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june 25, 2015
eview R sammamish www.sammamishreview.com
area graduates rejoice, pages 12-15
Initiative, referendum rights on hold for at least a bit longer By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com The Sammamish City Council likely will wait until July or later to make a final decision on whether to grant residents the right to mount initiative or referendum questions. In an April 28 special election, voters indicated they wanted the powers of initiative and referendum by a margin of 3,830 to 3,076, or 55 percent to 44.5 percent. The vote was a nonbinding advisory vote and the council is under no obligation to act in accordance with the outcome. At a work session June 15, the council again listened to a staff report regarding the uses and possible consequences of granting initiative and referendum rights. As it was a work session, no formal vote could
be taken, but even an informal decision seemed at least somewhat out of the council’s reach. The council and the administration batted around different meeting dates in July to bring the issue back either for more discussion or a formal vote. No decision was reached and it was noted that the council goes on summer recess after its second July meeting. Unless special meetings were called, any measure introduced in late July might not be passed until fall. “It’s hogwash,” resident Harry Shedd said after the June 15 meeting. “They don’t want to vote… It’s another push it down the road.” Thanks to their lobbying efforts, Shedd and the community group Citizens for See COUNCIL, Page 3
Gifting group looks to open new free store this fall By Neil Pierson npierson@sammamishreview.com It’s a common refrain no matter where you live: People have countless items they never use cluttering up their garages, bedrooms, kitchens and yards, and are looking for a place to get rid of them. There are plenty of charity groups that will accept those items — some even offer pickup service — but the items are usually resold for a profit. Echo Chernik was looking for a way to help people in need by offering food, clothing, toys, books and other things free of charge. Two years ago, the Greenhouse Gifting Group, or G3, was born from that charitable spirit, and Chernik ran
the free store in the backyard of her Sammamish home. “It becomes less monetary, which I think is going to be more important for the next generation,” she said. After changing homes, however, Chernik needed a different location for the G3 store, and she was recently approached by a pastor at Pine Lake Covenant Church, which agreed to donate land for relocation efforts. “Now our job is to find the building, so we started doing fundraisers and looking for corporate sponsors to make that happen,” Chernik said. Sammamish city officials have cooperated, she said, See GIFTS, Page 2
By Bill Hanville
Contractors removed this Burlington Northern caboose early June 15 from its longtime spot near the corner of 228th Avenue and Northeast Fourth Street. The Sammamish landmark will be replaced by what could be another city landmark, a Metropolitan Market slated to open late next year.
City’s landmark caboose makes tracks for new home in Cle Elum By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com For about 18 years, it sat near the corner of 228th Avenue and Northeast Fourth Street, quietly becoming a local landmark. Early the morning of June 15, a large crane came and lifted it off its makeshift tracks, sending it on its way to its new home in Cle Elum. According to seller Norbert Woloszyn, the new owner of the 1969 Burlington Northern steel caboose Woloszyn brought home almost two decades ago may finally finish the project he never did. Woloszyn said he bought the caboose with the idea of turning it into a sort of guesthouse for when his family had visitors. He never really began the conversion of the train car. But Woloszyn said the new owner, another Sammamish resident, has plans to restore the caboose to its original condition, and then possibly use it for the very purpose Woloszyn bought it for all those years ago. Woloszyn was serving in the Air Force in Sacramento, California, when he saw a train car being used as a small extra home. Years later, Woloszyn and
his family ended up buying a home in Sammamish, but found it to be too small for houseguests. That was when he remembered the caboose he’d seen in California and decided to try to copy that idea. Woloszyn said he looked at a couple of cars before finding the right one sitting in a train yard in Seattle between Queen Anne and Magnolia. The car belonged to an independent contractor who repaired cars for rail lines. Woloszyn said he shortly had track laid for the caboose to sit on and moved it to Sammamish. All along the way, while considering buying the caboose and restoring it, Woloszyn said he had the agreement of wife JoAnne. Sadly, JoAnne Woloszyn passed away and her husband found himself with two twin boys to raise on his own. He said he simply never had time to take on the caboose project. The new owner of the caboose could not be reached for comment. Woloszyn said the new owner is enthused about his purchase and had track all set up for the caboose on his Cle Elum property. A retired photographer,
Phoenix, Arizona, resident Bill Hanville, just happened to be in the right place at the right time to grab some photos of the caboose being moved from its former Sammamish home. Hanville is in Sammamish with his wife visiting family, including his grandchildren. He was taking a forgotten item to his grandson’s school when he spotted the crane near the caboose. “I had heard they were going to move it. I just didn’t know when,” Hanville said. He added only a handful of people were around to watch the Sammamish landmark being taken away. “It was a reference point, definitely a landmark,” Hanville said. “It was just a piece of history here in Sammamish and it’s gone.” See CABOOSE, Page 3 Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
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