Year in Review: Life, growth and tragedies of 2011

As 2011 sunsets into a new year and many toast to the coming opportunities, it also gives room to reflect on what Issaquah and Sammamish have accomplished, what tragedies they’ve overcome and what they’ve built this past year. Here is a recap of events in 2011.

January

– After months of controversy over closing Timberlake Park to dogs, Issaquah decided to quietly allow the pooches to return on leash.

– Families in the Lake Washington School District, which serves Sammamish residents, approved a $65 million tax levy.

February

– The community surrounded the Issaquah lacrosse team with support after one of its players, 18-year-old Tyler Lucas, died in a car crash on I-405.

– The 228th Street Sammamish tree socks got a $3,000 grant to get new spring colors. The towering stumps got new brightly-colored decorations.

– When a UHaul truck, filled with all of one man’s earthly possessions, was stolen from a hotel in Issaquah, he organized a community crime fighting website. Police soon recovered the truck, and several months later were able to track down most of his possessions.

March

– Sammamish City Council voted to approve removing the 32nd Street barricade. A controversy for almost three decades, the city presented the recommendation in January.

– Former reporter Stacy Goodman was selected to replace Maureen McCarry on Issaquah’s City Council. McCarry resigned two months earlier, after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

– Nashi, Cougar Mountain Zoo’s only cougar at the time, died at age 17. The zoo has since acquired three cougar cubs.

– Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger agreed to reconsider the city’s partnership with King County Animal Control, after off-leash problems began to plague the Evans Neighborhood.

April

– Sammamish residents challenged plans to expand a Muslim prayer center parking lot, saying it would cause traffic problems and that the area was inappropriate for the center.

– A delicate remodel was completed on the historic First Stage Theatre on Front Street, Issaquah.

– The Issaquah Salmon Hatchery released its first group of rare Kokanee Salmon to Jacobs Creek in Issaquah.

– Two Issaquah middle-schoolers were charged with allegedly harassing a classmate through Facebook.

May

– Jose Enciso won business person of the year award for how he’s turned XXX Rootbeer into a thriving restaurant with a strong hot-rod community.

– Gov. Chris Gregoire approved plans to charge a $30 fee at Washington State Parks, including Lake Sammamish. The hope was to raise enough money to cover the park systems entire budget. Its expected to miss that mark by millions.

– Evergreen Christian Fellowship in Sammamish hosted a drive-in Easter service, that allowed people to see the Easter story from their cars.

June

– Families in the Issaquah School District raised enough money, $500,000, to buy their elementary students new science curriculum. The fundraiser was a massive undertaking from the Issaquah Schools Foundation after the district learned mid-year cuts would keep them from installing all of the lesson plans.

– Darigold was ordered to pay $60,000 to clean up Issaquah Creek after a 2009 ammonia spill. It was a unusual case because the federal government brought charges against the organization.

July

– Swedish Hospital opened a 55,000 square foot facility in the Issaquah Highlands complete with an emergency room, operating rooms, in-patient care and a full-fledged oncology department.

– Sammamish actor Riley Griffiths, 14, starred in a major role in the Hollywood film “Super 8.”

August

– Issaquah High School celebrated the completion of its rebuild with the performing arts wing, which included a 600-person theater.

– Sammamish’s Challenge Day Race celebrated the 30th year it hosted a soapbox derby created to give physically challenged kids a chance to participate in a competitive setting.

– The YWCA Family Village in Issaquah opened to its first tenants. The affordable housing units cater to families who make below the median income.

September

– Police shot and killed a 51-year-old man after he allegedly walked through downtown pointing rifles menacingly at pedestrians. He eventually made his way to Clark Elementary, where he died in a shootout with police.

– Sammamish City Council decided to place a moratorium on marijuana gardens until the state clarifies laws about the drugs.

October

– After the biggest effort from volunteers in Sammamish’s history, the city opened the Evans Creek Preserve, a 180-acre wilderness park.

– Complete with a cistern for water runoff and solar panels Issaquah’s new fire station opened as the most environmentally sensitive firehouse in the nation.

November

– Sammamish police were able to collect enough evidence to arrest two men who they allege were responsible for hundreds of Eastside home burglaries. Police say the men went door-to-door pretending to be tree trimmers.

– The Occupy movement came to Sammamish with about a 100 local protesters showing their support.

December

– The Rowley Redevelopment Agreement was ratified at a City Council meeting, which will allow the developer to build 150-foot-high, mixed-use buildings on the valley floor in Issaquah.

– Issaquah’s City Council rejected a request from a major Issaquah developer for $3 million to develop the business district.

Sammamish was marked by a year of fiber art with the socks that covered these dead trees on 228th. In December the trees were finally cut down, ending the debate. CONTRIBUTED

Jose Enciso was named Issaquah’s businessman of the year after successfully turning XXX Rootbeer into one of the most well-known restaurants in the city. BY CELESTE GRACEY