Winter wonderland or winter nightmare?
November 24, 2010
The Monday before Thanksgiving Day was a winter wonderland for some and a nightmare for others.
Several inches of snow fell across Puget Sound, putting several inches on the ground across Snoqualmie Valley.
Children took to the hills armed with sleds while drivers abandoned cars mired in snow and ice.
At the bottom of Snoqualmie Parkway near Interstate 90, four cars lined the northbound lane that heads uphill towards Snoqualmie Ridge. The cars appeared to have been abandoned.
Further up on the Ridge, Ethan Cole and Noah Bailey ripped down a hillside near their homes.
Snoqualmie marks phase one of downtown revitalization
November 24, 2010
For years, it has been easy to see Snoqualmie’s momentum. On Snoqualmie Ridge, new houses sprouted for more than 10 years. The city’s population grew from less than 2,000 to nearly 10,000.
But for all the growth, downtown Snoqualmie appeared much as it had for decades. Eager to draw in some of the tens of thousands of tourists who visit Snoqualmie Valley each year, city leaders became concerned that visitors would speed past the downtown’s aging commercial district.
Beginning a few years ago, Snoqualmie officials steered some of that momentum to the downtown area. On Nov. 18, they celebrated completion of the first phase of a $3.2 million downtown project to breathe new life into the area and overhaul aging infrastructure.
This phase is only part of the city’s long-term vision, Mayor Matt Larson told the dozens of people gathered under a tent awning with a threatening sky overhead. “It’s a tough job to get it going, but it’s a tougher job to slow it down.”
Man arrested for stabbing his brother
November 24, 2010
A 30-year-old man faces first-degree assault charges after stabbing his 31-year-old brother in the chest Nov. 22.
According to a press release from the King County Sheriff’s Office, the siblings were arguing in a parking lot on the 42900 block of Southeast North Bend Way in North Bend around 1:10 p.m. when the suspect pulled out a folding knife, opened it and attacked his brother.
The knife left a deep, six-inch long cut in the victim’s chest, the press release stated. King County Sgt. John Urquhart said the victim is expected to recover.
Sheriff deputies interviewed the victim and the witnesses. Other deputies sought the suspect, who was found hiding in the woods, a few hundred yards away. A total of seven deputies from all over the Valley assisted in the incident.
The victim was taken to Overlake Hospital. The suspect was booked into the King County Jail on first-degree assault charges. Bail has not been set.
North Bend eyes 2 hour parking for downtown streets
November 24, 2010
North Bend could dust off an old ordinance limiting downtown on-street parking to two hours in an effort to help retail businesses.
Several merchants said it would be a start but more is needed.
Downtown merchants have been complaining that limited parking can be difficult for their customers, said City Councilman David Cook. He directed the Community and Economic Development Committee to take up the issue.
“We want customers to be able to come in and out more easily,” he said.
The city administration did some research and found that a two-hour limit for North Bend Way between Bendigo Boulevard and Ballarat Avenue was already on the books but had never been enforced.
Flood Control District board approves $37 million budget
November 24, 2010
With weather forecasters predicting a cold, wet winter, the King County Flood Control District Board of Supervisors approved a 2011 budget totaling $37.25 million. The board also agreed to pay $30 million over six years to help replace Seattle’s Alaskan Way seawall.
Just a couple weeks ago, it wasn’t clear if the district would have any money. It was in danger of losing its taxing ability because of a state cap on property taxes that pushes aside newer taxing districts. Created in 2007, the flood control district would have been among the first to be axed.
However, the district’s Executive Director Kjris Lund negotiated agreements with eight King County fire districts to lower their tax levies, allowing the flood control district to collect its levy. The district will pay the fire districts the difference.
The agreements’ cost is expected to be $3.5 million. It had been estimated to cost between $5.5 million and $8.5 million.
Seahawks make big play at fundraiser
November 24, 2010
The Snoqualmie Valley Veterans Memorial Committee raised about $10,000 during its Veterans Day fundraiser at the Fall City Roadhouse.
The Seattle Seahawks organization gave $1,000, the largest donation of the night.
The money will go toward building a veterans memorial for the Snoqualmie Valley in downtown Snoqualmie.
The group plans to begin construction in early 2011, according to Chris Chartier, a member of the committee.
Auction items included a football autographed by a Seattle Seahawks player, a soccer ball autographed by a Seattle Sounders player and several packages, such as a Beer Lovers Package from the Snoqualmie Falls Brewery.
The highest bid of the evening was $300.
Sheriff’s office to de-emphasize property crime
November 24, 2010
In response to budget cuts, the King County Sheriff’s Office will place less emphasis on property crimes in order to prioritize crimes against people, King County Sheriff Sue Rahr said at a press conference Thursday.
“Essentially, I’ve chosen to keep deputies assigned to units that can protect life over property,” Rahr said.
The sheriff’s office, which patrols unincorporated King County, is losing 28 deputies next year as part of budget cuts. But, Rahr said, unincorporated area residents won’t have to wait longer for police to respond to a 911 call.
“If you need to be rescued from a flooding river or have a hiking accident, we will still have a team to respond,” she said.
According to her office, the budget cuts leave 198 officers and supervisors to serve 305,000 people living in unincorporated King County next year. That is a ratio of 0.65 officers per 1,000 residents.
Classes go on despite outage at Cascade View
November 24, 2010
A short power outage at Cascade View Elementary did not stop classes Nov. 16, despite early reports that school would be canceled.
Around 7 a.m. that day, the school was notified by Puget Sound Energy that power would not be restored at the school until noon. However, power was restored around 7:30 a.m. instead.
School was reopened and classes went on as scheduled, a press release from Cascade View Elementary stated.
The school also recommended either calling 425-831-8494, or checking the school district’s website, www.svsd410.org, or www.schoolreport.org for more information.
Fly south with the geese and you miss winter
November 24, 2010
The last of the geese went by the other day. The late ones. The big dark geese. Headed south noisily.
I used to envy them, somehow. They go down there to the warm coastal areas where the jacks swim and the nights are chilly but livable this time of year. If they’re especially sensitive geese, they’ll keep going until there are mangoes and palm trees and the language of the people is Spanish.
But they cross over here in their long, languorous vees, and all we can do is look up and wonder what our lives would be like if we could go along. To fly over the farms and valleys, to coast along on the rising thermals, to sail down the long way to warmth and sand and comfort, how nice it might be.
But if we did that, we’d miss the snow, and the fire in the fireplace when the work was done in the evening. We’d miss how the snowy world looks just at dusk when the snow is an alpen-glow orange and tells us secrets it has saved for us all these years. If we went to the winter-feeding grounds, we wouldn’t be able to appreciate how splendid the spring will be with the basking rays of sun on our necks and the swelling of the buds in the fruit trees. To truly appreciate warmth, we must first get cold, and that’s evidently a part of our lives that the geese won’t ever get to share.
The cries of a homeless girl echo in a plea
November 24, 2010
By Stacey Cepeda
One crisp, fall morning a few years back, I boarded a bus full of preschoolers on a field trip to a pumpkin patch.
On the way back, sitting across from me was a girl who was crying and jumping up and down. The bus driver and I reminded her to stay in her seat, and I asked her what was wrong. But she was inconsolable.
A co-worker leaned toward me and whispered, “Must have been a bad night.” The four words that followed shook me for weeks to come: “You know she’s homeless.”
What? This did not compute. Working for seven years in downtown Seattle, I had seen homeless men and women. Never small children.
“She’s one of our lucky kids,” my co-worker added. Every day after preschool, the girl rode a bus to a stop where her mother waited in a car. They would drive around visiting friends and were lucky because they usually ended up with a couch to sleep on.
