In the first year of caring for their triplets, Stacey and Brian Estep have changed more than 7,000 diapers and fed them more than 5,000 bottles. 

“We are odd, we do stick out,” Stacey said. “We have a stroller like a stretch limousine.”

In 2005, the Esteps fled New Orleans for Tallahassee during the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the city’s broken levees. When Brian got a job in Bellevue, the family moved to North Bend with their three sons in 2007.

The following year, Stacey and Brian had triplets and their lives changed forever. 

It can take them up to 40 minutes to prepare their babies for a shopping outing at the grocery store or North Bend factory stores. 

The Estep family’s triplets at 366 days old. From left, Jacob, Leah and Joseph.

Baby outings have complications. The couple said they don’t mind people inquiring about their children, but asked that questioners remember they don’t have much time to spare.

Stacey said she was used to the comment “you must have your hands full,” but said she’s had some run-ins with unpleasant strangers who say things like, “I’m glad they’re not mine.” 

“When we go out in the triplet stroller, it’s like we’re the show,” Estep said. “It’s scary sometimes.”

Her husband, Brian, offered these words of advice for people interested in their triplets: look, but don’t touch.

At Costco, cashiers make offhand comments like, “You must work at a daycare,” when Stacey buys diapers and baby formula in bulk. 

In a way, she does.

“I swear, this year is almost a blur,” Stacey said.

Born 10 weeks premature June 18, 2008, Jacob Anthony was the heaviest baby at 3-pounds 2-ounces. Now, the trio all weigh between 16 to 20 pounds each.

“We’re very blessed to have Encompass in our backyard,” Stacey said, mentioning the physical therapist who visits the family weekly to check on the triplet’s development. 

As they develop, they become more mobile.

“We have three crawlers, and of course they all crawl in different directions,” Stacey said. 

Jacob and Joseph interact with one another more, Stacey said, “like partners in crime.”

Leah and Joseph also have a shared activity.

“They like to do this scream together, where one of them will get started and they just go back and forth,” Stacey said, giving a good-natured grimace. 

Each child also has an emerging personality. 

Joseph “is a bull in a china shop,” Stacey said. “He will climb over anyone and everyone he wants.”

In contrast, “Mr. Jacob is very serious a lot of times and studies things,” while Leah thinks of herself as royalty.

“We definitely have our princess, who thinks everything should go her way,” Stacey said.

The only way to care for three growing babies is to stick to a schedule. Stacey charts everything to make sure every baby has had a meal and bath. The trio wakes up at 5:30 a.m., and long after the babies have gone to bed at 7:30 p.m., both Stacey and her husband wash bottles and launder clothes. 

“And then we can say, “Honey, how was your day?” Stacey joked.

While the Estep’s son Patrick attends Twin Falls Middle School, their two older sons Andrew and Daniel recently came to North Bend from New Orleans for the summer holiday, or as much of a holiday as they can have while caring for their younger siblings. Already babbling and saying a few words, the Esteps are ready for their newest additions to reach even more benchmarks. 

“We’ve been very lucky,” Estep said. “They’ve been very healthy. We’re just blessed.”

Megan Marson isn’t offering too much as to what kind of high school coach she’ll be.

But if the Mount Si girls basketball team shows an extra amount of competitiveness this season, feel free to throw a little of the blame her way.

“I’m really competitive,” Marson said. “Even in board games, I’ll sit down and always want to win.”

So goes the new leader of the Mount Si girls, who was announced last week as the replacement for Dirk Hansen. A product of Leavenworth, Wash., Marson takes over the reigns of the Wildcats after spending four years coaching a variety of middle-school sports in the district.

Megan Marson was hired last week as the new girls basketball coach at Mount Si High School.

A former prep standout, Marson said her current career path is just how she always envisioned it.

“I’ve always wanted to coach. I knew in high school that I wanted to pursue coaching,” she said. “I love the relationships you form, love the intensity, love the time in the gym, love the game and love being a role model.”

Marson was an all-league performer at Cascade High School, where she helped the team qualify for the state tournament four straight years.

Her athletic background, however, certainly does not stop there. Marson’s mother was a basketball coach, her uncle was a state champion wrestler and one of her cousins has been active as a football, wrestling, soccer and track coach for several years.

So, when she attended Gonzaga University after high school, she made sure to minor in physical education. Her first job was at Chief Kanim Middle School, where she coached basketball, volleyball, soccer and track for three years. When Twin Falls Middle School opened its doors last year, she moved over to become the school’s volleyball, basketball and track coach, as well as its athletic director.

Even with that impressive spot at Twin Falls, Marson jumped at the opportunity to coach the Mount Si girls when the position opened.

“I was so excited when I heard that I was selected to coach the girls. They’re a great group of girls. I had some of them at Chief Kanim and they’re wonderful,” Marson said. “I feel a lot of support from the parents already. The day I was selected, I got about 18 e-mails from parents congratulating me. Even some of the kids were excited and got in contact with me.”

Mount Si finished 11-13 this past season and made an impressive late-season surge with a young team. The Wildcats were near the bottom of the league at one point, yet battled back to finish third, beating league champion Mercer Island along the way. The season came to an end with an upset loss to Nathan Hale in an opening-round district contest.

Last year’s team lost KingCo 3A/2A Player of the Year Katie Richards to graduation, but the majority of the squad is expected to return. That could make the Wildcats a real contender in the league.

Marson, who watched many of Mount Si’s games last season, said she doesn’t want to spend her first season with the Wildcats with too much of an idealized approach. She said she’ll know what style to push the team toward after she spends more time with them.

“I do like to focus on fundamentals, though. Even though they’re varsity players, they still have to work on the basics,” Marson said. “I’m pretty enthusiastic as a coach. If I sign up to do something, I put everything I have into it. I’m pretty driven. Still, at the same time, I want to be a positive influence.”

As shocking as that may have seemed to some, however, the act is actually anything but unusual. According to officials in the Valley, church vandalism is running rampant this summer.

“We’ve never had this much before and it seems to be targeting the churches,” Snoqualmie police spokeswoman Becky Munson said. 

Over the month of June, Snoqualmie police received eight reports of vandalism involving white supremacist graffiti. Graffiti was spray painted both on the walls of churches and at Mount Si High School recently. A Christian bookstore in Snoqualmie was hit twice by acts of vandalism.

'White Power' was spray painted on the wall at the Church of the Nazarene in Snoqualmie.

At the Church of the Nazarene, the graffiti read “White Power,” and “Jesus Is A Jew.” An upside-down cross and swastikas were drawn on the walls. The graffiti appeared overnight and was discovered the morning of June 9.

The vandalism at Mount Si High School happened the same night as the incident at the Church of the Nazarene. The school campus and the church are only a few blocks away. At the school, “White Power” and a swastika were sprayed on the west side of a gymnasium.

Police reviewed video surveillance taken at the school and did not see anyone performing the vandalism to the wall. Students who were seen standing near the wall at the time the graffiti was discovered were also interviewed, but were determined to not be suspects.

The incident at the bookstore happened June 21. Scriptures Christian Bookstore is located at 8150 Railroad Avenue SE. A city employee reported the incident after seeing a hole in the glass front door of the store. Inside the store was a note that read “Jesus is a Jew, White Power, Kill Religion.” The note was written on a normal-sized sheet of lined, loose-leaf notebook paper, the type with three holes punched on the side for putting in a binder. A softball-sized rock was found inside the store.

Like the other two incidents, this one happened overnight when no one was at the business.

Police believe they had a near miss with the suspect in the early morning hours of June 28. A suspicious person near St. Clare Episcopal Church at 8650 Railroad Avenue was reported to police around 1:20 a.m.

Police responded to the scene within a minute of the report, but could not find the suspect. However, the individual who witnessed the suspect described him as a white male, about 20 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a stocky build, short dark hair, wearing a black jacket and smoking.

The Scriptures Christian Bookstore was hit by vandals twice during June.

Officers found writing on the south wall of the church. This time, the vandalism was done with a black felt pen. The vandal drew two swastikas and other markings on a white cross in front of the building, and also wrote on the south wall of the building. 

The responding officer covered the graffiti with white spray paint.

That same night, the Snoqualmie United Methodist Church at 38701 SE River St. and Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church located at 39025 SE Alpha St. were tagged with graffiti. In both incidents, the same sort of white-supremacist-related text and swastikas were drawn on the churches.

On June 29, Scriptures Book Store was hit again with white supremacist graffiti written in black marker on the front window of the business. “White Power” was also written on the rear of the Snoqualmie Tribal Office, which is in the same block as the Christian bookstore.

Munson said that Snoqualmie police are looking into whether the acts of white supremacist vandalism are related to three arsons that occurred early in the morning on June 30 in downtown Snoqualmie. She said that police have found nothing so far to link the incidents.

Snoqualmie police estimate that the graffiti at the Church of the Nazarene caused $300 in damage, and the vandalism to Mt. Si High School caused $200 in damage. The other incident reports did not include estimates of damage to the other buildings that were tagged.    

Police urge anyone with information on these acts to call 425-888-3333.

Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.

After two months of meeting with principals, coaches and parents, and researching programs in other districts, Snoqualmie Valley Assistant Superintendent Don McConkey unveiled a plan that would allow interscholastic sports to stay for a price tag of $339,527 at a school board meeting June 25.

The new model institutes a pay-to-play fee and reduces the number of sporting contests students will compete in next year. It also restructures the student-coach ratio, which means parent volunteers will have to fill various coaching positions.

To save on costs, the district will only provide one-way transportation to sporting events. This past year, the district paid bus drivers for the layover time between taking students to and from games. 

The district assessed several pay to play fees, before implementing costs of $100 for football players and $50 for other activities, including jazz and drama, and $35 for all before- or after-school clubs. Additionally, students will pay $15 more for their ASB cards this year.

Homework club will not receive funding. McConkey said the district is currently researching if ASB funds could support the program.

The district hopes to offer scholarships for students unable to afford the pay-to-play policy. At the Fall City Days basketball tournament in June, organizers raised about $1,500 of scholarship money for student extracurricular activities. More fundraising, however, will have to take place.

Coaches will feel another cut. The Snoqualmie Coaches and Activities Association agreed to take a 20 percent pay cut for its 2008-11 contract. For instance, a first-year middle school athletic director earning $2,725 per season in 2008-09 will lose $545 next year. A director with 10 years of experience making $4,282 per season in 2008-09 will earn about $856 less next year. 

These stipends do not include 21 percent of benefits received by coaches, Snoqualmie Valley schools spokeswoman Carolyn Malcolm said. 

Club advisors, who are paid an annual stipend, will receive the same salary they did this year.

Snoqualmie Middle School teacher and coach Jerry Hillburn, who has coached for more than 30 years, said he was grateful the district had found a way to salvage its sports program in spite of the budget crunch. 

“Everybody understands that we’re going through difficult economic times,” Hillburn said. “Truthfully, everybody is going to have to sacrifice some, including kids and parents and coaches and schools in order to maintain these programs.”

Hillburn described the importance of sports. During his years coaching football, girls and boys basketball and track, he has seen many students work harder in the classroom so they can compete on the field.

“The only accountability that we really have anymore for kids’ performance in middle school is sports, because it’s an extrinsic motivator,” Hillburn said. “You can’t play unless your grades are okay. I have seen lots of times where kids who didn’t do well in school would change their behavior and school performance because they wanted to play.”

Hillburn related a story of a former track student who told Hillburn of the difference the coach had made in his life. 

“He told me that I had had a positive effect on his life,” Hillburn said. “The gratitude he expressed to me and the affection he had for me after all of these years was so touching. That’s why I coach.”

The district is not yet finished making cuts. At the June 25 school board meeting, it laid off five classified staff. More decisions regarding reductions for classified staff, secretaries and custodians will be discussed at the July 9 school board meeting. 

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

It’s only nine days until the start of one of the Valley’s most inspiring events.

The annual Relay for Life of Snoqualmie Valley is set to take place July 11 at Centennial Fields, 39903 SE Park St., in Snoqualmie. The event benefits the American Cancer Society and routinely raises an impressive amount of money.

Each year, the fundraising begins with team members asking others to contribute. Then, there are a flurry of specific fundraising events that lead up to the relay, many of which you’ve probably seen around town.

Even with the big event so close, there are still relay teams with scheduled fundraisers. One of them is a Bunco Night at 6:30 p.m. July 9 at the St. Michael’s and All Angels Episcopal Church in Issaquah. The other is a happy hour event from 6-8 p.m. July 9 at the Pacific Rim Ballroom and Supper Club in Marysville.

That will be followed by the relay itself, an event that brings a tear to the eye of participants each year. A real community event, the relay begins with team members making laps around the track, while participating tents become headquarters for snacking and games. Candlelit luminaries in memory of those who have died or survived cancer light the track through the night.

If you are looking for an activity that will impact someone you know at some point in your life, while helping to raise money to fight cancer, there’s no better place to look.

There are currently more than 30 teams involved in this year’s relay, with more than $50,000 having already been raised. Now is your time to help the effort, which may someday mean a great deal to you or someone close to you.

Mount Si needs a

tram or gondola

As a resident of North Bend, I was wondering if a tram or gondola ride could be built on Mount Si. Since Snoqualmie Falls is such a tourist attraction in this area, a tram would benefit all of us. It would make it possible for everyone to enjoy the view and would bring in added revenues to our area.

Francis Hicks,

Snoqualmie

Constantine supports proper stimulus spending

With politicians in D.C. jabbering about when the massive government stimulus will start yielding results, we’re already beginning to see the fruits of their efforts. As the Ballard News-Tribune reported, King County recently received $79 million of federal stimulus. While of course welcome in today’s dire economic straits, the distribution of these funds and the very means of their procurement offer a glimpse at one of the candidates fighting to become our next King County Executive.

The acquisition of these vital funds as well as millions more currently pending are “part of an organized effort to maximize the benefits to King County from federal stimulus funding sponsored by council chair Dow Constantine” as reported by the News-Tribune. In fact, Mr. Constantine has even authored legislation to create a post that will be in charge of “identify[ing] appropriate grant opportunities and communicate timelines…to ensure timely submission of applications” in an effort to maximize the effect of the government stimulus in King County.

In a race muddled with four Democratic candidates and a single closet Republican running largely on name recognition, King County voters should take note of Mr. Constantine’s diligence in acquiring and distributing resources to the benefit of our community.

Evan Turner,

Seattle

The slavery of today

The everlasting conflict between what many deem prudent progress and the struggling, natural world in which each and every one of us lives has reached an all-time high. Men and women in this day and age have forgone any ties that may have held them to the natural world that surrounds them each and every day. People have become enslaved to the frivolous and chiefly unnecessary tasks and objects they hold so dear in their lives, clinging to them in desperate times, but receiving no respite. Their livelihood is spent and utterly wasted commuting on a concrete path with hundreds and thousands of other irate commuters speeding towards awful, hideous, metal buildings containing perhaps the occasional dying ficus plant (a crude and demeaning imitation of the beautiful trees that blanket this wonderful landscape), and then home again, more than often missing the grandeur and celestiality of the landscape flying about them.

This all too familiar act of mechanistic routine has conquered the lives of millions across the nation, and indeed the planet. There is a far richer beauty and air of fulfillment that can be achieved from sitting on a park bench contemplating, than in landing that deal, or in making a huge sales pitch in a darkened room 30 stories above the ground each of us were meant to dwell upon. The people of this nation have forgotten the brilliant power of a breeze through a field of long grass or a sparrow’s erratic flight through a forest or glade. They have sold themselves unconditionally into the horrible curse and burden of bondage to an unfulfilling routine and forgotten the long-cherished beauty of the world about them. People must once again learn to notice and appreciate the simple things of life, or else this era of robotic imitation of true life will continue its vicious and corruptive course and utterly destroy mankind, and everything that we stand for.

Chase Adams,

Snoqualmie

North Bend’s City Council approved the final ordinance to annex about a square mile of property to the east of the city at a June 23 special meeting.

The annexation, which was dubbed the Tanner Annexation by the city, takes effect July 6. It will add between 500-800 new residents to the city who now live in the Woods River and other subdivisions off Tanner Road. 

City Administrator Duncan Wilson said that there are a number of technical steps the city must take now that the ordinance is passed. The city contracted on June 29 to perform a census on the annexation area. Wilson said the contract would cost the city about $7,500. The census will also provide the city with an inventory of businesses in the annexation area. 

If the updated census is what the city government believes it will be, then the North Bend City Council would need to add two council members to account for increased population. The City Council is currently five members. 

Wilson said that supporters of the annexation attended the special City Council meeting to see the final annexation ordinance. 

The city received enough formal petitions in March to move the annexation forward ahead of schedule. In order to be annexed, property owners representing 60 percent of the assessed value of an annexation area must submit formal petitions. The city received petitions from property owners representing 64 percent of the assessed value of the annexation area. The area’s assessed value was calculated to be $180 million, and property owners representing $115 million of the area’s assessed value signed petitions. 

The impetus for bringing the subdivisions into the city was spurred by residents who wanted to join North Bend. Supporters of the annexation said that they would benefit from being under the umbrella of a city government, instead of relying on county government in what was unincorporated county land. 

Related to the issue of which government represents the annexation area, is the concern over how land use in the area will be regulated. With the recent end of a decade-long water moratorium, North Bend expects to grow and it wants to control and manage its growth. Proponents of the annexation area think that local government will be more accountable than the county.

Residents of the annexation area might also see a slight tax break. The property taxes collected for the city are about $1.36 per $1,000 of assessed property value, whereas the county collects about $2.61 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Overall the city collects $9.80 per $1,000 of assessed property value, and the county collects $11.04 per $1,000 of assessed property value. 

North Bend hopes to soon see one fiscal benefit from the annexation. The costs for repairs to streets and other work associated with a utility improvement district in the area should be lower because of the difference between city and county standards for that type of work. 

Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.

About 100 voters had their first glimpse of the King County Executive candidates at a forum June 25 at Twin Falls Middle School in North Bend. 

The questions ranged from transportation and land use issues to concerns over a recent state audit of the county’s construction projects management.

All six major candidates participated in the event: King County Councilmen Dow Constantine and Larry Phillips, former TV news anchor Susan Hutchinson, State Senator Fred Jarrett, State Representative Ross Hunter, and engineer and businessman Alan Lobdell. The candidates face an Aug. 18 primary in which voters will select the top two candidates who will go on the ballot in the Nov. 3 general election.

Candidate forum organizer Gary Fancher, left, speaks with Susan Hutchinson, one of six major candidates for King County Executive who were at Twin Falls Middle School June 25.

Constantine and Phillips tried to distance themselves from former King County Executive Ron Sims. Hunter and Jarrett said that they would bring their combination of business and political experience to county government. Hutchinson and Lobdell touted their outsider status, each saying they were running because residents outside Seattle are frustrated with the county.

Hutchinson, a Seattle resident, noted that many landowners chafe under the county’s land use regulations and it is time to go back to the drawing board.

Lobdell, who lives in Covington, agreed.

“You deserve the right to make a profit with the property you bought,” Lobdell said.

Phillips, of Seattle, said that the county has an obligation to change the way it handles land use issues. He said the state needs to clarify how counties should use the best available science to make land use decisions. He also pledged that the county would work better with rural landowners.

Constantine, of Seattle, said that he would streamline some environmental regulations rather than forcing landowners to pay for expensive and time-consuming environmental impact studies. 

Hunter, of Medina, also said the county’s inflexibility in the way it regulates land uses should be changed. He said he would look at changing some systems to reduce the expense and time required for getting land use permits.

On transportation, Jarrett, of Mercer Island, said there needs to be a holistic approach to transportation. He would focus on improving the transportation system, not the individual modes of transport.

Lobdell said that transportation issues were daunting, and not something that can be fixed quickly. He said emphasis should be placed on roads, because many commuters have to rely on their own vehicles to get to and from work. He said he would push for a new north-south bypass on the Eastside.

Constantine also said that he would use transportation to bring new investments to the community.

Hunter said that he would try to make the various transportation agencies in the county coordinate their activities better. He would consider offering more transit to cities as an incentive for them to increase the density of residential developments.

Hutchinson said that transportation was the number one issue facing the county.

On the issue of government accountability, Jarrett said that the current system of measuring performance by the efforts of county employees should be changed to measure the results. 

Hunter said that the current council and administration “owned” the negative audit that the county recently received from the state. He criticized the county for giving 4 percent raises during the worst recession in 80 years.

Hutchinson also said it was time for the county to tighten its belt.

Jarrett faulted the executive’s office for fostering an environment of unaccountability by filtering the information the county executive receives.

“We need to hold the council and the executive accountable for what we deliver and what it costs to deliver,” Jarrett said.

Lobdell said that he would reduce salaries from the top-down to have the credibility to approach labor unions and ask for a 2.5 percent cut for union employees.

As a final question, the candidates were asked to respond to the recent state audit of the county’s construction project management. 

Almost all of the candidates voiced their frustration with the lack of accountability indicated by the audit. However, Lobdell took a different tack on the issue of the audit, saying that overall the problems weren’t that bad and that fixing construction management would be easy for him given his own project management experience.

Forum organizer Gary Fancher, of North Bend, developed the questions, in cooperation with 5th District Democratic and Republican representatives and the King County Municipal League.

When three blue book collection bins appeared in North Bend, Penny Humphrey did not think to give them a second thought.

As President of the Friends of the North Bend Library, Humphrey was more concerned with organizing library programs with money earned from the library’s annual two-week book sale. Normally, the friends fill more than 200 large boxes with donated books they then sell at their annual sale. The sales are a boon to the library and its patrons; by selling books with prices as low as 50 cents, the friends have raised about $5,000 each of the last two years.

This year, however, the friends have noticed a drop in donations. Instead of 200 boxes of books, the group only has 120 boxes for its Aug. 15-29 sale. 

Friends of the North Bend Library President Penny Humphrey stands next to a book collection bin for the national nonprofit, Reading Tree.

There are a number of factors that could be affect the drop in donations, Humphrey said. With the slumping economy, people may be holding onto their books, instead of donating them. This past year, Mount Si High School collected 10,000 books for Ugandan students, but Humphrey said she does not think the friends’ donations were down because of the Ugandan drive. 

It was then that the blue book donation bins by Safeway and the 76 gas station on North Bend Way caught her eye. Could people be donating their books to Reading Tree, instead of the friends? 

Reading Tree initially began in 2000 as the Massachusetts nonprofit “Hands Across the Water.” Its founder Jane Miller Webber had worked as an attorney with the US Air Force and knew how to find space for books for children on military aircraft going overseas. 

Soon, Webber decided to focus on donating books to American children, as well as international youth, and changed the organization’s name to Reading Tree. By partnering with the for-profit company Thrift Recycling Management, Reading Tree soon had blue collection bins across the country. There are 300 in Washington alone. 

Executive Director of Reading Tree John Barger reported 51 percent of all its donations are pulped and recycled because they are missing covers, have water damage or contain graffiti or inappropriate material. Reading Tree’s partner, Thrift Recycling Management collects about one-fourth of the donated books and sells them online to offset Reading Tree’s costs. This leaves about one quarter of its books for children.  

Many of Reading Tree’s books are sent to Title I schools — schools with high rates of low-income students who receive reduced or free lunches. Reading Tree also donates its books internationally and to organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs and United Way.

While Humphrey applauded them for their work, she pointed out that neither Snoqualmie Valley libraries nor Snoqualmie Valley schools receive donations from Reading Tree. 

The closest areas receiving donations are schools and programs in Kent, Renton and Bellevue, Barger said.

Ryan Scott, vice president of the Boys & Girls Club of Bellevue, commended Reading Tree for its donations of 4,000 books to its 12 locations over the years. 

“We’re pretty fortunate to have them as a partner,” Scott said. “Literacy is a huge priority for us both in our after-school program and our summer incentive reading program. We want to make sure we’re doing everything to support and encourage literacy.”

The Friends of the Library encourage literacy too, and, as Humphrey pointed out, its profits benefit local residents. 

Using the money from its book sale, Friends of the Library invests in programs for children, teenagers and adults. In 2008, the Friends of the North Bend Library bought a painting for the children’s section and this year’s funds allowed volunteers to buy plants for the library and pay for a gardener to visit once a month and care for them. 

Library Cluster Manager Michele Drovdahl said the friends provide needed programming for the library’s patrons.

“Friends is a real accurate word to describe them,” Drovdahl said. “They are our friends.”

The friends has funded more than 20 programs this year, including visiting musicians, creative writing workshops for teenagers, a Native American flute workshop for adults, children’s story time and snacks for the various groups that meet at the library. 

Humphrey encouraged people to donate their books at the North Bend library’s collection cart near the checkout desk. 

“We give 100 percent of our monies back to the library,” Humphrey said. “Our donations are down since they (Reading Tree) started putting the bins up, between one-third and a half.” 

Today’s economic climate has been tough on most non-profits, Barger said, noting that 2008 was the first time since 1987 that charitable donations have declined nationwide.

“We have very positive relationships with many libraries,” he continued. “In some areas, we help with their book sales by donating books. Other times, we collect books that they would normally throw away.”

Barger said he looked forward to working with the Friends of the North Bend Library, and said he doubted Reading Tree was impacting their rate of book donations.

“Library groups tend to have very loyal donors,” Barger said.

Luke Talbott was raised in Richmond, Virg., and still laments that he had to drive a ways to reach any hardy trails growing up. 

“Nothing compares to Snoqualmie,” Talbott said. “There, we had to drive like two hours to get to fun trails, whereas here I can literally roll out of my garage and be on trails in five minutes.”

The former Snoqualmie Elementary fifth-grade teacher has decided to share his love of the outdoors with people ranging from elementary school students to adults who want to hike, bike, swim and discover Snoqualmie Valley. 

“What I’m trying to do is weave a lot of the outdoor experiences together that are here in the Valley,” Talbott said.

After moving to Snoqualmie with his family six years ago, Talbott could arguably be found on the trails as much as he was in the classroom. Last summer, he started Compass Outdoor Adventures for fifth- and sixth-grade students from Snoqualmie Elementary and Cascade View Elementary. Of his 12 campers, 11 are returning, and the 12th is trying to enroll, depending on summer plans. 

“We mountain biked and we went hiking and we went swimming at Rattlesnake,” said Cameron Heimbigner, who will be a seventh-grader next year at Twin Falls Middle School. 

The camp went so well, Talbott decided to resign from Snoqualmie Elementary and invest all of his time in Compass Outdoor Adventures. He said the teacher cuts from this year’s dismal budget had little influence on his decision to resign.

“I realize that me leaving the classroom allows someone else to stay in the classroom, but it also allows me to follow my passions in the outdoors,” Talbott said. 

This summer, Talbott will lead three all-boy outdoor camps and one all-girl camp. 

“It’s a nine- to four-week-long adventure,” Talbott said, listing off a spate of activities like crystal digging, geocaching, swimming, hiking, biking and navigating a ropes course. 

To add to the geocaching hype, Talbott will have his first-week campers place their own geocaches and have his later campers find them using GPS technology. Heimbigner remembered geocaching as a fun challenge. 

“We found these really old toys and stuff that had been there for a couple of years,” Heimbigner said. 

Talbott is not only offering his outdoors expertise to youth, but for adults looking for adventure or even a romantic getaway. Talbott offers $120 family trips on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail and $150 birthday parties for up to 10 children. Older participants can sign up for trail running or mountain biking classes, the first of which starts at $20 per class.

Talbott has already partnered with local businesses, such as the Salish Lodge & Spa. 

“Our goal is to keep people in the Valley,” Talbott said. “Instead of staying one night, we want them to spend another day here and experience what we have.”

He already has an appointment with a “guy from Philadelphia who wants to do a hike off the beaten path.” 

Next school year, Talbott will work with retired Snoqualmie Elementary teacher Bill Hayden to make interactive fieldtrips for students at local schools. Under their guidance, students will learn about local ecosystems and history, wading through the muck and learning at the same time. 

“He has a teaching background so people can put their kids in the camp with confidence,” said Diane Morris, co-owner of Singletrack Cycles. “He has such a passion for teaching, not traditional teaching, but a more hands-on teaching. More kids learn better from that style.”

The $295 summer girls’ camp is already full, but there are several spots open for boys in weeklong camps starting July 20. Visit www.compassoutdoor.org to learn more. 

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

June 25 – Sept. 10, North Bend Farmer’s Market and Concert Series – Every Thursday during the summer from 4-8 p.m., North Bend hosts its farmer’s market at Si View Metropolitan Park District, located at 400 SE Orchard Dr. From 5:30-7 p.m. on those nights, bands play for the Summer Concert Series. The lineup this summer is: June 25, Neil Rush; July 2, The Road Dogz; July 9, Portage Bay Big Band; July 16, Black Velvet; July 23, Hot Club Sandwich; July 30, Southern Cross; Aug. 6, The Astro Cats; Aug. 13, Pirates in the Park; Aug. 20, Ali Marcus; Aug. 27, T.J. Sherrill; Sept. 3, The Road Dogz; and Sept. 10, The Pop Offs. For more information, go to www.siviewpark.org.

July 10, Model T Rally – As part of a reenactment to commemorate the 1909 Ocean to Ocean Endurance Race to the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, 55 Model T Fords will travel from New York to Seattle. On July 10, they are scheduled to make their way through North Bend and will make a stop at Meadowbrook Farm for a salmon bake and rally and the final leg of their journey. The Pony Boy All-Star Big Band and the Snoqualmie Tribe Canoe Family Drum Group will perform at the event. Tickets for the salmon bake lunch are $10. For more information, call 749-6905.

July 10-12 and 17-19, Day out with Thomas – Thomas the Tank Engine returns to the Valley for its annual festivities. Tour the steam locomotive cab, ride on a motor car, get a Thomas and Friends tattoo, see a puppet show or listen to live music during this six-day event at the Snoqualmie Depot in downtown Snoqualmie. Tickets are currently available online at www.trainmuseum.org or by calling 866-468-7630. For this year’s event, patrons are eligible for special $99 rates at the Hilton Garden Inn in Issaquah.

July 11-12, Snoqualmie Valley Relay for Life – This eighth annual benefit for the American Cancer Society continues in the Valley at Centennial Fields Park at 39903 SE Park St. in Snoqualmie. Currently, there are nearly 300 signed up to participate in the relay, which begins at 4 p.m. July 11 and ends at 8 a.m. July 12. A number of fundraisers are scheduled in the days leading up to the relay. Go to www.snovalleyrelay.org to learn more.

July 18, Snoqualmie Casino 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament – The streets of Snoqualmie Ridge will once again host this 3-on-3 basketball tournament, which has grown to be one of the largest outdoor hoops tournaments in the state. Tournament games being at 8 a.m. with all championship games scheduled to be played later that evening on the Championship Court. Included in this year’s tournament will be a slam dunk contest for all age divisions. Tournament divisions include the Adult, for men and women 18 and older; the Masters, for men and women 40 and older; High School, for both boys and girls in grades 9-12; Intermediate, for both boys and girls in grades 6-8; and Elementary, for both boys and girls in grades 3-5. Late registration began July 1 and ends July 15. To register, or to learn more, go to www.snoqualmie3on3.com.

July 18, Washington Trails Association Trailsfest at Rattlesnake Lake – This event includes a large amount of outdoor activities, many of them hands-on. It begins at 10 a.m. and ends late in the afternoon. For more information, visit www.wta.org.

July 25 – Aug. 30, “Oklahoma!” – The popular Rodgers and Hammerstein’s production of “Oklahoma!” is scheduled to be performed at Snoqualmie Falls Forest Theater on Saturdays at both 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. It will be directed by Roger Westberg, with music direction by Paul Linnes and choreography by Sandy Brown. Tickets are on sale now. Go to www.foresttheater.org or call 736-7252 or 222-7044  for more information.

Aug. 2, Legends Car Show – Come check out a variety of classic cars at this show, scheduled to be held as part of Snoqualmie Railroad Days. The Legends Car Club, which was founded in 2000, has more than 100 members from the Puget Sound region. For more information, go to www.legendcarclub.com.

Aug. 7-9, Festival at Mount Si – The annual Festival at Mount Si continues this year with another round of events in North Bend. For the eighth straight year, the festival will include a chili cookoff, a cherry pie eating contest and the Burstin’ with Blueberries Dessert Contest. Also included will be the kids’ Fun Zone, The Grand Parade, a pancake breakfast, live and silent auctions, the Skate Jam, stupid pet tricks, kids bingo, Irish dancers, Veils of the Nile, a dog pageant and more.

Aug. 9, Tour de Peaks – This annual event kicks off again with a variety of rides for cycling enthusiasts of all skill levels. There is an easy, all-flat terrain five-mile Centennial Family Route, the recreational Centennial 15-mile route, the more challenging Centennial 35-mile route and the toughest Centennial 80-mile route. All routes begin in downtown North Bend and include scenic views of the Valley and its mountains. All routes end at The Festival at Mount Si at Si View Park. For more information, go to www.tourdepeaks.org.

Aug. 11, U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West – Enjoy this free outdoor concert at Snoqualmie Point Park at 7 p.m., as the U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West performs. The band will play a wide variety of music, from jazz and pop to patriotic tunes.

Aug. 15 and 22, Art in the Park – Celebrating its second year, Art in the Park offers art lovers an up-close look at the best artists the Valley has to offer. The public event takes place at Gardiner Weeks Park in North Bend, where members of the Mount Si Artist Guild paint, draw and share their knowledge of their craft with others.

Aug. 17-21, Cartooning Art Camp – Create a variety of cartoon characters in this class, offered by Si View Metropolitan Parks. A $15 supply fee is required on the first day of the class. There are two different classes, one for those ages 6-8 and another for those ages 9-14. Instructor is Beth Hay. Cost of the week-long course is $80. For more information, go to www.siview.org.

Aug. 22, Snoqualmie Railroad Days – Snoqualmie Railroad Days will celebrate its 70th annual year this summer with more food, rides and fun in the downtown Snoqualmie area. This year, there will be a fun run, a pancake breakfast, food and booths, a grand parade, train rides, the railroad demo, a field of fun, trailer car rides, a children’s stage and a main stage for the festival, which is meant to honor the city’s origins as a logging and railroad community. For more information, go to www.railroaddays.com or call 888-3030.

Aug. 24-30, The Boeing Classic – For a fifth straight year, this professional golf tournament will be played at TPC at Snoqualmie Ridge, highlighting all of the legends from the Champions Tour. Early the week of the tournament, the annual Charles Schwab Youth Clinic will be held, followed by the Seahawks Pro-Am, which traditionally hosts a classic list of former Seattle Seahawk greats. The tournament lasts for three days and 54 holes, with the championship wrapping up on Sunday afternoon. Last year, Tom Kite won his second Boeing Classic title in three years. The tournament is aired live on The Golf Channel. For more information, go to www.boeingclassic.com.

July and August, Yoga for Kids Camp – This class is designed to develop healthy, flexible and strong bodies for children ages 6-11. Instructor is Carla Orellana. The classes meet throughout the months of July and August. For more information, go to www.siview.org.

Forget about bird watchers. It’s the salmon that are on the loose.

This summer, Metro riders at the Railroad Avenue Southeast bus stop near Sahara Pizza will get a fishy eyeful at their bus stop. As part of a beautification project, the third-grade students at Cascade View Elementary painted the bus shelter panels with salmon swimming against a blue background.

Cascade View PTSA President Lorraine Thurston first thought of the idea when she noticed some painted bus shelters in downtown Seattle. After some research, Thurston learned the Metro Bus Shelter Mural Program donates all of the materials, including the panels and paint, so long as a group submits a graffiti-discouraging design. 

Amanda Wright, left, and Jessica Conlon work on a fish mural for a bus stop shelter in Snoqualmie.

Thurston knew that third-grade teacher Lauriekay Henley was in the midst of pursuing her masters of incorporating arts into the curriculum, and asked her if she wanted to help spearhead the project. 

Soon, the two had roped the entire third grade of 125 into the project. 

“I especially like the idea of my third-graders taking their children there one day and saying, ‘Look what I made,’” Henley said. “The salmon are such a big part of their culture.”

After spending a trimester studying salmon habitat and life cycles, the Cascade View third-graders are salmon experts. In the fall, they visited the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery and, using salmon carcasses, made colorful prints of the fish. Third-grade teacher Julie Daniels raises salmon from eggs to fry and allows her students to release them into the river once the fish come of age.

Henley said third-graders learn about salmon “so that we have salmon in the future. The same things that are good for salmon are good for people, like clean water and good watershed areas.”

Painting the mural took a matter of weeks. The mural leaders would ask the third-graders to give up their lunch or afternoon recess to help paint the design. First, the students painted a background of varying blues. Next, they colored in the fish with primary and secondary colors, using the prints they had made before as stencils.

“They chose some designs that were particularly interesting,” Thurston said. “We got some really wild and crazy colorful salmon out of it.”

Third-grader Noah Riffe agreed.

“I really thought that was a cool idea that we were going to have a piece of the third-grader’s art in the community,” said Riffe, who helped paint the ocean background. 

He noted that many of Daniels’ salmon had not survived, which showed the students how fragile the salmon are when their environments are not sound. 

Thurston predicts the fishy panels will be installed at the bus shelter in mid-July, after the panels are laminated to protect them against the weather. Next, she plans to help beautify Cascade View, but said she was happy to help the third-graders contribute to downtown Snoqualmie’s art scene. 

“They’re real proud of themselves,” Henley said. “Little people like being part of community.”

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

They volunteer as chaperones, scoliosis screeners and copy room assistants. Mount Si High School’s parent volunteers can be found just about anywhere before, during and after school hours. 

But, June 18, the volunteering crowd stopped their work and gathered at the Wildcat Café to be honored for their services. The dozen volunteers sampled punch and cake prepared by Mount Si High School culinary students as two Mount Si musicians entertained them with music.

Wildcat Idol Emily Beekman sang “Never Alone” for the volunteers as her sister, sophomore Amanda Beekman, accompanied her on the piano. Mount Si Assistant Principal Beth Castle followed the presentation with a big thank you to volunteers from the PTSA, Learning Improvement Team, Music Boosters and more. 

Parent Lynette Smallwood sat back and sipped on her punch, enjoying the concert. Smallwood, who has a sophomore and a senior at Mount Si, spends her Monday mornings in the high school’s copy room.

Every week, she spends between one and eight hours copying worksheets for the busy teachers at Mount Si. Smallwood also volunteered at Chief Kanim Middle School, but acknowledged she had to go more behind the scenes, as her children grew older. 

Still, she figures her volunteer hours help both her children and their school.

“They know I’m here and I get to know their teachers,” Smallwood said.

There are three copy machines at Mount Si, two of which produce double-sided copies. To volunteer, call Mount Si High School at 831-8100. 

Pam Stewart, whose son Blaine is a sophomore at Mount Si, chaperones at school dances. 

“I get to look at all of the beautiful girls in their dresses and watch everyone dance around,” Stewart said. “It makes you feel good if parents are around.”

She not only gets to know her son’s friends, but also befriends other parents who volunteer, connecting her more with the community. 

Noelle Rollins has volunteered in the schools since her children started second grade, but said that volunteering changes as children age.

“It’s not even remotely the same,” said Rollins, who is PTSA co-secretary. “Elementary volunteering is more hands-on, like cutting out silly things and organizing parties. At the high school, it’s more supporting the teachers.”

Teenagers may notoriously tell their parents little, but volunteering can bridge the gap, at least a bit.

“They want their independence and they should have it,” Rollins said. “But I have a connection.”

Volunteering helps Laurie Edwards bond with her daughter Nicky, a freshman at Mount Si. 

“Wherever I go, she goes,” Edwards said, ticking off the places the duo had volunteered together, including eighth-grade orientation and Wildcat Days.

“I like it because I get to be around the school before everyone else and I get to know people,” Nicky said.

Mount Si PTSA President Beth Burrows commended the volunteers for their hard work and invited more parents and community members to offer their time to the schools.

“I know this is public education with public dollars,” Burrows said. “They need people to help.”

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. 

Six Snoqualmie Valley students in the Highly Capable Program recently took a high caliber test.

Opstad students Megan McCullough, Samantha Bleha, Jimmy Morris, Jacob Engdahl, Ashley Buzard and North Bend Elementary’s Savanah Nanos each participated in the Johns Hopkins Talent Search Exam, which tests children on mathematical and verbal reasoning abilities. Last year, about 63,000 children worldwide took the university’s Center for Talented Youth exam. 

Engdahl and Bleha scored high honors on the exam and received the Johns Hopkins Washington State Award. Students who receive this award are given the opportunity to take university classes at places like the University of Washington or Stanford University. 

Coordinator for the elementary Hi-C program Marcia Townsend offered students who had scored well on the WASL the chance to take the exam. Students had to pay their own admittance fee and take the test on their own time. 

“What’s different about the Johns Hopkins is that they’re compared to other children at that high level,” Townsend said. “It’s above grade level and they’re being compared to kids at above grade level.”

Most importantly, though, they run together.

Inspired by his own experience and continued requests from friends, Valley resident Sean Sundwall began the Mt Si Running Club early last month. The group, which includes several dozens of running enthusiasts from around the Valley, meets at 7 a.m. every Saturday at the track at Mount Si High School.

Currently, the club is simply a meeting ground for those in the area who are interested in casual runs. But it’s that social network that Sundwall says was so lacking in the Valley.

“Enough people asked me if I was going to put on a running club, that I finally decided to do it. The demand was out there. There are a lot of people who like to run,” he said. “I don’t get a chance to run with people around here much and there was really nothing around Snoqualmie that allowed people to run with each other.”

Sundwall, who has competed in Olympic Trials, was the creator and organizer of the first ever Snoqualmie Railroad Days Run, which took place during the Snoqualmie Railroad Days last August. Both before and after that run — which he says garnered lots of local interest — he was approached by individuals interested in joining a running club.

Sundwall already had been involved in a club in the Seattle area and had some ideas about how to get a club in the Valley going. The first meeting was June 6 and the club has gotten together every Saturday since.

“It’s intended for adults. It’s primary purpose is to provide a venue for people who like running and are into running and want to have some kind of social interaction with people once a week,” he said. “We have all kinds of skills levels. We have people who show up and run seven-minute miles and people who run much faster. But everyone has at least one or more people to run with.”

“It’s been really good. I think, every single week, we’ve had more than we had the previous week. Word is getting around and people are coming out and enjoying it.”

The dues to join the running club are $40 a year. They include a T-shirt and a membership card that entitles members to discounts at a number of stores and businesses both in the Valley and on the Eastside. The club also sends out a monthly e-newsletter, will have quarterly guest speakers and will hold social gatherings twice a year.

Sundwall’s running club in Seattle often enters competitions. Right now, the Mount Si club is only being used as a tool to get locals running, but Sundwall said that could change in the future.

“As more people find out about it, I would love to have teams that compete in cross country and track at a national level. That’s a really fun experience,” he said. “At the same time, if that doesn’t happen, that’s fine. What I want more than anything is for Valley runners to feel like there’s a place to run with other runners.”

To sign up for the club, go to www.runsnoqualmie.com or e-mail msrc@runsnoqualmie.com.

Reach editor Ryan Piersol at editor@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434.

The fires were reported in the early morning hours of June 30. The first fire was reported just after 2 a.m. at the Snoqualmie Depot of the Northwest Railway Museum on Railroad Avenue.

The fire was set inside a plastic garbage can outside of the Depot’s freight room. The fire climbed along the exterior wall of the building. It triggered the building’s automatic sprinkler system, which reduced the intensity of the fire.

Snoqualmie firefighters arrived on the scene about five minutes after the sprinklers were activated and quickly extinguished the fire.

“We’re very thankful for the sprinkler system. It probably saved that building,” Snoqualmie Fire Chief Bob Rowe said.

An e-mail from museum CEO Richard Anderson described the damage to the building, noting that the fire damaged about 100 square feet of siding, melted speaker wires, charred two deck boards and caused smoke damage to the building. Anderson said that the museum was working quickly to repair the damage and continue with its preparations for the Day Out With Thomas event that begins next week.

The fire at the depot was the first of three fires in downtown Snoqualmie early on June 30.

The second fire occurred at the Bella Vita Spa and Salon across the street from the depot at just before 4 a.m. Chief Rowe described this fire as more significant. The fire at the hair salon was set in a recycling bin that was against the rear wall outside the building. The building did not have sprinklers and the fire did extensive damage to the back wall of the building.

Rowe said that Fall City firefighters assisted with the second fire.

A third fire was set at about the same time as the fire at the salon in a recycling bin behind Snoqualmie’s City Hall. However, the rear of the city hall building is concrete and it did not do much damage to the building, other than scaring the wall.

Rowe said that three fires in one night were unusual for Snoqualmie. The chief said that these were the first cases of arson in the area since a fire was set in a portable toilet about four months ago.

The damage is estimated to be about $13,000, Rowe said.

The King County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the three fires, and a $10,000 reward has been offered for information about the fire. Anyone with information is encouraged to call 1-800-55ARSON

Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.

Raley-Silva is one of 12 seventh- and eighth-grade students attending Two Rivers School. Like many of his classmates, he learns better by doing things. Two Rivers middle school teacher Joe Burgener understood this and started the boomerang project nine years ago. It incorporates elements of math, social studies, writing and science into the month-long mission. 

“What is most important is how are the kids involved so they can learn?” Burgener said. “We try to unravel the mystery of the boomerang in here.”

Ian Raley-Silva shows a right-handed phoenix scoop, a student-made boomerang with measured scoops on its inside and outside wings.

Students appear to be learning with every twist their boomerangs take. They begin their projects by making cardboard tri-blade boomerangs reinforced with bamboo rods. Burgener slips geometry into the process, asking students to attach the three cardboard wings exactly 120 degrees away from the next.

“It’s a trihedral,” student Talon Kosmoski said.

To complete the boomerang, students connect spoons to tops of its wings, a trick that creates airfoils that help the boomerangs soar.

“The air foil creates low pressure on top of the wing and high pressure below to help it fly,” Burgener said. 

With their cardboard boomerangs in hand, the students take to the field behind Two Rivers, learn about boomerang safety and throw their creations 500 times in sets of 20. They tally their results and record them in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Burgener shows them how to calculate their success rate and asks them to create graphs comparing their catching rates to those of their classmates. 

“They get a lot better at it,” Two Rivers assistant teacher Denise Atkinson said. “There’s a little bit of friendly competition in there.”

In the meantime, students research the boomerang’s evolution. 

“The first boomerang that was found was in Poland,” student Mitch Searls said. “It wasn’t meant to come back.”

Although boomerangs are famous for their Australian connections, the first boomerangs were found in Europe and are believed to be from the Stone Age. Archeologists even found boomerangs in the tomb of King Tut, pharaoh of Egypt. Initially, boomerangs were likely used as digging tools and later as hunting weapons. 

Burgener requires his class complete a boomerang report, detailing the flying instrument’s history, safety factors, flight variables and more. 

As the project progresses, students design their own boomerangs out of aircraft grade birch plywood. After drawing a blueprint, students cut their boomerang with a jigsaw, carve in curved airfoils, sand the wood, apply sealant and spray-paint their creation with an original design.

“The boomerang is a simple looking thing that is so complex,” Burgener said.

There is a catch. Students can only take home their wooden boomerangs if they hand in their reports.

“These kids right now are so invested in their boomerangs,” Burgener said. “A lot of them don’t have much building experience and they build it from the start.” 

This year, all of Burgener’s students are boys, but he said his past female students have enjoyed the project just as much.

“I think it’s fun,” student Cody Byrd said. “Not very many other schools get to do it.”

After doing this project, Byrd said he is more comfortable with Excel, knows a right-handed person can’t throw a left-handed boomerang and, so far, has caught his cardboard boomerang 226 times out of almost 500 tries.

Other students reeled through boomerang model names — the Everest, the M-shaped mad boomerang, the deuce and one that looked like a Japanese character.

“When I first started throwing it, I wasn’t that good,” Byrd said. “Then, I got better.”

At a fieldtrip to Centennial Fields, students practiced throwing wooden boomerangs and learned the airfoils on a boomerang are similar to those on a plane.

Burgener asked students to examine a model airplane’s wings, pointing out the semi-symmetrical curvature of its wings. In contrast, boomerangs are curved symmetrically. 

The students nodded and then returned to their boomerang throwing.

“It’s a great class,” Kosmoski said.

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

Recognizing demand for new workers in several industries, seven Eastside school districts are working together to give their students ample opportunity to pursue careers in fields like medicine, construction and culinary arts.

The program, called the Washington Network for Innovative Careers, or WA-NIC, just received $9 million from the Washington state legislature to help students access classes offering intensive training. Much of this money will finance construction and supplies for the new 16,000-square-foot Allied Health Center, to be located at Lake Washington Technical College. Students enrolled in the dental assisting field, for example, will take their classes at the Allied Health Center, which is slated to open in 2011.

“We’ve worked hard to develop classes that are necessary and relevant to things going on today,” Mount Si High School administrator Cindy Wilson said. 

Mount Si junior Jamie Brett completes a design during her architecture class at Mount Si High School. Next year, the class will be offered through the Washington Network for Innovative Careers program.

WA-NIC is an expansion of the Northeast Vocational Area Cooperative, known as NEVAC, a network of the same seven school districts allowing students to enroll in classes not offered at their high schools. The participating WA-NIC and NEVAC districts include Snoqualmie Valley, Riverview, Bellevue, Issaquah, Lake Washington, Mercer Island and Northshore. Of these districts, 114 students participated in 2008-09. 

Pamela Darling, program director of NEVAC, explained the four ways in which the new WA-NIC program would differ from NEVAC.

First, WA-NIC offers new classes related to the healthcare field, including nursing assistant, dental assisting, medical assisting, physical therapy assisting and occupational therapy assisting. 

These classes will allow students to funnel into college programs offering certificates in these fields. The nursing certificate, for instance, is a springboard for advanced nursing programs. 

“As you know, health care is an up-and-coming field,” Darling said.

Second, students enrolled in WA-NIC will take classes for three hours per day. Mount Si High School will have two WA-NIC classes: culinary arts and construction trades. 

“The good thing about having a three-hour block is there’s no down time,” Mount Si construction trades teacher Gregg Meyers said.

Third, WA-NIC schools will receive increased funding from its students. Under NEVAC, schools are only reimbursed for a 1.0 full-time equivalency student. With WA-NIC, schools can receive up to a 1.6 reimbursement. 

Last, students in WA-NIC classes will receive industry certifications from their classes. While many receive certifications from their NEVAC classes, it is not a requirement. 

WA-NIC is open to all students, but Darling said she expects the program to fill with mostly juniors and seniors because, unlike underclassmen, they will have gotten the majority of their graduation requirements out of the way. Also, students will not have to pay for WA-NIC classes or, if they earn a B or better, the college credit that goes with it.  

WA-NIC students must provide their own transportation, but Darling said once the Allied Health Center is operating, WA-NIC may try to help students with a park-and-ride like service. 

Snoqualmie Valley School District will not have to pay fees to participate in WA-NIC, although it will continue to pay its NEVAC fees of about $3,900 per year. 

Students can sign up for WA-NIC classes until September. Visit www.nevac.org to learn more.

On July 10, the historic rally will stop at the Meadowbrook Farm in the Snoqualmie Valley, and residents will have a chance to see the vehicles and meet the drivers.

The rally commemorates a 1909 race — the Ocean-to-Ocean Endurance Race — that ended in Seattle at the Alaska-Pacific-Yukon Exposition. The Model T’s stop at Meadowbrook will be part of the final leg of the 3,900-mile cross-country Centennial Run. 

The race started June 1, 1909, when President William Howard Taft pressed a golden telegraph key in Washington to signal the start of the race. The telegraph signal also started the exposition in Seattle. The 1909 race was completed on June 22, 1909, at precisely 12:55 p.m. 

The endurance race was a showcase for early automobile technology. In addition to the Model T’s, cars from rival automobile makers tried to make it across the relatively undeveloped roadways of America. The Ford Model T overshadowed the other cars in the race, perhaps hinting at the fate of those carmakers, whose names include Stearns, Acme, Shawmut and Itala. 

Participants in the 1909 Ocean-to-Ocean Endurance Race make their way across dirt roads en route to Seattle.

Henry Ford was convinced that his durable, cheap, and lightweight car could make it over the 1909 roads. The Model T’s rivals weighed between 3,500 – 4,600 pounds, whereas the Model T weighed less than 1,000 pounds. 

The route of the 1909 race made the course 4,106 miles, and the racers experienced tough driving conditions leading to many breakdowns and interesting stories from the road. For some in the plains of Mid-America and the West, it was their first time to see the automobiles that would reshape American life in less than a generation’s time. 

The driving conditions during the race required drivers and mechanics to be self-reliant and creative in solving the problems the racers encountered.

Among the obstacles were miles of mud created by summer rains. Cars were lost in the deserts and badlands. At one point, the two Model T’s in the race were both stuck in quicksand. An observer of the race in Prosser, Wash., who obviously had not been around automobiles much, inadvertently set one of the Model T’s on fire after striking a match on the side of the Ford’s gas tank. Not far from North Bend at Snoqualmie Pass, one of the Ford’s became stuck in four feet of snow until a railway gang came to dig it out.

The winner of the race was a matter of debate at the time. A Model T was the first to cross the finish line, and was declared the winner, with Henry Ford standing by to celebrate the victor of his brand. However, some months later, the Automobile Club of America declared that the Shawmut was the winner of the race, even though it crossed the finish line 17 hours after the Ford. 

The Model T that finished the race first had apparently substituted its engine for a new one, an act that was caught because the engine of the car that left White Plains, New York, was stamped by the ACA. Still, an advertising campaign by Ford was largely successful in convincing the public that the Model T was the Winner of the Ocean-to-Ocean race. 

Ford’s Model T was in production from 1909-1927, and 15,007,033 of the cars were manufactured. 

The route of the 2009 rally mostly follows the original race, with cars stopping in the same towns along the way that they did a century before. In some places, the old roads have disappeared, and participants in the modern rally will use interstate highways. For the most part, though, the original route is the same.

The historic automobiles are scheduled to be at Meadowbrook Farm from noon to 2 p.m. The Pony Boy All-Star Big Band will play music of the era, and there will be a performance by the Snoqualmie Tribe Canoe Family Drum Group.

The event is free to the public. However, there will be a salmon bake lunch catered by the Canoe family. Tickets for the salmon bake are available through July 1 for $10 a person. The tickets can be purchased at North Bend City Hall at 211 Main Avenue North, Snoqualmie City Hall at 8020 Railroad Avenue SE, and at businesses throughout Snoqualmie and North Bend. 

Sponsors of the event include King County’s 4Culture, the City of North Bend, the City of Snoqualmie, the Meadowbrook Farm Preservation Association, the Snoqualmie Valley Historical Society. A flyer for the event can be found at the city of Snoqualmie’s Web-site www.cityofsnoqualmie.org. The Model T Ford Club International Centennial Run’s Web-site is at www.oceantoocean.ning.com. The Alaska-Pacific-Yukon Exposition Centennial Celebration’s Web-site is at www.ayp100.org.

Information for this article was gathered from a description of the race on www.oceantoocean.ning.com.

Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.

At issue is whether or not the city can save some money on center consoles and truck covers that need to be installed in the city’s five new police vehicles. Police Chief Jim Schaffer told the council that the city could probably buy the equipment for less money than Auto Additions Inc. would charge. 

Auto Additions submitted the only bid for outfitting the new police vehicles with lights, radios and other equipment. The company agreed to do the work for $57,060.55. However, the center consoles and truck covers were included in the bid as alternatives. Auto Additions cost for the other equipment is about $14,500. 

Councilman Brian Holloway said that if the city included the alternatives in the agreement with Auto Additions, the fund for equipping police vehicles would be nearly depleted. He said he wanted to avoid dipping into reserves.

Schaffer encouraged the council to act quickly, noting that the old vehicles that were being replaced were becoming increasingly unreliable.

The council decided to hold a special meeting on June 25 to decide on awarding the bid. By that time, the city should have more information on how much buying the equipment on its own would cost versus how much Auto Additions would charge.

Another item related to equipping the police vehicles also received the council’s attention. The council approved a resolution for purchasing five new laptops for the new vehicles for $30,820,76.

Police Captain Eduardo Janey, and city network systems engineer P.J. Rodriguez explained why the new computers were needed. Rodriguez said that the old computers were not compatible with the new vehicles, and that after five years of use, they were not functioning well.

Janey said that the new system would be compatible with the Issaquah based dispatch service that the city uses. He said current patrol vehicles could not receive dispatch information or access the Washington and National crime databases. 

Janey gave an example of a recent traffic stop where the computer dispatch system would have helped. He said a Snoqualmie officer attempted what he believed to be a high-risk stop on a suspected stolen vehicle. The officer acted on information from a radio dispatch when stopping the vehicle that turned out to not be the stolen vehicle that police were looking for. Janey believes that if the officer had access to dispatch information on his vehicle’s computer, the stop wouldn’t have been made.

“It wouldn’t have happened if the officer could see the info,” Janey said.

According to Janey, the lack of accurate dispatch information could cause a liability issue for the city.

In other business, the council approved an interlocal agreement with Kittitas County that will allow Snoqualmie to send sludge from its sewer plant to the adjacent county. 

Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.

The North Bend City Council selected the slogan after a presentation from Community and Economic Development Director Gina Estep and branding team facilitator Geoff Doy at a June 16 meeting. 

A group of volunteers from the community and city staff members participated in the branding exercise that culminated in the new slogan and a brand statement for the city.

North Bend city leaders hope that the brand will help to create an identity for the community to promote tourism and increase city revenues through more sales tax collections.

Councilman Alan Gothelf said that he wasn’t sure about the slogan the first time he heard it, but it has since grown on him. 

Councilman Jonathan Rosen was more easily persuaded.

“The first time I heard it, I loved it,” he said. “It doesn’t pigeonhole us, it’s not too specific.”

The slogan is meant to identify North Bend as a place that is a short drive from the Seattle area, with amazing natural beauty and outdoor recreation opportunities, according to Doy. 

“I’m a dry engineer, and I am not very creative, but I like this a lot,” Councilman Dee Williamson said.

Councilman David Cook noted that the slogan is also appropriate for attracting new residents. City Administrator Duncan Wilson agreed that the slogan was not just for tourists. Indeed, Doy and others on the branding team share the experience of visiting North Bend and deciding to live there because they were drawn to the area’s natural beauty.

Doy said that the slogan was tested amongst the downtown merchants and other community members and that it received 100 percent buy-in from the stakeholders. 

The branding team considered more than 100 suggestions for the slogan, ranging from tongue-in-cheek ironic statements like “life after Issaquah” to statements that suggest what North Bend has to offer like “take a hike.” The branding team used long sheets of brown paper to brainstorm ideas on, before selecting the new slogan.

According to Doy, the slogan and brand statement should work for the city for the next 5-10 years. The brand statement describes what North Bend hopes to become: “We are the small town that is creating the premiere outdoor adventure destination in Puget Sound.” 

The Economic Development Commission — along with Doy and branding team member Martin Volken — will work to develop a strategy for implementing the slogan and branding statement, and to develop a budget for using the slogan as part of the city’s marketing and promotion efforts.

The branding team efforts cost nothing for North Bend, and the costs of any new promotional materials will be in the city’s 2010 budget.

The morning of June 1, Boivin’s bus driver neglected to check his bus for any remaining children on the bus. When Boivin did not show up for class, her preschool teacher did not mark her absent because she thought Boivin had switched to afternoon preschool.

Another bus driver discovered Boivin more than two hours later, sitting on the hot bus. The driver gave a glass of water to the girl, who was safe and unharmed but dehydrated.

Soon after, Boivin’s mother Jennifer was waiting to meet her child at the bus stop. When she realized her child was not on the bus ride home, she called the district and they asked her to pick up her daughter.

Bus drivers are required to check their buses for children before ending their routes. Because Boivin’s driver failed to do this, the district fired him. 

To ensure drivers check their buses, the district began putting signs at the back of school buses. Drivers are required to bring the signs to the front of their buses at the end of the their routes. 

Snoqualmie schools spokeswoman Carolyn Malcolm said transportation department employees would be able to see the markers once the buses are parked at the transportation office between routes. 

The district has also modified the system for reporting preschool absences at Snoqualmie Elementary School. Snoqualmie teachers typically report absences to the school’s main office, where the secretaries call parents whose children have an unexcused absence. 

Now, preschool aides will call parents of absent children directly from the classroom. Malcolm said the school district reasoned that this new rule would allow aides to get in touch with preschool parents faster.

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

Editorial:

When we learned that Eastside Fire and Rescue staff wanted funding for a boat, our first thought was, ‘they don’t have one already?’

The purchase of a rescue boat, so that firefighters can help people caught in the raging waters, should be a priority, not a matter of debate. EFR’s coverage area is crisscrossed with fast flowing rivers, streams and deep lakes, both of which are prone to flooding more often than not.

Right now, firefighters use a boogie board (a boogie board!) or a tossed life preserver to rescue people stranded in icy water. Lord help us all if they need to break out the water wings.

Even in tight budget times, there are some costs that are necessary; need-to-have items, not want-to-have items. The boat falls into the former category.

To make the decision even easier, EFR officials have hinted that a 14-foot inflatable raft might be donated. EFR tax collections would surely be able to cover maintenance costs and staff training time on a donated piece of life-saving equipment.

This isn’t to say that all of the boats EFR officials are considering are necessary right now. While a raft to use in rescue situations is necessary, the discussed fleet of up to three larger watercraft is probably too much.

EFR officials recognize this, and, quite responsibly, are asking for the smallest, cheapest piece of equipment that can do the job.

We understand some members of the EFR Board of Directors are hesitant to purchase much of anything in this economic climate. Their fiscal prudence serves everyone. But the idea of continuing the past practice of borrowing a citizen’s boat as needed falls apart rather easily — let’s hope he’s not on vacation during the next emergency.

Sooner or later, a new boat will save someone’s life, making the cost of training a moot point.

Thankful for bike

safety support

We just wanted to thank everyone that came to the Tanner Jeans Memorial Bike Safety Rodeo this past weekend. We had our largest turnout ever. Rough estimates suggest that over 2,500 people came through the rodeo.

The Snoqualmie Police Department provided bike safety instruction for hundreds of kids and, if needed, we got them outfitted with new helmets. Dirt Corps did a fantastic job checking every child’s bike to ensure that it was safe for driving this summer. They also provided many kids with safety instruction when riding in the city of Snoqualmie bike park (located off of Snoqualmie Parkway).

Radio Disney was a huge hit and provided many kids with new safety gear sets, bikes, boards and more fun prizes! 

In five years, we have managed to become the largest bike safety rodeo in the state of Washington! That is quite an accomplishment — one that we could never have attained without the support of parents and kids like you. 

Remember to Have Fun, Play Fair and, More Importantly, Play Safe this summer! 

Remembering Tanner,

The Tanner Jeans Memorial Foundation Board of Directors

Spending is out of

control across nation

When Pravda, a Russian newspaper, recognizes that the U.S. is declining into Marxism with breathtaking speed, you, a citizen of this country, must sit up and take notice.

I wrote to a paper during the election espousing dire economic consequences with the election of President Obama due to the unbridled power he and the Pelosi/Reid democrat congress have yielded.

Ask yourself the question; am I better off after five months under Obama? I think not. Real estate prices continue to decline, our neighbors (even at Microsoft) continue to lose their jobs and our state deepens its budget gap. Concerning the state budget, face it, people are scared and are not spending money because the government is scaring us. Washington state is cutting back just like we will experience nationally if the current administration gets its way.

If Obama and his cronies get their way this year we will see at least an almost immediate (this year) 20 percent decline in our standard of living due to increases in fees, taxes, cap and trade, national sales tax, healthcare takeover, etc.

We are headed toward a 1970s explosion in interest rates and it has already begun. Mortgage rates have jumped one full point in three months as the presses roll on. With all of the Obama/Geithner printing presses going full stream printing money we are headed toward a borrowing cost that will exceed our national GDP. Look to Europe, most of the EU countries voted in conservatives.

In the next year, please consider voting against the party in power to put the checks and balances back into our government.

Consider voting against Patty Murray.

John Burg

Sammamish

Terry Sorenson was appointed to the Council in 1989 to fill an unexpired term on what was then a five-seat governing body. He was elected for a second term on the council and served until 1995.

Now, he’s running again.

“I miss making a difference on a local level,” Sorenson said.

Sorenson lives less than a block away from the new City Hall in downtown Snoqualmie on Maple Street. He is a 1982 graduate of Mt. Si Hi School, and has lived in Snoqualmie since 1987. Prior to being appointed to the City Council, he served as a planning commissioner.

Sorenson has an associate’s degree in business from Bellevue, and has been a federal employee for 22 years.

For Sorenson, the fiscal management of Snoqualmie is a priority. He said that the city has relied on revenues from new housing for years, but that revenue has a finite time limit. When the Snoqualmie Ridge development is built out, the city will see its strongest revenue stream dry up.

Sorenson said that Snoqualmie is still a small city in comparison to its neighbors to the East and its plans to build a community center with a pool might not provide much benefit to its residents for the cost. He noted that the Si View Metro Parks District in North Bend maintains a pool that Snoqualmie residents can use.

He asks whether the YMCA, which is in talks with the city to operate and maintain the community center, will still want to be the city’s partner in five years. 

“What happens if the YMCA isn’t there?” Sorenson asked.

He doesn’t dispute the need for a facility like the proposed community center, but questions if it should have bells and whistles like a pool that might cost more to the city in the future when money may be tighter.

He said that if cuts were made to city programs and services, he would like for Snoqualmie to maintain its level of police and fire services. He doesn’t think that Snoqualmie should do away with its own police force and contract with the county, because he feels that Sheriff’s deputies would be less responsive to providing law enforcement for the city.

He praised the proactive policing done by Snoqualmie’s police department, and thinks that the city should support their work.

Sorenson said that he could work well with other members of the Council, if elected. He said that he was not running against opponent Maria Henriksen out of any disagreement he has with her or decisions she’s made on the Council.

Another reason that Sorenson is running for the Council is that its meetings will be held down the street from his house when the new City Hall opens this fall. He would like to introduce his two daughters, ages 8 and 9, to community service, and he can imagine walking down the street with them to the council meetings. 

He said that he was surprised that no one else is challenging the incumbents on Snoqualmie’s City Council. Another race became uncontested after challenger Cindy Deibler withdrew her name from the election. 

“So many people complain about how things are going, but you can’t change it unless you jump in and do it,” Sorenson said.

Sorenson is looking for input from the public on what issues are important to Snoqualmie residents. He has a Web site and blog at www.terrysorenson.com.

Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.

The city was due to start work on the project this fall, with a bid being awarded no later than September. The start time is included in the requirements for the $1.4 million grant Snoqualmie received from the Economic Development Administration. 

Part of the project would relocate transformers and power lines along Falls Avenue. The city would like to put those underground, but there is some concern about what could happen if the underground power vaults are flooded. Excavation work is typically avoided during the rainy season to keep ditches from filling with water, and in Snoqualmie flooding is also a major worry. 

Projects Manager Alan Lobdell told the City Council June 8 that the excavation and placement of electric utilities underground would take at least three months. So, if the project started in October, it could potentially run through the worst times for flooding in the city — November and January. 

Lobdell said that he talked with an official at the EDA and sent a letter explaining why the city shouldn’t start the project when a flood might hit the area before the utility relocation is completed. He thinks the city has a good chance of getting an extension on the start date. 

At the council meeting, Councilman Bryan Holloway questioned whether the project could be completed on time if the start date is pushed back.

Lobdell said that he thinks the whole project will take only seven months, and the grant gives the city two years, until Sept. 2011, to complete the work. 

Holloway next asked what the fallback position was if the EDA refused to give the city an extension on the start date.

Lobdell said that work would start in October, if the city didn’t get an extension.

This would likely mean that the project wouldn’t relocate the power utilities underground. Paul Fuesel, a principal with the city’s design contractor KPG, said that he was exploring alternatives to locating the power utilities underground. One such alternative would be to place the transformers onto pads a few feet above street level and boxed in someway to minimize their appearance. The power boxes would be placed in boxes in sections of the street reserved for parking. Fuesel said that since the project was creating more parking spaces downtown, losing several spaces would not impact parking after the improvements are completed. 

Lobdell said that the city’s plans wouldn’t change until they have heard back from the EDA on the start-time extension. If the EDA allows the start-time to be pushed back, the city will likely pursue the underground option with Puget Sound Energy. 

Councilwoman Kathi Prewitt asked whether the work would impact tourism to the area. Lobdell said that there would be an impact. He noted that there would probably be temporary sidewalks around the work area and other interferences with business. Fuesel said that it was key to keep merchants and stakeholders informed about the project so that they can consider ways to work around the project.

If the city can’t come to an agreement with PSE for placing the utilities underground, it would cut about $500,000 of cost out of the project.

In addition to the $1.4 million in EDA grant money, the city has $1.8 million from a bond. Construction costs for the project are estimated at $2.3 million, but the overall cost of the project — including design and placing utilities underground — is about $3.5 million, leaving the city $300,000 shy of what it needs to fully fund the project.

The city has approached Congressman Dave Reichert’s office in search of some additional federal funding. 

Besides the utility work, the project will include new street lighting, sidewalks, angled parking, and improvements to water, sewer and storm water control infrastructure on Falls Avenue.

Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.

The council is a spin-off of the Snoqualmie Valley Youth Council for middle and high school students. At first, the elementary students attended the youth council, but found they had little connection to the issues of drug prevention the older students discussed at meetings. 

Instead, the elementary students formed a youth council of their own. At a recent meeting, a group of six students from across the district met with advisor Ryan Daly, the youth and athletic coordinator at the Si View Metropolitan Park District. 

At the previous meeting, the group had painted two recycling containers. Daly placed them at Si View, and confidently told them middle-school students had filled the boxes to the brim at a recent teen night.

“Two months ago, (those bottles) would have been in the trash,” Daly said.

Satisfied with their last project, the students launched forward with their next. 

The task at hand? Planning a booth for the Festival at Mount Si. 

Continuing with their green theme, the students pitched several ideas promoting recycling at the festival. Opstad Elementary fifth-grader Chayla Brewster asked her teammates what they thought about organizing a craft table using recycled materials. The others jumped on board, saying they could collect bottle caps for necklaces, find boxes and rubber bands to make guitar-like instruments, put rocks in empty water bottles to create maracas and maybe even compose a song about recycling using their recycled musical instruments. 

Snoqualmie Elementary school 10-year-old Marcus Johnson volunteered another idea. They could host a recycling race, seeing which festival participants could recycle bottles and papers into the right receptacle the fastest.

“You know what,” Daly said. “My grandpa needs this game because he has no idea what goes where. And you know who gets to sort it?”

“You?” Johnson asked.

“Well, my dad,” Daly said. “But still.”

Giggling, the students brainstormed more about their festival ambitions. Brewster said she enjoyed the meetings and the council’s projects.

“It’s where elementary youth can come together and decide how they want their voice to be heard in the local area,” Brewster said.

A few parents attend the meetings, but they came to support, not to take over the council. Instead, the students lead the meetings and take them in whatever direction they choose, building their leadership skills and making a few friends in the process.

“I like to come, because we talk about stuff to help the world, and I’ve always wanted to help the world,” Snoqualmie Elementary student Aaron Thompson said.

Daly encouraged other youth to join the free council at its next meeting at Si View, 400 S.E. Orchard Dr., North Bend at 5 p.m. July 1. To learn more, call Daly at 831-1900.

“It’s as much as you want to put in,” Daly said. “If you want to help once a month doing a project, or even once a year, that’s great.”

Still, North Bend resident Adi Hienzsch managed to condense the city’s 100-year history onto a slightly shorter distance: a seven-foot rectangle of basswood from a linden tree. He will showcase his creation during the North Bend centennial celebration June 27 and during August at George’s Bakery & Deli on North Bend Way.

The basswood carving starts with an American Indian woman picking hops in a field. Beside her, an American Indian man prepares to spear a salmon in the Snoqualmie River. Time accelerates as a pioneer’s covered wagon appears on the scene, and next to it, a lumberjack chopping down a Western red cedar tree with his ax. 

Adi Hienzsch’s carving for the North Bend centennial.

The timeline continues with the house of Uncle Si, surrounded by a herd of deer and, finally, a team of oxen helping to transport a pile of logs. Finally, Hienzsch carved a motorized truck carrying lumber out of North Bend.  

“It was all his own idea,” Eva Hienzsch said of her husband. 

Hienzsch started his project by researching North Bend at the Snoqualmie Valley Historical Museum in the early spring. He learned American Indians had traveled from as far as Eastern Washington and Oregon to pick hops in the Snoqualmie Valley. The local tribe also had connections with timber products before the pioneers arrived. According to the museum, American Indians felled trees, but the newcomers’ steel axes and handsaws sped up the process in the 1850s. Water-powered sawmills sprung up in the 1870s, abetting the process. 

Spending his time in his workshop at Edelweiss-Chalet Alpine Paintings and Woodcarvings, Hienzsch said he easily spent 150 hours carving the scene. Cataract surgery interrupted his project, but he returned with renewed vision once an eye surgeon removed his cloudy lens. 

Hienzsch said he enjoyed researching and carving North Bend’s roots and said he wished he could have fit even more onto the wooden panorama. 

“The important thing is the history,” Hienzsch said. “You could make a lot of pictures in between.”

James E. Wager

James. E. “Jim” Wager, of North Bend, died June 1, 2009 in Seattle. He was 78.

Wager was born Sept. 10, 1930 in Seattle to Marjorie Masterson and James Marion Wager. He was raised in Ballard and later lived in Bellevue, San Francisco and North Bend.

After graduating from Ballard High School in 1948, Wager entered the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in King’s Point, N.Y., where he graduated in 1952. He studied at Harvard Business School, graduating from the Program for Management Development.

Jim served during the Korean War as a Lieutenant aboard the U.S.S. Walke in Destroyer Division 132. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1955.

He married Linda S. Wager in 1992. In his spare time, he and his wife took great pleasure in traveling, camping, visiting with family, gardening, panning for gold and working side-by-side with grandchildren in the vegetable garden or clearing trees from their property. For many years, Jim helped his grandchildren and their friends sell cookies at Husky home football games to support the Children’s Hospital Junior Guild. He will be remembered as a loving husband, father and grandfather.

Jim is survived by his wife, Linda, of North Bend; daughter, Margit Moore, of Kirkland; son, Wayne Wager (Anne), of Seattle; and four grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. June 27 at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Snoqualmie. Memorial donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or the Mt Si Helping Hand Food Bank in North Bend.

William “Bill” Rooney

William “Bill” Rooney, of Snoqualmie, died June 7, 2009 in Bellevue. 

Bill was born July 31, 1926, in Bellshill, Scotland. His family immigrated to New Westminster, B.C. Canada when Bill was six weeks old. He was raised and went to school in New Westminster. Bill joined the Canadian Navy in June 1943, serving until the end of World War II, Nov. 1945. After leaving the Navy, Bill moved to Seattle to reside with his mother and step-father, Maggie and William Conklin. He later moved to Snoqualmie in 1948, where he went to work for the Weyerhaeuser Company as a truck mechanic in the logging industry. He retired from Weyerhaeuser in 1986 after 37 years.

He married Vera M. Wilson on March 29, 1951 and took up residence in the Snoqualmie area. After 53 years of marriage and raising two children, his dearest loving wife preceded him in death on March 26, 2004.

Bill enjoyed fishing, golfing, gardening, helping others, puttering and making different projects to please his very precious wife. And, anything else he might do in the presence of his dear wife that they might share together.

Survivors include his son Owen W. Rooney of Snoqualmie, and his daughter Gayle C. Bernsen of Duvall; three grandchildren; sister Peggy Ortis, of Snoqualmie. He was preceded in death by his lovely wife, Vera in 2004.

A memorial mass was held 10 a.m., Thursday, June 18, 2009 at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Snoqualmie. 

Friends are invited to view photos, get directions and share memories in the family’s online guest book at www.flintofts.com.  Arrangements are entrusted to Flintoft’s Funeral Home and Crematory.

“Every time we went out, we’d go out here to go to the track,” eighth-grader Emma Greer said. “We were always tromping through the plants.”

The plants were worse for the wear, but Spiess had trouble getting his students to change their walking patterns. After some thinking, he found a way to save the leafy bushes and teach students at the same time. 

Chelsie Brannan, left, and Samantha Haverfield sweep sand between the cracks of the new brick path at Twin Falls Middle School.

Spiess gave the students the assignment of building a brick path. After taking his pre-algebra class, the 22 eighth-graders had the geometry skills to measure the path, calculate its area and volume and determine how many bricks they needed.

Spiess wrote a grant to the Twin Falls PTSA, which began shopping around for good prices on materials. When Ace Hardware in North Bend heard about the project, they decided to donate all of the supplies, including the gravel, sand, cement blocks and even some advice. 

“Basically, we’re in a position where the community supports us and we find ways to support the community,” Ace Store Manager Chris McCartney said.

After talking with supplier Basalite Concrete Products, LLC, McCartney got a discount on the cement blocks, as well.

With their supplies secured, Spiess asked his students to put their math skills to the test. They each designed a scale drawing on paper. Next, Spiess gave each student 15 blocks and asked them to recreate their pattern on the science patio, before voting on their favorite.

Eighth-grader LeeAnna Tomlinson won the contest. 

“I just kind of put bricks together,” said Tomlinson, who was happy to leave her mark on Twin Falls. “It’s actually kind of cool because you get to put something that you thought of in school.”

Spiess put out the word about the project, and soon teachers from all over the school had brought in shovels and rakes for the pre-algebra students to use. For the next four weeks, students transplanted plants, dug out the path, laid in gravel and sand and placed the cement blocks in a pattern according to Tomlinson’s design. 

The gravel and sand help stabilize the blocks from underneath. Once the students laid down the blocks, they filled its cracks with sand. 

Each student also contributed something more than math prowess and physical labor. 

“We made cement bricks with our handprints,” eighth-grader Connor Reece said. 

At the path’s dedication the last week of school, eighth-grade student Omri Reeves rode his unicycle across the path.

In the end, the students said they enjoyed connecting their math skills to a real-world application. McCartney commended them, as well.

“They used it as a learning tool for educational purposes in math and actually built something they can be proud of,” McCartney said.

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.