8
l
September 19, 2012
community
SAMMAMISH REVIEW
Locals win award for FCCLA project By Lillian O’Rorke
When future young patients at Swedish/Issaquah go in for a procedure, they’ll have some friendly faces looking back down at them. Vyvian Luu, now a senior at Issaquah High School, and 2012 Skyline High School graduates Lindsey Brown and Haley Connors led the charge last year to give children a happy distraction while at the hospital. The result is dolphins, fish and seahorses swimming in a near-periwinkle sea, frozen in time, on the ceiling of a procedure room. “We were blown away at the quality and the talent the students had,” said Natalie Kozimor, who does public relations and business development at Swedish. She worked closely with the students as they designed and painted the ceiling tiles. “The goal is to create a healing, positive environment for the kids … When we built the new Swedish/ Issaquah there wasn’t anything at
that point that had kids art work.” Luu, Brown and Connors did the project as members of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America club at their high schools. The group met monthly with Swedish staff and spent the school year getting the tiles ready to put into place. While working on that, the high schoolers also made bracelets of braided, colored string to represent different attributes, like love and determination. Those bracelets now hang on a tree at the hospital where children who are going through cancer treatment can slip one off its branch. “They wanted to do it so that those children would know that someone was thinking about them,” Kozimor said. “It was a pleasure to work with the FCCLA club over the school year.” Finally finished with the tiles in late spring, the service project was presented at the state FCCLA competition. To receive gold, a presentation had to score at least 90 out of 100 points. For
Contributed
Members of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America show off the tiels they made. their hard work they received a more than 6,800 FCCLA memand achievement in leadership gold rating and were selected, bers, alumni and guests who and job-related skills. When it from among 23 other chapters, made the journey to Orlando, was all said and done, the three to represent Washington at the Fla., for the July 8-12 gathering. girls were each awarded gold. National Leadership Conference, There, the Issaquah and The pediatrics procedure along with Kittitas High School, Skyline students were three of room, with its underwater tile in their category. 3,600 competitors in the Students scene is located on the second Luu, Brown and Connors and Taking Action and Recognition floor of the Cascade Wing at their advisors Alexis Davison and events, which Davison explained Swedish/Issaquah’s campus and Lesha Engels were among the are meant to build proficiency is set to open later this year.
All Sammamish Reads ends with a visit from author By Lillian O’Rorke
It may have not been all of Sammamish but more than 200 people showed up Sept. 11 to see author Garth Stein at the All Sammamish Reads’ culminating event. The summer-long program encouraged the entire community to read the same book, “The Art of Racing in the Rain.” Hosted by the Sammamish Library, more than 400 of copies of Stein’s New York Times bestselling book about a dog and his racecar-driving owner were available for the taking. “The books were never there; they were all checked out,” said Robbin Gaebler, the managing librarian at Sammamish Library, adding she received lots of positive feedback from locals. “They were really happy that we had this type of community-wide reading event. They liked the idea of it and they’d like to see it again.” After having the summer to consume its pages, people filed into the gym at Eastside Catholic and sat with copies of the book, waiting to hear what Stein had to say about the story. “I liked the book and I thought I’d like to see the guy,” said Scott Tower of Sammamish. He read
Photo by Lillian O’Rorke
New York Times bestselling author Garth Stein speaks to the crowd Sept. 11 as the grad finale to the All Sammamish Reads program. the book two years ago when, as a dog-owner, he was drawn in. “I had no idea what it was about. I
read it fairly quickly, which must mean I enjoyed it.” Stein was enthusiastic about
being in Sammamish for the reading. “That’s what’s great about a
community like this,” said Stein. “We all get something different from a book, so to come together and share those different ideas is great.” The author, who grew up near Seattle, told the audience how the idea for the book first sparked when he watched a documentary about the Mongolian belief that dogs can be reincarnated as humans. His light-bulb moment, he said, was hearing Billy Collins at Benaroya Hall read the poem “The Revenant,” which is told from a dog’s point of view. Once penned, Stein sent the manuscript to his agent. “’Do me a favor and throw this book away and write me something I can sell,’” Stein recalled his agent’s reaction. Seeking new representation, the author received several rejections before finding the right fit. The book has since been printed in 30 different languages. “It does prove that people will read a book narrated by a dog. It also speaks to something else… everyone knows what’s best and tells these kids do this, do this,” Stein said about high school students. But the advice he has for them See READS, Page 9
12
l
September 19, 2012
sports
SAMMAMISH REVIEW
Eastlake bounces back with 34-0 win over Panthers By Lillian O’Rorke
Watching the Eastlake Wolves overwhelm Seattle Prep 34-0 Sept. 14, it’s hard to image that just days before the football team had lost its head coach of more than seven years. Citing the need to take care of personal and family issues, Gene Dales resigned Sept. 10, two games into his eighth season at Eastlake. With a 10-2 overall record last year, Dales lead the Wolves to win the 2011 Crest Division championship. “The news was shocking,” said Cameron Nelson, senior wide receiver/defensive back and cocaptain. “But, we bounced back, came together as a team and faced that adversity and knew that we had to come out with a faster tempo than we did before.” With 22 new starters, this was already a transition year and Eastlake went into the game against the Seattle Prep Panthers carrying a 0-2 pre-season record. But the losing streak was about to end.
Photo by Dave Sheffels
DK Thornton breaks through Seattle Prep’s defense to score Eastlake’s third touchdown. Eastlake first got on the board when junior running back Drew Lewis broke three tackles for a
28-yard run touchdown. The kick by Zach Steinberg failed when it went wide left. On Seattle Prep’s
next drive, the Wolves intercepted the ball but were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.
They made up for it when Nelson, already in the end zone, caught a 24-yard pass from Eastlake’s quarterback Blue Thomas. The touchdown was followed up with a successful pass to Gage Casal for a 2-point conversion. Eastlake secured a 20-0 first half lead when DK Thorton caught a 31-yard pass down the middle from quarterback Grant Beahm and advanced through two Panther defenders to dive into the end zone. “I got to give out to our offensive line,” said Beahm. “It felt like they dominated the ball and we had all the time to throw…as far as the defense goes, they were the shut down.” Two minutes into the third quarter Casal scored on a 27-yard pass from Thomas. A two-point conversion on a run by Lewis was made easy by solid Eastlake blocking. Josh Horton scored the game’s touchdown with a 51-yard pass by Thomas. See FOOTBALL, Page 13
Skyline tennis squeaks past Woodinville in 4-3 win By Lillian O’Rorke
hours, Graterol lost the final set 6-2. They say it’s not over until “He has lots of potential,” the fat lady sings but when said Gehle, adding that he needs Mary, Queen of Peace rang its more competition experience. bell Sept. 11 to mark the six “He’s very coachable…He is o’clock hour, the tennis match really focused and he is caring at Skyline High School was still and he really tries his best.” going. Focus, Gehle said, was missThe Skyline Spartans had ing at times in several of the already won four and lost two other matches. matches against the Woodinville “Our team is strong but we Falcons and all eyes were on the didn’t play fully to the potential No. 4 singles contest. that we could have,” she said. Diego Graterol, a junior at In the end Skyline won 4-3. “It Skyline, came back fighting after was a close match; it could have losing the first been the opposet, 6-1 to Ben “We realized we had to site.” Schetterer. Alex Wu pick it up and we did.” admitted that Moving around the he and No. 1 – Alex Wu, court, Graterol doubles partTennis player – finished on the ner Brayden victorious side Hansen played of several raltheir first set lies – the longest of which was out of focus. The pair had faced 16-shots. Woodinville’s Bobby Gleason in It finally ended when a doubles match last fall, winGraterol hit a swift shot to ning 6-1, 6-1. Schetterer’s back left corner. It “We came in over confiwas Graterol’s first varsity sindent,” said Wu. As the match gles match and he had just won got underway, Wu and Hansen the second set 7-5. quickly fell behind four games “Before the last point is being to one. played you never know,” said The boys battled back and Spartans coach Bettina Gehle as tied the games at six each before she watched from behind the losing the tiebreaker. “We were chain-link fence surrounding the playing too tight for sure; there Skyline tennis courts. were shots we should have gone After nearly two-and-a-halffor but let get away…We real-
Photo by Lillian O’Rorke
Skyline’s No. 1 singles player, Aman Manji lines up his shot Sept. 11 during his match against Nate Billett of Woodinville. ized we had to pick it up and we did.” The pair got out to a healthy lead in the second set and ran with it, winning 6-2. They closed out the third set and the match with a 6-4 win.
Opposite the doubles match, Aman Manji, a senior at Skyline, was taking on his good friend Nate Billett, a senior at Woodinville. The two have been friends throughout their teenage years and went to Alabama
together in ninth grade to represent the Pacific Northwest at Junior Nationals. “Playing a good friend is always different,” said Manji. “I See TENNIS, Page 13