County earns award for recycling shingles
October 19, 2011
King County earned a national award recently for turning asphalt shingle waste into paving material.
The county received a National Association of Counties Achievement Award for the “Shingles in Paving” project. The awards highlight the most outstanding county model programs.
Countywide, about 40,000 tons of asphalt shingle waste is disposed of each year. Though some shingle waste heads for recycling centers, some ends up in the landfill.
In other states, the waste is successfully recycled for road applications, such as hot-mix asphalt pavement.
The award-winning local program has engaged the recycling, transportation and paving community to establish a strong, local hot-mix asphalt pavement market for recycled asphalt shingles.
The state Department of Transportation and the Washington Asphalt Pavement Association also started outlining requirements and next steps for a paving trial project to allow recycled asphalt shingles in the design, production and acceptance of hot-mix asphalt in Washington.
Officer likes his new assignment
October 19, 2011
Rick Cary never planned on ending up in Snoqualmie. But now that he is a police officer in the city, he wants to finish his career here.
Growing up in northern Wisconsin, he’d never heard of Snoqualmie. It was a twist of fate — or several twists — that brought him to the city.
Cary had been doing field training to become a deputy with the King County Sheriff’s Office when he was laid off at the beginning of the year due to budget cuts. Eleven other deputies were also laid off.
Snoqualmie Police Officer Rick Cary had been in training to become a King County Sheriff’s Office deputy when he was laid off due to budget cuts last January. Now with the Snoqualmie Police Department, he expects to finish his career in the city. By Dan Catchpole
Cary knew he wanted to be a police officer. It didn’t matter where. He’d served 10 years as a military police officer in the United States Army and Air Force, including a year in Afghanistan.
After getting out of the military and while still living in Alaska, he applied to join the King County Sheriff’s Office.
As with all applicants, Cary had to pass through a long process of evaluations — medical, physical, psychological, aptitude, background and so on. In the meantime, he moved to Washington and worked security at a hospital in Tacoma to pay the bills.
Finally, he began at the academy as a cadet in March 2010.
North Bend resident tells the tale of a once-in-a-lifetime trip
October 19, 2011
Karie Downing still can’t quite believe it.
The Munroe family, onetime Northwesterners now spread out across the United States, had hired Downing’s employer, Bicycle Adventures, for a birthday-celebration-slash-guided-ride last July along the Columbia River gorge.
Nothing unusual about that. What was unusual was who showed up. Four generations of the family, ages ranging from a spry 80 years old to a youthful 90. As in 90 days old.
“The couple brought their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren along,” North Bend’s Downing said. “The baby was 3 months old.”
Four generations of the Munroe family toured the Oregon-Washington border. North Bend’s Karie Downing, an employee of the company that made the trip possible, said the experience was nothing short of unforgettable for the family. Contributed
People bring their children to bike tours, Bicycle Adventures’ vice president Brad Barnard said, but normally they are adults bringing adult children along. Never somebody still mastering the art of blinking.
“We quite often get three generations of family out there, but to bring a great-grandchild was a new thing for us even.” Barnard said.
Bracken Robertson may have been blissfully unaware of the adventure he bookended, but the rest of the group was not.
“The opportunity to make memories was very special,” Mary Jeanne Munroe, great-grandma to Bracken, wrote in an email.
Memories of old mill town of Snoqualmie Falls haven’t faded
October 19, 2011
There’s not much left of the old mill town known as Snoqualmie Falls.
Remnants of a smoke stack, a sycamore-lined street, a peaceful pond with Mount Si as its backdrop, but mostly, it’s just endless forest.
You’d be hard pressed to believe there used to be a community there.
The town of Snoqualmie Falls once occupied the land around Weyerhaeuser’s lumber mill along the Snoqualmie River. The town included worker housing, a school, hospital and community center. Contributed
But indeed, it did exist, and for its former residents, growing up in the town was the ideal upbringing.
“It was just an absolutely phenomenal place to be raised and at the time we even knew it,” Harley Brumbaugh, who grew up in the mill town, said.
Construction on the town began in 1916 as part of a social experiment based around the Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Co. mill, according to David Battey, who considers Snoqualmie Falls his hometown, and who wrote and narrated a documentary about the lost community.
Teen Closet gives away style to Valley youths
October 19, 2011
Teenagers didn’t pay for the clothes they took. And they didn’t get in any trouble.
If anything, they were asked to tell their friends.
Monica Rutherford, a Valley resident, organized a giveaway of used teenage-sized clothes and started The Teen Closet event in downtown Snoqualmie.
For two hours, a small store on Railroad Avenue became the epicenter of fashion in the Valley on Oct. 12.
A mother of two teenagers, Rutherford said she saw the Valley had few places offering affordable teen clothes, and recruited her friends to open The Teen Closet.
“That’s just an age group that doesn’t have a lot of stuff available to them,” she said. “I just wanted to cater to them, and teenagers are typically a group that cares a lot about their clothes.”
Moms, dads, teenagers and pre-teens flocked to the clothing bank of the Snoqualmie Valley Alliance Church, to try on boots, jeans, blouses and jerseys. Each person could take up to 10 items.
Rutherford collected clothes for two months before holding The Teen Closet event.
Local Zumba instructors to host Party in Pink
October 19, 2011
Licensed Zumba instructor Kelly Saunders will join more than 650 instructors across the nation to host “Party in Pink,” a Zumba Fitness event that teams up with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to raise money for breast cancer awareness.
The event will be from 2-4 p.m. Oct. 23 at Cascade View Elementary School in Snoqualmie, and all proceeds from the event will benefit the Komen foundation.
Cost is $15 at the door.
“It’s going to be two hours of crazy hip-shaking fun, all for the cure,” Saunders said. “I have four other instructors lined up to teach.”
Saunders teaches classes at Ridge Fitness and TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, and knows what it can be like to watch a family member or friend combat the disease.
“I am a daughter of a breast cancer survivor,” she said. “It has been almost 10 years since my mom was diagnosed. She fought her battle and is doing great.
“I am also motivated by three women in my neighborhood fiercely battling breast cancer,” she added. “Their strength and courage amaze me.”
Raffle prizes from local merchants will be available, including prizes from Ana’s Mexican, Daisy Boutique, Finaghty’s and Ridge Fitness.
Participants can bid on silent auction items from TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, Clarisonic, Vera Bradley and the Arctic Club Hotel, among others.
Learn more at http://zumba-thon.zumba.com or email Saunders at zumbawithkelly@hotmail.com.
Picking a pumpkin can be a fun family affair
October 19, 2011
Katie Haynes was on a mission to pick the perfect pumpkin from the plethora in the pumpkin patch at Fall City Farms.
The 4-year-old tromped among the bright orange gourds, intently inspecting the offerings until she spied the one she had been looking for.
Katie Haynes, of Fall City, carries the perfect pumpkin she found at Fall City Farms’ pumpkin patch. Every fall thousands of people head to Snoqualmie Valley u-pick pumpkin patches for a fun, sometimes muddy outing. See a slideshow of photos at www.snovalleystar.com. By Dan Catchpole
Her arms barely wrapped around the pumpkin, which she proudly carried back to her parents, Ashley and Paul Haynes.
“I wanted the perfect one, and I found it,” Katie declared.
So, what made the tall, oblong pumpkin she picked perfect?
It had no dirt on it, she said, adding, “I liked the way it was shaped.”
No doubt, the Haynes family could have found a similar pumpkin sans dirt at a grocery store in just a few minutes for less money. Instead, the Fall City family spent the morning looking for a perfect one along with a few hundred other people.
A few minutes in the fall can save hours in spring
October 19, 2011
Fall is here and winter is fast approaching, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a jump on gardening next spring.
Gardeners can reduce the work they will have to do next year by preparing their garden for winter. Taking a few steps will minimize the weeds, diseases and pests, and create a healthier garden for next spring.
To protect your soil from winter’s harsh conditions and to make it harder for weeds to sprout, cover it with burlap. Contributed
Gardens in the late fall in the Snoqualmie Valley don’t look like they are brimming with life, but below the surface, important developments are taking place. Divided perennials, transplanted trees and shrubs, and strong bulbs are still growing and expanding their root systems. Organic material is still being processed by microbes and earthworms.
In general, the plants that do the best in the area’s weather are native species. They have already adapted to the region’s wet and cold winter weather.
Don’t leave the soil bare, cautions Joan Helbacka, a King County master gardener with Washington State University’s Extension Program. Helbacka is giving a talk about preparing gardens for winter at the Snoqualmie Library at 7 p.m. Oct. 24.
Winter is coming: Get your home ready now
October 19, 2011
So winter’s coming. That means imitating squirrels and starting to stock up on stuff for the cold months ahead. And you better start now, right?
Maybe.
In some aspects, it makes sense to winterize your home while winter is still a few weeks away and you can step out onto your front yard without fearing mud up to your ankles or a fall on the ice.
But while starting early is recommended, it’s not mandatory for everything.
Bryan Woolsey, co-owner of Snoqualmie’s Carmichael’s True Value hardware store, said good winterizing tasks include insulating windows and doors, protecting pipes from freezing, and blocking underneath the house.
“The stagnant air under the house actually helps keep pipes warm,” he said. “Of course, you don’t want stagnant air there continuously because it will make things rot.”
The solution, he added, is blocking the cold air to keep it from blowing the warm air out and freezing the pipes.
Cardboard, insulation and Styrofoam can be used to block the cold breezes.
Puget Sound Energy customers can cash in on rebates and incentives
October 19, 2011
Puget Sound Energy is offering new and larger rebates on energy-efficient water and space heaters, and windows to its customers before winter.
In addition to rebates on equipment, the utility, which serves more than 1.75 million residential customers, also offers rebates for contractor referral service.
Customers who combine PSE rebates with contractors’ promotional offers could receive as much as $2,000 back after installing home heating equipment and as much as $2,250 for windows.
“PSE encourages customers to make energy-efficient choices when they are ready to upgrade or replace equipment,” said Cal Shirley, PSE vice president of Energy Efficiency Services. “The increased rebate amounts can help more customers save energy and money.”
