Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
Friday, February 28, 2014
www.issaquahreporter.com
Tent City finds a home at church BY KELLY MONTGOMERY ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER
Faith United Methodist Church will become the next home to Tent City 4. Church members voted Wednesday night to welcome the homeless encampment onto their property come March 1, following its departure from the Lake Sammamish State Park. Rev. John Brewer of Faith United Methodist said that the meeting was very different from the community meeting held on Feb. 11. “There was nobody but church members present and it was quite civil and respect-
Would you want ful,” Brewer said. “There was a lot church hosts a preschool and their a tent city in of debate and discussion, with parents four days a week. All of your neighborhood? about six to eight people speaking this activity slows down in the Vote online at in support of the idea and six to summer, making it easier to take issaquahrepoerter.com eight speaking against it.” A total of on a 90-day project. 86 church members voted “yes” and “It’s not like anybody was op29 voted “no”. posed,” Brewer said. “We have a very Brewer said that while there were a cousupportive congregation.” ple people against the idea altogether, the And since the proposition of hosting majority of the people who voted no simply Tent City 4 was brought to them several wanted to wait until the summer to host weeks ago, church members have spent Tent City 4 because much less was going on more than 100 hours preparing for the poswithin the church. Faith United Methodist sibility, focusing on safety, traffic flow and is a rather small church, but Brewer said other issues important to the community. they have a lot of programming – people rent out space on the weekends and the SEE TENT CITY, 2
SPLIT DECISION School continues quest for record-setting ice cream treats BY KELLY MONTGOMERY ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER
Pine Lake Middle School seems to have a thing for records – and ice cream. On Thursday, Feb. 20, students in the after school program created a banana split 100-feet long. "We decided to do this after starting a tradition last year of breaking records," said Tom O'Neill, the site manager for the IMPACT program at the school, which provides after school tutoring, homework and enrichment programs. "Last year we made a 10 foot by 2 foot ice cream sandwich. We wanted to do something similar and bigger." According to O'Neill, the Washington record for a banana split is 3 miles long. While they know there was no way to touch that record, they thought they could set one for Issaquah. "We don't know if it's official because it's so ridiculous," O'Neill said. "A thorough Google search turned up nothing." As part of the banana split effort, students used more than 20 gallons of ice cream, 200 bananas and many cans of whip cream. The construction took place at Beaver Lake Middle School in Issaquah, and students from Challenger Elementary's Club Connection camp came over to help with the project. "The kids absolutely loved it, both helping create it and eating it," O'Neill said. "This kind of thing fits right in with one of our missions, which is to create unique opportunities that kids wouldn't get to have anywhere else." Kelly Montgomery: 425-391-0363; kmontgomery@issaquahreporter.com
What next for Klahanie? Annexation defeat clouds the future BY LINDA BALL ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER
Klahanie residents again have said "no" to annexing to Issaquah. With the election certified Feb. 25, a total of 1,536 votes, or 50.53 percent of the total, rejected annexation. There were 1,504 votes, or 49.47 percent "yes" votes. It would have taken a 60 percent "yes" vote for Klahanie to assume Issaquah's indebtedness. Issaquah Mayor Fred Butler said another election is highly unlikely. Issaquah unsuccessfully tried to annex the area in 2005. "We want to analyze the data, and look at the precinct results, and see if there are some areas with more support," Butler said. Annexing to Sammamish wasn't a choice on the ballot, and the Klahanie PAA remains in Issaquah's annexation area. Don Gerend, who is a member of the Sammamish City Council and also a spokesperson for the group Klahanie Choice that favored rejection, said any future decision is up to the people in the neighborhoods that are within the annexation area. The Sammamish City Council passed a resolution Jan. 7 that said it is committed to "fast track" the annexation of Klahanie, but it can't do so unless Issaquah releases the area from its comprehensive plan. Sammamish officials could go to the King County Boundary Review Board and the Growth Management Hearings Board to plead their case, but Gerend said they don't want to do that. He also doesn't want to see the PAA carved up. But Sammamish is ready to roll if Issaquah releases the PAA, he said. Butler did not rule out discussions with Sammamish to possibly lead to some policy decisions on next steps. Linda Ball: 425-391-0363; lball@issaquahreporter.com
Making the banana split involved using 20 gallons of ice cream, 200 bananas and many cans of whip cream. COURTESY PHOTO.