County reviewing trends in gun violence
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FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2019
Two arrested after park shooting; Home shooting investigated Two were injured at Crossroads park incident; house fired at later. By Ashley Hiruko ahiruko@soundpublishing.com
Bellevue police have made arrests for one of two shootings
that happened within hours of each other over the weekend on June 23. Witness and the victim descriptions led detectives to arrest two Bellevue suspects, both male, age 22 and 19, after a shooting at Crossroads Park early Sunday. The 22-year-old suspect was arrested on assault charges and the 19-year-old arrested for
rendering criminal assistance. Police learned of the Crossroads Park shooting after two people with gunshot wounds showed up at Overlake Hospital just after midnight. The victims, 18 and 20, told investigators they were sitting in their car at the park when another car pulled up. They began yelling at each other and the dispute
escalated to physical violence. The victims had wounds on their lower extremities, said Meeghan Black, spokeswoman for the Bellevue Police Department. A second shooting happened at 1:30 a.m., in the 100 block of 109th Avenue Southeast, when someone opened fire on a home while two people were sleeping. Bellevue police managed to
5,000 wedding cakes, love and a secret recipe Cake creator hopes to get the recipe in the hands of brides around the region. By Ashley Hiruko ahiruko@soundpublishing.com
In baking, it’s all about the numbers. Sharon and Dallas Graham’s business endeavors can be summed up as: 38 years, 5,000 wedding cakes and one secret recipe. But digging beneath the layers (of cake), it’s a little more complicated than that. For years the couple worked together to foster a successful catering and cake business from 1974 to 2012. Their specialty was a white chocolate frosting that covered their cakes. It was Sharon’s own concoction and so tasty, the couple said, that people would offer payment in exchange for the recipe. Sharon, however, would share the recipe with no one. She wouldn’t give into friends or family’s requests either. Not even her husband knew how to whip up a batch of the special frosting. Today, seven years after retiring from the business, the secret is finally out.
PHOTO COURTESY/SHARON GRAHAM
The first cake
REPORTER BELLEVUE
Congregations for the Homeless raise more than $600,000 for shelter improvements The shelter is also working to provide year-round service.
The first cake Sharon made shown on a Polaroid picture. It was made for a friend from church and used a buttercream frosting.
As a young mother of four, Sharon began taking classes on cake decorating so she could embellish cakes for special celebrations. She combined what she learned on the basics of cake decorating with what she already knew about achieving a moist cake. Then she thought maybe she could harness her baking to generate some extra income by selling wedding cakes. Encouragement came from her instructor, who assured her that a wedding cake is just many cakes
safely get the adults out from the home and confirmed that an unknown suspect had shot at the home multiple times. There were no injuries as a result of that shooting. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers or submit a tip online.
ASHLEY HIRUKO/STAFF PHOTO
Sharon and Dallas Graham in their Bellevue home, where they ran their cake and catering business out from. Sharon holds a cookbook she created.
put together. “It was very fulfilling when you get everything done and put together and it turned out right, but also very stressful,” Sharon said. With $1,000, Sharon bought cake pans, parchment paper and other supplies. In August 1974 in Bellevue, Sharon created her first wedding cake. The dessert was covered in swags and frosting
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roses — a wedding cake trend at the time. And Sharon used a buttercream frosting recipe she picked up from her mother. The business grew slowly at first, Sharon said. Cake orders came in here and there for birthdays and anniversary celebrations. But word began to spread and more orders came in for See CAKE, Page 9
Construction for improvements to homeless shelter services in Bellevue is expected to begin this summer. At the June 17 extended council study session, the Bellevue City Council received an update on the progress that Congregations for the Homeless has made on its goal to fund building improvements to provide shelter services at Lincoln Center on 116th Avenue Northeast. David Bowling, executive director for Congregations for the Homeless (CFH), said that See SHELTER, Page 6
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