Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter, June 12, 2015

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News

Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH

Deputy finance director prepares for Klahanie annexation Page 3

Opinion

WWW.ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM

Smash and grab suspect arrested Cougar/Squak BY MEGAN CAMPBELL

ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER

High stakes, low drama, no budget Page 4

Community

FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015

The Sammamish Police Department arrested 21-year-old Chase Dunkel June 1, after linking him to numerous vehicular smash and grabs throughout the city in May. Police received 53 reports of smashed windows and stolen property, including four in Klahanie, involving more than 70 vehicles, between May 19 and May 30. Of those, Dunkel has been linked to 17 incidents.

“We got hit hard,” Chief Nathan Elledge said. Officers recovered at least $60,000 in stolen property at Studio 6, a hotel in Mountlake Terrace, where the man was staying, Detective William Albright said. Police had served a search warrant on the hotel room and the suspect’s car on June 1. The man, listed as a Snohomish County resident, is currently being held at the King County Jail facing several felony charges. The suspect has also been linked to crimes

records request, court documents say. The city will pay the remaining amount directly into escrow. Although the Gees filed the lawsuit nearly two years ago, Megan Gee said the development issue began in SEE LAWSUIT, 6

SEE PARK, 2

SEE ARREST, 3

Issaquah man wins honorable mention in songwriting contest Page 8

Sports

Photo courtesy of Karen Hatch

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Students from Eastside Catholic’s 33rd graduating class throw up their mortarboards following commencement Monday night. Tesla STEM, attended by many Sammamish students, held its ceremony Thursday. Tiger Mtn. Community High School commenced Thursday. Issaquah, Skyline, Liberty and Eastlake high schools all have their ceremonies today, Friday.

City settles public records lawsuit BY MEGAN CAMPBELL ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER

What began with a Sammamish family’s desire to build on their Beaver Lake property nearly a decade ago led to a lawsuit against the city and eventual settlement of $90,000.

The city of Sammamish immediately paid $50,000 of settlement fees to longtime residents David and Megan Gee last week after the couple filed suit in December 2013 regarding city staffs’ “incomplete, inadequate and perfunctory” response to a 2012 public

BY DANIEL NASH ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER

On Saturday, the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks opened a new trailhead and officially closed the chapter on a nearly three-year effort to turn a former campground and potential logging site into a park. Now the County is seeking the public’s ideas for what to do with the newest 216 acres of Cougar/Squak Corridor Park. Issaquah Alps Trails Club President David Kappler cut the ribbon on the expansion in front of more than 100 people outside of the old Issaquah Highlands Recreational Club lodge and the beginning of the new Margaret Way trail. Representatives from the County, the Washington State Trust for Public Lands, grassroots organization Save Squak, the Washington Trails Association, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and outdoors retailer REI were in attendance, among others. The expansion creates a south-end access point to Squak’s county and state trail network, accessible from State Route 900. “And it’s not only connectivity for hikers; it’s connectivity for wildlife,” Kappler said. In November 2012, Kappler found out from others in the community that the old Issaquah Highlands Recreational Club had been purchased by Erickson Logging Inc. Over the subsequent half-year, the company applied multiple times with the state Department of Natural Resources to harvest the land’s timber, some of which were accepted. However, the Trails Club and grassroots organization Save Squak continued to lobby King County to purchase the land. The county didn’t have immediate funds to purchase the land, but the club and Save Squak attracted the attention of the Washington Trails Association and The Trust for Public Land. The Trust for Public Land eventually made a deal in July 2013 to purchase the land on behalf of King County for $5 million. King County acquired the land in December 2014 after completing repayment to The Trust for Public Land. “We were lucky,” Kappler said. On Tuesday, County DNRP spokesman Doug Williams gave the Reporter a tour of the park expansion. Hiking up the Margaret Way trail — named for late Issaquah City Parks Planner Margaret Macleod, who died of lung cancer in December 2013 — Williams pointed out the evidence of the site’s former life as a

OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO

Sullivan lands lifetime opportunity Page 9

park opens

ART GALA: GROUP DYNAMICS SATURDAY | JUNE 13 | 1:30-3:30 PM 22975 SE Black Nugget Rd, Issaquah, WA 98029 • RSVP at (425) 200-0331

eraliving.com


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