Snoqualmie student does model U.N.
March 19, 2009
Many middle school students have never heard of the Tamil Tigers, a guerrilla group seeking to establish an independent Tamil state in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka.
Before entering seventh-grade this year, Snoqualmie resident Emmet Williams knew nothing about them, either.
But, after learning his peers at Arbor Montessori Schools would be participating in the Montessori Model United Nations in New York, Williams buried himself in research about Sri Lanka and its cultural, religious and political past. He spent months familiarizing himself with Sri Lanka, the teardrop-shaped country south of India. Finally, from March 2-5, Williams felt prepared to represent the country as a student delegate at the model U.N. with 600 Montessori students from all around the world.
Youths address drugs and leadership at conference
March 19, 2009
Four youths crowded around a table to discuss the word “community.” Earlier that morning, they had joined 60 Eastside middle and high school students at Twin Falls Middle School for leadership and icebreaker games. They noticed groups of students formed during these games excluded some people from the activity.
Why did both communities, both large and small, reject people, they wondered.
“Why is it that communities want to have someone on the outside?” asked Cedarcrest sophomore Josh Denison. “Why can’t everybody belong?”
North Bend quilter in international contest
March 19, 2009
Diane Becka started quilting because she wanted a homemade quilt and didn’t know how to acquire one, other than by sewing it herself.
Now, 25 years later, the North Bend resident is not only sewing quilts, she’s teaching quilting and entering her creations in nationwide competitions.
“I usually design my own patterns,” Becka said. “I start with something kind of traditional and put different elements together.”
Calendar 3-19
March 19, 2009
Events
Mount Si softball bolts into season with new faces
March 19, 2009
When Mount Si softball coach Larry White looks over his team these days, he sees a lot of new faces.
That doesn’t, however, mean that he sees a lack of potential.
After falling two wins shy of a state-tournament berth a year ago, the Wildcats lost a large group of players. In fact, just two starters return from a team that went 14-10 and was eliminated in the district tournament.
A slew of youngsters will need to improve quickly if Mount Si is to compete for the league title, something that certainly appears possible.
Mount Si’s Melissa Webster leaps to snag a fly ball last season.
Bond on its way to approval
March 18, 2009
With a majority of 67 percent, Snoqualmie Valley voters appear to have approved a $27.5 million school bond.
A total of 6,170 voters approved the bond, while 3,036 had voted against it. The ballot was all-mail, with March 10 set as the final day for ballots to be postmarked. Results for the all mail-in ballot will not be final until March 25.
A crowd of district employees, Valley Voters for Education volunteers, school board members and community voters convened at the Woodman Lodge Restaurant in Snoqualmie on the eve of the voting deadline, anxious to see the results. The vote count had already passed the threshold of 7,254, the number of ballots needed to validate the election.
This sign outside the North Bend Theater reminded people in the Valley to vote on a March 10 school bond proposition, which appears to have passed.
Snoqualmie meeting shows how to grow green
March 18, 2009
About 60 Snoqualmie residents came to a Growing Green Town Hall meeting March 12 at Cascade View Elementary to learn what the city is doing to be more environmentally sustainable.
A group of students from the University of Washington’s sustainability team gave a presentation on their work with the city. The team has been working with Snoqualmie city leaders since September 2008 to gauge resident’s opinions on environmental issues and to create a list of suggestions for guiding the city’s green policies. The group has also developed content for the city’s Web page to better inform residents about climate change and what the city is doing to solve the problem.
Mayor Matt Larson kicked off the event by describing how he became interested in the sustainability movement. He said that, at a 2007 conference of mayors in Seattle, he joined a number of small town mayors in signing a commitment to reduce green house gas emissions, known as the Kyoto Protocols. Larson said that the conference, which highlighted climate change, inspired him to act.
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County forms ideas to help with flooding
March 17, 2009
Stockpiling sandbags, better interagency coordination, better public notifications, and speeding up disaster cleanups are changes that King County wants to make to better deal with emergencies like the January floods.
The King County Council approved legislation that attempts to better aid communities during floods and other emergencies on March 9. The legislation is partly in response to comments made by citizens at a committee of the whole meeting of the County Council in Carnation in February.
“In every disaster, we all continue to learn, and this event with its record water levels presented some new challenges. The Town Hall provided an opportunity for those most affected by the storm in the rural area to share their experiences with most members of the King County Council,” said King County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, in a March 9 press release.
City Council agrees to concert series in Snoqualmie
March 13, 2009
A summer concert series is expected to bring as many as 4,500 to the Snoqualmie Point Park for shows this summer, after a memorandum of agreement was approved by the City Council March 9.
The Snoqualmie Tribe plans to organize as many as six shows this summer to boost attendance at its casino. City attorney Pat Anderson told the council that it was probably too late for the tribe to get big name acts for the summer, but they needed the agreement with the city to get started booking and promoting the concert series.
Live power line tangles with school bus
March 12, 2009
A Snoqualmie Valley school bus mistakenly ran over a downed power line the morning of March 12. At around 6:50 a.m., a school bus driver realized she had accidentally driven over the line on Lake Marie Road near Fall City. Both the middle school student — the only passenger on the bus — and the driver are safe.
Once the driver realized the power line was caught on the front of the bus, she stopped the vehicle and called her dispatch and 911. Both she and the student remained on the bus, relying on the bus’ rubber tires to shield them from electric shock.
