High school teams try to stay sharp over long break
December 29, 2009
By Christopher Huber
As schools close and many families take time off from work to be together during the holidays, there’s still a lot going on in the world of prep sports.
One look at the winter sports schedule, and you’d think the youth have some time off to sleep in, lounge around, visit grandma and grandpa and enjoy two weeks of no homework.
Gymnastics, for example, has a three-week break between meets. Boys’ swimming doesn’t have a dual meet for 25 days.
“It’s important that athletes get a mental break as well as a physical break,” said Eastlake boys basketball coach Pat Bangasser. “We want them fresh when they’re coming to practice.”
But many athletes at Eastlake, Eastside Catholic and Skyline high schools still come to practice almost every day.
Once vacation is over, league competition starts right back up again.
And for basketball players, they have to be in tip-top shape for various tournaments between Christmas and New Year’s.
Eastlake swim and dive coach Andy Hay seems excited about having the winter break to work with his team.
While they practice each weekday for just over an hour after school, the break gives the team more practice time for a whole variety of work.
He doubles Eastlake’s practice time.
“It allows us to do things that we don’t normally do,” he said. “Having more time, we can focus more on technique.”
He said attendance tends to be down during the holidays — athletes travel with their families to see relatives or take vacation — but those who are around commit to the longer, sometimes two-a-day practices.
“I’ve never met a program that doesn’t have a very intense winter training program,” Hay said.
Senior Cory Hutsen, Skyline basketball’s starting forward, said it’s actually more difficult to stay in the right mindset when there’s no school.
“It’s harder to focus when you’re not focused on school,” Hutsen said at practice Dec. 22. “It takes a lot more focus to keep yourself prepared.”
They don’t get much extra practice time, said coach J. Jay Davis.
And with only one tournament between Dec. 18 and Jan. 5 the Spartans have to stay fresh by attending the optional weight-lifting session on Saturdays and making the most of their typical two-hour practices.
“(You need to) not get too anxious,” Hutsen said. “You just practice like you’re playing a game.”
In his 21 years of coaching in the area, Bangasser and his teams have never had a full winter break, he said.
“There’s not a lot of down time,” he said. “It’s the one season where you basically practice through Thanksgiving, winter and mid-winter break.”
Other than taking a day off here and there, the guys practice as if school were in session: Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Friday and sleep in Saturday, Bangasser said. The advantage to winter practices is providing the optional pre-practice shoot-around time.
Although most teams in the area keep at it throughout the winter break, Davis said they still get to enjoy the time off a bit.
“I’d like to have a game this week,” he said Dec. 22 … but I kind of see the break as a blessing.”
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.SammamishReview.com.
As schools close and many families take time off from work to be together during the holidays, there’s still a lot going on in the world of prep sports.
One look at the winter sports schedule, and you’d think the youth have some time off to sleep in, lounge around, visit grandma and grandpa and enjoy two weeks of no homework.
Gymnastics, for example, has a three-week break between meets. Boys’ swimming doesn’t have a dual meet for 25 days.
Skyline sophomore Lucas Shannon does warm-up drills during practice Dec. 22. Photo by Christopher Huber
PIne Lake cruise becoming annual tradition
December 28, 2009
New: Dec. 28, 9:12 a.m.
As two girls run out onto the second-story deck of the house on Pine Lake, they shout “Merry Christmas!” toward the three vessels that parade near the shore. Don Gerend, on the lead barge, yells back, “Merry Christmas! Hohoho!”
There’s something about cruising on a lake at night in the wintertime.
Susan, above left, and Don Gerend enjoy an evening on Pine Lake Dec. 23. Photo by Christopher Huber
After 10 years, city will abide by state law
December 22, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
What Troy Romero and Phil Dyer remember about 1999 is the cascade of work that went into forming a city from scratch. Neither of them remember hearing anything about a state law that mandated two-year mayoral terms.
“I never heard that,” Romero said. “That’s still just one law to consider. You can’t even imagine … each week, we had to pass law, lots of law.”
City Attorney Bruce Disend said he tried to discuss the matter with the original council (including Romero and Dyer), but the council decided to have one-year terms anyway. The intent was to give multiple council members leadership experience, Disend said.
“Everybody was a very strong leader in the community in their areas. Unlike some councils, I think everybody had an interest in being mayor,” Romero said.
A state law passed in 1967 says mayors in city governments like Sammamish must have two-year terms. For 10 years, the city has been violating that law.
“We see no legal authority for a council to vary from that two-year term requirement,” wrote Pam James, a legal consultant with the Municipal Research and Services Center, in an e-mail. The center is a nonprofit government consultant.
James added that there isn’t case law or an attorney general opinion on the issue and that “nobody may care and challenge the council’s authority to provide a one-year term for the mayor.” State law doesn’t have a penalty established for not complying on mayoral terms, she said.
Tim Ford, assistant attorney general for government accountability, agreed with James.
“Aside from an audit standing, I don’t know that there is any kind of enforcement mechanism to ensure that cities comply with a two-year term,” Ford said. Like James, he noted that historically, no case law exists regarding the state-mandated mayoral terms.
“That doesn’t surprise me because I would think the majority of all cities comply with this,” Ford said.
Sammamish has a council-manager form of government where citizens elect seven council members and the council, in turn, hires a city manager to manage staff and execute directives from the council. The council also selects one of its members to be mayor. The mayor helps to schedule and run meetings, and he usually acts as the city representative at public events like ribbon cuttings.
One-year terms did give the majority of council members leadership experience. Of the 11 people who have served on the council thus far, nine have been mayor at least once.
The council did comply with state law once, if only by accident: Romero was mayor in 2001 and 2002.
The issue might be moot now. Disend recommended Dec. 1 that the council change the length of terms to comply with state law and after two and a half meetings, it did. On Dec. 15, the council voted 6-0 in favor of changing the length of mayoral terms to two years, with Councilwoman Kathy Huckabay absent.
Both Romero and Dyer said they thought the change was appropriate. One-year terms were better in the city’s early years when the work load was more significant for a mayor.
Today, a longer term might give the mayor more visibility and influence.
“There’s an advantage to having a mayor that’s known to the community and known to others,” Romero said.
Current City Councilman Mark Cross, who was mayor in 2007, advocated for the change, not only because it would put the city in compliance with state law.
“It would be good for a single person to track and follow a (two-year) budget cycle to completion,” Cross said, adding that it would also help with advocating for Sammamish issues in a regional setting.
But Huckabay, who was part of the original council, was still against the idea.
She said it makes the mayor more influential than he or she is supposed to be.
“The mayor is really one of seven,” Huckabay said. Sammamish voters do not elect mayors — they elect seven equally empowered council members, she explained.
Like Romero and Dyer, Huckabay doesn’t remember hearing legal counsel that one-year terms would violate state law. She said she believes Disend when he says he cautioned against one-year terms, but adds that if the council had received strong direction to establish two-year terms, it would have done so.
She questioned whether it was really necessary to comply with state law in this case, when no apparent penalty exists.
Huckabay also said the timing could create a political problem.
“It’s just that it’s so awkward because it comes at a point when people start to strategize who’s going to be mayor and deputy mayor,” Huckabay said.
John Curley, John James and Tom Odell take three seats on the council next year. All three said they would prefer to weigh in on the issue in January.
Odell added that he recognized the council would likely have to switch to two-year terms and that it probably didn’t matter who approved the decision. The question in his mind was whether a lame duck council should make a decision on determining how long a council member can be mayor.
In previous meetings, Huckabay voiced the same concern. City Council members Lee Fellinge and Nancy Whitten also expressed strong reservations about voting before the new council takes office, though they did anyway.
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.
What Troy Romero and Phil Dyer remember about 1999 is the cascade of work that went into forming a city from scratch. Neither of them remember hearing anything about a state law that mandated two-year mayoral terms.
“I never heard that,” Romero said. “That’s still just one law to consider. You can’t even imagine … each week, we had to pass law, lots of law.”
City Attorney Bruce Disend said he tried to discuss the matter with the original council (including Romero and Dyer), but the council decided to have one-year terms anyway. The intent was to give multiple council members leadership experience, Disend said. Read more
Sammamish Forum December 23
December 22, 2009
Secretaries
deserve raise
Reading the Dec. 2 editorial in the Sammamish Review, one can easily believe that Scrooge has come to Sammamish just in time for the holidays.
School secretaries in the Lake Washington School District are asking for a wage increase because they need to be able to support themselves and their families living in this area. School secretaries have not received a wage increase over the past three years. They have been negotiating a new contract since last spring.
Whatever increase may be received will be for the next few years, once the new contract is finalized. And how much are school secretaries asking for? The Review editorial got its facts wrong. The editorial claims we’re looking for $23-$24 an hour.
That is the amount needed to support basic living expenses in the Eastside area served by the Lake Washington School District. In fact, we’re negotiating with the school district for an increase of at least 10 percent. That means an increase of $1.35 to $2.08 an hour for our members.
A Lake Washington School District secretary currently being paid $13.53 an hour would make $14.88 – and the highest paid secretaries presently at $20.80 an hour would move to $22.88.
As the Review huffs and puffs “Bah” and “Humbug” over school secretaries asking for a living wage, it might do well to remember that without us, there would be no friendly greeting when a new or returning student and parent enters a building, the doors wouldn’t open, the bells wouldn’t ring, the phones wouldn’t be answered, the lights wouldn’t go on, school budgets wouldn’t be maintained, computers and electronic systems would not be maintained or operated efficiently, students wouldn’t receive correct medications and might not get on the correct school bus.
We hope the Lake Washington School District will not join the Review in playing Scrooge as well. After all, the District has an ending fund balance of $17 million.
For the sake of our children and our schools, it’s essential that school secretaries in Lake Washington are paid a fair living wage.
The Lake Washington Educational Support Personnel
Goodbye,
councilpeople
For Kathy we look a millennium ago,
When narrow roads and traffic impeded the flow.
The community spoke and she took the oath,
And made a stand for controlling growth.
She rolled up her sleeves and helped write the code,
For not just the cars but for whatever the mode.
From hikers and bikers came many new voices
So Kathy would focus on transportation choices.
We will miss your sharp tongue and your sharp mind;
Indeed, Councilor Kathy, you are one of a kind!
Now Jack goes back at least one millennium,
With prior experiences that could fill a stadium.
He focused on making a kid-safe city,
Wanting it family-friendly with no waif to pity.
He cajoled fellow citizens to generously participate
And made sure their accomplishments were cause to celebrate.
Through SAMMIs and Rotary he exudes inspiration
To make Sammamish better for the next generation.
Often soft-spoken and with stories to tell
Jack’s part of this city that is doing quite well.
So we come to Lee, the kid on the block
It seems like forever, but who’s watching the clock?
He looks at current budget and the next time around,
With a penchant for keeping us financially sound.
Balance income and spending is his motto,
If we come up short, we can’t start a lotto.
With triple A rating, we bid Lee goodbye;
Crank up that train engine and make it fly.
Now I near the end of my rambling opus
Without you three, it will be hard to focus.
Community Center, Town Center, connectivity and fire,
Topics of challenge, but not really dire.
We’ve come a long way in years numbered 10,
All the best to you three, and come see us again.
Don Gerend
Mayor of Sammamish
Secretaries deserve raise
Reading the Dec. 2 editorial in the Sammamish Review, one can easily believe that Scrooge has come to Sammamish just in time for the holidays.
School secretaries in the Lake Washington School District are asking for a wage increase because they need to be able to support themselves and their families living in this area. School secretaries have not received a wage increase over the past three years. They have been negotiating a new contract since last spring.
Whatever increase may be received will be for the next few years, once the new contract is finalized. And how much are school secretaries asking for? The Review editorial got its facts wrong. The editorial claims we’re looking for $23-$24 an hour.
That is the amount needed to support basic living expenses in the Eastside area served by the Lake Washington School District. In fact, we’re negotiating with the school district for an increase of at least 10 percent. That means an increase of $1.35 to $2.08 an hour for our members.
A Lake Washington School District secretary currently being paid $13.53 an hour would make $14.88 – and the highest paid secretaries presently at $20.80 an hour would move to $22.88.
As the Review huffs and puffs “Bah” and “Humbug” over school secretaries asking for a living wage, it might do well to remember that without us, there would be no friendly greeting when a new or returning student and parent enters a building, the doors wouldn’t open, the bells wouldn’t ring, the phones wouldn’t be answered, the lights wouldn’t go on, school budgets wouldn’t be maintained, computers and electronic systems would not be maintained or operated efficiently, students wouldn’t receive correct medications and might not get on the correct school bus.
We hope the Lake Washington School District will not join the Review in playing Scrooge as well. After all, the District has an ending fund balance of $17 million.
For the sake of our children and our schools, it’s essential that school secretaries in Lake Washington are paid a fair living wage.
The Lake Washington Educational Support Personnel
Goodbye, councilpeople
For Kathy we look a millennium ago,
When narrow roads and traffic impeded the flow.
The community spoke and she took the oath,
And made a stand for controlling growth.
She rolled up her sleeves and helped write the code,
For not just the cars but for whatever the mode.
From hikers and bikers came many new voices
So Kathy would focus on transportation choices.
We will miss your sharp tongue and your sharp mind;
Indeed, Councilor Kathy, you are one of a kind!
Now Jack goes back at least one millennium,
With prior experiences that could fill a stadium.
He focused on making a kid-safe city,
Wanting it family-friendly with no waif to pity.
He cajoled fellow citizens to generously participate
And made sure their accomplishments were cause to celebrate.
Through SAMMIs and Rotary he exudes inspiration
To make Sammamish better for the next generation.
Often soft-spoken and with stories to tell
Jack’s part of this city that is doing quite well.
So we come to Lee, the kid on the block
It seems like forever, but who’s watching the clock?
He looks at current budget and the next time around,
With a penchant for keeping us financially sound.
Balance income and spending is his motto,
If we come up short, we can’t start a lotto.
With triple A rating, we bid Lee goodbye;
Crank up that train engine and make it fly.
Now I near the end of my rambling opus
Without you three, it will be hard to focus.
Community Center, Town Center, connectivity and fire,
Topics of challenge, but not really dire.
We’ve come a long way in years numbered 10,
All the best to you three, and come see us again.
Don Gerend
Mayor of Sammamish
Firefighter’s union helps balance EFR budget
December 22, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
In a special meeting Dec. 16, the Eastside Fire & Rescue Board of Directors passed a revised labor agreement that closes the budget deficit and avoids firefighter layoffs.
“My personal opinion is that the board was ready to lay people off. How many, we don’t know,” said Craig Hooper, president of the local firefighters union 2878. “We were willing to do whatever we could to avoid that.”
With the potential of layoffs on the table, the union returned to the board with a proposal to take no wage increase in 2010 and no more than a 4 percent increase in 2011. It also proposed changing to a less expensive medical plan for firefighters.
Under the firefighters’ current contract, which wasn’t up for negotiation in 2009, they were due to receive about a 1.5 percent increase in their wages for 2010, according to Hooper.
The EFR board voted 7-0 in favor of the labor agreement. North Bend’s representative, Dee Williamson, was absent.
Lee Fellinge, a Sammamish representative on the EFR board, said he was encouraged by the labor union’s proposal.
“It seemed like it was a step in the right direction,” Fellinge said. One component that Fellinge called “extremely important” was the alignment of three separate contract agreements. From now on, firefighters, battalion chiefs and support staff will negotiate contracts in the same year, minimizing the cost of lawyer’s fees.
“I think that’s good for both the agency and for the union because it really cuts down on the acrimony that always goes down with labor agreements,” Fellinge said.
The fire protection agency covers Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, Carnation, and parts of unincorporated King County.
The EFR board had passed a budget Dec. 8 that left a $241,000 gap between what it planned to spend and what it was due to take in. The new union agreement makes up that difference.
The agency anticipates receiving about $20.5 million, the vast majority of which comes from EFR’s three partner cities (Sammamish, Issaquah and North Bend) and two county fire districts.
The partner cities, facing tight budget years, asked that EFR not increase the amount they pay.
Holding the line on partner contributions translated into a funding problem though.
Employee wages were still set to increase about 1.5 percent and the cost of medical insurance for those employees was anticipated to increase as well.
About 81 percent of EFR’s spending goes to employee wages and benefits. It’s been the driving factor in fire protection cost increases recently, which have become the subject of some scrutiny by the city of Sammamish.
Firefighter wages vary from about $57,372 to $81,960. Firefighters in leadership positions such as lieutenants, captains and battalion chiefs make between $90,156 and $112,285. All four classes of firefighters are represented by the union.
Hooper credited the union’s vice president, Scott Percival, with closing the budget gap through medical insurance savings.
Hooper said Percival took it upon himself during time off to research more than 20 medical insurance plans and find a less expensive option.
“The guy has done yeomen’s work,” Hooper said.
Fire Chief Lee Soptich said the agency would save $56,715 in 2010 by changing medical insurance plans. He said it would save about $1.75 million from 2010 through 2014.
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.
In a special meeting Dec. 16, the Eastside Fire & Rescue Board of Directors passed a revised labor agreement that closes the budget deficit and avoids firefighter layoffs.
“My personal opinion is that the board was ready to lay people off. How many, we don’t know,” said Craig Hooper, president of the local firefighters union 2878. “We were willing to do whatever we could to avoid that.” Read more
City says goodbye to three council members
December 22, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
When all was said and done, Jack Barry still had his sense of humor.
A City Councilman for the city’s entire 10-year history, Barry approached the podium, his 3-year-old granddaughter Lauren in the crook of his arm. His wife, Janet, once said that he was the best-dressed council member by far, and with his camel hair sports coat, he seemed to confirm the statement.
“For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Jack Barry and I am a recovering politician,” he said. “Thank you kindly. It’s been a wonderful ride.”
Barry, who won elections in 1999, 2001 and 2005, lost to challenger Tom Odell in November. But it seemed hard to imagine that Sammamish hadn’t elected him again, given the outpouring of gratitude at the Dec. 15 meeting, his last.
Bernie Lucking spoke of Jack’s indelible mark on starting the Rotary Club of Sammamish and his continued work in the community.
Lucking told a story about his wife buying new wallpaper for the house every few years, when it didn’t seem necessary to him; he likened the anecdote to Barry being replaced on the council.
“We seem to be in a climate of change. Sometimes we change wallpaper for no reason at all,” he said.
Connie Walsworth spoke on behalf of the SAMMI awards, a Sept. 11-inspired awards ceremony that recognizes unselfish contributions to the community.
“If we didn’t have Jack, we wouldn’t have the SAMMI awards,” Walsworth said. “I just hope everybody realizes it would not be the city it is without our council members, especially my friend Jack … thank you for giving so tirelessly.”
Barry was not the only council member leaving office at the end of 2009. In fact, he wasn’t even the only founding member of the city to leave. Kathy Huckabay, one of the original council, decided to step down at the end of her third term.
Lee Fellinge also decided to step down after his first full term on the council.
City Manager Ben Yazici noted that the city’s current state was largely due to the work of the three council members. He listed off a series of projects that have their imprint: the city’s current parks system, its City Hall building, the city’s two roundabouts, the artificial turf fields at Eastlake and Skyline high schools, the skateboard park and the Southeast 24th Street boardwalk.
Much of the original council’s work isn’t visible to the naked eye — inches-thick piles of paper that made up the city’s first set of laws and policies.
Mayor Don Gerend, the last remaining member of the original council, offered up the final goodbye, through poetry. (See Sammamish Forum, Page 4 for the complete text)
“Without you three it will be hard to focus,” he said.
Of Huckabay he said, “The Community spoke and she took an oath, / And made a stand for controlling the growth.”
Gerend also talked about Huckabay’s longtime dedication to developing transportation options that accommodated bus riders, pedestrians and bikers.
Of Fellinge, he said “He looks at current budget and the next time around, / With a penchant for keeping us financially sound.”
Fellinge’s go-to questions at council meetings were “are there any unintended consequences” and “how much is this going to cost?” He advocated that the city seek better ways of modeling its budget six years into the future. In dealings with the local fire agency, Eastside Fire & Rescue, he encouraged staff to find ways of limiting the cost of fire protection, stirring no small amount of controversy.
Of Barry, Gerend said, “He focused on making a kid-safe city, / Wanting it family-friendly with no waif to pity.”
Barry often focused on maintaining the city’s reputation for having good schools and being family-friendly. He was quick to support parent and school-oriented initiatives. He helped start the Sammamish Youth Board, an advisory group that links teens with leaders in the community.
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.
When all was said and done, Jack Barry still had his sense of humor.
A City Councilman for the city’s entire 10-year history, Barry approached the podium, his 3-year-old granddaughter Lauren in the crook of his arm. His wife, Janet, once said that he was the best-dressed council member by far, and with his camel hair sports coat, he seemed to confirm the statement.
“For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Jack Barry and I am a recovering politician,” he said. “Thank you kindly. It’s been a wonderful ride.”
Jack Barry brought his granddaughter to his final council meeting. Photo by J.B. Wogan
Issaquah District names new school Creekside
December 22, 2009
By Chantelle Lusebrink
The Issaquah School District’s 15th elementary school finally has a name.
Creekside Elementary School, 20777 S.E. 16th St., Sammamish, will open in fall 2010 for students on the Sammamish Plateau near Pine Lake.
The school board unanimously voted on the name at its Dec. 9 meeting.
The Chang family, of Sammamish, couldn’t be more thrilled with the choice, since it was their submission, Melody Chang said.
Jesse and Melody Chang’s two daughters, Emma, 7, and Erin, 4, will attend the school.
“When the community was asked to submit names, we came up with the name Creekside because it was simple, yet true to the area,” Melody Chang said. “We think it is indicative of the surrounding area and the nurturing environment that the elementary school has such an important role in playing.”
Community members submitted more than 130 submissions based on a set of rules, which included the school’s name be derived from the area, geographic landmarks, housing developments, voting precincts, directional names or from names of people that have contributed greatly to education in the district.
That list was narrowed to five — Creekside, Ebright Creek, Lake Vista, Opportunity and Samena — and the school board made their choice form that list.
“My personal favorite going into it was not Creekside, but I’m warming to it,” board member Chad Magendanz said. “I really think the community has spoken here and I want to honor that.”
“I was really surprised,” Melody Chang said. “We thought there would be other families with the same name suggestion, but we were the only ones.
“We are honored that we helped come up with a name that will stick with the elementary, even 30 years down the road.”
The $22.8 million school is under construction. When it is finished, the two-story building will have 28 classrooms, a computer lab, music room, multipurpose room, gym and resource room for occupational and physical therapies. It will also have two covered play areas in addition to a sand playfield.
The school’s layout is very similar to Grand Ridge and Newcastle elementary schools.
Reach reporter Chantelle Lusebrink at 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
The Issaquah School District’s 15th elementary school finally has a name.
Creekside Elementary School, 20777 S.E. 16th St., Sammamish, will open in fall 2010 for students on the Sammamish Plateau near Pine Lake.
The school board unanimously voted on the name at its Dec. 9 meeting. Read more
The books are coming, the books are coming
December 22, 2009
New Sammamish Library receives shipment of new media
The truck arrived Dec. 17 with a load of 15,000 new books, DVDs and CDs to add to the Sammamish Library collection at its new location next to City Hall.
Library employees had waited throughout the morning to start stocking the new materials in their respective sections.
The new, larger facility opens Jan. 9 and will house a collection of approximately 106,600 books, periodicals and such, according to employees.
The new facility offers larger children’s and teen sections, more meeting and study space, as well as sweeping westward views to Seattle.
While the old library is closed, residents can still visit to pick up material placed on hold and to return books. See Page 8 for a listing of hours next week.
The truck arrived Dec. 17 with a load of 15,000 new books, DVDs and CDs to add to the Sammamish Library collection at its new location next to City Hall.
Library employees had waited throughout the morning to start stocking the new materials in their respective sections.
Sammamish Library employee Lynn Wang (left) pulls out a brand new book before she stocks the shelves Dec. 17. Photo by Christopher Huber
The new, larger facility opens Jan. 9 and will house a collection of approximately 106,600 books, periodicals and such, according to employees.
The new facility offers larger children’s and teen sections, more meeting and study space, as well as sweeping westward views to Seattle.
While the old library is closed, residents can still visit to pick up material placed on hold and to return books.
Sammamish could be officially green
December 22, 2009
By Christopher Huber
Sammamish is on its way to becoming a certified community wildlife habitat, and resident Elaine McEnery is going to tell people how they can help by turning their own backyards into wildlife habitats.
McEnery’s talk, at the next meeting of the Sammamish Kiwanis, will center around efforts being made by groups around the city and the Sammamish Community Wildlife Habitat Project to be recognized officially by the National Wildlife Federation.
Local residents could play a significant role in making Sammamish a better place for wildlife to thrive, McEnery said. Some civic leaders are on board.
“It’s a quality-of-life issue. This is a way to recognize that we have wildlife in the area,” said Kathy Huckabay, a Sammamish resident and outgoing City Council member who has certified her property. “As you provide spots for them to land and spots for them to visit, you attract more of those to the area and they stay here. It’s extremely important because it’s recognition of our relationship with nature and recognition that we came after these creatures.”
Huckabay said she and her family have worked over the years to convert their one-third acre lot into a wildlife habitat.
Her family hangs six bird and squirrel feeders, has removed much of the grass lawn and left fallen trees in place to act as perching or nesting spots.
It’s easy to do, she said. It entails simple things like composting, providing shelter with native plants and trees and removing invasive plants. Maintaining an appealing yard for animals, she said only takes about 25 hours of effort a year.
“It’s a relatively easy thing to do and it’s a way of keeping Sammamish really green and connected to our history,” Huckabay said.
The Sammamish Community Wildlife Habitat Project began in November 2008, when a small group of residents got together to brainstorm ways to help the city become one of the first certified community wildlife habitats in the nation, according to the project’s blog.
Kirkland recently earned certification and is one of just 35 communities in the United States officially deemed a “Wildlife Habitat.”
“We’d be certainly one of the first,” McEnery said.
In just over a year since the project began, 72 private homes and five schools — Arbor Montessori School, Sammamish Children’s School, McAuliffe Elementary, Discovery Elementary and Inglewood Junior High — have been certified, McEnery said.
The city needs a minimum of 150 homes and five more public places, such as churches or city parks, McEnery said.
The important thing is “being aware of what we have at risk in our own back yard. We have an environment that’s very unique,” she said. “The more I have learned about it, the more passionate I’ve become about it.”
Bob Keller, Kiwanis speaker coordinator, chose McEnery to speak in January because he’s noticed increased interest on the issue of wildlife habitat.
“I see more deer today … than I ever have, and their habitat is getting smaller,” he said. “A program like this is really vital, at least to our city to be aware of it.”
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.SammamishReview.com.
Sammamish is on its way to becoming a certified community wildlife habitat, and resident Elaine McEnery is going to tell people how they can help by turning their own backyards into wildlife habitats.
McEnery’s talk, at the next meeting of the Sammamish Kiwanis, will center around efforts being made by groups around the city and the Sammamish Community Wildlife Habitat Project to be recognized officially by the National Wildlife Federation. Read more
Sammamish garden designer learns from Italians
December 22, 2009
By Christopher Huber
Sammamish-based landscape designer Tina Nyce has a whole new level of respect for her craft these days.
In September she spent nearly two weeks on a free garden study tour through Italy. She and other American designers traveled to settings on Lake Como and around Tuscany, touring 14th-century gardens.
Nyce will share her experience and talk about landscape design during a presentation at 7 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Issaquah Library.
“It really affirmed a lot of the things that we do, in terms of drainage and making drainage pretty,” Nyce said. “It was incredible to go there and experience it.”
The only reason Nyce went on the trip, she said, was because she won it in a raffle during the Association of Professional Landscape Designers’ annual international convention in Portland.
“For me, the highlight was the lakes region … because it’s so unknown,” Nyce said.
The group visited 17 gardens in 10 days, which was a feat, she said. The buzzword these days is “sustainability” she said. And the tour focused on Italians’ practical use of cisterns and rain gardens, she said, as well as olive trees and various other plants. It gave her a lot of ideas, some of which she already incorporates into her work.
Italian gardens are examples of how simple use of natural elements, such as stone and land features can go a long way, Nyce said.
“It’s incredible how beautiful you can make the functionality of things,” she said.
Statues add a fun element to a garden, too, she said, and people can do a lot for climate control through how they arrange their garden.
“Going to other regions is critical to adding to the artistic side,” Nyce said. “It’s just amazing what they did centuries ago.”
Sammamish residents Jeff and Beth Newfeld had their backyard totally transformed with help from Nyce. Jeff had a few reasons why he’s going to the presentation in January.
“I would go check it out for two reasons: one just to see … the things that she saw on that trip — and the tastes are so different” Jeff Newfeld said. “(Also) if you’re looking for ideas for your own yard, you’d say, ‘hey, I could do something like that in my own backyard.’”
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com.
Sammamish-based landscape designer Tina Nyce has a whole new level of respect for her craft these days.
In September she spent nearly two weeks on a free garden study tour through Italy. She and other American designers traveled to settings on Lake Como and around Tuscany, touring 14th-century gardens.
Tina Nyce takes a look at a giant sycamore tree.
