Project: serenity
August 3, 2010
Lowe’s volunteers beautify senior center patio
Courtney Jaren, executive director of Issaquah Valley Senior Center, steps out in the sun to admire the finished patio. By Sarah Sexton
A starkly undecorated patio at the Issaquah Valley Senior Center underwent a lush transformation July 10. Lowe’s Heroes planted geraniums, petunias, lobelia, marigolds and other basic plants that are colorful and easy to care for in pots all along the top of the walls surrounding the patio.
Generally small plants in size, it will be easy to pick off dead flowers to keep them looking fresh and to water consistently, given their exposure on the sunny patio. Lowe’s also installed a working fountain in the shape of a small girl standing on a little boy’s back, peering into a tall cylindrical bowl. The total cost of the project was $500.
Lowe’s did the project for free.
Gary Danberg, human resources manager, said Lowe’s gives away millions of dollars once per year to fund community relations and efforts, and Lowe’s Heroes is one of those projects. Each store is allotted its own amount of dollars to work with the community on a certain project. Read more
August ArtWalk features many new attractions
August 3, 2010
August is heating up and the DownTown Issaquah Association is turning up the volume at its fourth ArtWalk from 5-9 p.m. Aug. 6 on Front Street and in Gilman Village.
Here are some highlights:
- ArtEAST’s UP Front gallery: Opens the annual Sammamish Invitational show, which features work from members who live in Sammamish, and some of their friends’ work. Artists will have their creations on display and for sale at 48 Front St. N. ArtEAST also hosts a third open house for a potential community arts center at Lewis Hardware, 95 Front St. N. This time, there will be live art demonstrations and music. ArtEAST members and the building’s owners are negotiating a lease.
-Gilman Village: Check out new talent at the village with three solo musicians headlining that evening — Ronnda Cadel, a 12-string instrumental guitar soloist; 14-year-old violin phenom Evan Hjort; and singer/songwriter Sarah Christine are sure to help you kick the workweek blues. Get to the village, 317 N.W. Gilman Blvd., with free limo service between downtown and the village. It leaves from Front Street every 10 minutes and picks up at the Issaquah Library and the intersection of Rainier Boulevard North and Northwest Dogwood Street.
- Along Front Street: If you’re a photography buff, then this is the ArtWalk for you. Up and down Front, you’ll find a variety of landscape, portrait, black-and-white, film and digital photography to ogle and purchase.
- Issaquah Valley Senior Center: Ready to rock? Head to the center’s third open-mic night. Featured performers include PreHeat, playing folk originals, at 6:30 p.m. and The Studebakers, playing easy listening, at 7:30 p.m. There will be free food and beverages, and artists featuring their works. The center is at 75 N.E. Creek Way.
Hot spell is no sweat for residents
July 13, 2010
Temperatures in Issaquah rose into the 90s last week, as summer weather made a belated debut.
The area posted records July 7-9 with three days that sent the mercury soaring past 90 degrees at Sea-Tac International Airport, where official measurements are taken, National Weather Service Meteorologist Mike McFarland said.
The 90-degree heat July 7 and 95-degree heat July 8 broke records set at 88 degrees in 1953, while the 93-degree record July 9 broke the record of 91 degrees set in 1985, he said.
During the hot spell, police officers, city officials and firefighters said they kept busy with routine calls, but there were few instances of people in distress due to it.
“There were a few calls from folks who were worried about dogs left in vehicles, but the dogs were all OK,” city spokeswoman Autumn Monahan wrote in an e-mail.
There weren’t any cases involving heat-related injury or illness, Eastside Fire & Rescue spokeswoman Josie Williams said.
The local American Red Cross chapter and Public Health – Seattle & King County reminded Issaquah and King County residents — including children, the elderly and people with chronic health issues — to take precautions to address the heat and stay safe.
To help, The Issaquah Valley Senior Center, 75 N.E. Creek Way, opened its doors to everybody who wanted to use the building as a cooling shelter.
Health officials urge residents to keep cool as the mercury rises
July 7, 2010
UPDATED — 3:50 p.m. July 7, 2010
Forecasters predict temperatures in Issaquah to rise past 80 this week, as summer weather makes a belated debut.
The Issaquah Valley Senior Center, 75 N.E. Creek Way, is cooperating with the city of Issaquah and opening its doors to everybody who wants to use the building as a cooling shelter.
People of all ages who want to take shelter from the summer heat are more than welcome to come, Executive Director Courtney Jaren said.
The city opened the senior center and Eastside Fire & Rescue Station 71 as cooling centers during a heat wave last July, city spokeswoman Autumn Monahan said.
“If we start getting calls from concerned citizens, or from firefighters or police, then we start to open cooling centers,” she said.
ArtWalk returns with new features
June 29, 2010
Just in time for the long Fourth of July weekend, the DownTown Issaquah Association kicks off its third ArtWalk from 5-9 p.m. July 2 on Front Street and in Gilman Village.
Here are some of the highlights:
- ArtEAST’s Upfront Gallery: Has a “29 Pegs” salon show featuring new and old members and their creations, for sale at 48 Front St. N. ArtEAST also hosts a second open house for a potential community arts center at Lewis Hardware, 95 Front St. N. ArtEAST members and the building’s owners are negotiating a lease.
- Gilman Village: Sip on wine from Fles Wines, 317 N.W. Gilman Blvd., while enjoying music from the Collin Mulvany Jazz Quartet. There’s a free limo service between downtown and the village. It leaves from Front Street every 10 minutes and picks up at the Issaquah Library and the intersection of Rainier Boulevard North and Northwest Dogwood Street.
- Issaquah Valley Senior Center: Ready to rock? Then head over to the center’s second open-mic night. Featured performers include Fred Hopkins and The Studebakers, playing easy listening and dance favorites from 6:30-7:30 p.m., and Gordon Birse and the Train Wreck Band, playing pop and dance favorites from 7:30-8:30 p.m. There will be free food and beverages, and artists featuring their works. The center is at 75 N.E. Creek Way.
30-year senior volunteer honored
June 22, 2010
Nancy Viney, Sylvia Hooker, Val Borman and Margaret Eavenson (from left) bring their yarn projects every week to the Happy Hookers meeting at the Issaquah Valley Senior Center. By Greg Farrar
Even before she officially qualified as a senior, Val Borman, 93, had been volunteering her time to make the Issaquah Valley Senior Center a better place for seniors.
“We were on our morning walk and were going by,” Val said of herself and her husband Jake Borman. “He said, ‘I hear they have a really great coffee, drip coffee for 10 cents a cup’ I said, ‘I’m not going in there, no way.’”
It just took one cup of coffee with her husband in 1981 to pull her into the center, said Tommie Troutman, former director of the senior center.
If you name it, Val’s done it, she added.
So much so, that she was given a special award for 30 years of service at the 2010 Volunteer Recognition Lunch hosted by senior center officials April 24. She was honored by Troutman, the founding director of the center; Nedra Foshee, a former director; and current Executive Director Courtney Jaren.
“She is an absolute treasure,” Jaren said. “We’ve come to depend on her, because she has so much to share.”
The senior center is vital to the community, it gives people a place to gather, to celebrate, to feel supported and to stay active, Val said. Read more
ArtWalk returns with many new attractions
June 1, 2010
The second ArtWalk of the season is June 4.
Al Price and his blue grass band, the VZ Valley Boys, are among the artists who will perform from 6:30-9 p.m. June 4 at the Issaquah Valley Senior Center during its open mic-night. The performances coincide with the DownTown Issaquah Association’s ArtWalk. Contributed
Up, down and around Front Street and Gilman Village businesses and local arts organizations will be open late, so you can delight in sculptures, paintings, entertainment and crafts. The hours for ArtWalk are 5-9 p.m.
“It’s a chance to get out and cut loose on a Friday night with live music,” said ArtWalk organizer Michael Johnson, of the DownTown Issaquah Association. “It’s become a big social thing for our residents. They come to hang out, go to restaurants, sit outdoors and chat with friends.”
ArtWalk is full of hidden jewels on and off the main boulevard, Johnson said. His advice: Take the path less traveled or take a few steps further to see what artful treasures you can find.
At Gilman Village, listen to two bands — Nicholas Drummand and Hejira, a world music band — while strolling through the endless A-frame artworks by Donald Hausken.
There are other artists and galleries, like Revolution Gallery, in the village as well.
On Front Street, stop by UpFront Gallery, 48 Front St. N., from 6-9 p.m. to see the latest Collective Works exhibition, featuring five local artists — Etsuko Ichikawa, Margie Livingston, Carol Milne, Milenko Matanovic and June Sekiguchi.
The theme of the exhibition is Linear Progression, an Unconventional Approach to Line. The exhibit expresses how line is a fundamental element of art and how it has the power to describe an image, a story, feeling or thought, artEAST Executive Director Karen Abel wrote in an e-mail.
“I will say the Collective Works exhibit is an exceptional show,” Abel said. It is “very unique.”
If you miss the presentation at ArtWalk, you can stop by the gallery through June 27 to see it.
ArtEAST is also holding an important community reception at Lewis Hardware, 95 Front St. N. There, organizers will unveil a plan to lease the former store to open a community art center, something they have had as a goal since their inception.
To lease the building they need to raise $20,000 Abel said, which they are hoping to do by June 11 with the community’s help during ArtWalk.
Car enthusiast celebrates 91st birthday in style
May 25, 2010
Local resident Gene Klineburger turned 91 on April 27. In celebration, he drove his 1930 air-cooled Franklin to the Issaquah Valley Senior Center, where photos were taken of family and friends with him and the car.
Gene Klineburger, 91, helps his youngest granddaughter Tianna up into his 1930 Franklin, which he drove to the Issaquah Valley Senior Center to celebrate his birthday with family and friends. Contributed
His grandson James Lathrup and James’ girlfriend Kelly came, as well as longtime family friend Jack Etzel, and his youngest granddaughter, Tianna Klineburger. They dressed up for the occasion.
“You can’t ride in a car like that and not dress up, and I chose to wear one of my grandmother’s outfits,” Tianna said. “Whenever my grandparents would go on a Horseless Carriage Club tour, of which they did many, my grandmother would make sure to wear a dress, hat, purse and shoes that matched the era of the car they were driving.
“My grandfather has lived in the Seattle area since about 1954 and Issaquah since about 1976, with his wife Betty Klineburger, whom he was married to for 64 years, and three children Dianna, Judy and Lloyd,” she added. “He has lived an adventurous life that has taken him all over the world, as well as serving in World War II.”
Klineburger, a longtime participant at the senior center, has eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. He and his wife loved coming to the center, where they both volunteered in the kitchen.
Klineburger has been an avid sportsman, hunter and explorer. He’s lived in faraway places, including Alaska, where he was famous for hunting giant polar bears.
Senior center hosts annual pancake fundraiser
May 11, 2010
The Issaquah Valley Senior Center, 75 N.E. Creek Way, is hosting its annual pancake breakfast fundraiser from 8:30-11:30 a.m. May 15.
Jack Steidl, a 91-year-old retired military and commercial pilot, will bugle hungry supporters into the “Mess Hall” for hot and fluffy pancake stacks. Steidl will also be in uniform to honor Armed Forces Day. Mayor Ava Frisinger will dish up your food, as will volunteers from the City Council and other organizations.
Aegis of Issaquah will sponsor food for the event and Fischer Meats will donate sausages. Cost is $5 for adults and $2.50 for children.
“We have an amazing amount of activities here that are ongoing, like our art classes, our Tuesday after-lunch lecture series and special events, like our Literary Tea, that we don’t charge for but incur costs for,” Senior Center Executive Director Courtney Jaren said. “When people support us, they don’t just support one program, but all the wonderful things we do here at the center.”
Issaquah Women’s Club furnishes local charities with funding
March 23, 2010
Representatives of local recipient organizations and Issaquah Women’s Club officers pose March 4 with checks totaling $6,000, raised by club members at their annual Harmony & High Tea fundraiser last November. Contributed
Issaquah Women’s Club members gathered to distribute $6,000 in donations to local organizations March 4.
“This is what we work so hard for all year,” said Club President Mariann Crane. “We are very thoughtful where our monies go, and we feel we have got Read more
