309: freed house

Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Comprehensive Coverage Sammamish Review Historic farmhouse becomes casualty of the recession

In a city that wasn’t yet 10 years old, the imminent death of a 114-year-old

farmhouse pulled at the heartstrings of Sammamish Review readers in 2009. “I hope it’s not too late for us to realize that there is a need to remember our roots,

and to save what little remains of the history of our city,” one reader wrote in July. The Freed House is a relic of what Sammamish used to be; the farmland that was

there before suburban subdivisions, strip malls and Friday night high school football games.

The Review’s coverage offered context to the debate and rounded out the dialogue between those who clung tightly to their pocket books, those who romanticized a symbol of the area’s rural past, and the elected officials caught in between.

The Review tracked the ill-fated Freed House as it underwent a political meat grinder: Were old things valuable merely because they’re old? Should hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars fund the rescue of a building in deep disrepair? Who would really use the facility? Who would pay to operate it and maintain it?

So far, the Sammamish City Council, in a position that mirrors one taken by the Review’s editorial page, has opted to not pour money into saving the structure. Pressure from local activists prompted the city to set aside funds for an historical society, which is now holding regular meetings about future efforts to honor the area’s history.

Between April 2009 and March 2010, the Review covered every council discussion on the Freed House, from regular meetings to an informal discussion at a retreat 75 miles away from town. We coupled our print coverage with a Web video. We ran numerous letters to the editor from people who wanted to either save or tear down the building. We ran a two-part white paper from a local historian on the inhabitants of the Freed House and how the building came to be vacant and unused today. And we offered our own opinion that the City Council shouldn’t spend a dime on saving the building until it re-examines the logic behind funding the project.

By J.B. Wogan

At the start of the Eastside Fire& Rescue presentation, Fire ChiefLee Soptich put out a disclaimer:“We are not here tonight to sellyou on a boat.”

Yet, in a way, that’s exactlywhat the fire organization did.

Firefighter Dana Shutter saidhe acknowledged that resources

werebecomingmore finiteand theremight notbe room inthe budgetfor buying aboat. None-theless,there aresome good

arguments for having one, hesaid.

Every winter there is at least

one storm that causes severeflooding.

“Our only capabilities at thistime is for techs to wade, swim oruse a boogie board,” Shutter said.In other words, EFR rescue teamshave to enter the water, raisingthe level of risk, he explained.

And when it comes to rescu-ing victims, “The best that wecan give them at this point is ahelmet and a life vest and movethem as fast as we can.”

Both the rescuer and the vic-tim are vulnerable to hypother-mia under those circumstances,Shutter said.

In January, when the last slateof flooding hit, EFR borrowed aboat from a community member,Shutter said.

A boat would allow for theEFR’s special swiftwater team toremove victims from the water

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EighthGrade

Author

community page 16

High SchoolGraduations

Eastlake page 14Skyline page 15

June 17, 2009

Locally ownedFounded 1992

50 cents

By J.B. Wogan

Virginia Kuhn looked long-ingly at the old growth timberbuilding, bolstered by cementblocks, surrounded by a bentmetal fence, the paint chippingmore every year.

She said she rememberedseeing it for the first time in1985, when she and her hus-band were driving into the city.The house was on the Freedfarmstead, its kitchen andporch still intact at that time –both were lopped off when itmoved to its present location on212th Avenue near Southeast20th Street. A barn and 4,000square-foot chicken coop werealso on the farmstead, and weresubsequently discarded.

What struck Kuhn, founder ofthe Sammamish HeritageSociety, immediately about the

house was its elegance, she said.“It caught my attention. I’ve

always had an interest in oldbuildings and history,” Kuhnsaid.

The 114-year-old building isstuck in limbo, with some CityCouncil members saying they

fear that relocating and renovat-ing it would create a “blackhole” of city tax dollar spending.On the other side is a slate ofdefenders including Kuhn, theSammamish Chamber ofCommerce, and CityCouncilwoman Michele Pettiti,

who have been vocal in theirsupport of preserving the house.

“We should save this. It’simportant,” Kuhn said.

Kuhn recalled visiting hergreat grandmother’s home as a2-year-old girl in Alliance, Ohio,a two-story house on a two-acreproperty.

“That began a long-time loveaffair with old buildings,” shesaid.

The Freed House evokes asense of nostalgia for Kuhn,who says the building has valueto all members of the communi-ty as a marker of the area’sidentity and history.

In an effort to save the FreedHouse from being sold or torndown, Kuhn founded theSammamish Heritage Society in1999. The building is the reason

Heritage society stands upfor saving the Freed House

Photo by J.B. Wogan

Virginia Kuhn says the Freed House can be saved and put to good use.

See FREED,

“We should save this. It’simportant.”

– Virginia Kuhn, Sammamish Heritage

Society –

By J.B. Wogan

It’s a top issue for the CityCouncil, the one element of lastyear’s failed parks bond that eventhe critics said they supported.And now, with an estimated $10million saved through lower-than-expected construction pro-jects, the city might have thefunds to pay for a teen recreationcenter.

“I feel a little bit of a reliefvalve,” City Manager Ben Yazicisaid, referring to roughly $10 mil-lion saved from various construc-tion projects in the first half of2009. The bids on East LakeSammamish Parkway and 244thAvenue, plus a $2.2 million unex-pected state grant, plus $3.5 mil-lion in unexpected federal stimu-lus funds, have generated a new

twist on city finance discussions:Is there enough to get a teenrecreation center?

Yazici did not suggest to theCity Council how to use theunexpected funds and did notmention a teen recreation centerin his June 9 report. He said thatany use would be up to the coun-cil’s discretion.

“It’s a good problem to solve,”Yazici said.

Yazici did warn that themoney was one-time funding,not something that could sustainthe year-to-year operating andmaintenance expenses of a newbuilding.

The parks bond that failed inNovember 2008 included fundingto buy the current Sammamish

Cheap roads maylead to teen center

See TEEN, Page 2

EFR asks for a boat

Lee Soptich

See BOAT, Page 5

Sammamish has a historicalsociety, she said.

Her goal had been to salvagethe entire Freed farmstead,which did not happen, but atleast the building was saved – orso she thought.

At the June 9 meeting, CityCouncilwomen Kathy Huckabayand Nancy Whitten voiced

strong reluc-tance to votein favor ofmoving thehouse unlessother partiesstep forwardand commitnon-taxpayer

funding tothe pro-ject.

CityCouncil-man MarkCrosscalled intoquestionspendingmoney onthe FreedHouserelocationas early asApril, say-ing his pri-

ority was to find funding forestablishing a teen recreationcenter in the city.

In spite of pleas from Kuhnand others, Cross has not backedaway from his original line ofreasoning.

“This would take a lot ofenergy,” Cross said at the June 9City Council meeting. He addedthat the council should notmake a decision about the Freed

House in isolation – it shouldconsider how funding the housewould impact other projects.

“The future is leaner eachyear. I want to make sure thatwe’re headed toward a teen cen-ter,” Cross said.

The City Council voted onthe Freed House and the rest of

the lower SammamishCommons Park project at 6:30p.m. June 16 at City Hall.

Reporter J.B. Wogan can bereached at 392-6434, ext. 247, [email protected]. To com-ment on this story, visitwww.SammamishReview.com.

2 • June 17, 2009 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

Future uses of the

Freed House

City Councilwoman KathyHuckabay has repeatedly ques-tioned the rationale of savingthe historic Freed House if thecity does not know who woulduse the building and how.

But some individuals haveanswered Huckabay’s call, say-ing they would commit theirtime and money to saving thebuilding.

Joe McConnell, a formermember of the ArtsCommission, sent the CityCouncil aletter offer-ing to lead agroup of vol-unteers toclean upand restorethe FreedHouse.

City Councilwoman NancyWhitten said she would donatea year’s worth of her CityCouncil salary — $10,200 – tothe fundraising effort. Parksand Recreation CommissionerHank Klein also said he woulddonate to the cause, too.

As for potential uses, HelenBaxter, co-president of theSammamish Heritage Society,addressed the City CouncilJune 2, proposing a variety ofoptions. She suggested turningthe house into a small muse-

um, an exhibition space forlocal artists, a small café orbakery, a professional officespace or a venue for specialcelebrations such as weddings.

Baxter said the buildingcould also be an educationalspace for local school childrento take field trips and learnabout the history of their city.

She pointed out that boththe Sammamish HeritageSociety and the SammamishChamber of Commerce havetold the council they would usethe building.

Huckabay addressed theissue again at the June 9 City

Council meet-ing, sayingshe wanted amore definitecommitmentfrom fundingsources otherthan the city.Huckabay

said private residents or non-profits would need to raisehundreds of thousands of dol-lars, something close to the$238,000 the city is scheduledto commit as part of theSammamish Commons Parkimprovements this summer.

“I’m not interested in mov-ing it unless we have somepledges first,” she said. “Untilwe see some sort of a plan,along with some real financialpledges from the community, Ican’t vote in favor of moving it.”

FreedContinued from Page 1

“The future isleaner eachyear. I wantto make sure

that we’reheaded

toward a teencenter.”

– Mark Cross, City Council –

Public Library from the KingCounty Library System and turnit into a teen recreation center. Inthat scenario, the city wouldhave partnered with theSammamish Boys and Girls Club,which had agreed to occupy andrun the facility. The overall bonddid receive a 56.5 percent majori-ty vote, but not enough (60 per-cent or higher) to pass a bond.

Seven months later, CityCouncilman Mark Cross said hethinks some portion of the savedfunds should be directed towardgetting a teen recreation center.

“I’m very pleased that we’vebeen able toget grantsfrom differentdirections thathelp us saveour local taxdollars,” Crosssaid. “I don’twant to spendit all, but I dowant to spendsome portion of it to pay for alocal teen center.”

Cross said he was not weddedto a specific plan of how to bringa teen center to the city – it couldbe by buying the current librarybuilding or it could be by build-ing a new structure altogether.

“It could be either one, but weneed to have some focus and weneed to have some staff energyaround it,” Cross said. “It justseems to slide from year to yearto year.”

City Councilwoman KathyHuckabay said she is also inter-ested in how the saved moneycould impact plans to build ateen recreation center.

“My goal is that we have a

civic/teen center in the TownCenter Commons area,”Huckabay said in an interviewwith the Sammamish Review.She said she was concerned thatother scheduled projects wereexpenses that would take fundingaway from a recreation center. “Idon’t think we’re going to have alot of opportunity to do thistwice.”

Huckabay has requested thatFinance Director Lyman Howardreport to the council with anupdate about city finances andhow the saved funds have affect-ed the city’s long-term budgetoutlook.

Howard gave a short presenta-tion to the council June 15,though it did not include adetailed analysis of how this

year’s revenuesand expenseswould affect thebudget five orsix years intothe future.

Howard hastold the councilin past FinanceDepartmentquarterly

reports that the city budget is dueto run into a problem by 2015 —spending would outstrip incomeat that point, he said.

Howard’s term for that budgetproblem is the “crossover point.”He told the Sammamish Reviewthat he expected investing in anew building — like a recreationcenter — would likely hasten thecrossover point, unless someoneother than the city assumed thecost of paying to operate andmaintain the building.


TeenContinued from Page 1

“I don’t think we’regoing to have a lot ofopportunity to do this

twice.”– Kathy Huckabay, Councilwoman –

“I’m not interested inmoving it unless we

have some pledges first.”– Kathy Huckabay, Councilwoman –

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art fromrecycledmaterials

community page 10

LocalLacrosse

Wins

Sports page 18

June 24, 2009

Locally ownedFounded 1992

50 cents

ContributedJeffrey Martin, 12, snagged a six-pound smallmouth bass from a boat on Pine Lake June 14.

The one that didn’t get away

By J.B. Wogan

Stephanie Murphy would-n’t be too worried if KingCounty Metro cuts the 216 busroute.

She said she often uses the218 commuter route, whichruns from the IssaquahHighlands to downtownSeattle, and that route wouldbe her backup plan if the 216stopped running.

“I ride the 216 once in awhile, but I normally ride the218. Even if it’s a little fartheraway it’s worth it to drive thefour miles,” she said.

Murphy and other ridersmight need to make those

Sammamish bus routes in peril

Photo by Lauren McLaughlin

Some officials fear the 216 bus route may be cut.See BUS, Page 2

By J.B. Wogan

City Councilwoman MichelePetitti made one last effort toconvince her fellow councilmembers to fund the 114-year-oldFreed house’s relocation.

“You’ve essentially pulled therug out from any fundraisingplan that could have gone for-ward,” she said. “If it doesn’t goforward, this is the end of theFreed House.”

But neither Petitti, nor roughly$6,000 in community-pledgeddonations, nor impassioned pleasfrom the Sammamish HeritageSociety was enough to acquirethe decisive fourth vote.

The City Council voted 4-3against funding to move theFreed House to the lowerSammamish Commons.

The house, owned by the city,was moved from its original loca-tion and has been sitting at theintersection of 212th Avenue andSoutheast 20th Street. The June16 decision has left the farm-house in limbo.

City Councilman Jack Barryand Mayor Don Gerend votedwith Petitti to move the house,with the ultimate hope that acombination of private and pub-lic donations would help restorethe building once it had a founda-tion, new roof, and gutters.

Barry said he had spoken withabout a dozen community mem-bers in the last week who saidthey would volunteer either timeor money to the project.

“You know where I stand. It’snot easy, but I think it willbecome easy if it becomes a col-lective effort,” Barry said.

FreedHouserejected

See FREED, Page 3

By J.B. Wogan

Higher taxes, less direct con-tact with the governing body andless say in how the body operates— those were some of the issuesthat caused residents inSammamish to form its own city10 years ago. And yet, fire protec-tion advocates are now pushingfor a regional fire protectionagency model that might resultin everything Sammamish resi-dents sought to avoid.

Two partners of Eastside Fire& Rescue, which includesSammamish, are exploring theoption of forming a regional fireauthority with an independenttaxing authority.

The city is outside the bordersof those partners — Fire Districts10 and 38. Sammamish officialssay they want no part of such anentity.

“We haven’t seen any informa-tion that it’s going to improve thequality of service for our resi-dents,” Sammamish CityCouncilman Jack Barry said.Barry sits on the Eastside Fire &Rescue board of directors as oneof two Sammamish representa-tives.

“The only thing we hear, atbest, is that bigger is better. Wedon’t necessarily subscribe tothat,” Barry said.

“The argument that they use isthat they can be more efficientand that they can share resourcesbetter,” Sammamish CityCouncilman Lee Fellinge said.Fellinge is Sammamish’s other

Officialsopposenew fireauthority

See AUTHORITY, Page 3

SAMMAMISH REVIEW June 24, 2009 • 3

Take a peek... I-90 traffic cameras

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CorrectionThe June 17 story

“Sammamish Historic Societystands up for the Freed House”lists an inaccurate amount forCity Councilwoman NancyWhitten’s proposed donation.Whitten offered to contribute onemonth’s salary, or $850, to a poolof donations that would help savethe Freed House.

representative on EFR’s board ofdirectors. “You can accomplishthe same thing through coopera-tive agreements.”

Fellinge added that he is leeryof potential conflict-of-interestsituations in a regional fireauthority.

“The quality of the governancetends not to be as good. What youget as a governing body is fire-fighters. There’s nothing wrongwith firefighters, but there’s aconflict of interest,” Fellinge said,adding that firefighters in govern-ing roles would have the dubiousresponsibility of approvingsalaries for themselves and theirpeers.

“It wouldn’t matter if you weresetting that up for fire or anyother service that you can imag-ine,” Fellinge said.

At the June 9 board of direc-

tors meeting, Fellinge reiteratedto his fellow board members thatSammamish is not interested inbecoming part of a regional fireauthority or any other kind ofexpanded fire agency.

Formal partnerships and theformation of a regional fireauthority are different frommutual aid agreements, whichEFR currently has in place withsurrounding fire agencies such asthe Fall City and SnoqualmiePass fire departments. EFR FireChief Lee Soptich reported to theboard of directors June 9 that heis also pursuing an equipment-sharing arrangement with MercerIsland City Fire Department.

“Sammamish taxpayers wouldsee a significant increase in costof fire service without an addedbenefit in coverage,” Fellingesaid. “It would be unfair to ourtaxpayers.”

Regardless of Sammamish’sposition, the idea of a regionalfire authority is picking up trac-tion in nearby areas.

Elected members of fire com-missions in Fire Districts 10 and38 have voted to form a planningcommittee July 15 that willdevelop a proposed fire authori-ty, with the possible inclusion ofSnoqualmie Pass, Issaquah,Woodinville and other local firedistricts not associated withcities.

Supporters say regional fireauthorities are supposed toenable multiple fire departmentsin adjoining areas to make jointdecisions that cut costs while pro-viding equal or better service forthe overall area, according to EFRDeputy Fire Chief Jeff Griffin.

Eric Robertson said the theoryworks. Robertson is the adminis-trator of the Valley Regional FireAuthority, which combined theAuburn, Algona and Pacific firedepartments with the FireDistrict 31 in January 2007.

“The first two years of ourexistence, it has provided a reli-able, flexible funding source tomeet our demands. Across the

board, the average taxpayer sawjust a very slight increase,”Robertson said.

Rick Gaines, who used to siton the EFR board of directors andis the chair of the District 10 FireCommission, said forming aregional fire authority would helpbuild new fire stations. A regionalfire authority could spread thecost across a wider taxpayer base,he said.

Under the EFR structure, indi-vidual partners must go to theirindividual taxpayers to pay formajor capital expenses like a newfire station. So, while servicemight be borderless, funding iscordoned off to individual taxpay-er bases. A recent example wasthe November bond passed byIssaquah voters for a new fire sta-tion. While the fire station mighthave had benefits to all of EFR’spartners, Issaquah residents hadto pay for it.

Issaquah City CouncilmanDave Kappler, one of Issaquah’srepresentatives on the EFR Board

of Directors, said he liked theconcept of a regional fire authori-ty enough to explore the option,but he has some reservationsabout how it will work in prac-tice.

“I’ve been skeptical aboutthem, mostly on the fundingmodel,” Kappler said.

Meanwhile EFR administrativestaff is trying to appear neutralon the issue. EFR staff mightattend meetings about forming aregional fire authority, but theadministration has no officialposition on regional fire authori-ties, Deputy Griffin said. If part-ners like Sammamish wanted tojoin a regional fire authority, theindividual city council or firecommission would have to take aformal vote to participate.


AuthorityContinued from Page 1

Gerend also spoke with an airof reluctance, prefacing his state-ment by saying that he had“come over to the dark side.”

In the past, Gerend had votedagainst relocating the FreedHouse, a project that hasappeared in city budgets since2006.

The relocation would cost$330,000, with an estimated addi-tional $400,000 or more to reno-vate it, according to ParksDirector Jessi Richardson.

Gerend said comments fromthe public had convinced himthat the building was worthrestoring.

“There really is a history to it,even though it may not be by afamous architect or have anastounding design,” Gerend said.“I think as a council, I think we

made that commitment and Ithink I’m ready to stand by itnow.”

Mark Cross, Lee Fellinge,Kathy Huckabay and NancyWhitten voted against the reloca-tion.

“I think this really is one ofthe most difficult decisions thatwe’ve had to make,” Huckabaysaid.

Fellinge said he wasn’t com-fortable voting to relocate thebuilding without knowing exactly

how the city or public would payfor its restoration.

“I have not been able to dis-cern a real clear plan of what thebuilding would be used for,” hesaid. “My experience of doingrestoration of old buildings andold structures – my experience isthat whatever you think the costwill be, the cost will be higher.”

Virginia Kuhn, co-presidentof the Sammamish HeritageSociety, said she was discour-aged by the council’s deci-

sion. “We do not know where we

will go from here,” she wrote inan e-mail.

But Kuhn added that she hadreceived several phone callsencouraging her not to give upon the house.



2 • February 3, 2010 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

Corrections◆ The Jan. 27 article

“City gets $1 million for20th Street” misstatedwhere the sidewalk will be.The sidewalk will be on thenorth side of Southeast 20thStreet.

◆ The Jan. 27 article“Citizen activists plan toramp up efforts in 2010”mischaracterized TomOdell’s involvement withCitizens for Sammamish.He used to be a member,but has not been sincespring 2009.

is 9.37 acres and the mansionand other smaller structures total10,200 square feet.

City Manager Ben Yazici saidhis staff had received suggestionsfrom the community to use themansion as a storage facility, ateen recreation center or theheadquarters for the SammamishHeritage Society. He was hopingto get some direction on what to

do with it.The council’s decision was to

do nothing right now, although atleast one coun-cilwomanacknowledgedit’s not an idealsolution.

“Nobodylikes to seesomething situseless,”CouncilwomanMichele Petitti admitted.

In the short term, the councildidn’t want to spend money onrepairing or remodeling the

building, especially when itmight be torn down during TownCenter development, Petitti

explained. Shenoted the valueisn’t in thebuilding any-way.

“It’s the landand we need tothink what theland is going tobe used for,”

Petitti said.While Kellman sits empty, a

proposed clock will remain onlya model.

The city’s Arts Commissionhad invited artists to submitdesigns for a proposed townclock.

However, the $100,000 pricetag in a tight economy, and a lackof consensus on where to put the14-foot tall clock stalled the pro-cess.

The City Council is now offi-cially leaving the clock off oftheir work plan for the nearfuture.

Reporter J.B. Wogan can bereached at 392-6434, ext. 247, [email protected].

KellmanContinued from Page 1

“We need to think whatthe land is going to be

used for.”– Michele Petitti, Councilwoman –

By J.B. Wogan

The Freed House will likely beused for spare parts after a dis-cussion by the City Council dur-ing its Jan. 21-23 retreat in CleElum.

The council did not take a for-mal vote about the house, butcity employees are investigatingways of tearing down the houseand salvaging materials.

“We were going to look moreinto it,” Deputy Mayor NancyWhitten said. “Eventually some-thing would have to be done withit.”

Whitten said the Freed Housedecision wasn’t set in stone — ifsomeone came to the councilwith a proposal to move thebuilding and had the money todo so, the council would enter-tain the idea.

But at least four council mem-bers and multiple members ofcity staff involved in the issueindicated that the council wasrunning out of options.

“There isn’t any appetite tospend any money on it,”Councilman Tom Odell said.

Councilman Mark Cross saidthat the public will have anopportunity to weigh in on theFreed House’s fate before thecouncil makes a decision.

“I don’t think anybody’s goingto do anything with the FreedHouse without having somemore public comment first,” hesaid.

City Council told staff to comeback with a tear-down proposalwith cost estimates, according toCouncilman John James.

“The inclination expressedwas to deconstruct it, save someof the valuable wood, and use itin a respectful way – perhaps fora bench featuring a plaque thatwould explain the origins of thewood,” Communications DirectorTim Larson wrote in an e-mail.Larson added that staff’s interpre-tation was that specific uses of

Council nearing decision to tear down Freed House

Photo by J.B. Wogan

The Freed House sits on an empty lot as the council debates its future.See FREED,

6 • February 3, 2010 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

the house and its building materi-als were to be announced.

Helen Baxter, co-president ofthe Sammamish HeritageSociety, wasn’t pleased to hearabout the building’s likely fate.

“Once it’s gone, it’s gone …You can’t get it back,” she said,calling it a short-sighted view.

Moving forward, Baxter saidshe hopes the city salvages asmuch of the building as possible.

The 115-year old house hasbeen sitting in limbo while thecouncil deliberates what to dowith it.

The city took the house over

and placed it on blocks at its cur-rent location on 212th AvenueSoutheast, just north of Southeast20th Street.

The City Council had initiallyplanned to move the house to thelower Sammamish Commonsarea to be folded into TownCenter. The relocation was fund-ed and scheduled for summer 2009.

However, there were no con-

crete plans for what to do afterthe house was moved. TheSammamish Historical Societyand the Sammamish Chamber ofCommerce both expressed inter-est in taking the site over, but noone proposed a viable fundingmodel for operating and main-taining the building.

In 2009 CouncilwomanMichele Petitti, a supporter of theSammamish Heritage Society,advocated in favor of funding therelocation and repair of the FreedHouse to the Town Center area.The cost was more than somemembers of the council couldswallow, an estimated $700,000,

if not more. The council voted 4-3 against the relocation andrepair last summer.

Petitti said that during theretreat, it became clear that thecouncil was leery of expensesinvolved in preserving the house.

“There wasn’t any will tospend any money to move it any-where and the likelihood of creat-ing a lot where it sits wasn’t pos-sible,” Petitti said.



By J.B. Wogan

Last year was a special one forSammamish dog handler andgroomer Vali Eberhardt.

In January 2009, after years oflobbying, the American KennelClub officially sanctioned herdogs’ breed, the Norwegianbuhund. In December herfemale, Sophie, won best of breedat the club’s Eukanuba NationalChampionship in Long Beach,Calif. At the same competition,Sophie’s brother Kaare, won bestof winners — meaning he wasthe top male Norwegian buhundthere.

Because Sophie won best inbreed in Long Beach, she wasfilmed competing with otherherding dogs and is scheduled toappear on Animal Planet and theDiscovery Channel at 8 p.m. Feb.6.

“Winning best of breed at anyshow is a fabulous honor,” saidLisa Peterson, a spokeswomanfor the American Kennel Club.She noted that 2009 was the125th year anniversary of the

club’s existence, adding to theshow’s historical significance.

Both Sophie and Kaare per-formed so well at a Mt. Vernonshow last June that they quali-fied for the Westminster KennelClub Dog Show Feb. 15-16 in NewYork. The show is considered themost prestigious in the nation.They were two of four Norwegianbuhunds to qualify for this year’s

show.Eberhardt is trying to keep

realistic expectations about theupcoming competition or herdogs’ continued success in con-formation competitions. Shepointed out that 2009 was theNorwegian buhunds’ first year asa sanctioned breed in conforma-

tion and is likely to become morecompetitive in future years.

“I don’t predict going back toWestminster. This is a once in alifetime opportunity,” she said.

In conformation, dogs mustjog around a ring and pass aseries of alertness and obediencetests. Dogs are judged on a vari-ety of aesthetic standards — gait,teeth, color of the eyes, length oftail and length of legs.

Eberhardt said the judge at theLong Beach competition pulledher aside and explained thatSophie won over Kaare becauseher eyes were darker and her tailwas a little more set.

“It’s almost 50-50. Sometimesthe judges pick the boy, some-times they pick her,” she said.

Norwegian buhunds are gentlein disposition, friendly amongchildren and family, Eberhardtsaid.

They are pack animals, too.Eberhardt said she’s noticed thatthey’re friendlier to one anotherthan shiba inus, a similar-looking

ContributedVali Eberhardt’s two Norwegian buhunds, Sophie and Kaare,earned honors at the American Kennel Club’s NationalChampionship in December.

Sammamish dogs to competein Westminster dog show

“I don’t predict goingback to Westminster.This is a once in a

lifetime opportunity.”– Vali Eberhardt,

Dog owner –

See DOGS, Page 8

Sammamish Forum

OPINIONReview editorial

Freed House may be economic casualty

Councilman Mark Cross is onto something. In discussions surrounding the Freed House

and its planned move to the SammamishCommons, Cross asked that most importantquestion: Why?

Why would the city spend a quarter-million dol-lars to move a dilapidated structure to theSammamish Commons?

Who would renovate it? Who would use it? Wouldenough people use it to justify the cost?

We’ll add one more question: when is an oldhouse deemed historic, when is it just old?

The initial plans to move the house were madeyears ago.

The city had some interest from outside parties inrefurbishing the house, but no formal request.

It’s worth going back to those groups to see if theystill want to take on the renovation and occupancy.

While there is some historic value in the struc-ture, it’s in really bad shape.

At a bare minimum, it will need new windows, aroof, doors and a coat or two of paint, and that’s juston the outside.

Certainly a group could try to raise the money,but the city would need an assurance (like a bond)that if the building is moved, it will be fixed up.

If there is no one to renovate the building, mov-ing it creates an eyesore at the end of what isdesigned to be a gateway to the Town Center’s greenspine. Which brings up more concerns.

Council member Nancy Whitten suggests it isworth revisiting the Sammamish Commons project.

The plan for the Commons was completed whenTown Center was little more than a glimmer in theCity Council’s eye.

While the Commons will serve well as part of thegreen spine portion of Town Center, it wasn’tdesigned specifically for that purpose.

It is worth another look, especially with adecision pending on the future of the FreedHouse.

Given the economics and these uncertain times, itmay be that the Freed House is best relegated to awarm memory of early-day Sammamish, best pre-served in a history book.

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Deadline for letters is noonFriday prior to the next issue.Address letters to:Sammamish Review LettersBox 1328, Issaquah, WA 98027fax: 391-1541e-mail: [email protected]

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4 • April 15, 2009 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

The tribe answers

In response to Michael T. Barr’sMarch 30 letter, “Why does the Tribecare?” The tribe is interested in the244th Avenue bridge project for sev-eral reasons. The Snoqualmie TribeEnvironmental and NaturalResources staff feels that the pro-posed design inadequately providesfor wildlife passage and will notretain the full ecosystem functionsof the wetland.

Furthermore, the tribe is con-cerned about potential culturalresources in the project area, whichfalls solidly within its Usual andAccustomed boundaries. Theseinterests alone are our sole motiva-tions for action in this case.

Matt BaerwaldeSnoqualmie Tribe Environmental

and Natural Resources Department

Time for a new council

My husband and I have lived onPine Lake since 1974. When we andothers here on the plateau got fedup with the way King County wasspending our tax dollars and not lis-tening to their voters up here, webecame active with a group to try tobe annexed to the city of Issaquah.

That did not work out, so weworked, again, with this same groupto form our own city, Sammamish.

Everyone felt we would have aCity Council that would listen to itscitizens. Well, I feel we have justwhat we did not like with King County.

Our tax dollars are being spent onfrivolous things (a clock). Maybe it istime we citizens, who pay all thebills, should elect some new councilmembers who will listen and workwith the people that elect them,instead of following their own agenda.

Maybe this is a good time to stop,look and listen, like the railroadcrossing sign warns.

Betty L. MillerSammamish

Parkway not stimulating

The Sammamish City Councilaccepted funding from the federalstimulus package for expansion ofthe East Lake Sammamish Parkwayproject beyond Phase 1A.

This decision is a huge disap-

pointment to those of us who hadthought, mistakenly, that thecouncil had finally accepted thatthe majority of the citizens inSammamish do not want or needthis project when it voted earlierin the year to only fund a smallportion that would focus onimproving the safety at theInglewood Hill intersection.

With the exception of the safetyfeatures planned for theInglewood Hill intersection, therest of this project does not pro-vide any value in exchange for thecost. Perhaps the council believesthat because the stimulus funds donot come out of its own city bud-get, that they have found a way topay for this part of the project thatthe citizens do not want byannouncing the tab is being pickedup by the federal government. Butthere is no mistaking that the fullcost of this project is being paid byus all. Whether it be the taxes wepay for living in Sammamish, orthe taxes we pay at the federallevel we are still going to foot thebill for an expensive project thatdoes not provide value, and thatwe do not need.

Is this how government is sup-posed to work? I know that this isnot what President Obama had inmind in making the stimulusmoney available. When heannounced the package, Obamaasked that citizens at the locallevel to watch carefully how thefunds are spent–and if we seewaste, we should “call it out.” Well,I for one, plan to call this out.Shame on the city for taking thestimulus money and wasting it onthis project. There are many otherneeds within our city that couldhave used the funding and provid-ed jobs and value to our citizens.This, unfortunately, is a waste.

Sherie ValderramaSammamish

Be wary of card theft

Not too long ago, someonewrote in with comments about thetrivial crimes reported on thepolice blotter wasting our policeofficers’ time. I gave it littlethought but had noticed the same.I find the need to support the

opinion of that Sammamish residentnow. In the April 8 edition of policeblotter, someone had reported anodd sound while driving and it wasdiscovered that some perpetratorhad put duct tape on the road and itstuck to the tires of the victim’s car.This may have normally just causedme to laugh it off at the silliness ofit, but I had also been a victim of acrime that same month. A youngman stole my debit card that I acci-dentally left in the ATM machine atthe Sammamish Bank of America.He used it at a Safeway, not oncebut twice on the same day within anhour to the tune of $360.95. He usedmy debit card as a credit card andthe clerk did not ask for an ID oneither transaction. My debit carddoes not have a signature. It says“See ID.”

I am a middle-aged women witha name not commonly used and theyoung man using my card wasunder 18. A warning to all, having adebit card and a pin number doesnot make you safer. The next time aclerk takes the time to ask for ID,instead of being annoyed with themfor making you take the time to getit out, you should say “thank you”for keeping your identity safe. Thiscrime never made it into theSammamish Review Police Blotterbut duct tape on the street did.

Claudia Haunreiter Sammamish

Poll of the weekWhat do you think about the Obamas' new dog?A) They should have picked a rescue shelter dog.B) It looks nice, but what's with the name Bo?C) I'm just glad they're donating to the Humane Society.D) Who cares about the president's pet?

To vote, visit www.SammamishReview.com.

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309: freed house

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