Issaquah food bank hires new executive director
January 25, 2011
Board selects former Bellingham parks employee for role
Cori Kauk, the new executive director at the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank, takes a moment for a smile on her first day of work Jan. 18 at the downtown facility. By Greg Farrar
Cori Kauk arrived to handshakes, hugs and flowers to start in the top job at the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank last week.
Rotary honors November students of the month
November 30, 2010
The Rotary Club of Issaquah recently honored the following seniors as its students of the month for November.
Kelsey Canaga
Kelsey Canaga
School: Liberty High School
Category of recognition: English
Parents/guardians: Susan and Steve Canaga
Sponsoring teacher: Lisa Beck
Scholastic interests: Writing and English, the visual and performing arts
Hobbies: Drawing digital art, character design and role-playing (live and textual), poetry, improv silliness, drama, scenic painting
Achievements: 3.85 grade point average, 4 on Advanced Placement U.S. history test, 5 on AP language test; taking AP studio arts, AP psychology and AP literature
Activities: Three winning designs for LHS drama posters; lead roles and major roles in LHS drama productions
Future goals: four-year university; focus in arts; explore graphic design, illustration and visual arts; perhaps secondary education
College News
November 9, 2010
Anna Molosky receives $3,000 to attend university
The ESA Foundation has selected Anna Molosky, of Issaquah, as a 2010 ESA Foundation scholarship recipient.
Molosky is one of 30 women and minority students across the nation who received a $3,000 scholarship for the 2010-2011 school year. The scholarship will go toward Molosky’s education at Carnegie Mellon University as she pursues a career in computer and video game development.
Bree Blackhorse receives law school scholarship
Bree Blackhorse, a 2007 graduate of Issaquah High School and Seattle Pacific University in June, was named the Native Law Scholar for Seattle University School of Law, class of 2013.
The award is a full tuition scholarship for all three years of the J.D. program, totaling just under $120,000.
Inspired by the classics, poet pens his own verses
September 28, 2010
Benjamin Hobbs
Meet Benjamin Hobbs: a 24-four-year-old, local poet.
Known to many by his pen name, Julien Edmund Moss, Hobbs began writing short stories and other types of prose when he was just 3.
At 21, he delved into poetry after taking an American literature class that spotlighted legendary poets Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and T.S. Eliot. Read more
Conservation corps plays important role in maintaining trails, streams
September 21, 2010
Members turn corps stint into eco-centric jobs
Jenn Woodham (foreground) and James Evangelisti, Washington Conservation Corps members, add fencing along Taylor Creek south of Issaquah. By Warren Kagarise
The teams maintaining the trails on state and King County lands near Issaquah often include members of the Washington Conservation Corps — a fresh-out-of-college bunch eager to earn experience in the environmental field.
Like the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps, the 21st-century equivalent enlists young adults to tackle habitat and infrastructure projects.
“There are a lot of good public works projects that they’re doing out there,” state Department of Ecology spokesman Curt Hart said.
Members from far-flung corners of the United States populate the program. Some recruits, unable to land a job in a sour economy, turned to the program to burnish their résumés and earn a steady paycheck. Other members brought a background in environmental studies to the role. Many expressed a desire to learn about life in the Pacific Northwest.
In addition to trail projects, crews yank invasive plants from public lands, plant native flora and restore creek habitat.
Washington Conservation Corps teams conducted trail maintenance on Tiger Mountain in the past year. Earlier projects included habitat restoration along Issaquah Creek.
Members also race to disaster-stricken areas to render assistance.
“Come rain, floods, shine, fires, they’re there,” Hart said.
In April, the state Department of Ecology dispatched 30 Washington Conservation Corps members and supervisors to clean up debris and set up shelters after a tornado tore through Yazoo City, Miss.
For residents in the aftermath of a natural disaster, “our WCC crews may be the first government people these people see,” Hart said.
Dino Rossi strives to be comeback kid in Senate race
September 14, 2010
Former Issaquah legislator returns after dual losses
The story is classic Dino Rossi: a daunting policy issue framed as a kitchen table discussion.
Dino Rossi
Not long before the Sammamish resident and GOP standard-bearer decided to run for the U.S. Senate, son Jake had a question about the national debt.
“My 16-year-old asked me, ‘How much do I owe?’ Sixteen-year-olds shouldn’t be asking questions like that,” Dino Rossi recalled. “They should be asking, ‘Can I have the car keys? And get out the money while you’re giving me the car keys.’”
High temps add extra challenge to run finale
August 17, 2010
Husband, wife duo scorch the field to win men’s, women’s divisions
Trisha Steidl gets close to the finish line of the 13.1-mile Cougar Mountain Trail Run finale Aug. 14, as husband Uli, the men’s division winner, roots her on to her women’s division victory. By Greg Farrar
At 8:30 a.m. Aug. 14, a body of energy-charged runners took off running on a 13.1-mile course in the Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park. The weather was just beginning to approach 80 degrees.
Each was taking part in the final run of the eighth-annual Cougar Mountain Trail Run Series, a four-part series that began three months ago in May.
The first of the four runs was five miles and drew more than 200 participants. Runners ran seven miles in June and 10 in July. This past Saturday, the longest run of the series drew 174 runners.
Like the three previous races, Saturday’s race started at the Sky Country trailhead in the park, just off of 166th Way Southeast. The Seattle Running Club sponsored the event. Read more
Who’s News
August 3, 2010
MDA honors attorney with top achievement award
The Muscular Dystrophy Association has named Jessica Ramquist, of Issaquah, the recipient of its 2010 Robert Ross Personal Achievement Award for Washington.
Ramquist, 28, was selected for MDA’s highest achievement award in Washington for her determination to excel and her work on behalf of others with disabilities.
Ramquist has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, which causes weakness and atrophy in muscles around the shoulders and hips. She uses a power wheelchair for mobility.
Ramquist is an attorney and federal investigator with the enforcement unit of the University of Washington. She overcame many physical obstacles to earn undergraduate degrees from the University of Washington, and her juris doctorate in 2007 from Seattle University School of Law.
Ramquist frequently speaks publicly about issues such as disability advocacy, antidiscrimination laws and achievement for people with disabilities. She also is very active in supporting MDA fundraising activities. Read more
New coach following in Eastside mentors’ footsteps
June 29, 2010
Jason Griffith
Jason Griffith is a longtime student of the game of basketball and feels fortunate that his mentors were successful coaches.
After learning much from his groundball tutors, Griffith is eager to put his lessons to the test as Issaquah High School’s new head boys basketball coach next winter. Read more
Sen. Cheryl Pflug ranks high for missed votes, annual tally shows
April 20, 2010
State Sen. Cheryl Pflug ranked No. 4 for the number of missed votes during the just-concluded legislative session, a tally released last week shows.
Pflug, a Maple Valley Republican, represents Issaquah and the 5th District in Olympia. The senator missed 78 votes. Senators held 538 votes during the 60-day regular session and a nearly monthlong special session.
Pflug said she missed some “routine” votes due to nighttime law-school classes.
Cheryl Pflug
“It wasn’t anything important,” she said last week. “I am there (in Olympia) all the time.”
WashingtonVotes.org — a nonpartisan organization set up to provide plain-English explanations of bills and legislators’ votes — compiled the tally.
State Rep. Glenn Anderson, a Fall City Republican, missed 18 votes during the session. State Rep. Jay Rodne missed the least votes of all 5th District lawmakers. Rodne, a North Bend Republican, missed a mere five votes.
Besides Issaquah, the district also includes Sammamish, Snoqualmie and parts of unincorporated King County.
