Sammamish Forum October 27
October 26, 2010
Ban the Bandz
I am an 11-year-old and go to school in Sammamish. I agree with the Silly Bandz article. I think Silly Bandz should be banned, because they are distracting.
People are always trading them at lunch and recess. Also, I think it’s funny how people trade them for money and spots in line. They aren’t a big problem at my school, but I think they should be banned before it gets too out of hand.
Bryce Smith
Sammamish Read more
Sammamish finalizes community center deal with Boys & Girls Clubs
October 26, 2010
The recreation center for teens and seniors in the old library building on 228th Avenue is a go.
At their Oct. 19 meeting, the Sammamish City Council officially approved a rental contract with the Boys and Girls Club for the building.
The club will rent the building for $1 a year in exchange for providing after-school and other recreation programs for the community. Read more
Sammamish Police kick off their annual toy drive
October 26, 2010
The holidays are right around the corner, but in this tough economy many Western Washington families might not find them as joyful as normal.
For the sixth year in a row, Sammamish Police are collecting toys for children of needy families though the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys For Tots program.
The department will place bins outside of the police station in City Hall Nov. 1. Donations of new, unwrapped toys will be taken until 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 10.
Sammamish detective Amy Jarboe, who organizes the program for the department, said they have amassed more toys with each passing year and hope that with the down economy they’ll receive even more donations this year.
“We think Sammamish residents are really going to be thinking about all those needy kids out there and respond from the heart,” Jarboe said in a press release. “Helping the Marines out with Toys for Tots just seems like a really good way to bring a smile to a lot of young faces.”
Watch in real time as King County Elections count ballots
October 26, 2010
King County Elections has started to process more than 20,000 ballots — and anyone can watch the process unfold in real time.
The office has set up a live webcam to display activities in the opening area at elections headquarters. Ballots then head to additional steps of processing.
Learn about the journey of the ballots here.
The webcam is to remain active ’round the clock until the election is certified Nov. 23.
“We know voters are curious about how their ballots are handled once they’ve been voted and returned,” Elections Director Sherril Huff said in a news release. “Our election cam allows anyone to view the ballot opening part of the process from the convenience of their own computer.”
The elections team opens and inspects ballots after a voter’s signature on the return envelope has been verified.
King County is the largest county in the U.S. to conduct elections entirely by mail.
The elections office expects to process more than 700,000 ballots for the upcoming election.
Election Day is Nov. 2, and ballots must be postmarked or returned by 8 p.m.
Hayden Lynch inspires his family to battle tumors
October 26, 2010
In the delivery room, doctors noticed Hayden Lynch’s large birthmarks, called café au lait spots. Furrowing their brows, they told his parents, Kirstin and Brendon Lynch, that the spots could be a sign of neurofibromatosis type 1, called NF1.
In addition to the spots, the disease causes tumors that can grow anywhere in the body, especially just under the skin, in the brain or on the spinal cord, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The Lynch family Kirstin, Hayden, Brendon and Charlotte (from left) are organizing a fundraiser to battle tumors. Photo by soulumination/Lynette Huffman Johnson
Sammamish students have exceptional scores
October 26, 2010
Naomi O’Neil, a fourth-grader at Cascade Ridge Elementary, loves to read. She loves books so much, she would be content doing nothing else all day, every day, she and her mother, Mari O’Neil, said.
“When I read, it’s like I scan over the page,” Naomi said.
The inquisitive and energetic Naomi began reading Harry Potter books in kindergarten, they said, finishing a couple per week.
“She goes through a book a day,” Mari O’Neil said. Read more
Issaquah Schools holds annual phone-a-thon this week
October 26, 2010
Students from Issaquah’s three high schools are banding together, phones in hand, with the goal of bringing home $300,000 for the Issaquah Schools Foundation’s Calling for Kids annual fund campaign.
Students will be dialing numbers from 6-8:30 p.m. Oct. 28.
In the past, the foundation used Costco’s call center, but “the writing was on the wall that we were not going to have the use of Costco anymore,” Calling for Kids co-chair Leigh Stokes said. Read more
Eastlake volleyball shuts down Skyline
October 26, 2010
From the constant cacophony of chatter coming from the Eastlake student section, you could have been sitting at a Friday night football game Oct. 18.
But instead, the raucous crowd was cheering for the Monday night Eastlake volleyball team, which spent 90 minutes controlling a feisty Skyline team. In the end, the Lady Wolves won 3-0.
“They played really well,” said Skyline coach Richard Abiador. “They served tough.”
Anna Gorman, Eastlake sophomore outside hitter, spikes the ball as Skyline’s Marissa Fortier and other Spartan players defend. Photo by Christopher Huber
Eastlake’s Vicente Varas repeats as KingCo tennis champ
October 26, 2010
Vicente Varas, an Eastlake junior, is KingCo 4A tennis singles champ for the second straight year.
He beat friend and cross-town rival Aman Manji, 6-2, 6-4 Oct. 23 at the University of Washington. Manji took second place in the tournament.
Varas will be the No. 1 seed to the 4A state tournament in May in Vancouver. Read more
Eastlake girls, Skyline boys tops in KingCo cross country
October 26, 2010
The girls of Eastlake cross country continued their dominance in the league, capturing their fifth straight KingCo girls title.
The Skyline boys team took first place by 20 points in the KingCo 4A Championship meet Oct. 21 at Lincoln Park in Seattle.
Skyline posted 52 points, beating out Garfield, which had 72 points. Senior speedster Kyle Branch led the way with a finish time of 15 minutes, 39 seconds. Sophomore teammate Keegan Symmes finished six seconds behind him to take second and junior Jay Bowlby tied for 10th with Garfield’s Chris Wozniak with a time of 16:12.
The Eastlake girls team beat the Skyline girls, scoring 52 points and averaging 19:09.40 in winning KingCo. Skyline scored 77 points to come in second. Read more
