The Issaquah Press
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COMMUNITY
WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2012
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FILE
Teams walk around the Skyline High School track last year, fundraising for the annual Relay for Life event.
Issaquah Relay for Life sets record-breaking goals By David Hayes Issaquah Press reporter
Jeff Weng, an Issaquah High School senior, stands by his finished solar car.
PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED
Harnessing the power of imagination Issaquah High School senior has a pending patent for his solar car invention By Kirsten Johnson
Below, Jeff Weng’s car is powered by solar panels, which charge the electrical components and the drive train.
His idea was birthed on a sloshy, windy day while he was driving through Seattle. A solar panel — failing to work properly due to the wind and lack of sun — fell off a nearby streetlight, and Jeff Weng had an epiphany. “It wasn’t really effective in what it was doing,” the Issaquah High School senior said. “I wanted to make something that could counter the environmental limitations that are inherent to living in the Northwest, while having the same advantages of a solar panel in a more sunny environment.” Weng’s panel idea — along with a go-cart to utilize the invention — became the fruit of his 436 hours of labor last summer. Long days and all-nighters toying around in his garage paid off — Weng now has a pending provisional patent for his weather-savvy, solar panel invention. Unlike other panels, Weng’s can attract the sun while maintaining a flat profile. The panel attaches to his car, charges its batteries and allows for his vehicle to travel at about 25 miles per hour. “The panel has the ability to move in all directions through two separate drives and maintain flat while being able to attract,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if the sun’s out, it hits in the right spot in the sky, it will try to look at it to find efficiency.”
With the help of a patent lawyer, Weng filled out a provisional patent application in November. The lengthy process included drafting diagrams of every component of his invention and writing an invention disclosure — stating elements such as a summary of his project, its applications and its capabilities. If Weng improves his current invention, one year from now he can file for a regular issued patent application. His father, Lee Weng, said Jeff has always loved building things — beginning with Legos. Weng even used the familiar child toy-pieces to construct early models of his vehicle design. In middle school, Weng was member of a team that placed fourth in the world in an international Lego robotics competition. “That also really helped him to prepare for this project,” Lee Weng said. “It’s using something smaller, Lego pieces, but the principles are the same.” Randy Whitmer, a friend of Weng’s family, built a gasoline vehicle himself while in college. Like Weng, he remembers the long summer hours spent toiling away alone on his project. “It takes a lot of effort — not only do you have to be smart and creative but you have to have the dedication to do it,” he said. “That’s why you don’t see many people doing this as students, but it just opens up doors and puts you a little bit above the crowd.” For Weng, all the effort was well worth it — he wouldn’t put a price tag on his creation. “It’s really a concept and I would never really sell it,” he said. “I think what it really comes down See CAR, Page B3
BY GREG FARRAR
A breed apart
Ginger Meeker pets her 8-month-old male British Shorthair cat, Castlkatz Warlock, during the All Breed Cat Show May 12 at the Issaquah Community Center. Owners and breeders entered 168 cats in a variety of categories in the event, run by the Cat Fanciers Association Inc. Warlock won Best Cat in Show champion, Best Shorthair champion and Best AllBreed champion in just one of the rings in which he was entered.
Jeff Weng first built a prototype for his solar car out of Legos.
When you have one of the most successful programs around, that essentially leaves one goal each year: do better than the previous year. Such is the envious dilemma facing Gwen Schweitzer in her first year as the coordinator of the Issaquah area’s Relay for Life. At this time last year, there were 78 teams signed up. This year, there are already 81, just four away from the goal, Schweitzer said. After last year’s two-day event netted more than $285,000, that left her with the goal of reaching $300,000 in 2012. “We are one of the only mega events to raise over $200,000. Overall, the relay has seen a drop in contributions due to the economy,” Schweitzer said. “Issaquah has been lucky. We’ve seen funding increase by a small margin every year.” In fact, the Issaquah event, held at Skyline High School the past few years due to construction at Issaquah High School, is 11th overall in the Great West Division, a 12-state region. “We were No. 1 in King County,” Schweitzer said. “We even beat out the University of Washington event for the first time in a very long time. We were second in the state only to Tacoma, the founding location of the Relay for Life.” The two-day event has a simple concept. Teams are formed. Each team must raise a certain amount for the American Cancer Society. And donors pledge money for every lap walked at a local track. It isn’t hard to find team members whose lives have been touched by cancer, whether it’s their own or that of a family member, loved one or friend. For Schweitzer, it was her grandmother. Diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, Schweitzer went to Colfax, with her mom and her husband to participate in the relay there to honor her grandmother. “It was really touching for me,” she said. “Afterwards, I wanted to fundraise more and be a more active part of a team.” This will be Schweitzer’s sixth relay, fourth in Issaquah after stints in Colfax and at the University of Washington. Making the event even
IF YOU GO 2012 Relay for Life Issaquah 4Noon June 2 to 8 a.m. June 3 4Skyline High School 4http://relay.acsevents.org/site/ TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY12GW?fr_ id=38341&pg=entry 4Teams are also encouraged to sign up.
HOW TO HELP 4May 19 — Salon Couture, 485 Front St. N., is hosting a daylong Relay for Life fundraiser with 100 percent of funds raised going to the Issaquah relay. Services include haircuts ($38), mini manicures ($10), eyebrow wax ($15) and lip wax ($10). Make an appointment by calling 427-1828. 4May 21 — Pogacha Restaurant, 120 N.W. Gilman Blvd., will be donating 20 percent of its sales from 5-8:30 p.m. to Relay For LIfe.
more amazing, her grandmother participated in the kickoff survivor’s lap two years ago. The Issaquah event still features overnight camping on the track’s infield. This year, every inch, Schweitzer said, has already been booked for tents. To keep the party going there will be games, competitions and music will alternate between live and DJ spun. The highlight, Schweitzer said, is the luminaria ceremony, where community members place illuminated bags, dedicated to someone touched by cancer, around the track, with relay participants walking one silent lap in their honor. “This year, we’re also doing a cutathon, where you can pay to get your hair cut or donate your hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths,” Schweitzer said. To keep each year fresh, she has continually provided fundraising challenges, something usually left up to the teams to do on their own. Recently, Schweitzer threw See RELAY, Page B3
Tradition lives on with annual pancake breakfast By David Hayes Issaquah Press reporter Nothing says Americana more than the family tradition. The Issaquah Valley Senior Center is inviting the public to a tradition it has hosted since opening 33 years ago — its annual pancake breakfast fundraiser from 9-11:30 a.m. May 19 at the center, 75 N.E. Creek Way. Center Director Courtney Jaren said she hopes to attract as many as 300 hungry eaters to the allyou-can-eat buffet, which features bacon, sausage, eggs, coffee, tea and juice to accompany the pancakes. At just $5 per person, Jaren said that adds up to a nice amount for the center. “It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year,” she said. “Netting $1,500 would be nice. It will go toward paying for all our programs. And nothing specific. Rather, it’s an amount to help
defray all our costs.” This year’s meal will again be sponsored, now for the sixth year, by Aegis of Issaquah, and Fischer Meats will provide sausage. Serving up the entertainment will be the senior center’s own musicians, The Rovin’ Fiddlers. “Also, our guest celebrity chefs this year will be former mayor Rowan Hinds and his wife Barbara,” Jaren said. Reaching 300 guests shouldn’t be too hard, as it’s also one of the center’s most popular traditions, she said. “We once had a director who heard a proposed cutback should be the pancake breakfast,” Jaren said. “She was aghast and said, ‘No! We can’t lose our pancake breakfast!’” The tradition has lived on since and Jaren said she hopes the tradition lives on for more generations to come.
The Issaquah Press
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Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Issaquah lacrosse closes out perfect 21-0 season By Matt Carstens Issaquah Press reporter The clock struck 7:48 in the first quarter and it was business as usual for the Issaquah High School boys lacrosse team. A spin, a juke and a furious goal from senior Matt O’Neill would be the first of many as Issaquah finished their perfect season by beating Eastlake, 13-4, May 11. Despite the storybook ending to an undefeated 21-0 season, head coach Brandon Fortier said he knows there’s one more step if the Eagles are going to make this a season to remember. “It’s a nice asterisk in the record book,” he said. “It’s cool, it’s something our program’s never done. It’s always cool accomplishing things you’ve never done, but we know that it’s not going to mean a whole lot and we’ll forget it real quick if we don’t take care of business.” With the post season lurking May 19, Issaquah is focused on the short road ahead. “It’s a new season,” Fortier said. “We have three games left. If we can run the table then it’ll be really special. Right now, it doesn’t really mean a whole lot.” Although Fortier isn’t reveling in the glory right now, he’s still impressed by what his kids were able to accomplish this year. “I would have never guessed we’d go undefeated,” he said. “We’ve had other clubs that were more talented and were in a better position to go undefeated and BY GREG FARRAR
See LACROSSE, Page B5
Matt O’Neill, Issaquah High School senior, fires the first goal of the lacrosse match May 11 as Eastlake junior Danny Keogh defends and Issaquah senior Cole Greer looks on.
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Eagles go undefeated, win KingCo As far as KingCo 4A tennis is concerned, there’s a new sheriff in town. The Issaquah High School girls tennis team went 10-0 this year on their way to the KingCo conference championship. Along the way, they defeated quality opponents in Skyline, Woodinville and even beat Newport, who had not lost to another school in more than 10 years. “After we beat Newport we caught fire in the conference,” head coach Shannon Small said. “It’s quite an accomplishment for the girls. The girls are ecstatic.” After toughing out some terrible weather early in the season, Issaquah was able to put in hard work in the limited practice time they had. “A lot of them gave up other sports to focus on making varsity,” Small said. “It’s just great for them to be able to walk away from their high school career as KingCo champs.” Up next is the road to the state championships, for which Small said she has two hopefuls — Sam Garrard and Kelsey Wilson. But for now she’ll sit back and take in their accomplishment. “We’re able to pause and just celebrate,” she said. “The girls can give themselves a pat on the back. We haven’t really got a chance to just stop and celebrate.”
Last hurdle to a title Emily Pestl-Dimmitt, Liberty High School senior, clears the final hurdle in her race to win the KingCo 3A championship in the 100-meter hurdles May 11 with a time of 16.36 seconds. CONTRIBUTED
Participants enjoy a previous 5K Foam Fest, which takes them on an obstacle course filled with soapy bubbles.
State park to host soapy obstacle race By Michele Mihalovich Issaquah Press reporter A foamy, rather than muddy, obstacle race is coming to Lake Sammamish State Park on June 30. The 5K Foam Fest, offered by Round House Racing in Ogden, Utah, includes an armystyle obstacle course using bubbly foam that contestants need to plow, slide and run through. A small sampling of obstacles is the 30-foot and 50-foot slip and slides filled with foam; the Stumpy Jumper, an inflatable pool of foam with pillars to run across; and the Body Washer, a free-standing, plastic frame filled with foam. But have no fear, mud-lovers. Julia Fullmer, Round House spokeswoman, said the race also features mud obstacles, and standard army course obstacles, like mud crawls, wall climbs and running over tires while trying to get through a wall of hanging balls. Fullmer said organizers choose Foam Fest locations that are close to big cities and fit requirements needed for the race
ON THE WEB Learn more about the race and/ or register at www.5kfoamfest. com.
YOU SHOULD KNOW If you love obstacle courses, Warrior Dash, which brought 24,000 participants to the nearby Snoqualmie Valley last year, is returning July 21 - 22. Learn more at www.warriordash.com.
obstacles. Foam Fest came into existence in 2010 and has been held in multiple states, from Texas to California. The state park’s 5K Foam Fest will also include a Rugrat Race, a smaller and tamer version of the foamy obstacles. Michele Mihalovich: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.
BY GREG FARRAR
Skyline loses title in overtime 4-2 shootout By Lillian Tucker Issaquah Press reporter The 4A KingCo championship game between Skyline and Roosevelt high school soccer teams was not decided in regulation play. It also was not decided in the two, five-minute overtime periods. It all came down to one-on-one penalty kicks. With no clock, no defenders to contend with and no teammates to help them, it was between shooter and goalie. In the end, Roosevelt won the penalty-kick round, 4-2, and ultimately the KingCo tournament trophy. Kicking for the Skyline Spartans were Ryan Shim, Sean McDonald, Kaleb Strawn, Pedro Miola and Jason Twaddle. Together, they made 28 of Skyline’s 37 goals this season. McDonald and Strawn each netted a shot for Skyline. Taking turns with them in the spotlight was Ben Morgan, goalie for the Spartans. Morgan stopped the ball fired by Willie Spurr, a senior forward for Roosevelt. However, the Roughriders’ other four shooters scored,
securing the win. “I still enjoy playing soccer, no matter what,” Morgan said after the game. “Penalty kicks are fun. They don’t show who the better team is — they are just a fun game at the end.”
The Spartans were off to a solid start in the first half. With good movement and communication, Skyline controlled the field the majority of the time. At one point, when Roosevelt was in possession, Shin, a junior midfielder for the
BY GREG FARRAR
Ben Morgan, Skyline High School junior keeper, blocks the penalty kick by Roosevelt senior forward Willie Spurr in the shootout after regulation and overtime periods ended in a 1-1 tie.
Spartans, stole the ball and drove it 60 yards down the field with the help of a one-two pass off Strawn. “I like the way we were moving in the first half,” Skyline coach Don Braman said. With the first half winding down, Cole Calabro, a sophomore at Skyline, attempted a volley from five yards out. However, his shot curved left of the post. Then, 32 minutes in, Twaddle scored off a pass from McDonald, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead. It was Twaddle’s 11th goal this season. “It felt great,” Twaddle said. “But it wasn’t enough.” “You have to look at the quality of chances [to score] and we created a lot of quality chances,” Braman said. “Unfortunately, in the second half we created some very good scoring opportunities but we didn’t get the shot.” The game was tied in the 58th minute. Roosevelt lobbed the ball at Skyline’s goal but Morgan quickly punched it out. However, the Roughriders were ready and waiting and deflected the ball into See SOCCER, Page B5