Volunteers plant rose garden at Sammamish City Hall
August 27, 2009
New: August 27, 3:06 p.m.
Fourteen volunteers donned gloves and picked up their garden shovels to plant a rose garden at City Hall Aug. 15.
“The timing was perfect,” said Dawn Sanders, volunteer coordinator for the city of Sammamish. “We’ve always wanted to do the rose garden.”
Nancy Green, a nine-year Sammamish resident, pulls out plants Aug. 15 to make way for roses at Sammamish City Hall. Green was one of 14 volunteers helping to plant roses. Photo by J.B. Wogan
Fire administration officials freeze their own wages
August 26, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
Eastside Fire & Rescue announced Aug. 19 that its nine-person administration, including Fire Chief Lee Soptich, would freeze wages for 2010.
The administration volunteered to forgo the wage increases, a press release said.
“We don’t want to contribute to the pain,” Soptich said.
Soptich said the wage freeze would save EFR about $20,000, and the agency would have to find more ways to save money.
In recent history, those nine employees would have seen wage increases based on cost of living adjustments. In certain cases, they may have received performance-based increases, too.
“This is something that we just felt was necessary at a time when the economy is not rebounding,” Soptich said.
Without cost cutting, the agency is expected to increase its 2010 budget by 5.2 percent. Operations costs would outstrip revenues by $1.1 million in 2010 if EFR didn’t seek cost-cutting measures, Soptich explained.
Labor contracts, cost-of-living increases and medical insurance premium costs are to blame for the cost increase, Soptich said.
Finance Chief Dave Gray said EFR medical costs would increase by 13 percent in 2010 and increased by 24 percent in 2009 (though employees had to cover about half of the increase).
Revenues are increasing, too, but not at corresponding levels. In fact, the EFR Board of Directors set a goal in 2008 to cap budget increases at 5 percent each year.
EFR serves Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, Carnation and two fire districts in unincorporated King County. Some of the partner cities, such as Issaquah, have noted their own budget problems, Soptich said.
The EFR board must approve a 2010 budget by December, Gray said.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
New: August 26, 3:35 p.m.
Eastside Fire & Rescue announced Aug. 19 that its nine-person administration, including Fire Chief Lee Soptich, would freeze wages for 2010.
The administration volunteered to forgo the wage increases, a press release said.
“We don’t want to contribute to the pain,” Soptich said. Read more
Skyline, Liberty, Issaquah Football Preview
August 25, 2009
Time to scrap No Child Left Behind
August 25, 2009
It was a lovely idea. When No Child Left Behind was passed into law, the plan was simple — make sure every student in America gets a good education by holding school districts to ever-tougher standards.
But in practice, No Child Left Behind has not delivered, and has caused more trouble than it’s worth. As a result, Sammamish schools may pay a high price for it a few years down the road.
In some ways, the program actually succeeded. By highlighting problems that hadn’t before been quantified, it has allowed schools across the country to better focus their resources.
The law’s end goal — that 100 percent of America’s students graduate with a set of basic skills and can pass a test to prove it — is laudable, but unrealistic.
It doesn’t require a degree in statistics and educational testing to understand why. If everyone passes a test, all it really means is that the test is too easy to be an adequate measure of skills. No test should expect all students to pass, without regard to their ability to learn.
Washington is starting to have that realization now. Although WASL test scores released last week are good and essentially as high as they were last year, more and more schools are considered failing. Both Sammamish school districts are failing.
Parents, ask yourself, do you think your school district fails to provide students with the opportunity to receive a quality education? We imagine most parents agree that Lake Washington and Issaquah district schools are excellent.
It’s the law that is failing, and it will get worse.
As the years creep by and the standards get tougher, more schools will fall into the failing category. If current trends hold, just about every school in Sammamish – and, indeed, in the country – will be labeled failing within a few years, even if the pass rate is in the high 90’s.
Perhaps as soon as next year, Congress will begin its discussion on whether or not to reauthorize No Child Left Behind.
We hope that any bill that Congress considers will address the flaws in the current law and work to improve the education system.
Standards should be high, but not impossible.
It was a lovely idea. When No Child Left Behind was passed into law, the plan was simple — make sure every student in America gets a good education by holding school districts to ever-tougher standards.
But in practice, No Child Left Behind has not delivered, and has caused more trouble than it’s worth. As a result, Sammamish schools may pay a high price for it a few years down the road. Read more
Sammamish Forum August 26
August 25, 2009
A more specific growth
The Sammamish Review put the title “The problem is too little growth” on my recent letter. “Too little “smart growth” is a better title.
Since incorporation, city leaders and their supporters have demonized growth. This is an unfortunate oversimplification that has evolved into a self-destructive ideology. I have, in many letters and in presentations to the City Council, emphasized smart growth.
I and others have provided the city with huge amounts of material about smart growth, but this city continues to pursue “dumb” growth that emphasizes decentralized, auto-dependent development, the type of development that gives us strip malls, huge parking lots, miles and miles of asphalt roads and what every car lover hates or traffic congestion.
Citizens don’t want strip malls in Sammamish, but we certainly have plenty of churches along 228th Avenue with large, empty parking lots. And, how many of our citizens are regular users of the parking lots at Costco, Fred Meyer, Target and Home Depot? We own two to three cars a family, run up the vehicle miles traveled, pollute the air and force the region to spend more on roads.
We shift the burden of our low density, sprawling, auto-dependent development to other communities while justifying our selfishness with images of ourselves as environmentalists.
John Galvin
Sammamish
How about no growth
This is in response to John Galvin’s “The Problem is Too Little Growth” letter in the Aug. 19 Sammamish Review.
I want to thank Galvin for doing his homework about statistics for growth. I would urge each Sammamish resident to read this particular entry and take his statistics to heart. In my opinion, he has efficiently done his homework and stated very clearly just why Sammamish does not need to grow. The last time I read rebuttals to his ‘growth’ columns, there were more ‘against’ comments than ‘for’ entries.
I wasn’t aware that the majority of Sammamish residents were really anxious to become another Mercer Island. Although Mercer Island is a nice city, it certainly isn’t a destination city to non-residents. I believe they only have one really nice restaurant on the island. We in Sammamish have quite a few to choose from, all very well suited to our bedroom community.
Stagnation and economic decline have never been synonymous with the city of Sammamish. I’ve seen eyebrows raise and heard positive comments whenever I mention I live in Sammamish. I didn’t move here for the name or any accompanying prestige, however. We moved from the cluster of Kirkland to the beauty and serenity of Sammamish because of the unchecked and rampant growth that didn’t do Kirkland any good. I’d like to see Sammamish stay as is. Remember too, any Town Center will result in our neighbors being displaced.
So, Mr. Galvin, my suggestion is pretty simple. If you are so bent on living in a Mercer Island-like community, I’d suggest you move there. Additionally, I would like to point out to readers that Galvin is in a position to benefit greatly (financially) if the Town Center does move forward; he owns property in the Town Center area. Do you think this could be the catalyst for his nonstop hounding for change?
Thanks for your statistical investigation and conclusions in the Aug. 19 issue. …I found it useful for this entry.
Glenda Jackson
Sammamish
Support Tom Odell
An important opportunity confronts Sammamish residents…the chance to elect fresh new faces that have new energy, new vision, new transparency, and new accountability.
Tom Odell fills that bill. He is skilled for the tasks at hand, anxious for the opportunity to give back to his community (lived here 20 years now), and willing to spend the 20-25 hours per week needed to fill the Sammamish City Council position properly.
He offers the rare combination of expertise in financial management (he ran a $60 million per month operating budget as a division controller for a major airline), planning, problem-solving and transportation management experience that Sammamish needs. He has personally attended most of the council meetings during the past 18 months, many of the planning committee meetings and is highly informed on the issues that face Sammamish in our second decade as a city.
Tom has established positions on all of the important issues before the council and these include the tough questions that must be addressed. He is knowledgeable on both sides of each issue and he is open and ready for frank discussion on any of them. He is fair, friendly and patient. All interested parties will get their “time with Tom.”
Transportation, fiscal responsibility, a civic center and services are Tom’s hot button issues.
Harry and Claradell Shedd
Sammamish, WA
A more specific growth
The Sammamish Review put the title “The problem is too little growth” on my recent letter. “Too little “smart growth” is a better title.
Since incorporation, city leaders and their supporters have demonized growth. This is an unfortunate oversimplification that has evolved into a self-destructive ideology. I have, in many letters and in presentations to the City Council, emphasized smart growth.
I and others have provided the city with huge amounts of material about smart growth, but this city continues to pursue “dumb” growth that emphasizes decentralized, auto-dependent development, the type of development that gives us strip malls, huge parking lots, miles and miles of asphalt roads and what every car lover hates or traffic congestion.
Citizens don’t want strip malls in Sammamish, but we certainly have plenty of churches along 228th Avenue with large, empty parking lots. And, how many of our citizens are regular users of the parking lots at Costco, Fred Meyer, Target and Home Depot? We own two to three cars a family, run up the vehicle miles traveled, pollute the air and force the region to spend more on roads.
We shift the burden of our low density, sprawling, auto-dependent development to other communities while justifying our selfishness with images of ourselves as environmentalists.
John Galvin
Sammamish
How about no growth Read more
Around goes the campaign money
August 25, 2009
Sammamish City Council candidates swap campaign contributions
Three candidates in the Sammamish City Council race have traded campaign contributions.
They say the gesture is an act of goodwill, not an endorsement and not the beginning of a coalition. Read more
Citizen to start group for teen center
August 25, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
Vanessa Martinez plans to get the proverbial ball rolling for a teen center in Sammamish. Martinez will speak at the 6:30 p.m. Sept. 1 City Council meeting about forming a teen center committee.
“I want to generate a definite interest and I want the city of Sammamish to support its teenagers,” Martinez said.
In an e-mail to Mayor Don Gerend, Parks Director Jessi Richardson, and Deputy City Manager Pete Butkus, Martinez laid out a blueprint for the teen center and offered to head a committee in charge of making the center a reality.
“I am exceedingly willing to give of my time, expertise, and knowledge to make this happen,” she wrote.
The first step, according to Martinez, would be the purchase of the Sammamish Public Library at the corner of Inglewood Hill Road and 228th Avenue.
If the City Council secures the building, then the community could help in the remodel and refurbishing of the center, she said.
“I see that sofas, athletic items, gardening and music equipment like a piano can be donated.
Possibly a pool table, ping pong, and foosball table, as well as books, computers, and artwork could be joyfully given by the community to this endeavour,” Martinez wrote.
The center would have movie and open mic nights, band performances, plus fitness and academic events, she said. The space would be similar to Redmond’s Old Fire House, a recreation center for teenagers.
Martinez lives off Inglewood Hill Road with her children, Ryan, 15, and Alanna, 13, both students at Inglewood Junior High.
Martinez is not alone in pushing for the teen center idea.
Scott and Troy Moore, owners of the Sammamish-based business Moore Brothers Music, are advocating for a teen center at the current Sammamish Public Library location, too.
The center they envision would have a recording studio and a performance stage, plus other amenities such as a basketball court, Troy Moore said.
Moore said there is a latent demand for a music venue for teenagers.
His business gives about 500 music lessons a week and those students drive to Redmond, Kirkland and Seattle for the chance to play in front of an audience, he said.
The possibility of a center faces an uncertain future.
Five candidates in this November’s Sammamish City Council race have made the teen center a part of their platform. Some on the council have rejected other projects, saying they should wait until a teen center is built.
“I feel like I’m already taking some hard votes to be ready to finance the purchase,” said City Councilman Mark Cross. “I would like to discuss it this year during the budget process.”
Cross added that the discussion would have to include alternatives to buying the library building, such as buying up vacant land and building a teen center; the council would also have to discuss how to pay for a teen center’s long term operating expenses.
In discussions with the council, City Manager Ben Yazici and Finance Director Lyman Howard have both recommended against spending money on a capital project — such as purchasing a building — that would entail new ongoing operations and maintenance expenses.
To contact Vanessa Martinez about her teen center committee, e-mail her at vanessa.martinez@me.com.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
Vanessa Martinez plans to get the proverbial ball rolling for a teen center in Sammamish. Martinez will speak at the 6:30 p.m. Sept. 1 City Council meeting about forming a teen center committee.
“I want to generate a definite interest and I want the city of Sammamish to support its teenagers,” Martinez said.
In an e-mail to Mayor Don Gerend, Parks Director Jessi Richardson, and Deputy City Manager Pete Butkus, Martinez laid out a blueprint for the teen center and offered to head a committee in charge of making the center a reality. Read more
Teen stabs inflatable cow during festival
August 25, 2009
By Christopher Huber
The Vedic Cultural Center sent the giant inflatable cow back to its owner in Los Angeles last week with a puncture wound.
Two witnesses saw a teenage boy stab the cow, which was on display at the center for the Kumbha Mela festival, at 1:27 a.m, Aug. 15, according to Sammamish Police.
The boy jumped out of a blue sports car and stabbed the cow with a steak knife, the police report said. An eyewitness was able to remember enough of the car’s license plate number for police to track down the owner, who said his daughter’s friends took the car without her permission, the police report said.
Hari Vilas Das, Vedic Center director, said he is considering pressing charges against the boy to teach him about the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
“We will probably press charges just for the principle,” he said. “How are they going to learn what’s right and wrong.”
Vilas Das said he does not think the vandalism was a hate crime.
“It was just some stupid act,” he said.
The boy left the knife in the cow, thus leaving fingerprints for evidence, the report said. The hole left in the blow-up animal was about the size of the knife blade. Center volunteers were able to patch it with duct tape, which allowed them to use it for the final day of the festival, Vilas Das said.
“If there was no one there, they (the boy) might have done a real job of it,” he said.
The two-story cow was on display during the four-day Kumbha Mela festival of India. In India, cattle are considered sacred and treated as part of the family.
Vilas Das said he is waiting for Los Angeles-based Big Time Events Inc., to assess the damages and any repair charges.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
The Vedic Cultural Center sent the giant inflatable cow back to its owner in Los Angeles last week with a puncture wound.
Two witnesses saw a teenage boy stab the cow, which was on display at the center for the Kumbha Mela festival, at 1:27 a.m, Aug. 15, according to Sammamish Police. Read more
Beaver Lake Park meeting will examine options
August 25, 2009
The Sammamish Parks Department is scheduled to hold its third public meeting about the Beaver Lake Park update at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 3 at the Beaver Lake Park Lodge.
Acquired from King County in 2003, the park is 83 acres with three baseball fields, a pavilion, a picnic shelter, a lake, forested trails and a fenced-in, off-leash dog area.
The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is drafting a comprehensive overview of what it might change about the park in the future.
Parks Director Jessi Richardson said the update would likely include more athletic field space, an actual swim beach, more parking and safer access to the park for pedestrians.
Project Manager Anjali Myer said the city consultant would present new information about the environmental impacts of using turf fields and adding lights.
All three of the proposed plans drafted by the city’s consultant feature artificial turf athletic fields that could accommodate baseball, soccer and lacrosse.
Myer said she would also discuss whether there was a demand for more field space (or time on the field, as the lights would allow).
Myer said the consultant would also discuss the beach material and why sand would not work.
The Beaver Lake Park swim beach would have the same kind of pebbles that appeared at Pine Lake Park this summer.
The plan should be complete this fall. According to the city’s timeline, the first phase of construction would begin after the spring of 2010.
For more information on the park update, go to http://www.ci.sammamish.wa.us/BeaverLake.aspx.
The Sammamish Parks Department is scheduled to hold its third public meeting about the Beaver Lake Park update at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 3 at the Beaver Lake Park Lodge.
Acquired from King County in 2003, the park is 83 acres with three baseball fields, a pavilion, a picnic shelter, a lake, forested trails and a fenced-in, off-leash dog area.
The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is drafting a comprehensive overview of what it might change about the park in the future. Read more
Keep syringes, aspirin out of the drug bin, please
August 25, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
Sgt. Robert Baxter, of the Sammamish Police Department, has some good news and some bad news.
The good news is, the police department’s prescription medication clean-up program is working. Former Police Chief Brad Thompson started the program in the spring, obtaining a forest green bin with a slot for dropping off prescription drug bottles. Thompson had advocated for the bin as a way to get expired and unwanted prescription medication and antibiotics out of Sammamish homes and out of teenagers’ reach. The bin, which holds a 5-gallon pail inside, sits in the City Hall foyer.
“It’s always full,” Baxter said, adding that police check the bin on a daily basis.
Baxter spent part of his Aug. 19 afternoon combing through the array of orange plastic bottles on his desk and counting each little pill.
Baxter said the program has had some speed bumps though. The main problem is, people turn in more than just prescription medication.
“People are putting in Tylenol PM. You name it,” he said.
Baxter has found supplement pills, syringes, bottles of aspirin and over-the-counter painkillers from Mexico and Canada in the bin. Baxter said the bin is meant strictly for schedule III narcotics such as barbiturates. To see a complete list, go to www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/listby_sched/sched3.htm.
Baxter said some people are pouring pills into the bin without a container, and he would prefer they do not. Doing so makes the pills more difficult to count and to identify.
Bartell Drugs has a “Take it back” program that accepts over-the-counter medications, vitamins, pet medications, prescription medications, inhalers, medical ointments and lotions, as well as liquid medications. The Sammamish Bartell Drugs doesn’t participate in the program, but the Bellevue store in Bellevue Village does. To learn more about Bartell Drugs’ return policy, go to www.bartelldrugs.com/health/Takeitback.html.
Group Health Cooperative also has a drug collection program. Members of Group Health can dispose of over-the-counter and prescription medication at any Group Health pharmacy. There are two pharmacies in Bellevue and one in Redmond. To learn more about Group Health’s program, go to http://www.ghc.org/pharmacy/medicationdisposal.html.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
Sgt. Robert Baxter, of the Sammamish Police Department, has some good news and some bad news.
The good news is, the police department’s prescription medication clean-up program is working. Former Police Chief Brad Thompson started the program in the spring, obtaining a forest green bin with a slot for dropping off prescription drug bottles. Thompson had advocated for the bin as a way to get expired and unwanted prescription medication and antibiotics out of Sammamish homes and out of teenagers’ reach. The bin, which holds a 5-gallon pail inside, sits in the City Hall foyer. Read more
