Steve Compton rekindled his love of driving hydros
June 28, 2011
Steve Compton shows off the replica of Miss Thriftway he and his partners constructed.
During his early years in the 1950s and 1960s, Steve Compton would tie a wooden model of his favorite boat, the Miss Thriftway, to a string and attach the string to a stick. He would then run up and down the west side of Lake Sammamish, watching his little boat hurtle through the water.
“When I was growing up, we didn’t have any professional sports in the city,” Compton said. “During the summer, the big event was the hydroplane race.”
All these years later, Compton is still involved with hydroplane racing. He and his crew participated in the 15th annual Tastin’ n Racin’ celebrated on Lake Sammamish June 11 and 12. This time he drove a real Miss Thriftway at nearly 120 miles per hour on the same lake. Read more
McTeacher Night raises $2,300 for patient at Children’s Hospital
June 28, 2011
Teachers and staff at McAuliffe Elementary School raised nearly $2,300 for a patient at Seattle Children’s Hospital. At its McTeacher Night, June 1 at the Sammamish McDonald’s, the school staff members spent three hours raising support for the hospital’s Sparrow program. In all, McAuliffe students and families raised about $3,000 for Landon, their sponsored “Sparrow.” Read more
Sammamish Rotary awards scholarships
June 28, 2011
The Rotary Club of Sammamish awarded $15,000 in scholarships to three high school seniors in May.
Katie Teman of Eastlake, Olivia Verhagen of Skyline and Aspen Edwards of Eastside Catholic received awards for community service and academic excellence. Read more
Sammamish man helps Indian families name babies
June 28, 2011
In India, a family might wait four to five years to name their child, according to Sammamish residents from there. They develop a sense of his or her personality or character before affixing a permanent name — many of which come from ancient Sanskrit scriptures.
Software engineer Narendra Chandel created a website that aims at helping families, local and abroad, discern which name to choose. Read more
City readies for annual Fourth of July celebration
June 28, 2011
Sun. That’s the key word for this year’s Fourth on the Plateau celebration.
Organizers at the city of Sammamish are holding out hopes for a sunny and dry Fourth of July, 2011, seeking to draw thousands of community members to the annual fireworks show and carnival-style gathering at Sammamish Commons. Read more
Sammamish actor Riley Griffiths, 14, stars in ‘Super 8’
June 28, 2011
Actors Joel Courtney (left) and Issaquah resident Riley Griffiths discuss a scene with director/writer/producer J.J. Abrams before filming on the movie set of ‘Super 8’ from Paramount Pictures. Photo by Francois Duhamel/Paramount Pictures
On a morning in March, as Beaver Lake Middle School language arts and social studies teacher Karen Smith greeted students in the hallway, eighth-grader Riley Griffiths stepped up and asked a question.
Griffiths, 14, whispered, “‘The trailer for ‘Super 8’ came out last night. Can we watch it in class this morning?’” Smith recalled.
“Super 8” — a summer blockbuster about a creature turned loose in a Rust Belt town — started filming not long after Griffiths started school at Beaver Lake. Other students in Smith’s class realized Griffiths had left for a film shoot, but none understood the magnitude. Yet. Read more
Police Blotter June 29
June 28, 2011
Ryan Reynolds would be ashamed
A 17-year-old Sammamish teen on his way to the midnight showing of the movie Green Lantern was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after allegedly driving while high on marijuana.
The teen was pulled over near the corner of Northeast 28th Street and Sahalee Way at around 11:30 p.m. June 16. Officers noticed the teen had bloodshot eyes and smelled of marijuana. He performed poorly on field sobriety tests and admitted to having smoked a “blunt” just before driving.
He was driven to the hospital to give a blood sample and released to his parents after being taken to jail to be fingerprinted. Read more
State liquor store hours to expand
June 28, 2011
The state plans to roll out standardized hours at liquor stores July 1.
Under the existing system, hours for the 166 locations vary. Starting in July, the schedule for all state stores is to be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. at stores open on Sunday. Read more
King County considers garbage rate increase
June 28, 2011
Sammamish and King County residents could pay more — less than $1 per month in most cases — for garbage collection soon.
The proposed one-year rate increase is meant to raise funds to modernize the aging solid waste system. The proposal calls for county Solid Waste Division disposal rates to rise from $95 to $108 per ton, or about 76 cents per month for the average residential customer putting out a single can for collection for all customers outside of Seattle and Milton. Read more
Lillian M. Bentler
June 28, 2011
Lillian M. Bentler
Lillian M. Bentler, 80, of Sammamish, passed away Thursday, June 23, 2011.
Lil was a dedicated wife, loving mother of eight children and grandmother of 18.
Her generosity and charitable spirit touched the lives and hearts of everyone she met. Lil will always be remembered for her gentle spirit, her Christ-like ways and her generous smile.
A funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Friday, July 1, at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Sammamish.
Friends are invited to get directions, view photos and share memories in the family’s online guestbook at www.flintofts.com.
