snovalleystar031512

Let’s chatHospital board considers informal meeting times.

Page 3

Freshmen get a home School board votes to approve freshman campus.

Page 6Police blotter

Page 6

Choo-choo!Northwest Railway museum to open soon.

Page 7

She’s the bestSchools foundation gives top honors.

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Start kickingSoccer team preps for new season.

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March 15, 2012

VOL. 4, NO. 11

100 years of scoutingPage 8

Your locally-owned newspaper,

serving North Bend and Snoqualmie,

Washington

Prsrt StdU.S. Postage

PAIDKent, WA

Permit No. 71

POSTALCUSTOMER

1

By Michele Mihalovich

The majority of people who turned out for a public hearing on North Bend’s proposed truck idling ban spoke out against the ordinance, including a TravelCenters of America field manager from Oregon.

The TA truck stop, known locally as Truck Town, has been located near Interstate 90’s exit 34 for nearly 40 years. But the city’s boundary has expanded over the years, and now Truck Town is neighbors with a large residential area and a middle school.

City leaders say complaints about the noise and fumes, and concerns about air quality, are what prompted the ordinance draft.

Dialogue begins concerning truck idling ban


Trucks wait in a small parking section of the TA Truck Stop in North Bend. The City Council is considering limiting how long tractor-trailers can idle.


A hotel might not just be a pipe dream for the city of North Bend.

Paul Pong, a hotel developer out of Bellevue, recently submitted his plans to build one, and possibly two, hotels on the corner of South Fork Avenue Southwest and Bendigo Boulevard South.

But Mayor Ken Hearing said that although Pong is “mov-ing ahead” on the proj-ect, it’s far from being a done deal.

He said Pong has submitted all of the applications nec-essary for the city to make a State Environmental Policy Act determina-tion.

“But there are an awful lot of envi-ronmental constraints, such as the property being close to the South Fork River,” Hearing said. “There are wet-lands and some flooding issues.

“The SEPA determination will be the all to end all,” he said. “It can be appealed, of course. But if it comes back

negative, it would be tough for him to move forward.”

Hearing said he would welcome a new hotel, especially in that location, just off Exit 31.

“We’re looking at attracting folks to getting off the freeway and coming into downtown,” he said. “The proposed hotel is close enough that people could walk to old town and see that there’s more to North Bend than just the exit.”

Hearing said 70 percent of the city’s revenues come from businesses, and people spending the night at a North Bend hotel would certainly increase that revenue base.

“But I want to be clear on this,” he said.

“He will have to comply with every law. It will be done right or it won’t be done at all.”

Pong did not return calls request-ing an interview, but he did submit a development narrative to the city Feb. 15 that outlines his plans for a develop-ment in phases.

The document states that the first phase would include a 106-room hotel,

Fleeing driver jumps in creek, dies

A man who fled on foot after being stopped by police for a traffic violation died after being stuck in a Tokul Creek logjam for nearly 30 minutes, according to Rebecca Munson, spokeswoman for the Snoqualmie Police Department.

At about 8:20 a.m. March 9, a Snoqualmie police officer was following a Honda Accord on Millpond Road in Snoqualmie. The Honda turned north onto state Route 202, and the officer contin-ued to follow the vehicle.

Upon observing the Honda following too close behind the vehicle in front of it, the officer made a traffic stop near the entrance to the Snoqualmie Valley Rifle Range on Fall City-Snoqualmie Road, according to Munson.

The driver, whose name has not been released yet, exited the Honda and ran on foot into the Rifle Range, leaving three passengers inside the vehicle, Munson said. The officer remained with the Honda and its passengers and called for back-up. When backup arrived, the officer attempted to locate the driver and heard him yelling for help. The officer found the man stuck in a logjam in Tokul Creek, and contacted the Snoqualmie Fire Department for rescue, Munson said.

Fire department personnel arrived within min-utes and after several attempts were able to free the man from the logjam and remove him from the creek, Munson said.

However, the man had been in the creek for approximately 25 minutes and he went into car-diac arrest in the ambulance on the way to a hos-pital. He was later pronounced dead at Swedish/Issaquah, Munson said.

The driver was a 31-year-old Fall City man, who was found to have a felony warrant, she said. One passenger in the vehicle was arrested on a misde-meanor warrant and the other two passengers were released and given a ride home.

New hotel might finally be coming to North Bend

See THEFT, Page 2

“It will be done right or it won’t be done at all.”

— Ken HearingNorth Bend mayor

See IDLING, Page 2

Bellevue developer submitted plans for two-phase project

SnoValley Star MARCH 15, 2012

2

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The ordinance proposes a five-minute idling limit for trucks with a gross vehicle weight more than 10,001 pounds, unless more time is needed to defrost windows. Buses, city work trucks, motor homes, farm equipment and public safety vehicles would be exempt. Violators would be fined $150 for a first offense and $300 for a second offense; a truck driver and any landowner allowing idling could be fined.

Tom Kemp, of North Bend, told the council he was con-cerned about the ordinance lan-guage that states residents “have been adversely affected by idling of heavy-duty diesel trucks.”

He said, “That’s an unsup-ported assumption, because no

air quality studies have been conducted.”

Kemp also pointed out that truck engines and fuel have been improved in recent years and aren’t the polluters they used to be.

“Just because a truck is idling doesn’t mean there’s toxic exhaust,” he said.

Three women who work at the truck stop restaurant urged the council to reject the ordi-nance.

“If you approve this ordi-nance, the truckers are just going to go somewhere else, which jeopardizes my job,” Angela Bankston said.

Drew Macauley, the TA field manager, also pointed out the economic benefit of Truck Town to the city.

“We pay $45,000 in property taxes annually that goes to help your schools and the city,” he said. “We also employ 61 peo-ple, and more than half of them

live in North Bend.”Larry Costich, a Seattle attor-

ney who represents TA, said what the city is trying to do has “laudable goals, but it’s prema-ture for the times.”

He said truckers let their trucks idle because they need to in order to use their heaters or air-conditioners.

“There are no measured envi-ronmental impacts,” Costich said. “But the economic impact to the truckers and the truck stop will be felt. And they con-tribute to the economic develop-ment of this community.”

City documents indicate that it wanted to encour-age the trucking industry to use Alternative Power Units, onboard generators that allow truckers to heat or cool their vehicles without the trucks run-ning. They cost about $10,000 per unit.

Grants would be sought for constructing electrical outlets

in parking areas, the documents state.

But Macauley said the city’s plan was “premature and tech-nologically infeasible.”

He said only one in five trucks have APUs, despite the fact that they’ve been around for years. Macauley said the price tag was out of reach for many independent drivers.

He also said that having elec-trified outlets doesn’t do truck-ers any good because heating and air-conditioning units in the trucks run off the engine, not electricity.

The four people who spoke in favor of the ordinance cited environmental concerns as their reasoning.

“I am sympathetic to the drivers, but I am concerned about the environment,” Michelle Mennis, of North Bend, said. “This has been successfully implemented in other places and it should be looked at.”

“The truckers won’t be going away so we need to figure this out,” Jeff Martine, of North Bend, said. “We need to be wel-coming to the truckers, but at the same time, not endanger our citizens.”

The council took no action after the public hearing.

Councilman Jonathan Rosen said after the meeting that he learned a lot from the 12 people who spoke and he was glad that a discussion took place.

“It was a great starting point,” he said. “And Mr. Kemp was right. No air quality studies have been done here. How do we even go about doing that? I don’t know. I think our next step is to discuss what we heard here tonight at a future work-study session.”

Michele Mihalovich: 392-6434, ext. 246, or [email protected]. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

possibly a Holiday Inn Express, with a restaurant and confer-ence room.

“A trail with trailhead and daytime shared parking is proposed for the community to access the river and adja-cent levee trail. Design ele-ments of the hotels will create a Northwest lodge feel with plazas fronting the streets,” according to the document.

The second phase could be an 85-room Hampton Inn, but the document states that those plans could change, depending on the economy, to profession-

al office, retail or multifamily residential.

The 9.3-acre piece of land, owned by Pong, is currently zoned Interchange Mixed Use, which does allow a hotel.

Hearing said land by the interstate has gone through many different zoning changes over the years.

He said Pong bought the land “for a song” in the early 2000s from a man who had tried to get a hotel built, but couldn’t because the zoning wouldn’t allow it.

In 2006, the City Council changed the zoning, which allowed a hotel on the north side of the interstate, but not the south side. In 2009, an amendment was passed by the

council, which added hotel use on the south side, Hearing said.

Gina Estep, director of the city’s Community and Economic Development Department, said Pong has submitted everything necessary for the city to conduct a SEPA review, and that officials are just waiting for a deposit from him before they go forward with the review process.

Estep said city staff members would then develop a determi-nation and present a condition of approval along with a 14-day comment period for the public.


IdlingFrom Page 1

HotelFrom Page 1

This is Flood Safety Awareness Week

Floods are the most frequent and costly natural disaster in the United States.

With many communities throughout the region facing threats of spring flooding, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service are again join-ing forces to observe Flood Safety Awareness Week this week.

“It is important that we take steps now to prepare for the impact floods could have on our homes, our businesses and our communities,” FEMA Region 10 Regional Administrator Ken Murphy, said in a March 8 press

release. “We are encouraging individuals and families to take a few simple steps to protect themselves and their properties.

“These include learning about their risk of flooding, having an emergency preparedness kit, storing important documents in a safe place and purchasing flood insurance.”

Important tips for getting ready for a flood and clean-ing up after can be found at www.ready.gov.

Flood losses are not typically covered by standard homeown-er’s insurance policies.

However, flood insurance is available to property own-ers in communities participat-

See FLOOD, Page 3

King County road crews plan to roll out a roadside weed con-trol program in unincorporated areas April 9.

Through the annual program, certified technicians conduct controlled herbicide spraying along road shoulders during the spring and summer.

The program is meant to reduce safety hazards for bicyclists, motorists and pedestrians.

The spray-ing also controls noxious weeds — a poten-tial threat to animals and native vegeta-tion.

If residents do not want county crews to spray the county right of way near their property, they should post “owner will main-tain” signs.

The owners must also agree to maintain the right of way them-selves.

Maintenance agreements must be completed and returned to the county Road Services Division before the signs can be issued.

The agreements should be received by April 4. The county provides signs at no cost to property owners.

Crews use small amounts of herbicides approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the state Department of Agriculture.

The process also includes follow-up monitoring and soil testing.

No spraying is conducted near

water, including rivers, streams, wetlands, bridge abutments, guardrails near water, ditches, levees, back slopes or in morato-rium zones.

Spraying in moratorium zones — such as the Snoqualmie Valley, and Vashon and Maury islands — is conducted in lim-ited situations mandated by state or local law, or by the King

County Weed Board.

Officials said the herbicide application is designed to keep road shoulders safe for bicyclists and pedestri-ans.

The action also prevents weed root systems from damaging roadways and reducing sod

buildup. Such problems can cause road flooding and icy con-ditions in winter.

The annual weed control also reduces fire risk by mini-mizing the amount of uncon-trolled vegetation on roadsides. Overgrowth from weeds can also cause accidents due to reduced visibility.

In addition, Road Services Division crews also plan to remove all tansy ragwort from rights of way due to the flower-ing weed’s danger to animals.

State and local laws require the removal of tansy ragwort and other noxious weeds.

Residents responsible for maintaining rights of way should place vegetation contain-ing tansy ragwort in sealable bags to prevent the spread of the weed.

MARCH 15, 2012 SnoValley Star PAGE 3

3

ing in FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program.

The program makes flood insurance available to renters, homeowners and business own-ers through thousands of insur-ance agents in nearly 21,000 communities across the nation.

Flood coverage can be pur-chased for properties in and outside of the highest risk areas, but should be considered regardless of where you live. More than 20 percent of all flood insurance claims come from moderate-to-low-risk areas.

Learn more about flood insurance at FloodSmart.gov or by calling 800-427-2419 toll free.

Critical river safety skills course offered

Si View Metro Parks is offer-

ing a River Safety course from 9 a.m. to noon March 17, with instructor Kalli Willson.

The course covers river haz-ards, hypothermia, identifying safer places on a river, “river position,” self-rescue and uni-versally recognized river signals.

Students will practice using throw ropes and learn how to assist others in a river emer-gency without endangering themselves.

The class is an outdoors, “rain-or-shine” course, but par-ticipants will not be in water.

Willson is a professional whitewater raft guide and whitewater rescue technician. Course fee is $25. Participants ages 14 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

Register at www.siview- park.org or call 831-1900. New support group begins for adults with mental illness

The Eastside affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental

Illness has started a new sup-port group in Snoqualmie for individuals with mental illness.

NAMI Eastside support groups provide support, knowledge and understanding along with an opportunity for group members to share expe-riences, concerns and inter-ests in a confidential setting. Meetings are led by NAMI members who have personal experience with the topic.

The Snoqualmie support group is free and open to adults living with mental illness. It will meet from 7-8:30 p.m. every Friday at the Snoqualmie Fire Department, 37600 S.E. Snoqualmie Parkway.

This is a drop-in support group; pre-registration is not required.

Learn more by contacting Yolanda LePley at 829-2417 or [email protected].

Find support groups in other East King County cities and learn more about NAMI Eastside’s education forums and services at www.nami-eastside.org.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recognized city of Snoqualmie Associate Planner Nicole Sanders for outstanding work and sup-port in creating a healthier King County, according to a press release from the city.

In the past two years, Sanders led local efforts to improve the community’s health through the Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative. The initiative joins together local community organizations, cities, schools dis-tricts and public health agencies to prevent chronic disease and promote health through policy

and environment changes.Sanders serves as Governance

Team co-chairwoman for the still-developing Healthy King County Coalition, which pro-motes access to healthy foods, active lifestyles and tobacco cessation. Her co-chairwoman, Shelley Cooper-Ashford, who serves as executive director of the Center for Multicultural Health, was also recognized by the CDC.

“Our neighborhoods have changed drastically over the past decades,” Sanders said in the press release. “We have fewer kids walking to school, more

kids eat-ing fast food. We want to make sure people have sidewalks where needed to make walking a part of

their routine, and options like apples and oranges in their daily diet. People have the freedom to make their own choices, but we want to ensure the full spectrum

of healthy options is available in those choices.”

The initiative has also pro-vided specific items that will help provide healthier options to future generations in Snoqualmie.

This included a sidewalk assessment of downtown Snoqualmie; passage of a “Complete Streets” policy to ensure that street improvements accommodate all users (such as pedestrians and bicyclists); and new community garden policies included in the city of Snoqualmie Open Space, Parks and Recreation Plan.

“I’ve always loved to walk and bike, and grew up cooking veggies with my grandmother,” Sanders said. “It makes me sad when I hear about some kids not having safe routes to their schools or fresh vegetables nearby. I just want to make sure those choices are available for everyone, but especially for our youth.”

Along with Sanders, those recognized by the CDC include John Vander Sluis, of Bicycle Alliance of Washington, and Sue Anderson, of the city of Des Moines and the King County Board of Health.

Snoqualmie planner recognized by Centers for Disease Control

Nicole Sanders

What to knowUnincorporated King

County residents can opt out of roadside weed spray-ing. Call 206-296-8100 or 1-800-KC ROADS toll free for maintenance agreements and signs. The agreement is also available on the county Road Services Division website, www.kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/Roads/RoadsMaintenance/WeedControl.aspx.

King County crews start roadside weed control


Dick Jones, president of the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital Board, said at the March 1 board meeting that he’d like the commissioners to hold an informal discussion with the public before the monthly busi-ness meeting.

Jones said the public is allowed to speak for three min-utes during monthly board meetings, but the commis-sioners aren’t able to speak to the public’s questions or com-ments.

“It’s a one-way conversa-tion,” Jones said in a phone interview. “I just thought this

would be a better way to com-municate with each other.”

He said he envisioned the informal meeting tak-ing place the hour before the normally scheduled monthly meeting, “where we can talk openly and dialogue with each other.”

No action would be taken during the informal discussion, he said.

Commissioners Kevin Hauglie and Gene Pollard said it was a great idea and they were glad Jones brought it up.

Jones told the Star that he’d been thinking about the idea for a while, and that it didn’t stem from any particular inci-

dent.“It’s just been frustrating

hearing what the public is saying and not being able to respond,” he said.

Jones said he hoped the commission could get the informal discussions going by the next board meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. April 5 at Snoqualmie City Hall, but nothing has formally been scheduled.

The Star will notify the pub-lic when the first meeting is scheduled.


Snoqualmie Valley Hospital Board wants to try informal pre-meetings

FloodFrom Page 2

even after cigarettes themselves disappear.

We’d miss out on a lot of fun with-out that plug-in.

The mule needs his catalog, too. I’ll do the reading for him, and the ordering.

But I think he’d appreciate one of those nice white fleece cinches.

They seem so soft on an old mule’s belly. And a matching saddle pad would be good, too.

He’s too old to rope on any more, but a guy can still appreci-ate comfort in semi-retirement.

The land catalogs are the most fun.

In these, there are always lakes with wooded margins, beg-ging for a little cabin.

A small place where a guy can hole up and think literary thoughts and type quietly.

Well, it’s a thought, anyway. And that’s what catalogs do, stimulate our thinking.

Spring catalogs are the novels of optimistic lives.

To buy Slim’s books, go to www.slimrandles.com.

OpinionPAGE 4 MARCH 15, 2012

Liquor service hours could get flexible

There’s a little city 15 miles west of here that wants to change state law — a change that would affect businesses in North Bend and Snoqualmie.

Seattle wants the Washington State Liquor Control Board to approve a resolution to allow for extended liquor hours. If approved, Valley cities would be able to dictate opening and closing hours for the service of alcohol at bars, restaurants and clubs or entertainment venues.

Seattle’s goal is to extend liquor service hours, but it could choose to go the other way. Seattle’s mayor has sug-gested that staggered closing times could help with public safety concerns.

While the Valley doesn’t have a major late-night rush of drinkers hitting the streets at the current 2 a.m. service cut-off time, that doesn’t mean it won’t ever. And here where the nightlife is virtually asleep by midnight, city leaders could choose to cut off liquor service even earlier. Eleven p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends would not be unreasonable.

If the Liquor Control Board agrees to the change Seattle wants, cities could create their own framework to license and monitor the late-night venues, once the change is approved by the state.

For example, cities might choose to impose shorter ser-vice hours on those bars that have serve patrons who leave drunk and end up with DUI charges, have problems with assaults among clients, or are cited for noise or serving minors. Cities could ostensibly put businesses with viola-tions on probation, ultimately asking for suspension of their alcohol permit.

We’re sure that small cities have enough on their plate without dealing with new ordinances effecting liquor sales. Keeping the status quo will be most likely. But down the road, the ability to do what’s best for their city might become attractive to local police departments and city leaders.

It might be worthwhile for city leaders to weigh in now, while the liquor board to taking testimony.

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Editorial Letters

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By Slim Randles

The garden catalogs start coming when the snow is too deep to even find dirt. But we don’t care.

This is a catalog time of year, a time for making plans and fig-uring out how to do something even better than we did last year.

There in the fishing catalog is that new fly-tying vise. I know I’ll be able to tie flies faster and better with that, which will give me more time to cruise up and down Lewis Creek with the fly rod. Well … at least that’s the plan.

And the housewares cata-log has all kinds of things in it to help us peel potatoes, boil things, slice things and clean things.

A few well-spent dollars on their 800 phone line and before you know it, our lives will be easier and our food tastier.

With the truck catalogs, we can get a little coffee maker that plugs right in to the cigarette lighter.

Or we can get a little oven that plugs right in to the ciga-rette lighter, or a fan that plugs right in to the cigarette lighter.

Let’s hope the carmakers con-tinue to make cigarette lighters

Write to usSnovalley Star welcomes letters to the editor about

any subject, although we reserve the right to edit for space, length, potential libel, clarity or political relevance. Letters

addressing local news will receive priority. Please limit letters to 350 words or less and type them, if possible. Email is pre-

ferred. Letters must be signed and have a daytime phone num-ber to verify authorship. Send them by Friday of each week to:

snovalley starP.O. Box 1328 q Issaquah, WA 98027

Fax: 391-1541 q Email: [email protected]

Home Country

Slim RandlesColumnist

Be an optimist, start catalog shopping

Thanks for the caucus support and coverage

On behalf of all of the people of the 5th District, I would like to thank you for your coverage of the caucus, both in getting the word out through the two articles you published before the caucus and your focus on the people who went to vote. It was heart felt. Regardless of which candidate you support, your individual vote does matter.

We are in a year where how we vote will decide which direc-tion our state and nation will move for decades to come.

I hope all of the energy and enthusiasm demonstrated now will continue through the November elections. It is an honor to serve with all the great people of the 5th District.

Bob Brunjes5th District GOP chairman

School board is losing trust of this voter

While I have lived in Snoqualmie for 13 years, most of the school bonds have failed. Often, it was because taxpayers

believed the board was asking for more than it needed.

A few years ago, voters said “yes” and passed a bond to build a much-needed third middle school, Twin Falls.

Last year, voters were present-ed with another school bond. This time to turn Snoqualmie Middle School into a freshman learning campus and build a replacement middle school, vot-ers said “no.” Twice.

Unfortunately, this week our school board voted to take away our third middle school, turning it into a freshman learning cam-pus anyway.

While I do not oppose the idea of a freshman learning cam-pus, I do not like the idea that they used our money to build a third middle school, only to take it away to create something vot-ers rejected twice.

Janice ClarkSnoqualmie

Opinionated? The Star wants you!

Join our email group — Rapid Response. You give us your name and email address. We send you questions regarding the news.

You tell us what you think. What could be easier?

We’ll email you a variety of questions. Answer one or all of them!

Respond by the deadline in the email and we’ll get your thoughts into the newspaper.

We’ll edit for clarity, space and potential libel, then select a variety of responses and run them on a space-available basis.

Send your name and email address to [email protected]. Put Rapid Response in the sub-ject line, and what paper you want to sign up for in the body of the email.

How would you rate the performance of State Rep. Glenn Anderson?

He has been a good leader dedicated to education for some 16 years.

Ken Fowler, Snoqualmie Ridge

WEEKLY POLLHow do you know spring is near in the Valley?

A. More people are wearing their Seattle Mariners gearB. The ping-ping-ping of the high school’s aluminum baseball batsC. The unpredictable weather. You never know when it’s going to stop raining.D. The way people react to the tiniest sliver of sunshine. You would think it’s Cabo.

Vote online at www.snovalleystar.com.

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By Sebastian Moraga

The Snoqualmie Valley School Board approved in a split vote the 2013 creation of a freshman learning center on the campus of Snoqualmie Middle School.

In a March 9 meeting as long as it was contentious, the five-member board also voted 5-0 to return a bond measure to a bal-lot no later than February 2013. The bond would pay for a new middle school.

Nevertheless, the school board’s 3-2 decision regarding the freshman campus means that for at least two years, the district will have two middle schools.

If the February 2013 bond passes, the new Snoqualmie Middle School would open in 2015.

Parents and teachers packed the Snoqualmie Valley School District offices and seemed as split on the issue as the board members themselves.

In an hourlong session before the official meeting, community members spoke with equal pas-sion in favor of and against the board’s idea.

Then, during the meeting, the temperature rose as school board

members clung to their points of view, eliciting cheers and jeers from the crowd.

“If you have a sixth-grader at SMS,” said board member Geoff Doy, one of the two “no” votes, “you will change schools four times over five years.”

Carolyn Simpson, the other “no” vote, said the board should spend more time talking to the community.

“I’ve been here 10 and a half years, and this is by far the most important decision I have seen this board make,” she said. “We need to dot our i’s and cross our t’s.”

Board President Dan Popp said the school board had already done that.

“Is it optimal?” he asked. “No. But I have sufficient infor-mation.”

“I’m glad you have sufficient information,” Simpson retorted. “I do not.”

Simpson and Doy said they liked the freshman campus con-cept, but objected to two middle schools with 700-plus students each.

Popp noted that all five board members had said they liked a freshman campus. He then asked what was needed to make it a reality.

Doy said, “a third middle school.”

Popp asked Doy if it was needed before a freshman cam-pus opened. When Doy said yes, Popp said, “That just over-whelms me.”

School board member Marci Busby said she supported the

freshman learning center and trusted that education would not plummet for the two years that the district would have two middle schools.

“Chief Kanim and Twin Falls are excellent schools,” she said. “I don’t think they will stop pre-paring students for high school.”

Busby said the district should not wait in making a decision. Board member Scott Hodgins agreed.

“Can we wait three years to improve high school educa-tion?” Hodgins asked.

Superintendent Joel Aune said

the district would do well with two middle schools.

“We have the staff, and we have the leadership to make it go,” he said.

During the meeting, Mount Si High School Principal John Belcher defended the creation of the center, saying that many of the things people feared about it would not occur.

“One of the things I’ve heard is that we won’t offer world lan-guages,” he said. “That’s just not factual.”

The freshman learning center would aid the social develop-ment of middle schoolers, he added.

“Right now, students go from big-dog-on-campus to invisible,” he said. “With the freshman center, they would then go from big-dog-on-campus to very-big-dog, and we can’t do that in the current format.”

Just before the vote, Simpson cited the information Belcher and district Finance Director Ryan Stokes offered as a reason to wait on creating the freshman campus.

She termed receiving new information at 6 p.m. and vot-ing on it at 11 p.m. highly inappropriate, noting how the vote may affect thousands of

children.Popp replied that he did not

want to wait. He added that he did not believe waiting any longer would change Simpson’s mind.

“I don’t want to wait, not because I’m being disrespectful,” he said. “I just don’t think you would ever move forward.”

At 11:50 p.m., the board cast its votes, unanimous on the new middle school, divided on the freshman learning center.

The long discussion and vote did little to calm the waters.

“I still have more questions,” Simpson said. “And the public deserves to have these questions answered.”

Others had no questions in their minds as to what had hap-pened.

“Your headline needs to read, ‘School board goes against the public sentiment of three middle schools and a freshman campus in favor of two large middle schools,’” SMS parent Sal Passantino said. “We are all in favor of a freshman campus, but at what expense?”

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or [email protected]. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

Divided school board approves freshman campus with 3-2 vote

“This is by far the most important decision I have seen this board make.”

— Carolyn SimpsonSchool board member

Snoqualmie Police

I got issuesA Snoqualmie woman was

arrested for drunken driving after hitting a car and leaving the scene.

At about 1 p.m. Feb. 26, a woman reported that an intoxi-cated woman driving a white Jeep had struck her vehicle on Southeast Northern Street.

Police reported finding the driver, 37-year-old Tina J. Parvi, parked in a nearby driveway.

The officer wrote that Parvi kept losing her balance, and when asked to perform field sobriety tests, Parvi agreed, but stated she had issues “because of menopause.”

Police transported Parvi to the King County Jail.

Clint Eastwood mimic arrested for DUI

At 12:40 a.m. Feb. 28, an officer reported seeing a vehicle driving 50 mph in a 30 mph zone on Railroad Avenue Southeast.

The officer caught up with the vehicle at Snoqualmie Falls, and made contact with the driv-er, 21-year-old Jared Earl Heron.

“Heron stared straight ahead as he spoke to me in a low,

raspy voice,” wrote the officer.Heron admitted to feeling “a

little impaired” after four or five shots and smoking marijuana four hours before being stopped.

He was booked into the Issaquah jail for suspicion of driving under the influence.

Was that building there yesterday?

A man who owns a building at the 38000 block of Southeast King Street reported that on Feb. 24 a vehicle had run into the side of his building.

The owner said he learned of the incident when the driver phoned him.

Joy rideAn officer responded to

a complaint March 3 in the 9000 block of Boalch Avenue Southeast of four young males taking a golf cart off-road, dam-aging greens and breaking flag-sticks.

Report said the reporting party wouldn’t pursue charges if the subjects agreed to pay for damages.

You may have bought a lemon

An officer reported that at about 9 p.m. March 3, he observed a Lincoln sedan swerving across lanes on Meadowbrook Way and pulled

the driver over.The driver apologized, saying

the car had been in a collision and didn’t handle very well.

The officer observed exten-sive damage to the left side of the vehicle and it appeared the driver’s door wouldn’t open.

The driver told the officer he’d bought the car that way. He was cited for having a sus-pended license and for failing to transfer the vehicle title within 45 days.

North Bend fireq At 12:28 a.m. March 3, EFR

units responded to a 48-year-old male with facial injuries from an assault.

The man was evaluated at the scene and released in King County Sheriff’s Office custody.

q At 4:04 a.m. March 3, EFR units responded to a report of a 20-year-old male in King County Sheriff’s Office custody. He was evaluated and transported to Overlake Hospital Medical Center. No information was given as to the reason for the medical call.

q At 12:13 p.m. March 3, EFR units responded to an EMS call on Moon Valley Road Southeast regarding the death of a 58-year-old male.

q At 10:54 p.m. March 3, EFR units responded to an uninten-

tional smoke detector activation on Southeast Tanner Road.

q At 11:12 p.m. March 3, EFR units responded to an EMS call on Merritt Avenue Northeast regarding a 62-year-old female with a rapid heart rate and chest pain.

She was treated at the scene and transported to Swedish/Issaquah.

q At 11:41 a.m. March 4, EFR units responded to an EMS call on East North Bend Way about an 82-year-old female who had fallen. She was evaluated and left at the scene.

q At 10:48 a.m. March 5, EFR units responded to a call regard-ing an 82-year-old female with a cracked rib.

She was transported to Snoqualmie Valley Hospital.

q At 11:48 a.m. March 5, EFR units responded to an EMS call on Borst Avenue Northeast regarding a 78-year-old female with chest pain. She was trans-ported to Swedish/Issaquah.

q At 12:26 p.m. March 5, EFR units responded to an EMS call regarding a 35-year-old female who was “not feeling right.”

She was transported to Swedish/Issaquah.

q At 12:12 p.m. March 6, EFR units responded to an EMS

call on Alpental Access Road Southeast regarding a report of cardiac arrest with CPR in prog-ress. Ladder 87 personnel stood by at Exit 47 for rendezvous with a medical unit to provide manpower for transportation to Overlake Hospital Medical Center.

q At 3:16 p.m. March 6, EFR units responded to an EMS call on West Second Street regarding a 33-year-old female complain-ing of weakness, nausea and chest pressure.

She was evaluated at the scene and transported to a Seattle hospital.

q At 8:27 p.m. March 6, EFR units responded to a call regarding a 9-month-old male who had swallowed a dime and his father had performed the Heimlich Maneuver to dislodge the dime.

The child appeared to be without injury and was acting appropriately.

q At 6:44 p.m. March 8, EFR units responded to an EMS call at Jay Berry’s Restaurant for a 67-year-old female who fainted.

She was transported to Snoqualmie Valley Hospital.

The Snovalley Star publishes names of those arrested for DUI and those charged with felony crimes. Information comes directly from local police reports.

Police blotter


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Train depot opens 2012 season April 1

The Northwest Railway Museum will resume full pas-senger service aboard its vintage railway April 1.

Each Saturday and Sunday through October, the museum will offer scenic rides through the Cascade Foothills to the top of Snoqualmie Falls. Round-trip excursions are 75 minutes long and begin April 1.

Board in Snoqualmie at 38625 S.E. King St. at 12:01, 1:31 or 3:01 p.m., or in North Bend at 205 McClellan St. at 12:31 or 2:01 p.m.

Cost is $10 for children, $12 for seniors, $15 for adults; children younger than 2 ride free. Learn more at www.TrainMuseum.org or call 888-3030.

Guided tours of the Train Shed Exhibit Building will be offered on the first train every Saturday, beginning in late spring.

Purchase a Tour Pass in the Depot Bookstore and ride the train to the Railway History Center. Enjoy a docent-led tour

of the exhibits in the Train Shed. Re-board the train and continue your trip.

Experience the excitement of a working railroad while learning about the important role railroads played in shap-ing the character of the Pacific Northwest. The depot and book-store are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Spring signals the return of the museum’s popular pro-gramming: Mothers Ride Free (Mother’s Day Weekend) and Fathers Ride Free (Father’s Day Weekend.)

Also returning are Grandparents’ Grand Excursion, Halloween Train, Santa Train and Day Out with Thomas.

This year, the Northwest Railway Museum is the Pacific Northwest’s only host of the Day Out with Thomas event, scheduled for July 13-15, and July 20-22 at the Snoqualmie Depot.

The $19 tickets go on sale at the Snoqualmie Depot’s Bookstore and via TicketWeb beginning April 25.

Tickets are on sale to museum

members now. Museum mem-bers can buy Day Out With Thomas tickets for $18. Go to www.TrainMuseum.org to pur-chase a membership.

Project manager hired for new fire station

The North Bend City Council hired a Renton man to serve as project manager for the new fire station at its March 6 council meeting.

Ron Garrow, public works director, told the council that the city must hire an indepen-dent construction manager to oversee the project as part of the

agreement with Fire District No. 38.

He said 11 companies responded to the proposal request. Garrow interviewed three and recommend-

ed Hugh McKechine, owner of Highland Construction Consulting Services Inc., of Renton.

McKechine told the coun-cil he has more than 20 years

in the construction business, he received a degree in con-struction management from the University of Washington and has worked on commer-cial and residential projects, including public works build-ings such as schools and fire stations.

McKechine will be paid $76,000 for overseeing the fire station project.

Construction on the building, to be located on Maloney Grove Avenue Southeast between North Bend Way and Cedar Falls Way, is expected to begin early this summer and could take a year to complete.

Hugh McKechine

Still, current and past Girl Scouts’ achievements aside, some perceptions die hard.

“Some people still think we’re a bunch of goody-goody-two-shoes, and that all we do is sew and sell cookies,” Reitz said.

“But I have a lot of friends in Girl Scouts and they are all dif-ferent people. There’s a lot of variety in what we do.”

Dowling agreed, saying many

By Sebastian Moraga

She came, she saw, she camped, she left.

Pam Dowling was a Girl Scout for about half of her fourth-grade year. She went camping once and that was it.

“I never really thought much about it,” she said.

Fast-forward a few decades — she leads two Valley troops of Girl Scouts, the nationwide orga-nization celebrating its 100th anniversary this month.

“It’s been fabulous,” she said of her nine years as an adult member. “I’ve been with these girls since kindergarten, and now that they are almost getting ready to go into high school, it’s wonderful to see how empow-ered they are.”

Once lampooned as an orga-nization that taught girls how to sell cookies, the Girl Scouts of America have expanded its tradi-tional teachings to train girls in other areas, Dowling said.

“A fourth-grader wanting to join today should be ready to explore opportunities to be more independent,” she said, “and setting the direction in which she wants to go.”

A Girl Scout today may learn things like science, videography, photography, computer technol-ogy, cancer awareness and career preparation.

Girls still learn arts and crafts, but starting in the fourth grade, they start taking leadership roles within the organization, running their own meetings, Dowling said.

“I’m more of an adviser than a leader at this point,” said Dowling, who has two daughters in Girl Scouts.

The main goal is ensuring girls grow confident and inde-pendent. For Emilie Reitz, a Girl Scout for nine years, it has worked.

“It makes you more confident about yourself,” said Reitz, who joined the Girl Scouts in kinder-garten because all of her friends were there.

Most of them still are, the eighth-grader said.

Reitz has earned the Silver Award, a Girl Scout Cadette’s highest honor, after 40 hours of community service work for can-cer awareness with fellow Girl Scout Rachel Donka.

Reitz said she wants to con-tinue in Girl Scouts until she

graduates from high school, in about four years.

“There’s a lot of opportunities I would not have had, volunteer stuff I would not have done,” she said when asked what she would have missed out by not joining. “It’s opened a lot of doors.”

Two of the last three first ladies, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush, have been Girl Scouts. Journalist Katie Couric, actresses Dakota Fanning and Reese Witherspoon, and singer Fergie have belonged to the organiza-tion.

communityPAGE 8 MARCH 15, 2012

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Girl Scouts are about more than cookies

Contributed

From left, Girl Scouts Lindsey Cassidy, Rebekah Lang, Leslie Kolke, Leia Nedblake, Suzy Cassidy, Elizabeth Dowling, Emilie Reitz and Jessi Lelas.

North Bend cook wins Girl Scouts award

Deanna Morauski, a North Bend cook, businesswoman and a cooking columnist for

the SnoValley Star won the first Girl Scouts of Western Washington Recipe Contest.

Morauski, a former Girl Scout, submit-

ted a recipe for Savannah Smiles Frozen Lemonade Tarts, made with Savannah Smiles Girl Scout cookies.

“So many memories have been made because of Girl

Scouts … so many smiles,” she wrote on her website. “Thus, the Savannah Smiles Frozen Lemonade Tarts are the best way to celebrate.”

Morauski paid tribute to her “girls in green,” who cele-brate the organization’s 100th birthday this month.

“One hundred years of building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place,” she wrote. “Well done, Girl Scouts. Well done. Happy birthday from one of those girls.”

See the recipe and instruc-tions on how to make the tarts at www.theclever- culinarian.com.

Deanna Morauski

See SCOUT, Page 9


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James Troy Hoffman

Troy Hoffman, 94, passed away peacefully March 2, 2012, at the Mount Si Transitional Health Center in North Bend.

He was born May 27, 1917, in Proctor, N.C., to John George and Ida Bell Hoffman. He was the youngest of eight children and his siblings included Fred, Margaret, Lindsey, Lloyd, Jack, Chet and Pansy, who all preceded him in death.

Troy attended high school in Sedro Wooley, but left dur-ing the ninth grade.

A self-made business-man, he started Hoffman Furniture in 1965. Hoffman Furniture remained a fixture of the Snoqualmie Valley for 33 years, until Troy retired in 1998.

Troy was active in the North Bend Chamber of Commerce for many years and was involved in the cre-ation of Alpine Days (now known as the Festival at Mount Si).

A man of humble begin-nings, he was most proud of his children, Janet Smith, Linda Knudsen, Joy Hoffman-Baunsgard (Roy) and Julie Jenson (Scott).

Troy was an avid sports fan and spent many an after-noon cheering on his Mariners and

Seahawks. He was a common fixture at

his daughters’ sporting events and more recently could be seen at the baseball games of his grandsons, Troy and Macoy.

He loved the Snoqualmie Valley and would say his favorite place to vacation was North Bend.

Troy was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 38 years, Dorris Hoffman (Stevens).

He is survived by his four daughters; eight grandchil-dren; five great-grandchil-dren; numerous nieces and nephews; and friends and customers.

A memorial service cel-ebrating his life will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 25, at Snoqualmie Valley Alliance Church, 36017 S.E. Fish Hatchery Road, Fall City.

James Troy Hoffman

Obituary

girls have taken on large projects in order to earn either Silver or the Bronze awards.

“I see them understanding how to run a project and how

to stick with it,” she said. “But I also see them having experienc-es in learning something new in all sorts of topics.”

With the organization enter-ing its second century, these are exciting times to be a Girl Scout, Dowling said, both when looking ahead and looking back.

“Being able to see that it has shaped the lives of women over all these years, even if times have changed, it’s inspiring,” she said.


ScoutFrom Page 8

Contributed

Gregory Malcolm (left), Encompass executive director, and Dick Ryon, Encompass emeritus board member, hold a 45th anniversary cake during a special reception held March 1, at Rock Creek Ridge Clubhouse in North Bend. The event had a reunion atmosphere, as many attendees had not seen each other in decades.

HAPPY 45TH BIRTHDAY, ENCOMPASS!

By Sebastian Moraga

The year 1984 was a hard year for Latin American coun-tries — a year of poverty, vio-lence, unrest and scarcity. It was also the year Jenny Foster fell under a spell that she’s still under today.

Foster was a high-school exchange student in Colombia, and the Andean nation sparked her interest in the Latino cul-ture.

Now a Spanish teacher at Mount Si High School and the recipient of this year’s High School Educator of the Year, Foster declares herself a Latina.

Her Spanish is almost accent-free, her classroom is decked with Hispanic art and her English vernacular is sprinkled with Spanish words.

“I fell in love with every-thing Latino, the Spanish lan-guage, the Colombian people, the culture,” she said of a trip to Bogota in her junior year of high school. “Todo.”

Todo means “everything” in Spanish.

Teaching has been “todo” for Foster since the fourth grade, when she played teacher to her younger siblings.

It was not until she returned from Colombia’s capital that she chose Spanish as her field.

She graduated college in three and a half years, and began teaching at age 22 in Jefferson, Ore. Some of her students were four years older than she was.

She landed at Mount Si High School six years ago, after a stint teaching at her alma mater Oregon State University.

All told, she has been teaching for 22 years.

“It does take something pretty special,” she said. “We can all just come to work and put in your eight hours, but the very fact that I’m still in here every weekend, and I dedicate one day to coming in to school to get ready for the kids. I am often here late at night, when the custodians go ‘OK, Jenny,

we’re going to set the alarm now.’ It’s because I love what I do.’”

Her life’s work has spilled over into her family life. Her children get breakfast in Spanish every day, and the last sellout concert in Seattle of Colombian rock star Juanes had some very enthusiastic fans

SchoolsPAGE 10 MARCH 15, 2012

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Jenny Foster, the 2012 Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation’s High School Educator of the Year. Foster began her career at 22 by teaching Spanish to 18-year-olds in Oregon. More than two decades later, she said she wants to keep teaching at least until her 9-year-old daughter reaches college.

Jenny Foster honored as the 2012 High School Educator of the Year

See TEACHER, Page 11

By Sebastian Moraga

From a snazzy font to the, ahem, quote-unquote fact, peo-ple have done what they could to improve their résumés.

None, we bet, have done what a group of Twin Falls Middle School students have done.

The handful of eighth-graders decided to launch a weather balloon with a camera into the atmosphere.

“It looks good on the résumé,” said Zach Wunder, one of the students.

The launch has been sched-uled for late spring or early sum-mer. The weather balloon will travel inside a Styrofoam capsule loaded with a camera, a barom-eter, a thermometer, a global

By Sebastian Moraga

Students hoping to send a weather balloon into the atmosphere are (bottom row, from left) Ryan Moore, Stella Diegel, Joey Petroske and Nate George; and (top row, from left) Zach Wunder, Cole Van Gerpen, Tannim Salisbury, John Day and their algebra teacher Dave Bettine. The children credit Bettine with providing the vision for the project.

Twin Falls students aim highpositioning system device and other gizmos.

“We are testing and revising the design,” said Wunder, while holding a prototype of the cap-sule covered in duct tape.

At first, the project’s goal was to record images of the curvature of the earth, Wunder said. Now the students want to

record the atmosphere’s temperature, wind speeds, altitude and barometric pressure.

All told, the weather

balloon will travel upward of 120,000 feet, and expand to up to 30 feet wide, at which point, Wunder said, it’s expected to pop.

Once it falls to the ground, the students will search for it using the GPS monitor attached to the capsule.

“We are going to have a pret-ty good idea of where it lands,” Wunder said.

The group has worked on the project since November. About 20 students started; only 10 remain.

“We are the die-hards. It’s all self-governed by us,” Wunder

See HIGH, Page 11

“It looks good on the résumé.”

— Zach WunderStudent

in the stands: a certain teacher and a few of her Advanced Placement students.

“I love living in both worlds, even though I am not Latino-born,” she said. “I’m Latina at heart.”

The daughter of a onetime teacher, Foster said her children know how hard the profession is, as well. Many times, they have had to wait for Mom in her classroom as she gets ready for the next day.

It has, she added, taught the children what a solid work ethic looks like.

Unlike Jefferson, where one in five people considers him or herself Latino, the Valley’s pop-ulation is more homogeneous. According to the 2010 census, one in 20 people consider him-self or herself Latino in the

Valley.Foster, a mother of three,

said she would like to see a bet-ter system in place to support Latino children who call the Valley home.

“We have an amazing ESL teacher, Karen Schotzko,” Foster said. “But she’s only one person. To really start to bridge some of the Latino culture and what they can bring to the culture, I would like to see more of that.”

One way to bridge the two cultures together is by break-

ing down stereotypes. Foster does her part by loving a cer-tain nation in the north end of South America, marred by decades of violence.

“I really try hard to make students understand, not every-body that comes from Colombia is a ‘narcotraficante,’” she said, using the Spanish term for drug trafficker. “My year in Colombia was amazing. They were the most generous, loving, warm-hearted people you can ever encounter.”


11

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The other winnersThe multipart series on the 2012 Educators of the Year con-

tinues next week.March 22: Elizabeth Cronin, Cascade View Elementary

School, Elementary School Educator of the YearMarch 29: Tina Longwell, Opstad Elementary School,

Classified Educator of the YearApril 5: David Bettine, Twin Falls Middle School, Middle

School Educator of the YearAll winners will be honored at the March 22 Snoqualmie

Valley Schools Foundation luncheon at the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.

Learn more about the luncheon at www.svsfoundation.org.

Foster’s love of Colombia shows in myriad ways. Asked what historical Latino figures she would like to have been, she mentions three: Mexican nun and poet Sor Juana Ines de La Cruz, and two Colombians, activist singer Shakira and her colleague Juanes, whose con-

cert still sticks in Foster’s Anglo mind and her Latino heart.

“We were all dancing and singing in the aisles,” she said. “It was great.”


TeacherFrom Page 10

said. “We do research, we argue and we go home.”

Nine of the students are boys. “The other girls got tired

of all the arguing,” said Stella Diegel, the only girl.

The group wants to raise about $1,000 for the project. Its fundraising website is www.tiny-url.com/ballooninspace.

The group is waiting until later to order the weather bal-loon, Diegel said. Worst-case scenario, she said, the team will continue working until after the school year is over and launch it during the summer.

In the meantime, students subject the capsule to all sorts of tests, puncturing it, drop-ping it from 15 feet, loading it

with dead weight, to see how it would respond to the extreme conditions it may encounter.

“A couple of times it cracked, but it retained its shape,” Wunder said.

For these budding scientists hoping to jazz up their eighth-grade résumés, that’s plenty good.

Getting the balloon, a large sphere more than 20 feet in diameter, in the atmosphere would be a triumph in itself, Wunder said.

Student Cole Van Gerpen had a different opinion.

“Getting it up there is one thing,” Van Gerpen said. “Getting it back would be, ‘Woohoo!’”


HighFrom Page 10

Michael Blackmon wins awards

Mount Si High School 2011 graduate Michael J. Blackmon was recog-nized by Norwich Uni-versity’s regimental command-er and the

upperclassmen as a member of the Corps of Cadets on March 3.

Blackmon has also achieved the following: the distinc-tion of making the dean’s list and receiving an academic award, was appointed platoon

leader, achieved the highest PT score of his battalion and participated during the fall sports season as a player on the Norwich University Men’s Soccer team.

Norwich University is in Northfield, Vt., and is the nation’s first private military college as well as the birthplace of the Reserve Officers Training Corps.

Norwich houses all four branches of the armed services: Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force.

Blackmon is enrolled in the university’s Criminal Justice pro-gram.

Three students earn dean’s list nod at two universities

Two North Bend residents

made the dean’s list at Azusa Pacific University, in Azusa, Calif.

Alexander Bolves, a history major, and Brooks D. Malberg, a cinematic arts major, earned a grade point average of 3.5 or higher in the fall semester of 2011.

More than 1,750 students earned the same honor.

More than 10,000 students attend Azusa Pacific, a Christian university 26 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

At the University of Idaho, Fall City’s Alexandra Rose Skinner and North Bend’s Danielle Rehm earned a spot on that university’s dean’s list for fall 2011.

More than 1,300 students earned the honor, by achiev-ing a 3.5 grade point average on a minimum of 10 graded credits.

Michael J. Blackmon


For the first time, the University of Washington’s Cycling Club will hold a two-day racing event in North Bend.

Devon Simpson, 20, a junior at UW and a cyclist, helped organized the multi-university event, to be held March 24-25.

She said she expects about 200 cyclists competing from the UW, Whitman University, Portland State University, the University of Oregon, Western Washington University, the University of Montana, Montana State University and others.

On the first day, cyclists will take part in a 6-mile, endurance road race, which she compared to a mini Tour de France-type of event.

Riders will bike along a “lol-lipop route,” which will take riders on North Bend streets, mostly outside city limits. Later that day, team trials will be held where small groups start a min-ute apart.

On March 25, a Criterium, or Crit, will be held on streets downtown (see map for details).

Simpson described it as a short, generally one-block route.

“I think that is what specta-tors will enjoy seeing the most, because it’s right in town,” she said.

Simpson said the Husky cycling team used to hold the Criterium annually at Seattle parks near the university.

“Seattle Parks Department isn’t letting us hold it in a park anymore, so we had to look for a new place,” she said.

And that’s where Gina Estep, North Bend’s director of Economic and Community Development Department, comes in.

Estep said she does a lot of cycling with a group in Seattle, and one of the group members mentioned that the UW was looking for a town to hold the event.

“I basically called them and

told them about North Bend,” she said. “The team was really excit-ed and here we are.”

As an avid cyclist herself, Estep said she’s excited about the race, and about it hopefully becoming an annual event.

“Anytime you bring a college event to an area, the atmo-sphere of competitive-ness really brings a good energy to the area,” she said. “I’m expecting it to be a very cool signature event.”

Mayor Ken Hearing said he’s cautiously optimistic.

“This is the first year, so we really don’t know what we’re

getting into or what to expect,” he said. “Anything that pro-motes our outdoor recreational opportunities is a good thing. I don’t know how many specta-tors it will attract, but it will attract riders and showcase what our town has to offer.”

SportsPAGE 12 MARCH 15, 2012

12

What to knowRoads will not be closed March 24, but Gina Estep, North

Bend’s Economic and Community Development director, asks that drivers be cautious and patient while driving around any racers they encounter.

On March 25, some downtown roads will be closed between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. North Bend Way will remain open. There will be a marked detour through town. For those who live inside the area closed by the roads, there will be no park-ing on those streets during that time.

Estep said there would be limited access throughout the day and cars would be allowed to leave at approximately 10:20 a.m. and 1:20 p.m. If you would like to move your car during those times, contact a representative at the finish line on Third Street well before the designated time.

If you have questions or concerns about how you will be affected by activities in your area, including requesting course maps, email Devon Simpson at [email protected] or Jesse Opp at [email protected]. You can also call Estep at 888-7640.

Collegiate bike race coming to North Bend

Contributed

A map of the Criterium race route in downtown North Bend, which will be held on March 25.

By Sebastian Moraga

March 15 can’t get here soon enough for the Mount Si Wildcats boys soccer team.

That is when the team’s 2012 season kicks off with a game against Issaquah. The season might just equal or eclipse the 2010 campaign, according to head coach Darren Brown.

Back then, the Wildcats reached the state quarterfinals. This year, the Wildcats have enough talent, discipline and firepower to make just as much noise.

“There’s a different dynamic to us this year,” Brown said. “We are more like a club team than a high school team, in our passing, our soccer intelligence, our player experience.”

Team co-captain Dane Aldrich agreed, saying that elusive ingre-dient, chemistry, is also there.

“Everyone is getting along great,” said Aldrich, one of the team’s eight seniors.

Many players, like Kody Clearman and Alex Censullo, actually play on club teams, giving credence to Brown’s com-parison.

“Everyone knows the flow of the game,” Aldrich said. “Everyone knows how to play with each other.”

Aldrich has high expecta-tions for the team. He said he would consider the season a suc-cess only if the team wins the KingCo Conference and places at state, beating the 2010 finish.

Five players on the team have four years’ worth of varsity expe-rience.

The flip side of so much expe-rience is that if there is noise to make, they need to make it in the next three months. No wait-’til-next-year for this bunch.

“We are graduating some solid seniors,” Brown said, “So they know that the time is now.”

Brown said his job is to slow the team down a little bit, keep the players from looking too far ahead. This group, he said, repeating one of the vintage adages of the sport, has to take it one game at a time.

In the meantime, Brown said he likes what he sees. These boys will fight Mercer Island and per-haps dark horse Sammamish for supremacy in KingCo.

“This is an exciting team,” Brown said. “Kids are working a lot harder this year, chemis-try is strong and the boys are focused.”

In 2010, the Wildcats reached

Mount Si High School boys soccer team seeks to make history

By Calder Productions

Dane Aldrich, in action against Bellevue in 2011. Aldrich and the rest of the Mount Si Wildcats’ boys soccer team, look to turn some heads this year with a senior-heavy squad high on experience and soccer know-how. The season’s first game is 7:30 p.m. March 15 against Issaquah. See SOCCER, Page 13


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Visit our website to learn about our St. Patrick’s Day

Specials.

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state for the second time in history and the first time in 12 years. They beat Auburn Mountainview 4-0 in the first round, and then lost in the quarterfinals 2-0 to eventual state champ Glacier.

This year, the stakes stand taller. Any result lower than the 2010 campaign would be disap-pointing, Brown said.

“I think we can do more with this group here,” he said. “I think we can create some magic.”


SoccerFrom Page 12

By Sebastian Moraga

Bellevue College has hired Darren Brown, head coach of the girls and boys soccer teams at Mount Si High School, as assistant coach for its men’s team.

Brown wrote in an email that he would stay on as the Wildcats’ head coach and as teacher of a sports marketing class at the high school.

“My high school programs are my babies,” he wrote. “This is just a good experience and fit for me to do a little more.”

Bellevue College head coach Tao Shen praised the hirings of assistant coaches Brown and Kiko Magana.

“I am excited to announce that coaches Brown and Magana will join the staff here at Bellevue College,” he said in a press release posted on the team’s webpage. “Their knowl-edge, enthusiasm and work ethic will fulfill our vision here to develop a first-class collegiate program at Bellevue College.”

A self-described “soccer junkie,” Brown will work on recruitment, training, condition-ing and marketing at Bellevue College.

Brown has a master’s degree in sports management from Warner Pacific University.

The high school girls team and the college men’s team both play in the fall. Brown dismissed

any chance of burning himself out.

“There’s never too much soc-cer,” he wrote. “I will be having training sessions in the morning at the college and afternoon at the high school. Matches do not overlap, and if they do, my high school comes first.”


Wildcats soccer coach takes Bellevue job

Mixed bag for opening baseball jamboree

A couple of perfectly-pitched innings and several home runs highlighted Mount Si High School baseball team’s opening Jamboree March 10.

The team ended with one win and one loss at the Jamboree, held at Inglemoor High School in Bothell.

The Wildcats lost, 4-1, in the first game against Edmonds-Woodway High School, but beat Inglemoor, 5-1, during the sec-ond.

Coach Elliot Cribby said he wasn’t concerned about the loss.

“We had a poor first inning and the rest of the day was very good,” he said, pointing out that the weather that day was awful. “I was satisfied with how we per-formed for the last five innings.”

Cribby said that during the Inglemoor game, Mount Si’s Connor Swift threw two perfect innings and struck out two play-ers.

He said Reece Karalus hit a two-run homer while Erik Meister hit a solo home run.

The Wildcats were slated to face off with Bothell High School March 13 in Bothell, but that game may get rained — or snowed — out.

By Sebastian Moraga

Darren Brown, head coach of the Mount Si Wildcats soccer teams, has signed as assistant coach for the Bellevue College men’s squad.


14

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Medicaid fraud reform bills pass Legislature

An overhaul of Washington’s

Medicaid fraud recovery efforts to cut waste and recover tax-payer dollars was passed by the Legislature March 8 with strong bipartisan support, accord-ing to a press release from the Legislature.

A bipartisan group of legis-lators applauded the progress made.

Experts from the National Conference of State Legislatures estimate the cost of Medicaid fraud accounts for between 3 percent and 10 percent of total Medicaid expenditures. Washington spent $8.5 billion on Medicaid last year, only to recover less than $20 million in fraud. At its most optimistic, the state’s recovery rate tops less than 1 percent.

Senate Bill 5978 will give the state new tools in pursuing Medicaid fraud with the hopes of raising tens of millions of dol-lars in fraud recoveries over the next few years.

Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee, helped shepherd the package of fraud bills in the past two sessions.

“The bill allows us to be party to over 100 ongoing cases of multistate fraud around the

country that already exist and are under way, that we are denied access to right now,” Keiser said in a press release. “In the last three years, Washington has missed out on our propor-tionate share of over $1 billion.”

“Without this tough enhance-ment of our False Claims Act our state has been almost powerless against the corporate culprits who defraud taxpayers through false Medicaid claims,” Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Maple Valley, prime sponsor of the legislation, said in the release. “Fraud only leads to higher health-care costs, and as the Medicaid program grows the need to deter fraud grows as well.”

The bill was just one piece in a series of legislation designed to cut Medicaid fraud waste and abuse.

HB 2571, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Parker, R-Spokane, passed the Legislature as well.

The bill will reform the way Washington combats fraud and waste in medical services by focusing on prevention and early detection, as opposed to the state’s current “pay and chase” model.

“Projected savings for this leg-islation range from $30 million to $150 million,” Parker said in the release.

SB 5978 and HB 2571 now head to the governor to be signed into law.

Chamber launches its upgraded website

The Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce has launched an upgraded website.

“The site is designed to serve several constituencies at once: SVCC member businesses and individuals; the community at large; and visitors to our beau-tiful region,” chamber CEO Kevin Dwyer said in a press release. “We also aim to make the site more educational, infor-mative and efficient.”

Under the functionality of the new site at www.snovalley.org, members will be able to log in and improve their individual business listings and profiles. Using words, pictures and sto-ries, members will be able to bet-ter drive Internet traffic to their own websites through their asso-ciation with the chamber.

With a few clicks of the keyboard, members can alert Internet search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, about a new business product, service or spe-cial feature, attract new custom-ers and retain existing ones.

The website’s new e-commerce feature will allow members to register for chamber luncheon programs, After Hours events, educational classes and other events online.

It will allow members to renew their membership dues online, and for new and pro-

spective members to join easily. “Our ultimate goal is to make

our site a community resource for all things related to business, the economy and tourism,” Dwyer said.

Call the chamber at 888-6362.

DNR opens Mount Si trails

The Mount Si and Little Si trailheads and trails opened at 8 a.m. March 9, according to a Washington State Department of Natural Resources press release.

The area was closed to public access after a single-engine air-plane crashed in the Mount Si Natural Resources Conservation Area Feb. 15.

Initially, the area was closed while federal and local teams conducted an investigation into the cause of the crash, according to a department press release. The area remained closed so a helicopter salvage operation could remove the wreckage. Recovery efforts have been delayed due to winter weather conditions and poor visibility.

The agency may need to close Mount Si NRCA for one day in the future to enable the salvage operation to take place safely.

“Public safety was our main reason for keeping the area closed during the attempted salvage operation,” said Doug McClelland, assistant regional manager with DNR.

Public meetings

q North Bend Economic Development Commission, 8 a.m. March 15, Community and Economic Development office, 126 E. Fourth St.

q North Bend Community and Economic Development Committee, 1:30 p.m. March 20, Community and Economic Development Office

q North Bend City Council, 7 p.m. March 20, Mount Si Senior Center, 411 Main Ave. S.

q North Bend Transportation and Public Works Committee, 3:45 p.m. March 21, Public Works build-ing, 1155 E. North Bend Way

q North Bend Planning Commission, 7 p.m. March 22, City Hall

q North Bend City Council Work Study, 7 p.m. March 27, City Hall

q North Bend Parks Commission, 6 p.m. March 28, Community and Economic Development Office

q Snoqualmie Public Safety Committee, 5 p.m. March 15, Snoqualmie Fire Station 37600 S.E. Snoqualmie Parkway

q Snoqualmie Public Works Committee, 5 p.m. March 19, City Hall

q Snoqualmie Planning and Parks Committee, 6:30 p.m. March 19, City Hall

q Snoqualmie Parks Board, 7 p.m. March 19, City Hall

q Snoqualmie Planning Commission, 7 p.m. March 19, City Hall

q Snoqualmie Finance and Administration, 5:30 p.m. March 20, City Hall

q Snoqualmie Arts Commission 7 p.m. March 20, City Hall

q Snoqualmie Economic Development Commission, 8 a.m. March 21, Snoqualmie Fire Station

q Snoqualmie City Council, 7 p.m. March 26, City Hall

q Snoqualmie Community and Economic Affairs Committee, 5 p.m. March 27, City Hall

q Snoqualmie Shoreline Hearings Board, 5 p.m. March 28, City Hall

q Snoqualmie Public Safety Committee, 5 p.m. March 29, Snoqualmie Fire Station

Music/entertainmentq Reuel Lubag and Danny

Kolke Quartet, 7 p.m. March 15, Boxley’s. 101 W. North Bend Way, North Bend

q Darto & and John White & Seth, 7:30 p.m. March 15, The Black Dog, 8062 Railroad Ave. S.E., Snoqualmie

q Milo Petersen Trio, 7 p.m. March 16, Boxley’s

q Valley Center Stage pres-ents “Jack and the Beanstalk,” 6:30 p.m. March 16, Si View Community Center, 400 S.E.

Orchard Drive. Tickets are a $10 donation per family.

q James Howard Blues Band, 8 p.m. March 17, Snoqualmie Brewery and Taproom, 8032 Falls Ave. S.E., Snoqualmie, 766-2837

q Cherlyn Johnson and Heartdance, St. Patrick’s Day special, 7 p.m. March 17, Boxley’s

q St. Patrick’s Day Party, 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. March 17, Finaghty’s 7726 Center Blvd. S.E., Snoqualmie, 888-8833

q Danny Kolke Trio, 6 p.m. March 18, 25, Boxley’s, 101 W. North Bend Way, 292-9307

q Pearl Django, 7 p.m. March 21, Boxley’s

q Kelley Johnson and John Hansen 7 p.m., March 22, Boxley’s

q Chris Clark Trio, 7 p.m. March 23, Boxley’s

q Valley Center Stage presents “Murder Medium Rare,” interactive murder mys-tery theater, 6:30 p.m. March 24, Boxley’s, $65 per person until March 17, $75 after. Call Boxley’s for tickets.

q Jason Hill (Extra Sauce), 8 p.m. March 24, Snoqualmie Brewery and Taproom,

q Carolyn Graye Vocal Soiree, 7 p.m. March 26, Boxley’s

q John Hansen, 7 p.m. March 28, Boxley’s

q Gigs for Guatemala fun-draiser, dinner, open mic and silent auction, 6-9 p.m. March 29, The Black Dog

q Katy Bourne Duo, 7 p.m. March 29, Boxley’s

q Tim Hickey and Jazz

Strings, 7:30 p.m. March 30, The Black Dog

q Frank Kohl Trio, 7 p.m. March 30, Boxley’s

q The Left Coast Gypsies, CD release party, 8 p.m. March 31, The Black Dog

q Ravinwolf, 8 p.m. March 31, Snoqualmie Brewery and Taproom

q Valley Center Stage pres-ents “Leisure Time Presents The Billy Dupree Show,” 7:30 p.m. March 30-31, Valley Center Stage. The show is a spoof of the old-time radio shows. Tickets are $10 to $12.50.

Eventsq Collages by North Bend

artists Susan Olds and Audrey Zeder will be on display at Mount Si Senior Center, 411 Main Ave. S., North Bend, Monday-Friday through March 31, free, 888-3434

q SnoValley Indoor Playground, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays when school is in ses-sion, Si View Community Center, 400 S.E. Orchard Drive. A donation of $1 per child per visit is appreciated.

q “Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Tots,” 9:30-10:30 a.m. daily through March 29 at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, membership not required. Email [email protected] or call 443-6228 for more informa-tion. Six-week session is $65 plus $10 fee for nonTPC members. Four-week session is $55 plus registration fee.

q “Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Tykes,” 10:45-11:30 a.m. daily

through March 29 at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, $65 for mem-bers, plus $10 fee for nonmem-bers

q Tree planting at Three Forks Natural Area, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., March 24 and 31, 39912 S.E. Park St., Snoqualmie

q Tween Scene, after-school activities, at Snoqualmie Valley YMCA. Fifth-graders engage in fun and unique activities while remaining physically active, get-ting homework help and learn-ing leadership skills. Call 256-3115 for more information.

q Kids U Session 3B, after-school activities at the Snoqualmie Valley YMCA focus-ing on science, arts, reading and sports, challenging children and stretching their imaginations. Call 256-3115 for a list of classes and more information.

q Sallal Grange Community Games Night, 7 p.m. last Wednesday of each month. Please consider bringing a small monetary donation to help the Grange keep organizing events like this, www.sallalgrange.org.

q Saint Patrick’s Day 5K run, 7 a.m., March 17, at Snoqualmie Ridge. Learn more at www.runsnoqualmie.com.

q Issaquah Alps Trails Club will hike Little Si, 9 a.m. March 17. Hike is 5.8 miles. Call 557-6554.

q Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation “Small Hands to Big Plans” fundrais-ing luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 22, TPC Snoqualmie Ridge. RSVP at www.svsfoundation.org.

q Mount Si High School Key

Club bake sale for Relay For Life, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 24 at Snoqualmie Ridge IGA super-market, 7730 Center Blvd. S.E.

q Mount Si High School Cabin Fever Associated Student Body Auction, 5:15 p.m. March 24, Si View Community Center. General admission: $25, includes dinner. Wildcat Club members $75, includes dinner, early admission, two drink tick-ets, reserved parking and early bidding.

q SnoValley Idol Junior Finals, 6 p.m. March 30, Mount Si High School Auditorium, 8651 Meadowbrook Way S.E., Snoqualmie

North Bend Library

The following events take place at the North Bend Library, 115 E. Fourth St.

q Snoqualmie Valley Chess Club, 7 p.m. Thursdays. Learn to play chess or get a game going; all ages/skill levels wel-come.

q Tax preparation assis-tance, 10 a.m. Wednesdays through April 11. Everyone wel-come regardless of income and age.

q Study Zone, 4 p.m. March 15, 22, 29; 3 p.m. March 19, 20, 26, 27; 7 p.m. March 21, 28, free tutoring for grades K-12.

q Game On! 3 p.m. March 16, 23, 30. Play Xbox 306, PlayStation and Nintendo, “Guitar Hero” and “Dance Dance Revolution.” Board games and snacks available.

q Special Needs Story Time, 10 a.m. March 17. Targeting ages 3 to 6, children of all ages and abilities welcome.

q Merry Monday Story Time, 11 a.m. March 19, 26. Newborns to age 3 with adult. Siblings and other children wel-come.

q Job Club, 2 p.m. March 19, 26. Connect with fellow job seekers for support and network-ing.

q EReader assistance, 6 p.m. March 19 and 26. Learn how to download library eBooks to your eReader or computer.

q Toddler Story Time, 9:30 a.m. March 20, 27. Ages 2-3 with adult.

Submit an item for the com-munity calendar by emailing [email protected] or go to www.snovalleystar.com.

March 2012

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

A man of honor

CalendarMARCH 15, 2012 PAGE 15

By Sebastian Moraga

“A Man For All Seasons” is at 7:30 p.m. March 16, 17, 23 and 24 at The Black Dog. Tickets are $12 to $15 at www.brownpapertickets.com. Reservations are recommended.

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