Students put book on mock trial
See Page B6
Students face rise of machines in robotics tournament
Skyline loses gamble against Nevada team, 55-53 Sports,
Community,
Page B4
Page B1
See Page B8
www.issaquahpress.com
THE ISSAQUAH PRESS
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 • Vol. 112, No. 1
Locally owned since 1900 • 75 Cents
‘Footloose’ kicks out KIDSTAGE
Policies limit flood damage
Bellevue College president sketches bold vision for Issaquah campus
City has spent more than a decade on flood projects
Hurdles remain before construction can start in Issaquah Highlands By Warren Kagarise Issaquah Press reporter The formula for the Issaquah Highlands remains, for the most part, unchanged since residents settled in the community a dozen years ago: homes built almost eave-to-eave on tree-lined streets, even as plans for offices and retail offerings sputtered. Bellevue College could juice up the long-established formula, or so community leaders hope. The college campus proposed for the highlands could someday serve as a learning center for groups as assorted as school-aged children and retirees, a gathering spot for cultural festivals and fuel for the economy — if Bellevue College opts to transform a forested parcel near Central Park into a satellite campus.
By Warren Kagarise Issaquah Press reporter
College President Jean Floten started to consider the possibility more than a decade ago, as the population boomed on the Eastside. “At that point in time, I really had lots of dreams and ambitions and very little money,” she said. “Not much has changed.” The dynamic, nonetheless, has changed. The acreage under consideration for a college campus is a piece in a complicated process to preserve forest land on Tiger Mountain and to open additional highlands land to construction. The proposal has deep support from city leaders and the business community, but the prospect has also raised concerns among highSee CAMPUS, Page A6
Legislature tackles tough agenda By Laura Geggel and Warren Kagarise Issaquah Press reporters Tiger Mountain State Forest hikers could be required to spend some green to access the trails crisscrossing the mountain soon — if state legislators impose user fees to raise dollars for the cashstrapped state. The proposed Explore Washington Pass is the latest idea to increase funds for state natural resources
agencies. The pass is designed to address maintenance needs and repair damage to state forests and other trust lands — but the proposal is all but certain to raise ire among hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. In the months ahead, Evergreen State residents could face increased fees on state lands, shrunken services from state agencies and larger class sizes in elementary school classrooms as cuts See AGENDA, Page A3
BY GREG FARRAR
Downhill to 2011 Greyson Jenkins, 10, gets a push on his sled from Grant Martorano, 9, as brother Andrew Martorano, 7, looks on, as they play on a hillside at Northeast Harrison Street after snow fell Dec. 29 in the Issaquah Highlands. For more, see Page A2.
Issaquah Creek sloshed into neighborhoods and onto streets in early December, but city and county leaders credit land-use policies for helping to limit damage from flooding and landslides. Because much of Issaquah is located in a floodplain, officials can only do so much to limit flooding. Though the risk remains, the city has made strides since the 1996 flood to upgrade creek buffers and shore up bridges and other infrastructure to withstand floods. The process has included purchasing and removing homes in the floodplain, plus buying undeveloped floodplain lots for preservation. Parcels in the Sycamore neighborhood served a role in the recent floodplain-restoration project at Squak Valley Park North. Crews used the land as a construction staging area. The strip also provides a buffer between homes and the creek. The city plans to use a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to raise low-lying houses in the flood-prone Sycamore neighborhood and along Northwest Cherry Place next year. The city has also embarked on a yearslong program of replacing bridges in order to reduce flood constrictions. The last major bridge is scheduled for replacement — the link at Northwest Dogwood Street across Issaquah Creek — in 2012 at the earliest. Both city and state sources of funding seem unlikely in the short term. Many areas across the county experienced landslides or flooding Dec. 11-12, but damage to life and property remained at a minimum. “The damaged homes in King See FLOODING, Page A5
Salmon leap onto fresh police patch Issaquah Police Department unveils new patch designed by highlands resident By Warren Kagarise Issaquah Press reporter The officers in blue had started to look a little blasé. So, the Issaquah Police Department asked residents to redesign the patch the agency had used for more than 25 years. The result: The updated patch features a jumping salmon rendered in electric hues and set against a blue backdrop meant to pop against the uniforms’ dark navy. Police Chief Paul Ayers announced the updated patch Dec. 31. The designer is Issaquah Highlands resident Tim Bissmeyer, a project manager at CollinsWoerman,
the architecture firm behind the Swedish Medical Center campus under construction in the highlands. “I wanted to do something that was pretty simple and not too complicated, and it just naturally kind of drew me to the salmon,” he said. The prize: $250 from the city Arts Commission for crafting the design and a long-term installation of the artwork on the shoulders of uniformed Issaquah officers. The police department plans to phase in the patch as officers order uniform coats, coveralls and shirts in the months ahead. The agency set out to find a fresh patch in the summer, as the supply of existing insignia started to shrink.
The police department put out a call for submissions in July. The agency offered artists templates for a half-dozen patch shapes and a series of criteria for the patch. Salmon emerges as common theme Then, after the September deadline, the Arts Commission considered 10 entries. The early designs ranged in skill from professional graphic designers to Issaquah School District students. The creations all depicted nature in some form and most, perhaps unsurprisingly, included a representation of salmon. City Arts Coordinator Amy Dukes said all of the artists resided in
WHAT TO KNOW The updated patch design for the Issaquah Police Department is meant to convey a sense of place. Residents can check out more than 200 patches from other law enforcement agencies from across the Evergreen State in the lobby at City Hall, 130 E. Sunset Way. PHOTOS BY GREG FARRAR
King County, and most happened to be Issaquah residents. In late fall, department officers and employees scrutinized the design and cast ballots for a favorite. The salmon Bissmeyer had sketched emerged as the clear
Tim Bissmeyer (left) holds a sketch of the updated Issaquah Police Department patch. The department selected the design (right). frontrunner. “Whether they liked it or disliked it, it was still their patch now,” Ayers said. “It wasn’t someone
YOU SHOULD KNOW
A&E . . . . . . . . B8
Opinion . . . . . . A4
Classifieds . . . . B7
Police . . . . . . . A6
Community . . . B1
Schools . . . . . . B6
Obituaries . . . . B3
Sports . . . . . . B4-5
King County Metro Transit has raised fares for 2011. The standard fare for adult Metro riders has increased by 25 cents. Fares for other Metro products, such as passes and ticket books, also increased. The fare changes do not impact the 75-cent fares for seniors and other people qualified for reduced fares. The cost for a monthly pass has also been hiked. Learn more at metro.kingcounty.gov.
See PATCH, Page A5
INSIDE THE PRESS
else’s patch. It didn’t mirror all of
QUOTABLE “We have trouble getting insurance companies to cover that.”
— Darius Zoroufy Swedish Medical Center-affiliated sleep specialist, after saying the best cure for seasonal affective disorder would be to spend time in a sunny place, like Southern California, in winter