Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
Friday, March 9, 2012
www.issaquahreporter.com
Finding Her Flock East Urban chicken farming takes off at The Grange in Issaquah BY CELESTE GRACEY cgracey@issaqauhreporter.com
S
asha Visconty’s chicken fascination was unexpected. It happened at The Grange during Chick Days. With feathers as fluffy as fur and feet as orange as the fruit, the chicks were irresistible. Their chirping was too sweet.
“We got suckered into the cute factor,” she said. “We didn’t have any idea what we were getting into.” However, when her girls exchanged chirps for clucking and began laying eggs of their own, the attraction never left for the Tiger Mountain couple. Her 11 birds have distinctive personalities. They even follow her around the yard. As interest in sustainable food grows, urban poultry farming has had a major upswing over the past four years, said Michelle Boman, operations manager at The Grange Country Store in Issaquah. The business dedicates two months a year to selling chicks, and all of the gear that goes along with them. This year they have 32 chicken Sasha Visconty feeds her chickens outside their hen house at her Issaquah home on Tiger breeds and four duck breeds. They Mountain. She was first intrigued by the idea of keeping a flock when she visited The Grange expect to sell 5,000 of them between during Chick Days. Celeste gracey, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter now and early May. “Chickens can be pretty darn thing this tasty can’t be found in a grocery store-bought feed. They’re omnivores, so addictive,” Boman said. “Everyone says store, she says. they can eat meat, but cannibalism is genchickens are stupid, but you find out they Inside the chicken pen, she holds a box erally discouraged. have these really amazing personalities.” of leftover greens and stale hot dog buns. It’s also not a good idea to let the birds They’re also rewarding. The gals rush from their coop and gather alone in a garden. A few hours can be benOn a snowy March morning, Visconty around her feet with affectionate clucks. eficial – they’re scratches turn the soil, and lifts up a flap to the two-story hen house to “They know who feeds them,” she says they have an appetite for bugs. However, find a brown egg, still warm from when it with a laugh. they also have a taste for brightly colored was laid. When she doesn’t have leftovers, which flowers and fresh vegetables. Crack an egg open to find a white with a make the eggs even tastier, the birds get pronounced shape and a rich yolk. SomeSee Chickens, 7
Bound
Rep. Reichert moves office to Issaquah BY celeste gracey cgracey@issaqauhreporter.com
Congressional redistricting has pushed Rep. Dave Reichert’s district from Mercer Island and Bellevue. He’s now moved his office to Issaquah. Six of the Republican’s staff members will use the space on Southeast 56th Street at the Sammamish View office building. In the past, his Mercer Island office attracted a number of protests on national issues that ranged from the Dave Reichert economy to the U.S. Postal Service. The congressman, who is in the district most weekends, is familiar with Issaquah from when he worked a patrol route as the deputy sheriff in the 1970s. The redistricting, which was finalized in January, broke the “Cascade curtain” and brought 150,000 people from eastern Washington into the 8th Congressional District. It not only allowed the state to have its first majority minority district, where minorities made up the majority of residents (the 9th District), but also strengthened the 8th District for the Republican Party. Reichert’s new address is 22605 S.E. 56th St., Suite 130. The new phone number is 425-677-7414.
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