KICKOFF CLASSIC
A DECADE IN DOWNTOWN
SPARTANS DOWN EAGLES IN OVERTIME — Page 9
MUSIC SCHOOL CELEBRATES WITH OPEN HOUSE — Page 6
The IssaquahPress
Issaquah’s only locally owned newspaper
County still on track of E. coli outbreaks linked to local farmers’ markets By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com As of last week, 4-year-old Issaquah resident Elizabeth Buder, who likes to be called “Scout,” still was in intensive care and possibly being readied to go on kidney dialysis at Seattle Children’s. Deanna Buder said her daughter was fighting hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a severe complication of E. coli infection that can lead to kidney failure. Counting Elizabeth, four confirmed cases of E. coli infection have been potentially linked to the Issaquah and Sammamish farmers’ markets. As of Sept. 4, there were 10 confirmed cases of E. coli countywide, up from the six that had been announced previously, said Hilary Karasz, a spokeswoman for Public Health — Seattle & King County. Karasz emphasized the new patients are not new cases of E. coli, but cases the county had not previously uncovered. The common thread uniting all the patients may be a Mexican food truck, Los Chilangos, which visited both the local farmers markets. Buder confirmed her daughter ate at the food truck while visiting the Issaquah event in mid-August. Karasz said the time frame in which most people became ill was early to mid-August. According to a county blog, no one became ill after Aug. 21. Buder contacted The Issaquah Press with her daughter’s story; Karasz would not go into personal details about those stricken by the E. coli outbreak. The E. coli contamination may be rooted in a commissary or kitchen facility used by Los Chilangos and other food
As of late last week, the Issaquah Valley Senior Center had not agreed to stipulations placed by Mayor Fred Butler on future funding by the city, casting doubt on whether the City Council would approve an appropriation for the center for 2016. In recent years, Issaquah has supplied the center with $99,000 annually. For 2015, that figure
Rain or shine, it’s back-toschool time Jane Harris (right), the new Apollo Elementary School principal, greets students arriving Sept. 1 for the first day of school in the Issaquah School District. By Greg Farrar
Thursday, September 10, 2015
GOING FOR THE BIG FINISH
services, Karasz said. County investigators visited Eastside Commercial Kitchen in Bellevue and found “problems and food safety issues of concern,” Karasz said. The facility was shut down Aug. 28. The Los Chilangos food truck and related operations were temporarily closed, but were up and running again as of early September. Karasz said Los Chilangos operators had complied with all county directions, such as disposing of stocked food, training for workers and so on. It is not clear if Los Chilangos will return to either the Issaquah or Sammamish farmers’ markets. Karasz noted the Eastside Commercial Kitchen remains closed, as its owners have not yet complied with all of the steps ordered by county health officials. Of persons infected with E. coli, Buder said only one in 10 develop the serious complication of HUS. Buder added she believes the county health system is now doing all it can, but said officials failed to protect her daughter in the first place. She said food providers have a clear responsibility to keep their products safe. Buder, a teacher at the Issaquah School District’s Sunset Elementary School, said she likely would miss the first few weeks of classes. No one else in her family has become ill. Issaquah officials had been notified by the county about the outbreak of E. coli and the potential link to the Los Chilangos food truck, said Warren Kagarise, city communication coordinator. He said the truck See E.
COLI, Page 5
Senior center’s city funding may be in doubt for 2016 By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com
www.issaquahpress.com
represents about 44 percent of the center’s $221,490 budget, said Warren Kagarise, communication coordinator for Issaquah. Kagarise said the funding picture might become clearer Sept. 14, when the City Council is set to discuss nonprofit funding during a work session slated for 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. In an email, Butler said the See FUNDING, Page 3
By Glenni Lew
A musical performer gets into his riff at the Issaquah ArtWalk. The photo, titled ‘Getting into His Riff,’ by Glenni Lew, took first place in the People category of this year’s Issaquah/Sammamish Amateur Photo Contest. For the rest of this year’s winners, see Page 6.
City staff suggests lower speed limit for Newport Way Northwest By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com City administration seemed ready to recommend lowering the speed limit on Newport Way Northwest from 40 mph to 30 mph between state Route 900 to
the Lakemont interchange. City officials have been analyzing Newport Way west of SR 900, as new development will soon change that corridor’s conditions and likely necessitate a lower speed limit, according to a city press release.
Newport Way Northwest has gotten plenty of attention, much of it negative, following the death of 4-year-old Haochen Xu in a late June traffic accident See SPEED
LIMIT, Page 5
Help break a world record during Salmon Days By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com Paint a fish and get in the Guinness Book of World Records. That will be the chance offered to everyone who attends this year’s Salmon Days, Oct. 3-4. Attendees are invited to stop by artEAST on Front Street, sign in and pick up a paintbrush. You can then use that paintbrush to color in any one of 2,900 numbered fish making up a temporary mural on the back walls of the community art gallery. The idea is to set the record
for the most people involved in a paint-by-numbers project. Formally sanctioned by Guinness, the effort is being undertaken by artEAST, the grassroots arts group Creative Children for Charity and the Sammamish YMCA. The current record is 2,239 people set by the FX Network in putting together a mural for “The Simpsons” TV show, said Chirag Vedullapalli, 14, and one of the young founders and leaders of See RECORD, Page 5
Name: 11700/Era Living/ University Hou Width: 52p6.502 Depth: 1.5 in On Page: 1 Request Page: 0 35.11700.IP.Q
75 cents