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Schools bolster ‘culture of kindness’ — Page 6
First salmon spotted returning in Issaquah Creek
The IssaquahPress
Issaquah’s only locally owned newspaper
Human Services Campus plans move forward By Peter Clark pclark@isspress.com Issaquah’s planned Human Services Campus has made its way back to the City Council for discussion. Service organizations AtWork!, of Issaquah, and the Together Center, of Redmond, have long worked to develop an Issaquah campus that would incorporate a number of local nonprofit organizations under one roof. A search for a location to house the campus held the project up until last year. Now, with a location in mind, the two organizations will work on a threeparty agreement with the city to see the plan come to fruition. The Council Services and Safety Committee agreed Aug. 4 to move forward an agenda bill calling to develop an agreement and extend the timeframe of the $965,000 the city committed toward the project. “We’re very excited to get down to the brass tacks of a predevelopment meeting with the city,” Pam Mauk, executive director at the Together Center, said. “They’ve certainly been a party
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Wednesday, August 27, 2014
CHALLENGES ANSWERED
all along.” Though the bill does little more than maintain the administration’s support for the campus and call for the agreement, it is seen as an achievement to many inside the project. “From my point of view, the agenda bill is a big step for us,” Together Center board member and former Issaquah City Councilman John Rittenhouse said. “This formalizes a relationship with the city, who will guide and govern some of the early stages of development.” City officials have long championed such a campus. “For many years going back, the city has been supportive of a human services campus in Issaquah,” David Fujimoto, the city’s Sustainability Department director, said. “It came out in the last decade when the Together Center in Redmond came together.” The agenda bill had no trouble making its way out of committee and will reach the full council in coming months. The decision to
By Greg Farrar
By Ashley Garrels
See CAMPUS, Page 3
Above, the Liberty High School football coaching staff was drenched in ice water Aug. 21 as it accepted the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge from Isaiah Valach, son of head coach Steve Valach. In turn, the Patriots challenged the staffs at Issaquah and Skyline high schools. Donations to support research to find a cure for Lou Gehrig’s Disease and providing vital services to patients and their families can be made at www. alsa.org/donate. At left, Dr. Nadine Egger gets two buckets dumped on her during the Egger Orthodontics ALS Ice Bucket Challenge on Aug. 21. Challenge yourself: Shoot a video of your ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and email us about it at editor@ isspress.com. The best video wins dinner for two to Sip.
District finishes school Combat Flip Flops expands its projects, delays others catalog through crowd-funding By Neil Pierson npierson@sammamishreview.com Staff members, parents and students at Apollo and Issaquah Valley elementary schools have been waiting years for their buildings to be refurbished, and their wishes will be granted when school starts Sept. 3. The two elementary schools were major pieces of a $219 million bond measure that Issaquah School District voters approved in April 2012. Issaquah Valley and Apollo received about $6.6 million each for similar modernization projects that focused on creating additional classroom spaces, improving building security and upgrading existing spaces for a continued influx of new students. The district is expecting to add 350 students in the 2014-15 year, and projections released last year showed the school system could grow by more than 2,800 students over the next 30 years. Much of the boom could take place in downtown Issaquah, making Issaquah Valley a prime location for expansion now. The school, built in 1969, housed about 560 students last year. Eight new classrooms — enough room for 130 new students — are part of the multimillion-dollar upgrades. Apollo, in the East Renton
Highlands, had an enrollment of 620 students last year. The school built in 1970 underwent a major remodel in 1995. Like Issaquah Valley, it has also expanded its footprint with eight new classrooms and more smallgroup instructional spaces. At the Issaquah School Board’s Aug. 13 meeting, district Director of Capital Projects Steve Crawford said the buildings are virtually complete — some exterior trim work, curb construction and parking lot paving remains — and staff members were able to start moving into the new spaces in early August. “The inside is finished and ready to go,” Crawford said. Liberty High School will also open with freshly-renovated facilities. The three-phase modernization project there — completed at a cost of $44.6 million — is the school’s first major refurbishment since 1998. Crawford said Aug. 13 that several items needed to be completed during the final weeks of August, including carpeting, flooring and ceiling tiles. Staff members were prepared for a “rolling move-in,” Crawford said. The first new furniture and classroom materials were scheduled See PROJECTS, Page 3
By Peter Clark pclark@isspress.com Local veteran-founded business Combat Flip Flops has secured more than $15,000 in crowd-sourced funding to launch another product. The Cashmagh is a cashmere shemagh, or scarf. The material is sourced from goats in Afghanistan, and then processed and woven in India. The money was raised through VetLaunch (www.vetlaunchusa.com), which began its mission to fund veteran-owned small businesses July 4. “We wanted to be a frontrunner,” Combat Flip Flops co-founder and former Army Ranger Matthew Griffin, “Griff” to his friends, said. “We ran a couple of crowd-funding campaigns before. We know how those things work.” The goals of VetLaunch aligned with those of Combat Flip Flops. “We have the same mentality to help vets transfer out of the military and set up for success,” Griffin said. “I knew they were the right place for us to set up this crowd-funding campaign.” The campaign that ended Aug. 18 not only funded the expansion plans of Combat Flip Flops to the tune of $17,740, but
By Contributed
Matthew Griffin, Combat Flip Flops founder, models the Cashmagh, a new product line for the business. it also was the first completed drive on the site. That means a lot to VetLaunch founder Sean Mcintosh. “I was just fortunate to get in touch with Griff, and his campaign just took off,” Mcintosh said. “Overall, Griff’s campaign is just a great example of how vets can create their own jobs.” After 13 years in the Navy, the Kansas man said he wanted to get involved with helping veterans establish businesses and felt beginning a crowd-funding platform would serve as a step in the right direction. “It’s hard to borrow money right now, and banks do not
count military experience as business experience,” Mcintosh said. “I saw the need for resources for veteran entrepreneurs. VetLaunch really is that.” With the money, the Issaquahbased business can afford sourcing the cashmere, production and marketing to sell the product. “We knew if we were going to fund it, it would be outside of our current business,” Griffin said. “It’s too small for conventional bank lending and too big for our credit.” Why sell a cashmere shemagh? “It fits within our model of Afghan production,” Griffin said, referring to the flip-flops made from combat boots that inspired the whole business. “This can help lead to peace and prosperity, and no conflict.” It also was a product that spoke to Griffin personally. “I build products for me,” he said. “Most shemaghs are made of cotton or polyester. No one had made a perfect one.” He said it works as a comfortable survival piece that he takes with him bow hunting. Kate Ketschek, who handles public relations for Combat Flip See COMBAT, Page 2
Standup paddling is all the rage at lake this summer Lindsay Lambert bends into a scorpion pose on a standup paddleboard, just offshore of Tibbetts Beach. By Jared
LE FRE CT E UR E
Poston
By Benjamin Marcus Looking to get away from the shady turf of your office and catch some rays on the sunny surface of Lake Sammamish? Kayaking, sailing, wakeboarding and waterskiing are still popular, but more people are taking to the water on standup paddleboards — aka SUP: cruising both sides of the lake, checking out the fancy homes, getting close to otters, beavers and bald eagles and maybe getting all Huck Finn
with a trip up Tibbetts Creek or Issaquah Creek. Standup paddleboarding has reached the shores of Lake Sammamish. Standup paddlers balance on long, wide surfboards and propel themselves through the water with a single-bladed paddle. Many standup paddlers are former kayakers and surfers who find the upright position more comfortable, more liberating and more fun. You can see a lot more under, above and around you on a standup paddleboard.
At Tibbetts Beach on Lake Sammamish, there is a small colony of dedicated standup paddlers who bring their fancy race and touring boards down to the beach to paddle for miles, preparing for races or just staying in shape. But there is an even greater number of visitors who have heard about it or seen it and want to find out about the new sensation. The rental and hot dog kiSee PADDLING, Page 3
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR ISSAQUAH HISTORY? Presented by the Issaquah History Museum
“Issaquah’s Cast of Characters” Thursday, September 4 at 10:30 am • RSVP at (425) 200-0331 University House Issaquah • 22975 SE Black Nugget Rd, Issaquah, WA 98029
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