World record has photographer seeing red
July 27, 2010
Redheads set a world record on Redheads and More Redheads Day at Skyline High School. By Laura Geggel
World record holders often display some type of quirky talent, and the redheads gathering in Sammamish were no exception.
After all, it is an innate talent to carry two copies of a recessive gene on chromosome 16. These genes cause a change in the MC1R protein, which regulates skin and hair color.
“I love being a redhead,” Jennifer Phillips, of Mukilteo, said. “It’s fun to see everyone together at one time.”
Phillips and 900 other natural redheads convened at Skyline High School’s football field July 17 to set a Guinness World Record of the most redheads photographed in one location. So many redheads participated that they smashed the current record of 250 by more than threefold.
Sammamish photographer Anne Lindsay spearheaded the event. Her daughter, husband and dog have red hair, and she joined the bandwagon with a handy bottle of hair dye.
Issaquah police invite community to celebrate National Night Out
July 27, 2010
Trevor Thompson, 6 (left), draws the name of a raffle prize winner from a basket held by Issaquah police officer Scott Trial on Aug. 5, 2009, during National Night Out at Issaquah City Hall. By Greg Farrar
Ever wonder who wears our city and county police uniforms?
Well, head down to Issaquah City Hall or the Maple Hills Community Center between 5 and 7 p.m. Aug. 3 and you can find out – even better, our men and women in uniform will cook up free hot dogs.
“It is something our officers have come to look forward to, barbecuing and meeting the public,” Sgt. Scott Trial said. “It is a really important partnership between the citizens of Issaquah, the business community and the police department to solve crime and know what to look for in suspicious activities.”
This year marks the 27th annual National Night Out, a night designed to encourage residents in cities and counties throughout the nation to come out and meet each other and local law enforcement officers to find ways to fight crime and keep their communities safe.
Locals hit trails in annual Hike-a-Thon
July 27, 2010
The only thing better than hiking for exercise is hiking for a worthy cause.
Two local women are participating in the seventh annual Hike-a-Thon, a monthlong benefit put on by the Washington Trails Association each year.
Each registered hiker collects donations and sponsorships for the association throughout July and then, beginning Aug. 1, spends the entire month hiking Washington’s beautiful trails.
Every dollar collected goes toward the maintenance of local trails, as well as creating new trails across the state.
About 60 hikers have registered thus far, including Helen Owen, of Issaquah, and Rosie Sgrosso, of Newcastle.
Just Between Friends hosts consignment shopping event
July 27, 2010
What started as a local event by two mothers in Tulsa, Okla., designed to help other mothers in need, has gone national with Issaquah hosting its own event.
Nina Hawley, Issaquah organizer for the past two years, said Just Between Friends is a large children’s consignment event where families sign up as consignors, tag all of their items, setting their own prices and earning up to 70 percent. In return, other families can save a bundle on everything they need for their families.
Hawley said the event has gotten bigger each time they’ve held it in Issaquah.
Church hosts summer campfire series
July 27, 2010
On hot summer evenings, nothing quite beats a good campfire with plenty of food, fun and singing.
This summer, Our Savior Lutheran Church is putting on the Midweek Community Campfire Series. The campfires are held every Wednesday night at 6 p.m. through Aug. 18 beside the lake at Lake Sammamish State Park.
The church invites all members of the community to join them. There will be hotdogs, s’mores and worship songs at every service.
Associate Pastor Ryan Fletcher said he hopes that the campfires will attract members of the church and nonchurch members alike.
Aegis resident lived the adventure before it was a Navy slogan
July 20, 2010
Doris Gross taught newly enlisted prospective Navy pilots the basics of flying skills and aircraft functions as a link instructor in World War II. Afterward, she eventually became the first woman to be national vice commander of the American Legion. By Kirsten Johnson
For local Aegis Living resident Doris Gross, life took off in 1941. During that year, as a 20-year-old single woman, she decided to join the Navy.
While she had grown up in Washington state, Gross was sent to serve in the sweltering heat of Corpus Christi, Texas.
“It was a little hot,” she said. “But I enjoyed it down there.”
As an eager young woman, she turned to the Navy looking for new people and new experiences.
“Texas sounded exciting,” she said. “I was pretty young and it was a different area. It was nice meeting new people and to be somewhere else.”
“She had two brothers who were overseas serving, so she decided to serve too,” said Leslye Bergan, one of Gross’s two daughters. Read more
Shepherd of the Hills welcomes new pastor
July 20, 2010
The Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church has a new pastor after a year and a half of searching. The Rev. Drahus Oslik is a young and enthusiastic man, excited to bring his passion for ministry to Issaquah.
The Rev. Drahus Oslik is taking over as head pastor at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. ‘I'm absolutely excited to be here,’ he said. By Paige Collins
His goals for the new ministry are to use the congregation’s energy to its fullest, to use his previous experience to bring new ideas and to encourage members to reach out to the community.
Oslik’s first service at Shepherd of the Hills was June 27 and he said he came away from it amazed by the energy of the congregation.
“I couldn’t have wished for a better first morning,” he said.
The church had been without an official pastor since November 2008. The process of finding the right one included the formation of a call committee, determination of the congregation’s priorities and multiple interviews with possible candidates, said Don Benson, a call committee member.
The church’s priorities as determined by the committee were preaching and teaching, the formation of youth ministries and community outreach, Benson said. Read more
Teen wins first trails club scholarship
July 20, 2010
Skyline High School graduate Miles Burns is the first winner of the Issaquah Alps Trails Club scholarship of $1,000. The scholarship is in honor of Bill Longwell, a founding member of the club, which began in 1979.
Miles Burns
The 10 applicants for the scholarship were each evaluated on their essay, The Significance of the Issaquah Alps, as well as basic academic information, according to Doug Simpson, vice president of the club.
The three runner-ups— Jaron Kent-Tobias and Rachel Grasso, of Skyline, and Jenna Lambdin, of Issaquah High School — each received $100.
CSI: Issaquah
July 13, 2010
Ninth-graders Mark Taylor, Anders Gelle and Jordan Lederman (from left) review the crime scene and hypothesize what may have happened to the victim inside the science laboratory at the first weeklong summer forensics workshop at Skyline High School. By Chantelle Lusebrink
Class transforms students into super sleuths
Entering a school science laboratory July 1, students stumbled upon a gruesome scene at Skyline High School.
A man was found lying face down on the ground near a microscope table. He had stab wounds in his back and a knife was just feet away.
But instead of calling 911, students began processing the scene.
The mock crime scene was part of the first weeklong summer Crime Scene Investigation and Forensics Workshop, designed to engage middle and high school students.
“It explores the use of Internet tools, basic math and science at variety of levels. It lets the kids go as far as they want,” teacher Chuck Krieble, a retired Redmond police commander, said. “I’m not a rocket scientist, but some of these kids are, and they enjoy it.”
The workshop developed from Krieble’s popular criminology classes at Skyline, which he began in 2004. The classes for high school students cover all facets of the criminal justice system, from police to forensics to court trials.
“It’s a very broad-based program,” he said. “It appeals to students on a variety of levels.”
Some students who are taking advanced level sciences “like to analyze the blood spatter,” he added. “Other students are the types that like to get their hands dirty, digging in the soil and taking casts.” Read more
Mr. Ritzer goes to Washington
July 13, 2010
Issaquah teacher picked for C-SPAN program
Issaquah High School teacher Jeremy Ritzer headed to Washington, D.C., for part of summer break.
Ritzer was among 30 teachers from across the nation invited to attend C-SPAN Classroom’s 2010 Summer Educators’ Conference. The July 12-13 conference was primarily aimed at teachers of sixth- through 12th-grade students who teach civics, social studies, history and media studies classes.
Ritzer teaches Advanced Placement U.S. government, U.S. history and sociology.
C-SPAN Classroom is a free membership service dedicated to supporting educators’ use of its programming and websites in their classes or for research. Since its inception in 1987, the classroom program has reached more than a million students.
At the summer conference, Ritzer and his peers will learn how to use C-SPAN Classroom’s resources to enhance their students’ education, including learning to access and search more than 150,000 hours of archived video dating back to the late 1980s, C-SPAN Education Coordinator Adrienne Hoar said.
There are also opportunities to participate in the Teacher Fellowship Program, C-SPAN’s mission, programming and event coverage.
Teachers were also scheduled to meet Amy Walter, editor of National Journal’s The Hotline, during her guest speaker presentation July 12.
C-SPAN received more than 100 applications for this year’s conference — the most the organization has ever seen, spokeswoman Tamara Robinson said.
Teachers’ conference fees, and travel and lodging expenses, are sponsored by C-SPAN.
Chantelle Lusebrink: 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.
