Skyline soccer gets past Todd Beamer in quarterfinal
November 17, 2009
By Christopher Huber
It was a good thing Skyline senior midfielder Coral Anderson didn’t let the gut reaction to duck control her when she saw a lined shot from Anna Morgan coming right at her face Nov. 14. As she stood in the penalty box, fighting off a defender, Morgan, a midfielder, drove the ball from the left sideline. Anderson headed it straight in to the back post in the third minute of the game.
The goal was the only score in Skyline’s 1-0 quarterfinal win over Todd Beamer at Federal Way Memorial Stadium. The win advanced Skyline to the semifinal match against Kentwood at 8 p.m. Nov. 20.
“(Anderson) just shows up to big games and dominates,” said Skyline head coach Don Braman. “Without that early goal, the game plays out differently.”
Beamer had its chances throughout the game. Senior midfielder Holland Crook, who scored 14 goals and had six assists this season, threatened often. She almost tied the game in the second half, Braman said, when she snuck a shot past a diving Tina Vargas. But the goal post saved the day for Skyline, knocking the ball out, Braman said.
“(Sophomore midfielder) Nicole Candioglos did a great job of limiting opportunities for Holland Crook to get the ball,” Braman said.”
Braman credited Morgan for her playmaking.
“She continues to do a great job of creating scoring opportunities for us,” he said.
Brittanee and Dom Randle also created additional opportunities for the Lady Spartans throughout the game.
“Early, we were really all over them,” Braman said.
But without the extra insurance of a second goal, Skyline’s defense had to work harder to stifle Beamer’s pressure in the second half.
“It’s a testament to their ability to recognize the significance of the moment,” Braman said.
The girls face an undefeated Kentwood team (16-0-4) in the semifinal match at 8 p.m. Nov. 20. Kentwood has allowed just two goals all season and completed 18 shutouts.
Nov 11: Skyline 1, Tahoma 0
Skyline won without scoring a goal in regulation Nov. 11 against Tahoma. The Lady Spartans advanced to the quarterfinal against Beamer after scoring three shootout goals to Tahoma’s one.
Maddie Christ, Michelle Bretl and Madi Barney each made their shots. Jill Stika and Tina Vargas had the shutout for Skyline.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.SammamishReview.com.
It was a good thing Skyline senior midfielder Coral Anderson didn’t let the gut reaction to duck control her when she saw a lined shot from Anna Morgan coming right at her face Nov. 14. As she stood in the penalty box, fighting off a defender, Morgan, a midfielder, drove the ball from the left sideline. Anderson headed it straight in to the back post in the third minute of the game.
The goal was the only score in Skyline’s 1-0 quarterfinal win over Todd Beamer at Federal Way Memorial Stadium. The win advanced Skyline to the semifinal match against Kentwood at 8 p.m. Nov. 20. Read more
Skyline football rolls past South Kitsap
November 17, 2009
By Christopher Huber
Senior quarterback Jake Heaps and junior wide receiver Kasen Williams showed everyone watching Nov. 14 why they are regarded as the premier passing duo in the state.
When the Skyline Spartans football team was looking for that signature blowout win to gain confidence in its quest for another state title, it found it through the air — seven times — in a 63-14 victory over South Kitsap at Mount Tahoma Stadium. It advanced to the state quarterfinals against Curtis.
The Spartans set a school record for points scored in a first half — 56.
“It was really exciting. The kids came out and executed exactly how they’re capable of,” said head coach Mat Taylor. “It was a surprise. To score 56 points in the first half, that’s never happened at Skyline.”
All but one touchdown came in the first half for both teams. Heaps passed for seven touchdowns and completed 20 of 27 attempts for 308 yards.
And he connected with Williams four times in the first half.
“Jake is just so good with his mechanics. And Kasen is just so good at catching the ball,” Taylor said. “He just has a knack for getting open and Jake’s got a knack for finding him.”
Williams finished the night with eight catches for 107 yards. Heaps capped off the half with a 31-yard strike to Jordan Simone. Simone had three catches for 90 yards.
Taylor said the plan was for Skyline to come out confident and put doubts in the minds of the South Kitsap players. That’s what they did. Capitalizing on South Kitsap mistakes and working quickly, Skyline scored three times in the first eight minutes of the game, Taylor said. Running back Nick Washburn scored on a two-yard run, Connor Brandt caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Heaps and Williams hauled in an 11-yard toss.
“Before we knew it, it was 21-0,” he said. “This is a complete team.”
Despite its dominance on both sides of the ball, Skyline still let a couple of big plays get away from it.
South Kitsap scored 14 points in the second quarter, once on a 77-yard pass from Gordy Anderson to Isaiah Davis and again on a Leon LaDeaux 93-yard kickoff return.
Skyline finished with 490 yards of total offense and held South Kitsap to 211. Nick Beauchamp carried the ball seven times for Skyline, totaling 52 yards and Washburn had seven carries for 50 yards.
South Kitsap finished the season 10-1.
Skyline faces Curtis High School of University Place (11-0) at 7 p.m. Nov. 21 at a location to be determined.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com.
Senior quarterback Jake Heaps and junior wide receiver Kasen Williams showed everyone watching Nov. 14 why they are regarded as the premier passing duo in the state.
When the Skyline Spartans football team was looking for that signature blowout win to gain confidence in its quest for another state title, it found it through the air — seven times — in a 63-14 victory over South Kitsap at Mount Tahoma Stadium. It advanced to the state quarterfinals against Curtis.
The Spartans set a school record for points scored in a first half — 56. Read more
Skyline, Eastlake athletes make All-KingCo tennis
November 17, 2009
Skyline, Eastlake athletes make All-KingCo tennis
Three Skyline and two Eastlake athletes were recently selected to the 2009 All-KingCo tennis team.
Skyline’s singles standout Tyler VanGrunsven earned a spot on the first team All-KingCo, along side Eastlake’s Vicente Varas.
Eastlake’s Kevin Zhao earned honorable mention, as well as Skyline’s Aman Manji and doubles pair Ben Huang and Win Hubbard.
VanGrunsven and Varas will play at the state 4A tournament in May.
Three Skyline and two Eastlake athletes were recently selected to the 2009 All-KingCo tennis team.
Skyline’s singles standout Tyler VanGrunsven earned a spot on the first team All-KingCo, along side Eastlake’s Vicente Varas.
Eastlake’s Kevin Zhao earned honorable mention, as well as Skyline’s Aman Manji and doubles pair Ben Huang and Win Hubbard.
VanGrunsven and Varas will play at the state 4A tournament in May.
Council wary of proposed tax hike
November 16, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
The Sammamish City Council was far from sold on its proposed 2010 budget when it went over the latest numbers Nov. 10.
The council had approved a rough version of the 2010 budget in December 2008. Even though the city had used conservative estimates for revenue, income from the real estate market and development are lower than anticipated.
The 2010 budget coming out of the city’s Finance Department proposed a $72.6 million spending plan, which is about an 11 percent increase from 2009. The budget also assumed the city would reap $41.8 million in revenues, about a 12 percent increase from 2009.
Two features of the proposed 2010 budget caught the council’s attention. The budget assumed a 1 percent increase in property taxes for Sammamish residents, the maximum increase permitted under state law. It also assumed the hiring a new detective for the Sammamish Police Department.
Neither assumption received overwhelming support from the council.
“Have staff looked at what it would be like if the mill rate didn’t go up?” City Councilwoman Nancy Whitten asked.
Whitten mentioned that property values went down in 2009 and wondered if it was fair for the city to ask for higher taxes when people were essentially poorer than the year before.
“We need to have the 1 percent property tax in order to balance the budget,” City Manager Ben Yazici said.
Lyman Howard, finance director for the city, said the city was limited in its options because it only had two major sources of revenue: property taxes and sales taxes. Howard pointed out that the sales tax hasn’t been a reliable revenue source.
Sales tax revenues are down 20 percent from the same time in 2008.
Since the Nov. 10 meeting was a study session, the council took no action, but was scheduled to continue budget discussions Nov. 17 and Dec. 1. The council is scheduled to vote on the budget at the Dec. 1 meeting.
Even though the city has been vocal about control cost increases for Eastside Fire & Rescue (its fire protection provider), police protection would be the largest increase to Sammamish’s 2010 budget (up about 8.3 percent from 2009).
The labor contract for police officers and police sergeants in the King County Sheriff’s Office went up about $201,000 for 2010.
Sgt. John Urquhart, a spokesman for the county sheriff’s office, said the King County Council approved a contract in December 2008 with King County Police Officer’s Guild that allows for a 5 percent increase in salaries for each year from 2008 through 2012.
Since the city contracts police services through the county, local police salaries are determined by the county contract. The Sammamish City Council has control over the police protection costs in the sense that it can determine how many positions to hire in its local police force, but it doesn’t control officers’ salaries.
Sammamish’s police costs could be driven by more than that contract though.
The proposed 2010 budget has the city hiring a new detective for about $118,000 per year. Police Chief Nate Elledge said a new detective could help the city in a number of ways. He said Sammamish police often don’t have the time to follow up on smaller crimes, leaving cases open ended. The new detective would have the time to address many of the misdemeanor crimes such as thefts, vandalisms and larcenies of $250 or less.
Those crimes may not seem like a big deal, but they have a huge impact on the victim, he said.
The detective would also train other officers in detective work, Elledge said.
Elledge’s predecessor, Brad Thompson, proposed the detective position, and the council gave its tentative approval in December 2008.
But a year later, with the budget in worse shape, council members are questioning the wisdom of hiring that detective.
City Councilwoman Kathy Huckabay asked if the position was really essential.
“If we could delay hiring this detective for at least one year, then we can tell the community that we’re not raising their taxes for one year,” she said.
Whitten was on the same page.
“I’d love to postpone it a year or so,” she said.
City Councilman Mark Cross was more supportive of hiring the new detective. He said the city had maintained a lean 70 person staff with no recent hires for the 21-person police department for at least three years.
“I’m going to argue for the funding,” he said.
City Councilwoman Michele Petitti asked if hiring the detective should take priority over other positions the city chose not to fill in 2010. The proposed 2010 budget showed that a parks facility scheduler and a plans examiner would not be hired, even though the council approved those positions in December 2008, too.
“Do we need the detective, or are we slammed in scheduling?” Petitti asked. “When we add a detective, that’s a continuing expense.”
Parks Director Jessi Richardson said she wasn’t asking for the scheduler position to be filled because she wasn’t sure that would be her top priority now that a recreation center is on the way. She said she might come back to the council with different staffing requests for the 2011 budget.
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: Nov. 16, 2:07 p.m.
The Sammamish City Council was far from sold on its proposed 2010 budget when it went over the latest numbers Nov. 10.
The council had approved a rough version of the 2010 budget in December 2008. Even though the city had used conservative estimates for revenue, income from the real estate market and development are lower than anticipated. Read more
Local volunteers work with Jimmy Carter in Thailand
November 15, 2009
New, Nov. 15, 4:25 p.m.
Custom-home builder Dwight Martin has spent his career building fancy houses on the Eastside. The Sammamish resident has also used his construction skills to help build affordable housing with Habitat for Humanity in Bellevue, he said.
Since the 1990s, Martin has traveled with the organization to assist in Louisiana, Ghana and India. Now he’s headed to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Read more
Annexation could be money loser
November 14, 2009
New: Nov. 14, 11:04 a.m.
An unexpected problem has cropped up with the potential annexation of the Marivaux neighborhood: It could cost the city about $4,000 per year.
Marivaux, sometimes called Ravenhill, is about 6.46 acres on the east side of Sammamish with 21 lots and about 64 people. Community Development Director Kamuron Gurol has proposed an annexation timeline where the neighborhood would join Sammamish by March or April 2010. Read more
Issaquah Schools release possible E-15 names
November 13, 2009
New: Nov. 13, 1:58 p.m.
The Issaquah school District has narrowed the list of names for Sammamish’s new elementary school to five, Creekside, Ebright Creek, Lake Vista, Opportunity and Samena. Read more
City Council delays commission appointments
November 12, 2009
New: Nov. 12, 10:45 a.m.
Residents hoping to join the city’s citizen advisory boards will have to wait until January before undergoing interviews with the City Council.
The boards taking on new members deal with land-use policy and public art. Both deliver recommendations to the council. Read more
Eastlake girls repeat at state
November 10, 2009
By Christopher Huber
The Eastlake girls cross country team had a lot of uncertainties going into its run at the state meet Nov. 7 at Sun Willows Golf Course in Tri-Cities. Senior workhorse Erin Blodnick had a sore ankle and Haley O’Connor was unable to run.
“Going into it we had some anxieties,” said head coach Troy Anderson.
But despite the potential last-minute setbacks, the top five Eastlake runners finished within 45 seconds of each other. Such a tight spread earned the Lady Wolves its second state championship in as many years. With 100 points this year, Eastlake beat the second-place team, Tahoma, by 24, which is a bit more comfortable of a margin, Anderson said. The Eastlake girls beat Gig Harbor by one point in the 2008 state meet.
“I was clearly elated,” Anderson said. “It’s one thing to win state one year. It’s another to come back and do it again.”
Eastlake won without placing one finisher in the top 10, too. It came down to sticking together, as they have done all through the 2009 season, Anderson said.
“The girls were nervous. But this is such an experienced team,” Anderson said. “It just comes down to really being able to create a good path.”
Senior Chelsea Orr finished 15th overall, coming in at 19 minutes flat. Junior Katelyn Steen took 17th just four seconds behind Orr and sophomore Morgan O’Connor placed 26th with a time of 19:16.
Even with a sore ankle, Blodnick took Eastlake’s fourth spot (50th overall) with a time of 19:42 and senior Alie Dorsey placed 54th in 19:44.
Anderson said the more experienced girls gave the younger ones encouragement throughout the approximately 3-mile course.
“You could really tell they were feeding off each other,” Anderson said.
Orr, Steen and Morgan O’Connor each made the 2009 All-State cross country team, according to Washington State High School Cross Country and Track and Field.
At the boys’ meet, Skyline speedster, junior Kyle Branch finished 13th overall with a time of 15:50.
“It’s been another fantastic season,” Anderson said. “For us, winning state … that’s their ultimate goal, but we feel that’s not what defines us as a team. It’s the ultimate bonus to an already successful season.”
At the coaches meeting Nov. 6, the state cross country coaches association nominated Anderson for Washington girls’ cross country coach of the year, he said.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
The Eastlake girls cross country team had a lot of uncertainties going into its run at the state meet Nov. 7 at Sun Willows Golf Course in Tri-Cities. Senior workhorse Erin Blodnick had a sore ankle and Haley O’Connor was unable to run.
“Going into it we had some anxieties,” said head coach Troy Anderson. Read more
Changes coming to City Council
November 10, 2009
By Ari Cetron and J.B. Wogan
The Sammamish City Council will have three new faces in January. Voters seemed generally eager for a new direction and rejected one incumbent and two members of the Planning Commission who were backed by current council members.
Turnout was moderate with a little more than 45 percent of the city’s 26,230 registered voters bothering to mail in their ballot. However, that number will continue to creep up over the coming days as the final, late arriving ballots are processed.
Although there are still some to be counted, the margins of victory are so high that it seems unlikely that any of the candidates currently behind will be able to pull ahead.
The one incumbent who won, Don Gerend, rose above the fray and trounced political newcomer Michael Rutt by a 70-30 margin. Gerend will become the only member of the original, 1999 City Council still serving.
“I’m very humbled. The people have basically said I’ve done a good job and they want me to continue,” Gerend said.
Gerend was grateful to have an opponent, which he said will make him a sharper leader.
“I really enjoyed it, by participating in the forums and the interviews, it made me put things in perspective,” he said.
He was encouraged by the tone struck by the other candidates who will be joining him on the council.
“They sound fiscally conservative, sensitive to the needs of the community … and also sensitive to the fact that we have to diversify in terms of revenue by encouraging the Town Center to grow and mature,” he said.
Tom Odell, a retired marketing director, will be moving to the council after knocking off 10-year councilman Jack Barry. Odell is winning 58-42.
Odell said he was surprised by the size of his victory, but looks forward to his time on the council.
“I think we’re all coming in as agents of change, but managed change,” he said. “We have a city that’s pretty darn good, frankly.”
The other two races featured outsiders who defeated Planning Commissioners. Both commissioners had been supported by current members of the City Council.
John James, a real estate agent who’s run for council before, defeated Planning Commissioner Erica Tiliacos. James received 57 percent of the vote to 42 for Tiliacos.
James planned to celebrate his victory by going out for ice cream.
“I promised the kids I was going to buy them ice cream, regardless,” he said.
John Curley, a former host of television’s “Evening Magazine” has received his congratulatory call from opponent Tom Vance. Curley won the closest race of the year by a solid 54-46 margin.
Curley, however, said he plans to be cautious, and not celebrate his victory until all the votes have been counted.
“I’m really waiting for the fat lady to sing,” he said.
In the Issaquah School District, Marnie Maraldo topped Wright Noel 58-41. Chad Magendanz cruised to an unopposed win.
In the Lake Washington schools, Sammamish resident Doug Eglington won re-election 78-21. His opponent, Julie Wright had withdrawn.
In countywide races, County Councilman Dow Constantine beat former television newswoman Susan Hutchison 58-41.
All four of King County’s charter amendments passed by hefty margins.
Lloyd Hara looks to become the county’s next assessor.
On the statewide ballot initiatives, Sammamish-specific results will not be available for a few weeks. However, both issues seem decided.
R-71, which would guarantee marriage-like benefits for homosexual couples and unmarried heterosexual senior citizen couples looks like it will pass statewide with the current margin of victory at 52 percent to 48 percent.
I-1033, which would have imposed tax collection caps on state and local governments seems like it will be defeated, 57 percent of voters rejected the measure while 43 voted for it.
King County’s election results will continue to be updated daily at about 4:30 p.m. for the next few days.
To see the most current vote tallies, visit http://your.kingcounty.gov/elections/200911/results.aspx.
Editor Ari Cetron can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 233, or samrev@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
The Sammamish City Council will have three new faces in January. Voters seemed generally eager for a new direction and rejected one incumbent and two members of the Planning Commission who were backed by current council members. Read more
