Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter, December 18, 2015

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News

Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH

Barricade fails to open for ambulance -Page 2-

Opinion

WWW.ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2015

Proceeding with caution

Council committee recommends renewing Issaquah Valley Seniors contract, with stiff conditions

Inslee looks to Paris for carbon policy -Page 4-

BY DANIEL NASH ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER

Sports

Kirsch a leader on the gridiron -Page 6-

Community

Photos courtesy of Athletes for Kids

Ivory Randle (left), of Skyline High School, with Rey Daoed (right) from Pine Lake Middle School, and former Seahawk Sidney Rice at the Nov. 29 Seattle Seahawks game.

Legion of Youth fly with Hawks BY MEGAN CAMPBELL ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER

Toys for Tots brings in big haul -Page 7-

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For 13-year-old Rey Daoed, “just being me is tough.” Daoed, of Sammamish, is autistic and speaks through his iPad. He dreams of going to college to become a novelist and aspires to change others’ perspective of him and people like him. So being picked to attend the Nov. 29 Seattle Seahawks game, to meet former wide receiver Sidney Rice and to hear how loud Hawks fans can roar was “truly special,” he said. And to top it off the Seahawks won that game 39-30. Daoed was one of 24 students with Athletes for Kids, a local nonprofit, to participate in the Legion of Youth powered by Boeing program. The program, created

through a partnership between the Seahawks and Boeing in 2014, gives young people within the state a “unique opportunity” to attend a game and meet a Seahawk, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes Ray Conner said in a statement. Through local organizations that work the youth, Legion of Youth recognizes children who face challenges in their lives and students who are committed to their education and active in their communities. “Empowering local youth is part of our long-standing commitment to give back to the community where our employees live and work,” Conner said. Athletes for Kids, just one of the many organizations to participate in Legion of Youth, gives children with special needs a role

model and plants the seeds for a lifelong friendship, founder and president Ken Moscaret said. The nonprofit pairs athletes from nine high schools throughout the Eastside, including Sammamish, Issaquah and Bellevue. This was the first time Athletes for Kids was chosen for the Legion of Youth program. For the Nov. 29 Seahawks game, Daoed and other participants each received three additional tickets, which included access to pregame festivities, where he met Rice and got an autograph. Daoed’s mentor, soccer player Ivory Randle from Skyline High School, was also chosen for the Legion of Youth program. Daoed said Randle has helped him become more open to people, and that being part of Athletes for Kids has opened up his world.

A committee of Issaquah city councilors are leaning toward continuing their contract with the managers of the city’s troubled senior center on Dec. 21. But the organization, Issaquah Valley Seniors, will have to make some significant changes to benefit its members’ voting rights, they said. For the better part of 2015, the Issaquah Senior Center has been the subject of a public dispute between management and members who say they were banned for questioning the center’s finances. Councilors began publicly questioning the city’s relationship with the center at the start of budget considerations in October and, earlier this month, Issaquah Valley Seniors SEE SENIORS, 3

Pedestrian Park gets a facelift BY DANIEL NASH ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER

Downtown Issaquah Association staff and city officials celebrated a facelift of Pedestrian Park at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday. Work was recently completed on the small park located behind the Wold building, where it connects the Sunset Way corridor to the Issaquah Depot Museum. A small patch of grass in the park was paved with concrete and walking barriers were removed, while LED lights and seating were added. The renovation was one of three projects discussed by a city task force in July as a means to “enhance Olde Town vitality” through community gathering spaces. Other locations were the historic Shell Station and the Issaquah Depot Museum.

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