Issaquah’s only locally owned newspaper
THE ISSAQUAH PRESS
117th Year, No. 10
FBI believes man in custody is tied to seven Issaquah bank robberies
Shortage or not, Issaquah faces challenges with teacher staffing
Staff report
By David Hayes dhayes@isspress.com The state of Washington has a teacher shortage. The Issaquah School District says it does not. But sheer numbers don’t tell the whole story. According to Superintendent Ron Thiele, Issaquah has about 1,200 certificated staff. “Right now, we’ve got the staff we need for this year,” Thiele said. “If you talk to the human resources department, they are very, very concerned about their ability to fill all the open positions.” He added what Issaquah does have is a shortage of educational assistants and substitute teachers. “There’s definitely a substitute shortage. That’s where all of this started. Because they all got jobs,” Thiele said. When there is a substitute shortage, schools can see a domino effect. As a former principal, Thiele said when he didn’t have a class covered, he’d go to the secretary 10 minutes before class started and ask who’s not covered today. “Margie’s not in. OK, I’ll go down and cover the class. Let me know when you get a sub in. So now my
Thursday, March 10, 2016
issaquahpress.com
FBI
Authorities believe they have apprehended a man responsible for seven Issaquah-area bank robberies, including this one at the Bank of America branch on Front Street North on Dec. 1, 2015.
The Seattle Safe Streets Task Force, which includes members of the FBI, believes it has a man in custody that may be responsible for seven Issaquah bank robberies — and five others in the Puget Sound area — since 2014. Investigators believe the description and disguises used in the robberies may be identifiable with Nicholas J. Nelson, 28, of North Bend. Nelson was arrested Jan. 9 by the Auburn Police Department.
Nelson was allegedly attempting to rob the customer service desk at a Fred Meyer store in Auburn at the time of his apprehension. Investigators also believe Nelson is responsible for the Jan. 2 robbery of the customer service desk at the Issaquah Fred Meyer. That crime similarly involved a knife. Based on the two Fred Meyer incidents, the King County Prosecutor’s Office has filed two counts See ROBBERIES, Page 5
THE WEATHER WAS ELECTRIC
IN-DEPTH EDUCATION COVERAGE ONLINE
By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com
The Seattle Times Education Lab is dedicated to exploring solutions to the most urgent challenges facing public education. Read the Education Lab team’s stories at seattletimes.com/education-lab.
‘Urban’ schools may eventually replace ‘suburban’ schools as district growth continues By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com
See SCHOOLS, Page 2
Anyone with information on the robberies is asked by the Seattle office of the FBI to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222TIPS (8477). All calls are confidential.
Bergsma development on Newport moves forward
See TEACHERS, Page 2
Tomorrow’s schools are likely to look a bit different than existing buildings. That was the consensus of elected officials and staff from the City of Issaquah and the Issaquah School District. The district will be moving toward urban as opposed to suburban schools at some point in the future. That means multi-story buildings that are compact and have a much smaller footprint than current schools. Some schools will almost undoubtedly be built in order to teach the children of families moving into the Central Issaquah Plan area in the coming years. Those were just a few of the takeaways from a joint meeting — the first in two years — of the Issaquah City Council and the Issaquah School District Board of Directors on Feb. 29. For the future, Mayor Fred Butler said he would assign “champions” to follow up with their school district counterparts on how to build urban schools, uncover what city building codes are problematic and find opportunities for collaboration on capital projects. The meeting featured three guest speakers, each an expert on different aspects of capital projects. One is-
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Greg Farrar / gfarrar@isspress.com
Windy weather caused a power line to detach from an insulator and sag into tree limbs on Newport Way Northwest on March 1. The resulting arcing of electricity caused a fiery scene to erupt across the street from Tibbetts Valley Park near State Route 900. The fire was short-lived and Puget Sound Energy crews repaired the power line one day later.
Despite worries over increased traffic on Newport Way and a few other issues, the Bergsma housing project continues to make its way through the city’s development process. Known most commonly by the name of the property owners, the Bergsma development would add 86 single-family lots in a cluster development at Newport Way near State Route 900. During a meeting of the City Council’s Land and Shore Committee on March 4, legislators and a handful of residents alike seemed to question the need for a road connecting Bergsma to the existing Talus development. The road would cut through Harvey Manning Park, though officials said it would follow an existing city rightof-way and result in the loss of few trees from the parkland. “I’m trying to find what the benefit would be,” said City Council President Stacy Goodman, a member of the Land and Shore Committee. She suggested the road might be needed for emergency access to Bergsma and wondered if barricades could be set up on either end of the road. Emergency crews would be able to open those barricades. Planners were following what they believed to be the call for neighborhood connectivity contained in Issaquah’s comprehensive plan, said Peter Rosen, the city’s environment planner. He added the roadway was meant See BERGSMA, Page 12
WATCH VIDEO OF THE FIRE AT ISSAQUAHPRESS.COM
Repairs on I-90 overpass could begin earlier than expected A Recology CleanScapes truck was totaled after it hit and punctured a hole in a girder on the Interstate 90 overpass at Front Street on March 13, 2015. Greg Farrar / Staff file, 2015
By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com March 13 will mark the oneyear anniversary of the collision between a garbage truck and the Interstate 90 overpass that crosses Front Street. The gaping hole in the side of the bridge reminds drivers of the mishap on a daily basis. In December, the state Department of Transportation said repair work would begin on the damaged overpass girder in January.
More recently, the state announced impending repairs wouldn’t begin until late April at the earliest. The current delay is due to a needed state inspection of the replacement girder, according to Lisa Van Cise, a spokesperson for WSDOT. She said the contractor has asked the state if it’s possible to speed up that inspection, which would allow repairs to begin sooner. The contractor is currently hoping to begin repairs in early
April. Van Cise did not know how long the new girder has been waiting to be inspected, but said the contractor has 120 days, ending in late May, to complete work. “Nobody wants to see this thing done more than us,” Van Cise said. Van Cise said that when repairs do begin, there will be some complete closures of Front Street in both directions. However, the See OVERPASS, Page 2 FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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