Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
Friday, January 25, 2013
www.issaquahreporter.com
Ace plan gets axe Sammammish Council denies use of controversial property BY KEVIN ENDEJAN KENDEJAN@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
Michelle Jay and her parents, Elaine and Raymond, stand near her Sammamish apartment. JOSH SUMAN, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter
PUSHING FORWARD Sammamish skier competes for U.S. in Special Olympics World Games
BY JOSH SUMAN JSUMAN@REPORTERNEWSPAPERS.COM
I
nside her Sammamish home, Michelle Jay is gushing with excitement.
In just over a week, she will be headed to South Korea to compete for the United States in the Special Olympics World Games in cross country skiing, a sport she began only two years ago. The past weeks have been spent making final preparations and training — it will be Jay’s first trip outside the United States. But when her plane finally touches down across the Pacific and Michelle Jay begins her quest for one of the top spots among the world’s best Special Olympians, it will be part of a journey much longer than one flight. Elaine Jay remembers a time when excitement seemed a foreign emotion for her daughter. Michelle’s childhood was pleasant enough at home, with a doting father to go with Elaine and a pair of adoring siblings. But school and other social situations were often a struggle as misconceptions about the developmentally disabled were challenged and exposed as discriminatory.
“When I’m skiing, I just want to go forward. I don’t want to turn back.” - Michelle Jay “In her time in school, people weren’t as accepting of the disability and they didn’t recognize it,” Elaine said. “It was much more difficult for her to work through those situations.” The Americans with Disabilities Act was still more than a decade away when Michelle was in school and her father said one word could summate the attitude and pervasive mindset of society about the disabled in those years: “Ignorant.” Without the level of advocacy and societal awareness individuals with disabilities receive today, Elaine hoped her daughter’s most basic needs would be met. “I was just hoping, first of all, that she would
be accepted as a valuable member of the community,” she said. “And that she could accomplish what she wanted.” Michelle, 45, spent her childhood in Woodinville, graduating from Inglemoor High School before accepting a job at the King County Courthouse in Seattle she has held for the past 16 years after an acquaintance grew connected to her and offered a recommendation for the position. It was again at the urging of others Michelle joined Special Olympics, deciding to give cross country skiing a try after finding out only team members could go on an outing she wanted to attend. Coach Jen Fry, who has spent nearly 20 years working with Special Olympics, said Michelle’s desire to improve and positivity have become a hallmark of the team. Despite being one of the relative newcomers among the 90 athletes, she was also elected as a captain. “She has made amazing progress,” Fry said. “The volunteers love working with her. She is very positive and upbeat.” Those traits also helped Michelle, who called Fry, “my friend and a cool person,” become one of only six athletes from Washington that SEE OLYMPIAN, 5
The future of Ace Hardware in Sammamish grew significantly dimmer Tuesday night. Under the advice of city staff, the City Council unanimously voted to deny a proposal made by development group KinderAce to build a new 11,200-square-foot hardware store on a piece of property between Northeast Second and Northeast Fourth streets. “The KinderAce proposal, as was cited by our legal council, raises a substantial number of significant legal and public policy issues and creates the possible perception of favoritism while working under a time frame that is, at best, severely constrained and insufficient,” said Deputy Mayor Ramiro Valderrama, who brought the motion to the table. Valderrama also motioned to direct City Manager Ben Yazici to continue to work with Ace Hardware on finding a new location within Sammamish. But with the store’s current lease in the Sammamish Highlands Shopping Center set to expire in August and limited building sites, the chances of keeping the hardware store in Sammamish grow slimmer by the day. “I think we looked under every rock, we looked in every corner, we looked at every option possible,” said councilmember John James. KinderAce first brought its proposal for land development to the council Dec. 4. Roughly 100 citizens were on hand, with half of those speaking on behalf of the local hardware store. Within the last month, city SEE ACE, 3