A look at news and newsmakers from 2003

Here's a look at some local news and newsmakers from the past year.

Trinity Lutheran College still for sale: The Issaquah college, where students have gone for biblical and ministry studies for 25 years, was put up for sale last summer because the 40-acre campus was too large for its declining enrollment and leaders wanted students to be closer to a larger city.

The school has received four offers — two from churches, one from a college and one from a congregate-care organization. The board likely will select a buyer in February, Trinity President John Stamm said. Sage Real Estate Strategies of Seattle, which is working with the school on the sale, estimated the property could be worth more than $30 million.

School officials already are searching for a new location. So far, they've visited sites from Marysville to Tacoma.

Rose House flourishing in Issaquah: Rose House, a five-bedroom home for adults with developmental disabilities, opened in February in downtown Issaquah with one resident and two staff members. Since then, it has been licensed, welcomed four new residents and placed 10 more on the waiting list.

Rose Finnegan worked on the idea — to give adults with disabilities a safe and caring home where they also could exercise some independence — for six years. Nearly 60 contractors and suppliers donated time and materials to build the house. When it was finished, city officials waived thousands of dollars in fees to keep costs down.

Finnegan said the concept has worked so well that she is trying to raise money for another home, possibly in Issaquah or North Bend.

She also is hoping to hire a director for Life Enrichment Options, the advocacy organization she created 14 years ago. The organization works on behalf of people with disabilities in the areas of recreation, education and parent support. Rose House was one of the organization's projects.

"They're just like a family," Finnegan said. "The house is full of excitement as these young people start out with a little more independence."

Issaquah trolley plan needs funding: Members of the Issaquah Historical Society had hoped to have at least one trolley car running on their one-mile-long line through Issaquah this summer, but it never happened.

For years, the group has been trying to raise money for the project and had purchased three used trolley cars with some of the $100,000 in donations. But the cars need cosmetic and mechanical repairs. The track, which ran a demonstration trolley in 2001, also needs to be improved.

The group recently hired a consultant and says it soon will kick off a fund-raising campaign. The first goal will be to raise $250,000 to fix one car and a bridge on Rainier Boulevard.

Marymoor Park short-cut toll is working: King County thinks it may have curtailed commuters from using Marymoor Park as a cut-through route.

In October, the county installed a new collection booth at the park's east entrance and began charging motorists a $1 parking fee each time they left the park.

In the first week of operation, about 800 people paid the fee. That was down to 325 people per week in December. Fewer people may be using the park because of the cold weather, but the county thinks it also has substantially reduced cut-through traffic.

However, that's of little comfort to commuters using the congested east end of Highway 520 — which is likely picking up much of the overflow.

Grove of trees remain damaged: A grove of city trees hacked back at the behest of a nearby Bellevue homeowner remain damaged this winter, awaiting the return of better weather for restoration.

In June, Kendall and Janice Kunz acknowledged they had hired a company to cut back the trees in 2001, even though they were along a city-owned trail in a south Bellevue neighborhood.

The couple promised to do 32 hours of community service, pay the city $150,000 and issue an apology. The city already has collected the apology and money.

The community service will have to wait at least until next spring, said assistant city attorney Jerome Roache. City officials are drafting a plan for repairs next year.

"One of our thoughts is that he (Kendall Kunz) would work on the site that was damaged," Roache said.

Progress at Kirkland's Heritage Hall: Work on the downstairs level of Heritage Hall in Kirkland is moving ahead after the Kirkland Heritage Society landed a $17,000 cultural grant from King County last month and a $12,000 allocation from Kirkland this month.

The upper level opened in September and has been used for meetings by community groups. The former church was relocated four years ago to save it from destruction.

Work on the lower level — which will display the society's growing collection of photographs, clothing and oral-history tapes — almost came to a halt as the society searched for more money. But now doors, lights and window trims are being installed.

The downstairs should be open by February, said Bob Burke, who led the project. That's provided the society lands two more outstanding grants totaling $12,000, he said.

Lumber mill readying for sale: Weyerhaeuser closed the last of its King County lumber operations in the spring, including the company's Snoqualmie mill, which had been in operation for more than 85 years.

The company salvaged some equipment before holding a public auction earlier this month, selling off surplus sawmill equipment and "rolling stock," such as forklifts and railroad cars, said Weyerhaeuser spokesman Frank Mendizabal. Some administrative buildings still are being used, so it'll be a few months before company officials begin readying the mill property for sale, Mendizabal said.

Homegrown baseball diamond: David Kelly's homegrown baseball diamond in Issaquah was the center of a controversy over property rights and Little League kids last spring. Now he's happy to do what he always wanted to do: use the field as a practice ground for the baseball teams of his son, daughter and nephew.

The city first said Kelly may need expensive permits to run the field and threatened to fine him if he used the diamond anyway. A couple of weeks later, in mid-June, officials changed their minds and gave Kelly a $20 special-event permit.

As part of the deal, the city used the Kelly family property to restore a portion of Tibbetts Creek last summer. The project went off without a hitch, Kelly said.

Since June, he's used his field for a season-ending party for his children's team, cooking barbecue for families and letting the parents take on the kids in a game. His family used the field for birthday parties and picnics, too, but its real use will kick in this spring, when baseball season starts again.

Couple opens soup kitchen in Nicaragua: After many months of work, a Maple Valley couple opened a soup kitchen in Nicaragua this fall.

Esquina de Amor, or Corner of Love, was the idea of Tanya and Nelson Amador and members of their church, Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran. The group began taking donations in January to fill a 40-foot container with items for the kitchen, including stoves and utensils. It was sent to San Ramon, Nicaragua, in April.

In May, Tanya Amador went to Central America. After much red tape, she got the container, and she and other Puget Sound-area volunteers built the kitchen, bathroom and eating area.

Now, dozens of poor Nicaraguan children come each day to receive a free meal.

Renton pool completed: The $5 million Henry Moses Aquatic Center in Renton's Cedar River Park has been built. The pool won't officially open until the summer of 2004, but it was dedicated Dec. 17.

The new center has two separate pools — a 9,000-square-foot leisure pool and a 3,300-square-foot, six-lane lap pool. The leisure pool has a wave machine, water-spray play area, lazy river, island lagoon and more.

Construction began in April after the City Council approved the project. Surplus funds from the 2001 budget were used to pay for the center.

Swimming season will run from June to Labor Day. The pool is named after the last hereditary chief of the Duwamish Tribe and former star athlete at Renton High School.