Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
Friday, August 9, 2013
www.issaquahreporter.com
Bird mess Canadian geese euthanized at Lake Sammamish State Park BY LINDA BALL LBALL@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
Greg Dale, standing in the Glass Eye Studio earlier this week, holds a heart that contains the ashes of his grandparents.
Glass Eye Studio in Ballard. Artists then dip roughly a teaspoon of ash onto the glass, which is heated in 2,500 degree ovens. The pieces are formed into hearts and marked with identification so there is no confusion. Each heart costs $145. Greg has held sessions once a month since opening where family members can come and view the ashes of their loved ones being
An effort to reduce the amount of goose poop left by Canadian geese at Lake Sammamish State Park has drawn the ire of a Klahanie wildlife and animal advocate. Diane Weinstein has questioned the way the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is using to kill the geese – gassing them in chambers. More than 90 geese were rounded up and euthanized on June 21. “They do this in secrecy,” Weinstein said. “They wait until they’re molting and can’t fly, because it’s easier to round them up.” More than 1,000 people have signed a petition by Action for Animals to protest the practice. “Nobody really likes doing this, but we’re trying to balance the species,” said Virginia Painter, spokesperson for Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. “We’ve tried for 30 years to remove the geese … or get them to go away.” Those efforts have included using cut-outs of predators, herd dogs, and sour-tasting substance as goose repellents to get the geese to leave. Wildlife officials also have used egg addling, which involves removing an egg from a goose nest, terminating the development and returning the egg to the nest. Without an egg in the nest, the goose would begin laying again. For the state, the issue is one of health safety. “(Geese) can drop up to a pound of poop each per day,” Painter said. “It carries a lot of bacteria: Salmonella, giardia
SEE ASHES, 2
SEE GEESE, 2
KEVIN ENDEJAN, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter
FROM THE ASHES Sammamish couple helps grieving families heal with glass hearts
BY KEVIN ENDEJAN KENDEJAN@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
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“It feels so valuable helping people heal.”
or the last 10 months Sammamish resident Greg Dale and his wife, Christina, have ventured down a path they never imagined.
When his father faced a near death situation, Greg — a former developer and car salesman — was forced to think about a subject that never crossed his mind. “Everything had switched to a celebration of life,” he said. His father, who pulled out of his health scare in a Miami hospital, wished to become a part of an underwater memorial reef. Greg realized the reef would never work in Washington’s dark waters, but another business idea was born. After entering a Made In Washington store, Greg saw glass hearts created by Seattle’s Glass Eye Studio. He approached studio ownership and a partnership quickly formed. “They just laughed and said, ‘yeah, let’s do this,’” Greg said.
– Greg Dale Greg launched Artful Ashes and Rainbow Bridge — separate companies focused on putting the ashes of loved relatives and pets inside blown glass hearts. “I don’t think anybody really wants the box of ashes or urn of ashes but they keep them because they want to hold on to the memory,” Greg said. “That’s why we created something beautiful so you can hold on to the memory.” The ashes are delivered in canisters to the