Snoqualmie votes to join King County’s new animal control model
June 16, 2010
UPDATED — 10:05 a.m. June 18, 2010
Snoqualmie City Council and North Bend City Council voted to join King County’s new regional model for animal control.
While the proposed model has gained support from most cities in King County, its long-term financial sustainability is still in doubt.
Twenty-seven cities, including Snoqualmie and North Bend, have expressed an interest in signing on to the proposed model. Both cities’ councils supported joining with unanimous votes.
The new model replaces the old county-funded system. Under King County Executive Dow Constantine’s proposal, cities will have to pay a total of $2.5 million, while the county pays $3.2 million.
Local races for state legislature fill out
June 16, 2010
Candidates to represent the Snoqualmie Valley in Olympia readied campaign plans before the June 11 deadline to file for federal, state, county, city and judicial elections. No city positions in the Valley are up for election this year.
“So far, filing has been fairly consistent with past volumes and we are seeing more and more candidates take advantage of the convenience of online filing,” King County Elections Director Sherril Huff said in a news release before the deadline.
State Rep. Glenn Anderson announced his campaign late June 11, a week after Democrat Dean Willard officially kicked off his bid for the seat. Democrat David Spring also filed for election.
Anderson, a Fall City Republican, has held the 5th Legislative District post for a decade.
Jay Rodne*, Republican: jrodne@comcast.net, www.jayrodne.com, 425-890-3336
Greg Hoover, Democrat: hoover@votehoover.com, www.votehoover.com, 425-392-8768
“In spite of the drastic downturn in the economy, the Legislature and governor ignored the effects on regular people outside of Olympia,” Anderson said in a campaign news release. “We need to get Washington back on track with a ‘live-within-our-means’ budget and no new taxes. We should not be following California down the road to bankruptcy.”
Willard, a Sammamish information technology consultant and a former T-Mobile executive, launched his campaign at Vino Bella in downtown Issaquah on June 3.
“We need a new approach to state government,” Willard said in a statement on his website. “Too often, elected officials have attacked government to score cheap political points. Our elected officials need to work harder to build trust in government by engaging in civil discussions, reducing partisan bickering and making government work for the people of Washington state.”
Willard has raised more than $46,000 compared to Anderson’s $25,000, according to early filings with the Public Disclosure Commission.
Snoqualmie offers third town hall meeting
June 16, 2010
The city of Snoqualmie’s recent town hall meeting presentations will be offered again June 30 at Cascade View Elementary School, 34816 S.E. Ridge St. on Snoqualmie Ridge.
Citizens will have another opportunity to vote on issues related to the meeting’s topic — “Pavement, Pipes and Parks: Preventing an infrastructure crisis.”
The event starts at 6:30 p.m. with a root beer float social, and exhibits of city departments’ services and projects. The first 50 people to arrive will receive handheld voting devices to use during the presentations.
At 7 p.m. the meeting will begin with presentations by Mayor Matt Larson, Public Works Director Daniel Marcinko, Parks and Recreation Director Gwen Voelpel, and Interim Finance Officer Rob Orton. The evening will conclude with door prize drawings.
No Party Patrol means more vigilance needed
June 16, 2010
The King County Sheriff’s Department has traditionally put extra officers on duty during June weekends as students celebrate the end of the school year.
Last year the Party Patrol was a scaled-back program, and this year it will be non-existent due to county budget cuts.
That could be bad news for the underage partygoers, provided parents step up and fill the gap, along with police in Snoqualmie Valley. With hundreds of pairs of parental eyes and ears on alert, our teenagers could be safer than ever.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that Snoqualmie Valley teens have not been part of the underage drinking problem in the past. They have.
King County officers almost annually busted big party groups here where alcohol was being consumed during the Party Patrol’s heyday.
In recent years, police have been tougher on parents who host parties for minors with alcohol being served. The law does not allow minors to consume alcohol just because they are under adult supervision on private property.
Parents, teachers, neighbors should not hesitate to call police to report suspected minor consumption. It may be the call that saves a life.
Letters
June 16, 2010
Snoqualmie
ONE community,UN-divided
I can’t decide which is worse — Maureen Whitney’s inflammatory letter about Snoqualmie Ridge and its residents, or the Snovalley Star’s willingness to print prejudicial commentary that serves no other purpose than to divide our community. I believe it’s time to take issue with both, and hopefully end this senseless banter once and for all.
The dog park has been a metaphorical battlefield for a childish Ridge/Valley rift waged by a few individuals who simply don’t like certain parts of our community. Whitney’s letter wasn’t about a dog park — it was about her displeasure with the Ridge development, evident by her derogatory remarks toward the landscape.
It was also about her disapproval of the people who live there, evident by her suspicion that there will be “years of…whining from Ridge residents,” accusing them of “complaining about what [they] feel [they] are owed.” All of this outrage over a dog park? Really?
In reality, such remarks are nothing more than ignorant hate mongering on par with racism and other forms of polarizing rhetoric. Maureen, if you’re upset about the trees that were cut down to make way for development, call out Weyerhaeuser, not the people who live here. And if you don’t like the people who live here, you should move somewhere else, because we’re all residents of the same community.
That’s why it’s time for the Star to stop printing such polarizing letters from individuals spewing their own pointless agendas, like a letter published a few months ago in which Ridge residents were accused of taking “our” library and “our” police station.
Guess what? Snoqualmie still has those things. Nobody took them. It’s time to move beyond this silly “old-versus-new” debate and celebrate our community’s incredible assets: stunning natural beauty, a charming downtown loaded with history and character, a vibrant urban village that generates significant tax revenue and a wonderfully-diverse population who get to enjoy it all every day.
Matt Robinson
Snoqualmie
Congratulation graduates, enjoy the moment!
June 16, 2010
It was a big week last week as Snoqualmie Valley School District’s Mount Si High School and Two Rivers School handed out diplomas to their graduating seniors. There were tears of happiness mixed with apprehensions of an unknown future.
The newly graduated may be pondering their quest for a job in a very difficult economy, or whether they will be successful in college, or what career path they want to pursue. All of those concerns are part of reaching adulthood and are not that much different from the fears of other graduates through past decades.
For the time being, set the fears aside and take in the glory of a job well done, a 13-year education completed and worth celebrating. You make your community and families proud!
Deputy superintendent wins award
June 16, 2010
Teaching teachers how to teach is a continuous process, one that Deputy Superintendent Don McConkey has embraced, as is evidenced by his award from the Washington State Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Sixteen people from the three school districts and one consulting company nominated McConkey for the individual award of Influencing the Instructional Leadership and Professional Growth of Educators.
“I was aware of the nomination, but I was surprised in regard to the actual award,” McConkey said.
Snoqualmie Valley School District Superintendent Joel Aune (left) and Deputy Superintendent Don McConkey share a joke after Aune announced McConkey had won a state award. Photo by Laura Geggel
Six screeners sifted through 31 nominations and awarded nine of them 2010 awards, said Kathy Clayton, executive director of the Washington State ASCD.
McConkey was one of three to win the award. He will receive his award at the Washington State ASCD Awards Luncheon Oct. 15 at the Spokane Convention Center.
EFR donates to its own charity
June 16, 2010
Eastside Fire & Rescue is directing a donation of more than $4,700 to an organization primarily dedicated to buying equipment for their own firefighters.
“The work they’re doing helps us meet the mission we are tasked with,” said Jeff Griffin, EFR deputy chief of operations.
The donation is more than three-quarters of the money private ambulance service American Medical Response will donate to local charities the board chooses. This year’s donations included $1,500 to Ryan’s Solution, a nonprofit run by an EFR firefighter aimed at ending teenage abuse of prescription medicine, and $4,739 to Eastside Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association, a nonprofit support group for EFR firefighters.
The annual donation is part of EFR’s services agreement with AMR and can go to any nonprofit the board sees as worthy, provided they are a registered 501(c)3, according to EFR documents presented at the board of directors’ June 10 meeting. The volunteer association meets the requirement.
Snoqualmie police contest King County judge’s order to return marijuana to Snoqualmie resident
June 16, 2010
The Snoqualmie Police Department is contesting a King County Superior Court judge’s order to return 10 ounces of marijuana to a resident who claims it is for medicinal purposes.
The police department had a hearing scheduled with Judge Sharon Armstrong for June 16, after the paper went to press.
Schools likely to charge for middle school sports again
June 16, 2010
Snoqualmie Valley School District will likely charge for middle school extracurricular activities again next year, although the amount will not be determined until July, Deputy Superintendent Don McConkey said.
The pay-to-participate middle school program started in the 2009-10 school year. In light of both local and statewide budget deficits, the district cut $3.35 million from its operating budget, which included a $300,000 cut to middle school sports and clubs.
While student participation is down in sports and clubs compared to last year, the district actually made about $25,000 from its pay-to-participate policy. That money will be carried over to next year to help pay for sports and clubs, which will be more expensive in 2010-11.
“The cost of compensation for coaches goes up and we have some other expenses that we didn’t initially know about, (such as) replenishing of football equipment,” McConkey said. “It’s going to be a little more expensive.”
This past year, the district gave about 30 scholarships to students with money donated from the 3-on-3 tournaments at Fall City Days. This year, Fall City Days volunteers do not plan to donate money to the district, but to Chief Kanim Middle School and Fall City Elementary School, meaning the district will have to look for another revenue source for its scholarships.
Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
