Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
Friday, July 27, 2012
www.issaquahreporter.com
Rough audit Sheriff’s office receives 16 recommendations for improvement
Ryan Morgan chases his Athletes for Kids mentor Nate Gibson around the baseball diamond at Beaver Lake Park. The Sammamishbased program pairs athletes with kids that have disabilities.
BY KEVIN ENDEJAN KENDEJAN@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
FRIENDS FOR LIFE
More than a decade after its start, Athletes for Kids still strikes chord with local preps BY JOSH SUMAN
“When he puts his mind to something, there is no stopping him now.”
JSUMAN@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
S
ally Morgan can’t control her motherly instincts. As her 8-year-old son, Ryan, nears the top of the grandstand at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue, she continuously offers reminders to take it slow or risk an ugly spill on the concrete steps.
“I try not to be overprotective,” she says. “But sometimes, it’s hard.” It’s harder for her than most, and with good reason: Ryan suffers from a form of cerebral palsy that causes tension throughout the left side of his body, along with a host of other physical obstacles. The soon-to-be second grader at Endeavor Elementary in Sammamish is confined by arm and leg braces at night and spends hours each week in therapy sessions to mitigate the atrophy in his muscles and gain functional strength. The effects of the condition, including a slight difference in the lengths of his legs, will likely never completely cease. But with
– Sally Morgan, mother
the help of a mentorship program that features prep athletes from throughout Issaquah and Sammamish, his condition is becoming an ever-smaller piece of his identity. When Athletes for Kids started at SEE ATHLETES, 12
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CELESTE GRACEY, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter
An audit released July 24 returned scathing results of the way the King County Sheriff ’s Office manages its internal and public complaints. The City of Sammamish contracts the KCSO for police services. Among its findings, the audit report made 16 recommendations for the KCSO Internal Investigations Unit and newly established Office of Law Enforcement Oversight. “The audit reveals alarming shortcomings in the Sheriff ’s Office internal investigation processes and accountability systems that are unacceptable,” King County Councilman Bob Ferguson said. Sheriff Steve Strachan, who is running for re-election this year after replacing out-going Sheriff Sue Rahr in March, responded by saying he welcomed the feedback and has learned from this audit. “I will continue to work with the Police Officers Guild and our other labor groups to create a partnership that’s fair to them and fair to the public,” he said. The audit, which was conducted by Hillard Heintz of Chicago, was completed earlier in the year. A complete list of the recommendations can be found on the Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter website, www. issaquahreporter.com; www. sammamish-reporter.com.
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