THE ISSAQUAHPRESS
Section
B
COMMUNITY
Wednesday June 26, 2013
Celebrate city’s heritage, tradition on Independence Day By Erin Hoffman news@isspress.com
BY ERNEST LINNEMANN
Issaquah’s St. Joseph Catholic Church unveils its prayer garden for the unborn with a dedication ceremony June 8.
TRANSCENDING SERENITY St. Joseph Catholic Church unveils new prayer garden By Christina Corrales-Toy newcastle@isspress.com The St. Joseph Catholic Church and School sits in a majestic location, perched on a hill above the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, with an unobstructed view of Tiger Mountain. The church grounds are no less impressive, complete with a peaceful waterfall decorated with copper salmon art pieces that pay homage to the fish at the heart of the city. “I’m of firm belief that beauty in all the ways that it comes through in architecture, art and creation, has a transcendent capacity,” Father Todd Strange said. “We experience God
through beauty.” A new element was added to the expansive campus when the church dedicated its prayer garden for the unborn June 8. Accessible, yet private, the small garden is surrounded by shrubbery on all sides except for the entrance, which is accented by two rock pillars. Visitors can sit on one of four stone benches, as they admire the centerpiece of the garden, a statue of the Virgin Mary. The garden was envisioned as a place to pray for the cause of life, but specifically the most vulnerable, the unborn, Strange said. It’s the garden’s sheer beauty that initially attracts most visi-
IF YOU GO St. Joseph Catholic Church’s prayer garden for the unborn 4220 Mountain Park Blvd. S.W. 4The prayer garden is just past the church entrance on the right.
BY RICK EDELMAN
The centerpiece of the garden is a statue of the Virgin Mary, carrying a lamb and baby Jesus.
tors, though. “There are a lot of people for whom the cause of life is real important to them, and so they were really behind it on that
level,” he said. “Then, there are a lot of people who like it because it’s just a peaceful place to pray.” A small patch of grass sits at the center of the garden, surrounded by gravel and gray brick. A stone plaque with an engraving of baby feet enclosed in a heart sits in the middle of the grass. See GARDEN, Page B3
Scout serves church to earn Eagle rank By Peter Clark pclark@isspress.com A community will benefit from local high school senior Gunnar Conley choosing to bring a team together to improve the landscape of St. Michael’s and All Angels Episcopal Church to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. Leading a group of classmates, teammates and fellow scouts, Conley oversaw the installation of a few new features for the recently renovated church. They put in a rock wall around the garden and bordered the new walkway with beams. To earn the highest Scout rank, dedicated youths must create their own projects and deliver proposals to leaders. ConCONTRIBUTED ley knew exactly where he wanted to put his efforts. Scout Gunnar Conley works on a beautifcation project at St. “I wanted to do someMichael’s and All Angels Episcopal Church to earn his Eagle rank.
It’s come down to battling the weed of the week By Jane Garrison June must be weed month. They are so big and lush, I feel like I’m living in the tropics. Maybe we need to institute “Weed of the Week.” This week, my pick would be bindweed, that viney plant that twines and twists its way over shrubs and through hedges. Its flowers are pretty, like big white ice cream cones. You’ve seen it growing everywhere. Mine
isn’t blooming yet, but it’s really prolific. Some people call it morning glory, but that name is too nice for this bad relative of that particular plant. The reason bindweed is bad is because it smothers everything in its path, and you can’t get rid of it. It’s growing in my native garden. I don’t use weed killers in my yard, but if I did, there would be no way I could apply it in such close
proximity to other plants. I tried dipping the newly cut ends in brush killer, but it only distorted the new growth for a brief time. Brush killer is an acceptable poison to use if applied correctly, and works well on freshly cut maple and blackberry. It’s a tolerable solution when carefully applied to a specific weed with a small brush, impacting only the plant you want to remove — not the topsoil, groundwater or beneficial insects. But, it doesn’t seem to work on bindweed. When I was weeding in See WEED, Page B3
thing with the church,” he said. “I talked to the landscape manager to see what needed to be done.” After the recent renovation of the church, he said there were a few things left undone. Conley mentioned a meditation trail and other projects around the perimeter of the Second Avenue Southeast church, but he decided to focus on the garden and the walkway because of the time and help available. This was the third time a Scout had chosen to work with St. Michael’s as a part of their Eagle Scout project. Conley said that the previous volunteers have steered his desire toward helping the church. “I kind of got inspirations from other Scouts,” See SCOUT, Page B3
The Down Home Fourth of July and Heritage Celebration, a long-standing Issaquah tradition, will be held again July 4, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Every year, the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce Festivals Office, the city and the Issaquah History Museums come together to put on the event to celebrate America’s independence and Issaquah’s history. “There’s a lot of tradition built around it,” Robin Kelley, director of festivals at the chamber, said in an interview. “The celebration has become a staple in the Issaquah community, with kids who grew up with the celebration growing up to volunteer with it.” In the Down Home Fourth portion of the event,
families can expect live entertainment, inflatable bouncy houses, face painting, slug races, hay hunts and the annual “Kids, Pets ‘N’ Pride Parade,” which will kick off the celebration at Rainier Boulevard North and Northwest Dogwood Street and end at Veterans Memorial Field. “There are not a lot of bells and whistles,” Kelley added. “It’s a low-key event.” The Independence Day festivities remain one of the only city-sponsored Fourth of July celebrations in the area. The city aims to keep the celebration free, and since the dip in the economy, attendance has gone up. “We get to hear a lot of wonderful comments from parents because Issaquah continues this tradition See JULY
4, Page B6
Highlands Day brings Wild West back to Issaquah By Erin Hoffman news@isspress.com Dust off those cowboy boots and polish that saddle, because on June 29, the Issaquah Highlands Council is bringing the Wild West back to town. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Village Green Park and Blakely Hall will be the home of Highlands Day, the Issaquah Highlands’ annual street fair. As many as 4,000 cowboys and cowgirls from the greater Issaquah community are expected to come out for the Americana-themed event. The fair will begin with a children’s parade, where kids can dress up and decorate their bikes, followed by a presentation of the flag by a local Cub Scout troop. Admission is free, but families will have to buy tickets for some attractions, such as a mechanical bull ride or a ride on the log roll. There will also be plenty of free activities, including a “field day,” complete with sack races, tug-of-war and pie-eating contests, which Christy Garrard, director of special event planning at the Highlands Council, said she hopes will give the event a “country-fair feel.” “It was something I thought all families could relate to,” Garrard said about theme. The Roof Top Dogs, a
local bluegrass band, will perform, and artEAST will host a farm animal-themed art exhibit inside Blakely Hall, where local artist Dorothy Bonneau will paint live. Garrard, who has been in charge of planning Highlands Day for the past seven years, has been working since March to put together the street fair. More than 40 local sponsors, including Safeway, Swedish/Issaquah and Regency Centers have helped raise the $20,000 needed to fund Highlands Day. “The business community is extremely generous and they’re the reason we can hold these events,” Garrard said. The event would also not be possible without the dedication of many volunteers, many of whom come back year after year to help. “I think there’s a higher percentage of people who want to volunteer here than in any other community,” said Larry Norton, president of the Highlands Council board of trustees and a longtime volunteer. “They get invested in the activity and they’re proud of what they do.” In past years, the event has been both well-attended and well-received. “The reaction is overwhelmingly positive,” Norton said. “It’s a demonstration of the community coming together.”
Master gardener’s corner With Jane Garrison
GET HELP HERE Master Gardening clinics happen every Saturday at Squak Mountain Nursery and the Issaquah Farmers Market. Come and see us with your gardening questions. And remember, pictures help.
CONTRIBUTED
The bindwind is considered an invasive weed because it crowds out other native plants.