Issaquah and Lake Washington school board choices
October 20, 2009
Lake Washington School Board member Doug Eglington had a challenger this year, but Julie Wright has withdrawn from the race. Nevertheless, her name will appear on the ballot. Eglington deserves your vote.
Issaquah School Board has one challenged seat. We recommend Marnie Maraldo over Wright Noel. Both would be exemplary school board members, but Maraldo’s leadership in PTA and on legislative issues regarding education and school funding demonstrates that she has the passion, knowledge and talent for the job.
Lake Washington School Board member Doug Eglington had a challenger this year, but Julie Wright has withdrawn from the race. Nevertheless, her name will appear on the ballot. Eglington deserves your vote.
Issaquah School Board has one challenged seat. We recommend Marnie Maraldo over Wright Noel. Both would be exemplary school board members, but Maraldo’s leadership in PTA and on legislative issues regarding education and school funding demonstrates that she has the passion, knowledge and talent for the job.
Sammamish Forum Oct. 21
October 20, 2009
Kudos to schools
I am so proud of our school district for not observing Columbus Day. Christopher Columbus was not the first human being to discover America. He was not even the first European to do so. He was a cruel man, personally responsible for the deaths and enslavement of thousands.
I hope that someday soon we will, as a nation, do away with this holiday and the undeserved attention that it gives to Christopher Columbus.
Linda Yee
Sammamish
Vote to approve R-71
Our founding fathers stated in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Those asking us to reject Referendum 71, would exclude the pursuit of happiness to a segment of our society by not allowing them to have the same financial security, support, protections and benefits guaranteed when two people make a lifetime commitment to each other with state recognition of their partnership. Domestic partnerships are not marriage. Domestic partnerships are not a stepping-stone for gay marriage. Our Supreme Court has already ruled against gay marriage, so these claims are pure nonsense.
Vote “Approve” on Referendum 71 and demonstrate that Washington state is the home of reasoned people who respect our rights, freedoms, the rule of law and the separation of church and state.
Michael T. Barr
Sammamish
Vote for Tiliacos
Erica Tiliacos has volunteered on city land use and environmental committees for more than six years. Her opponent, John James spent a few months on one city committee.
Erica has received only a fraction of her contributions from sources outside the city, while James has put in thousands of his own money and the vast majority of the rest has come from outside the city, including real estate interests. Who is James going to represent if he is elected to City Council?
Erica has the knowledge and experience to knowledgeably represent the people of Sammamish, she is the obvious choice for City Council.
Lori McIntosh
Sammamish
Vote for Odell
On Nov. 3, as we enter our second decade, Sammamish citizens have a real choice for Position 7. While candidate Jack Barry has contributed much to our community over the years, it is time for a positive change. That change is Tom Odell. I have known Tom and his family for the 20 years they have lived in Sammamish and know they are a family of integrity. Odell is focused, analytical, and above all, fair. He does not say one thing and do another.
Tom Odell has stated that a civic center with an aquatic facility is exactly what Sammamish families and kids need. On the other hand, his ‘family friendly’ opponent, Jack Barry, stated that a civic center is ‘wishful thinking’ (Sammamish Review Sept. 30, 2009). He also voted against the skate park and actively opposed the Sammamish Trail, two of the most popular family/kid activities in our city.
Tom Odell has been against the East Lake Sammamish Parkway project from the beginning and continually urged the council to cancel this project. Most citizens with whom he has spoken feel the same. On the other hand, his opponent initially said ‘let’s get on with it’ and supported the entire project during open discussions on the project. Now he claims that he has always only supported two small parts of the project.
Tom Odell has consistently emphasized that this project does not add additional traffic capacity and is not a good use of our road construction funds irrespective of where the dollars come from. Odell has never been in favor of a four-lane highway as his opponent insinuated in the Oct. 7 candidate forum.
As the ballots arrive in the mail, I hope that our citizens will take time to get the facts straight. We need a fresh leader who listens, won’t backtrack when citizens react and refuses to take contributions from special interests. It is time for a positive change on the Sammamish council in Position 7. Please join me in voting for Tom Odell.
John Knie
Sammamish
Fresh faces needed
In a letter to the Review, I wrote about a political clique that controls City Hall. “We need to break this group’s political strangle hold on our city. The intention is not to deny them a voice but to allow other people a voice.”
Letters to the Review from Planning Commissioner Scott Hamilton and Nicholas Tiliacos, husband of a planning commissioner, illustrate my point.
If one does not support this political clique you are ignored. If you present factual arguments that challenge their political agenda, you’ll be accused of “deliberate distortions, misrepresentations, and attacks on the PC’s own integrity.” (Hamilton e-mail).
My letters to the Review concerned political change, not the Town Center. I addressed Sammamish’s failing economy, the teen center, unsound planning, superficial thinking, and political patronage.
Hamilton won’t allow me to disagree. Tiliacos faults me for protecting my property rights. Has Sammamish become an authoritarian, communist state?
Actually, Tiliacos gets it wrong. After seven years and an expenditure of $2 million on planning, there has been no zoning change in the Town Center. Nothing has been accomplished and anyone with a home in the Town Center has been deprived of their property rights for ten years.
The proposed base zoning of R-18 is not Town Center zoning. With fees, 50 percent open space, 10 percent affordable housing, structured parking and restrictive ordinances the proposed plan is an economic dead end for landowners and developers. A $2 million unworkable plan, and commissioners listen to no one.
Commissioner Hamilton makes my point. In an e-mail (public record) he wrote: “I believe that someone from PC, past and present, must appear at every council meeting to defend our work and correct the record. This can be a tag-team effort so no one is burdened with the sole responsibility, or a couple of people could appear at each meeting and tag-team speak to the council after Galvin and others make their presentations, to refute anything they say as needed.”
Electing two planning commissioners to the City Council leaves government in the hands of a political clique. I want to see broader citizen representation.
John Galvin
Sammamish
Vote for Tom Vance
I have been honored to be able to serve Sammamish citizens for these past six years and before that for three years on the Planning Advisory Board. I am not running for re-election again but am especially interested in who will take my seat. John Curley and Tom Vance are running.
Tom Vance is my neighbor and I have known him for many years. But, as some friends have told me, that alone is not a good enough reason to vote for someone. I agree.
I don’t know much about John Curley and wanted to learn more. From observing candidate forums, I see someone who is a very polished and entertaining public speaker. He says he has no experience but his main point is that he will talk to people and listen. I tried on several occasions to set up a meeting with him. I proposed a date, but he was busy. I proposed another date, but he never answered my e-mail. That made me wonder if he really would talk to people and listen. I was dismayed to read in the Sammamish Review that the reason he gave for no involvement in Sammamish may not have been entirely forthcoming. I want my elected officials to be straight with me.
What I know about Tom Vance is that he is very smart and has taken the time to learn about and understand the issues. Some of these issues are dry and complex, yet they are important to our citizens. Public meetings are the tip of the iceberg for being a good councilmember. There is a lot of hard work that is out of the spotlight. I have seen Tom do that hard work on the Parks Bond Advisory Committee and on the Planning Commission. I have observed Tom to be accessible and one who is a straight shooter.
I would still like to meet John Curley and hope he continues to be interested in Sammamish after the campaign, but I believe that Tom Vance has the skills and track record to be the best councilmember.
Lee Fellinge
The writer is a member of the Sammamish City Council
Reader boards
are good
As residents of the area since 1985, there have been a lot of issues covered in editorial columns that we did not agree with. Your comments in opposition to the city of Sammamish approving digital signs at the schools could not be ignored. Your references to visual and light pollution were off base – they are not asking for neon.
Many community members not involved with schools on a day-to-day basis have an interest in local school activities. Many times we look to the media for information, but we know there is a limit to the possible coverage of the activities at our local schools; the local papers are not enough to help keep the community informed.
Schools and their activities are at the core of a community, and reaching those interested people who want to support the students, teachers, and administration who are not linked in is key.
Whether it is covering academic or athletic activities and results, promoting the current drama production, or reminding parents about important meetings, the citizens of Sammamish like to know what is happening. This type of signage could even inform in an emergency and as part of our city’s disaster preparedness.
This technology is now found in surrounding communities and should be allowed at all of our Sammamish area schools rather than the outdated and limited signs that are now being used. Public information signage should fall under a different code than commercial businesses, who are currently allowed to have these types of signs. Perhaps fire stations and City Hall should also have the ability to utilize this technology.
I urge the city of Sammamish to show their support for the local schools by removing any further roadblocks and allowing this new technology to be utilized as soon as possible.
Pam Thorsen
Sammamish
EFR works hard
When I picked up this week’s Sammamish Review and saw the front-page story about the city considering leaving EFR, I wished that Ben Yazici and the City Council could have witnessed the incredible response to the terrible tragedy that occurred at Beaver Lake last night (Oct. 14).
I’m quite sure that if they had seen the tremendous response, the speed, the professionalism and the equipment, that if anyone in their family needed rescue or assistance they would choose EFR. My heart goes out to the family for their tragic loss. My heart and brain go to all of the people involved in the attempted rescue.
Janis Seil
Sammamish
Kudos to schools
I am so proud of our school district for not observing Columbus Day. Christopher Columbus was not the first human being to discover America. He was not even the first European to do so. He was a cruel man, personally responsible for the deaths and enslavement of thousands.
I hope that someday soon we will, as a nation, do away with this holiday and the undeserved attention that it gives to Christopher Columbus.
Linda Yee
Sammamish
Vote to approve R-71
Our founding fathers stated in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Those asking us to reject Referendum 71, would exclude the pursuit of happiness to a segment of our society by not allowing them to have the same financial security, support, protections and benefits guaranteed when two people make a lifetime commitment to each other with state recognition of their partnership. Domestic partnerships are not marriage. Domestic partnerships are not a stepping-stone for gay marriage. Our Supreme Court has already ruled against gay marriage, so these claims are pure nonsense.
Vote “Approve” on Referendum 71 and demonstrate that Washington state is the home of reasoned people who respect our rights, freedoms, the rule of law and the separation of church and state.
Michael T. Barr
Sammamish
Vote for Tiliacos
Erica Tiliacos has volunteered on city land use and environmental committees for more than six years. Her opponent, John James spent a few months on one city committee.
Erica has received only a fraction of her contributions from sources outside the city, while James has put in thousands of his own money and the vast majority of the rest has come from outside the city, including real estate interests. Who is James going to represent if he is elected to City Council?
Erica has the knowledge and experience to knowledgeably represent the people of Sammamish, she is the obvious choice for City Council.
Lori McIntosh
Sammamish
Vote for Odell
On Nov. 3, as we enter our second decade, Sammamish citizens have a real choice for Position 7. While candidate Jack Barry has contributed much to our community over the years, it is time for a positive change. That change is Tom Odell. I have known Tom and his family for the 20 years they have lived in Sammamish and know they are a family of integrity. Odell is focused, analytical, and above all, fair. He does not say one thing and do another.
Tom Odell has stated that a civic center with an aquatic facility is exactly what Sammamish families and kids need. On the other hand, his ‘family friendly’ opponent, Jack Barry, stated that a civic center is ‘wishful thinking’ (Sammamish Review Sept. 30, 2009). He also voted against the skate park and actively opposed the Sammamish Trail, two of the most popular family/kid activities in our city.
Tom Odell has been against the East Lake Sammamish Parkway project from the beginning and continually urged the council to cancel this project. Most citizens with whom he has spoken feel the same. On the other hand, his opponent initially said ‘let’s get on with it’ and supported the entire project during open discussions on the project. Now he claims that he has always only supported two small parts of the project.
Tom Odell has consistently emphasized that this project does not add additional traffic capacity and is not a good use of our road construction funds irrespective of where the dollars come from. Odell has never been in favor of a four-lane highway as his opponent insinuated in the Oct. 7 candidate forum.
As the ballots arrive in the mail, I hope that our citizens will take time to get the facts straight. We need a fresh leader who listens, won’t backtrack when citizens react and refuses to take contributions from special interests. It is time for a positive change on the Sammamish council in Position 7. Please join me in voting for Tom Odell.
John Knie
Sammamish
Fresh faces needed
In a letter to the Review, I wrote about a political clique that controls City Hall. “We need to break this group’s political strangle hold on our city. The intention is not to deny them a voice but to allow other people a voice.”
Letters to the Review from Planning Commissioner Scott Hamilton and Nicholas Tiliacos, husband of a planning commissioner, illustrate my point.
If one does not support this political clique you are ignored. If you present factual arguments that challenge their political agenda, you’ll be accused of “deliberate distortions, misrepresentations, and attacks on the PC’s own integrity.” (Hamilton e-mail).
My letters to the Review concerned political change, not the Town Center. I addressed Sammamish’s failing economy, the teen center, unsound planning, superficial thinking, and political patronage.
Hamilton won’t allow me to disagree. Tiliacos faults me for protecting my property rights. Has Sammamish become an authoritarian, communist state?
Actually, Tiliacos gets it wrong. After seven years and an expenditure of $2 million on planning, there has been no zoning change in the Town Center. Nothing has been accomplished and anyone with a home in the Town Center has been deprived of their property rights for ten years.
The proposed base zoning of R-18 is not Town Center zoning. With fees, 50 percent open space, 10 percent affordable housing, structured parking and restrictive ordinances the proposed plan is an economic dead end for landowners and developers. A $2 million unworkable plan, and commissioners listen to no one.
Commissioner Hamilton makes my point. In an e-mail (public record) he wrote: “I believe that someone from PC, past and present, must appear at every council meeting to defend our work and correct the record. This can be a tag-team effort so no one is burdened with the sole responsibility, or a couple of people could appear at each meeting and tag-team speak to the council after Galvin and others make their presentations, to refute anything they say as needed.”
Electing two planning commissioners to the City Council leaves government in the hands of a political clique. I want to see broader citizen representation.
John Galvin
Sammamish
Vote for Tom Vance
I have been honored to be able to serve Sammamish citizens for these past six years and before that for three years on the Planning Advisory Board. I am not running for re-election again but am especially interested in who will take my seat. John Curley and Tom Vance are running.
Tom Vance is my neighbor and I have known him for many years. But, as some friends have told me, that alone is not a good enough reason to vote for someone. I agree.
I don’t know much about John Curley and wanted to learn more. From observing candidate forums, I see someone who is a very polished and entertaining public speaker. He says he has no experience but his main point is that he will talk to people and listen. I tried on several occasions to set up a meeting with him. I proposed a date, but he was busy. I proposed another date, but he never answered my e-mail. That made me wonder if he really would talk to people and listen. I was dismayed to read in the Sammamish Review that the reason he gave for no involvement in Sammamish may not have been entirely forthcoming. I want my elected officials to be straight with me.
What I know about Tom Vance is that he is very smart and has taken the time to learn about and understand the issues. Some of these issues are dry and complex, yet they are important to our citizens. Public meetings are the tip of the iceberg for being a good councilmember. There is a lot of hard work that is out of the spotlight. I have seen Tom do that hard work on the Parks Bond Advisory Committee and on the Planning Commission. I have observed Tom to be accessible and one who is a straight shooter.
I would still like to meet John Curley and hope he continues to be interested in Sammamish after the campaign, but I believe that Tom Vance has the skills and track record to be the best councilmember.
Lee Fellinge
The writer is a member of the Sammamish City Council
Ballot issues will shape state, county
October 20, 2009
By Warren Kagarise and Chantelle Lusebrink
Washington voters will decide between now and Nov. 3 whether to cap property taxes, add additional protections for conservation land and whether to extend the rights of married spouses to domestic partners.
King County voters will also decide to update language in the county charter through a series of housekeeping measures for which voter approval is required.
The statewide property tax measure, however, has attracted attention from Sammamish municipal and school district officials. Initiative 1033 would limit the growth of city, county and state revenue to inflation and population growth, not including voter-approved revenue. Any revenue above the I-1033-mandated cap would be used to lower property taxes.
Activist Tim Eyman — known for past tax-busting efforts — led the push to get the measure on the ballot.
“We’re not reducing property taxes by making government smaller,” Eyman said. “We’re reducing property taxes by limiting the way government grows.”
Local I-1033 opponents said the measure would force deep service cuts.
I-1033 “puts governments into a financial hole from which they can’t get out as the economy improves,” Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger said.
Sammamish City Manager Ben Yazici said the city Finance Department estimates I-1033 would cost Sammamish about $13.9 million in the next six years.
“If Initiative 1033 passes, it will be a game changer for us and for many cities,” Yazici said.
Shannon Parthemer, a spokeswoman for the Lake Washington School District, said the district estimates I-1033 would result in 219 less teachers and raising class sizes by seven students per classroom. In monetary terms, the district would see $57.8 million in losses between 2011 and 2015 if the initiative passes. The district’s school board has scheduled a public hearing about I-1033 at its Oct. 26 meeting.
Estimates from the state Office of Financial Manage-ment show the Issaquah School District could lose $38.9 million by 2015. The Issaquah School Board voted to oppose the measure. Meanwhile, the Issaquah High School PTSA is part of the Vote No on I-1033 campaign, a coalition of business, civic and labor groups.
“I think the results for 1033 won’t be seen immediately,” said Kelly Munn, a parent and education advocate. “It is going to be a slow, hard march downhill for Issaquah, and year by year we are going to be cutting more and more.”
Munn said education reform and the money to pay for it would stall, making school districts less likely to reach goals and objectives laid out for them by state and federal governments.
As district officials decide where to cut, they might look at what is essential to move children forward and what programs may not work anymore.
Despite any good the measure may do, children at either end of the achievement spectrum would suffer most, Munn said.
“We are going to stall for five years, then put all of our efforts into running another bill to rescind it,” she said. “We have to change the initiative process. This is no longer working. No one wants to pay taxes, but everyone wants services.”
Lake Washington school officials are also alarmed by the proposal.
While the board has not formally taken a position on the initiative, School Board member Doug Eglington said the bill would be counterproductive. He pointed to the cuts made by the school system this year and said, “that would just be compounded if (I-1033) were to go into law.”
Eastside Fire & Rescue Fire Chief Lee Soptich said he and his staff are concerned about the losses I-1033 could spur.
EFR provides fire protection and emergency response to Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, Carnation and parts of unincorporated King County.
“My professional opinion is that this will be the death nail for services,” Soptich said. “The only thing that can come out of it is service-level reductions, other than taxpayer relief.”
Eyman dismissed scenarios predicted by local officials as “pre-election hysteria.” He pointed to I-747: In 2001, voters passed the measure to limit annual property tax increases to 1 percent. Elected officials said the cap would force dramatic service cuts. After the measure passed, Eyman said, governments adapted to the new limit.
Courts later declared the measure unconstitutional. In 2007, however, the Legislature reinstated the 1 percent cap.
If governments can work within the framework of the 1 percent cap, Eyman said, the proposed limit should be workable as well.
“We’re going to give them a much higher limit: the rate of inflation and population growth,” he said.
Another controversial issue will go before voters on the Nov. 3 statewide ballot. Referendum 71 would extend the rights of married spouses to same-sex couples and unmarried senior couples registered with the state.
Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the expansion May 18. Opponents of the expansion then gathered signatures to send the item to voters for a referendum.
When a measure signed by the governor is put up for referendum, voters choose “approved” to accept the law or “rejected” to eliminate it.
King County voters will also decide whether to add the Open Space Amendment to the county charter. The item would strengthen protections for county land along Issaquah Creek, parts of Cougar and Squak mountains, and dozens of other natural areas throughout King County.
If voters approved the Open Space Amendment, protected properties could only be sold by a supermajority vote of the King County Council.
County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, who represents Issaquah, said although officials had no intention of selling the properties, the measure amounts to “us protecting ourselves from us.”
Lambert said the Open Space Amendment would mean more than 90 designated properties would be “extra-extra-extra protected.”
The measure would not enable the County Council to buy more land or spend taxpayer money.
The council voted 9-0 to send the measure to voters. In addition to the County Council, the Issaquah Alps Trails Club and Issaquah Environmental Council endorsed the Open Space Amendment.
No organized opposition to the charter amendment has materialized.
Terry Lavender, co-chairwoman of Yes on the Open Space Amendment, said the item would lay the groundwork for notices and hearings if officials sought to change the status of a protected site.
“We all believe it’s protected,” Lavender said. “The reality is, the protections could be undone.”
In addition to the Open Space Amendment, King County voters will decide three other charter amendments, or housekeeping measures to update the governing document.
Amendment No. 1 would remove obsolete material from the charter about how King County should transition from pre-charter to charter government. The switch to charter government occurred 40 years ago.
Amendment No. 2 would repeal a section of the charter adopted in 1969 and now outdated.
The section requires county agencies to present work programs and request funding each quarter. Officials said the system is outmoded and does nothing to improve fiscal control.
Amendment No. 3 would require Charter Review Commission appointees to be confirmed by the County Council.
Furthermore, the amendment would require findings and recommendations of future commissions to be considered in public meetings.
Reporter J.B. Wogan contributed to this report. Comment at www.SammamishReview.com.
Washington voters will decide between now and Nov. 3 whether to cap property taxes, add additional protections for conservation land and whether to extend the rights of married spouses to domestic partners.
King County voters will also decide to update language in the county charter through a series of housekeeping measures for which voter approval is required.
The statewide property tax measure, however, has attracted attention from Sammamish municipal and school district officials. Initiative 1033 would limit the growth of city, county and state revenue to inflation and population growth, not including voter-approved revenue. Any revenue above the I-1033-mandated cap would be used to lower property taxes. Read more
Hazel Wolf has a parking lot
October 20, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
During his fall quarterly report, the city’s Public Works Director mentioned that the Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve now has a parking lot.
John Cunningham, the city’s public works director, showed before and after slides of a turnabout on Southeast Windsor Boulevard where King County had initially built a dead end.
In a negotiation with the Windsor Greens Homeowners Association, the city carved out space for about six parking spaces near the entrance of the preserve.
The city also agreed to landscape the west side of the street and update it with a sidewalk. The Public Works Department started and completed construction this summer.
“I think it’s great. It provides the public with a nice place to park,” said Bob Abbott, a spokesman for the homeowners association.
From the parking spaces, residents can walk east into the preserve.
Cunningham said in a later interview that the project ended up costing about $6,000. He said the city still needs to paint parking stripes, but otherwise it’s ready to go.
“People can go use it now,” Cunningham 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.
During his fall quarterly report, the city’s Public Works Director mentioned that the Hazel Wolf Wetlands Preserve now has a parking lot.
John Cunningham, the city’s public works director, showed before and after slides of a turnabout on Southeast Windsor Boulevard where King County had initially built a dead end. Read more
Senators listen to community’s education reform concerns
October 20, 2009
By Christopher Huber
Marianne Kersten has sent two children through the Issaquah School District and currently has a junior at Issaquah High School. Over the past 16 or so years, she’s become frustrated with the ever-increasing out-of-pocket expenses that come with sending a student through school, especially high school, she said.
She’s tired of the state not taking charge to fund basic staples of her child’s school experience, like computers and Advanced Placement textbooks.
“Every year it’s the same old story,” she said. Something’s gotta give down in Olympia.”
Kersten, along with parents and teachers had a chance to vent frustrations at an education reform listening session Oct. 15 at Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus. The group asked questions of and heard feedback from Sens. Eric Oemig (D-Kirkland/Sammamish) and Rosemary McAuliffe (D-Bothell), both members of the Senate Education Committee.
During the last legislative session, the state government redefined basic education. In the process, they ended up committing to provide millions upon millions of dollars to schools across the state.
Legislators did not, however, develop a way to pay for it. This listening tour is part of an early effort to develop a funding strategy.
“There’s a lot of work still to be done,” Oemig said.
Oemig said the point to the pair’s traveling around the area is to listen to constituents and to dispel myths about the basic education-funding changes and take feedback from teachers, parents and community members.
Much of the evening’s discussion focused on when legislators should use data and research or simply consult educators and students to figure out how to fund the new model.
“It’s important for the senators that are decision makers to really be in touch,” said Neva Luke, president of the Issaquah Education Association. “If they’re going to make policy, they need to understand what’s going on in our schools, not just read the research.”
In his responses to questions, Oemig made the case for using empirical data to find trends and streamline program funding, but said he understood the value of an individual student approach.
“More money doesn’t fix all the problems … but we do need to get more out of what’s there,” Oemig said. “It’s not, ‘what’s wrong with the kid?’ It’s, ‘what’s wrong with the way we present the material to the kid.”
Luke and a small group of teachers stressed the idea that as lawmakers seek to provide funding to the new education finance models ushered in by the change in the law, people like Oemig and McAuliffe should be careful about jumping on the data-driven bandwagon.
“We need to be very thoughtful, because if we jump on the bandwagon and say, ‘well, the research shows,’ we need to be very cautious,” Luke said.
She invited the senators to visit classrooms around the district and see for themselves how students are learning.
“Let’s see what real people are doing with real kids,” Luke said.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
Marianne Kersten has sent two children through the Issaquah School District and currently has a junior at Issaquah High School. Over the past 16 or so years, she’s become frustrated with the ever-increasing out-of-pocket expenses that come with sending a student through school, especially high school, she said.
She’s tired of the state not taking charge to fund basic staples of her child’s school experience, like computers and Advanced Placement textbooks.
“Every year it’s the same old story,” she said. Something’s gotta give down in Olympia.”
State Sen. Eric Oemig (D-Kirkland/Sammamish) talks at Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus. Photo by Christopher Huber
Candidates: Who they are, why they’re running
October 20, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
Michael Rutt, 55, was sitting in his parked Honda Accord, waiting for somebody else to take a stand.
It was the afternoon of June 5, and though Rutt had told the local Sammamish newspapers that he was running for City Council, he hadn’t officially filed yet at the King County Elections building in Renton.
“I would have gladly bowed out if I saw a candidate that I thought was better than me,” Rutt said. But no one was coming. Don Gerend, a 10-year incumbent, hadn’t faced an opponent since he first ran for office in 1999. Unless Rutt followed through, Gerend was about to sail onto another four-year term.
“One thing I would not allow was one seat to go uncontested,” he said.
Rutt is somewhat of an aberration in the 2009 City Council elections. He hasn’t raised a dime for his campaign, he has no fliers and he has no yard signs. He said dinner conversations with his wife Claudine don’t revolve around the campaign, and his five adult children haven’t become volunteer canvassers. Rutt went to a “how-to” seminar on campaigning, but decided to disregard the advice about door knocking, too.
“Is this what American politics has come to? It goes against my grain and I don’t think it’s what it’s all about,” he said, adding that he believes a candidate forum — there were three in October — was the proper place to garner votes.
Rutt said he didn’t expect to win.
“I understand I’m a long shot,” he said. But for Rutt, the race isn’t about winning as much as forcing a dialogue and provoking change. If you’re complacent, then you share the blame in government’s dysfunction.
“Is it Ben? Is it the council? People have to look at themselves, because it’s us,” he said.
A City Council position pays like a part-time job ($10,200) but requires 30 or more hours per week. Yet, for the most part, people have opted to try it out: In the city’s first five elections, 22 of 28 council races have been contested.
Tom Vance, 58, dressed in a blazer and button-down shirt, was slumped over on a bench outside the City Council chambers.
Vance said people were shooting him menacing looks that night — the result of his delivering an unpopular recommendation to the council. Vance voted against his group, but as the chairman, he had to represent their joint opinion.
Vance isn’t the sort to voice dissent once a decision has been made, according to friends.
He uses the same polite tact in how he campaigns.
“I’m going to go at it from a glass is half-full approach. I try to be upbeat about it. Yeah, we’ve got issues, but we’ve also got good opportunities in the future,” he said.
Vance errs so much on the side of being positive that he evades specifics about what ticked him off enough to start working on city issues in 2003. Rather than get mad, he got involved, he said.
Friends repeatedly talk about his sense of fairness, the desire to build consensus and his willingness to dive headlong into the nitty gritty details of municipal government.
“It would be hard not to like Tom. It really would be. Even outside of politics,” said Mary Doerrer, a friend of Tom’s for about seven years.
Doerrer, who said she supports knowledgeable, detail-oriented candidates, also supports Erica Tiliacos.
Elizabeth Knuth describes Tiliacos in much the same way. Knuth met Tiliacos while they were carpooling to take their sons to school seven years ago. They’ve been friends ever since.
“She isn’t one of those people that just lets the world pass her by,” Knuth said.
“I know she’s spent a lot of time doing research on the things she cares about,” she said. “I like that about her, that she’s not just winging it.”
Tiliacos said she’s had to adjust to the idea of reaching out to people and asking for their vote. She said she remembers when she picked up her yard signs she had ordered.
“I saw this big printed pile and then I realized, oh dear, now we have to put them out there. You’re not anonymous anymore,” she said.
Less than half of the people (about 45 percent) who are registered to vote in Sammamish elections determine who wins City Council races. In the last four City Council election years, the average number of people who voted was 10,681. The city population is a little more than 40,000.
Janet Barry remembers how her father, whenever the family went out, used to stop and point at chain link fences in Chicago. He owned a chain link fence company and wanted to show them what he did with his time.
“It’s kind of a replay of my life when I watch Jack engage our family in the experience of the growing city,” she said. “I love being around people who love what they do. And Jack does.”
Recently, their breakfast conversation always ends the same way, she said. After coffee and reading the newspaper, she asks him what he plans to do today.
“His answer always is, I’m doorbelling,” she said. Soon he stuffs his suit pockets with fliers and heads out the door.
Jack Barry, 71, was well accustomed to the world of politics before ever running for the City Council 10 years ago. His father, John Barry Sr., was a Superintendent of Public Instruction for Maricopa County, Arizona and had to run for office every two years. Barry said opponents would spout half-truths and distortions, but his father wasn’t fazed.
“It was much more difficult for my mom than my dad,” he said.
But Janet, a former Issaquah School District superintendent, said public service and public criticism are a part of the household. They know how to handle it.
“We talk things over with each other. We always look for what’s underneath that negative statement,” she said.
As the election season winds down, John Curley has raised about $12,000, the most by far. Other candidates fall in the range of $5,000-$7,000 apiece. But Curley’s war chest isn’t big in the context of previous council races. In past elections, four council candidates have raised more than $20,000 apiece.
Tom Odell uses an index card for marking what people think is important in the city. He calls the results of his tally his “hot button” issues, which goes well with the red and white buttons he handed out at public celebrations all summer.
Odell is the sort to do his homework before embarking on a project. He sat down with five of the current City Council members to ask what the job requires. He called his friends in New England who organized a local campaign for now President Barack Obama.
“It’s the first time I’ve run for anything,” he explained.
Odell has been a fixture at council meetings for the last year and he appeared at most public events this summer, handing out red Odell balloons. He received heavy family support, with his daughter Anne and wife Ruth helping with campaign materials.
Odell said he’s found door knocking tricky, since he wants to avoid bothering people at dinner time.
He said he receives odd questions occasionally from residents, things that aren’t under the purview of a council member. Odell fielded some questions about the national health care debate this summer.
“One guy asked if I thought it’d be okay to shoot a deer in his yard,” Odell said.
Fit and family friendly
If elected, John Curley would probably be the fittest member of the council — he competes in local 5K and 10K races almost every weekend (he raises money for charities that way). At one candidate forum, he revealed that he swims on Pine Lake with a buoy tied to his foot; blue and white “Elect John Curley” signs, attached to the buoy, bob in the water as he does laps.
When Curley first consulted with his wife on running for City Council, she had some reservations.
“With his auction business, he’s busy. I was worried that this would take more time away from the family,” Lacey Curley said. “(But) anyone that knows him knows that he has been passionate about politics forever. That’s his sport … I wouldn’t even feel right telling him not to do it.”
At 47, John Curley is the second youngest candidate (John James is 46). He has said he would bring the perspective of young families to a current council that collectively has one child under 18. Lacey said her husband talks to their daughter Charlie, 8, and son, Ry, 7, about city issues, especially problems with new construction.
The topic of growth is important to the Curleys, since they left Queen Anne for a quieter, more family-oriented environment, Lacey said.
“Yes, we want to grow, but we don’t want to grow to the point where these young families don’t want to be here,” she said.
John James, the other young father running for a council position, said he gets that most people aren’t tuned in to the day-to-day details of city issues.
“The average citizen is hard pressed to name the current City Council,” James said. James talks about himself as a mainstream candidate, someone who understands what it’s like to be a working dad holding down a nine-to-five job — he works for Coldwell Banker. In his Municipal League of King County questionnaire, he wrote about coaching youth soccer as an experience that helped prepare him for being on the council.
He has three children, all attending local public schools on the plateau. James references his experience in the real estate business as a lens through which he understands quality of life issues, from neighborhood aesthetics to what parks Sammamish needs.
James ran for a council position in 2007 but lost to Nancy Whitten. He said he spent the evening of his loss eating ice cream with supporters in the Cold Stone Creamery.
“Obviously, you don’t live on a City Council stipend,” James said. “I had a job and I had a career and I was trying to give back to my community.”
Rethink your positions
Michael Rutt’s no-signs, no-fliers strategy matches well with his opponent’s campaign philosophy. Don Gerend isn’t spending money on the election either.
“I was really disgusted after the first campaign,” Don Gerend said, referring to the proliferation of yard signs throughout the city in 1999. Gerend said he wanted people to vote for him based on his positions, not his yard signs. He vowed not to use the signs again — this hasn’t been a problem since no one ran against him in 2001 or 2005.
“I’m glad I have an opponent,” Gerend said. “(It) challenges you to rethink your positions on things.”
Before deciding to run for a fourth term, Gerend made a deal with his wife Susan. If he ran again, she could get a new dog. They made the same agreement in 1999.
Ten years ago, Susan got a standard poodle. In 2009, she got an airedale named Chester.
Gerend said the experience has been invigorating, learning to drink “from the fire hose of municipal government” and meeting interesting people. But he was surprised to learn that there’s no such thing as the perfect policy decision.
“You never make a decision that everybody’s happy with,” he 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.
Michael Rutt, 55, was sitting in his parked Honda Accord, waiting for somebody else to take a stand.
It was the afternoon of June 5, and though Rutt had told the local Sammamish newspapers that he was running for City Council, he hadn’t officially filed yet at the King County Elections building in Renton.
“I would have gladly bowed out if I saw a candidate that I thought was better than me,” Rutt said. But no one was coming. Don Gerend, a 10-year incumbent, hadn’t faced an opponent since he first ran for office in 1999. Unless Rutt followed through, Gerend was about to sail onto another four-year term.
“One thing I would not allow was one seat to go uncontested,” he said.
Sammamish reviews plans to increase sustainability
October 20, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
More biking, more walking, more energy efficient cars and lights that run on less electricity — those are just some ways Sammamish might go green in years to come.
Kamuron Gurol, director of Community Development, told the City Council that Sammamish has received $25,000 through federal stimulus funding to come up with a sustainability strategy.
Gurol’s presentation follows on the heels of a sustainability event in September that encouraged softer human impact on the environment, more efficient energy use, and water conservation.
Gurol gave a report in April to the City Council that outlined a plan for encouraging sustainability on the plateau.
It would focus on smart development in the future Town Center area, regional sustainability efforts between the city and other public agencies, city action (such as its ongoing effort to update shoreline building regulations) and community volunteer efforts.
In his October presentation, Gurol came back to the council with a few more specifics, but mostly sought to verify that his staff was going in the right direction.
Gurol said his department might seek input from the community, neighboring cities, the council’s advisory boards, sustainability experts and a hired consultant. He said the council would have to decide how to solicit input and from whom.
Gurol said the city would likely work to improve energy and water efficiency.
He said it would also encourage conservation, reuse and recycling.
He also included a memo to the council with summaries of efforts by seven other Washington cities to incorporate sustainability into their planning.
Some cities called for periodic reports of their carbon footprint. Others suggested community education programs about energy conservation.
Kirkland is pushing for replacing its invasive plants with native ones.
Issaquah is encouraging certified green building techniques.
Shoreline plans to have stricter regulations on storm water management.
And Bellevue plans to protect and expand trees that provide environmental and economic value to the area.
To read the full summary, go to www.ci.sammamish.wa.us/files/document/5993.pdf.
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.
More biking, more walking, more energy efficient cars and lights that run on less electricity — those are just some ways Sammamish might go green in years to come.
Kamuron Gurol, director of Community Development, told the City Council that Sammamish has received $25,000 through federal stimulus funding to come up with a sustainability strategy. Read more
Issaquah School District to place levy on next year’s ballot
October 20, 2009
Issaquah School Board members unanimously voted to put three levy measures before voters on the Feb. 9 ballot.
The three replacement measures — a $155.9 million maintenance and operations levy, a $1.7 transportation levy and a $40.4 million technology and critical repairs levy — would sustain funding in those areas through 2013.
If approved, voters would be keeping the taxes they approved for the district from the 2006 levy package for another four years. Read more
Chris Merritt retires after 38 years of volunteering
October 20, 2009
By Christopher Huber
Of all the sad, happy and adventurous stories Chris Merritt could tell of his 38 years working for the fire and rescue service in Sammamish, perhaps none of them have been as profound as the story about the time he decided to become a volunteer paramedic.
It was 1971 and he was 15. He accompanied his father, Jim Merritt, and some plateau firefighters to a house fire because he wanted to see what it was like. He witnessed the walls collapse as the blaze tore the home apart. Merritt said the homeowner stood in front of the destroyed house, having lost everything. The man had escaped in time, but part of his suit had been burned off of his back.
That was the pivotal moment, he said.
“Dad turned to me and said, ‘this man just lost everything he owns and ever cared about,” Chris Merritt said of the moment. “Dad said, ‘if you choose a career in public service, you’ll never regret it.’”
So the day he turned 16, Oct. 6, 1971, Chris Merritt signed up to volunteer. Back then the fire department and EMS was all-volunteer on the plateau — Issaquah had two paid firefighters, he said. Back then they didn’t use much protective gear or breathing masks, either.
“To think about that now, that’s just crazy,” Chris Merritt said.
The 54-year-old Merritt grew up next to the Pine Lake firehouse and was surrounded by a family of firefighters. He currently works fulltime as a medical service officer with King County Medic One, but spent much of his spare time until now looking out for the people in the Sammamish community. After announcing his retirement Oct. 6, Merritt was recently recognized for his longtime service to the area.
“I didn’t retire to get recognition. I retired to retire,” Chris Merritt said. “It’s difficult to believe that it’s been 38 years.”
The department gave him a special fire extinguisher as a token of their appreciation.
“I’d like to talk on and on and on about the merits of Chris Merritt,” said EFR Chief Lee Soptich at the agency’s Oct. 13 meeting.
Chris Merritt and his four brothers followed in the footsteps of their father and grandfather, who built the Pine Lake fire station, according to an EFR press release. Jim Merritt is currently a fire commissioner in Yakima.
“Part of it was the excitement of it,” said Jim Merritt of why his son joined the department — then District 10 — in his youth. “Every time the pager goes off, it’s a different scenario. I guess they got it from me.”
Chris became a part-time dispatcher for the plateau area of District 10 in 1972 and then was certified as an emergency medical technician in 1973.
Eventually, he was battalion chief, in charge of all the volunteers at stations 81, 82 and 83, all of which are in Sammamish.
“It’s probably one of the most rewarding careers somebody could ever have,” Chris Merritt said. “Because every day, when you go to work, there is never a routine day.”
As the emergency response and fire services grew, so did Merritt in his roles with the area departments. Since becoming a certified paramedic in 1979, Chris Merritt worked for the Bellevue Fire Department and King County Medical Services.
“Chris certainly had a strong inspiration to be a paramedic,” said his brother, Warren Merritt, who is currently the deputy chief for the Bellevue Fire Department. “I don’t think he’s done giving yet.”
He played an integral role in area departments developing an Advanced Life Support service, as well as in initiating the program to provide better feedback to EMTs on their service reports.
He said some of the programs and increased services developed over the past decades have made King County emergency medical services some of the best in the nation.
“You see people at the worst moment in their life and you have this finite opportunity to make a difference in somebody’s life,” Chris Merritt said. “For me, it is just a great deal of personal satisfaction of knowing as a paramedic, when you go out to help someone, that you’re making a significant difference in their life.”
Of all the things Merritt did as a volunteer paramedic, he most fondly remembers the birth of his son, Adam, in 1984. That’s because he delivered him on his own in the back of an aid car as Jim Merritt drove. Other than the fact that they had to find a way around the road-blocking Anderson House as crews moved it, “it was a pretty routine delivery,” Chris Merritt said.
He continues to work for the county’s Medic One service, but Chris Merritt said after 38 years he needs to take a breather from the volunteer work that eats up a lot of time on the side. He calls his time serving the Sammamish community, “a wonderful experience,” but it’s time to slow down.
Maybe Adam Merritt, the family’s newest EFR firefighter, will be able to tell the kinds of stories his father did.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
Of all the sad, happy and adventurous stories Chris Merritt could tell of his 38 years working for the fire and rescue service in Sammamish, perhaps none of them have been as profound as the story about the time he decided to become a volunteer paramedic.
It was 1971 and he was 15. He accompanied his father, Jim Merritt, and some plateau firefighters to a house fire because he wanted to see what it was like. He witnessed the walls collapse as the blaze tore the home apart. Merritt said the homeowner stood in front of the destroyed house, having lost everything. The man had escaped in time, but part of his suit had been burned off of his back.
Ron Pedee, EFR Board of Directors chairman (left), presents Chris Merritt with a commerative fire extinguisher in honor of his decades as a volunteer. Photo by J.B. Wogan
Skyline grads fights brain hemorrage, graduates from MIT
October 20, 2009
By Chantelle Lusebrink
A red-and-white beach ball bounced brightly against the overcast sky, skipping across the heads of Massachusetts Institute of Technology students clad in black caps and gowns June 5.
Among them was John Pavlish, a 2003 Skyline High School graduate. For him, the day was one that had been in the making for more than six years.
“It was the day of my grandmother’s birthday. I thought a lot about her, because she was so proud I was attending,” Pavlish said. “She died before I graduated, but I thanked her for giving me the courage to do what I have.”
A storm on both coasts
As the Hanukkah Eve storm raged against the Pacific Northwest Dec. 14, 2006, another storm was raging inside John Pavlish’s body as he studied for finals.
“Two days before the end of the semester, he called me and said, ‘Mom, I don’t feel good,’” his mother Sally Pavlish said.
He had been sick for nearly a month before placing that call to his mother.
Feeling feverish, developing a purple rash over his lower legs, having cold sores in his mouth and losing his appetite were among many things he’d been dealing with, he said. But when he went to use the restroom that night, it was the last straw.
“I looked down at my urine and it was completely red,” he said. “I thought, this isn’t normal.”
After being sent from the school’s infirmary to Massachusetts General Hospital, hematologists diagnosed John with a rare blood disease. Essentially, bacteria had infected his blood stream and his body’s defenses were trying to rid his body of it, he said. Unfortunately, his body couldn’t tell the difference between good and bad blood, so it was trying to get rid of it all.
After steroids and other medication, he was told he would be fine after resting in the hospital.
After making a few reassuring phone calls to relatives and friends, he said he developed a headache on Dec. 14.
“I was excited, because it was my first time in a hospital and here, the nurse told me to call for anything. I had my own butler,” he said, with a smirk.
After taking Tylenol, he said he lost consciousness.
A fight back from the brink
It was the second telephone call that sent a chill through those in the Pavlish home.
“In the middle of the night, I got a phone call from a neurologist,” Sally Pavlish said. “He told me they needed permission to operate on my son, that his situation and prognosis were grave, and that I needed to come out right away.”
A CAT scan revealed a large brain hemorrhage in John’s left occipital and temporal lobes. It was caused by the low blood levels in his body.
“They usually don’t do that type of surgery on people,” John said. “The surgeon said he only did it because of my age, my health, that I wasn’t addicted to drugs and I didn’t have a typical brain — it was smart. It was one that went to MIT.”
Stepping outside of their home to leave, the Pavlish family — Sally, John’s father Robin and his brother Paul — was met with disaster. High winds had knocked down trees on residential streets and state highways, and power outages covered the area, including at Sea-Tac International Airport.
While she drove to Portland to catch a direct flight to Boston, John underwent two surgeries to relieve pressure in his brain.
When the Pavlishes arrived at the hospital, John remembered who they were, Sally said. But he was missing the majority of the left portion of his skull, because the swelling of his brain had been so great, they couldn’t put it back on.
That wasn’t the hardest part, though, John said.
“I would put my finger up there and it was squishy, so I had a helmet,” he said, still fascinated. “But the worst part was, they wouldn’t let me shower by myself or cut my hair.”
It remained that way for months, until they could replace that piece of his skull.
Through it all, “the school was so supportive,” Sally said. “They helped me find a graduate apartment, so I could live near John. I don’t know of any other school that takes care of their students like that.”
All roads lead back to MIT
Thankfully, he retained many of his physical abilities, like walking and writing, unlike many people who undergo a traumatic brain injury similar to his, John said.
However, he did lose peripheral vision in his right eye and portions of his language center, Sally said.
In Seattle, John had to relearn to read, write and spell words, do simple arithmetic and recoordinate his eyes to work together.
“He had to relearn simple things,” Sally said. “Like going through alphabet flash cards. He got to the letter ‘n’ and he wanted to use the word nylon.”
“But I couldn’t think of how to spell it,” John said, remembering the frustration. “So, I wrote down the chemical formula for it.”
The same happened when he attempted a simple division problem. He found he couldn’t do it, but he could complete a calculus equation with ease.
“I think many of the rehab people who have worked with head trauma felt that John’s prognosis was not good and that he could not return to college and finish his degree,” Dr. Mary Ellen Reinhart, of the MIT Infirmary, wrote in an e-mail.
Even John was uncertain where he might end up.
“There were dark points,” he said. “If it wasn’t for my friends and family to cheer me on, I don’t know if I should say this, but there were times I felt like committing suicide, because the only things I felt like I could contribute were my organs. My brain was dead.
“It took a long time, but I’m proud of the little things I’ve done,” he added.
After a year and a half of rehabilitative therapy sessions, often more than 15-20 hours per week, he said he felt ready to return to school.
“When he exceeded ability of medical therapists, it became clear that coming back to MIT would further his rehabilitation though difficult,” Reinhart wrote.
Taking one class each semester in fall 2008 and this spring, John finally realized his dream and shook the hand of the president of the college while he got his diploma June 5.
“I used to look into his crib and wonder what his life would hold,” Sally said. “I never thought that this would be part of it. But I’m glad he doesn’t always listen,” to what others say.
“John has a brilliant brain and is gifted, so even if some of it was damaged, there is still more there than many people,” Reinhart wrote. “As a result of all of this, he certainly has become a very different and admirable young man.”
Today, John looks to his future and is still uncertain of exactly what he wants to do.
“I’ve thought of doing consulting work for IBM,” he said, although he still flirts with the idea of attending graduate school.
“I look at things in a different way,” he added. “I’ve stopped dwelling on who I was, but I focus on what I can do now.”
Reporter Chantelle Lusebrink can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
A red-and-white beach ball bounced brightly against the overcast sky, skipping across the heads of Massachusetts Institute of Technology students clad in black caps and gowns June 5.
Among them was John Pavlish, a 2003 Skyline High School graduate. For him, the day was one that had been in the making for more than six years.
“It was the day of my grandmother’s birthday. I thought a lot about her, because she was so proud I was attending,” Pavlish said. “She died before I graduated, but I thanked her for giving me the courage to do what I have.”
John Pavlish and his mother Sally pose in the family living room beside the piano that has been an important part of his rehabilitation therapy to recover from a brain hemorrhage. Photo by Greg Farrar
