Landscape artist pays tribute to his youth
February 8, 2012
Evergreens, meet Everclear. Real garden, meet Soundgarden.
Adam Gorski, a landscape architect from North Bend, has created “Grunge Garden,” a leafy display of evergreens, willows, sequoias and other greenery reminiscent of the music that captured Seattle’s and the world’s attention in the early 1990s.
The plants and trees have been shaped to look like a guitar, a set of drums and a pair of grunge-y boots.
By Sebastian Moraga A drum set doubling as a water feature is the centerpiece of ‘Grunge Garden,’ a leafy tribute to the music that dominated the 1990s. Its creator, Cornell grad Adam Gorski, graduated from high school in 1994, and paid tribute to the tunes of his youth with this garden, which includes amplifiers and a Pearl Jam song.
Gorski reached in and reached out when producing this piece. He reached out to friend Davey French, guitarist for Everclear and Snoqualmie resident, for advice.
And he reached in to his memories of high school in the 1990s.
“I remember graduating high school in 1994,” said Gorski, owner of Gorski Landscapes, who attended high school in Rochester, N.Y. “Everywhere in the whole country, Seattle music was at the forefront.”
When Kurt Cobain died in 1994, Gorski said, many classmates took the day off. Looking back, he added, classmates may have used the rocker’s death as an excuse to skip class.
Work is coming to parks
February 8, 2012
It’s all coming together for the Si View Metropolitan District.
Work at the Si View Community Center will follow a complete overhaul of Tollgate Park worth more than $3.5 million.
“We are in the process of putting a new roof on the center, and then we will do the siding,” said Travis Stombaugh, executive director of the district. “Two-thirds of the siding of the building has been taken off.
The last part of the work on the community center will entail retrofitting the building’s seismic standards.
Map courtesy Si View Metropolitan Park District The rendering above shows what Si View Park might look in the future. Work on three different locations will start this year. Both the park and the Si View Community Center, along with Tollgate Park, will undergo changes in the months ahead.
“We are going to brace the foundation to where it connects to the joints,” Stombaugh said, “so that it’s stronger structurally and more able to withstand earthquakes.”
The work should be complete in six weeks, he said.
The second project happens at Si View Park, this summer.
Little ones learn about reading
February 1, 2012
Encouragement to early literacy is provided every week at the King County Library System’s Snoqualmie Library, at 7824 Center Blvd. S.E., Snoqualmie Ridge.
Carol Gong, 3 (left) and Clair Adams, 3, hold up rhythm sticks and prepare to mark the beat to a storytime song.
Young Toddler Story Time, ages 6-24 months with an adult, is Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. Preschool Story Time, ages 3-6 years with an adult, is Mondays at 1:30 p.m. and Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. The Read to Me reading challenge currently going on rewards young readers up to once a month with a paperback or board book of their choice, when a parent and child take a form and check off 20 minutes of reading for 20 days in a month.
Everclear’s Davey French rocks a classroom on the Ridge
February 1, 2012
Children and adults on Snoqualmie Ridge are living the rock star dream these days, thanks to a rock star.
Davey French, guitarist with the internationally known band Everclear, teaches a Rock Star class at Big Star Studios, where he shows students the ins and outs of being in a band. This includes jamming as a team and setting up and taking down equipment before and after a show.
“It’s real-world experience of what it’s like,” said French, who lives on the Ridge but still tours with Everclear. “You have nine weeks to get a set together and after the nine weeks, you have a show.”
Contributed Davey French, a resident of Snoqualmie Ridge and a guitarist with Everclear, teaches the Rock Star class at his neighborhood’s Big Star Studios.
Students have to audition to enter the class. Once they get in, they split into three groups, according to age.
The class for students ages 10-12 is called “Local Band.” The class for teenagers is “Opening Act.” The class for adults is called “Headliners.”
Having an actual professional rock star as the teacher “is a huge draw for us,” said Kathy Gehrig, co-owner of Big Star Studios.
Gehrig graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa with a degree in music.
Chocolate almond heart cookies
February 1, 2012
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.
Adorable and simple, these sweethearts are a perfect gift for friends and family this Valentine’s Day.
Cream together:
2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
Contributed Chocolate almond heart cookies are great for Valentine’s Day.
Add and beat together well:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons almond extract
1 tablespoon milk
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup Hershey’s Cocoa — Special Dark
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Salish Lodge & Spa earns repeatedly high ratings from AAA
February 1, 2012
The Salish Lodge & Spa has earned a AAA Four Diamond Award for the 22nd consecutive year.
The Dining Room at Salish Lodge & Spa has earned the award for 21 consecutive years, according to a Jan. 24 press release from AAA.
AAA added three lodgings to its list of AAA Four Diamond properties in Washington state. Willows Lodge (Woodinville), Sea Cliff Gardens Bed & Breakfast (Port Angeles) and Colette’s Bed and Breakfast (Port Angeles) have all earned the AAA Four Diamond Award for the first time in 2012.
A total of 32 lodgings and eight restaurants are represented on the AAA Four Diamond Award list in Washington and northern Idaho this year.
For the 10th consecutive year, The Herbfarm Restaurant (Woodinville) earned a AAA Five Diamond Rating, the only establishment in the Pacific Northwest to be awarded the highest rating in 2012.
Snoqualmie unveils charging stations for electric cars
February 1, 2012
The Snoqualmie City Hall will install an electric car charging station, according to a press release from the city.
Besides City Hall, the Snoqualmie Community Center will have a station and the downtown business district will house a third one. ECOtality, a San Francisco-based, green- technology company will install the stations through a public-private partnership alongside the U.S. Department of Energy.
“Snoqualmie’s goal in providing this service is to build upon King County’s charging station initiative and expand it into the Snoqualmie Valley,” Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson said. “Without charging stations in Snoqualmie, owners of electric vehicles would be less likely to visit our city, and as electric vehicle popularity grows it will be important for the city to provide this service to residents and tourists alike.”
Learn more by emailing nsanders@ci.snoqualmie.wa.us or calling 888-5337.
Search for unclaimed cash in state database
February 1, 2012
The state Department of Revenue returned unclaimed property to a record 108,441 claimants during the 2011 fiscal year, due in part to a sharp increase in businesses reporting unclaimed property to the state.
Unclaimed property includes unclaimed paychecks, utility deposits, bank accounts, uncashed refunds, life insurance proceeds, stocks and bonds, and contents from safe deposit boxes.
During the past fiscal year, the Department of Revenue added 750,000 names and a record $102.5 million to the searchable online database of unclaimed property at www.claimyourcash.org.
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.
