The Issaquah Press – News, Sports, Classifieds in Issaquah, WA

Local

Plan to upgrade East Lake Sammamish Trail proceeds

King County has applied for a city permit to upgrade the East Lake Sammamish Trail through Issaquah. The city has notified nearby property owners.

Plans to improve the interim trail would call for paving the gravel trail and increasing the width to 12 feet of asphalt, plus gravel shoulders on both sides.

Because the project could impact wetlands, the plans call for wetlands to be restored in Lake Sammamish State Park to offset the construction.

The county plans to conduct the Issaquah improvements in two phases. The initial phase calls for the second from Northwest Gilman Boulevard to 56th Avenue Northwest, plus the wetland work in the state park. The final phase includes 56th Avenue Northwest to Southeast 43rd Way.

The trail is located within the trail corridor along the former Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, from Northwest Gilman Boulevard northward along Lake Sammamish to the city line.

Comment on the project by Sept. 10. Send comments to city Senior Planner Marion O’Brien at P.O. Box 1307, Issaquah, WA 98027, or e-mail mariono@ci.issaquah.wa.us.

Sports

Liberty beats Skyline 39-34 in season opener

NEW — 9:33 a.m. Sept. 6, 2010

The Liberty High School Patriots showed they could still stand up against the most dominant of opponents Sept. 3.

As the home crowd stood, chanting “We are one! We are one!” they let out a deafening roar of jubilation as time expired.

The Patriots, ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 3A, beat Skyline High School, which is defending three consecutive 4A state championships, 39-34 in front of a packed house at Liberty.

“It was great,” Liberty coach Steve Valach said after the game. “Our fans are so much a part of it.”

Facing tough odds is not new to the Patriots — they overcame great adversity in the 2009 season to play in the state title game. This time, the team faced the Skyline game with the intensity and focus it learned to play with last year, Valach said. And they didn’t let a few bumps in the road get to them in the nonleague season opener.

“There was some magic tonight, for sure,” Valach said.

Schools

Maywood Middle School evacuated after power outage, smoke

NEW — 11:05 a.m. Sept. 3, 2010

Maywood Middle School students had an unexpected evacuation Friday morning.

At about 9 a.m., the school’s power went out. Shortly after, students and staff members reported smelling smoke and immediately evacuated the building, according to an e-mail Principal Jason Morse sent to parents.

King County Fire District 25 responded to the emergency call and found a faulty motor in the heating and cooling system had burned out because of the power outage. Firefighters evaluated the motor and allowed students and staff members to re-enter the building at about 10 a.m.