As the spring sports season comes to a close, local athletes are being honored for their athletic achievements with the unveiling of the all-league teams. Players and coaches select all-league teams annually. Email additional all-league honors to newcastle@isspress.com.

Note: Only athletes from Hazen and Liberty are listed.

Soccer

Seamount

Coach of the Year — Ken Matthews, Hazen

Athlete of the Year — Sam Bunnell, Hazen

FIRST TEAM

GK Freddy Jeronimo, Sr., Hazen; DEF Kyle Bunnell, Jr., Hazen; DEF Angad Singh, Sr., Hazen; MF Devin Sando, Sr., Hazen

SECOND TEAM

FWD Marcelo Castro, Sr., Hazen; MF Reyes Garcia, Fr., Hazen

HONORABLE MENTION

Hazen — Luis Puga

All KingCo 3A/2A

Coach of the Year — Darren Tremblay, Liberty

FIRST TEAM

MF Jared Bales, Sr., Liberty; D Joe Dapper, Sr., Liberty; D Jake Ericksen, Sr., Liberty

SECOND TEAM

MF Colton Ronk, Jr., Liberty; GK Nate Mak, Sr., Liberty; F Connor Noblat, So., Liberty

HONORABLE MENTION

Liberty — Nick Turner, Oliver Janders, Ryan Graham, Josh Johnson.

Baseball

Seamount

FIRST TEAM

OF Jared Howell, Sr., Hazen; P Jake Kolterman, Jr., Hazen

SECOND TEAM

1B Isaiah Potter, Jr., Hazen; 3B Drew Harka, Jr., Hazen; UTL Cody Moorhead, Sr., Hazen; OF J Crosby, Jr., Hazen

HONORABLE MENTION

Hazen — Kyle Nelson, Tony Nippert

Girls tennis

Seamount

FIRST TEAM

Kristal Kozai, Sr., Hazen; Lesley Wong, Sr., Hazen; Haley Strandberg, Sr., Hazen; Elise Wong, So., Hazen

SECOND TEAM

Ashley Hwang, Jr., Hazen

HONORABLE MENTION

Hazen — Tina Chung, Naima Shaltu

Softball

Seamount

FIRST TEAM

3B Ariana Williams, Sr., Hazen; OF Megan Bridgman, Sr., Hazen

SECOND TEAM

1B Julie Johnson, Jr., Hazen; 2B Isabel Teppner, So., Hazen

HONORABLE MENTION

Hazen — Kristina Holm

The city of Newcastle unveiled the lineup for the 2013 Concerts in the Park series and this summer, residents can look forward to a variety of music genres emanating from Lake Boren Park.

Whether it is soul, rock, dance or even Celtic violin music, there is something for everyone to enjoy at the free summer concert series.

Concerts in the Park presents the following lineup at Lake Boren Park, 13058 S.E. 84th Way:

- July 24 — Randy Oxford Band (soul, funk, blues)

- July 31 — Geoffrey Castle (high energy Celtic violin)

- Aug. 7 — Shelley & The Curves (dance, pop)

- Aug. 14 — Shaggy Sweet (pop, rock, blues)

Live performances will take place Wednesdays beginning at 7 p.m. and ending at around 8:30 p.m. Crowds can gather at Lake Boren Park as early as 6 p.m. when food vendors will be on site.

This year’s event is made possible by the city of Newcastle, the Golf Club at Newcastle and the Coal Creek YMCA.

The Hazen High School soccer team did not have their best stuff as state tournament play opened on May 15, but it was just good enough to defeat Mountain View, 3-2.

Senior midfielder Casey Guay put Hazen on the board first, scoring a quick goal, just four minutes into the game.

The lead would be short-lived, because just three minutes later, Mountain View responded with a goal of their own.

The Highlanders took the lead back in the 17th minute, when junior midfielder Luis Puga scored what would be the first of his two goals.

Mountain View tied the game again just after halftime, but Hazen took the lead for good in the 71st minute, thanks to Puga’s second goal.

“The whole game we couldn’t get our passing going with the consistency we wanted. Luis’ second goal was just hard work – he chased a ball down in the corner, beat a man, and scored from a bad angle,” Matthews said in a statement. “The guys worked hard on a night where we didn’t have our best.  That makes the win a little sweeter.”

The Highlanders will now play Shorecrest at 1 p.m. May 18 at Renton Stadium.

Liberty makes early exit

It could have been a showdown pitting two Renton neighbors against each other had Liberty defeated Shorecrest, but the Patriots fell short.

Liberty lost to Shorecrest, 2-0, on May 15, effectively ending the KingCo champions’ season.

The Patriots finished the season with a 12-2-3 record.

Puget Sound-area Massage Envy centers will salute active military members and their spouses with its “Massage for Military” event, beginning May 20.

The weeklong event offers free one-hour therapeutic massage sessions to active-duty military personnel and their spouses to recognize everything that these men and women do for our country, each and every day, according to a release.

The event allows local clinic honors owners to honor each community’s military heroes and their families by providing beneficial stress relief through therapeutic massage.

“Massage is a great therapy for reducing stress and has also been linked to lower blood pressure, deeper relaxation and better sleep,” said Barney Nelson, the regional director for Massage Envy in Washington state. “We can only imagine the stress that military personnel and their loved ones experience, so as a way to say thank you for all they do, we are honored to give the gift of our healing hands.”

The free massage sessions are by appointment only and participants are encouraged to book as soon as possible as the spots fill up fast. In previous years, the event was limited to one day, but has been expanded to five this year to better accommodate those who wish to participate.

Make a reservation by calling the Newcastle Massage Envy at 957-7979.

The 2013 regular season was nothing but a success for the Liberty and Hazen high school boys soccer teams.

The Highlanders clinched their second straight Seamount League title. Led by the league’s athlete of the year Sam Bunnell, Hazen lost only one game this season.

Hazen was well represented on the all-league team, including Bunnell and coach Ken Matthews, who was named coach of the year.

Liberty matched the Highlanders, clinching the league title in a tough KingCo 3A/2A Conference. The Patriots lost only one game on the season. Coach Darren Tremblay was named the league’s coach of the year.

None of those accomplishments matter now though, as both teams prepare to begin state competition, where anything can happen.

Liberty will host Shorecrest High School at 7 p.m. May 15, while Hazen will play Mountain View High School at the same time at Renton Stadium.

If all goes as plan in the first round games, Liberty and Hazen are on a collision course to meet each other on May 18 in a game that would be held at Renton Stadium.

Liberty is currently ranked third in the state, while Hazen is ranked fourth, according to Score Czar. Score Czar offers computer rankings based solely on numbers.

The King County Council’s Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee will host a special May 14 meeting to hear public testimony about potential Metro Transit service cuts.

Metro is facing a $75 million budget shortfall due to a drop in sales tax revenue, and unless new funding becomes available, the agency will have to reduce the transit system by about 17 percent, which equates to about 600,000 service hours.

Potential service cuts could affect Newcastle routes. Bus route 114 could be eliminated, while route 240 could experience overcrowding and reliability issues if the cuts go through, according to the King County Metro Transit website.

The hearing takes place May 14 in Seattle at Union Station, 401 S. Jackson St. An open house begins at 3:30 p.m., and then testimony starts at 4 p.m.

Those who are unable to attend can submit comments online at www.kingcounty.gov/council/testimony.aspx.

Committee members want to hear how the public might be affected by service reductions and their ideas for alternatives.

King County Councilman Reagan Dunn, Newcastle’s representative, is the vice chair of the committee.

Learn more about potential service cuts at www.metro.kingcounty.gov/am/future.

Candidates interested in filing for any of the 331 positions open for election in King County this year may file online or in person for office from May 13-17.

King County Elections encourages candidates to file online, the easiest and most efficient method, according to a press release from the office. Candidates who prefer to file in-person at King County Elections Renton headquarters will be directed to county computers to file online.Staff assistance will be available.

Key dates:

• 9 a.m. May 13 to 4 p.m. May 17, online candidate filing
• 8:30 a.m. May 13 to 4:30 p.m. May 17, in-person candidate filing
• May 17, approximately 5 p.m., lot draw to determine ballot order
• 4:30 p.m. May 20, deadline to withdraw
• 4:30 p.m. May 29, deadline to file local voters’ pamphlet
• Aug. 6, primary election
• Nov. 5, general election

To file for office, candidates must be registered in the district for which they are filing.

More information about candidate filing is available on the King County Elections website.

Work is finally set to begin on a city of Bellevue project that will replace an aging culvert underneath Coal Creek Parkway.

The Bellevue portion of Coal Creek Parkway between Southeast 60th Street and Forest Drive will be reduced to one lane in each direction for 24 hours a day until December, beginning May 15.

The city of Newcastle is doing all it can to mitigate the bottleneck that the all-day closure is expected to cause, including changing the timing of some traffic signals. Ultimately, though, drivers are encouraged to use alternate routes, especially during the morning and evening commutes.

Public Works Director Mark Rigos suggests that residents use east to west routes, such as Southeast 88th Place or Newcastle Way to get to Interstate 405. Drivers could also travel south down Coal Creek Parkway toward Northeast Sunset Boulevard in Renton to reach the freeway. In Bellevue, Rigos suggests commuters use Southeast 60th Street through the Newport Hills community, or Forest Drive to avoid the construction.

If possible, drivers are also encouraged to carpool or alter their commute so that it coincides with off-peak travel hours, Rigos said.

The Newcastle Chamber of Commerce is helping drivers manage the closures with an interactive map showing alternate routes into Newcastle. Learn more at newcastle-chamber.org/newcastle-alternate-routes-map.

What to know

The city of Bellevue’s project to replace an aging culvert underneath Coal Creek Parkway will cause closures on a segment of the busy road, during two phases of construction.

The first phase is set to begin in late April, when the road will be reduced to one lane in each direction between just south of Forest Drive and just north of Southeast 60th Street, until December.

Residents can stay informed about the project and sign up for alerts at www.bellevuewa.gov/coalcreekbridge.htm.

Travelers can also watch for updates on the city of Bellevue’s Facebook page or on its Twitter account, @bellevuewa or @bvuetrans.

Families that maintain their yards without pesticides can proudly display their healthy-gardening practices with a “pesticide-free zone” sign, courtesy of King County and Washington Toxics Coalition.

Since kids are most at risk from toxins like pesticides, King County would like to recognize lawns and parks that are pesticide free, according to a press release from King County.

Families in King County who take care of their lawns without pesticides can take a pledge and receive the sign to recognize their efforts. The round sign has a ladybug on it and proclaims the lawn as a “pesticide-free zone”. Go to http://bit.ly/15nBYo5 to sign the pledge and get your free yard sign.

More than 800 public places in King County are pesticide free. Go to http://bit.ly/Ahinus to see the locations.

Pesticide free means that no chemical pest controls are used, according to the Washington Toxics Coalition website. However, the coalition is allowing the use of products that are allowed in organic agriculture, in the hopes of encouraging companies to develop safer products.

The city of Newcastle is among the municipalities that manage their parks pesticide-free or use limited pesticides.

The Musica Sacra Chamber Chorale, directed by Newcastle resident Bob Ingalls, announced the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to fund the release of the group’s first holiday album.

The music will be taken primarily from digital recordings of their previous concerts. Most of the music is already completed, but it requires the touch of a production expert to bring the songs to their full potential, according to a press release.

The group hopes to raise $3,500 by May 24, and as of May 7, they were already more than halfway toward their goal, with $2,700 pledged.

Musica Sacra Chamber Chorale is a select choir with 16 core members formed to celebrate sacred music as well as serve as an avenue to benefit the people and environment around us.

Kickstarter is a tool which allows groups or individuals to seek donations to fund creative projects. Creators set a funding deadline and goal, and then the public is invited to contribute to the enterprise.

The website also allows creators to offer incentives to the public. For example, Musica Sacra Chamber Chorale is offering signed CDs, season tickets and more to those who donate.

Contributors will only get charged if the project reaches its fundraising goal.

Donate to Musica Sacra Chamber Chorale’s efforts at www.kickstarter.com/profile/musicasacrachorale/created.