Sammamish swimmers back from Olympic trials
July 15, 2008
Katie Kinnear is 13 and she has already shared a ready room with six-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps.
She isn’t even in high school yet, and she can tell people about the time Brendan Hansen and Aaron Piersol – both Olympic gold medalists – actually swam over her during a warm-up lap.
Hansen and Piersol were moving so fast, Kinnear dove underneath the water as they passed her by, she said.
All of this was possible because Read more
Eastsiders put Storm Dance Troupe through their paces
July 15, 2008
The best basketball game in Braidon Hobzek’s memory was when the Seattle Storm won the WNBA championship in 2004.
There’s nothing quite like dancing in front of a packed stadium, Hobzek said.
“All the nosebleeds were filled,” he recalled, adding that after the game he and the rest of the Storm Dance Troupe poured onto the court as confetti drifted down on them.
Hobzek, 15 and a rising sophomore at Issaquah High School, is one of two captains for the troupe.
He has been with the Storm for seven years.
For practice, he commutes to Seattle twice a week from the Ashton Woods neighborhood in Sammamish.
About 60 youths, ages 7-16, audition for the troupe each year, and 22 make it.
One Storm player sits among the panel of judges each year, giving the tryouts added panache.
This year, Kristen O’Neill served as a judge. Ashley Robinson has judged Read more
Help out Hazel Wolf
July 15, 2008
A Hazel Wolf Wetlands environmental restoration work party is scheduled for 10 a.m.-1 p.m. July 19, at the Hazel Wolf Wetlands (Just off Southeast Windsor Boulevard in Sammamish). Join the Cascade Land Conservancy and other volunteers as they clean up and restore parts of the Hazel Wolf Wetlands. Bring work clothes, boots, water, and rain gear if necessary. Snacks and drinks will be provided. To RSVP or for more information, call or email Stacy Cachules at volunteer@cascadeland.org or 206-905-6931. For directions visit www.cascadeland.org/events/hazel-wolf-wetlands-preserve-volunteer-restoration-event/.
Calendar
July 15, 2008
Events
The Marine Corps League will hold a pot luck barbeque, open to all current and former marine families. Attendees should bring a side dish and whatever they want Read more
Smith Elementary wants new piano lab
July 15, 2008
Parents at Samantha Smith Elementary are pooling their resources for a new piano lab.
The official name of the lab is the Yamaha “Music in Education” Digital Piano Lab. It would feature 16 electronic keyboards hooked up to an intranet that could accommodate 32 students at one time.
If the PTSA does raise the money, Samantha Smith would be the only school in either the Lake Washington or Issaquah School Districts with such a piano lab.
The lab would cost about $25,000, according to the Smith PTSA.
The PTSA already donated $10,000 to raise money for the lab, according to Kelly Benoit, co-president of the Samantha Smith PTSA.
Smith parents have also donated about $8,000 to the project, Benoit said.
Part of the motivation behind installing the piano lab is to incorporate musical instruction into the school day. Students have less and less time outside of school to pursue music, Benoit said. Her own 8-year-old daughter, Amie, has a packed extracurricular schedule with soccer, softball and gymnastics.
“We’ve never had time to do piano lessons,” said Kelly Benoit. “It’s something that I’ve always wanted my daughter to do.”
Parents will be able to join their children in learning piano through a PTSA after-school program.
“I’d love to take advantage of that,” said Tamese Robinson, whose twin daughters Sophia and Georgia, 8, will be third graders at Smith.
Robinson is the fundraising chair for the piano lab. She said her selling point is that the school has a strong musical education program in place.
Smith music teacher Adam Gross already has both choir and percussion instrument programs.
“I’m really excited to see what he’s going to do with the piano lab,” Robinson said.
Benoit said the Smith PTSA will hold a rummage sale in late July, as well as two concerts in August as part of the fundraising effort.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.
Don’t get too dizzy
July 15, 2008
Sammamish girl is state champion in baton twirling
Emily Reyer, 13, has had a breakthrough year.
Reyer became Washington’s Grand Champion in the two-baton category at the 2008 United States Twirling Association state baton championships May 31, held at Tumwater High School.
Emily is a competitive baton twirler, one who synthesizes dance routines with rolling batons along her elbows and hands and tossing batons more than 20 feet in the air.
In the junior age division, ages 13-16, she finished first in both the two-baton and dance twirl categories.
The junior division is one of four age divisions, along with primary, juvenile and senior.
Kathy Forsythe, Emily’s coach, said there are about eight serious baton twirlers in the state. Read more
Photographer brings dog’s story to life
July 15, 2008
“What do you do when you have a great book but not-so-great photos? You call in a professional photographer,” said Anne Lindsay, photographer for Kim Pearson’s
book “Dog Park Diary: The social round of Goody Beagle.”
Lindsay, a Sammamish resident, was first introduced to Pearson, the author of “Dog Park Diary,” at a women’s business networking group in 2006.
When the two women realized they had similar talents that complemented each other, they decided to collaborate on the book. Read more
Review editorial
July 15, 2008
Running for council whitens your teeth
About a month ago, the City Council heard sobering news about Sammamish’s financial future. Expenses are rising and revenue is dwindling. Officials pointed to structural problems, which they guaranteed would get worse. They raised the specter of tax hikes or service cuts in the future.
About two and a half weeks later the City Council decides to give itself dental and vision coverage.
Huh?
Sure, the $10,000 a year the program could cost the city taxpayers is a drop in the bucket of the city’s $41 million budget. And, yes, council members will need to pay into the system themselves, up to about 25 percent of the $850 per month they get for being on the council.
It’s not about the money.
There is symbolism in every political act. In the broader context of city government, we have city staff whispering about future tax increases or service cuts. Reduced revenue may delay needed road improvements. The council, seeing the writing on the wall, has prudently asked the fire department to keep a lid on costs. In the next breath, they vote to give themselves extra health benefits.
So, as the city looks into the future and sees the need for sacrifice from its citizens and public safety agencies, the council gets a perk.
How about using that 10 grand to help refurbish a park, or lay some pavement? Granted, it won’t go a long way, but there are certainly more pressing needs in the city than the oral health of the City Council. As we’ve said, there is symbolism.
The council has yet, as a whole, to take advantage of the program. Council members need to opt in, and there are not yet enough on board to make the benefits start. We hope they won’t.
The stated rationale for these benefits is as absurd as the idea of them. Council members say that it might encourage more people to run for office. The proposal does not consider a full health insurance package, which arguably might, just dental and vision.
That’s right, Sammamish, if the kids needs braces, or you just ran out of disposable contact lenses, running for City Council is now a viable way to have your neighbors help pay for them.
Sammamish Forum
July 15, 2008
Get out of the car
Auto use up, quality of life down, prices are up. Fuel imports are up. Global warming is up. Traffic congestion is up. Time in the car is up. Blood Read more
Obituary
July 15, 2008
Lynn Gorr
Lynn Gorr, of Sammamish, died July 5, 2008, in Red Lodge, Mont. He was 65.
A graveside committal service was July 12 at Lower Hillside Cemetery, Issaquah. A memorial celebration was the same day at the Elks Lake Sammamish Lodge No. 1843, Issaquah. 
Lynn was born Oct. 6, 1942, in Chadron, Neb., to Donald and Helen Gorr. He grew up on the family ranch northwest of Chadron, spending many happy boyhood days with his grandfather LeRoi, a true cowboy of the Old West. Lynn and his bride-to-be, Cindy, together graduated from Chadron High School class of 1960.
After attending Chadron State College for one year, Lynn went on to earn a degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1965, and later also became a licensed civil engineer.
Although he moved away from Nebraska, eventually to settle his family in the Pacific Northwest, in many ways, he never left.
Lynn entered the Navy’s Officer Candidate School in fall 1966. As a naval officer, he served with the Seabees in MCB-3, cementing a lifelong affection for the Seabees and his life’s work in construction. He was awarded the Navy Commen-dation Medal during his battalion’s deployment to Vietnam.
After six years of active duty in the Navy, Lynn moved the family to the Seattle area. While working for general contractors, such as Baugh Construction, Lynn led several major commercial projects. In recent years, he consulted on various projects and served as an expert witness in resolving legal disputes.
Lynn was patient and understanding, a loving husband, father and friend, who loved the outdoors, mountaineering, open-roof cars and blues guitar. He is survived by his wife, Cindy, their two daughters Stacy (Michael) and Carolyn (Jeremy) and one grandson. He is also survived by his father Don, his sister Karol and her husband Carl.
The family suggests remembrances to King County Search and Rescue or a charity of your choosing.
Arrangements are entrusted to Flintoft’s Issaquah Funeral Home.
Friends are invited to share memories and sign the family’s online guest book at www.flintofts.com.
