County hosts workshop for unincorporated-area residents
November 25, 2011
King County is hosting workshops throughout the region to collect citizens’ comments about creating community service area boundaries.
The workshop includes a public open house from 6:30-7 p.m. followed by a discussion from 7-8 p.m. The meeting for Issaquah-area residents is Nov. 30 at Hobart Community Church, 27524 S.E. 200th St., Maple Valley.
In a July decision, leaders changed how county government and unincorporated-area residents interact.
The updated framework calls for a single point of contact between residents in each of the community service areas and county government.
Unlike the earlier arrangement, the community service areas model is designed to encompass communities not represented by a local unincorporated area council, such as Klahanie and the Snoqualmie Valley.
The proposal raised concerns among the unincorporated area councils — the established liaisons between county government in Seattle and unincorporated-area residents.
Even in winter, think wildfires
November 25, 2011
Jackets are out, snow is coming and the flimsy 2011 summer is but a memory.
Perfect wildfire season.
Make that, wildfire prevention season, as evidenced by the full house at the Cedar River Watershed Education Center in North Bend. More than 50 people gathered Nov. 5 to learn how to prevent wildfires.
“This is outstanding,” Charley Burns, a firefighter with the Washington Department of Natural Resources said. “This shows the level of concern and awareness.”
By Sebastian Moraga Kirsten Lints, of Duvall’s Gardens Alive Design, talks about protecting homes in winter from summer wildfires.
In the recent past, Burns has attended fire prevention workshops when he’s 50 percent of the attendance, so to have 50 people is great, he said.
Early November is a good time for wildfire prevention workshops, he said. Wildfires from the summer are still in people’s minds.
Hold it any other time of the year and it’s either too late or people are too busy or too drenched with water to believe wildfires will affect them.
Painter’s work sought for book cover art
November 25, 2011
Even with 2,000 paintings to his name, Snoqualmie artist Jeff Sturgeon still gets a special kind of thrill when someone shrinks his work and lays it atop a stack of numbered papers.
“Seeing it on a book is great,” he said by phone from Portland, Ore., where another book with his art on the cover was released Veterans Day weekend.
A painter since the early 1980s and a professional artist since the 1990s, Sturgeon said nothing compares to that feeling.
“Seeing someone buy a painting is pretty cool, especially if it’s for a lot of money, because I can’t afford my work,” he said. “But when you see it on a book cover, it’s a whole different thing.”
The book is “A Celtic Yearbook,” by Oregon writer and Sturgeon’s friend Lizzy Shannon. The book is a collection of tales, recipes, ancient remedies, Irish proverbs and legends from Shannon’s old country. Shannon was born in Belfast and became an American citizen nine years ago.
The painting shows Ireland’s Mourne Mountains in the background, and in the foreground a series of standing stones, very common in Ireland and England, Sturgeon said.
Shannon said her father used to live at the foot of those mountains.
Sturgeon, she added, “has managed to tap into the part of every Irish person who will always be homesick forevermore,” Shannon said.
Shannon and Sturgeon have known each other for a year. Sturgeon once did a painting for Shannon’s father, but this is his first book cover for Shannon.
Create creamier, cheesier scalloped potatoes
November 25, 2011
Share your recipe —
Do you have a great recipe? Want to share it with Snoqualmie Valley? Email the recipe and a photo of the finished product to editor@snovalleystar.com.
By Deanna Morauski
So many potatoes, who can choose a favorite? This is a family classic that has been updated to be creamier and cheesier than the original version.
Eileen S. Erickson
November 25, 2011
Eileen passed away Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, at the age of 76.
Eileen S. Erickson
Born in Philadelphia, Eileen moved as a child to Evanston, Ill., where she enjoyed a wonderful childhood and made lifelong friends. She attended the University of Wisconsin, where she completed her occupational therapy degree and headed West to pursue her career.
She met her husband Jan, of 52 years, on the train ride out West as he was coming home from the Navy. They married and had two children, Eric (Bremerton) and Andi (Spokane).
Eileen was active in the occupational therapy world and focused on geriatric rehabilitation. She was an avid golfer in the Snoqualmie Valley, an accomplished watercolor artist and civic volunteer. She taught watercolor classes in North Bend, and was a positive energy as a board member and volunteer at the Mount Si Senior Center.
She was also president of Elder & Adult Day Services, where her impact improved the lives of many elderly citizens in the community. She was a loving and caring person and never had a harsh word to say about anyone.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Edwin Schwer and Amelia Speth Schwer.
She is survived by her husband Jan E. Erickson; two children, Eric Erickson (Jenny) and Andi Hart (Craig); one brother, Ed Schwer (Houston). She has four grandchildren, Nick Hart, Erica Hart, Carly Erickson and Carter Erickson, who loved and adored her.
A memorial gathering for friends and family will be held from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, at the Cedar River Watershed Education Center, 19901 Cedar Falls Road S.E., North Bend.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to www.eads-cares.org.
Natalie Eileen Todd
November 25, 2011
April 20, 1984 – Oct. 22, 2011
Daughter. Sister. Aunt. Friend.
Natalie Eileen Todd
Born in Bellevue, Natalie spent most of her life in Redmond and the Snoqualmie Valley.
Natalie is survived by her mother Colleen Todd; her father and step-mother Richard and Marjorie Todd; her sisters Corrina Black, Jodie Barber and Nicki McFadden; her brother Rich Todd; her step-sister and step-brother Sabrina and Eythan Frost; one niece; and two nephews.
Natalie loved her family, friends and all her animals. She will always be remembered for her beautiful smile and laughter.
Memorial services will be held at Flintoft’s Funeral Home in Issaquah on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution in Natalie’s name to Valley Animal Partners, www.valleyanimalpartners.com.
Full obituary is available at www.flintofts.com or visit the Natalie Todd Memorial page on Facebook.
Kenneth E. Twitchell
November 25, 2011
Kenneth E. Twitchell, of Lynnwood, died Oct. 30, 2011. He was 84.
He was born Aug. 3, 1927, in Milford, Mass., to Dulcy Pond Twitchell and Henry B. Twitchell, the second of four children.
Kenneth E. Twitchell
Ken served in three branches of the military. He met his wife, Evelyn, while serving in the United States Air Force and stationed in Germany, where he specialized in Russian language intelligence. After he retired from the military, he worked as a safety inspector in Montana and Washington.
Ken was a wonderful husband, father and gentlemen, often “rescuing” his wife and daughters from flat tires, locked doors or finding lost pets.
Ken loved current events, history and travel, and filled his home with souvenirs from the countries he visited. He was particularly interested in the Civil War. He was also an avid baseball fan, and gardener,
Ken is survived by his wife Evelyn; his two daughters and their spouses, Alexandra and Del Clark, of North Bend, and Andrea and Greg Insley, of Kent; six grandchildren, Taryn, Kyle, Kira and Kristopher Clark, and Sean and David Insley; and three siblings, Bob Twitchell and Joyce Pretty, of Sun Lakes, Ariz., and Phil Twitchell of Milford, Mass.
Adults gape at ‘freaky stuff’ during school tour
November 25, 2011
By Sebastian Moraga Roberta McFarland (right), past president of the Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation, watches Johnna Winslow (center) and Molly Mabel work with clay at a Mount Si High School class.
One screen shows the problem. Another screen shows how to fix it.
A third screen gives a progress report and a fourth screen narrates how one found the solution.
Cheerleaders head to Macy’s parade
November 25, 2011
Leave it to two teenage girls to make their first appearance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade the second banana of their trip to New York.
“We’re going to go to Black Friday,” said Meg Krivanec, one of the two Mount Si High School cheerleaders who will join the Spirit of America section of the parade Nov. 24 at 9 a.m. “We’re going to go do crazy New York Black Friday shopping.”
By Sebastian Moraga Megan Krivanec (bottom left), participating in a recent cheer practice, is headed with fellow cheerleader Chloe Villanueva (not pictured) to New York City to participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Krivanec and Chloe Villanueva, co-captains of the school’s cheer squad, participated in a Universal Cheerleaders Association camp where they received invitations to the November event.
Besides the invites, they received a video with the Spirit of America routine for the parade.
“We have to know it by the time we get to New York,” Krivanec said.
Their plane for New York left Nov. 19 at 5 a.m., Seattle time. For their last day in Washington, they organized a sleepover, or rather a stay-awakeover.
“We’re going to learn the dance that night and sleep on the plane,” Villanueva said Nov. 17.
Cascade View teacher wins Macaroni Kid award
November 25, 2011
Calla Kinghorn, a kindergarten teacher at Snoqualmie’s Cascade View Elementary School, won the Macaroni Kid November Teacher of the Month award.
The award nomination called Kinghorn, “the kind of teacher you want each of your children to have,” according to an email from Macaroni Kid publisher Diana Reul-Shapiro.
The award is three months old. North Bend Elementary School’s physical education teacher Alan Tepper won the September version of the prize. The October winner was from Issaquah, which is also included in the contest.
