Valley celebrates Obama inauguration
January 27, 2009
As MSNBC showed President Barack Obama dancing with his wife Michelle at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball Jan. 20, Snoqualmie Valley residents crowded into Finaghty’s Irish Pub & Restaurant to celebrate their new president.
Dan McCrea and his wife Christina Jackson organized the gathering by e-mailing friends and posting community invitations on moveon.org, an Obama Web site. McCrea didn’t expect many to attend, considering how last minute he had planned the event. But about 40 people came, many wearing Obama buttons and shirts. Read more
North Bend considers change to elk hunting rules
January 24, 2009
A change to a North Bend ordinance may help future efforts to manage the elk population in the Snoqualmie Valley.
If approved at the Jan. 20 North Bend City Council meeting, the amended ordinance will allow for authorized individuals to discharge firearms on city property. In the future, this may allow the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to tranquilize and tag elk on the Valley floor.
This king of an elk herd in Snoqualmie is one of a large group of Valley elk who some say have grown too large.
Opstad students find their beat
January 24, 2009
Saturday Night Live’s Christopher Walken got it right in a comedy sketch in which he played music producer and cowbell-aficionado Bruce Dickinson.
“I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell,” Walken said in a now oft-quoted line.
Just like Walken told Will Ferrell to play “more cowbell” in the 2000 SNL sketch, Opstad Elementary students recently played cowbells of their own, in addition to the sticks, congas, double bells, shekeres, xylophones, maracas and tambourines.
Opstad Elementary fourth-grade students J.T. Ferguson, left, and Keala Mercer practice playing the drum.
Snoqualmie Valley School Board to decide on missed days
January 23, 2009
Snoqualmie Valley school administrators are in the process of determining how students will make up the eight school days recently missed due to snow and flooding.
Before the inclement weather hit, students were set to end their year June 17. Last year, the Snoqualmie Valley School Board approved a period of five make-up days that would allow the district to keep students until June 24, if necessary. Read more
Body found in vehicle
January 22, 2009
A 23-year-old North Bend man was found dead in his car on Jan. 20.
The King County Sheriff’s is investigating the case, but did not find signs of foul play, according to Sgt. John Urquhart, public information officer. A determination of the cause and manner of death from the Medical Examiner’s office is pending.
The identity of the 23-year-old North Bend man has not yet been released. Urquhart did say that the 23-year-old man was reported missing by his parents on Jan. 11.
Urquhart said that the body was found in a 1989 Ford Bronco that was parked on the side of the road at the intersection of Southeast 53rd and 396th Avenue Southeast, which is located northeast of Snoqualmie near Southeast Tokul Road.
The body was discovered by two Snoqualmie teenagers who stopped to check out the vehicle and phoned police after seeing the body inside.
Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 425-392-6434 Ext. 248.
EFR partnership with Fall City still in limbo
January 22, 2009
A decision on partnering with the Fall City Fire Department, also known as Fire District 27, remains in limbo after Eastside Fire & Rescue’s Jan. 13 meeting. Depending on Fall City’s financial plan for the partnership, taxes for fire service in North Bend could go up or down.
Finance Chief Dave Gray reported that a comparison of budget estimates between EFR and Fall City showed that EFR had a good sense of the Fall City’s operating costs and revenues. Read more
King County voters get first shot at choosing elections chief
January 22, 2009
The election season is upon us once again.
A little less than two months after the Nov. 4 general election, King County voters on Feb. 3 will decide for the first time who they want heading up the county’s elections department. Read more
Valley slowly gets back to normal after flood
January 22, 2009
Snoqualmie residents and volunteers continue to cleanup after a Jan. 7 flood that affected much of downtown.
For the second weekend in a row, volunteers descended on Snoqualmie to pick up flood debris. However, this weekend saw fewer volunteers than the Jan. 10 weekend directly after the floods when 200 helpers arrived for cleanup efforts.
Alan Berner/The Seattle Times
Sherril Huff preferred for elections chief
January 22, 2009
Editorial:
By now voters have received the first all-mail ballot used in a King County election, and are wondering who to vote for. The only election on the ballot that applies to North Bend and Snoqualmie will decide which of six candidates will become the first-ever elected Director of Elections for the county.
Up until now, the King County Executive has appointed the Director of Elections. If the director didn’t do a good job, he/she was fired and replaced. But a citizen initiative to make the Director of Elections a non-partisan elected position was approved in November by 56 percent of the voters. Feb. 3 was set as a special election for the voters to choose among candidates.
Most voters will find it’s a bit like hiring an executive from among some resumes — but without even a full resume. All you get is a few hundred words about each in the Voters’ Pamphlet to choose the best administrator for a staff of 300-500, brings a financial/technical/public relations background, has the ability to be non-partisan while working with political parties, unions and special interest groups and will earn about $150,000 per year.
After meeting the candidates and listening carefully as they answered a barrage of questions at last Saturday’s candidate forum at Golf Course at Newcastle, we understand the difference between the candidates — and there certainly are differences!
We recommend Sherril Huff, the current elections chief, stay on the job. While the 2008 election still had a few snafus, King County elections have become a lot more accountable and accessible under Huff. Trust in election results has returned.
Some are concerned that Huff will be beholden to Executive Ron Sims, who originally appointed her to the job. But some of the other candidates come with former political party associations, including former King County Councilman and Sammamish resident David Irons, and Senator Pam Roach from Auburn, both of whom are highly qualified.
The winner of this contest will be in charge of our elections for the next four years whether voters trust their ballots to be secure and counted accurately or not. Your vote does matter. Take time to choose wisely.
Mount Si students celebrate diversity at assembly
January 22, 2009
Mount Si High School students transformed the gymnasium into a venue for musical and cultural performances at the Jan. 14 Martin Luther King Jr. assembly.
“This morning we come together for Dr. Martin Luther King,” said Principal Randy Taylor. “As we learn about diversity, we learn to celebrate our culture.”
Jah Breeze, left, and Kathryn Hightower play steel pan drums for Mount Si’s Martin Luther King Jr. Assembly.
