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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016
NEW CHIEF FOR SNOQUALMIE
Perry Phipps, a captain with Visalia Police in California, is city’s pick. Page 5
Lawhead Architects selected to design City Hall BY STUART MILLER smiller@snovalleystar.com
GREG FARRAR | gfarrar@snovalleystar.com
Science at work
Three referees judge the actions in the cage of four robots being wirelessly controlled by their teams Dec. 10 during the FIRST Tech Challenge Turing League event at Mount Si Freshman Campus.
Students square off to see whose robot can do the most
BY STUART MILLER smiller@snovalleystar.com
Outside the quiet, frozen Mount Si Freshman Campus on Saturday night, a full parking lot was the only indication that inside, hundreds of teenage students were competing in series of robot cage matches. Inside, the commons area was dotted with tables for each of the Turing League teams competing in the night’s event. To the beat of blaring electronic music, pit crews surrounded their robots making adjustments and repairs between matches while others scurried
GREG FARRAR | gfarrar@snovalleystar.com
Two Mount Si Robotics Club robots belonging to the Catastrophe (left) and SiBorgs teams sit in the arena waiting for the starting horn.
around the room — headline to the main pen, where the action was, or perhaps scouting the abilities of other teams. While the cage wasn’t an intimidating chain-link octagon, the crowd surrounding it brought a level of enthusiasm similar to an MMA event. Four robots were stuck in the 12-by-12, foam-floored square with glass walls standing a foot high. The machines would not be trying to destroy each other BattleBots style (as many students would prefer), instead attempting to score points with SEE ROBOTS, PAGE 6
The North Bend City Council selected Lawhead Architects to design the new City Hall building after a unanimous vote Dec. 6. The city pitted two architecture firms against each other to compete for the opportunity to design the building, culminating in an October town-hall meeting where both Lawhead and TCA Architecture presented their designs, estimated costs and other information. Attendees and councilmembers provided written and verbal feedback to city officials and the architects. The “dry run” gave the city and citizens insight on the capabilities of the firms, City Administrator Londi Lindell said. In addition, the city owns the designs from both firms and can incorporate aspects from both firms’ plans if it chooses to. Twice, the City Council delayed picking between the firms in what Lindell said was a difficult decision for members of the council. Ultimately, Lawhead’s experience with construction
SEE DESIGN, PAGE 3
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016
SNOVALLEY STAR
North Bend City Council sends open letter on growth
BY STUART MILLER
smiller@snovalleystar.com
The North Bend City Council has penned an open letter to residents in an effort to articulate the councilmembers’ collective position on the city’s rapid growth. To the Citizens of North Bend, There has been much public dialogue and understandable frustration as our City has faced the pains of rapid growth since the lifting of the water moratorium several years ago. The City Council shares both the concerns expressed by citizens and the desire to maintain the vision of small town character and high quality of life for this town we love. In this statement, we wish to share information which we hope will enhance citizen understanding of the challenges and constraints involved, along with steps being taken to ensure our community vision will be met. In 1990 the Washington State Legislature signed the Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA) into law.¹ The
After the City of North Bend lifted a decade-long building moratorium — stemming from a lack of a sufficient water supply — in 2009, the natural growth that had been pent up was unleashed. The city needed money to maintain itself, and found it in
GMA aims to concentrate growth inside city limits and also mandates cities to produce comprehensive plans, which are implemented through local development regulations and capital investments. The GMA also requires counties to assign growth targets to local jurisdictions in order to proportionately allocate the growth burden. Those targets, which were based on each city’s current size, were meant as a minimum target, meaning cities could grow faster. After the City adopted its first Comprehensive Plan under the GMA, the City was nonetheless under a building moratorium from 1999 to 2009 because it did not have water capacity to support growth. When the City was finally able to acquire more water rights in 2010, the building moratorium was
development. “It was a pretty welcome thing in beginning,” Councilmember Martin Volken said, “but it’s gone from nothing to a wild pace.” North Bend has already reached its 2030 growth target that was set in the 1990s as part
lifted and the result was an uncorking of a large pent up demand. Request upon request for development came flooding into the City Planning Department. In fact, there are currently 1,205 units submitted for permitting. This includes 568 Single Family Residences, 429 Apartments/ Condominiums/ Duplexes, 101 Cottages and a mixed use building containing 32 units. We have already reached our GMA 2030 growth target, so why not stop further residential development? The reason is: property owner rights. The City Council is legally and ethically constrained from creating a zoning plan that would substantially hinder the property rights or potentially reduce property values of property owners who want to sell perfectly buildable land to a
of the Growth Management Act. Volken said that when he ran for City Council last year, people were concerned about explosive growth. While the council and citizenry largely agree that North Bend should preserve its small-town char-
developer. The ongoing development in the City also brings positive changes: additional neighborhood parks, increased home value in surrounding areas, more consumers to spur economic development in our historic downtown, and the extension and expansion of public sewer, which generates revenue for the City, and will ultimately help to fund the replacement of the City’s failing Wastewater Treatment Plant. The City must remain compliant with county and state regulations, be mindful of property owner rights, and pace growth so that we can develop the community in accordance with our vision to create a premier outdoor recreation town while maintaining a small town rural feel.
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We have heard you, our (anticipated for 2017). citizens, and have recently Our newly formed enacted the following in Economic Development order to preserve North Commission will help Bend’s rural character us put a strategic brand and small town scale: implementation plan into n Rezoned large secplace to bring to life the tions of the City for City’s brand as a premier growth at no more than 2 outdoor recreation desdwelling units per acre. tination. Ultimately this n Imposed a city-wide will influence not only moratorium on cottage our zoning regulations, housing, to insure they but also the events we put are a more affordable on, the alliances we forge, housing product. and the businesses we n Imposed a city-wide recruit. moratorium on single n Preserved a 32 acre family homes inside cerwooded site south of I-90 and instead of allowing tain commercial zones. 101 residential units; we n Changed street stanare building a forested dards for wider rural park with connection to streets with more onhiking and biking trails. street parking. n Adopted a policy North Bend will to not actively promote annexation and to decline grow—there is no way to consider any developer- around that, considering the City’s location initiated annexation in King County, proximof UGA territory until ity to great jobs, and traffic and infrastrucimmediate access to ture concerns are better outdoor recreation. We addressed. are going to manage the n The Council’s pace and appearance of Community and this growth, with more Economic Development Committee has embarked amenities and restaurants, better roads to ease upon a comprehensive traffic congestion, even review of all design stanbetter parks, and bike dards, which is one of the and pedestrian-friendly most influential ways to infrastructure. We are change the look and feel committed to listening of future development to you, our citizens and in our city. It is through neighbors, to make North these standards that we Bend an even more livcan adjust everything able community and to from the width of the capture and maintain sidewalks to the proximyour vision of a small ity of homes to the street town and promote its and adjacent properties. greatest asset of outdoor n We are also about recreation. to embark on a major North City Council downtown plaza project LAURA F.noPROOF.SR.CMYK. PDF Bend 1125 LAM 50.18077.THU.1208.2X2.LAM
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acter, there are property rights and other considerations that must be respected. The City Council offered the letter as a touchstone for the discussion, Volken said, and to crystalize the council’s position on growth and development in North Bend.
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SNOVALLEY STAR
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016
From Page 1
management was a significant advantage for the firm, Lindell said. The Lawhead design with a second-story mezzanine option was around 14,000 square feet and would cost roughly $5.9 million. Estimated construction costs would be about $4.2 million and soft costs, such as paying architects, land surveyors, soils engineers and other professionals, would add around 40 percent, or $1.7 million. Lindell said that the city hoped to reduce the project’s soft costs. As a public project, permitting fees could be waived, Lindell said, while the city could do its own legal work and use other city resources to help the project along. Frank Lawhead, principle of Lawhead Architects, emphasized a connection to the trail system around the site, which is between the fire station and public works buildings on East North Bend Way.
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See more artist renderings of the new City Hall online at snovalleystar.com.
The firm’s designs included a large porch area reaching out over the natural green space around the site. Lawhead also added a plaza patio space with a fireplace, tables and seating. A kiosk area off Southeast Cedar Falls Way would announce the presence of City Hall and serve as a signboard for public notices and flyers, Lawhead said. A spine-like structure cuts through the middle of the building designs, separating city staff work areas and public meeting and gathering areas. The city employee work area features an open concept, with no walls separating the depart-
ments, allowing for a fluid environment where the departments could easily communicate and work together, Lawhead said. Lawhead also presented an option for a secondstory mezzanine area that would house three offices. The addition of the mezzanine option would add about $200,000-250,000 to the price tag, Lawhead said. He estimated hard building costs to be $300 per square foot. “I’m more than confident we can build at that price,” Lawhead said in response to questions from the council. Public feedback clearly directed the city to keep costs in line,
Councilmember Jeanne Pettersen said before voting to authorize the contract. Before authorizing the selection, some councilmembers aired their concerns with the firm. “There was maybe some concern over how well they would actually take city advice, whether it’s coming from council staff or citizens,” Councilmember Trevor Kostanich said. Lindell agreed that was a shared concern, but after talking with Lawhead she was assured he would be cooperative. On top of that, the firm would be contractually obligated to incorporate city advice
or face a termination of the relationship, Lindell said. “I have absolute confidence he will design the building that will meet our needs,” Lindell said. Mayor Ken Hearing emphasized that the motion passed Dec. 6 only sends the city to the negotiating table with Lawhead Architects. A flat price for the project will
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not be agreed to. The city will try to negotiate a rate schedule at the 20 and 60 percent completion marks, Lindell said. Lindell said the goal over the next year is to refine the designs with the City Council, staff and citizen input, to finalize design and materials, and then put the project out to bid.
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016
OPINION
SNOVALLEY STAR
STUART MILLER | smiller@snovalleystar.com
Thomas Biggins, center, and his family sold cocoa and treats to raise money for the Valley Winter Shelter Dec. 10 at Si View Park in North Bend.
Valley View
Good Samaritan brews up bucks for homeless shelter
BY STUART MILLER
I
assume that for many good valley folks, the snowy days last week were a time to kick back and relax at home. As far as I understand, those days are meant for a few minutes of playing in the snow and then retreating to the warmth of home for hot beverages and snacks. The tough driving conditions and biting cold always make for a convenient excuse to take a few lazy days. Well, not for 9-year-old North Bender Thomas
Biggins and his family. They did their “relaxing” in the Stuart Miller concession hut at snow-covered Si View Park, selling hot cocoa and other treats to raise money for the Valley Winter Shelter. I visited the little philanthropist to see what could possibly motivate him to stay in a freezing box from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on a Saturday. From what I saw, Thomas knows how to run
SNO★VALLEY
shop. I wondered if I was looking at the next generation’s titan of industry. I’d never seen someone use an electric blender to mix cocoa before, but I’ll tell you, that is now my preferred method. Not to mention the chocolate syrup, marshmallows and whipped cream he offered. That’d run you about nine bucks at Starbucks, but only cost me a couple dollars toward a good cause. Thomas and his mother also baked four different kinds of cookies and offered candy canes and other treats. It was a fullservice operation. Can this kid be there
STAR Published every Friday by The Issaquah Press Group 1085 12th Ave. NW, Suite D1 | P.O. Box 1328 Issaquah, King County, WA 98027
every Saturday? I was told Thomas and Co. advertised with some flyers and signs around the neighborhood and posted on NextDoor and Facebook. Foot traffic trudged through the snow to make it to the stand, mostly in the morning before it started raining. As closing time neared, Thomas’ dad had tallied about 20 families that patronized the stand. “We got a lot of people, which means a lot of donations,” Thomas said. I’ve received word that the Biggins family raised over $150 for the Valley Winter Shelter and gathered a bunch of clothes
donations, too. Jennifer Kirk, shelter director, said the money Thomas and Co. raised would be used to buy backpacks and durable ponchos for shelter guests. Leftover funds would go toward
pillows for the shelter and hand-warmers for guests. “The faces of our guests lit up when I showed them pictures of Thomas’ hot cocoa stand,” Kirk said. SEE BUCKS, PAGE 5
HAVE YOUR SAY Something on your mind about your city? Tell us about it. Send letters to the editor via email to editor@snovalleystar.com. The SnoValley Star welcomes comments to the editor about local issues — 300 words at most, please. We may edit them for length, clarity or inappropriate content. Include your phone number (it will not be published). Email is preferred, but you can also mail your comments to: Editor, SnoValley Star, P.O. Box 1328, Issaquah, WA 98027
STAFF Charles Horton.......................................General manager Scott Stoddard...............................................................Editor Stuart Miller............................................................. Reporter Neil Pierson.............................................................. Reporter Greg Farrar.....................................................Photographer
CORRECTIONS We are committed to accuracy at the SnoValley Star and take care in our reporting and editing, but errors do occur. If you think something we’ve published is in error, please email us at editor@snovalleystar.com.
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SNOVALLEY STAR
Snoqualmie PD selects new chief Perry Phipps will serve as the Snoqualmie Police Department’s new chief beginning January. Phipps accepted a formal offer of employment from Mayor Matt Larson and will be sworn in, pending council approval, at the Jan. 10, 2017, City
BUCKS From Page 4
Council meeting, according to a Snoqualmie news release. “I am confident Perry will be a great addition to our Police Department and the city as a whole,” Larson said in a statement. “We have experienced a time of transition and look forward to the progress his leadership will bring.”
Phipps was most recently the police captain for the Visalia Police Department in Visalia, California. Since 1986, he held several positions in Visalia including police officer, agent, sergeant and lieutenant. Prior to that, he served as a police officer for the Carpentaria Police Department in California.
already planning on ways to get more customers next year. If there’s one thing worth taking a walk through the snow for, it’s good cocoa for a great cause.
Stuart Miller at smiller@snovalleystar.com.
Email reporter
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Valley View is a weekly column by SnoValley Star reporter Stuart Miller. It does not necessarily represent the editorial views of the newspaper.
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“They have been greatly blessed by his hard work and vision.” Apparently, Thomas is
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016
SNOVALLEY STAR
GREG FARRAR | gfarrar@snovalleystar.com
The robot being operated by Mount Si’s Catastrophe team spills onto its back after it was driven too fast up the side of an exercise ball in the cage.
ROBOTS
change every year.
From Page 1
Explosion of interest
a series of tasks varying in difficulty. “The kids love BattleBots,” said Kyle Warren, a coach for the three robotics teams at Mount Si High School. “That love is purposefully directed into a different arena.” Mount Si teams proved their dedication with second-, third- and fifth-place scores out of the 14 teams competing Saturday. FIRST Washington, a group that promotes student interest in science and technology, runs the First Tech Challenge, which includes the Turing League. This year’s competitive focus is “vortex velocity,” a physics-based theme, said Ram Rathnam, a parent volunteer involved in valley robotics programs. Competition challenges, based on a central theme,
Since Warren, who also teaches computer science, technology and robotics classes at Mount Si, started the robotics team about five years ago, there has been only one First Tech Challenge team out of Mount Si. But now, there is an explosion of interest, he said. This year, three FTC teams — SiBorg, Catastrophe and Cataclysm — include about 40 students from the Snoqualmie Valley School District from seventh to 12th grade. Junior leagues for younger students are also seeing greater participation. Warren said that he and others have been actively trying to build interest with younger kids over the last five years. Those efforts are coming to fruition. “We’re planting seeds early,” he said. “By high
school, they’re hungry.” Other valley schools like Cedarcrest High in Duvall have experienced similar growth. Cedarcrest also fields three teams at the Turing League events. Duvall’s growing role as a bedroom community for Redmond Microsoft employees, and Snoqualmie/North Bend’s proximity to tech employers, has likely played a significant role. Many parents of robotics participants work for Microsoft or other tech companies. Microsoft offers a monetary donation for volunteer hours served, mentors who volunteer help the teams progress, and that has helped fund the teams at Mount Si, Rathnam said. All these elements have come together to boost participation, funding and interest in the robotics competitions, which put a variety of student skill sets to the test.
The match Each of the teams at Saturday’s event, from various schools scattered from Bellevue to Maple Valley to Duvall, competes in five matches in a night. Matches feature four randomly selected teams. The four teams separate into pairs of “allied” teams, which then compete against the other alliance. From the roughly 15-person roster, each individual team has two driver/operators, a coach and a robot in any given match. Teams are shuffled as the competition progresses. “I love the aspect that teams could be working together, then competing against each other,” Warren said. The two-and-a-half minute match starts off with a 30-second “autonomous” period. Robots will use only their pre-match programming to move from the starting position
against the wall and try to score points. Knocking a large exercise ball, called a “cap ball,” off its stand onto the floor, scores five points. Shooting a large whiffle ball called a “particle ball” into a “vortex” will score points. Scoring in the center vortex, a basket-like structure raised a few feet off the ground, earns 15 points. Particle balls shot through corner vortexes, small ramps with openings at the top, can earn five points each. Robots can also score by nudging one of the four “beacons” around the cage walls, turning it blue or red for their respective alliance. In this capture-the-flag style challenge, the beacon’s color at the end of the match will determine who is awarded points. A robot autonomously parked in specified locations at the end of the 30 seconds can earn even more points. After 30 seconds,
the two-minute drivercontrolled period begins. Two teammates operate video game controllers programmed to control their robots. One teammate will move the robot around the floor while another operates whatever mechanisms they’ve built into it. Similar scoring applies during driver-control, but the points are less valuable than during autonomous-control. The final 30 seconds of the match are called the “end game.” During this time, robots may try to lift the exercise ball off the ground to score points. Ending the game with the ball off the floor scores 10 points, lifting it 40 centimeters high earns 20 points, and placing the ball into the center vortex basket earns 40 points. Maneuvering the exercise ball is considered the trickiest part of the competition. Scoring tasks may seem simple to the
SNOVALLEY STAR
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016
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GREG FARRAR | gfarrar@snovalleystar.com
Mount Si freshman Manjesh Puram, formerly also on the Chief Kanim Middle School club, removes a robot from the combat cage as the stage is reset for four more teams to do battle against light switches, whiffle balls, exercise balls and each other.
ROBOTS From Page 6
untrained eye, but the amount of engineering and programming it takes to solve each challenge spurs a variety of unique designs from each team. The robot Every competing robot must be able to fit in an 18-cubic-inch box and use only league-specified materials. Once those requirements are fulfilled, basically anything goes. “Even though each team is trying to do the same thing, each team builds it differently,” said Shyam Gandhi, a junior at Mount Si. His team’s robot employed a hinged square frame on one side, strung with elastic bands, to swing down from the robot’s body. The elastic bands cradled the particle
ball, and then lifted it into the body where the ball met a conveyer belt. The ball was lifted toward the top of the robot’s body and set in the path of a torqued piece of flexible plastic. Once the bent plastic piece was released, the ball flung up into the air – hopefully into the basket of the center vortex. Team Catastrophe used a “waterwheel” style grabber to gobble up the particle balls and shoot them toward a vortex. Team SiBorgs used a sweeping mechanism to grab the balls. The methods each team used to acquire the particle balls and launch them were about as diverse as the number of teams competing. The Mount Si teams struggled to lift the exercise ball for major points in the end game, but one or two other teams did manage to get the ball off the ground — but not in the hoop.
An Eastside Catholic team showed the most promise with a pulleyoperated collapsing extension arm that rose from the body of their robot, but also fell short of the ultimate feat worth 40 points. Teams are forbidden from intentionally interfering with or blocking other robots during the matches. Referees monitor the game and can impose penalties for breaking the rules. Despite the officials’ tight watch on the jockeying, accidents and casualties do occur. Some robots died on the floor during competition; others lost pieces or had malfunctions. Every team made repairs and modified engineering and programming between matches. “There are elements of NASCAR in it” with the pit crew operating between matches, Warren said. No team had it com-
pletely figured out. The competition season is one long learning process. “There was some trial and error,” Mount Si junior Liam Cole said of Team Catastrophe. “There were unexpected problems.” Catastrophe was on its third robot design of the season, freshman Matthew Chow said. The first was a test chassis while the second didn’t measure up to tasks and was repurposed into the third model used at Saturday’s event. Chow said it took a couple weeks to build the new model after the first Turing League competition Nov. 19. The Turing League in which Mount Si competes is only one of many throughout the state. About 11,000 kids participate with more than 1,000 robotics teams throughout Washington, said Erin McCallum, president of FIRST Washington.
The league FIRST Washington is the largest afterschool STEM program in state, McCallum said. Its goal is to promote interest in science and technology. The robot competition helps get kids interested in the subjects. “The robot is a shiny object that gets them excited and motivated, but teams learn so much more,” McCallum said. “Robot performance is a very small portion of the overall program.” Each team of up to 15 kids has a project leader, who is like the captain of the team. Below that, there are department heads for each category of work. A business coordinator tries to garner community sponsorships, reaches out to other organizations and takes care of the financial aspect of the project. The programming lead takes charge of the Java code written for Android
operating systems. The design lead and the engineering-building lead get the physical robot body and mechanisms built. “They don’t realize it, but they’re tackling real world challenges,” Warren said. The skills involved with running a competitive robotics team are the same skills that employers around our region are looking for, McCallum said. While the Mount Si robotics teams are looking forward to the Jan. 14 interleague competition as a door to the state championships and beyond, the league organizers have a broader long-term goal. “Our hope is someday Mount Si has a FIRST robotics competitive team that is truly a senior-level program,” McCallum said, “where there could be 150 kids on a team, operating like a mediumsized company.”
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016
SNOVALLEY STAR
HOLIDAY ON ICE
PHOTOS BY GREG FARRAR | gfarrar@snovalleystar.com
Above, members of the Cascade Dance Academy dance to ‘Nutcracker Suite’ music on the skating rink at Railroad Park during the Winter Magic event Dec. 10 in downtown Snoqualmie. At left, Santa poses with a family for their photograph in the Snoqualmie Depot.
Above, Earl Wildes of Snoqualmie, keeping people in line while they wait for Santa Train rides, has dressed as a railroad policeman for 39 years while a volunteer for Northwest Railway Museum events. At left, Young people with special skates strapped on for the artificial ice rink surface enjoy the feeling of skating.
Seattle resident Mike Wilson holds his daughter Lizzie, 2, as wife and mother Katie photographs them with Frosty the Snowman at Railroad Park
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016
Fishing on four Valley rivers to close Dec. 16 Due to a lawsuit brought by the Wildfish Conservancy, no steelhead smolt were released in 2014 or 2015 from Tokul Creek Hatchery, contributing to the weak run. “If we get them by mid or early January maybe we can hope for an opener to fish,” Sanchez said. Snoqualmie River will close from the mouth of the river to Snoqualmie Falls. Tokul Creek will close
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Fishing on the Snoqualmie River, Tokul Creek, Raging River and Tolt River will close Dec. 16, in order to help protect an unusually weak steelhead run. Closing the fishery hopes to give the hatchery a better chance at receiving at least 50 fish for its broodstock, in order to meet its egg take goal, hatchery employee Debi Sanchez said.
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016
SPORTS
SNOVALLEY STAR
Mount Si girls snap KingCo losing streak BY NEIL PIERSON npierson@ snovalleystar.com It had been nearly two years since the Mount Si girls basketball team had tasted the sweetness of victory against a Class 4A KingCo Conference opponent. Consider the Wildcats’ thirst at least partially quenched after they put up 21 points in the fourth quarter and rallied past the visiting Issaquah Eagles, 51-44, on Dec. 7. Mount Si had lost 17 straight conference games dating back to a 54-43 triumph over Newport on Feb. 6, 2015. This year’s senior class won’t go winless, a reward for the hard work they’re putting in under first-year coach Bob Richey. “It feels awesome,” said senior guard Emma Smith, who led all scorers with 18 points, including a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointers. “It’s good to have a new coach – new team, really – all around. We’re able to play well now and it’s exciting.” Richey, who coached the Issaquah girls during the 201314 season, was pleased to see the Wildcats get the victory they’ve been waiting for. But he doesn’t want them to be complacent either. “We have a lot of things we’ve still got to work on,” he
NEIL PIERSON | npierson@snovalleystar.com
Mount Si freshman forward Joelle Buck (15) pulls down a rebound as Issaquah senior center Raiya Mastor (35) and junior guard Maya Witherspoon (12) defend during the Wildcats’ win Dec. 7 over the Eagles.
said. “We’ve got a lot of fundamental things that just aren’t where they’re supposed to be. We’ve got to tighten up some things offensively, defensively. But at the end of the day, the kids won a game in their league. They haven’t done that for a long time.” Issaquah’s sideline was subdued after the Eagles lost their KingCo opener and fell to 1-2 overall. First-year coach Jackie Bykonen said her
squad, which has only one senior, lacked focus at crucial moments. “We just have to put together 32 minutes,” she said. “We had chunks where it was good. It’s just recognizing where shooters are. It’s just mistakes that players make. We’ll learn and we’ll grow.” Issaquah took an 11-8 lead after one quarter on the strength of five points from junior guard Amanda
Ferguson. But the Wildcats began moving the ball and finding open looks from outside the arc. Smith hit a pair of treys and Scout Turner had another as Mount Si took a 25-19 lead to halftime. The Eagles regained control in the third quarter through full-court pressure, stalling Mount Si’s offense while forcing several turnovers and converting in transition. “I just said we need to pick
up the pressure and get points in transition,” Bykonen said of her halftime talk. “And take care of the ball better, which we didn’t really do.” Mackenzie Day had two buckets – one on a driving layup from the right corner, the other off a Ferguson steal and fast-break chance – to give the Eagles their biggest lead of the night at 30-26. The Wildcats’ offense went silent for much of the third period. They didn’t have a field goal until 6-foot-7 freshman center Sela Heide tossed in a rebound opportunity with under two minutes to play in the quarter. That seemed to ignite Mount Si once again as it took the lead early in the fourth period and eventually built the lead to 10 on a Joelle Buck basket. Issaquah’s Lucy Stewart – who had a team-high 12 points – hit a difficult 3-pointer with a hand in her face, bringing the Eagles within three with 30 seconds to go. But Smith calmly made a pair of free throws at the other end and the Wildcats were able to run out the clock. “It was obvious we had some mental lapses there late in the game against pressure,” Richey noted, “and so we SEE GIRLS, PAGE 11
Mount Si boys fall to Issaquah’s spirited comeback, 63-57 BY NEIL PIERSON npierson@snovalleystar.com They aren’t having the perfect start they’d envisioned, but the Issaquah Eagles are learning to handle more than their fair share of adversity. And Issaquah put those emotions to good use Dec. 6 in its Class 4A KingCo Conference boys basketball opener, overcoming an eight-point halftime deficit to beat the Mount Si Wildcats, 63-57, in Snoqualmie. Head coach Chris Lyle resigned for unspecified reasons six days earlier and the Eagles suffered through nonleague
losses to North Thurston and Shorecrest. But with new cocoaches Mitch Boyer and Neil Mendez at the helm, the players have willingly shouldered the burden for keeping the program’s high expectations afloat. “It was a good chance for us to rally and really connect better as a team,” said junior guard Garrett White, one of three Issaquah players to score in double figures against Mount Si. “It’s super encouraging, actually, to watch these kids and how they SEE BOYS, PAGE 11
Issaquah senior guard Max Eastern (3) drives the lane as Mount Si senior guard Gavin Gorrell (13) defends, while Mount Si senior forward Taylor Upton (24) and Issaquah junior forward Joey Jensen (33) look on. NEIL PIERSON | npierson@ snovalleystar.com
SNOVALLEY STAR
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have just come together,” said Mendez, who’s in his first season at Issaquah. “They’re learning to trust each other even more but they’re being the proactive ones and calling playersonly meetings, and really trying to band together as brothers.” Mount Si, playing its first conference game under coach Jason Griffith – who led Issaquah to three statetrophy finishes in the last six seasons – had the Eagles on the ropes at halftime with a 27-19 lead. The Wildcats (0-2 overall, 0-1 KingCo) kept Issaquah forwards Tanner Davis and Brent Wilson away from the basket, held their own in the rebounding department and got some easy baskets from their senior big man, Taylor Upton, who had 10 of his 13 points in the opening half. The Eagles (1-2, 1-0) adjusted in the second half, outscoring Mount Si 44-30. Davis had 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and Wilson scored 13 of his team-leading 17 points in the last two periods. For Griffith, there was no moral victory against his former program. “First and foremost, honestly, I was disappointed we lost,” he said. “I felt like our defensive energy dropped
from Gift s the Heart... Warm their spirit all year long
in the third quarter. They did a good job of exploiting our bigs inside and our weak-side defense wasn’t there when it needed to be.” Mount Si took a 10-9 lead at the end of the first quarter as junior guard Brendan Botten sank a long jump shot in the final minute. The Wildcats’ lead grew to 10 on two occasions. Freshman guard Tyler Patterson sank a 3-pointer as part of his 10-point night and Upton finished a transition layup off a smart feed from senior point guard Gavin Gorrell. Issaquah’s offense got going in the third quarter, though, as Wilson and Davis got the ball in prime positions inside the paint. When Mount Si’s defense collapsed to contain them, they passed to open shooters. The Eagles scored 24 points in the third, including four 3-pointers. “Brent and Tanner really stepped it up in the second half and it fell for guys like me, Blake (Adams) and Cam (Roorda) to hit the open shots,” said White, who had 11 points on three 3-pointers. “I think we were just more determined. It was a pretty emotional game
for most of us, so we were really excited for the opportunity. Got to give credit to Mount Si, because we didn’t expect them to come out like that and punch us in the mouth to start. But I’m proud of how we responded.” Freshman guard Jabe Mullins nearly led a late revival for Mount Si. He scored a game-high 19 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. His final basket, a 3-pointer, pulled the Wildcats within 57-54 with 1:05 to play. Mount Si got a defensive stop and Botten had an open 3-pointer from the right corner to tie the score, but he missed and Issaquah quickly pushed the ball to the other end, where Davis converted a crucial layup. “It’s a learning process for these kids,” Griffith said. “I’ve talked to them – the seniors especially – about how they want to go out, how they want to kick off this new regime for this program. “We play well at times. We did that in the first game. But like I said, 16 minutes won’t cut it. They have to learn to play 32 minutes. They have to learn how to finish close games.”
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called a couple timeouts and we just tried to communicate to the girls that they need to slow the game down a little bit. Don’t get caught up in the pressure.” “We saw that press when we watched the JV game, so we knew it was coming,” Smith added. “We were able to run a play that broke it pretty fast, made them back off a little bit.” Buck had eight
points for Mount Si and freshman guard Nitika Kumar, who led the team in scoring in a recent loss to Cedarcrest, added six points off the bench. “She has a high basketball IQ,” Richey said of Kumar. “She’s tenacious – she’s like a little gnat on the floor and she understands the game. She’s a defensive juggernaut. I wouldn’t want to play against her.” Stewart was Issaquah’s only doubledigit scorer. Mariah Van Halm had nine points,
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while Ferguson and Maya Witherspoon each chipped in six. Bykonen said the Eagles are a guardoriented team, but they’ll need to find ways to compete under the basket with bigger opponents. “We don’t have that strong of post play right now, but we’ve got to get there, especially if we want to stick with Bothell and teams like that,” she said. “It’s just getting more physical and more confident with the ball.”
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Mount Si senior Samantha Holmes is happy with her floor routine during the Wildcats’ Dec. 1 gymnastics meet against Eastlake. Holmes won all four events (floor, vault, bars, beam) for the first time at a meet, taking the all-around title with 33.65 points.
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016
Body remains unidentified BY STUART MILLER smiller@snovalleystar.com
Human remains found Dec. 2 in Snoqualmie by crews surveying a path for the proposed Riverwalk project have yet to be identified. Snoqualmie Police Capt. Nick Almquist said the case investigator is still waiting on results from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. Results in cases like this can take up to six months to return, but Almquist said he thinks the findings will be in sooner rather than later. Crews hired by the city were clearing a possible Riverwalk site with machetes, doing plotting work, when they came upon the remains in a wooded area north of State Route 202 and Snoqualmie Parkway. They notified the Snoqualmie Police Department at 9:45 a.m. Dec. 2. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined the remains were from
a male who had been deceased for six to 12 months. His age is unknown. A small shopping cart was found in the area, Almquist said. An assortment of clothes was found spread around the area as well. There were teeth in the skull, Almquist said, which will allow investigators to search dental records and perform DNA testing to try to identify the remains. A forensic investigation into the pathology of the remains is underway. Investigators will look for fractures in the bones and check for skull damage to try to determine the likely cause of death. Occasionally, remains of hikers are found on mountain trails, Almquist said, but very rarely near developed areas. “I can think of only one other time in my 27-year career where actual bones were located,” he said. “It just doesn’t happen, especially this close to town.”
SNOVALLEY STAR
Calendar of events Saturday, Dec. 17 Northwest Railway Museum Santa Train, , departs North Bend every hour starting at 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., from 205 McClellan St., to Snoqualmie Depot, 38625 SE King St., tickets are $24 ages 2 and older, bit. ly/2gahRRl Aging Well Learning Community, for adults, 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Snoqualmie Library, 7824 Center Blvd. SE, 888-1223 SnoValley Writes: End of Year Celebration, for adults, 10:30 a.m. to noon, North Bend Library, 115 E. Fourth St., 888-0554 Ice skating downtown, 1-4 p.m., Railroad Park, 7971 Railroad Ave., Snoquamlie, skating tickets are $3 for ages 10 and younger/$5 11 and older Holiday Music with The Dexterity Jazz Trio, for all ages, 2-3 p.m., North Bend Library, 115 E. Fourth St., 888-0554 Songwriters Circle with Jay Pinto, Pete Alba and Daniel Pelligini, 8 p.m., Black Dog Arts Café, 8062 Railroad Ave. SE, Snoqualmie, 831-3647 Greta Matassa Holiday Show, 7:30-10 p.m., Piccola Cellars, 112 W. Second St., North Bend, jazzclubsnw.org/ northbend Valley Center Stage presents “A Christmas Carol,” 7:30 p.m., at 119 W. North Bend Way, tickets are $17.50 for adults/$14 for seniors
and students, purchase online at bit.ly/2f8qEXz or at the door, learn more at valleycenterstage.org
Sunday, Dec. 18 Brunch with Toni Boros, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; The Good Time Travelers, 7:30 p.m., Black Dog Arts Café, 8062 Railroad Ave. SE, Snoqualmie, 831-3647 Ice skating downtown, 1-4 p.m., Railroad Park, 7971 Railroad Ave., Snoquamlie, skating tickets are $3 for ages 10 and younger/$5 11 and older Danny Kolke Trio, 6 p.m., Vox at the Box Vocal Jam, 7:30 p.m., Piccola Cellars, 112 W. Second St., North Bend, jazzclubsnw.org/northbend Hai Mua Noel, free concert with Crescent Club membership, 7 p.m., Snoqualmie Casino
Monday, Dec. 19 No School Day Camps, for grades K-5, 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Si View Community Center, 400 SE Orchard Dr., North Bend, $65/day or $195/ week, siviewpark.org or 831-1900 Minecraft Open Play, for ages 10-16, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., North Bend Library, 115 E. Fourth St., 888-0554
Tuesday, Dec. 20 No School Day Camps, for grades K-5, 6:30 a.m.
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Community Center, 400 SE Orchard Dr., North Bend, $65/day or $195/week, siviewpark.org or 831-1900 Start From Scratch, for ages 7-12, 1-2:30 p.m., North Bend Library, 115 E. Fourth St., 888-0554 North Bend Planning Commission meeting is canceled Dmitri Matheny Quartet: West Coast Cool, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Piccola Cellars, 112 W. Second St., North Bend, jazzclubsnw.org/northbend Christmas Show with Lightly Salted, 7 p.m., Black Dog Arts Café, 8062 Railroad Ave. SE, Snoqualmie, 8313647
Wednesday, Dec. 21
North Bend city offices closed for the Christmas holiday No School Day Camps, for grades K-5, 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Si View Community Center, 400 SE Orchard Dr., North Bend, $65/day or $195/week, siviewpark.org or 831-1900 Northwest Railway Museum Santa Train, departs North Bend every hour starting at 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., from 205 McClellan St., to Snoqualmie Depot, 38625 SE King St., tickets are $24 ages 2 and older, bit. ly/2gahRRl
No School Day Camps, for grades K-5, 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Si View Community Center, 400 SE Orchard Dr., North Bend, $65/day or $195/week, siviewpark.org or 831-1900 Future Jazz Heads, 6 p.m., Piccola Cellars, 112 W. Second St., North Bend, jazzclubsnw.org/northbend
Thursday, Dec. 22 No School Day Camps, for grades K-5, 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Si View
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to 6:30 p.m., Si View Community Center, 400 SE Orchard Dr., North Bend, $65/day or $195/week, siviewpark.org or 831-1900 Minecraft Open Play, for ages 10-16, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., North Bend Library, 115 E. Fourth St., 888-0554 Winter Crafting Party, for grades 5-8, noon to 4 p.m., Si View Community Center, 400 SE Orchard Dr., North Bend, $15, siviewpark.org Eastside Fire & Rescue Toy Drive, New Si View and Forster Woods neighborhoods, finishing at the Moose Lodge, 108 Syndey Ave. N., 5-7:30 p.m., North Bend City Council meeting, 7-9 p.m., Mt. Si Senior Center, 411 Main St. S.
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