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July 4, 2012
COMMUNITY
SAMMAMISH REVIEW
Groups to bring the community together with a book By Brittany Cardoza
in a different way than say, a park,” said city of Sammamish People across the city are getRecreation Coordinator, Lynne ting involved with the first ever Handlos. One City One Book program in The book chosen for this Sammamish: All Sammamish year’s program is Garth Stein’s Reads. After years of communovel “The Art of Racing in the nity interest, the Sammamish Rain.” In an effort to get chilPublic Library dren involved, has partnered Stein’s juvenile “We are hoping it with the fiction title becomes a family affair, “Racing in Sammamish Chamber of the Rain: My where parents and Commerce, Life as a Dog” kids can both read the Eastside will also be books.” Catholic included in the School and the program. – Robbin Gaebler, Friends of the “We are hopAll Sammamish Reads Sammamish ing it becomes coordinator – Library to plan a family affair, and organize where parents a multitude and kids can of events surrounding the All both read the books and become Sammamish Reads reading event. involved together,” said All The program aims to bring the Sammamish Reads coordinator community together through Robbin Gaebler. reading a common book. The main event will take place “The city strives to create a Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Eastside sense of community among its Catholic School. residents and felt this would be The night will feature author a great opportunity for people Garth Stein, who will present a to get to know their neighbors program on his New York Times
Bestseller. The library system paid about “Based on the feedback and $1,000 toward the costs of the demand we are hoping for books, Gaebler said. Another around 500 people,” said $1,175 came from a gift fund Gaebler, “I have been reserved for the Sammamish so pleased with Library. the amount of The rest of the expenses people who are being covered by donawant tions, either from the to gift fund or the Friends read of the Sammamish the Library, Gaebler said. books According to during the Gaebler, the comsummer.” munity has been Besides the very supportive 300 copies at of the prothe Sammamish gram. Library, additional “Groups copies of the novels like Guide l il have been placed in Dogs kw o o s local coffee shops, vetfor the b is cros erinary offices, and groBlind h t of ar a cery stores. and local pet ies ppe h p s These are free books to stores are worka o i C on am be taken by residents. The ing with us,” said so mm books are labeled with an All Gaebler. Sa Sammamish Reads sticker. After being asked to host “The idea is to pick up the the September event, Eastside book, take it home, read it and Catholic School embraced the pass it along to a friend,” Gaebler program and will share it with said. their students through imple-
menting the novel into their middle school curriculum. “Eastside Catholic came through with flying colors and has been so supportive,” said Gaebler. Prior to the main event, the library will be holding several reading discussions for participants during the summer months. Program coordinators have created additional events in celebration of the novel’s themes, particularly embracing dogs. Aug. 22 at 3:30 p.m., the Sammamish Library will hold a children’s event called “Woof Woof” featuring dog stories, treats and more. Sept. 22, after the main event, the city will hold a volunteer workday at the Beaver Lake dog park. Volunteers can celebrate dogs and this year’s All Sammamish Reads through giving back. For more information about All Sammamish Reads or for volunteer opportunities contact Robbin Gaebler at 425-3923130.
Teens with disabilities get an opportunity to experience college
Firefighters association awards scholarships to local graduates
By Katie Larsen
Contributed
The International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2878, which represents firefighters and staff of Eastside Fire & Rescue, recently awarded its Professional Firefighters Scholarship to local high school seniors. From left, students pictured are Ryan Klein, Alison Channita, Shirley Chung, Alexander Hueter, Adrienne Storey, David Adams. Anna Magidson is not pictured.
attend lectures and labs, and continue networking with other This month, a handful of students with disabilities. teenagers with To apply, Schaier disabilities will had to fill out an come together application and to participate in write an essay about the University of why he was interWashington’s DO-IT ested and how his program. disability affects The DO-IT his life. Schaier (which stands has Asperger’s synfor Disabilities, drome, an autism Opportunities, spectrum disorder. Internetworking He has known nearand Technology) ly all of his life about program offers high the disorder. school students with “When it comes disabilities an oppor- Joshua Schaier down to it, I’m just tunity to experience like you. I’m not college life by taking classes, livdefined by my disability,” Schaier ing in the dorms, being mentored said. “I don’t let it define me. I and networking with other stufeel that my value as a person dents with disabilities. comes before any problems I Joshua Schaier, a senior next have.” year at Skyline High School, will After applying, the DO-IT participate in the program for his Advisory Board then selects second year in a row as a Phase 2 scholars into the program. Scholar. “The board considers an appliStarting July 21, Schaier will See COLLEGE, Page 9 live in the dorms for a week,
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sports
July 4, 2012
SAMMAMISH REVIEW
Local youth soccer players shine all the way to nationals By Lillian Tucker
While the high school soccer season has long been over on the plateau, local members of the Eastside FC 94 Red team still have a full dance card. After defeating 63 teams to take the Washington State Cup championship for the sixth time in nearly as many years and winning the US Youth Soccer National League Red Division the players are busy gearing up for the 2012 US Youth Soccer National Championships July 24-29. “We were all celebrating and jumping up and down,” said Kaleb Strawn. The rising senior at Skyline High School is a defender for Eastside FC. “It felt good that all our hard work throughout the year paid off and we made it to our main goal of the season.” This will be the second time in two years that the boys from King County face the nation’s top five other teams for the title. After winning the Farwest Regional Championships last year Eastside FC got caught up in four-way tie at Nationals. But when goal differentiations (a statistical tiebreaker) were
Photo courtesy of Eastside FC
Defender Kaleb Strawn dominates the field in Las Vegas during the March 23 game against the 2011 National Champs from Georgia, Concorde Fire. Eastside FC won the game 2-0. used to break the tie, the boys did not make the cut. They are ready
for redemption. “Going to Nationals for the
first time last year was a great experience. The key is to learn
from those experiences and apply those to future competitions,” said coach Dan Strom, an Issaquah resident who teaches at Inglewood Junior High School. Among those lessons, he said, is the importance of scoring the first goal and of defense. “We learned that every game you play has to be played with the same focus and concentration. … You really can’t afford not to be focused the entire game.” But all that hard work and success at tournaments means that youth soccer is a year-round sport for these athletes. “These guys on this team, because they have the state championship and go to regionals each year, have never gotten enough rest,” said assistant coach Nathan Heck of Sammamish. Many of the players have been with the team since it started out in the U11 age division. Now in the U17 division, all but one of the years has stretched far into the post season. That means 30-40 days of travel each year, said Nathan Heck. Although it continues to practice, the team does take a break See SOCCER, Page 11
7th-graders bring home the hardware from Reno By Sebastian Moraga
A pride of lionesses roared in the desert. The EBI Lioness team, composed of teenage players from all over the Eastside, earned first place at the Reno Jam On It Championship’s seventh-grade division in Reno, Nev., in May. The team members, part of the Amateur Athletic Union competition, “were determined to win it for their coach, (Felicia Johnson),” an e-mail from one of the team member’s parents said. Johnson fainted while at the tourney, so the team had to play on its own the first two games. “I don’t even remember even having to call a timeout,” Johnson said. The level of competition was all over the place, Johnson said, but it got tough once the team reached the semifinals. The Lioness team went 4-0 in the Reno tournament, defeating teams from Nevada and California. “It’s awesome chemistry,” Johnson said. “It’s probably the best team I’ve coached in a while. It’s a special group — they get along really well on and off the court.” The team has been play-
Contributed
The EBI Lioness team, winners of a multi-state tourney in Reno this May, hoist the trophy they won and hold up fingers to show they were No. 1. ing together for two years, and includes young hoopsters from Mercer Island, Issaquah,
Bellevue, Lake Washington and the Snoqualmie Valley school districts, plus a few players from
private schools. “They come together every fall and spring from various greater
Eastside locations to play basketball,” team parent Michelle Turner wrote. Most of the schedule contains out-of-town tournaments in places like Nevada, Oregon and closer locales like Yakima and Spokane. Johnson said this is the biggest prize in the history of the team. “It’s actually the world’s largest Memorial Day basketball tournament,” she added, noting that it was the team’s first year at the tourney. The first weekend in July, the team will play in Oregon City, Ore. Next year’s schedule reads, “Southern California,” and perhaps more importantly, “Disneyland.” All the players will return next year, Johnson said. “So, hopefully we’ll have some good tournaments again,” she said. “It’s not common for teams like this to stay together for as long as they have stayed together, so as a coach you have got to feel good about that.” Reach reporter Sebastian Moraga at 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com. To comment on this story, visit www. SammamishReview.com.