class is scheduled for June 11. Stop by any EFR station to enroll.
Teen Talk
May 24, 2011
How does the number of fundraisers impact their effectiveness?
Issaquah High School
“Think of it this way: Philanthropists will care and donate less if there’s a new fundraiser every few days. Similarly, one well-publicized fundraiser can bring in a lot of money, but only if it’s run every month or so. So if fundraising wants to be successful, it needs to space out its events while well publicizing the fundraisers done.”
— Andy Ramstad, senior
“I always try to donate at least a few dollars whatever the cause because I like donating to charity, because I know there will be numerous fundraisers over the year. But I know a lot of my friends would give, but they either don’t have the money or would rather spend the money elsewhere.”
— Zoey Kapusinskie, sophomore
Eastside Catholic High School
“I think that having so many fundraisers and so many causes to donate toward does impact the effectiveness a little, because it’s hard to know which ones to pick and it’s not possible to pick all of them.”
— Nalani Saito, sophomore
“Even though it can get a little overwhelming sometimes, I believe it’s a good thing to have so many ways to help.”
— Shannon Ludeman, junior
Liberty High School
“The more fundraisers we have, the more the topic is known. I think it’s important to spread awareness, so the more the better!”
— Katie McGuire, freshman
“Doing a lot of fundraisers is not effective at raising more money, because usually the same people are asked again and again and run out of ‘spare change’ to spend on fundraisers.”
— Ashley Brennan, junior
Skyline High School
“I think the number of fundraisers have a huge impact on their effectiveness. Regardless of how much money is actually put in by an individual, I feel like the number of people who actually donate to a specific cause is more important.”
— Kathy Lee, junior
“Much of what was donated to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami crisis was to Japan’s benefit. Fundraisers, such as texting to Red Cross and donating $10, were of much usage to the betterment of Japan.”
— Andy Lin, junior
