Issaquah’s only locally owned newspaper
THE ISSAQUAH PRESS
118th Year, No. 1
Thursday, January 5, 2017
issaquahpress.com
Providence Heights campus to be nominated for landmark status By Lizz Giordano lgiordano@isspress.com The stunning stained-glass windows that adorn the chapel at Providence Heights College might be preserved for another generation to admire if the King County Landmarks Commission approves an application nominating the
site for landmark status. The Sammamish Heritage Society began work on the application last year after a developer announced plans for the site, which the group said is profoundly important to the Catholic religion. See LANDMARK, Page 2
A new era at senior center begins with city changing locks By Lizz Giordano lgiordano@isspress.com The City of Issaquah wasted no time Friday afternoon. Precisely at 4:01 p.m., when the center closed, maintenance workers were at the Issaquah Valley Senior Center ready to move furniture and change locks.
Just hours before, the outgoing Issaquah Valley Seniors board of directors hosted a farewell luncheon. The group, which had operated the center, dissolved Dec. 30 and relinquished control to the city, which reopened it Jan. 3. During the final lunch, Craig Hansen, the board’s president, wished the city the best.
Hansen said he plans to take some time off from the senior center next year. The luncheon was well-attended and many seniors were excited the city would be running the center. After several clashes with the See CENTER, Page 8
SLIDING INTO THE NEW YEAR
Scott Stoddard / sstoddard@isspress.com
Christina Fast pilots her twin children Chloe and Caleb Lebeiko down Schoolhouse Hill near Julius Boehm Pool as they enjoy a bit of sledding on New Year’s Day. Issaquah woke up to snow to kick off 2017, with a dusting on the valley floor and greater accumulations at higher elevations.
Coffee roasting brews into a family business By Lizz Giordano lgiordano@isspress.com The smell of freshly roasted coffee seeps out of the Valentes’ garage as the family of seven finishes up that day’s batch. What began as a lesson in geography and entrepreneurship has brewed into a family business. “It’s been a really fascinating experience as a parent to watch the kids grow into business,” said Doug Valente. A few years after Valente began roasting coffee beans for personal consumption in his kitchen, he had an opportunity to buy a commercial roaster. With the help of his wife Odine and their kids, the micro-roastery grew to selling freshly roasted coffee beans to family and friends. “We got to a point where people were giving us money. Not a lot, but enough to cover the cost of beans,” Valente said. “Friends are definitely buying and rebuying.” Today, the Valente Family Coffee Roasters roasts between 20-50 pounds of green beans a week. Coffee has taken over the family’s home, empty See COFFEE, Page 3
Sammamish approves grants to local agencies denied human services funding by Issaquah By Lizz Giordano lgiordano@isspress.com
Greg Farrar / gfarrar@isspress.com
Cougar Mountain resident Doug Valente drip-brews two tasting cups of Guatemalan coffee last week from beans the family had just cooked in the commercial roaster in their garage and then ground in the kitchen.
Two human services groups that were shut out when the City of Issaquah distributed grant funding for 2017 received money from a different municipal government when the Sammamish City Council approved nonprofit funding for the 2017-18 budget cycle. Athletes For Kids received $10,000 and Life Enrichment Options was awarded $3,000 from the City of Sammamish as part of a $249,000 grant package for Eastside nonprofits. Both groups saw their requests for 2017 funding denied by the City of Issaquah’s Human Services Commission. Sammamish’s Human Services Task Force, which See GRANTS, Page 5 FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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