Like other bins throughout the region, the nonprofit organization accepts men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, shoes, hats, linens, small draperies, purses, reusable household items and small appliances at the Issaquah location. Because the site is attended, donors can receive a tax-deductible receipt immediately.

Revenue from donated clothing helps support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound’s mentoring programs. A single bin lasts for 10 years and generates $8,666 in goods on average each year.

Flu shots combining vaccinations are not uncommon, said Virginia Mason Issaquah primary care doctor Ted Naiman, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Marjorie Eikenberry (left), of Timber Ridge, prepares to receive her flu shot at Virginia Mason’s Issaquah clinic from Maxim Healthcare’s Delnaz Pithawalla, a registered nurse, as Eikenberry’s husband of 63 years, Ralph (background), receives his. By Greg Farrar

“Every year, it’s got multiple different ingredients,” he said. “Basically, what the CDC does is they look at the strains of influenzas the year before that made people the sickest and killed the most people, and they use those to make the next year’s vaccine.”

Influenza, a respiratory illness, can cause a multitude of symptoms, including fever, cough, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches, fatigue or vomiting.

Most people recover in two weeks, but sometimes the disease has complications leading to pneumonia, bronchitis, and sinus and ear infections.

Every year, between 5 percent and 20 percent of people get the flu, according to the CDC.

The CDC recommends everyone between 6 months and 49 years of age receive a flu vaccine. The vaccination is available as a shot or as a nasal spray, the latter containing a live virus vaccine, meaning that only people with a healthy immune system should get that.

Pregnant women should get flu shots, because their immune systems are compromised, Naiman said. People older than 65, whose immune systems are often less robust, can receive an extra-strength flu shot.

At Virginia Mason Issaquah, people were already lining up last week for their flu shots. Ralph Eikenberry and his wife Marjorie Eikenberry said they haven’t had the flu for at least 30 years because they get their vaccinations.

“It’s an old habit. We do it every year,” Ralph Eikenberry, of Issaquah, said. “It’s better to get the shot than to live with the flu.”

Flu season typically peaks in January or February, but it can start as early as October, “so you should get a flu shot as soon as you can,” Naiman said.

After getting a flu vaccination, it takes about two weeks for the body’s immune system to build a resistance. The flu shot contains influenza antigens, which prompt the body to make antibodies that can fight the disease.

“If you get the flu, you’re sick for two weeks and then you fight it off,” Naiman said. “The flu vaccine just does that in advance.”

Some people are wary of the vaccination, afraid the shot will give them the flu itself. A study published in 2010 by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices showed these worries are misplaced. People who received the flu shot reported flu-like symptoms at the same rate as people who received a placebo shot, according to the study, Naiman said.

Usually, about 1 percent of people who receive the shot report these symptoms, he said.

Even people who typically do not get sick should get vaccinated, he added.

“Even if you get a super mild case and only have it for a day, you could pass it on to someone else,” he said.

If someone with the flu comes knocking at Ralph Eikenberry’s door, he said he and his wife would be ready.

“We haven’t had the flu for years,” he said. “We don’t allow it in our house. We have a sign that says ‘no flu allowed.’”

Where to go

Bartell Drugs Issaquah

391-6408

Walk-in clinic

Cost $29.99

Costco Issaquah

313-0965

Find clinic hours here.

Cost $20

Walgreens Issaquah

369-0265

Walk-in clinic

Cost $29.99

Issaquah Safeway

507-1042

Walk-in clinic

Cost $30

Entitled to a 10 percent off coupon for next grocery purchase

Issaquah Valley Senior Center

392-2381

Swedish Medical Center vaccine clinic

Oct. 28

For people 55 or older

Rite Aid Issaquah

392-2865

Walk-in clinic

Cost $24.99

Virginia Mason Issaquah Clinic

557-8000

Clinics Tuesdays 3-7 p.m. and Fridays 8 a.m. – noon

Insurance accepted, no cash

The food bank needs backpacks and school supplies for families unable to afford them. School begins in the Issaquah School District on Aug. 31.

A backpack filled with required supplies costs nearly $50 per student. The cost is even more for high school students who also need geometry sets and calculators.

Donations may be dropped off at the food bank, 179 First Ave. S.E., or at blue collection barrels at the Issaquah locations of Safeway, 735 N.W. Gilman Blvd.; Staples, 628 Front St. N.; Rite Aid, 1065 N.W. Gilman Blvd.; Walgreen’s, 6300 E. Lake Sammamish Parkway S.E.; Bartell Drugs, 5700 E. Lake Sammamish Parkway S.E.; Issaquah-Newport Way Storage, 795 N.W. Juniper St.; or The Issaquah Press, 45 Front St. S.The Kiwanis Club of Issaquah and Aktion Club members are working with the food bank to collect and distribute the school supplies.

Get involved

Donate school supplies to the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank. The required list of supplies includes:

-Box of 12 No. 2 pencils

-Glue stick

-White glue

-Pink eraser

-Scissors, child or adult size

-10-pack blue pens

-Three red pens

-24 crayons

-Box of pencil crayons

-Ruler

-Pencil case

-12 pocket folders

-Package of plain paper

-Package of lined paper

-Four lined notebooks

-Wide-ruled, spiral bound notebook

-One-inch binders

-Eight-subject dividers

-10-pack washable felt markers

-Box of tissues

How to help

Cash donations are also welcome. Send them to the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank, P.O. Box 652, Issaquah, WA 98027, or donate online at www.issaquahfoodbank.org.

The excitement of heading back to school — meeting a new teacher, seeing who will be in your class, wearing new school clothes — is only three weeks away. But for far too many children in the Issaquah School District, there won’t be new clothes. An even bigger worry is that these students won’t have the school supplies they need.

Most adults don’t remember the need to bring a long list of supplies to school. An old cigar box was helpful to store pencils in, but the school handed out the pencils and crayons on the first day of school. If there was an assignment not in a workbook, the teacher’s helper got to pass out paper. Construction paper folded in half made a cover for corrected homework, tests and student art.

That was then, when school funding meant books for every student, and all the rulers, pens and markers a student would need.

Today, children in the younger grades are even required to bring a box of tissue. Put that together with 1-inch notebooks, several pocket folders, colored pencils, paper, erasers, dictionaries, scissors, glue sticks and calculators — plus a backpack to replace the bygone days of lockers — and the cost is an easy $60 per student.

With more families than ever needing the resources of the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank, it’s hard to imagine how they endure the expenses of a new school year. Many can’t.

Last year, the food bank handed out 650 backpacks stuffed with requisite supplies — and could have used more. Some local churches take care of their own members, and many donations go directly to the schools. It’s estimated that at least 1,500 Issaquah students need help with school supplies.

Food bank director Cherie Meier has a dream. She hopes the community will provide enough so she can also get new socks, underwear and shoes for school-aged clients.

You can help. School supplies are being collected at the food bank (or donate dollars online at www.issaquahfoodbank.org), and at area stores, including Staples, Rite Aid, Bartell’s, Walgreens and Safeway.

At 8:08 p.m., police were alerted by a silent alarm from the business, 6300 E. Lake Sammamish Parkway S.E., where the man demanded the drugs and threatened to shoot anyone who didn’t cooperate. 

Store employees would not comment and referred inquiries to the media relations contact in the corporate home office. 

No weapon was seen. Police had no information about the suspect Dec. 8. Anyone with information should call the Issaquah Police Department at 837-3200.