Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
Friday, August 1, 2014
www.issaquahreporter.com
County cuts, revises bus routes in Issaquah & Sammamish BY BRANDON MACZ REPORTER NEWSPAPERS
The King County Council has approved the first 161,000 hours of Metro transit reductions that cuts five bus routes that serve Issaquah, revises three that serve Issaquah and one that serves both Issaquah and Sammamish. The changes will start Sept. 27. The vote, on Monday, July 21, came a
week after the council failed to pass legislation detailing plans for moving forward with a potential 550,000 total cuts in Metro service hours, over a long-standing revenue shortfall. Issaquah bus routes to be cut include 200, 209, 210, 211EX and 217. Revised routes include 208, 214, 269, and 271. Councilmember Rod Dembowski had called for a delay on July 14 to allow the council's transit committee to review a
revised ordinance that was substantively no different than what had been agreed to the week before. The transit committee passed the legislation to council with unanimous approval July 15. "We should be growing the system," Dembowski said, pointing to growing transit ridership. "It's tragic that we're cutting it." Another 188,000 service hours are to be cut in February, barring an upward trend in
FLYING HIGH
SEE BUS CUTS, 3
Former Skyline cheerleader found dead in Louisville
Disabled get to experience thrill of paragliding
BY KELLY MONTGOMERY ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER
BY LINDA BALL ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER
Marty Reilly, 53, has been in a wheelchair for 20 years, after a trampoline accident in which he landed on his head. Paralyzed from the neck down, his entire life changed in that moment. One of his sons, Chris, now 19, was in the womb so he has never known a different dad. Never mind his disability, because he's always looking for something to do besides sit at a computer. He works as an estimator for an electrical contractor from his home in Normandy Park. "I've done drifting (an extreme motorsport) with a professional driver, I go fishing in Westport once a year and I've done a tandem glider," Reilly said. His other son, Andy, 22, went flying with Seattle Paragliding in Issaquah earlier in July. Little did Andy know that the following week, Chris Santacroce, one of the best paraglider pilots in the world, would be at Seattle Paragliding the following week, taking "co-pilots" as they call them, for tandem flights. But not just any co-pilots. For years Santacroce was winning major championships in aerobatics and cross-country, inventing new tricks and competing for Red Bull in its Red Bull Air Force. He is also one of the world's foremost paragliding and hang gliding instructors, with his own school in Utah where he lives. Santacroce is also one of the nation's biggest distributors of paragliding gear. But his main passion is Project Air-
the county's economic forecast and review by an ad hoc committee that the July 21 vote also created. County Executive Dow Constantine will be a member of that committee. The county council-adopted legislation sets aside another 201,000 hours in Metro service reductions pending adoption of a 2015-16 county budget.
Marty Reilly looks a little unsure of his upcoming flight with Chris Santacroce. COURTESY PHOTO.
time, a nonprofit he formed to "take everyone flying!" "This is my favorite thing," Santacroce said. "It used to be – look at me – now it's more like look at you." He started out by flying tandem with people suffering from multiple sclerosis, which lit the fire. Now, he flies with people who have spinal chord or brain injuries, illness, the elderly or veterans – specifically wounded warriors.
"There's only a few other organizations that do this," Santacroce said. "But we're on the leading edge." He said they're still in the formative stages. He hopes to gain support from foundations that will embrace what he's doing. Santacroce said he took his grandfather up at 68, before he developed ALS. SEE PARAGLIDING, 3
Danielle "Dani" Cogswell, a 22-year-old Skyline High School graduate, was found dead in her University of Louisville apartment complex early Monday morning. According to The CourierJournal, the Louisville (Ky.) Metro Police homicide unit is currently handling the investigation as an overdose, however the cause of death won’t be known until toxicology tests are completed, which could take anywhere up to three months. Cogswell grew up in Washington and was actively involved in competitive cheerleading. With friends spanning throughout Redmond, Sammamish, Issaquah and beyond, Facebook and Twitter have become flooded with personal messages to Cogswell, using the hashtag #RIPDani. Chase Huber posted, "Terrible day for all Spartans. An amazDanielle Cogswell ing cheerleader and even better helped Skyline take person." home a state title in Tyler Janes, who coached Cogcheerleading in 2009. swell when she was in Washington, COURTESY PHOTO said she had traveled to Australia and China to compete and was even in the junior Olympics. It's just very hard," Janes told WAVE. "I've gotten call after call from sobbing people who are just not understanding what's going on." Cogswell attended Arizona State University before transferring to Louisville, where she continued to cheer. Louisville Spirits Teams Coach Todd Sharp said Cogswell was one of the top athletes in the program. "The University of Louisville Spirit program is devastated to lose one of our beautiful and talented team members," he said. "Dani had a contagious smile and a spirit that would ignite the room. She will be greatly missed."