SWIMMER’S DEFENSE
MAKING A SPLASH
Liberty begins quest for repeat state title — Page 9
Redesigned Julius Boehm Pool reopens — Page 6
The IssaquahPress
Issaquah’s only locally owned newspaper
www.issaquahpress.com
Thursday, September 3, 2015
HOAs back petition to delay development on Newport Way Northwest By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com As of mid-last week, 73 people had signed an electronic petition asking Issaquah to postpone any further development on Newport Way Northwest until completion of a traffic corridor study on the street as well as the implementation of any recommendations resulting from that study. “There are five projects in the works for Newport Way west of state Route 900,” said Joe Verner, secretary of the Summerhill Subdivision Homeowners Association board. Summerhill is one of the homeowners associations sponsoring the petition. “It’s not that we object to development,” Verner added. “But we do have some serious safety concerns.” Petition backers claim the developments could add more than
600 new residences to an already jammed street. Safety concerns became a very heated topic following an accident in June claimed the life of 4-year-old Haochen Xu at the intersection of Newport Way Northwest and Northwest Oakcrest Drive. In response to the accident and the resulting public outcry, the city is in the midst of studying crosswalks and intersections around the city, including several on Newport Way Northwest. But the study of crosswalks doesn’t equal a study of the entire corridor, said Mary Lynch, another member of the Summerhill HOA. Verner said the city’s safety study could result in recommendations to be funded in the 2016 budget, meaning those items won’t be addressed until
Photos by Greg Farrar
Some children find the Pirate’s Revenge pendulum ride to be a white-knuckle experience and others don’t, as the sailing ship swings back and forth in the air at the Highlands Day Festival on Aug. 29 at Village Green Park and Northeast Park Drive. The 14th annual event featured inflatable attractions, island music, arts and crafts, a kids zone carnival and food trucks.
HIGHLANDS DAY DELIGHTS
See PETITION, Page 3
Fantastic Fly-in takes off Sept. 12 By David Hayes dhayes@isspress.com Expect to see more than your average paraglider landing Sept. 12 during the Fantastic Fly-In. The Downtown Issaquah Association, Issaquah Chamber of Commerce, Lake Washington Partners, artEAST and Seattle Paragliding are partnering to launch the first event featuring paraglider floats and costumes at the paragliding landing zone on Tiger Mountain from 2-7 p.m. DIA Executive Director Karen Donovan said she was excited to work with Seattle Paragliding founder Mark Chirico to bring the event to fruition. “People just love watching paragliders, and to watch them in costume will be spectacular,” she said. The Fantastic Fly-In will be fashioned after the 40-year-old Coupe Icare, an annual freeflight festival that marks the end of the European summer flying season in the French alpine village of St. Hilaire du Touvet. The festival features costumed paragliders and spectators performing spectacular demonstrations. Planners are aiming to pack
Above, Eli Dodson, 2, gets a big kick out of playing with a Hula Hoop while sitting in his stroller in front of the music stage. At left, Anisha Arasu, 4, an Issaquah Highlands resident, carries cotton candy on a stick while her colorful dress, face paint and bright dolphin ponytail hair ties match the festive feeling of Highlands Day.
Volunteers needed for Fantastic Fly-in The Downtown Issaquah Association needs volunteers to man its new Fantastic Fly-in event Sept. 12 at Tiger Mountain. People are needed at the following positions and times: 4Setup — 9 a.m. to noon 4Trolley — 1-2 p.m. 4General — 1-7 p.m. 4Beer garden door — 7-9 p.m. 4Tear down/clean up — 7-9 p.m. 4Sunday cleanup — 8-9 a.m. Volunteer or learn more by contacting Gaila Gutierrez at events@downtownissaquah.com or 417-6697.
this new Issaquah event with emotion, audacity, creativity, fantasy, thrills, laughter and an unflinching passion for flying, Donovan said. Spectators are invited to gather in the paragliding landing zone See FLY-IN, Page 5
SLIDESHOW See more photos from the Highlands Day Festival at www.issaquahpress.com.
‘Discover the Past’ during the history museums’ first fundraiser By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com The “Discover the Past” event is the first major fundraiser ever put on the by the Issaquah History Museums. Or it is, at least, the museums’ first big fundraiser in a couple of decades, Issaquah History Museums Executive Director Erica
Maniez said. One reason for the lack of major fundraising was that the museums didn’t have anyone on staff or even on its board with experience in putting together bigger events. That changed when Robyn Barfoot, well known as the former curator of the Cougar Mountain Zoo, joined the museum board.
Maniez said Barfoot asked if she could try putting something together to benefit the museums, and the response from the rest of the board was a resounding “yes.” Featuring food, music and, of course, history, “Discover the See PAST, Page 5
Leo and Rose Finnegan are named Hometown Heroes By Christina Corrales-Toy newcastle@isspress.com As a child, Tim Finnegan longingly stood on the sidelines, watching his siblings race soapbox derby cars. He, too, wanted to feel the wind consume his face as the gravity car sped down a hill. Due to a developmental disability, he was never able to participate, until his father Leo Finnegan built a doublewide car that could fit two kids. With his siblings at the wheel, Tim could finally participate in the activity he watched for so long. That has led to what has become known as the annual
Challenge Race, an event that pairs children with disabilities and volunteer drivers to race soapbox derby cars. “Being with kids with mental and physical problems, they don’t get to be the star of the program,” Leo Finnegan told The Issaquah Press in 2012. “Here, they do.” None of it would be possible without Finnegan and his wife Rose, an Issaquah couple who, while working tirelessly to support their son Tim, ended up putting smiles on the faces of countless Issaquah residents with developmental disabilities. See HEROES,
By Greg Farrar
Rose and Leo Finnegan are front and center with a gravity car as drivers Page 5 during the Rotary Club of Issaquah’s annual Challenge Day Race.
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