Slash and stash trash and waste at Snoqualmie sites
September 26, 2010
NEW — 6:00 a.m. Sept. 26, 2010
Snoqualmie is holding a fall recycling event from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Oct. 2, at Centennial Fields Park, 39903 S.E. Park St.
Instructions for drop off and a list of acceptable items are available at www.cityofsnoqualmie.org. Nonperishable food items will be accepted for the local food bank.
At the same event, the city will provide shredding services to dispose of documents with sensitive information from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Residents can bring up to three grocery bags or two copy paper boxes of records for shredding.
The city’s yard and food waste drop-off program continues from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. every Saturday through October. Material should be brought to the corner of Snoqualmie Parkway and Railroad Avenue Southeast.
Learn more about any of these events at the city’s website or call 888-1555.
King County executive completes sojourn to 39 cities
September 25, 2010
NEW — 6:00 a.m. Sept. 25, 2010
King County Executive Dow Constantine has completed a tour of the 39 cities and towns in King County less than 10 months after he took office.
Skykomish in northeastern King County marked the last stop on the tour Sept. 14. The executive opened the tour in Duvall, Carnation, North Bend and Snoqualmie in February.
“There’s simply no substitute for being there when it comes to getting a feel for a community, its people and its issues,” Constantine said in a news release. “I met every mayor in King County on their own turf and let them set the agenda for our discussion.”
Each of the visits included sit-down discussion with mayors and other municipal officials. Many included driving or walking tours of local sites, plus meetings with business and community leaders.
Snoqualmie hangs sale signs on downtown properties
September 24, 2010
NEW — 3:00 p.m. Sept. 24, 2010
The city of Snoqualmie has “for sale” signs on three downtown buildings — the old City Hall, the former library and the former administration building.
The city is also pursuing a design competition process to sell the King Street parking lot, at the corner of Railroad Avenue Southeast and Southeast King Street.
The city is accepting offers on the buildings until Nov. 30.
Snoqualmie student graduates from Washington State University
September 24, 2010
NEW — 10:33 a.m. Sept. 24, 2010
Casey Patrick McDonald, of Snoqualmie, earned a Bachelor of Arts in social sciences from Washington State University after the summer 2010 semester.
Snoqualmie Valley Hospital Foundation hits a hole-in-one with golf fundraiser
September 24, 2010
NEW — 10:30 a.m. Sept. 24, 2010
The Snoqualmie Valley Hospital Foundation’s Golf for Health Tournament was a success despite overcast skies.
There were scattered sprinkles, but the weather held long enough for 32 golfers to shoot nine holes at Cascade Golf Course in North Bend.
The Sept. 10 fundraiser raised about $8,000 for the foundation after expenses. This year was the first time the event was held.
King County executive proposes streamlining permitting process for unincorporated areas
September 24, 2010
NEW — 10:17 a.m. Sept. 24, 2010
King County’s Department of Development and Environmental Services could start charging flat fees for permits, rather than billing applicants by the hour. The switch, which King County Executive Dow Constantine included in his proposed 2011 budget, is part of the department’s effort to become more customer-friendly.
Flat fees are meant to give applicants more certainty about the cost of permits. The change is also intended to let staff focus more on each application, rather than meeting department standards for billable hours, according to a news release from Constantine’s office.
Candlelight vigil honors Mount Si student
September 22, 2010
NEW — 6:20 p.m. Sept. 22, 2010
The Valley community showed its support for the family of a high school junior Sept. 14 during a candlelight vigil on a grassy field next to Cascade View Elementary School. (By Sebastian Moraga)
In a park where boys and girls run and play, men and women stood and wept.
A place that on the morning of Sept. 14 was bathed in sunshine, in the evening glowed with candles.
Community comes together with tears, honesty
September 22, 2010
NEW — 6:16 p.m. Sept. 22, 2010
Robb Lane’s brother brought a friend home one day. When Trevor Lane went in to take a shower, the friend sat down and played video games with Robb.
“It’s not super memorable,” Robb Lane said of that day months ago. “But now looking back, it’s kind of special.”
School counselor Heather Kern speaks to sixth-graders at Snoqualmie Middle School about depression and suicide prevention Sept. 17. She had spoken earlier to seventh- and eighth-graders. By Sebastian Moraga
That friend is now being grieved across the Valley, eight days after he died of injuries from a suicide attempt.
Robb Lane last saw the student, an 11th-grader at Mount Si High School, at the Bothell football game Sept. 10.
“He was being himself,” said Lane, a senior at Mount Si and vice president of the school’s Associated Student Body. “He was happy.”
The student tried to commit suicide the next day, according to a letter from Mount Si High Principal Randy Taylor to parents.
“It shocked us all,” Lane said.
Snoqualmie is the fastest growing city in the state
September 22, 2010
NEW — 6:16 p.m. Sept. 22, 2010
It’s official: From 2000-2009, Snoqualmie had the fastest growth rate of any city in Washington.
The news, which came from data released Sept. 10 by the U.S. Census, is no great revelation to many city residents. But it bears the official imprint of the federal government.
During that 10-year period, Snoqualmie increased by 332.4 percent, growing from 2,010 residents to 8,692 residents.
The city has developed into a bedroom community for Seattle and the Eastside in an idyllic setting.
Its growth was led by the development of Snoqualmie Ridge, which began in the late 1990s. Since then, thousands of houses, a school, dozens of retail stores and a business park have been built.
The Great Recession and uncertain recovery have greatly slowed Snoqualmie’s expansion.
“The biggest challenge right now is the market,” said David Dorothy, vice president of Quadrant Homes.
Sample Snoqualmie attracts shoppers while showcasing merchants
September 22, 2010
NEW — 6:15 p.m. Sept. 22, 2010
In an effort to bring together local shoppers and merchants, Sample Snoqualmie drew between 250 and 300 people Sept. 10 to Community Park on Snoqualmie Ridge.
“The goal was to show our residents what they could find right here in town to make their lives easier, as well as give our merchants an opportunity to meet potential new customers,” said Gwen Voelpel, the city’s Parks and Recreation Director.
Merchants set up 25 booths featuring their wares and services.
“The event was meant to encourage all types of economic activity — more shoppers frequenting our local shops, more diners visiting our restaurants, more people applying for loans at our banks or getting their teeth cleaned at our local dentists,” Voelpel said.
The economic recession and sluggish recovery has not made life easier for local businesses.
“Verbal reports from some businesses show that a few are experiencing increases in sales over a comparable time period in 2009, while others are showing decreases in sales,” said Bob Cole, the city’s economic advisor. “A few businesses have been severely impacted and are closed or closing.”
The city might organize a second event next year, but earlier in the summer when daylight is longer, Voelpel said. The crowd began dispersing as darkness fell this year.
