•  Display a grand ol’ flag at your home (remember to put it out again for Flag Day, June 14).

• Visit a national cemetery where volunteers have decorated each gravesite with a U.S. flag. The Tahoma National Cemetery is located east of Kent on 158 acres. Noteworthy is the Memorial Walkway containing 23 memorials that commemorate soldiers of various 20th century wars. A Blue Star Memorial to honor all veterans is located north of the Public Information Center.

• Attend a special service and presentation of the colors by local Veterans of Foreign Wars. In Issaquah, the VFW will hold a service at 10 a.m. Monday, May 28 at Hillside Cematery. The Redmond VFW will hold a ceremony 11 a.m. at Sunset Hills Memorial Park, 1215 145th Place S.E., Bellevue.

• Some Americans use Memorial Day to also honor any family members who have died, not just servicemen and women.

• Plant a flower or a tree in honor of a family member.

• Say thanks to a living veteran.

• Make a commitment to volunteer to assist veterans in need. The Dept. of Veterans Affairs has many ways to help; visit www.volunteer.va.gov.

• Take time to learn a little about the holiday and its Civil War roots.

While most enjoy the three-day holiday, Memorial Day is so much more, and is especially poignant while our country is at war.

Soldiers are still fighting in far-flung corners of the world for the liberty that affords us a carefree day in the park, chowing down on barbeque or watching the Indianapolis 500 — what most of us will be doing this weekend. It’s okay, veterans can be remembered there, too.

On April 29th, we celebrated our seventh annual ARAS African Bike Drive by collecting 700 bikes plus parts bound for Africa.

Thank you to those who transported the pre-collected bikes to City Hall, our 84 volunteers who helped to prep and load the bikes for shipment, to those who held bike drives for us and of course to all those who donated so their bikes will have a second life.

Mary Trask

ARAS Community Service Director

Everyone wants to help the environment

I take issue with the recent article in the Sammamish Review “Planners, citizens study proposed regs.”

I am thankful that the author is reminding Sammamish citizens that this process is ongoing by writing the article but, in my opinion, the participants have been incorrectly characterized.

It is mentioned that, “Most of the public are property owners who have had development plans stymied by the city’s current regulations.”

On the contrary, I find that there is a fairly even mix of those asking the commission to preserve environmental protection and those who want to preserve their property rights.

Many of those asking to preserve protections for the environment are themselves living in critical areas that require buffers.

At tonight’s meeting (May 17), except for the developer and lawyer for a proposed development, the majority of speakers were for preserving what we have left of the environment.

I agree with the author that the rubber will meet the road when the issue of the landslide hazard, erosion hazard areas comes up as a topic.

The meetings to address those topics will be from 6-9 p.m. June 14 and June 28 at City Hall.

I would encourage anyone concerned with building on steep slopes to come to those meetings, they even have coffee and cookies provided.

Barbara Raabe

Sammamish

Thanks you schools foundations donors

The Lake Washington Schools Foundation raises funds to support academic excellence and success for all students in the Lake Washington School District. The Foundation does this through funding Equal Access to Educational Opportunities, Quality Teaching and Leadership, and Future Ready Skills.

Within these priorities, programs are funded that fulfill needs of students, schools and the district.

These needs include the LINKS Mentoring program that matches caring adults with students who need one-on-one mentoring, help with homework or developing social skills.

School needs can be met with our Reaching for Success grants that provide funds to assist schools in meeting their state-mandated (but unfunded) continuous improvement process plan.

The district benefits from foundation funding through district-wide grants like providing scholarships for summer school to low-income students who are academically at-risk.

To date the foundation has provided nearly $1 million in programs to benefit students throughout the district.

The foundation vision is that each student in the Lake Washington School District will receive an education that ensures future success.

Foundation programs strive to accomplish this vision and are in alignment with the school district’s vision of Every Student Future Ready – prepared for college, prepared for the global workplace, prepared for personal success.

Community support sustains this vision.

Please join us, along with your local community members and businesses, for our seventh annual “A Legacy for Learning” benefit luncheon May 23 at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland.

Our presentation team will include Tony Ventrella as the keynote speaker, Andy Wappler with the “Call to Action”, and returning again this year, Monica Hart as the emcee.

Thanks to our sponsors, the lunch is complimentary so all donations support programs. For more information and to register visit www.lwsf.org.

We are fortunate to live in a community that values and supports excellent education.

Thank you to the thousands who have supported the foundation the past seven years.

Your generosity is appreciated and we look forward to increasing the impact that community makes on education.

Please consider making a donation if you are unable to attend the luncheon. Community support makes a difference.

Terri Blier,

President

Lake Washington Schools Foundation

A pair of what seem to be random alleged sexual assaults are the sort of thing that don’t really happen in Sammamish — until they do. Our sympathies are with both the girl and young woman who allegedly were attacked. Each of them reacted quickly and managed to protect themselves.

The alleged attacker’s motivations have yet to be made public, but no matter his reasons, the situation is a reminder that even though street crime is rare in Sammamish, it can and does happen.

The other case, involving a former teacher at Eastside Catholic High School and substitute bus driver for the Issaquah School District, is at least as disturbing. The man was a beloved teacher, but he now he has been found in possession of child pornography. By all accounts, he kept his nose clean while he was working at the schools. But it is a reminder for parents to be cautious, even of those caring for our children.

That either of these incidents occurred here is strange. That they both happened in the same week is a statistical fluke.

Sammamish has the second-lowest crime rate of all cities in King County. It may very well be the strong sense of community that has neighbors looking out for each other and keeps crime at bay. But the city’s wealth sometimes attracts criminals. Lock your doors and close the garage, people! There are people out there that are, well, bad guys.

A pickup truck is almost the only vehicle where you will find a bumper.

A pickup truck is almost the only vehicle where you will find headlights and tail lights positioned where cars in parking lots can’t smash them.

Cars with no bumpers and lights on the outside corners of fenders are stupid.

President Eisenhower was right when he called fins on cars a dumping of ridiculous design on the American public.

Last month, pickup trucks were the best selling vehicles in the U.S.

Tony Emmanuel

Sammamish

Thank you Issaquah district

On behalf of the Issaquah School Board, I would like to extend our thanks to the community for its overwhelming support of the construction and maintenance bond. With an approval rating of over 70 percent, the community has made a clear statement that we value education. We are amazed and humbled by this outpouring of community support.

We also wish to credit the efforts of our district staff and the bond feasibility committee for their efforts in forming a bond package that rebuilds our three oldest schools, expands capacity for four others, and funds critical maintenance and repairs in an bidding environment where we get the biggest bang for our buck.

Finally, we want to thank everyone that worked to pass this bond, including our teachers, 24 PTAs, three high school booster clubs, three chambers of commerce and most especially the leadership of the Volunteers for Issaquah Schools. Literally hundreds of community volunteers dedicated their time in the past year to passing this bond.

As many neighboring districts have discovered, passing a school bond measure in this economic climate can be challenging. Since last week, many districts throughout the state have been contacting us, wanting to know our “secret.” Well, our secret is simple: It’s a community commitment to education that drives parents and community leaders to speak out for investing in the success of our children and grandchildren, and to take extraordinary measures to ensure we provide them with new opportunities for success. We are truly blessed. Thank you.

Chad Magendanz, president

Issaquah School Board

Parks planners in Sammamish assume that residents will walk about a half-mile, according to information from a city survey of 400 residents.

City Councilman Ramiro Valderrama, citing the survey, wants planners to examine a one-mile radius — something more than half of Sammamish residents said they’d be willing to do.

We agree with park planners that the one-mile radius is not the logical way to go.

Parks director Jessi Richardson points out that Sammamish is a land of curving roads, cul-de-sacs and fenced yards.

Although someone might live within a half mile as the crows flies, it would be rare to actually be able to take a straight line route from home to the park. Hence, a half-mile becomes a mile.

In transit planning, the industry standard — and the one used by King County Metro — is that people will walk about a quarter-mile to get to a bus stop. Certainly parks and buses aren’t directly comparable, but it helps give a sense of how far people might walk to a service.

Other factors come into play when deciding to walk or drive to a park:

It looks like rain but the dog needs his exercise.

There are no sidewalks between home and the park to push the stroller.

That mile to the park is all uphill. I’m too big for a swing and a slide so I need a farther park with a basketball hoop.

I prefer going to Pine Lake Park for a swim/concert/picnic/fishing.

Valderrama is certainly coming from the right place.

The city shouldn’t overbuild its park system. But it’s important to take a close look at usage when making these long-range decisions.

Drawing too big a radius around parks to determine walking distances can give a false sense of how accessible the parks are to residents.

I read your article about the goats in the Sammamish Review the other day. I am happy to see that the city will bring livestock in to do some landscaping. Although I don’t live near the locations where the animals will be used this summer, I like the idea that the price for their services is great, the animals can do a better job keeping vegetation levels down, and they are quieter than a lawnmower. I hope the goat-mowing program goes very well.

Nobu Shearon

Sammamish

Chamber chose

a bad day

I would like to register my dismay that the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Women in Business Conference on a Wednesday, which is an early dismissal day for our schools.

It seems to me that some mothers with school-aged children would like to attend the conference, me included, but the childcare I would need to arrange for my four small children makes it unappealing. On top of the registration fee, I will have to pay out over $100 for someone to watch my children.

I am a mother and a person who also happens to run a business quite successfully within the hours of a school day. Wednesdays are my day to work between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., leaving the afternoon for me to spend with my children, who are aged between 6 months and 8 years old. Is it possible that they could have chosen another day of the week to hold this conference, when the school day ends at 3 p.m.? I, for one, would have been more than happy to organize a couple of hours of childcare, rather than the four that I would have to organize now. It’s not worth it.

This letter is a tip of the hat to all the moms out there running businesses from their homes during the hours our children are at school. We deserve to be recognized. Our organizational skills are second to none. That is something everyone at the conference on Wednesday, May 9 could learn.

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, this group of women needs to be acknowledged for the amazing people they are, not just to their children and families, but to all of us in this community.

Without them, we would not be even considering the kind of conference being hosted by the chamber. They could have thought of that before picking the day.

Leta Hamilton

Sammamish

It’s the commissioners, actually

A recent letter writer Kim Doyle blames the Republicans for the rate increase, please give me a break, only a liberal Democrat would say that.

It wasn’t either political party, but the clueless commissioners that serve on the water district. I’m a Republican and I to am disgusted with this increase. I’m 65 years old, and I also would like to have a surplus, so if I might get a chance to retire in this tax happy state. And to make the statement that all Republicans are for the wealthy is ridiculous. What, are their no rich Democrats? I don’t think so. So, let’s put the real blame where it belongs, at the feet of the commissioners. And the last time I checked, this state is about as liberal as it gets.

Fred Caponigro

Sammamish

Do the right thing

Recently, I came upon an accident on 228th Avenue. Traffic was snarled, cars weren’t moving and I wondered what the problem was up ahead. That’s when I realized a pedestrian was down in the middle of the street and I pulled into a vacant parking lot to see if I could help.

As I approached the scene, I recognized the woman dialing her phone as a friend of mine. She helped the young man who’d been hit and I tried to assist the very distraught driver.

I tell you this not to praise my friend and me, but for the mutual concern that we both had for the citizens of Sammamish as we talked later that day. You see, she had been the third car back at the red light. The two cars in front of her clearly had a better eyewitness view of the accident.

However, as she rushed to the aid of this young man, she realized that she was alone. She was the only one to put her hazards on, jump out of her car to assist the young man and dial 911. The cars in front of her just went on. She was completely amazed at the lack of regard for human life.

I know we all lead very busy lives, rushing to and fro, but no meeting, appointment, practice or job is more important than a human life. I want to give those front drivers the benefit of the doubt, but find it hard to believe that they couldn’t have witnessed this accident. I was disappointed that morning. I like to think that if any of us saw anyone laying face down, in the middle of 228th, that we’d have the conscience to do the right thing and help.

I have loved living in Sammamish for the past 10 years and will keep the faith that we can do better next time as a city. Do the right thing and remember what’s really important in life… human life.

What will you do next time?

Melissa Croshaw

Sammamish

As the trees and flowers strike up a parade of blooms from one end of the city to the other and the smell of new-mown lawn fills the air, the promise of good times is not far off. Dust off the patio furniture, turn on the grill and get outside!

Fishing season opens this weekend on Pine Lake (Beaver Lake and Lake Sammamish are always open) meaning anglers of all ages will have a chance to catch Saturday’s dinner off the side of the dock. For helpful fishing hints, check out the story in Sammamish Scene magazine inside this issue.

The greens are looking good at the city’s two golf courses, Sahalee and Plateau clubs. Ducklings are out on the lakes swimming close to mama duck. The sound of frogs and crickets fill the warmer night air.

Little League ballplayers, lacrosse teams, spring soccer teams are filling the recreation fields in city parks while parents get acquainted from the bleachers.

Tots are sliding and swinging at the playgrounds, and dogs and their owners are stretching their legs on extended walks. Runners and bike riders are once again a common sight, enjoying the scenic country roads and the lake trail that Sammamish offers.

And Sammamish is just two weeks away from the opening of its annual Farmers Market. The hours have changed from 3-7 p.m. on Wednesdays, but the local produce, food and crafts that everyone comes to enjoy will be back. Gather those farm fresh eggs, vegetable starts and artistic handiwork and consider becoming a vendor. For details, visit www.sammamishfarmersmarket.org.

If you haven’t yet joined a popular Sammamish Walks tour, you’re missing out on a chance to learn more about city parks. For details, visit www.SammamishWalks.org.

Get out and rediscover a corner of Sammamish that you’ve never been to before. Remind yourself how wise your were to choose this to be home.

A huge, huge thank you to the Issaquah School District voters for resoundingly passing the construction and maintenance bond last week!

It makes me extremely proud to serve in a community that values education and the future of its children so much — you are unparalleled in this state and nation.

Because of you, we will be able to meet our critical construction and repair needs for the next eight years, ensuring students are learning in safe, high-quality schools equipped for 21st-century learning.

My commitment is to be the best steward possible for these dollars, completing projects on time and on — or under — budget, protecting our top credit rating, and remaining transparent throughout the construction process (look for a web page soon that will track our progress).

My sincerest appreciation also goes to Volunteers for Issaquah Schools. These volunteer community members — hundreds of them! — dedicated themselves to spreading information about the bond measure so voters could make an informed choice.

For some, it was a full time job; for others, they gave one or two hours when they could, honking and waving or simply placing a bus magnet on their vehicle. Regardless, each and every one of them made a tremendous difference!

Steve Rasmussen

The writer is superintendent of the Issaquah School District

Leave it down for now

The barricade on the street at the 20000 block of Northeast 42nd Street was damaged in a traffic accident April 17 and has been removed. The street is now open for public use.

The city is planning to spend money to immediately replace this barricade even though it will most likely be removed in the near future. Evaluation of the barricade at this location is one of the highest priorities on the city list of barricades that may be removed.

The city should leave the street open until a final decision is made about whether the city should remove or retain the barricade.

The expense of replacing the barricade then removing the barricade later this year or next year would be a waste of precious resources by the city.

The original purpose and justification supporting installation of the barricade was that the risk of cut through traffic from Sahalee Way Northeast would be high until state Route 202 improvements were complete.

The stated purpose of the barricade no longer is valid. The state Route 202 improvements have been completed for several years. If the city decides to permanently keep the street connection open, it can use the funds that would have repaired the old barricade toward traffic improvements that residents desire in this neighborhood.

The City Council and staff can evaluate the merits of barricading the street with the street connection “open” just a well as with the street “closed”.

The city should save the taxpayers some money and not order the barricade replaced until after the barricade evaluation process is completed on the Northeast 42nd Street location.

Greg Reynolds

Sammamish

Leave the well-behaved dogs alone

I read with interest, the letter from Ms. Natiello regarding her many encounters with “attacking dogs, unruly dogs, and threatening dogs”, from which one would conclude that she was continually in areas of wild, rabid dogs.

Unfortunately, there are owners who think they have a well trained dog, but cannot give a command and have their dog obey immediately without breaking. Training the owner to properly train the dog is the difficulty.

The leash laws are clear: A dog on a leash in some areas is required, while other areas “under control” by the owner is acceptable. Under “control” means, the dog will obey the command the owner gives, immediately.

I had a Sammamish Trail experience, where I was walking my two dogs, off leash, on e-collars, but brought them to heel when a father, mother and daughter approached on bikes.

The father began screaming at me for having my dogs off-leash, kicking his foot out repeatedly toward the dogs who were some 20 feet away, regarding him with curiosity – they did not break the heel command in spite of his actions – they had never seen a human act in this way before.

We were quite astonished! The mother and daughter looked at the ground, clearly embarrassed. The dogs are well-trained and master hunters, but if they had thought he was being aggressive towards me, they might have barked at him.

All dog owners could examine their training standards and clean up after their dogs. Others could examine their actions, motivation and agenda for their desire to have them removed from open spaces, walkways, trails.

Dogs provide an important function in our lives as therapy dogs, bomb and drug sniffing, security, police work, medical alert, cancer detection, and search and rescue, herding, and there are countless stories of dogs protecting children.

Volunteer Police are unnecessary. Dog owners are capable of acting responsibly. People can mend from being a victim and having fear or disgust for dogs. Dogs have assisted humans for centuries and are quite simply invaluable. It is the humans that need to examine their actions and commitment, whether it be to raise a properly trained dog, or to examine their fears being respectful to all.

Barbara Hawley

Sammamish

There are already regulations that mandate dogs be on a leash. Finding a way to enforce this policy is worth the city’s time.

Pet owners love their dogs, but that doesn’t mean others do. Sure, you know Fido wouldn’t hurt a fly, but people may have had bad experiences, and pet owners should be sensitive to them. Small children are especially vulnerable to unleashed dogs.

There are also environmental reasons to stop dogs from crashing through bushes and accessing streams and lakes.

The city spends money on maintaining an off-leash area, and most people in Sammamish have yards. There are ample opportunities for dogs to roam free without letting them off leash in city parks.

Using volunteer police to enforce the leash law makes sense, and having a uniformed presence could help everyone feel safe.

A proposed smoking ban, however, is a bridge too far. Both the city and county have proposed a ban on smoking in public parks.

There is a legitimate concern that cigarette butts cause damage to Mother Earth, but putting out ashtrays and educating smokers (and how many smokers are there in the parks, anyway?) is a more realistic solution.

The city’s Parks Commission points to a study showing the dangers of second-hand smoke outdoors. The study, however, dealt with smoke on restaurant patios.

Common sense says atmospheric conditions in a few square feet of a sidewalk café don’t seem like they would compare to sprawling acres of trees and fields.

Yes, smoking can be dangerous to people near the smoker, but it’s a park. It won’t take much of a breeze to dissipate the smoke, and there’s plenty of room to move if you catch a whiff.

Unlike a dog, the smoke will not chase after you, and it won’t bite. The cigarette butts aren’t nearly as bad as dog feces, but if we can teach dog owners to clean up after their pets, surely we can teach smokers to clean up their butts.