Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter, October 23, 2015

Page 1

Community

Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH

First grader publishes Amazon best-seller Page 3

Opinion

WWW.ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015

WELCOME TO HIS NIGHTMARE

An impartial resource for election season Page 4

ELECTION

A look at Sammamish candidate campaign funding Page 9

EDUCATION

Nightmare at Beaver Lake kicked off its 12th annual haunted park Oct. 16 and will run, Thursday through Sunday, through Halloween, Oct. 31. Shrieks could be heard last week as attendees walked through 33 sets, including a butcher’s lair (as shown), carving up a screaming woman. The Rotary Club of Sammamish and Scare Productions puts on the event and, after covering costs, proceeds are donated to charity. The family scare, a milder haunted park route, will be from 7-7:45 p.m. Tickets during the family scare are $12 per person. Full scare begins at 8 p.m. Tickets for full scare costs $18 per person. For more information, visit www. nightmareatbeaverlake.com.

Contact Us!

Main Desk (425) 391-0363 News......................ext. 3 Circulation..............ext. 6 Advertising.............ext. 2 Sales Manager.........ext. 4

@IssReporter

BY DANIEL NASH ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER

An ongoing public and legal battle between the Issaquah Senior Center and its ousted members spilled into the Issaquah City Council’s budget discussions Monday night. Early in 2015, the senior center trespassed Regina Poirier and former board member David Waggoner for alleged elder abuse and harassment. Both have said repeatedly in public meetings and comments to the media that no formal elder abuse investigation has taken place and that they were actually banished for asking questions about the center’s finances. They are now pursuing a defamation lawsuit against the center’s board of directors and Executive Director Courtney Jaren, stemming from a statement in the July senior newsletter that “a group of seniors bull[ied] a vulnerable senior to death.” “Frankly, I feel I am a victim of elder abuse,” Poirier told the Issaquah City Council Monday. “As a citizen, I

Megan Campbell, Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter

SEE SENIORS, 10

Election Q&A

Sammamish City Council BY REPORTER STAFF

School participates in Great ShakeOut drill Page 11

Senior center funding in question

Earlier this month, citizens submitted nearly 40 questions for the candidates during the Sammamish City Council candidate forum Oct. 7. There was not enough time to answer every citizen question, which is why the Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter reached out to the candidates, asking them to submit their answers via email. Due to space constraints, the Reporter limited candidates to 50-word responses for five of the 36 questions. However, candidates were given the option to answer more. Those questions and responses are available online, at www.issaquahreporter.com.

The candidates Christie Malchow and Mark Cross are competing for Councilmember Nancy Whitten’s open seat in Position 2.

Tom Hornish is challenging Mayor Tom Vance’s seat on the council. This position, No. 6, is not for the mayorship. The city has a council-city manager form of government. The council selects its mayor, which is largely a ceremonial role. Ramiro Valderrama-Aramayo is essentially running unopposed for Position 4. His opponent dropped out of the race in July; however, Hank Klein’s name still will appear next to Valderrama-Aramayo’s on the ballot.

The residents’ questions:

Q:

If elected or re-elected to the council, how will you approach the prioritization of the many competing issues the council faces?

City council endorses Best Starts For Kids BY DANIEL NASH ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER

The Issaquah City Council has thrown its support behind Best Starts For Kids in the general election. The council authorized its endorsement of a property tax levy supporting Best Starts by a 5-2 vote at its regular meeting Monday night. The King County program is an initiative to invest public funds in health prevention and intervention programs for children and young adults. King County Proposition 1, if approved by voters on Nov. 3, would instate a six-year property tax at a rate of 14 cents or less per $1,000 of assessed value, with allowances for the rate to increase up to 3 percent per year. Half of the funding would be dedicated to children 5 and younger and 35 percent to 5- to 24-year-olds. Ten percent would be used for community programs such as affordable housing and 5 percent would be used for data collection and analysis of all Best Starts programs. Barb de Michele, the program director of the Issaquah Schools Foundation’s Healthy Youth Initiative,

SEE SAMMAMISH, 8

SEE BEST STARTS, 3

Discover premier retirement living at University House Issaquah Please call (425) 200-0331 to schedule a personal visit. 22975 SE Black Nugget Road, Issaquah, WA 98029

eraliving.com


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter, October 23, 2015 by Sound Publishing - Issuu