State nixes litter hotline amid cuts
July 27, 2011
The state Department of Ecology tossed away a statewide litter hotline amid budget cuts.
Since July 15, callers to the “Litter and It Will Hurt” campaign hotline have heard a recorded message saying the state is no longer accepting reports of littering.
The service had taken litter violation reports from citizens and followed up by sending educational letters to the owners of vehicles for suspected littering. Operating the toll-free reporting line cost the Department of Ecology about $50,000 each year.
Officials reduced the agency’s Waste Reduction, Recycling and Litter Control Account — the funding source for the state’s litter prevention and cleanup activities — by $7 million for the 2011-13 budget. The account’s main revenue source is a tax on industries producing items responsible for contributing to the litter problem.
Due to similar reductions to the account taken in the last few years, funding for promoting the litter reporting line, as well as other litter prevention activities, had already been eliminated. Only the reporting hotline and educational letters, roadway signs and the agency’s litter website remained as part of the state’s anti-littering campaign.
Even though the hotline is suspended, highway and roadway litter-prevention signs remains in place. Taking them down will cost too much money, according to a statement by Peter Christiansen, of the Department of Ecology.
The fines for littering remain in place if the state patrol catches a person in the act, he said.
King County OKs rainwater as sole drinking water source
July 27, 2011
King County residents can now rely on cloudbursts as a thirst quencher.
On July 21, the county Board of Health approved a measure to allow rainwater captured from roofs as the sole residential water source for single-family homes on septic systems. Under older rules, rainwater could only be used as a supplemental source.
The board acted in response to residents interested in building eco-conscious homes.
Kathy Lambert, a board member and Snoqualmie Valley’s representative on the King County Council, proposed adding rainwater-catchment systems as a tool for another water source.
“Extending public water lines or digging a well are not always available or feasible in rural and rugged areas of King County, or they can be so expensive to install that they render a lot unbuildable,” she said in a statement.
The code change follows recent action by the state Department of Ecology to remove permit requirements for rainwater harvesting.
Mount Si pitcher signs with Walla Walla Community College
July 27, 2011
Mount Si graduate Shane Dixon has committed to play baseball for Walla Walla Community College next year.
During the Wildcats run to the state title, Dixon was one of the team’s most consistently reliable relief pitchers and fielders. He appeared in seven games, throwing 12.1 innings and logging a 1.14 earned run average.
Dixon platooned at third base with Ryan Atkinson. He had a .261 batting average during the regular season.
Across all sports at Mount Si, 27 members of the Class of 2011 have signed to play for a two or four-year college.
Since 1990, Walla Walla Community College has had 15 players picked in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft. The most recent player was Nyjer Morgan in 2002. Morgan is a starting outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Calendar
July 27, 2011
Public meetings
- Snoqualmie Public Works Committee, 5 p.m. Aug. 1, 38624 S.E. River St.
- Snoqualmie Planning and Parks Committee, 6:30 p.m. Aug. 1, 38624 S.E. River St.
- Snoqualmie Planning Commission, 7 p.m. Aug. 1, 38624 S.E. River St.
- North Bend Finance and Administration Committee, 2 p.m. Aug. 2, 211 Main Ave. N.
- Snoqualmie Finance and Administration Committee, 5:30 p.m. Aug. 2, 38624 S.E. River St.
- North Bend City Council, 7 p.m. Aug. 2, 411 Main Ave. N.
- Si View Metro Park District Board of Commissioners, 6:30 p.m. Aug. 3, 400 S.E. Orchard Drive, North Bend
- Public Hospital District No. 4 Board of Commissioners, 6:30 p.m. Aug. 4, 38624 S.E. River St.
Snoqualmie City Council puts downtown street work as top priority
July 27, 2011
In a nod to downtown residents, Snoqualmie City Council bumped work on a downtown street to the top of the city’s transportation work list.
The proposed Tokul Road roundabout had topped the list, but Council amended it on Monday with a 6-1 vote to move the Southeast Newton Street connection project to the top spot. It had been No. 7 on the list.
“Newton is a bigger priority to citizens downtown than is a roundabout,” Councilman Charlie Peterson said.
King County Council delays decision on car tab fee
July 27, 2011
King County Council has postponed a decision on a proposed $20 car tab fee to shore up funding for Metro until its Aug. 15 meeting.
The council could vote to impose the fee with a six vote supermajority of the nine-member council. Observers said a more likely scenario would have been putting it to a countywide vote, which would require only five members of the council.
If approved, the fee would be in place for two years.
King County advises keeping your pet’s shots up to date
July 27, 2011
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is a saying that applies to the health of your pets as much as it applies to you, according to the Regional Animal Services of King County.
Routine immunizations are important to the life and health of your furry friends.
Snoqualmie Valley joins fight against county rural schools ban
July 27, 2011
Snoqualmie Valley School District officials are concerned that 20 acres of rural land the district owns near North Bend could become useless if King County adopts a proposed change to its Growth Management Plan.
Fifteen properties held by seven school districts and worth about $12 million could be affected.
The proposal would all but close an existing loophole that allows schools to be built on rural lands. The change is meant to bring the county’s plan in line with state and regional growth management plans, as required by the state’s Growth Management Act. The law was written to fight sprawl in nonurban areas.
But opponents say fighting sprawl doesn’t require a ban on new schools in rural areas, and that a ban will only cost school districts — and taxpayers — money. The Snoqualmie district is backing an amendment that would grandfather in properties that districts already own.
State reaches settlement in Echo Glen rape case
July 27, 2011
The state has agreed to pay $375,000 to a woman who was raped by an employee of Echo Glen Children’s Center in 2008.
Echo Glen is Washington’s juvenile detention center located in Snoqualmie, and is part of the Issaquah School District.
“A criminal act was inflicted upon this resident by a depraved individual more than three years ago and we deeply regret that it took place,” state Department of Social and Health Services Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration Assistant Secretary John Clayton said in a news release.
The woman sued the state in 2009; the settlement was reached July 7.
In 2008, then 38-year-old Robert Fox sexually assaulted a 19-year-old woman at Echo Glen.
Since the incident, Fox was charged and pleaded guilty to first-degree custodial sexual misconduct, and spent eight months behind bars.
The woman also sued the state for employing Fox, a man her lawyers called unqualified for the job, and for not protecting her from him.
More counterfeit bills turn up in North Bend
July 26, 2011
Two more counterfeit bills showed up in North Bend on July 18, continuing a string of fake bills being passed in the city this summer. Police do not know if these incidents are related to previous occurrences.
Police found a fake $100 bill on a suspect arrested early on the morning of July 18. Later that day, Vanity Fair, a retail store at the North Bend Premium Outlets, reported a customer trying to use a counterfeit $100 bill.
North Bend police caught up with the shopper, a tourist from Mexico who told the officers that he had exchanged his money for U.S. currency in Mexico.
Fake $100 bills were used at Ace Hardware in two separate incidents on June 7. A counterfeit $20 was also used at the Safeway gas station over July 4 weekend.
