Browse >
Home / Archive: November 2010
New: Nov. 19, 3:30 p.m.
Sammamish may be able to get more deputies on its streets and charge them for the privilege.
On Nov. 15 the City Council got their first look at a potential deal between the city and the King County Sheriff’s Office for unoccupied space on the second floor of city hall. City Manager Ben Yazici said the city may rent the approximately 7,000 square feet to the sheriff’s office, who are considering consolidating their Kenmore and Maple Valley precincts into one office to save money. Read more
New: Nov. 18, 1:19 p.m.
Sammamish City Councilman Tom Odell followed his unsuccessful attempt to strip Freed House funding from the 2011-2012 budget by trying to give the project a one-year deadline.
“At least a couple years before we incorporated as a city, my next door neighbor knocked on my door asking us to sign a petition to save the Freed House,” Odell recalled at the council’s Nov. 16 meeting. “I signed it. My wife signed it. We’re now 13 years past this. My next door neighbor, who was in grade school then, is now three or four years out of the University of Washington. … As I said before, I want to be reasonable, but there is a point where I run out of reason and I think I am there.” Read more
New: Nov. 17, 10:26 a.m.
Sammamish can make money by maintaining the rural character of hundreds of acres just north of its city boundaries and possibly linking up two areas of prime green space used by many residents.
The catch? It’s got to stomach more density and development in Town Center — a touchy issue for some on the City Council who have tried for months to ensure that Sammamish isn’t building itself a downtown it can’t handle.
The council got its first look Nov. 9 at a proposed transfer of development rights (TDR) program to be jointly run by the city and King County. Under the program, the county would buy the right to build homes from properties the county would like to see stay as forest and farmland. Those development rights would then be transferred to Town Center developers who wish to build more housing units than the city’s normal regulations allow.
Read moreThe Eastside Fire & Rescue administration made a tough choice when it decided to go to two-man fire crews rather than blowing a hole in its budget. Maybe they should look at doing it more often.
With the department’s overtime budget running out, some EFR stations will have two, rather than three, firefighters working some shifts. Most of the time, this won’t be a problem.
Read moreFreed House isn’t worth it
In the Nov. 10 edition, Chris Merritt puts forth a plea for Sammamish to save the Freed house. He says the teardown would occur “just because there was not the will nor lack of priority to embrace the history of the rural community that has become a city.” I think it’s time to face the fact that the majority of the tax payers in Sammamish just aren’t interested in saving the Freed House and it has nothing to do with lack of will, and everything to do with priority — also known as money versus benefit.
I understand and respect Chris’ desire to save this house, but really, Sammamish does not have a “rich history”. It has a history.
Read moreConservation leaders recognized King County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert last month as a champion of programs to preserve agriculture and forestry in rural areas.
King Conservation District officials named Lambert a Conservation Leader for supporting voluntary land stewardship programs.
“I am proud to support King County’s rich agricultural heritage and the conservation of our valuable resource lands and magnificent forests,” said Lambert in a statement. “We are fortunate to live in this wonderful area and to benefit from an unmatched wealth of natural resources that form the foundation of our economy as well as our quality of life. Conservation benefits us all today as well as generations in the future.”
Read moreInternational Smile Power, the Sammamish-based oral health organization, will send dentists and volunteers to Uganda in January and to Bolivia in March. So co-director Susan Evans, of Sammamish, spent her day Nov. 10 getting the word out at the second annual Skyline Community Service Fair.
The organization recently partnered with locals on the outskirts of Cochabamba, Bolivia to provide dental care and education to the community, said Jolie Lofink, of International Smile Power.
It relies on donations and volunteers to help provide supplies, tools and educational materials for its worldwide programs.
“Community service fairs help tremendously,” Evans said. “Usually that’s the first step.”
Skyline sophomores Kylie Boyd, far right, and Katie Robinson grab brochures and information about International Smile Power, a Sammamish-based organization, at the school’s annual community service fair. Photo by Christopher Huber
Read more
World War II veteran Phil Sulman always says he’s got 195 stories to tell for his 195 days of combat. Sulman, 85, a grandfather to Haley Morris, 10, and Nicole Morris, 7, of Sunny Hills Elementary, served in the Battle of the Bulge as a Private-First-Class in the Army’s 104th Timberwolf Infantry Division, he said. He landed with his unit in Cherbourg, France just days after D-Day and fought through France, Holland, Belgium and Germany for six months straight.
“We knew we had a job to do,” he said.
Sulman was one of a handful of military veterans who attended the Sunny Hills Veterans Day commemoration assembly Nov. 9.
Members of the Sunny Hills choir wave flags as they sing for the crowd in the school’s multi-purpose room. Photo by Christopher Huber
Read more
Mary Cronin was chosen to be the founding principal at Carson Elementary in 2008 for plenty of good reasons, according to school staff members.
She had years of experience as an administrator in the Lake Washington School District and was known for her creative and personable approach to her principal job.
“The cool thing is, the school house is like a family and people feel that when they come in,” said Jamie Warner, a teacher who has worked with Cronin for six years.
The district recently recognized Cronin as the November Staff Star. Cronin is in her 13th year as a principal in the district.
“She’s the best principal that I’ve probably ever met,” said Warner, who is currently interning as a principal with Cronin. “She has a love for kids and learning, and she’s a learner herself.”
Mary Cronin, left, works with Marissa Anarde and her second-grade class. Contributed
Read more
« Previous Page — Next Page »
