Locally owned 50 cents
march 11, 2015
eview R sammamish www.sammamishreview.com
Crusaders claim third at state, page 6
County promises it will compromise on lake trail plans By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com
By Greg Farrar
Jacqueline Davidson, a Lake Sammamish State Park volunteer, paints onto an outdoor bulletin board an 1890’s photograph of the John and Addie Anderson farm, which the Issaquah pioneers bequeathed to the state in their will to become a portion of the park.
Visiting volunteer leaves artistic mark on state park By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com Wet weather held her back, but all the way from Charles City, Iowa, artist Jacqueline Davidson managed to make an impression on Lake Sammamish State Park, even giving some of the local critters a voice that says, “Thank you.” With a son living in Seattle, Davidson and her husband Dennis decided to leave behind the frigid temperatures of their home state and spend winter here. Jacqueline Davidson is an artist-in-residence at a historical museum back home, so when she learned about an opportunity to volunteer for Lake Sammamish State Park, naturally it brought out her creativity. The park contains several outdoor bulletin boards that apparently aren’t used very much, Davidson said, so she and Heather McCrumb, who works in the park offices, came up with the idea to decorate the boards with original artwork. The first board Davidson worked on is near the entrance to the Mountains to Sound
nursery in the park. Davidson decorated the side of the bulletin board facing the nursery with drawings of several park animals, all banding together to say “thank you” to Mountains to Sound volunteers as they leave the nursery. On the other side of the bulletin board, which people see as they approach the nursery, Davidson painted the phrase “It’s now up to you,” hoping to inspire new volunteers to get involved with the park and the Mountains to Sound group. Some Mountains to Sound volunteers took the time to thank Davidson for her work. “That was a wonderful thing to have happen,” she said. Davidson’s other decorated bulletin board is near the main entrance to the park. For her inspiration, Davidson drew on an 1890 picture of the home of John and Addie Anderson, farmers who once owned a big piece of what is now the park. They left their land to the state to help create the park. Davidson drew a faithful rendition of the Andersons’ farmhouse in one corner of the bul-
letin board. For the remainder of the space, she wrote “welcome” in 11 different languages. “The colors and textures she creates are phenomenal and really catch the eye from a great distance, and many park users have commented on the board,” McCrumb said. One last Davidson creation sits appropriately enough in a hollow in a park tree. Another park volunteer found what she thought was an odd looking rock and she brought it back to the office. Davidson’s paintbrushes transformed the rock into an owl, though McCrumb said she and other park workers have debated (not seriously) what species it might be. For the three months they were in Seattle, Davidson and her husband volunteered as park hosts. Basically, according to McCrumb, hosts volunteer to work around the park in exchange for being able to stay for free in one of two camping spots complete with water and sewer hook ups. Dennis See ARTIST, Page 3
Before a standing-room-only crowd in the Sammamish City Council chamber March 3, Kevin Brown, director of King County parks and recreation, reiterated a promise to include both city and resident ideas in a new design of the East Lake Sammamish Trail, a design to be released in the coming weeks. City and county officials have been locking horns over the development of trail Section A, the last piece of the trail that borders Lake Sammamish and that is slated for transformation from a gravel pathway to a paved trail this summer. Last month, the Sammamish City Council asked that a county official attend its March 3 regular meeting. Brown was
that county representative. Even prior to the meeting, Brown and King County Executive Dow Constantine admitted they made a mistake in releasing designs for the last section of the Sammamish trail. The plan was described as 90 percent complete, but contained none of the suggestions put forth by Sammamish officials or residents. “Unfortunately, there was a delay in Parks receiving the city’s comments in time to incorporate them into the 90 percent design,” Constantine said in a letter sent to Sammamish Mayor Tom Vance dated Feb. 27. Usually, public works plans are released at specific points of completion, namely 30, 60 and 90 percent. In this instance, See TRAIL, Page 2
Issaquah schools seek members for bond study committee The Issaquah School District is embarking on a community process to study the feasibility of a 2016 school bond. The district is seeking interested community members to apply to serve on the committee, comprised of community members, parents and school personnel. Applications are due by Friday, March 20. The committee will meet in the Administration Building Board Room, 565 N.W. Holly St., from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesdays — April 1, 15, 29, and May 6 and 20. The committee charter, outlining the scope of work and committee composition, as well as the application specifying roles and responsibilities,
are available online at www. issaquah.wednet.edu/2016school-bond-feasibility. Email applications to Lisa White at whitel@issaquah. wednet.edu or mailed them to her attention, 565 N.W. Holly St., Issaquah, WA 98027. Questions? Call Chief of Finance and Operations Jacob Kuper’s office at 837-7024 or email Bond2016@issaquah. wednet.edu. Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
50¢