Mark Lamb has spent six years in the mayor’s seat on the Bothell City Council. Tris Samberg has almost 14 years of service under her belt as a Bothell planning commissioner and councilmember.

In the upcoming general election, they’ll go head-to-head for Position No. 6. Ballots will be mailed to residents Oct. 20 and the votes will start to be tallied Nov. 8.

“I am extremely proud of the Bothell City Council that I have led for the last six years,” Lamb said. “This council has cut taxes, increased reserves when times were good, had Bothell’s credit rating upgraded twice, and planned to build for our future when costs are low.”

Added Samberg of her city-service experience: “I have a perspective that allows me to value the past while planning for the future. I have demonstrated that I study issues thoroughly, ask tough questions, bring a balanced approach and am responsive to citizen input.”

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Dawn McCravey is satisfied with what she’s accomplished during her tenure with the Northshore School District.

Over her four years as board director — the last two as president — she’s helped implement a “student-centric approach,” adopting new curriculum in core subjects to lead students to higher achievement.

B—Z Davis, a former Northshore School District director, “was proud to help nurture” the district’s reputation for excellence during her 16 years of involvement.

Davis wants to get back to work with the district and is running against mainstay McCravey for the District No. 3 director’s position in the Nov. 8 general election.

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What do former Bothell High photography teacher Paul Dahlquist and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain have in common? They both played crucial roles in shaping Charles Peterson’s career behind the camera lens en route to becoming a photographic force on the grunge-music scene.

Five years after graduating from Bothell in 1982, Peterson published his first shot for Sub Pop Records on Green River’s “Dry As a Bone” record. One of his most famous pictures of Cobain a few years later — surfing the crowd with ripped jeans and picking his guitar — is blown up huge to adorn a wall at the Experience Music Project in Seattle.

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The Nov. 8 general election is nearing, and the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter is gearing up for its Oct. 7 election issue.

I’ve sent out questionnaires to all the candidates running for positions on the Bothell and Kenmore city councils, Northshore School District board, Northshore Utility District board and King County Fire Protection District No. 16 board. The candidates’ answers are rolling in and I look forward to putting the election package together over the next two weeks.

We’ll all get to know a little bit about our candidates Oct. 7, and then you can make your decisions when the ballots are mailed out Oct. 20.

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It was Spirit Night at Bothell High’s home volleyball match on Tuesday, and Cougar coach Marlie Davis made sure that Tim Driver’s presence was felt.

After asking for a moment of silence before the match, Davis noted that Driver would want the Bothell and Newport players to have fun and compete hard.

Last Friday afternoon, Driver — a Bothell basketball and softball coach and Newport football offensive coordinator — died of natural causes due to hypertensive cardiovascular disease, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s office. Newport coaches learned of Driver’s death following the Knights’ victory over Bothell that evening.

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The sounds of tiny voices could be heard as students trotted out to the Evergreen Academy garden in Bothell this morning.

With handmade paper pinwheels in their hands, the children were ready to celebrate United Nations International Day of Peace. Their voices soon reached a high volume as they sang and cheered with Pinwheels for Peace Project emcee, first-grade teacher Whitney Ball.

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Dick Nicholl was more than happy to try on his old Bothell High sweater from 1957. He noted that it’s a bit torn in spots, but it still does the job. It fits well on the 72-year-old — and Nicholl’s not surprised, since he’s kept in good shape over the years, he said.

In his Mercer Island home on a recent morning, Nicholl reminisced about his Cougar athletic days and his Islander football coaching years, which led to him being one of 15 Northshore School District alumni, former staff and board members inducted onto the Northshore Wall of Honor last month at Pop Keeney Stadium.

“The hope is to get kids today and parents to say, ‘Hey, that can be me’ and ‘That can be you.’ To inspire them to see no limits out there,” said George Selg, one of the Wall of Honor’s organizers.

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Darshan Rauniyar appreciates a good challenge.

The 42-year-old Bothell resident moved from Nepal to the United States 22 years ago to study electronics engineering. In pursuit of the American Dream, he first earned his master in business administration from Portland State University and then his engineering degree from the Oregon Institute of Technology.

That was just the start.

“I came from one of the poorest countries in the world. I came to this country for education,” he said. “At a hi-tech company, (I went from) starting as a technician, climbing the corporate ladder, to running a company.”

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An hour spent on a downtown Bothell street provided a lifetime of insight into how much seniors enjoy their lives.

There was singing, dancing, accordion and guitar playing, tai chi and plenty of talk about why the Greater Bothell Chamber of Commerce and city of Bothell presented their second Senior Citizens’ Day on Tuesday.

“We want to let people know what we’re up to … and we’re up to a lot,” said Bothell’s Rebecca Young, who sang with the Northshore Senior Center Variety Band in the morning and afternoon. Young wouldn’t give her exact age, but noted that she’s in her 80s, with a wink and a smile.

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As Henry Magill glanced at a piece of steel from the Twin Towers, he sighed and shed a few tears.

The 94-year-old Bothell resident visited the Northshore Fire Department in Kenmore last Sunday morning — on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC — to view an artifact from those iconic structures and talk about that fateful day in American history.

“I thought I’d better get down there and take a look,” said the former 25-year Seattle Fire Department employee. “I was up at 5 o’ clock and I watched (a 9/11 program) on the TV. I felt sorry for them (the first responders), they really didn’t have a chance … the way that thing came down on them.”

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For Sean McVeigh, it was Depeche Mode. The Beastie Boys gave Steve Palmer a musical jolt.

Those were the first concerts the two locals attended nearly two decades ago. On Saturday, the guys will be unveiling their first Bothell Music Festival, featuring six blues bands, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Country Village. On the docket are Chester Dennis Jones, Gin Creek, Background Noise Band, The Singles Band, Miles Tones and Crown Row.

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As Michael Sadler rode his bike, his mother, Jean, followed.

With a face flushed red, the Woodinville resident jogged and ran with her son’s volunteer coach, Paul Locke of Bothell, during an outdoor CanBike Seattle — Lose the Wheels Bike Camp session on a recent Friday afternoon at Magnuson Park.

At one point, Jean’s face showed concern for her son with special needs — a few seconds later, a smile appeared and laughter and encouraging words flowed from her mouth. Success.

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Christian Curby could see that 16-year-old Mavius had an eye for shooting solid photos.

Mavius (last name withheld for privacy reasons) started out using the point-and-shoot camera available at Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission’s Hope Place — a recovery program serving homeless women and their children — where he resides with his mother and siblings.

Hope Place Assistant Director Curby pointed Mavius toward Sharon Thomas, the mission’s public-relations manager, and asked if he could intern with her and hone his photography skills.

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