After months of delays, North Bend City Council voted to wait a little longer to vote on a proposal to amend the city’s development regulations to allow a hotel to be built south of Interstate 90’s Exit 31, at its March 2 meeting.

Following statements from opponents and supporters of the motion, the council decided to split it into two separate motions. It will vote on them at its March 16 meeting.

Opponents said a hotel would hurt property values, increase crime and be a nuisance.

Supporters said that it would help businesses and bring in tax revenue for the city.

The council will vote separately on the hotel amendment and on stricter design guidelines for hotels, which were recommended by the city’s Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission voted to recommend its adoption with the stricter design guidelines to the council in October.

The commission added the design guidelines to encourage a building that blends with the surrounding area, commission head Gina Estep said.

The proposal was submitted by the property’s owner, George Wyrsch, who owns several businesses in North Bend.

The parcel in question, located at the corner of Ribary Way and Bendigo Boulevard, is currently zoned Interchange Mixed Use. Earlier this decade the city prohibited hotels on property zoned as IMU located south of I-90.

Opposition to the proposal has come mostly from Forster Woods, a residential development next to the site.

A hotel, opponents said at the council meeting, would increase crime in the area, lower property values and be a nuisance to them and others.

“It really comes down to the issue of public safety versus private property,” said Doug Weinmaster, a Forster Woods resident.

North Bend needs a hotel, but south of I-90 is the wrong site, he said.

Many opponents said they are concerned that crimes would be targeted at children.

“If one child is hurt because this hotel goes in…then anyone who votes for this hotel is morally responsible for the fate of that child,” said Jean Hoedl, who opposes the proposal.

“Crime will go up. Mr. Wyrsch and the hotel will be the victims,” said Sgt. Mark Toner, North Bend’s police chief.

Based on comparative analysis he did to similar cities across the country, any increase in crime would be directed at the hotel, such as guests refusing to pay bills, then at customers.

“I can’t find any reason, from the police department’s perspective, to oppose it,” he said.

That was not enough for some opponents.

“I can’t believe that putting a four-story building next to the interstate won’t increase crime,” Weinmaster said.

Other opponents expressed their frustration with the process.

“Does anyone listen to 215 families? Do you listen to Mr. Wyrsch? City Council, please listen to us,” said Patty Brown, a Forster Woods resident.

Not every Forster Woods resident opposes the proposal.

A hotel would be “best for the whole city and not just one neighborhood,” said Rick Oakley, a Forster Woods resident.

As a police officer and father, he said, he isn’t worried about any increase in crime.

Supporters of the hotel said it would bring in tax revenue for the city, and help downtown businesses and Snoqualmie Valley’s tourism industry. Finding a nice room to stay is too difficult for out of town visitors, said several supporters, including two event planners.

“How can we have tourism without a hotel or motel?” Bob Yerkes asked the council.

Since the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce began tracking travelers’ requests 15 years ago, better accommodations have been in the top five every year, said Fritz Ribary, the group’s executive director.

Several council members said they liked the guidelines and wanted to ensure they were adopted, even if the hotel proposal was not.

During discussion following public comments, council members expressed ambivalence about the vote. Even Councilman Dee Williamson, a Forster Woods resident, said he is “sitting on the fence on this issue.”

Like other council members, he said before making a decision he wants more data on potential effects, such as on property values and traffic.

The controversy over the proposal could be all for naught.

“Hotel developers know very well about the Wyrsch site” and other potential sites in North Bend, Councilman David Cook said. “They’re not interested in any of them.”

The city doesn’t have the population numbers that developers are looking for, he said.

Cook, a commercial real estate broker, has talked with hotel developers about another site in North Bend in the past.

Hotel tax revenue 

North Bend collects six different taxes from hotels and motels.

• Property tax: $1.45 per $1,000 of assessed value
• Sales tax: $0.085/$10
• Hotel/motel tax: $0.10/$10 of room fees
• Business and operations tax: $0.02/$10 of gross receipts
• Utility tax: $0.60/$10
• Franchise fee: $0.50/$10

Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com.

Tests done in early March showed that water in Mount Si High School’s portable classrooms had levels of lead higher than what is recommended by the EPA.

District administrators advised teachers and students in the portables not to drink water coming from the faucets.

As a precaution, tests were performed on the water and plumbing services in the portable complex, but the results will not be available until the week of March 15, schools spokeswoman Carolyn Malcolm said.

Snoqualmie Valley schools and portables were last tested for lead in 2004, when Seattle School District found it had issues with lead in its water, Malcolm said.

“If this recent finding is related to new parts from construction of the new portables this summer, the district will work with manufacturers to ensure appropriate repairs,” Malcolm wrote in a news release.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

Senate Bill 6444, which passed the Senate 25-19, would make modifications to the state’s operating budget. It’s now before the House.

45th Sen. Cheryl Pflug, (R-Maple Valley) — N

Senate Bill 6381, which passed the Senate 41-3, modifies the state’s 2009-11 transportation budget appropriations. It’s now before the House.

45th Sen. Cheryl Pflug, (R-Maple Valley) — N

Senate Bill 6345 passed the House 86-12. The House amended the bill making it a secondary offense for drivers over 18 to talk on a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle.

It will be returned to the Senate for concurrence with a House amendment.

45th Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) — Y

45th Rep. Jay Rodne, (R-North Bend) — Y

Senate Bill 6214 would consolidate the powers, duties and functions of the three regional Growth Management Hearings Boards into a single board.

The House amended it 68-28, modifying the qualification provisions related to a member’s eligibility to serve on the board. It will be returned to the Senate for concurrence with a House amendment.

45th Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) — Y

45th Rep. Jay Rodne, (R-North Bend) — Y

House Bill 3141, which passed the Senate 27-20, creates a working group to develop a proposal for the Legislature to redesign the state’s use of the temporary assistance to needy families funding in a manner that makes optimum use of all funds available to promote more families moving out of poverty to sustainable self-sufficiency.

The Senate, which amended it 27-20, reduced the 12-month authorization for child care assistance to six months.

45th Sen. Cheryl Pflug, (R-Maple Valley) — E

Senate Bill 6267, which previously passed the Senate 46-2, modifies the Department of Ecology’s water right cost-reimbursement agreement program. It will be before the Senate for concurrence with House amendments.

45th Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) — N

45th Rep. Jay Rodne, (R-North Bend) — N

Senate Bill 6392, which previously passed the Senate 44-3, would allow bond proceeds, backed by revenue generated from tolls on the state Route 520 corridor to be used for any project within the 520 bridge replacement and HOV program, including projects beyond just the replacement floating bridge.

The bill also required that $200 million of the bond proceeds be spent only on the floating bridge and the west side of the corridor.

The House amended the bill 78-19, expanding the use of the bond revenues to include projects that would improve the operation of the 520 corridor, including transit and HOV projects. It will be returned to the Senate for concurrence with the House amendment.

45th Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) — Y

45th Rep. Jay Rodne, (R-North Bend) — Y

SOURCE: WashingtonVotes.org, a free, nonpartisan Web site to find plain-English explanations of bills and a record of each legislator’s votes.

Check back for updates

A group of Snoqualmie residents are asking City Council to take a closer look at a proposed agreement with the YMCA of Greater Seattle for operation of a future community center.

The group presented a range of concerns to the council at its March 8 meeting, including the cost of the project, safety issues and potential impacts on traffic and parking.

Based on these concerns, the council should more closely examine the agreement and its potential ramifications, several residents said.

“If any of these concerns existed by themselves, they would not be enough to delay or derail this action. But when I see this much uncertainty and lack of details…it starts to smell to me,” said Marcus Morisette before the meeting.

The agreement would put the YMCA in charge of running and maintaining a community center on Snoqualmie Ridge.

The center would be 9,500-13,000 square feet after its first phase, which is expected to cost around $4 million and include a meeting room, half-sized gymnasium, fitness facility and youth room. A future phase estimated to cost $10 million would include a pool.

The city’s plan is to have the YMCA build the facility, which Snoqualmie would then buy from the group and lease back to it. The YMCA would then operate the community center.

Residents want more details

Several residents asked for more details on several issues, including the plan’s costs, the size of the proposed site, parking and traffic.

Some called for greater financial transparency, questioning if the city would have enough money to pay for the facility’s first phase. They pointed to cost overruns of nearly $2 million on recently finished City Hall.

Mayor Matt Larson said that the builder would be liable for any construction cost overruns on the community center, and the YMCA would pay any operations cost overruns.

However, resolving City Hall’s construction cost overruns has not proven so simple, with the builder, designer and city each denying responsibility.

The city is greatly underestimating the facility’s construction costs, said Mark McDonald, owner and president of Northwest Capital Corp., which developed and manages Snoqualmie Ridge’s retail space.

The city’s plan says the center will be built to meet Ridge guidelines, which are expensive, McDonald said. “The city is making commitments they don’t know they can come through on.”

The city can’t even really know what the final costs for Phase I and Phase II will be until it has specified the construction site, said George Isaacs, a Realtor and resident on Snoqualmie Ridge.

“Until you know the site, it’s hard to determine what the actual costs are,” he said.

The city has indicated the center would go on park land next to Cascade View Elementary School, but it hasn’t specified how much of the park would be used for the facility.

The agreement will be considered at the council’s Parks and Planning Committee March 15 meeting. The meeting has been moved to Snoqualmie Fire Station to allow for extended public comment.

After that it will go back to the City Council, which can vote on it at its March 22 meeting.

Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

North Bend’s marketing team has finished its plan for 2010, some of which has already been implemented. The plan is part of the city’s strategy to draw more visitors – and their money – to North Bend.

The team is composed of residents with backgrounds in marketing and city employees.

Highlights on the plan include the North Bend Block Party and Rock Challenge (July 17), North Bend Tour De Peaks (Aug. 15) and the Banff Mountain Film Festival (Dec. 8). The plan also includes an outdoor recreation industry conference (date pending) and a conceptual design for a proposed plaza in downtown North Bend to be finished Dec. 1.

Some elements, such as the introduction of the city’s new logo, have already been implemented.

Class photos K-2 March 16

North Bend Elementary

Haiti coin and shoe drive. Drop off donations at the front office.

Opstad Elementary

Bingo Night, 6-7:30 p.m. March 12

PTA general meeting, 6:50-7 p.m. March 12

Third-grade concert, 6-7 p.m. March 17

Science fair entry forms due March 18

Snoqualmie Elementary

Second-grade concert, 7-8 p.m. March 11

Art and Science Night, 6:30-8:30 p.m. March 19

Chief Kanim Middle School

PTSA Dance 7-9 p.m. March 12

Band concert, 7 p.m. March 16

Pennies for Patients, an annual fundraiser for the Leukemia Foundation, is accepting donations

Snoqualmie Middle School

Progress report update, March 12

Twin Falls Middle School

Seventh-grade science fair, 6-7 p.m. March 11

McTeacher Night at the North Bend McDonalds, 5-7 p.m. March 17

Raven Night, 7-9 p.m. March 19

Mount Si High School

HSPE state testing in reading and writing, March 16-18

Choir concert, 7-9 p.m. March 18

ASB auction, 7-11 p.m. March 20

Snoqualmie Valley School District

Snoqualmie Valley School Board meeting, 7:30 March 11, district office

Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation, 6:30 p.m. March 17, district office

Helping your young reader, 6:30 p.m. March 24, North Bend Elementary

The Young and the Restless: The social lives of our children, 7-8:30 p.m. March 18, Cascade View Elementary School

When Eastside Fire & Rescue Chief Lee Soptich finally had a chance to reflect on 2009, one he counts as the most stressful of any in his 24 years as a fire chief, he said it was a mixed bag.

“It was the best of years and the worst of years for me,” Soptich said.

Despite the danger of layoffs and the unpleasantness of intra-agency conflict, EFR had a good year in terms of responding to emergencies, he said.

The partners who fund EFR, including Issaquah, were scrambling to address drops in revenue from sales tax and the frozen real estate market; they asked the agency not increase the cost of fire protection for 2010, despite likely cost increases from employee salaries and benefits.

But year-end data shows that firefighters are responding to calls faster, expensive fires were down from 2008, the agency did not exceed its overtime budget for staffing firefighters and no firefighters suffered career-ending injuries.

Soptich said the agency, which formed in 1999, has never had a career-ending injury. Nonetheless, it’s one of his top priorities every year.

With the help of cost-cutting measures proposed by the local firefighters union, the agency also avoided any layoffs.

Soptich said EFR has never laid off a firefighter. Before EFR formed, when he was fire chief of King County Fire District 10, he did lay off 13 nonfirefighter employees between 1996 and 1997. 

Response times

Kevin Bryson, data analyst for EFR, published a report showing that EFR firefighters have steadily improved their response times since January 2008.

Response times measure the time it takes between receiving a 911 call to firefighters suiting up and leaving the fire station.

In January 2008, firefighters met the agency’s standard about 60 percent of the time for 731 calls.

A year later, firefighters met the agency’s standard about 67.5 percent of the time for 745 calls. In December 2009, firefighters met the standard about 88 percent of the time.

From January to December 2009, firefighters’ average response time dropped 14 seconds for daytime emergency medical services calls, 12 seconds for nighttime emergency medical services calls, 20 seconds for daytime fire-related calls and 22 seconds for nighttime fire-related calls.

In a memo to employees within EFR, Bryson suggested that firefighters’ times improved as they became aware of their performance and started competing with one another to respond to calls faster.

EFR firefighters had a history of not meeting agency standards for response times.

Part of the problem, according to EFR officials, had to do with an unrealistic one-size-fits-all standard.

So, in July 2009, EFR established a more nuanced system of standards that reflected the practical differences between responding to a nighttime or daytime call.

Officials at EFR also say there is an inevitable lag for fire-related calls where firefighters need to don protective suits before leaving the station, so two standards identify responses with and without protective suits.

The previous standard required that firefighters responding to a call must leave the fire station within 90 seconds of receiving a call, 90 percent of the time.

In 2008, EFR’s actual turnout time was 146 seconds 90 percent of the time.

Bryson’s data shows improvement using the old or new standard. While the standards are more forgiving, firefighters are responding faster, too. 

Less expensive fires

The monetary losses incurred by fires were down in 2009, though you might as well chalk it up to luck, according to Wes Collins, EFR deputy chief.

Collins stressed that cutting down on expensive fires may not have anything to do with EFR’s performance in a given year.

“Tomorrow, Costco could burn down,” Collins said, pointing to an example where a single incident could inflate the amount of monetary losses due to fires.

He said it’s possible that EFR saw less expensive fires last year because people were quicker to dial 911 this year, or the buildings that had fires were less valuable than the year before.

Whatever the reason, fires this year caused $383,013 less in damages, down about 13.9 percent from 2008. 

Overtime was within budget

The agency also spent $70,000 less than it expected in overtime for staffing firefighters. EFR’s 2009 budget had $600,000 set aside for this purpose, but the agency spent $530,000.

Soptich said it’s a qualified success, since the agency had set $480,000 as a goal, and overspent that target.

The agency promoted a lieutenant to captain, making him a floating position that could fill in gaps and avoid overtime. Firefighters receive 1.5 times normal pay when working overtime.

EFR’s 2010 budget anticipates spending far less on overtime in 2010, setting aside $395,000.

If the agency pulls it off, it would mean a 26 percent reduction from 2009.

J.B. Wogan: 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

Snoqualmie

Who crashed the car?

A car went into a ditch at about 12:45 a.m. Feb. 26, in the 9500 block of Meadowbrook Way Southeast. Wyrsch’s Towing impounded the car.

An officer saw a woman walking near the car, but the woman said the car was not hers.

Later that night, a woman at Smokey Joe’s Tavern reportedly said she had been in an accident, but police do not know if it was the same accident.

In the park after hours

A caller reported two juveniles in a park at 6604 Azalea Way S.E. at 10:03 p.m. Feb. 27. When an officer arrived, the subjects were gone.

There was no damage found to the park.

Stolen from Missouri

On Feb. 28, an officer confirmed that a 2008 45-foot, Caparral flatbed trailer that had been parked in the 35000 block of Southeast Center Street for about eight months had been stolen in June 2008 from its owner in Missouri.

The Webb City Missouri Police Department requested the trailer be impounded and said that the trailer’s owner would contact Snoqualmie Police.

Speeding in a school zone

A woman was caught going 37 mph in a 20 mph school zone at noon March 3, in the 8700 block of Meadowbrook Way Southeast. The woman had been driving with a suspended license and had a number of unpaid traffic tickets.

The woman was issued citations for speeding and for not having a front license plate. She will receive a criminal citation for driving with a suspended license in the third degree.

North Bend

Panhandling at QFC

A man was panhandling at the North Bend QFC at about 4:30 p.m. March 3. A QFC employee signed a King County Sheriff’s Office Trespass Warning Letter. The suspect agreed to stay away from the store. 

Camping on the trail

A woman who was walking along the Middle Fork River Trail behind her house noticed a green Ford Explorer parked on the trail. She saw a man and a woman at the river’s edge in what appeared to be a campground. As she continued walking, she found a prescription bottle of methadone and then called police at about 5:30 p.m. March 3.

An officer found the woman had a misdemeanor warrant for $350 for driving with a suspended license in the third degree. He arrested her. The officer returned the prescription bottle to the man and asked him to clean up the campsite.

Later, the officer learned that the man had multiple non-extraditable felony and misdemeanor warrants and a warrant from King County Sheriff’s Office, but the officer was unable to locate him. 

Stolen snowboard

A juvenile’s snowboard was stolen from a friend’s car top carrier while parked at McDonald’s at about 11:42 a.m. March 4. The friend’s car top carrier was not damaged and no other belongings were stolen. 

Prescription drugs missing

A woman reported her prescription drugs were stolen from their respective pill bottles sometime between Feb. 26 and 28 at the 4000 block of Southeast Reinig Road. The woman had kept the drugs in her pillow case. She said only her mother, who had just visited her from Canada, knew about the methadone prescription. The officer told the woman to keep her prescription drugs in a locked safe.

Stolen credit card

A North Bend man reported his U.S. Bank credit card number had been stolen and used in two transactions between Feb. 9 and 11. The man canceled his card. 

Dumped mail

A road crew found dumped mail on the 4460 block of Southeast Edgewick Road at about 7:08 a.m. March 1. An officer returned the mail to the two listed victims. The officer suspects the mail theft was linked to a burglary that had just been reported in the area.

A group of Snoqualmie residents are asking City Council to take a closer look at a proposed agreement with the YMCA of Greater Seattle for operation of a future community center.

The group presented a range of concerns to the council at its March 8 meeting, including the cost of the project, safety issues and potential impacts on traffic and parking.

Based on these concerns, the council should more closely examine the agreement and its potential ramifications, several residents said.

“If any of these concerns existed by themselves, they would not be enough to delay or derail this action. But when I see this much uncertainty and lack of details…it starts to smell to me,” said Marcus Morisette before the meeting.

The agreement would put the YMCA in charge of running and maintaining a community center on Snoqualmie Ridge.

The center would be 9,500-13,000 square feet after its first phase, which is expected to cost around $4 million and include a meeting room, half-sized gymnasium, fitness facility and youth room. A future phase estimated to cost $10 million would include a pool.

The city’s plan is to have the YMCA build the facility, which Snoqualmie would then buy from the group and lease back to it. The YMCA would then operate the community center.

Several residents asked for more financial transparency, questioning if the city would have enough money to pay for the facility’s first phase.

The agreement will be considered at the council’s Parks and Planning Committee March 15 meeting. The meeting has been moved to Snoqualmie Fire Station to allow for extended public comment.

After that it will go back to the City Council, which can vote on it at its March 22 meeting.

Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

With the State Legislature’s current session winding down, advocates for outdoor groups are lobbying representatives to restore money to operate 22 popular trails and campgrounds in Snoqualmie Valley and the rest of Washington.

The money was initially cut from Gov. Chris Gregoire’s supplemental budget proposal in January to close the state’s $2.8 billion budget shortfall. She proposed cutting $278,000 from Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ Recreation Program general fund, which pays for the sites’ operation and maintenance.

Facilities at Mount Si, Little Si and Rattlesnake Lake would be closed. Together, Mount Si and Little Si trailheads get over 500,000 visitors a year, and are key components of North Bend’s strategy to become an outdoor recreational destination.

The Senate’s budget proposal adds back the $278,000 to DNR. But the House budget does not.

Advocates for outdoor groups are lobbying House members to add the money in the final version of their budget proposal, but it could come down to conference when the budgets from the Senate and the House are reconciled, said Jonathan Guzzo, advocacy director for the Washington Trails Association.

“There’s a decent chance we can get that money restored,” he said.

Without the money, DNR would have to close the facilities at the end of March, according Mark Mauren, a DNR assistant division manager for recreation and public access.

The recreation program’s general fund pays for things, such as trail maintenance; pumping outhouses; garbage cleanup; volunteer training; and replacing vandalized and worn-out signs, picnic tables and other infrastructure.

In Washington, the DNR manages about 2.2 million acres of forestland.

Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com.

United States Census forms will arrive this month. The form has only 10 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete. Forms should be returned as quickly as possible.

Responses should include everyone who will be living at each residence as of April 1, 2010, the official day of the population count. The federal census is a count of every woman, man and child in the U.S., including citizens and non-citizens.

By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents’ answers with anyone, including other federal agencies and law enforcement entities.

Those needing help completing their form can go to the second floor of Snoqualmie City Hall, 38624 S.E. River St., which is an Authorized Census Questionnaire Assistance Center. Check the city’s Web site for times when assistance is available.

For additional information about the census, visit the Web site of the 2010 U.S. Census.

The State Patrol has reported that a 52-year-old Snoqualmie man who was involved in a single-car crash on February 22 has died at the hospital, according to the Tacoma News Tribune. 

Kenneth J. Treichel’s 2001 Kia Spectra had been traveling westbound on Interstate 90 when it went off the road. The car went 238 feet down an embankment before crashing into a tree.

Treichel was taken to Seattle’s Haborview Medical Center where he died on March 2.

The State Patrol could not be reached to confirm the report.

As his first 100 days in office draw to a close, King County Executive Dow Constantine plans to outline his reform agenda for county government in a series of speeches next week.

Constantine was elected in November after running on a reform agenda, promising to change the culture of King County government to emphasize customer service and efficiency.

Facing likely budget cuts in 2011 and 2012, he has stressed finding savings by reducing waste, but has conceded that will not be enough and tax raises could be necessary to prevent deep cuts in services.

He will address the Metropolitan King County Council at 11 a.m. March 8. The next day, March 9, he will speak to two meeting of regional civic and business leaders. His first appearance will be before the Bellevue Rotary Club at noon. At 4 p.m., Constantine will speak at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce board of trustees meeting. On March 12, he will address the Maple Valley Rotary Club at 7:15 a.m.

As Snoqualmie Valley School District administrators prepare to do an elementary school boundary review for the 2010-11 school year, they are asking the public for feedback through an online survey.

To learn more about the boundary review, visit www.svsd410.org and select “Elementary Attendance Boundary Study.”

The survey will be open until 8 p.m. March 5.

After months of delays, North Bend City Council voted to wait a little longer to vote on a proposal to amend the city’s development regulations to allow a hotel to be built south of Interstate 90’s Exit 31, at its March 2 meeting.

Following statements from opponents and supporters of the motion, the council decided to split it into two separate motions. It will vote on them at its March 16 meeting.

The council will vote separately on the hotel amendment and on stricter design guidelines for hotels, which were recommended by the city’s Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission voted to recommend its adoption with the stricter design guidelines to the council in October.

The commission added the design guidelines to encourage a building that blends with the surrounding area, commission head Gina Estep said.

Residents from the neighboring Forster Woods development voiced their opposition to the proposal at the council meeting. A hotel, they said, would increase crime in the area, lower property values and be a nuisance for them and others.

Supporters of the hotel said it would bring in tax revenue and help downtown businesses.

Several council members said they liked the guidelines and wanted to ensure they were adopted, even if the hotel proposal was not.

During discussion following public comments, council members expressed ambivalence about the vote. Even Councilman Dee Williamson, a Forster Woods resident, said he is “sitting on the fence on this issue.”

Some council members are skeptical of a national brand hotel’s interest in the site.

“Hotel developers know very well about the Wyrsch site” and other potential sites in North Bend, Councilman David Cook said. “They’re not interested in any of them.

The proposal was submitted by the property’s owner, George Wyrsch, who owns several businesses in North Bend.

The parcel in question, located at the corner of Ribary Way and Bendigo Boulevard, is currently zoned Interchange Mixed Use. Earlier this decade the city prohibited hotels on property zoned as IMU located south of I-90.

Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com.

Eric Ward (Photo contributed by family)

By Brian Rosenthal, Seattle Times reporter

UPDATED — 2:35 p.m. March 3, 2010

Friends and family described Eric L. Ward, a 19-year-old Marine from Redmond and Mount Si graduate who died Feb. 21 in Afghanistan, as a proud and generous man who kept everybody around him laughing.

Lance Cpl. Ward died in a “hostile incident” in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Feb. 23. A machine-gunner, he was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Base Camp Lejeune, N.C.

“He was always the person to make you laugh no matter what happened,” said Trey Hoover, 19, a fellow Marine who was Ward’s roommate in Afghanistan. “No matter what happened, where we were at, even if we were sleeping in the field getting a torrential downpour rained on us, he’d always make it funny.”

Besides his humor, Lance Cpl. Ward was known for his athletic talent and unusual generosity, said his father, Steven Ward. Every year while he was a student at Snoqualmie Valley Public Schools, Eric Ward would buy extra sets of school supplies to give to those who were less fortunate.

A fourth-generation Marine, Lance Cpl. Ward had dreamed of joining the Corps from an early age, his father said.

“He was a natural leader,” said Steven Ward, 48. “He was proud to serve. He was proud for his family. He was strong.”

Ward joined the Marines in July 2008. He deployed to Afghanistan in October and was promoted to the rank of lance corporal last month.

His awards include the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and NATO International Security Assistance Force Medal.

The cause of death has not been released. Ward’s battalion reportedly has been participating in an intense offensive to retake the city of Marjah, in the southern province of Helmand, from Taliban control.

About 15,000 American and NATO troops, including soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, are participating in the offensive, which has been described as the largest operation in the eight-year war.

The operation has resulted in the deaths of many American soldiers, Taliban fighters and Afghan civilians. At least seven Marines in Ward’s regiment alone have died since Feb. 1.

Ward’s body arrived at Dover Air Force Base Feb. 23, said his father, who was on the tarmac when the plane landed.

Because he died in combat, Ward will be buried at Arlington National Ceremony.

The family is planning services in Western Washington to celebrate Ward’s service, his father said.

Even before Ward’s body arrived at Dover, impromptu memorials were already under way. Students at Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie, Ward’s alma mater, mourned his death with messages on Facebook and Twitter and with a banner bearing the words “Thank you for your service.”

“He was a loved kid,” his father said.

Gov. Chris Gregoire directed that flags on state buildings be flown at half-mast March 1, in memory.

Snoqualmie Valley roads have become sites of memorials, as well, with residents displaying flags and signs in honor of Ward.

Ward will never be forgotten, said Hoover, who is just three days older than his former roommate.

“Some of the best times I’ve ever had were with him,” Hoover said.

“There are really no words that can describe what kind of person he was.”

Remembering Eric Ward 

• Memorial services will be held at 9 a.m. March 13, Mount Si High School. Ward will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery at 3 p.m. March 19, Arlington, Va., . Friends and family are welcome at both services. 

Donations in honor of Ward

• A scholarship in Ward’s name has been set up for Mount Si graduates. Donations can be made through Bank Of America to the “LCPL Eric L. Ward, Memorial Scholarship,” account no. 43850049.
• Donations can also be made in Ward’s name to the Wounded Warrior Project online at www.woundedwarriorproject.org or by credit card to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675-8517. For questions, send an e-mail to donorservices@woundedwarriorproject.org.

Brian Rosenthal: 206-464-3195 or brosenthal@seattletimes.com.

The Upper Snoqualmie Valley Elk Management Group wants to get the area’s elk some privacy — and diminish their interactions with humans.

The group is beginning work on a long-term plan to make timberland owned by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources more appetizing to the Valley’s elk population by improving the animals’ food sources there.

Illustration by Dan Catchpole

The land, known as the CCC Flats, is at the end of Mount Si Road on a large plateau above the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River.

By creating more food sources on the land, the group hopes to entice elk away from the Valley floor — especially away from roads and people’s yards, said Kalli Willson, a spokeswoman for the group.

DNR gave the group permission for five years to clear old logging roads that have been left untended for years and replant them with vegetation that make up the elk’s diet. The group is working with several state and federal agencies; also, the Muckleshoot and Tulalip tribes have shared methods they used in similar projects.

It’s the first time the group has been given permission to improve a property, but the group hopes it won’t be the last.

“We have potential habitat all around the Valley,” Willson said. “They’re not there now, because the food is better down” on the Valley floor.

The herd is estimated to have 300 to 600 elk, more than have ever been recorded in the area, she said.

With such a large population, the elk cannot support themselves on food sources in outlying areas, but must come to where humans are.

Humans and elks living in close proximity can lead to problems, notably car accidents and potentially aggressive behavior by elk accustomed to humans, Willson said.

But “the animals bring to the Valley a beauty that an urban area is not used to,” she said, adding that they are a resource to the Valley’s tourism and outdoor recreation industries, and schools.

The group plans to start planting seeds this spring and begin monitoring results next spring by comparing population estimates in the area before and after the planting. The estimates will be based on dung pellet counts.

The presence of elk in Snoqualmie Valley has ebbed and flowed over the years in large part due to human intervention.

The Snoqualmie Tribe hunted them, but they were gone by the time European settlers arrived in the 1800s, said Snoqualmie Valley historian Dave Battey.

That changed in 1913, thanks to a Seattle Elks Club, which was hosting a convention.

“To spice up that convention, they decided to load some elk onto boxcars in Yellowstone. Then, the two-legged elk watched the four-legged elk get off the boxcars here in the Valley,” Battey said.

Those elk stayed in the Valley until a severely cold winter in 1946-1947 killed many. After that, Weyerhaeuser and state officials removed the elk herd to Mount Baker.

Elk returned to the Valley after the city of Seattle stopped logging in the Cedar River Watershed, Battey said.

The unabated forest growth reduced food sources for the elk there, causing them to migrate to the Valley to eat.

“The biggest hassle we have is with automobiles,” he said.

Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com.

Shannon Barrie, who hadn’t seen her father in years, suddenly found herself taking care of him in his old age.

James Arthur Barrie has dementia, and although he is aware of the present during his lucid periods, his daughter realized she didn’t have the resources to care for him on her own. She called Adult Protective Services. When they learned her father was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, they referred her to Joel Estey, manager of the King County Veterans’ Program.

Every week, Estey makes himself available to veterans and their families, helping connect them with resources, such as medical care or counseling.

King County pays for the program with the 2005 Veterans and Human Services Levy approved by voters, which provides $13 million per year for veterans and their dependents, as well as for needy people not associated with the military.

The levy is about a $12 tax per year for people owning a $300,000 house.

The mayors of Auburn and Enumclaw are credited with starting the program.

“In the earlier part of 2000, they realized veterans who were serving in the military were paying a high price, and they thought they needed more services,” Estey said.

The program targets veterans in rural parts of King County, where people might not know about veteran services.

For Barrie, Estey was a valuable resource for her father.

“He was in the Navy — he did his duty,” said Barrie, manager of the North Bend Motel. “I was trying to place him in a veteran’s home because I was having a hard time taking care of him.”

She met with Estey, and suggests other veterans and their family members do the same.

“Often times, I’m talking to people who are confused by the (Veterans Affairs) system,” Estey said. “I am able to sit down with them and find out what their issues and concerns are.”

As veterans from the Vietnam War age, they may have to deal with medical problems they have put off, Estey said.

Families of Iraq or Afghanistan veterans may find themselves overwhelmed, especially if the veteran is injured, needs counseling or is looking for work.

Estey can help them, or at least refer them to local resource.

“Joel was really helpful,” Barrie said. “He gave me a few options and numbers.”

In the end, her father decided to live by himself in a North Bend apartment, but his daughter said it was nice to know alternatives exist.

Ruth Tolmasoff, director of Mount Si Senior Center, said many seniors use Estey’s services.

“He takes time with them,” Tolmasoff said. “He knows what the resources are. I think it’s a lot easier just to walk in and talk to Joel as a first step than to seek out a more formal kind of service.”

Estey spends the third Thursday of every month from 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Mt Si Senior Center, 411 Main Ave. S., North Bend.

He also visits the Sno-Valley Senior Center from 8-10 a.m. the third Thursday of the month, at 4610 Stephens Ave., Carnation.

Contact Joel Estey

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

The Snoqualmie Valley School District is facing a difficult fiscal year and in a worst case scenario, would have to lay off up to 26 teachers, business director Ron Ellis said at the Feb. 25 school board meeting.

Many of the layoffs are due to the discontinuation of Initiative 728 funds. In her proposed budget, Gov. Chris Gregoire cut I-728 funds, which helps schools hire more teachers to reduce class sizes. I-728 money also pays for professional development.

It would be difficult to maintain current class sizes if the reduction went through, Snoqualmie Valley School District Superintendent Joel Aune said.

If all of Gregoire’s cuts go through, the district could lose about $1.8 million, about 3.6 percent of its total budget, Ellis said. Other proposed state cuts include taking money away from the highly capable learners program and changing teacher-student ratios in kindergarten through fourth grade.

Interestingly, the state house budget would maintain student-teacher ratios for those grades, while the senate’s budget would not. If the house’s budget passes, it could save a handful of teachers’ jobs, Aune said.

The school district’s reserve is also lower than usual. Officials are still waiting to receive insurance and FEMA money from the 2009 flood that damaged several schools. Of about $1.7 million the district spent repairing flood damages, it has only received about $369,000 so far.

Counting only the insurance money it has already received, the district has about $3.3 million in its unreserved ending balance, about 6 percent of its total budget.

It was important to have a healthy reserve, Ellis said.

“If we had not had money in the bank when we had the flood, we could have been up the creek without a paddle,” Ellis said.

He is also keeping an eye on enrollment, and predicted it would grow 0.7 percent in the 2010-11 school year. More students equates to more money from the state, he said.

“Thank goodness we’re growing,” Aune said. “That’s a good thing.”

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

A group of parents and teachers led a heated discussion about how the school district should expand during a comment period held by the Snoqualmie Valley School Board Feb. 25.

Their complaints included a litany of items, including the price tag of the expansion project and the feasibility of annexing Snoqualmie Middle School.

At the last school board meeting, the Long-Term Facilities Committee recommended Mount Si High School annex Snoqualmie Middle School for the 2012-13 school year, when Mount Si’s student population is projected to exceed the building’s capacity.

In the meantime, the district would spend two years building a new, $50 million middle school on a 40-acre parcel it owns on Snoqualmie Ridge.

The committee looked into another long-term facilities option — the modernization and expansion of Mount Si — but said the $99 million to $104 million project would be too expensive and too difficult to coordinate during construction.

The school board is scheduled to accept or reject the recommendation at the March 11 meeting, but many said that was too fast a timeline.

For starters, even if Mount Si annexed Snoqualmie Middle School, Mount Si would still need to be renovated. Such a renovation would cost about $60 million, said school district spokeswoman Carolyn Malcolm.

“I think to tell the public that one option is $50 million and the other is $100 (million), which includes all of those necessary remodels, is somewhat misleading,” Snoqualmie Elementary School parent Geoffrey Doy said. “Seems to me that we’re not comparing apples to apples on the construction.”

He and other parents cited other problems with the annexation model. Now, students have five minutes between classes at Mount Si. Since it would take longer than five minutes for students to travel to the annex from Mount Si’s main campus, it only made sense that the school day would have to be lengthened, Doy said.

He asked the school board if members were prepared to give teachers a pay increase for the extra time they would be working.

Doy added that he wanted to know what kind of program, be it math, science or a ninth-grade campus, would be housed at the annex before the school board approved the plan.

He wasn’t the only one who wanted answers.

“I want to see some research,” Snoqualmie Elementary School teacher Aimee Fentress said.

She asked that the committee examine other ninth-grade academies or magnet schools before moving forward. Fentress noted that Mount Si’s sophomores were lagging in math in state testing, and recommended the annex become a math wing for the high school.

Parent Kim Arellano focused more on the safety of adapting the annex, as her two young children would be entering Mount Si after the annex would be in place.

“This plan directly affects me and my family,” Arellano said. “It scares me to death to even think about either one of my children being anywhere near highway 202 to walk to school.”

Not only would busing students to and from the annex be bad for the environment, but also the district would have to pay for bus drivers to take students between the buildings every 55 minutes, she said.

Snoqualmie Middle School teacher Jerry Hillburn told the board he favored expanding and modernizing the high school as opposed to annexing the middle school.

“I would choose to remodel the high school, no question,” Hillburn said. “We’re going to have to spend a bunch of money to remodel the high school anyway. If we build another middle school, don’t we still have to remodel the high school?

“I’m afraid we’re playing checkers here,” Hillburn said. “We need to be playing chess. We need to be thinking four or five moves ahead.”

Both he and Arellano said voters would not approve a bond to build a second middle school. Instead, they favored the second option of expanding and modernizing Mount Si.

Board vice president and committee liaison Dan Popp said the comments would be taken into consideration. Hillburn thanked him and all present.

“I cannot not tell you how much it pleases me to hear what people think,” he said. “Folks, it’s America. Speak up.”

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

0305-hospital-drill_01

NEW — 1:37 p.m. March 3, 2010

Murray Lorance said he didn’t feel so good. Pale and disoriented, he wandered into the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital emergency room, complaining of chest pain.

Actually, Lorance was faking his heart attack, and for good reason. The retired firefighter has helped many a heart attack patient, and he knew just how to act like one for a drill at the hospital.

Every year, the hospital sees more patients experiencing heart attack symptoms, said Kim Witkop, a hospital physician and vice president of medical affairs. Every month, an average of one or two patients come in complaining of heart attack symptoms — chest pressure, difficulty breathing, discomfort that radiates up into the neck or into the arm, nausea and sweating, Witkop said.

Snoqualmie Valley Hospital doctors have to send any patient suffering from a heart attack to Overlake Hospital Medical Center.

The reason?

The hospital does not have a cardiac catheterization laboratory, called a cath lab for short. Cath labs can save patients who are having a heart attack (when the heart muscle is damaged) before the patient goes into cardiac arrest (when the heart stops pumping blood).

Only three hospitals on the Eastside have cath labs, including Overlake in Bellevue, Evergreen Hospital Medical Center in Kirkland and Valley Medical Center in Renton.

Snoqualmie Valley Hospital was practicing the drill to see if it could get a patient from Snoqualmie to Overlake’s cath lab in 90 minutes or less, a national goal, Witkop said.

The hospital’s drill was almost a year in the making. Before, if a patient were having a heart attack, hospital staff would call Overlake and ask if it could admit the patient.

Now, Overlake has agreed to streamline the process with Snoqualmie Valley Hospital. Plus, the hospital has made a medical form that goes with the patient en route to Overlake, so no time is lost when the patient gets to the cath lab.

“Our goal is to get this choreographed,” Snoqualmie Valley Hospital Emergency Systems Coordinator Rick Green said.

Carolyn Holmes, nurse manager of invasive cardiovascular services at Overlake, said the coordinated effort was important. Before the coordination, the hospital would have to call several numbers at Overlake to get the ball rolling. Now, they just have to call one.

“The faster you go, the more muscle you save,” Holmes said.

As soon as Lorance entered the emergency room, doctors, nurses and technicians jumped into action. Within four minutes, they had run an electrocardiogram, a test measuring the heart’s electrical activity. They called 911, recorded his vitals and gave him a pretend dose of morphine to ease the pain.

At 20 minutes, Bellevue Fire Department Medic One arrived to take part in the transport. If the situation demanded it, the hospital would call Airlift Northwest for helicopter removal, Witkop said.

Lorance, playing the confused sick patient, spoke up and asked why he couldn’t stay in Snoqualmie.

“I wish you could, but we don’t have the facility here,” Dr. Duane Anderson said, talking about the cath lab.

By 55 minutes, Lorance was at the Overlake emergency room, although that time would have been slightly faster if the ambulance driver had turned on the sirens, which he didn’t for the drill, Green said.

“As you can see, our times are well within those limits (of 90 minutes), so we are very pleased,” Green said.

After the drill, hospital staff convened to discuss how they could make the process even better.

John McNeill, with Bellevue Medic One, commended the hospital for orchestrating the drill, but he advised people to call 911 if they think they are having a heart attack.

Often, people who are in denial or who don’t understand the gravity of the situation will come to Snoqualmie Valley Hospital, which can waste time they could be using getting to the cath lab.

“We can get there quicker,” McNeill said.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

Drinking and weaving

An officer arrested a man for drunk driving at 1:55 p.m. Feb. 28 at 460 Southeast North Bend Way. The officer saw the driver fail to stop at an intersection and followed him. The driver failed to signal at another intersection, wove from the centerline to the fog line and trailed another car in a roundabout at too close a distance. The man readily admitted to having consumed three drinks and agreed to perform field sobriety tests. The officer noted that the man had the strong odor of intoxicants on his breath, bloodshot eyes and swayed from side to side during a balance test. After getting the man to give two breath samples, the officer had the man leave his car on the street and drove him home. Police cited him for driving under the influence of alcohol and forwarded the case to the city’s prosecutor’s office. 

Drunken car crash

Police arrested a man and cited him for driving under the influence of alcohol and for reckless driving. The man drove off the road, hit a road sign and crashed near the intersection of Southeast Cedar Falls Way and 436th Avenue Southeast at about 8:50 p.m. Feb. 28. Police took two breath samples and found that the man’s blood alcohol level was between .230 percent and .211 percent. The legal limit for an adult to drive is .08 percent. After completing his paperwork, police dropped off the suspect at a local Shell Station, as per his request. 

Car missing

A woman reported her silver 2007 Honda Pilot is missing. She said someone stole it from the back of her residence in the 800 block of Ballarat Avenue Northeast between 11 p.m. Feb. 23 and noon Feb. 24. She said she left a key to the Honda in her unlocked truck and it appeared the suspect went through the truck and found the key.

Felon arrested through routine check

Police arrested a man Feb. 25 after discovering he had an outstanding $25,000 warrant for possession of drugs out of Kennewick. The man’s car was parked in the ACE Hardware parking lot on East Park Main Avenue South when an officer did a routine check of the car’s license tabs. When police arrested him, they learned he had four more warrants out of Kennewick, two for burglary, one for escape and one for theft. Police booked him into the King County Jail. They left his truck at the scene, legally parked, at his request.

A new statewide basic education-funding plan is making its way through the Legislature this session.

David Iseminger, a Lake Stevens school director who represented school directors on a working group tasked with financing basic education, may provide a stable funding system under the requirements of Engrossed Senate and House Bill 2261, adopted in 2009.

With the adoption of ESHB 2261, Washington is committed to reforming the state’s basic education finance system over the next eight years.

The bill redefined and expanded basic education, but didn’t include a way to pay for it. To find adequate funding mechanisms, the bill established the Quality Education Council, to provide oversight in the implementation of the bill and a series of working groups to continue development of the details of a new education finance system.

The first advisory group in the Quality Education Council, the Funding Formula Technical Working Group, was charged with three specific tasks: to develop details of the funding formulas used to allocate state funds to school districts; to recommend an implementation schedule for phase-in of increases in programs and funding; and to examine possible sources of revenue to support increases.

Members of the group represented a cross section of political and professional education organizations.

They worked to complete assigned tasks. However, it focused mainly on the first two assignments, the funding formula details and implementation recommendations.

Iseminger took on the third assignment, finding revenue options, when it looked like the group wouldn’t make its deadline.

The Iseminger Education Funding Plan is based on five implementation elements, or tenets, that collectively chart an attainable course to funding education reform in the state.

The five tenets are:

1. Reserve a portion of annual increases in state revenues for K-12 education reform
2. Shift the 24 percent levy lid to state collection
3. Use state bonding to address required capital improvements
4. Implement reform by funding the neediest students first
5. Reform local levies: Enable local participation without statewide disparity.

The Iseminger plan, endorsed in a unanimous vote of the WSSDA Board of Directors, forms the basis of two pieces of legislation introduced this session. House Bill 2746, sponsored by Rep. Mike Hope, R-Lake Stevens, and Senate Bill 6740, sponsored by Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, would modify the charge of the Local Finance Working Group to include an analysis of strategies for several ideas, including increasing basic education funding through a statewide property tax, reducing reliance on levies and providing property tax relief for property poor districts.

Both HB 2746 and SB 6740 have been heard by their respective House and Senate Education Committees and await further action.

Implementation of the ideas is still too far out to know yet exactly how it could affect local districts.

Chantelle Lusebrink: 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com.

Senate Bill 6130 passed the House 51-47, to temporarily repeal provisions of the voter-approved Initiative 960 until July 1, 2011. Senate concurred with House amendments 26-21 and the bill was signed into law by the governor.

45th Sen. Cheryl Pflug, (R-Maple Valley) — E

Senate Bill 6449 passed the Senate 29-19 requiring any businesses engaged in using paid signature gatherers must register with the Public Disclosure Commission. Now before the Government & Tribal Affairs Committee.

45th Sen. Cheryl Pflug, (R-Maple Valley) — N

House Bill 2397 passed the House 82-12. Signature gatherers for an initiative or referendum petition must be at least 15 feet from the entrance or exit of retail stores. Now before Senate Government Operations & Elections Committee.

45th Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) — Y

45th Rep. Jay Rodne, (R-North Bend)— Y

House Bill 2941 passed the House 56-40. Would allow the use of tolls for the construction and operation of express toll lanes on Interstate 405 between Interstate 5 and Bellevue. Referred to the Senate.

45th Rep. Glenn Anderson, (R-Fall City) — N

45th Rep. Jay Rodne, (R-North Bend)— N

SOURCE: WashingtonVotes.org, a free, nonpartisan Web site to find plain-English explanations of bills and a record of each legislator’s votes.

Marcus Morisette questions the city’s proposal, saying the city is moving ahead with an unclear financial picture of the community center. (Photo by Greg Farrar)

NEW — 7:00 a.m. March 3, 2010

A March 1 meeting of Snoqualmie City Council’s Parks and Planning Committee almost turned into a shouting match between Mayor Matt Larson and a resident for a couple of minutes.

The issue was the city’s plan to partner with the YMCA of Greater Seattle in building and operating a community center on Snoqualmie Ridge.

Owners from several health and fitness businesses have raised objections, saying the nonprofit organization will drive them out of business. Sue Dowling, owner of Snoqualmie Ridge Fitness, proposed an alternative plan that has the city partnering with the Boys & Girls Club.

Some residents questioned the financial wisdom and other aspects of the proposal.

Larson defended the proposal, heatedly debating it during comments from Marcus Morisette, a Snoqualmie Ridge resident.

Robert’s Rules of Order quickly went out the window as the two men talked over each other.

“Anytime you have a member of the public come in here and talk down a committee member or the mayor is not appropriate,” Larson said.

Councilman Kingston Wall pointed out that Larson, too, was speaking out of turn.

Wall said he would take the public’s concerns to the council, which could hold a public hearing before the city proceeds on the community center.

The city was supposed to present a draft copy of an operations agreement between the YMCA and city on running a future center at the meeting, but it was bumped off the agenda when public comments ran longer than expected.

Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com.

A North Bend Safeway employee allegedly helped her boyfriend buy $5,774 in groceries and gift cards with bad checks between Aug. 25 and 30, according to court documents.

Store Manager Ryan Kinsley noticed Heidi Morris was accepting bad checks from her live-in boyfriend Erin “Kai” Atkins at the end of August. Atkins’ checks were blocked, because he’d passed bad checks at Safeway before.

His new transactions were blocked by the system, but Morris used her override code so the transaction would be approved.

Kinsley notified a Safeway loss prevention officer, who spoke with Morris. Morris did not deny any of the allegations against her, but did not believe what she was doing was wrong, according to charging documents.

King County Sheriff’s deputies booked Morris into King County Jail on Sept. 1, but she was later released. When authorities went to see Atkins at his house in Snoqualmie, he fled on foot and evaded officers.

Atkins and Morris are charged with first-degree organized retail theft, charging documents said.

Atkins’ sister said the duo fled to Portland, according to the charging documents. The state is putting out a warrant for their arrest and is seeking $10,000 in bail for them.

Arraignment was set for Feb. 24, but both defendants failed to appear, according to Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

The court has issued a bench warrant for their arrest, he said.

Y = Yes, N = No, E = Excused, X = Not Voting

Senate Bill 6130 passed the House 51-47, to temporarily repeal provisions of the voter-approved Initiative 960 until July 1, 2011. Senate concurred with House amendments 26-21 and the bill was signed into law by the governor.

45th Sen. Cheryl Pflug,

(R-Maple Valley) — E

Senate Bill 6449 passed the Senate 29-19 requiring any businesses engaged in using paid signature gatherers must register with the Public Disclosure Commission. Now before the Government & Tribal Affairs Committee.

45th Sen. Cheryl Pflug,

(R-Maple Valley) — N

House Bill 2397 passed the House 82-12. Signature gatherers for an initiative or referendum petition must be at least 15 feet from the entrance or exit of retail stores. Now before Senate Government Operations & Elections Committee.

45th Rep. Glenn Anderson,

(R-Fall City) — Y

45th Rep. Jay Rodne,

(R-North Bend)— Y

House Bill 2941 passed the House 56-40. Would allow the use of tolls for the construction and operation of express toll lanes on Interstate 405 between Interstate 5 and Bellevue. Referred to the Senate.

45th Rep. Glenn Anderson,

(R-Fall City) — N

45th Rep. Jay Rodne,

(R-North Bend)— N

SOURCE: WashingtonVotes.org, a free, nonpartisan Web site to find plain-English explanations of bills and a record of each legislator’s votes.

The State Legislature is considering a bill to let counties and cities raise the sales tax to pay for public safety until 2015, without putting the measure on a ballot. Currently, voters have to approve any increase in the sales tax.

According to the bill (House Bill 3179), counties and cities could raise the sales tax by up to 0.3 percent without voter approval until Jan. 1, 2015. After that voter approval would be required to keep the tax increase.

It would push the Seattle area’s sales-tax rate from 9.5 percent to 9.8 percent.

King County Executive Dow Constantine said he didn’t know if he would act on the bill if it is signed into law.

During his campaign last fall, he said taxes shouldn’t be raised in tough economic times.

But with King County facing $150 million in cumulative budget shortfalls in 2011 and 2012, he said his administration will take a “balanced approach” to resolving the county’s budget problems, meaning new taxes are a possibility.

“Clearly, we can’t cut enough to make up for the revenue deficits” without severely affecting people’s quality of life, he said.

Before the bill narrowly passed the House, both King County’s sheriff and prosecutor and two county judges had publicly called for the county to send a 0.3 percent sales tax increase for police and courts to voters in August.

Such a levy would raise an estimated $126 million or more in a year, according to King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.

King County could be facing cumulative budget cuts of $150 million in 2011 and 2012, according to Superior Court Presiding Judge Bruce Hilyer, another supporter of the increase.

At least one-third of the tax revenue would have to go to criminal justice and fire protection. The county would receive 60 percent of the money and cities would get 40 percent.

The bill is being considered by the state Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

On Feb. 22, Senate Democrats proposed a 0.3 percent increase of the state sales tax until 2013 as part of a proposal to close the $2.6 billion budget shortfall. The proposal also includes raising the cigarette tax and closing tax exemptions, and is estimated to bring in more than $900 million in new revenue.

Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com.

A Seattle woman won more than $1 million Feb. 27 at Snoqualmie Casino. The woman, identified by the casino as Mary P., hit the jackpot playing a machine game. 

The woman hit the $1,035,009.44 jackpot after spending around $200 over  a couple hours, according to the casino.

Since opening Nov. 6, 2008, Snoqualmie Casino has paid out more than $2 billion, according to the casino.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has directed that flags at all Washington state agency buildings be lowered to half-staff March 1, in memory of U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Eric L. Ward, of Redmond. Ward, who graduated from Mount Si High School, was killed last week while serving in Afghanistan.

Flags should remain at half-staff until close of business Monday, or first thing Tuesday morning, March 2.

Congress amended the U.S. Flag Code to give governors the authority to lower flags when a state resident in the military is killed in the line of duty. Other government entities, citizens and businesses are encouraged to join in this recognition.