Men attempt to lure Discovery Elementary student

February 9, 2012

New: Feb. 9 10:53 a.m.

Unknown men tried to lure a local fifth-grader into a truck about 2:40 p.m. Wednesday, Issaquah School District officials said.

The student was walking home from Discovery Elementary when a truck approached him on Southeast 20th Street just west of 228th Avenue Southeast on the Sammamish Plateau, said Sara Niegowski, district executive director of communications. Read more

City Council looks at employee pay scale study

February 8, 2012

New: Feb. 8, 10:38 a.m.

Sammamish employees – particularly new hires – are generally underpaid compared to their peers in neighboring cities.

That’s the verdict of a salary survey presented to the City Council at their annual retreat at Suncadia Resort Jan. 27.

Deputy City Manager Lyman Howard said in an interview the lagging salaries for new employees are by design. The city contracted with a consulting firm to look at employee wages in 2007 and elected to set up a system where new hires start at slightly below-market wages but see their pay steadily rise as they move up the “step” system – 4 percent raises that are awarded based on adequate job performance. Read more

Free screenings at Saturday’s Issaquah/Sammamish health fair

February 7, 2012

The eighth annual Issaquah/Sammamish Health & Safety Fair will be held at Pickering Barn in Issaquah this Saturday, Feb. 11 with plenty of free health screenings to make it worthwhile for area families. The event is free, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The fair will feature more than 50 health care professionals. Read more

Police blotter Feb. 8

February 7, 2012

Bag of mail

A Sammamish resident found a bag containing mail belonging to several neighbors on the 1600 block of 219th Place Northeast Jan. 29. Police returned the mail to its rightful owners.

Police are unsure to whom the green satchel bag belongs but believe it may have something to do with mail theft in the neighborhood. Read more

Sammamish gets flood of debris

February 6, 2012

New: Feb. 6, 3:41 p.m.

City officials got a bit more than they bargained for when they agreed to collect tree debris in the aftermath of January’s winter storms.

The city collected enough branches and limbs to fill eight industrial-sized dumpsters within two hours the weekend of Jan. 28-29. Read more

Sammamish Planning Commission finishes work on home business regulations

February 5, 2012

New: Feb. 5, 3:33 p.m.

Home businesses in Sammamish could have customers coming and going between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. under regulations suggested by the city’s Planning Commission.

The commission put the finishing touches on the proposed home business code at their Feb. 2 meeting after several months of testimony from local residents who run businesses out of their homes. The non-binding recommendation will now go to the City Council, which has the final say in the matter. Read more

Eastside Fire & Rescue gets clean audit

February 4, 2012

Feb. 4, 11:37 a.m.

Eastside Fire & Rescue continued its perfect bookkeeping record with the release of another clean audit last month.

An annual state audit of the district’s financial records found no significant irregularities and good internal controls on the district’s budget. The agency has received a clean audit every year since its inception in 1999. Read more

Eastlake kicks off Relay for Life

February 3, 2012

New: Feb. 3, 3:26 p.m.

This year, Kaylee Hansen is determined that whatever else happens, there will be a luminaria at Eastlake’s Relay for Life — even if they have to cheat a little.

For the past three years, the luminaria, decorative paper bags with candles inside, has been washed out by the weather at the annual fundraiser for cancer research. This time around, they’re going to use battery powered tea lights and wax coated bags, said Hansen co-chairwoman of Eastlake’s Relay for Life.

“We can have rain. It will be OK,” she said.

Kaylee Hansen speaks to the crowd at Eastlake’s Relay for Life kick off. Photo by Ari Cetron

Read more

Memorial set for Eastlake resource officer

February 2, 2012

By Caleb Heeringa

The public will have two opportunities to pay their respects to Deputy Stan Chapin, the longtime school resource officer at Eastlake High School and Inglewood Junior High School.

A viewing will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5 at Acacia Funeral Home, 14951 Bothell Way NE in Lake Forest Park.

A memorial service is also scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday , Feb. 7 at Saint Brendan Catholic Church, 10051 NE 195th in Bothell.

Both events are open to the public.

Chapin died in his sleep at the age of 61. A Bothell resident, he is survived by his wife Sue and three children: Christopher, 27, Bethany, 22, and Scott, 17.

All Sammamish senators favor gay marriage

February 1, 2012

New: Feb. 1, 8:40 p.m.

The Washington State Senate approved a bill to allow same-sex marriages by a vote of 28-21. Sen. Andy Hill, a Republican representing the 45th district supported the measure. Hill had not publicly announced how he would vote.

Sens. Cheryl Pflug (R-5) and Steve Litzow (R-41) had both previously said they would support the measure, and both followed through. Read more

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