Police Blotter
January 25, 2012
Snoqualmie police
Cigarette run
At 10 a.m. Jan. 14, police on northbound Railroad Avenue Southeast saw a car pass them near the intersection of Snoqualmie Parkway.
A status check showed the driver had a suspended license for refusing a breath test.
When police contacted him, the driver said he knew his license was suspended but he was just getting cigarettes for his father.
Police told him he should not drive anymore and that he would receive a criminal citation in the mail for driving with a suspended license.
Drunken driving
At 10:35 p.m. Jan. 14, police responded to a complaint that some men who looked intoxicated were disrupting customers at Papa John’s pizza, 7328 Better Way S.E. Police learned that the two men left the store in a silver Dodge pickup.
Police saw the Dodge make an illegal U-turn and speed away.
They stopped the truck near the intersection of Snoqualmie Parkway and Railroad Avenue Southeast. As police approached the Dodge, the driver, Edward Robert Thomas, 45, handed police a debit card, thinking it was his driver’s license.
Police asked the driver if he was sure. The driver said yes. The officer replied he did not take Visa.
The driver fumbled as he searched for his license, and he had bloodshot, watery eyes and smelled of alcohol.
After failing a breath test, police arrested Thomas for driving under the influence. He was taken to the Issaquah City Jail for booking.
North Bend police
Suspicious charges
At 12:24 p.m. Dec. 30, a woman told police her bank had notified her that some suspicious charges had been made to her account — three $800 purchases at a Walmart in Colorado, a place she has not been to recently.
After determining the fraudulent nature of the charges, the card was cancelled.
Missing methadone
At 9:25 a.m. Jan. 3, a woman came to the North Bend station of the King County Sheriff’s Office, saying someone had stolen her methadone.
On Christmas Eve, she had her methadone hidden in a boot. That day, she had 16 guests at her house.
On Dec. 26, she realized that 14 days’ worth of pills had disappeared, approximately 154 pills. She said she did not know who might have taken them.
Small quake hits Valley
January 25, 2012
A small earthquake whose magnitude has been reported as high as 2.1 and as low as 1.6 occurred in North Bend the morning of Jan. 16.
According to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network’s website, the earthquake occurred at 4:04 a.m. and had a depth of about 9.7 miles. The quake’s epicenter was 1.3 miles north of North Bend.
According to the same site, it is the second tiny earthquake felt in North Bend in 2012. A 1.1 quake occurred at 2:50 p.m. Jan. 14, 3.9 miles southwest of the city.
State offers fish and wildlife grants
January 25, 2012
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has grants for people and organizations interested in conserving fish and wildlife species.
The agency expects to award about $180,000 from the Aquatic Land Enhancement Account to reimburse residents and groups for volunteer projects related to conservation or to help the public enjoy and understand animal species.
The program funds projects related to habitat, research, education and outreach, facility development and artificial production — although the agency intends to consider other projects. Grants cannot be used for salaries, wages or stipends.
Eligible applicants include citizens, nonprofit organizations, American Indian tribes and political subdivisions of the state, such as schools, universities and public utility districts. The funding is unavailable to state and federal agencies.
Find application materials at the agency website, http://wdfw.wa.gov/grants/alea/ index.html, or by calling 360-902-2700. The submission deadline is Feb. 29.
Van Gogh’s art finds a home at Encompass
January 25, 2012
The maestro would have been proud, achy ear and all.
Or maybe Vincent Van Gogh, who painted “Starry Night” based on his memory of the view from his sanitarium room, would have loathed having 17 children make their own version of his masterpiece using egg whisks and construction paper.
Nah.
Snoqualmie graphic designer Brent Cook, and Lizzy, an Encompass preschooler, along with teacher Kathy Klausing display Van Gogh-like “Starry Night” creations. By Clay Eals
He would have loved it. And even if he didn’t, at least the children at Encompass did.
Using blue, yellow and green paint, 4- and 5-year-olds imitated the Dutch painter’s masterpiece, turning the whisks to create the circles in the painting’s sky.
The paint and the rest of the implements came to Encompass thanks to a $800 donation of art supplies from Front Row Giving, an art-focused community partnership program started last year by Snoqualmie graphic designer Brent Cook.
Eastside Fire & Rescue seeks to recruit volunteer firefighters
January 25, 2012
Eastside Fire & Rescue has started a new push to get volunteers to join its ranks.
“Being a volunteer firefighter is a big commitment,” EFR Chief and former volunteer firefighter Lee Soptich said in a press release. “But the rewards for helping your community and your neighbors are even greater.”
The communities for which EFR seeks volunteers are North Bend, Preston, Wilderness Rim, Carnation, Issaquah, Lake Joy, Maple Hills, May Valley, Sammamish and Tiger Mountain.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old, drug-free and reside within five driving miles of the nearest EFR fire stations.
They must have a valid Washington driver’s license, a good driving record and be fit for duty.
David Misakian, volunteer program coordinator at EFR, said volunteer firefighters need to be able to carry 100 pounds for short distances and be in good shape aerobically.
A typical volunteer firefighter stays with EFR for two to three years, Misakian wrote.
Soptich was a volunteer for 11 of his 37 years as a firefighter, the press release added.
Volunteer firefighters receive all of the equipment and training needed for the job.
Lily Gallacher
January 25, 2012
June 22, 2002 – Jan. 18, 2012
Lily Gallacher
Friends are invited to Lily’s celebration of life, and all are encouraged to wear Lily’s favorite color, pink.
The gathering will begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, at the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge Golf Club, 36005 S.E. Ridge St., Snoqualmie.
Please view the obituary, her pictures, share your memories and sign the family’s online guestbook at www.flintofts.com.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory are preferred to the Cascade View Elemen-tary School PTSA. Arrange-ments are by Flintoft’s Issaquah Funeral Home, 392-6444.
Orthodontist sponsors contest to recognize local teachers
January 25, 2012
Essays highlight outstanding educators in Snoqualmie Valley
Contributed Twin Falls Middle School eighth-grade teacher Carolyn Phelps, student Amanda Antoch and Dr. Kirby Nelson celebrate Antoch’s contest-winning essay about why Phelps is the best teacher in North Bend. The contest was sponsored by Kirby Nelson Orthodontics.
About every two months, Kirby Nelson Orthodontics holds a contest throughout the Snoqualmie Valley to get its patients involved with the office.
From live tutors to online help, libraries offer academic aid
January 25, 2012
“Fundamentally, we can find almost anything almost anytime for almost anybody,” said Marsha Iverson, public relations specialist for the King County Library System.
From its “Ask a Librarian” service to online help, the library system offers numerous types of homework and study help for students of all ages.
That’s a good thing, added Ann Crewdson, the children’s section supervisor for the Issaquah and Sammamish branch libraries.
Studies show the stronger the relationship between local libraries and local schools, the higher the average test scores in those schools, Crewdson said.
The KCLS Study Zone program is one of the more noteworthy local programs aimed at students, said Jerene Battisti, KCLS education and teen services coordinator.
Study Zone provides tutors who visit branch libraries, including the North Bend and Snoqualmie libraries.
Anderson supports charter schools
January 25, 2012
State Rep. Glenn Anderson (R-Fall City) has backed a bill that would introduce a number of charter schools in Washington and another that would change the way public school teachers are evaluated.
Charter schools are public schools that operate independent from a district board of education.
Voters in Washington have repeatedly rejected charter schools.
More than 30 states have them.
According to the Washington House Republicans website, Anderson said it’s time to inject greater innovation and energy into the state’s underperforming and failing schools.
The second bill, introduced Jan. 12, would include performance into hiring decisions and allow teachers with poor evaluations to lose tenure.
“Excellent teachers are the proven solution to dramatically improve our children’s learning,” Anderson said. “We cannot continue to leave 30 percent of our children behind and allow many more to graduate without essential basic skills to attend a four-year university or a community college without some remedial coursework.”
Anderson is a co-sponsor of the bills. He is retiring from the Legislature to run for lieutenant governor in November.
Local alum makes dean’s list at UW
January 25, 2012
Mount Si High School alum Taylor Campbell is making the grade at the University of Washington, where he is studying aeronautical engineering.
Campbell, who graduated from Mount Si in 2010, was recently named to the dean’s list for the university’s school of engineering.
