Reporter looks back at top stories from 2015

Published 12:45 pm Tuesday, December 22, 2015

January

Jan. 9

Redmond High School (RHS) teachers, friends remember former students after fatal crash — Members of the RHS community share their memories of Jose Alaniz-Escalante, 19, and Erwin Mendoza, 18, following their deaths in a head-on collision. The teens were described as friendly and focused on their educations.

Jan. 16

Karasek charged with second-degree murder — Mark Karasek, was charged with second-degree murder after fatally shooting his father Zdenek Karasek during an argument at home. In addition, Mark was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree. Mark’s case setting hearing is scheduled for Jan. 14, 2016.

Sex-trafficking suspects arrested at Sea-Tac Airport, Chicago — Police arrested 48-year-old David DeLay and 20-year-old Marysa Comer on felony warrants with the Redmond Police Department (RPD) on sex-trafficking charges. Two of their victims were from Redmond.

Redmond Muslims speak out against Paris attack — Following the terrorist attacks at the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, Redmond-area Muslims share their thoughts and how their lives have changed since Sept. 11, 2001.

Jan. 23

Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Kurios’ to turn Marymoor into dream world — Cirque du Soleil’s latest touring show made a stop at King County’s Marymoor Park near Redmond.

Jan. 30

Rose Hill third-grader honored for saving father’s life with CPR during 911 call — With the help of a 911 dispatcher, 8-year-old Danci Underwood performed CPR on her father after he went into cardiac arrest and saved his life.

February

Feb. 6

Nokomis building is currently in the process of being sold to Natural & Built Environments — The old Nokomis building — former home of the original Redmond Library, the Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce and McDonald’s Book Exchange — was sold to Natural & Built Environments. The property is planned to be the site of a new mixed-use building with residential and commercial uses. Members of the Redmond Nokomis Club are still working to preserve the building.

RHS soccer players score with letters of intent — Four Redmond High School soccer players — two girls and two boys — signed letters of intent to attend and play for four different universities.

Feb. 13

Local services and agencies offer assistance for missing or runaway youth — Reports of two missing teens prompts a more in-depth look at how Redmond police and other local agencies and services work together to help runaway or missing young people.

Feb. 20

Haggen acquires local Albertsons — The Albertsons in unincorporated King County near Redmond was one of 26 Washington store to be converted into a Haggen.

March

March 6

Driver charged in fatal rear-end collision; bail set at $100,000 — Robert Malsch, 21, of Lynnwood was charged in King County Superior Court with vehicular homicide, hit-and-run felony and reckless driving after he fled the scene of a two-car collision that left the driver of the other car dead.

Microsoft software engineer remembered as ‘reliable’ friend — Friends remember Michael Ey after he was killed in a two-car hit-and-run collision. The driver of the other car, Malsch, was charged with vehicular homicide, hit-and-run felony and reckless driving.

City purchases Keller Farm property to preserve Bear Creek and other area waters — The City of Redmond purchased an 83-acre parcel known as the Keller Farm, which had been owned by the Keller family since the 1880s. City staff identified the land as “critical in preserving and restoring the region’s environmental interests.”

March 13

Education Hill residents face financial issues from flooding — Residents on Education Hill have had to deal with various home repairs after they experienced mysterious flooding.

Workers at Aerojet Rocketdyne in Redmond play major role in Orion spacecraft mission — Employees at the Aerojet Rocketdyne location in Redmond provided propulsion for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.

March 20

City, community members, to tackle area’s homeless issues together — The City of Redmond held a public meeting to begin a conversation about how the community can address the increase in homelessness in the area. A task force was later formed to come up with a report and recommendations for City Council on how to address the issue.

March 27

Cleveland Street reopens to traffic — After more than a year of various road closures, Cleveland Street in downtown Redmond has reopened to traffic.

April

April 3

Stella Schola’s Tennis to be inducted into National Teacher Hall of Fame — Stella Schola Middle School teacher Brigitte Tennis was inducted into the National Teacher Hall of Fame after being nominated by a former student.

Former Battalion Chief Carolan retires after 38 and a half years with Redmond fire — After almost four decades of service with the Redmond Fire Department, former Battalion Chief Ed Carolan retires from the job.

April 10

Former council member Torkel Nilson dies at 88 — Torkel Nilson served on Redmond City Council from 1970-73 and played a large role in preserving the Redmond Watershed.

April 17

Redmond Middle School (RMS) parents work toward improving math for the future — A group of parents at RMS share their concerns about the school’s algebra on program and how they hope to improve things for future students.

April 24

Eye-opening experience in Cuba — A group of RHS students and their teacher share their experiences after visiting Cuba following the island country normalizing its relationship with the United States.

May

May 1

Church marks 50 years in town — Redmond Presbyterian Church on Education Hill celebrated its 50th anniversary in town with a series of events, including welcoming back former church members and pastors.

May 8

Walkout is in session: Teachers protest against the Legislature’s lack of state education funding — Redmond-area teachers and other instructors in the Lake Washington School District (LWSD) and around the state staged a walkout to express their disapproval that the Legislature isn’t properly funding education.

May 15

Former Seahawk and his wife’s family huddle up and care for herd of wild horses near Redmond — Former Seattle Seahawks player Joe Tofoya and his wife’s family have been rescuing and rehoming horses for about 20 years. They took in a herd of 13 wild horses and worked to nurse them back to health so they could be released back into the wild.

May 22

Funding a Redmond friend in Nepal — While City of Redmond employee Danu Sherpa traveled to his homeland of Nepal to help his family and others after tragic earthquakes, his co-worker starts GoFundMe page to lend a hand. Sherpa returned to the Pacific Northwest in June and continued his efforts to help this affected by the earthquakes.

June

June 5

Water walk for change at RHS — Chicas for Change held an event to simulate the daily journey Kenyan women and children make in search of clean water and raise awareness on the issue.

RHS student corresponds with Georgia leader Garibashvili — RHS sophomore Levi Casto sent an email to the prime minister of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili, as part of a school assignment and actually received a response from the Georgian leader.

June 12

Redmond police looking for missing 32-year-old autistic male — Jamaal Stroschein, a 32-year-old male on the autism spectrum went missing for about a week and a half. He was located in the University District of Seattle after police received a tip regarding the rubber band men and crafts he created, which were publicized through the Redmond Reporter and other local media.

High School Graduation 2015 Spotlight — The Redmond Reporter highlighted pairs of graduating seniors from each of the area’s four high schools.

June 19

Girls receive hero medals for helping friend who went into cardiac arrest — Three girls from the Redmond and Sammamish area — Hana, Bella and Jessie — were honored with medals after they saved their friend Isabella’s life when she went into cardiac arrest. The girls called 9-1-1, alerted Isabella’s family and performed CPR while being instructed by the dispatcher.

July

July 3

Girl struck by car, killed at Redmond Town Center — Two-year-old Susie Dreher was killed after she ran out into the street in Redmond Town Center (RTC) and was struck by a car. The accident has prompted residents to start a petition calling for RTC to make changes to ensure children’s safety.

Locals discuss historic same-sex marriage ruling — After the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, the Redmond Reporter sat down and spoke with local teens, religion leaders, elected officials on the topic.

July 17

City celebrates 75 years of Derby Days — This year marked the 75th anniversary of Redmond’s annual Derby Days festival. The event attracted people from Redmond and beyond.

July 31

Amazin’ Conforto: Redmond star hits the big league with New York Mets — RHS graduate Michael Conforto made his major league debut with the New York Mets, later playing in the World Series in October.

August

Aug. 7

Costco Wholesale purchases land in Redmond for $16 million — After several years of planning and discussion, Costco Wholesale Corporation purchased 15.39 acres of land in southeast Redmond with plans to build a future Costco warehouse.

Aug. 21

Redmond propositions 1 and 2 fail in special election — Two city levy measures in a special election failed. The measures addressed public safety, infrastructure and walkability and capital projects in the parks department and parks maintenance.

September

Sept. 4

Larsen set to retire after leaving his mark as parks and recreation director — Craig Larsen worked for the City of Redmond for 10 years and a total of 38 years in government. He retired at the age of 64.

Sept. 11

Students keep journalism ablaze at RHS — Facing a lack of funding, members of the RHS student newspaper, The Blaze, work to find new ways to keep the paper afloat.

REI moving back to Bellevue in fall 2016 — In less than a year, the specialty outdoor retailer will move its RTC location to Bellevue to better serve its members and customers.

Sept. 18

Digging into Redmond’s past — A team of archeologists discovered 10,000-year-old stone tools in 2009 and 2013 underneath peat along Bear Creek during the city’s salmon restoration project.

Sept. 25

Local law enforcement team up to control traffic and crowds during President Xi’s visit — The RPD teamed up with Washington State Patrol, Lake Washington and Bellevue school districts and Microsoft’s security and media relations teams to coordinate Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to the tech company’s Redmond campus.

October

Oct. 2

Former con artist discusses fraud and identity theft at AARP event at Microsoft — Frank Abagnale, whose early life as a con artist was captured on film in Steven Spielberg’s film “Catch Me If You Can” spoke to AARP members at Microsoft and offered tips on how they can protect themselves from identity theft.

City celebrates completion of South Detention Vault in Overlake Village — After about eight years of planning, development and construction, the South Detention Vault in Overtake Village was finally completed. The vault is a regional facility and was built to prepare for the expected development.

Oct. 9

Election profiles — The Redmond Reporter sat down with mayoral candidates John Marchione and Steve Fields as election day approached. In addition, the Reporter sent out questionnaires to the four City Council candidates: Hank Myers, Hank Margeson, Angela Birney and David Carson.

Oct. 16

Schumacher reunites with people who helped save her life at QFC — Penny Schumacher of Redmond Ridge met with the individuals who helped save her life after went into cardiac arrest in the middle of QFC.

Oct. 23

Alton Brown: food for thought at Hopelink luncheon — The Food Network star shares his thoughts on the importance of homecoming and self-reliance at Hopelink’s 20th Annual Reaching Out Luncheon.

November

Nov. 6

Marchione leads Fields in mayoral race early results — Following a hotly contested mayoral race, Redmond mayor Marchione was re-elected, beating challenger Fields, 53.97 percent (5,384 votes) to 45.78 percent (4,567 votes).

Nov. 13

Leadership Eastside luncheon looks at region’s future — During Leadership Eastside’s luncheon, more than 600 elected officials, business owners, nonprofit agency representatives and others from the greater Eastside gathered to discuss the future of the region.

Eastside students fired up about WANIC courses — A regional career and technical education program offers students the chance to learn about various careers, firsthand, while receiving high school and college credit.

Nov. 20

Redmond father sentenced to 20 years for injecting son with heroin — Eric Lehtinen was sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempting to kill his 4-year-old son in September 2013 by injecting the boy with heroin.

Nov. 27

Redmond bakery owner, Microsoft worker who both grew up in Paris discuss attacks — Khalid Kaskou and Olivier Fontana discuss their responses and feelings after their hometown of Paris was attacked by terrorists.

December

Dec. 4

Boyer family’s adoptive sons home from DRC, just in time for the holidays — After nearly three years of being in a paperwork limbo, the Boyer family was finally able to bring their adopted sons Andre and Luke home from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

‘Merry Christmas’ signs return for fourth year — For the fourth year in a row, signs stating “It’s OK to say Merry Christmas” have been posted throughout Redmond. No one knows who is posting the signs and they have become a particularly hot topic of discussion in the community this year.

Washington STEM Summit at Microsoft features host of female speakers — Educators, business leaders and others gathered at Microsoft in Redmond to discuss how to encourage more young people involved in STEM education. Among them was speaker and first black woman in space, Dr. Mae Jamison.

Dec. 11

Long Term Facilities Task Force recommends LWSD needs to build new schools — The LWSD board of directors unanimously approved the recommendations from the district’s Long Term Facilities Task Force, which included building new schools to address the district’s growing enrollment.