Issaquahpress062514

Page 1

FIRST IN FENCING

SUMMER LIVING

Academy athlete wins national title — A10

Find great things to do — inside

The IssaquahPress

Issaquah’s only locally owned newspaper

www.issaquahpress.com

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Has time run out on Beaver Lake Triathlon?

By Peter Clark pclark@isspress.com

After 20 years, the Beaver Lake Triathlon might have met its end. Former triathlon Director Debbie Dodd confirmed that the race, with its quarter-mile swim, 13.8-mile bike ride and 4.3-mile run, would not take place this year on its usual third weekend in August. “I had done it the last couple of years, and it was just too much to handle for one person,” Dodd said. “There was just too much

responsibility for just one director.” After her decision to step down, she said a few organizations considered handling the event, but none were able to find the resources to carry the race on for its 21st year. Mark Stendal, president of the Beaver Lake Community Club, who presents the race, agreed the planning did not come together for a 2014 triathlon. “It’s a combination of a lot of differing things coming together,” he said. “We just got so late in the year, we were kind of left

City weighs needs as 200 bus comes to end of the line By Peter Clark pclark@isspress.com As Issaquah’s 200 “freebee” bus faces Metro Transit’s chopping block, city officials are evaluating alternatives. After the failure of April’s Proposition 1, which would have given King County Metro Transit the necessary funds to avoid service cuts, the regional authority plans to begin phasing out 17 percent of its routes in September. The 200 is among those routes. “Though it still serves riders, Route 200 is identified as among the lowest performing routes in Metro’s current system,” Metro Transit spokesman Jeff Switzer said. The route averaged from 351 to 450 riders per weekday

in a little bit in a lurch.” Stendal said the Beaver Lake Triathlon began when there were few races of its kind to be found in the region. “Over the last two decades, it’s just exploded,” he said. “It’s just become more and more difficult to not lose money with that kind of competition.” Instead, he focused on the support the community has shown for the event, which helped fund the Beaver Lake Community Club’s nonprofit wing, Friends of Beaver Lake. Money earned through the triathlon would go

toward protecting the watershed and keeping the lake clean. “We’ve had 20 successful years,” he said. “It’s been fantastic for the community. It’s been a positive competition for everyone around the lake.” However, the plateau might not have seen the last of the Beaver Lake Triathlon. “It’s possible it may come back next year,” Dodd said. “Hopefully that’s the case. People are sad to see it go.” She also clarified that an accident during last year’s race on Duthie Hill Road did not affect the

MAKE MY MUSIC DAY

through 2012 and 2013, according to the 2013 Metro Transit Service Guideline Report. The bus averaged only 9.5 riders an hour during peak hours. In seeking to reduce services, Metro Transit considered a route’s productivity and ability to meet a target based on the agency’s determination of social equity and geographic value. City Economic Development Manager Andrea Lehner said the city still wants more information about who rides the route 200 and how much impact its dissolution would have on their lives. “We were not sure the county had the most reliable data,” Lehner said, pointing out that the free fare of the bus could make See 200

BUS, Page A3

decision to cancel this year’s race. “There was a bad bicycle accident last year, but that didn’t have anything to do with it,” she said. Stendal said though a lot of people are interested in holding the event next year, no official work has been done for a 2015 race. Still, he’s not counting it out quite yet. “Every show has a closing night and this may be ours,” he said. “But secretly, a lot of people think we’re going to bring it back and no one would be happier about that than me.”

By Kathleen R. Merrill

People flocked to the front steps of Issaquah City Hall to join in a flash mob of performers singing ‘Louie, Louie’ on Issaquah Make Music Day, June 21. More than 100 kazoos were handed out for people to play along. The Fabulous Roof Shakers led the crowd.

Design phase Cancer survivor sets sites on Ironman Canada begins for skate park By Giancarlo Santoro news@isspress.com

By Peter Clark pclark@isspress.com Now that the new skate park has a location, the city is gathering public input on its design. The Issaquah City Council approved a parcel at Tibbetts Valley Park for the construction of the skate park May 19. The budgeted $350,000 will go to remove the current one, which caused ongoing community concern due to the presence of drug use and illicit activities, and build a new one sometime in 2015. The Parks & Recreation Department held the first of three community public input meetings June 18 to collect ideas from local residents about what they would like to see in the new attraction. “We really need to hear from you guys what you want to see there,” City Parks & Recreation Manager Brian Berntsen said to the crowd of about 30 residents and skaters gathered in Tibbetts Creek Manor for the meeting. “That’s really what we want from you guys. We want to get as many people in as part of the process as we can.” See SKATE

PARK, Page A2

To the untrained eye, Paul Weigel, 44, seems like your typical Issaquah resident — a healthy, hardworking family man with an unquenchable thirst for fitness and the great outdoors. While most use the summer months for leisure, Weigel spends his time training to compete in the Ironman Canada competition in July in Whistler, British Colombia. Self-described as “5-foot-10 and about 200 pounds,” Weigel arrives for an interview in a tan T-shirt, green khaki pants and running shoes. A bike sits securely latched atop his car, which he said was in need of a tune-up. A seasoned marathon runner, hiker and triathlete, Weigel caught the exercise bug during his 20s when he left his native Colorado to attend the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. After finishing school, he realized he was becoming increasingly sedentary at work, and he began organizing hikes with friends at many of the picturesque mountain ranges that surround Issaquah and Sammamish.

‘It was terrifying’ But as he got older the exercise began to wear on his Contributed body. After undergoing two hip surgeries in March 2013, Weigel Paul Weigel takes his first steps with his daughter Natalie, 4, after cancer began having problems with his surgery.

“No one five months after finishing chemotherapy does an Ironman, so if I’m able to, then lots of other people can do a lot of pretty cool things, and life is pretty good on the other side.” — Paul Weigel Cancer survivor and Ironman

gastrointestinal system. “As a guy, sometimes you have symptoms and you kind of ignore them,” Weigel said frankly. “The fact that I had the complications from surgery, though, really amplified the need to go see a doctor.” To be safe, Weigel visited a specialist at Overlake Medical Center for a routine colonoscopy and blood work check up. While his blood work came back without any issues, the colonoscopy didn’t. Weigel would have to put his outdoor excursions on hold for something he never expected: A tumor the size of a lemon was found in his colon, and he was diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer. “I went to sleep thinking, ‘I don’t have cancer, I’m fine,’ and then to be told you do, immeSee IRONMAN, Page A2

75 cents


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.