By Michele Mihalovich Chad Reynolds stands in front of the remains of his charred apartment, which was burned in a Thanksgiving Day fire at the Mount Si Court Apartments in North Bend. Someone later stole jewelry and electronics from the vacant apartment.

Chad Reynolds’ luck went from bad to worse. His family was one of six who lost their homes in last year’s Thanksgiving fire at the Mount Si Court Apartments in North Bend.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, someone broke into the vacant apartment and stole electronics and jewelry that hadn’t been damaged in the fire.

Reynolds said his wife became suspicious when she received a phone call on Christmas Eve day from her 9-year-old son’s cellphone, a phone the family knew was in the charred apartment.

He said they called the number back and a man answered, saying someone had sold him the cellphone.

Reynolds said he then asked the apartment manager if he could go back to the apartment and check on it, which happened the last week of December.

And getting in was no easy task, he said. The manager had to unlock a security fence and then unscrew plywood securing the Reynolds’ door. That is when Reynolds discovered his wife’s heirloom jewelry, a laptop, Xbox, Blackberry and other items, totaling more than $3,000, were missing from the apartment.

“Whoever did this took their time,” Reynolds said. “They took the expensive jewelry and left the costume stuff. They also had to unscrew each screw to remove the plywood.”

The one thing the thief didn’t have to do was get over the security fence, which didn’t go up until a week after the fire, he said.

Reynolds reported the break-in to police Jan. 2, and learned that his apartment was the only one with missing items.

North Bend Police Chief Mark Toner agrees that the break-in probably happened before all of the apartment security measures were in place.

“Thieves are bad enough, let alone hitting the victims when they are particularly vulnerable due to circumstances out of their control,” he said.

The Reynolds family is now living at Rock Creek Ridge apartment in North Bend. Reynolds said the property management for that apartment complex is the same that manages Mount Si, and they are the ones who got them resettled into the new apartment.

He said the “Rock Creek people,” who were responsible for securing the damaged apartment complex, have been very good to his family.

“Nobody is the bad guy here,” he said. “Except the criminal who stole our stuff.”

Michele Mihalovich: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com.

Doug McClelland, assistant region manager for the South Puget Sound Region, led the presentation part of the open house, held at Snoqualmie Middle School.

He said the main planning focus is going to be on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie area and the Raging River State Forest, to decide what recreational opportunities should be in the area, and whether any areas should be closed to recreation.

“We want to see how we should manage these areas for the next 10 to 15 years,” he said. “And we want to see if there are opportunities for connections to other areas. Not just DNR lands to DNR lands, but also DNR lands to North Bend, Snoqualmie, Issaquah and Preston.”

Map courtesy Washington Department of Natural Resources Map depicts the 53,000-acre area known as the Snoqualmie Corridor. The Washington Department of Natural Resources is trying to determine the recreational uses and possible restrictions.

Those “connections” could be roads, multiuse recreational trails or commuter bike routes.

Laura Cooper, a University of Washington graduate student helping the department with the project, told the group that the open house was the first of seven phases the project would go through before possible adoption in fall 2013.

She said the department would take a close look at the land itself, taking into account riparian, wetland and other habitats. Officials are also going to inventory fish-bearing and nonfish-bearing streams and conduct biological and geographical mappings of the area.

The department set up listening stations, where personnel listed feedback from the public about topics such as trail connections, current recreation uses at Middle Fork Snoqualmie and Mount Si, and concerns about opening up more areas to recreation.

As soon as people said they would like to see better access to trails already in the area, another person would say that a paved road takes away from the natural beauty and ruggedness of the area.

A man named Brad, who didn’t want to give his last name, said he’s concerned that paved roads would increase what’s already prolific in the area, “beer bottles and used condoms.”

Additionally, department staff had written down that one person asked for better equestrian access and camping, but the very next comment was to minimize horse trails due to high maintenance costs.

A woman from the Snoqualmie Tribe wanted to make sure that all sacred tribal sites were protected, while another woman said she was concerned about the spread of noxious weeds and wanted to make sure the department had a plan in place for quick eradication. Mountain bikers expressed their concerns about losing their network of illegal trails. As it stands now, there is one legal mountain bike trail in the area, off the Little Fork Trail. It’s a multiuse trail, and mountain bikers can only use it every other day and only in the summer, said Mike, who would not give his last name.

Because of limited trails for mountain bikers, several “bootleg” trails have been created in the past four to 10 years, he said.

“And they are very well- maintained and not creating any erosion problems,” he said.

But the public also listed illegal mountain bike trails as a concern in the corridor.

McClelland said people could sign up for email updates and that an online survey would be available soon for more public input.

On the Web

Learn more about the Snoqualmie Corridor at www.dnr.wa.gov/Recreation-Education/Topics/Recreation-Planning/Pages/amp_rec_ snoqualmie_corridor_recre.aspx.

The donation will be matched by the UW’s matching fund initiative, yielding a total of $200,000.

“The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe is proud to support the House of Learning longhouse on the University of Washington campus,” Tribal Administrator Matt Mattson said. “The contributions of native people to the history of this region will be respectively and appropriately symbolized and represented at the state’s most high profile institution of higher learning.

The Intellectual House will be an asset to the campus and a tremendous resource for native students going through the university experience.”

Tribal involvement has been a priority for the UW, according to the press release. In addition to the engagement of Native American students, faculty and staff in various planning committees, tribal representatives have also served on the project’s Planning Advisory Committee and Elder’s Committee.

For nearly 40 years, community members have envisioned the construction of a facility that will pay tribute to the historical presence of the tribes and the vital role they continue to play in the nation and in the local community.

Thanks to the work of renowned Choctaw architect Johnpaul Jones, the UW Intellectual House longhouse will itself be a work of art that distinguishes itself from other campus buildings while honoring Native American culture and traditions, according to the press release.

Learn more about the 19,000-square-foot longhouse, scheduled to open in 2014, at www.washington.edu/diversity/tribal_relations/hok/index.shtml.

This year’s theme is “Trees are Terrific in All Shapes and Sizes.”

Contest details, such as poster size, medium and submission requirements, are posted on the city’s website at www.cityofsnoqualmie.org in “Events & Activities” in the middle of the page. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 24. More information about the upcoming Arbor Day event, which will be held April 21 at Railroad Park in downtown Snoqualmie, will be out soon. Call 831-5784 or email info@ci.snoqualmie.wa.us.

The county has waived the fee to help residents speed up repair to their property, she said. Priority service will be given for damaged structures requiring permits for repairs.

Request a damage assessment inspection by calling 206-296-6630 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

King County Republican Party officials and Republicans statewide plan to hold caucuses March 3. Interest in the caucuses is high, party officials said, amid a spirited nomination battle.

In King County, GOP leaders plan to group multiple precincts at central caucus locations. The consolidation is meant to reduce confusion among potential caucusgoers.

Officials organized caucus sites at locations throughout the 5th Legislative District, which stretches from Issaquah to the Snoqualmie Pass, and from Sammamish to Maple Valley.

The rough-and-tumble contest for the GOP nomination means Washington could offer a crucial boost to a candidate. In 2008, Democrats still faced a nomination clash between Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, but John McCain emerged as the presumptive Republican nominee long before the Evergreen State caucuses.

“Washington is generally out of the loop,” Issaquah political consultant Terry LaBrue said. “The northwest corner of the U.S. is considered deep blue country. We’re not a player.”

But the potential for a long road to the nomination — and a chance to put a stamp on the state-by-state campaign — boosted voter interest.

“Fortunately or unfortunately, it seems as though everything for politics has kicked into gear six months early,” said Bob Brunjes, 5th District GOP chairman and a Snoqualmie resident. “We’re getting unprecedented calls. People are calling and wanting to know where to go and wanting to know what the process is.”

State legislators suspended the 2012 presidential primary in order to save the cash-strapped state about $10 million, although the primary generated more interest among voters.

In 2008, fewer than 100,000 people participated in caucuses statewide, but 1.4 million voters cast ballots in the primary.

(Local Democrats plan to hold caucuses April 15, but Obama does not face a challenge for the nomination.)

Come caucus Saturday, participants select a candidate in a straw poll and then elect candidate delegates to the county convention. The straw poll is meant as a snapshot of candidates’ support. The delegates elected to the convention determine actual support.

State GOP leaders use results from caucuses and party conventions to gauge support for candidates, and then — at the state convention — elect delegates to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.

The local party is planning for the caucus crowd to double from 2008. Organizers also expect to see a shift in caucusgoers.

“The demographic is a lot younger now,” Brunjes said. “It truly is the moms and dads in their late 30s and early 40s. They’re much more involved than they ever have been.”

The local affair differs from the most-celebrated caucus: Iowa, a quadrennial kickoff for presidential nomination clashes.

“We don’t have the candidates out here. We don’t have $6 million in television advertising. We don’t have the satellite TV dishes or the candidates’ buses,” LaBrue said. “It’s really low-key.”

How voters choose candidates is universal. Organizers said most caucusgoers conduct research beforehand and arrive prepared to discuss a chosen candidate.

“There are some people that philosophically support certain things. Some people support personalities. Some people decide on the spot — or change their mind,” LaBrue said. “I mean, it’s all possible.”

5th Legislative District caucus site

 Snoqualmie Valley and Preston

•  Mount Si High School Commons
•  8651 Meadowbrook Road Snoqualmie

Get involved

Local Republican leaders expect a crowd for the March 3 caucuses to help determine the GOP nominee for president.

Registration for the caucuses starts at 9 a.m. and the caucuses start at 10 a.m.

If a voter intends to participate in the process, he or she must bring identification and proof of voter registration to the caucus site. A voter must caucus in the precinct where he or she is registered to vote. (King County voter registration cards contain precinct information.)

Washington does not have partisan voter registration, but you must be willing to sign a form declaring you “consider yourself to be a Republican” at the caucus site, and also agree not to participate in any other party’s 2012 nominating caucuses.

The increased interest in the caucuses prompted the King County Republican Party to develop a caucus locator for people interested in the process, www.kcgop.org/caucus-locator. Or call 990-0404 for caucus sites.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

That was the attitude among Snoqualmie Valley School District leaders regarding the Washington State Supreme Court’s 7-2 ruling that stated the Legislature is not living up to its constitutional mandate to fund basic education.

“It could not have been better news for education,” Superintendent of Valley Schools Joel Aune said. “Does that mean that K-12 will be immune in the coming legislative session? Only time will tell.”

The ruling came in the so-called NEWS lawsuit, filed in 2007 and named for the coalition of school districts, teachers unions and education advocates that led the suit. The Snoqualmie Valley School Board repeatedly expressed its support for the lawsuit.

The group known as the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools asked the court to help enforce a 1978 ruling that also said the state was not living up to its paramount duty to pay for basic kindergarten through 12th-grade education.

In the conclusion of its ruling, the court majority opinion stated that Article IX, Section 1 of the state Constitution makes it the “paramount duty of the state to amply provide for the education of all children within its borders.”

“The state has failed to meet its duty under Article IX, Section 1 by consistently providing school districts with a level of resources that falls short of the actual costs of the basic education program,” the opinion further states.

The decision comes while district leaders prepare for a rough six months of budget planning.

Gov. Chris Gregoire’s budget might impact the district to the tune of up to $1 million, said Ryan Stokes, the district’s finance director. Aune and newly sworn-in school board member Geoff Doy calculated that to be the equivalent of 12 to 14 teaching jobs, although nothing is set yet. Doy’s new colleagues offered dire warnings of what lies ahead.

“I was really scared last year,” board member Scott Hodgins said. “And this is a bigger cut.”

Aune agreed.

“After three to four years of heavy-duty reductions, we don’t have many cards to play,” he said. “There are no more aces in the deck.”

The court’s ruling means, if not a reshuffling of the deck, at least a new, better-looking hand. Aune asked the audience at the Jan. 12 school board meeting to reach out to legislators.

“Let them know this is no small decision,” he said.

The court recognized that the Legislature had redefined education and is due to increase support in 2018. It decided to continue to review the case until then, at least. Aune wondered how the Legislature would fill the multimillion-dollar gap in six years.

Aune called the Legislature’s track record when complying with the Constitution “terrible” and said he hoped that the courts would come through with their promise to watch that.

State Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-Fall City, said the ruling seems to mean the court intends to watch the Legislature to see if it follows through with education reforms already in the works.

He said funding education is something the state should have been doing right all along.

Anderson is the sponsor of a bill that would require legislators to fund basic education first, and then move on to all other matters.

The legislation first was proposed four years ago, according to Anderson who said that during that time, state Democrats have put education in the same basket as other state needs, cutting it right along with other programs.

“That’s nuts,” he said, arguing that studies show investment in education ultimately leads to reductions in the amount of spending needed for social programs.

The eagerness of some politicians to still consider K-12 an option for cuts worries Aune.

“While I’m hopeful,” he said, “it’s concerning to me that some legislators said in the wake of the decision that K-12 cuts are still on the table.”

He added that no Valley-area legislator had said that.

State Rep. Jay Rodne, R-North Bend, said he supports the Supreme Court’s decision and believes it will be the necessary catalyst to ensure the Legislature gets serious about this issue.

“It is clear to me, and the court agrees, that our state is not adequately funding basic education. Our students and schools deserve better than this and state lawmakers must now deliver on the court’s expectations,” Rodne said.

The amount of funding for K-12 schools continues to drop as a percentage of the state budget, Rodne added. That percentage was 46 percent 30 years ago and now sits at 43 percent.

“Not only do we need to increase this percentage, but the Legislature must understand that other state programs do not rise to the level of importance as education,” he said.

For now, Aune smiled when talking about the court’s decision.

“It’s a very positive day for K-12,” he said. “It will do nothing but help. The question is how.”

A huge thank you to everyone who braved the snow and cold to attend the Mount Si High School Jazz Band fundraiser at Boxley’s on Jan. 17.

We were able to raise more than $2,000 to help these kids represent Mount Si and the Snoqualmie Valley at the Savannah Music Festival’s Swing Central High School Jazz Band Competition & Workshop in Savannah, Ga., in late March. Earlier in the day, these young musicians spent three hours rehearsing with and learning from Wycliffe Gordon, jazz trombonist and current faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music in New York.

Gordon was sent from Swing Central to do a clinic in advance of the festival. He was a brave soul himself, driving from Battleground to us during Snowpacolypse 2012! A big thank you to him for his gift of time and talent. In addition, and as always, Boxley’s Danny Kolke (and his family) opened their doors not only for the morning session (since the schools were closed) but also for a warm place for good food, good music and fundraising. We are so lucky to have Boxley’s and all that they do as part of our community.

Thanks again to all who supported these kids. This is an expensive trip (roughly $1,000 per person).

If you were unable to make it but would like to support us, you can still make a tax-deductible donation either online via PayPal at www.jazz-attheclub.com (click the “Donate” button on the left menu) or by sending a check payable to MSHS Band Boosters, P.O. Box 92, North Bend, WA 98045. Please put “Swing Central” in the memo line. We have less than a month left to raise funds.

Jane-Ellen A. Seymour

MSHS Band Boosters Board

What a place

It was midnight Jan. 13 when the truck I was driving from Eastern Oregon to Puyallup lost power. I knew I was in trouble and decided to take the next and last exit to North Bend before it completely shut down.

Traveling with a 2-year-old and 5-week-old to visit my folks, this panicking mom called her husband, who she left behind several hours and miles ago. He informed her the alternator was failing and she had better find a hotel fast. Just then the truck died on Main Street near the railroad tracks. Fortunately for me, after Googling lodging on my smart phone I was .1 miles from the North Bend Motel.

The kind gentleman answering the phone told me there was a vacancy and he drove his car to meet me, chauffeuring two crying children and a desperate mom to his motel. He even unlocked the door and turned the heat on for my arrival. A little later I received a phone call from Deputy Tim Langan asking my room information (my husband called police notifying them of the disabled vehicle’s location).

Langan said he would make sure the truck was secured and in a safe place, but to my surprise and overwhelming gratitude, he unloaded my entire truck — suitcases, food, port-a-crib, coats, kid toys, etc. — reloaded them into his patrol car and brought them to me. He said he wasn’t sure what I would need and he wanted my things to be safe. Talk about above and beyond!

The next morning my truck was towed to Ron’s Auto Service, where they thoroughly charged my batteries after replacing the alternator and drove the truck to my location (all before check out time). The town and people of North Bend are amazing. An unpleasant situation was completely turned around because of the kind, caring people I met who went out of their way. Thank you to everyone who assisted me. To anyone who breaks down in the middle of the night on a road trip — make sure it’s near this town!

Leanna May

La Grande, Ore.

For example, there are many city councils and school boards around the state that still think it’s OK to spend a couple of days at a resort for an annual retreat of council members.

Even if participants pay for their own rooms, the costs get higher than need be.

The size of a city or its budget should matter when it comes to setting a good example.

We wholeheartedly believe City Council members need time together for less formal talks to get better acquainted and to set annual goals for themselves and the city administration.

Keeping the retreats local not only makes it more available for interested citizens and city employees to attend and listen, but also keeps city costs to a reasonable level.

North Bend City Clerk Susie Oppedal said the total cost of the City Council retreat held Jan. 27 at Boxley’s restaurant was just $568.86. This included a continental breakfast and lunch for 17. The city didn’t even bring in a facilitator.

We expect the cost for the Snoqualmie City Council retreat was very similar, held at the city’s fire station meeting room Jan. 30-31.

Choosing to keep costs at a minimum is responsible government at its best.

Spending money at local businesses gets another round of applause.

Adam Gorski, a landscape architect from North Bend, has created “Grunge Garden,” a leafy display of evergreens, willows, sequoias and other greenery reminiscent of the music that captured Seattle’s and the world’s attention in the early 1990s.

The plants and trees have been shaped to look like a guitar, a set of drums and a pair of grunge-y boots.

By Sebastian Moraga A drum set doubling as a water feature is the centerpiece of ‘Grunge Garden,’ a leafy tribute to the music that dominated the 1990s. Its creator, Cornell grad Adam Gorski, graduated from high school in 1994, and paid tribute to the tunes of his youth with this garden, which includes amplifiers and a Pearl Jam song.

Gorski reached in and reached out when producing this piece. He reached out to friend Davey French, guitarist for Everclear and Snoqualmie resident, for advice.

And he reached in to his memories of high school in the 1990s.

“I remember graduating high school in 1994,” said Gorski, owner of Gorski Landscapes, who attended high school in Rochester, N.Y. “Everywhere in the whole country, Seattle music was at the forefront.”

When Kurt Cobain died in 1994, Gorski said, many classmates took the day off. Looking back, he added, classmates may have used the rocker’s death as an excuse to skip class.

Gorski said his friend French suggested which instruments to emulate.

“He said, ‘When I was young, I would have used these drums, these amplifiers and this guitar,’” Gorski said. “‘I would have found the ones that were the cheapest, just to start out.’”

Gorski said he wrapped tables in the piece with flannel because that’s what grunge rockers would have worn back then.

The piece took about two and a half days to create, 20 hours of work. He got the idea about 10 months ago.

Gorski said he wanted strong colors in the plants he used: sequoias, four different types of rhododendron in bloom, dwarf needle-leaf evergreens and willows.

“If I was to close my eyes, and to imagine what music would look like, music that is faster paced would have been lots of color,” he said.

The 20-by-30 piece will be on display at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show from Feb. 8-12 at the Washington State Convention Center, 800 Convention Place, Seattle.

The piece will have a QR code, which if activated will play a Pearl Jam song. The song, of course, is “The Garden.”

As much as he loves gardens and plants, Gorski owns a business. So, he may be excused if he’s thinking of a different type of green, too.

“About a third of my business comes from the garden show,” he said. “About 50,000 to 70,000 people come through the show every year.”

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.

Meat me out front

An Elderberry Avenue Southeast resident reported to police that at 2:45 p.m. Jan. 30 a man in a white van approached her and her children while they were in the garage. She said he asked if her family were “meat-eaters.”

He apparently was selling meat. She asked him to leave, but he went to the front door and knocked. He eventually left.

North Bend Police

Drive much?

Clue that you might have had too much to drink? It’s when a deputy in a patrol car has to slam on his brakes to avoid your black SUV, which is heading straight for him.

King County Deputy Shaman Wicklund reported the incident happening at 3 a.m. Jan. 24 at West Fourth Street in North Bend.

Wicklund said the driver, Keith Anthony Forte, 39, of Redmond, said he had just consumed “one shot and one beer at the last call” before leaving Snoqualmie Casino.

Forte’s blood alcohol content readings registered a .108 and .103 percent; the legal limit is .08 percent. He was taken to the Issaquah Jail.

My uncle has the munchies

A 29-year-old Issaquah woman was issued a citation Jan. 29 for shoplifting pudding tubs and ice cream from Safeway in North Bend. Police say the woman told them she was taking care of a sick uncle and she couldn’t afford the foods he enjoys eating.

She also told police she’d been arrested in Issaquah the previous week for the same thing. Police noticed a syringe with a brown liquid in her purse and that she appeared to be under the influence of some kind of intoxicant.

She was taken to the Swedish emergency room in Issaquah for medical attention.

Irreconcilable differences

Two male truck drivers who were riding together as a team apparently had a falling out, with one of the drivers leaving in the truck and stranding the other at Truck Town in North Bend.

The stranded man, who lives in Utah, came out of a restaurant Jan. 18, only to discover the truck and all his possessions gone. When he called the company to report the incident, he was told the other driver no longer wanted him as a relief driver.

The company representative told police that the stranded man’s property would be mailed to his residence.

Work at the Si View Community Center will follow a complete overhaul of Tollgate Park worth more than $3.5 million.

“We are in the process of putting a new roof on the center, and then we will do the siding,” said Travis Stombaugh, executive director of the district. “Two-thirds of the siding of the building has been taken off.

The last part of the work on the community center will entail retrofitting the building’s seismic standards.

Map courtesy Si View Metropolitan Park District The rendering above shows what Si View Park might look in the future. Work on three different locations will start this year. Both the park and the Si View Community Center, along with Tollgate Park, will undergo changes in the months ahead.

“We are going to brace the foundation to where it connects to the joints,” Stombaugh said, “so that it’s stronger structurally and more able to withstand earthquakes.”

The work should be complete in six weeks, he said.

The second project happens at Si View Park, this summer.

Bidding will happen this May and work will start this summer on the rehabilitation of the park.

“If you ever walk our park you see two-foot swells,” Stombaugh said. “The project would level the entire park.”

It will also entail moving the bathrooms and concession stands to the middle of the park, create two new playground areas, an outdoor basketball court and a walking path around the park.

Then in 2013, the district will develop Tollgate Park, nestled between North Bend Way and state Route 202.

Developing the park will cost about $3.5 million in hard costs. Between contingency and taxes the total cost will reach $4 million.

“At Tollgate, there will be a trail around the perimeter,” Stombaugh said. “New cattle fencing to keep cattle in the middle, a parking lot, bathrooms, picnic areas, play structures and trail links so you can go all around there but also go downtown.”

The park district approved a master plan in 2007, and in 2010 voters approved a capital bond for the projects, Stombaugh said. According to the website for King County, the 2010 bond proposal passed with a 62.29 percent of the vote.

“You have 36 months to spend 85 percent of the proceeds of the bond,” Stombaugh said. “We sold the bonds in December of 2010, so we have to spend it by December 2013.”

The timing of it was one reason why it all happens now — interest rates are low; it’s a buyer’s market in the construction trade.

“We are following through on what we said we were going to do,” Stombaugh said.

He weighed 6 pounds and 15 ounces and measured 22 inches.

Chance Sebastian Adventure Lacefield

He joins siblings Rhiannon, 11, and Xander, 8.

His grandparents are Jennifer and Phil Lacefield Sr., of Middletown, Ohio, and

Galye Crawford, of Oxford, Mich.

Phil Jr. is employed by Frankie’s Pizza and Calye works at Emerald City Smoothie in North Bend.

The family has lived in the area for six years.

By Sebastian Moraga A picture of Lily Gallacher adorned the entrance to a room at the Snoqualmie Ridge Golf Course, where about 200 people gathered to remember the Cascade View Elementary School student who died in late January.

Those who had never met her cried.

Those who had met her and will miss her most laughed.

Lily Gallacher, a Cascade View Elementary School fourth-grader who died Jan. 18, was remembered Feb. 1 as a funny, talented, loving child who charmed everyone she met.

More than 200 people filled a room at the Snoqualmie Ridge Golf Course to reminisce about Gallacher. Boys and girls, adults and children alike, wore pink, Gallacher’s favorite color, as a tribute.

Ron Gallacher, Lily’s father, spoke of the long odds his daughter faced right from the start. She was born with a rare form of bone dysplasia that made it difficult for her to breathe.

For two years, she had to be fed through a tube.

“For a child, especially an ice cream-loving child, it was such a challenge,” Ron said.

Ron spoke of valleys, but also of peaks in his daughter’s life.

“It gave her such a joy to be part of ‘The Nutcracker,’” he said. “It was something that was very special to her.”

Lily participated in an International Ballet Theatre production with her sister Nancy in 2009.

Home-schooled for a few years, Lily’s first day of school was an even bigger occasion than it is for most children.

“When she finally went to school,” Ron said, “she had an explosion of joy.”

While the novelty of school may have faded, the joy Lily exuded never did.

“I believe our students saw her as a giant,” Cascade View Principal Ray Wilson said. “She may have entered that room as the smallest person there, but she packed that room with enthusiasm.”

During lunch hour, Lily liked to sit at three or four different tables, Wilson said. The week after she died, the students at those tables left a seat open for Lily.

“I asked why,” Wilson said, “and they said Lily was there.”

Wilson also referred to Lily’s health struggles, saying her lesson to others was it’s not what happens to you but how you respond to it. Lily responded with optimism and laughter.

Few knew that better than Wilson, who once helped Lily with a stubborn juice box and ended up drenched.

“She looked at me and said, ‘Nice job, Mr. Spill-son,’” Wilson said, as the watery-eyed crowd guffawed.

Nothing was more special to Lily than her family, her father said.

One time, her parents asked her about what kind of car she would like to have if given the chance. Her answer portrayed her better than the sharpest photograph.

“We thought she would say a sports car,” Ron said. “She said a van or an RV, because she wanted something she could drive her family around in.”

Slideshows and videos of Lily singing rap songs through sign language closed the ceremony, as the afternoon turned into evening. Chaplain Martin Redman asked that the phone calls and letters to Lily’s family not stop, because laughs aside, the grieving continues.

“She was my precious little princess,” said Ron, his voice breaking. “She brought so much joy, and our family will never be the same.”

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.

“I just got really bored in my horticulture class and just started doodling,” Mount Si High School student Sydney Tulip said.

She doodled the profile of an Indian from South America. She had researched the Indians earlier that week, after she — you guessed it — got bored.

“I like to do mindless research,” she said.

By Sebastian Moraga At right, Hannah Granby stands next to “A Little Bit of Heaven,” left, and “Self-Portrait,” right.

Then, she submitted the doodle to the North Bend Library’s teen art contest, and won first place.

Tulip submitted two other pieces, none of which placed, but all of which have something in common to the Indian doodle. They all show a person from the side, including herself.

“Sometimes I really get bored,” she said. “And I draw myself. I like profiles and I like my nose.”

Tulip drew the Indian doodle with pencils and then worked the background with watercolor.

“I’m very surprised I won first place. It feels pretty awesome,” Tulip said.

The contest, in its second year, gathered 88 pieces of art.

Middle schooler Prema Pongrakthai submitted a recycled bag she made from a pair of pants, a sewn hot pad and a painting.

Eighth-grader Nari Emerson submitted a self-portrait made from ripped construction paper. She finished third among middle schoolers.

Brooke Bonner submitted a painting she made from a picture she took.

Bonner finished in second place among high school students. She finished third last year.

“I don’t think I’ll stop painting,” said Bonner, a senior and budding photographer. “But it’s sad that this is my last show.”

Bonner took photos of flowers and made paintings of the photos, mixing a longtime passion of hers and her new one.

“This summer, I saved up money for a nice camera,” she said. “I took my friend’s senior photos. It’s a great tool for painting.”

Her work in the contest depicts plenty of vivid color.

“I like to play with color,” Bonner said. “I like art that is pretty to look at and makes people happy.”

Hannah Granby won first place among middle school students for a sort-of self-portrait. Sort-of because she painted herself with a steaming cup of coffee, something she rarely ever drinks.

So, why did a 12-year-old girl put a cup of coffee in her depiction of herself?

“I just think it’s really cute,” she said.

First-place winners in both categories got a $50 gift certificate to an arts supplies store. Second- and third-place students won $25 gift certificates.

“It’s amazing,” Granby said of her triumph. “So many amazing artists have entered this competition, I feel very lucky.”

Sarah Lynch, teen services librarian for the Snoqualmie and North Bend branches of the King County Library System, praised the group Friends of the North Bend Library for organizing and bankrolling the contest and its awards.

Lynch said the children’s work will hang from the walls of the North Bend branch until Feb. 29.

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.

The academy will occur during the Wintergrass Music Festival, Feb. 23-24, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bellevue. It will feature music educators from Washington, California, Oregon and Ohio.

The winner of the scholarship will receive a four-day pass for the festival, according to a Grange press release.

Applicants for the scholarship must submit a short essay about why they should win. Letters of recommendation are optional.

Applicants must include name, school, grade and contact information, and send the application to the Sallal Grange and Community Hall, P.O. Box 1688, North Bend, WA 98045. They may also email it to info@sallalgrange.org.

The deadline is Feb. 10.

Wallace will receive a $100 gift certificate to the Woodman Lodge, a massage gift certificate from Therapeutic Health and a plaque.

Cascade View Elementary School teacher Calla Kinghorn won the award in November and North Bend Elementary School teacher Alan Tepper won it in September. The October and December awards went to Issaquah School District teachers.

By Sebastian Moraga Make room for the champions: Mount Si wrestlers crowd the podium during and after the KingCo Conference championships Feb. 4 at Liberty. Mount Si won its first conference championship since 2007.

The Mount Si Wildcats wrestling team put on one of its finest performances of the season, winning the KingCo Conference championships Feb. 4. Ryley Absher, Mitch Rorem and Josh Mitchell won conference championships, with Rorem defeating teammate Tyler Hutchinson for the 195-pound crown.

Third place or better earned wrestlers a ticket to the Feb. 11 regionals at Skyline High School.

Eli Clure finished second at 106 pounds. Bruce Stuart finished third and Aaron Peterson finished second at 138 pounds. Tye Rodne finished second at 145 pounds. AJ Brevick finished third at 160 pounds. Tim Corrie finished third at 182 pounds.

Fourth-place wrestlers will travel to Skyline as alternates. Wilkins Melgaard, Justin Edens, Davis Glass and Nate Whited finished fourth at 126, 132, 152 and 220 pounds, respectively.

“We continue to work on our kids and tell them that they gotta trust and believe in the process and see it through,” Wildcat head coach Tony Schlotfeldt said.

Bigger prizes await the team, with regionals on Feb. 11 and state seven days later. Schlotfeldt said his wrestlers’ real goal is returning the red-and-gray singlet to prominence.

“They have been told they are part of a tradition,” Schlotfeldt said. “Their job is to bring back the tradition Mount Si is known for.”

Taking at least 10 wrestlers to regionals is a step in that direction, as it’s the most wrestlers Mount Si has taken to regionals with Schlotfeldt as coach.

Two of those wrestlers entered their final match already qualified for regionals. Rorem and Hutchinson wrestled each other for the top spot.

“It’s always awkward wrestling a teammate,” Rorem said. “But we’ve been friends a long time.”

Seconds after Rorem pinned Hutchinson, the two shared a laugh and a pat on the back while they cooled off.

“We know each other’s moves,” Hutchinson said. “So it’s just a matter of time before one of us gets more tired. Besides, we’re both happy we are going to regionals.”

One, it is so loud inside with 53 cheerleading teams competing that arena staff members sell earplugs for two bucks a pop. And two, a fast recovery after a big misstep is the only thing that will keep you in the competition.

That is what the Mount Si High School’s silver squad learned Feb. 4 at state, when the team’s pyramid collapsed early in its routine.

“We did really good except for one slip-up in the beginning,” 17-year-old Jannel Rasmussen said. “From that point on, we got our confidence back and we only went up from there.”

By Michele Mihalovich Mount Si High School cheerleaders compete at the state championships Feb. 4 at Comcast Arena in Everett.

And that fast recovery paid off for the squad, because they were only one of two teams that received a trophy in the “nontumbling 2A/3A” category.

The silver squad scored 192 points, versus Steilacoom, which earned 205.

“I was so excited for my silver squad,” Cheer Coach Jessii Stevens said. “They had one drop, but really recovered and ended strong. There were 10 teams in their division and we hadn’t seen a lot of them compete, so we didn’t know what to expect from the other teams. My silver squad really worked on cleaning their routine in the past couple weeks and it showed at state.”

Mount Si’s second team, the red squad, also competed at state, but didn’t come away with a trophy, which only goes to the top two highest scoring teams in each category.

They placed fourth in the “small” category, behind Eastlake, Oak Harbor and Union schools.

“After reviewing our state routine video many times, it was obvious that our girls hadn’t ‘put on a show,’ which is what you need to do to score well … with the judges,” Stevens said. “In addition, we had some sloppiness and bobbles that you can’t have at state and expect to place with.”

“I think we had a good routine that had a lot of potential. I just wish we had executed it better,” Chloe Villanueva, a senior on the red squad, said. “I think we’re a lot better than what we showed, but I’m really glad about what we accomplished there.”

The 12 red squad teammates barely have time to mourn the less-than-stellar state showing, because on Feb. 9, the team heads to the National High School Cheerleading Championship at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla.

Qualifying for nationals has nothing to do with how a team performs at the state competition. Stevens said the team attended a cheer camp and won a bid to nationals.

Only five Washington high schools will compete at nationals, with the top performers being broadcast on ESPN, she said. Stevens said the girls only have a few days to work on their routine, which she changed up a little for the national competition.

“We are cleaning up sections of the routine and working on the showmanship aspect of being on the floor,” she said.

Stevens said Mount Si hasn’t competed in the nationals since 2004 or 2005.

“So, for this year, I just want my team to take it all in and really experience nationals. I want the girls to bring back what they see and learn so that it motivates the entire program to push themselves and strive for the level of competitiveness that you see at nationals” she said.

As for Villanueva, she said, “I’m super excited just to say I went there.”

Mount Si garnered a team score of 155.8 points out of 300, compared to Mercer Island’s second-place score of 150.525.

Both teams will advance to districts, the final qualifying event before the State Gymnastics Championships Feb. 18-19 at the Tacoma Dome.

By Michele Mihalovich The Mount Si High School Gymnastics team holds its first-place trophy at the KingCo Gymnastics Championship conference Feb. 4. From left are Mackenzie Brown, Hannah Richmond, Jenn Rogers, Carissa Castagno, Jessica Trotto, Lexi Swanson, Elizabeth Holmes and Hailey Johnson.

Coach Jessica Easthope said the floor category is typically the team’s strongest event, and that definitely was the case at Saturday’s tournament, held at Roosevelt High School in Seattle.

Four Mount Si girls placed in the top 10 positions on floor, with three Wildcats placing in the top three spots: Jenn Rogers scored 9.6 out of 10 points, Carissa Castagno scored 9.45 and MacKenzie Brown scored 9.25.

“We have strong tumbling paired with beautiful choreography that sets our floor routines apart from the other teams,” Easthope said.

She said she was particularly impressed with Brown’s performance because she had suffered an injury at the team’s last regular season meet.

“But she pulled it together for the two events she competed for us … and posted stellar scores. She scored a season high of 9.25 on floor. I knew the moment she stepped off the floor that it was going to be a 9-point-plus routine,” Easthope said.

In the bars event, three girls placed in the top five positions: Hannah Richmond scored 7.65, Rogers scored 7.4 and Castagno scored 7.3.

The Mount Si gymnasts had a pretty good showing in the vault event, as well.

Castagno, who took first place overall, scored 8.4 points. Brown came in fourth with a score of 8.275, Hailey Johnson placed fifth with an 8.15 score and Rogers, who placed ninth, received 8 points.

The Mount Si team did struggle in the balance beam event, with four of the six girls jumping off the beam, sometimes more than once, after losing their balance.

Coach Easthope said that the beam is usually a pretty strong event for the team.

“But that 4-inch-wide beam is mentally the toughest for anyone and sometimes it gets the best of us,” she said.

On Saturday, Castagno, who placed seventh in the beam event, earned a 7.575 score. Rogers placed just behind her with a 7.525 score and Richmond pulled in the 10th spot with a score of 6.9.

Easthope said the team will be working on the beam this week to prepare for districts.

“We are going to be on the beam a lot during practice this week and build our confidence,” she said.

Easthope said the team can’t get too comfortable, even though they beat Mercer Island.

“Mercer Island was a pretty close second and last year they edged us out at the districts competition,” she said, adding that Bainbridge High School looks like it would also bring some tough competition.

“But I have confidence in our girls … that we can compete … and come out with favorable results,” Easthope said.

Team scores

First place: Mount Si, 214.5 points

Second place: Mercer Island, 209 points

Third place: Bellevue, 203.5 points

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

“It’s finally final, it’s written down on paper,” said Josh Mitchell, after inking his letter of intent with Oregon State University Feb. 1. “I’ve been looking forward to it for some time, and it’s nice to have it done with.”

Letter of Intent Day was a big deal for Mitchell, a Mount Si High School senior who wore an orange OSU shirt to the event. Mitchell was one of four athletes signing letters of intent that day. A fifth, George Washington University-bound Maura Murphy, stayed home nursing a concussion suffered while playing her sport, softball.

By Sebastian Moraga Davis Karaica, Josh Mitchell, Reece Karalus and Nate Popp pose after signing letters of intent.

Three more student-athletes — Reece Karalus (Santa Clara), Davis Karaica (Seattle Pacific) and Nate Popp (Western Washington) — also signed.

“This is the first day that we get to know for sure what we will be doing for the next year of our life,” said Popp, a soccer player.

The cap-and-gown graduation waits, still a few months ahead, but for Karalus this was sort of a graduation.

“We grew up playing sports with a lot of these guys,” Karalus said “It’s exciting to have reached this point.”

The foursome offered advice to younger teammates on how to get to the day where they ink their own letters of intent.

“For soccer, it’s really important to contact the places you want to attend,” said Karaica, a booter like Popp. “So they know you are interested.”

Hard work is key, Karalus said.

“It’s really about hard work, and not just the field, but the classroom,” he said.

Hard work awaits for all five, as spring sports sit around the corner and Mitchell — barring a complete collapse of his undefeated season — will likely defend his state wrestling title mid-February.

On this day, though, hard work was for another day. Letter of Intent Day was a day to release a great big sigh.

“It takes the pressure off,” Karalus said. “Now you don’t have to impress anyone.”

Those six minutes disappeared, and so did the first six and a half minutes in the fourth quarter.

During that 12-minute span, the Wildcats scored two points.

Those who braved the cold to attend the last home game of the regular season saw a team do anything and everything it could do to score a basket. The rim just kept saying nice try.

Liberty prevailed, 53-42.

“We came out and let them decide the tempo,” the Wildcats’ Tyler Button said. “It kind of got out of hand out there.”

The first half ended tied at 27, with Mount Si erasing a first-quarter Liberty lead, the Patriots hustling back to the lead and the Wildcats’ Jason Smith nailing a three for the last basket of the half.

Many fans expected big things out of the second half, as coach Steve Helm had dubbed the Patriots’ game “huge.”

Jumpers by Anthony McLaughlin and Ryan Atkinson were the opening salvos for the second stanza. The Patriots nailed a two-pointer of their own to cut the Wildcats’ lead to two. By the time Mount Si scored again, another Atkinson basket, Liberty was ahead by four and would not look back.

“We could have sealed the fifth seed,” McLaughlin said after the game. “We still have the opportunity to upset Lake Washington tomorrow and I think we can do it.”

The next day, the Mount Si Wildcats looked capable of upsetting the Kangs on their home court. They hung basket for basket with the hosts for two quarters and got to halftime tied at 24, after tying the first quarter at 12.

From then on, the Kangs outscored the Wildcats, 37-18. McLaughlin finished with 13 points to lead all Wildcats. Atkinson had eight points and Levi Botten had six. The Kangs’ Darien Nelson-Henry, Matt Staudacher and Guy Lynott all scored in double figures.

The two losses forced Mount Si to hit the road once again and try to play spoiler in the first round of KingCo playoffs.

Mount Si played Mercer Island at Bellevue College Feb. 6 in a loser-out game. The Wildcats tried but the Islanders were too much for the exhausted Wildcats, who were playing their third game in five days.

Mount Si yielded to Mercer Island, 81-42.

•  Both cities’ offices will be closed Feb. 20 in observance of Presidents’ Day.
• North Bend Planning Commission, 7 p.m. Feb. 9, North Bend City Hall, 211 Main Ave. N.
• North Bend transportation and Public Works Committee, 3:45 p.m. Feb. 15, North Bend Public Works, 1155 E. North Bend Way
•  North Bend Economic Development Commission, 8 a.m. Feb. 16, Community and Economic Development, 126 E. Fourth St.
•  Snoqualmie Arts Commission, 5 p.m. Feb. 13, Snoqualmie City Hall, 38624 S.E. River St.
•  Snoqualmie City Council, 7 p.m. Feb. 13, Snoqualmie City Hall
•  Snoqualmie Community and Economic Affairs Committee, 5 p.m. Feb. 14, Snoqualmie City Hall
•  Snoqualmie Economic Development Commission, 8 a.m. Feb. 15, Snoqualmie City Hall
•  Snoqualmie Shoreline Hearings Board, 5 p.m. Feb. 15, Snoqualmie City Hall
•  Snoqualmie Public Safety Committee, 5 p.m. Feb. 16, Snoqualmie Fire Department, 37600 S.E. Snoqualmie Parkway

Music/entertainment

•  Aria Prame Duo, 9 p.m. Feb. 9, Boxley’s, 101 W. North Bend Way, 292-9307
•  Chris Morton Trio, 7 p.m. Feb. 10, Boxley’s
•  Jerry Harris, hypnotist, 7 p.m. Feb. 10, Snoqualmie Valley YMCA, 35018 S.E. Ridge St., Snoqualmie
•  Jay Thomas Quartet, 7 p.m. Feb. 11, Boxley’s
•  Jeremy Serwer, 8 p.m. Feb. 10, The Black Dog, 8062 Railroad Ave. S.E., Snoqualmie
•  Benefit performance, “Tits and Asphalt: Why I Walk For Breast Cancer,” 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 and 11, Valley Center Stage, 119 W. North Bend Way. Fee: donation. Email gary@valleycenterstage.org for reservations.
• Voodoos Acoustic Show, 9:30 p.m. Feb. 11, Finaghty’s Irish Pub, 7726 Center Blvd. S.E., Snoqualmie
• Forrest Roush, Snoqualmie Dance Party, Feb. 11, The Black Dog, call for time
•  Danny Kolke Trio, 6 p.m. Feb. 12, Boxley’s
• Carolyn Graye’s Singer Soiree, 7 p.m. Feb. 13. Boxley’s
•  Kelley Johnson and John Hansen, Valentine’s Day Special, 7 p.m. Feb. 14. Boxley’s
•  Randy Halberstadt, 7 p.m. Feb. 15, Boxley’s
•  Tim Kennedy and Jimmy Herrod, 7 p.m. Feb. 16. Boxley’s
•  Eastside Firefighters Pipes and Drums, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17, Finaghty’s Irish Pub
•  Magician Joe Black, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 17, Si View Community Center, 400 S.E. Orchard Drive, North Bend, 831-1900
•  Mike Antone and Camelia Jade, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17, The Black Dog
•  Milo Petersen Trio, 7 p.m. Feb. 17, Boxley’s
•  Brandon Keeley, 8 p.m. Feb. 18, The Black Dog
•  Kelly Eisenhour Quartet, 7 p.m. Feb. 18, Boxley’s
• The Holler, 8 p.m. Feb. 19, The Black Dog
•  Val D’Alessio and Jay Pinto, 8 p.m. Feb. 24, The Black Dog
•  Chris Kendziorski, 8 p.m. Feb. 25, The Black Dog

Events

•  Kids Night Out at Totz, 5:30-9:30 p.m. 249 Main Ave. S. First and third Fridays of the month. Drop off your children at Totz for a movie and snacks. Call 292-9477 to reserve your spot. $25 per child.
•  SnoValley Indoor Playground, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays when school is in session. Si View Community Center, 400 S.E. Orchard Drive. Donation of $1 per child per visit is appreciated.
•  “Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Tots,” 9:45-10:30 a.m. daily through Feb.14 at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, membership not required. Email trinayoga@gmail.com or call 443-6228 for more information. Six-week session is $80 plus $20 fee for nonTPC members. Four-week session is $55 plus registration fee.
•  “Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Tykes,” 10:45-11:30 a.m. daily through Feb. 14 at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge
•  Grand Opening Snoqualmie Valley Community Center, and Snoqualmie Valley YMCA, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 11 , Snoqualmie Community Center, 35018 S.E. Ridge St., Snoqualmie
•  SnoValley Idol Jr. auditions, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 11, Boxley’s, 101 W. North Bend Way. Call Si View Community Center to register, 831-1900. Singers must be 14 or younger and must register beforehand.
•  Sallal Grange Valentine’s Dance fundraiser, 7 p.m. Feb. 11. Tickets are $25. Funds will go toward House of Hope shelter for women and children. Child care provider Totz in North Bend will provide a special day care rate for parents attending the fundraiser. Call 445-2840.
•  Tween Night at Si View Community Center, 8:30-11 p.m. Feb. 17, $5 entrance fee
•  First Aid/CPR class, 9 a.m. Feb. 18, Snoqualmie Fire Station, 37600 S.E. Snoqualmie Parkway
•  Meet a Forest Service ranger, 7 p.m. Feb. 28, Fall City Library, 33415 S.E. 42nd Place. Learn about the outdoors and discover recreation opportunities from Forest Service rangers.

North Bend Library

The following events take place at the North Bend Library, 115 E. Fourth St. The library will be closed Feb. 20 for Presidents’ Day.

• Snoqualmie Valley Chess Club, 7 p.m. Thursdays. Learn to play chess or get a game going; all ages/skill levels welcome
•  Tax preparation assistance: 10 a.m. Wednesdays through April 11. Everyone welcome regardless of income and age.
• 2012 Teen Art Show is on display through Feb. 29 during library hours.
•  Study Zone, 4 p.m. Feb. 9 and 16, 3 p.m. Feb. 13, 3 p.m. Feb. 14, 7 p.m. Feb. 15, free tutoring for grades K-12
• Valentine’s Day Celebration, 3 p.m. Feb. 10. Come whether you love or hate Valentine’s Day. Valentine- making material and plenty of chocolate will be available.
•  SnoValley Writers Work Group, 3 p.m. Feb. 12. Contact snovalleywrites@gmail.com for assignment prior to class. Adults only.
•  Friends of the North Bend Library meeting, 9:30 a.m. Feb. 13
•  eReader Assistance, 6 p.m. Feb. 13. Learn how to download books to your eReader.
•  English as a Second Language classes, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 13. Learn English grammar, reading, writing and conversational skills.
•  Merry Monday Story Times, 11 a.m. Feb. 13, free for newborns to 3-year-olds with an adult
•  Toddler Story Time, 9:30 a.m. Feb. 14
•  Preschool Story Times, 10:30 a.m., Feb. 14
•  Pajamarama Story Times, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 15
•  “Living with Wildlife,” 7 p.m. Feb. 16. Learn about animals in our National Forest. Learn how to cope with wildlife in a residential area.
•  Game On! 3 p.m. Feb. 17. Play Xbox 306, PlayStation and Nintendo, “Guitar Hero” and “Dance Dance Revolution.” Board games and snacks available.
•  Special Needs Story Time, 10 a.m. Feb. 18. Targeted for children of developmental ages 3-6. All children are welcome.

Snoqualmie Library

The following events take place at the Snoqualmie Library, 7824 Center Blvd. S.E. The library will be closed Feb. 20 for Presidents’ Day.

• Spanish/English Story Time, 10:30 a.m. Feb. 11
• Preschool Story Times, 1:30 p.m. Feb. 13, 10:30 a.m. Feb. 15, ages 3-6 with adult
•  “Preparing and Filing Taxes Online,” 7 p.m. Feb. 13. Introduction and comparison of online tax preparation using www.turbotax.com and www.hrblock.com.
•  “Living with Wildlife,” 7 p.m. Feb. 15. Learn about animals in our national forest and learn how to cope with wildlife in a residential area.
•  Anime and Manga Club, 3 p.m. Feb. 15. Watch anime movies, practice anime drawing and eat popcorn. All skill levels are welcome.
•  Study Zone, 3 p.m. Feb. 14, 4 p.m. Feb. 15, free tutoring for grades K-12
•  Young Toddler Story Times, 9:30 a.m. Feb. 15, ages 6-24 months with adult
•  Pajama Story Times, 7 p.m. Feb. 16, all young children welcome with adult
• eReader Assistance, 11 a.m. Feb. 16. Learn how to download Books to your eReader.
•  Aging Well With Consciousness Book Club, 10:15 a.m. Feb. 18

The Lorax & The Sneetches and Other Stories, 2 p.m. Feb. 21. Live performance of these Dr. Seuss tales.

Classes

•  “Music ‘N’ Me” parent-child class, 10:30-11:10 a.m. through Feb. 14 at Si View Community Center, 400 S.E. Orchard Drive, North Bend. Children ages 2-5 can learn the basics of making music. $25. Siblings 2 and older must be registered.
•  CPR and AED class, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 25, Si View Community Center. $62, includes two-year American Red Cross certification.
•  “Hands-On Fun With Art,” 10 a.m. Saturdays through Feb. 11, at the old Snoqualmie Library, 38580 S.E. River Street. Fee: $70
•  S.A.I.L. (Stay Active and Independent for Life) exercise class meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Mount Si Senior Center, 411 Main Ave. S., North Bend, 888-3434
•  Martial arts classes for 4- and 5-year-olds at Encompass, 9 a.m. to noon Feb. 10, 17, March 2, 9 and 16. $120 per child. Class taught by DMW Martial Arts and Fitness at Encompass Main Campus, 1407 Boalch Ave. N.W., North Bend.
•  Swimming lessons at Si View Community Center. Feb. 27 to March 28 Mondays and Wednesdays, $70. Feb. 28 to March 29 Tuesdays and Thursdays, $70. March 3-31 Saturdays only, $35.

King County Solid Waste Division will reinstate free recycling services at the North Bend Cedar Falls Drop Box and Enumclaw Transfer Station on Feb. 11, according to a press release from the city of North Bend.
In an effort to save $400,000 per year, King County  stopped the free recycling collection services at Shoreline, Houghton, Renton, Enumclaw and Cedar Falls transfer stations on Feb. 1.

According to the press release, King County Solid Waste received requests, primarily from residents in the Cedar Falls and Enumclaw service areas, to reinstate the service at those facilities.  They received only limited comments about the changes at the urban transfer stations.

King County estimates restoration of service at Cedar Falls and Enumclaw will cost approximately $200,000 per year.  The costs will be monitored as the service is reinstated and a supplemental appropriation request may be made if necessary.

The new model for half-day kindergarten in 2012 presented by the Snoqualmie Valley School District has parents upset about what would be expected of their five-year-olds.

The Snoqualmie Valley School District’s budget-trimming suggestion would turn Kindergartners’ half-day schedule into two sets of all-day school days with alternating Fridays.

“The new model may have 28-38 more new hours of contact with the teacher but it did not factor in any nap time or downtime,” said North Bend parent Jaymie Blatt Feb. 7. “Is it realistic to ask a small child to go to school for a full day with no nap time or downtime?”

Blatt and many other parents spoke out mostly against the proposal during two evening meetings Feb. 6 and 7 at elementary schools in Fall City and North Bend.

A few parents did express support.

“Say a million dollars has to be cut,” Karen Wilder, a bus driver for the district, said Feb. 6. “You start with the lesser of the two evils. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars in transportation is better than losing two teachers, or art or losing band.”

Don McConkey, assistant superintendent for the Snoqualmie Valley School District, said the suggestion might definitely help minimize the impact of a reduction in force.

“If there’s a RIF, this may help some positions,” said McConkey, who conducted the two meetings. “Even though there may not be a direct correlation.”

The proposal targets only affects half-day, not full-day kindergarten classes.

The proposal would eliminate mid-day bus routes, which the state does not fund.

Some parents worry about how the back-and-forth schedule would affect their children’s behavior.

Snoqualmie’s Nicole Cummins’ son attends five-day preschool, with weekends off. He acts out a little more on weekends, she said.

“If we go to this proposal, we are always going to have to adjust,” she said. “He won’t behave as well as if we were going five days a week, and I don’t want my son to be labeled a problem.”

Snoqualmie parent Lisa Ramsden agreed.

“That makes me heartbroken,” she said. “The start of kindergarten shapes a kid’s whole attitude toward school.”

Megan Roberts, another parent from Snoqualmie said schools in her former hometown of Pocatello tried the All Day-Alternate Day proposal, with dismal results.

“The first-grade teacher had to scale back and teach again what children had in kindergarten,” she said.

A feedback sheet for parents at the meetings offered two more suggestions:

q Monday through Wednesday on one week, Monday and Tuesday the next week; Thursday and Friday the third week, then Wednesday through Friday the following week.

q Every other day the entire year: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Tuesday, Thursday, Monday.

Some parents questioned whether the district had listed the two latter suggestions to make their original suggestion more palatable. McConkey denied that was the case.

“The second proposal was considered by a district in Sumner,” he said.

At the same time, McConkey said teachers had grown comfortable with the way things are.

“They have been teaching that way for years, so they know it,” he said. “In order to change that, we are going to have a conversation.”.

At North Bend Elementary School, McConkey told parents that every district that had considered a similar program had done it for one reason: Cost savings.

“There will be more and more school districts looking at similar models,” he said.

Some parents said misery loving company is not reason enough to adopt the proposal.

Stacey Daniels, a parent from Fall City, assailed the model, which would entail a total of five days of school in November 2012.

“So much time is spent teaching them to be social,” Daniels said, “that having five days in November makes me want to say, ‘What’s the point?’”

The Snoqualmie Arts Commission will dedicate a new piece of public artwork at 10 a.m. Feb. 11  on the front steps of the Snoqualmie Community Center,  35018 SE Ridge St.

The sculpture, titled “Tah Dah,” stands 18 feet high with the top section revolving in the wind.

New Snoqualmie artwork

The dedication will occur just prior to the grand opening of the Snoqualmie Community Center and Snoqualmie Valley YMCA open house.

According to a Feb. 7 press release from the city of Snoqualmie, “Tah Dah” is one of more than ten works of public art in Snoqualmie. The two most recent works are in Snoqualmie City Hall – a glass mobile by Eden Rivers and a vitreous enamel mural of Snoqualmie Falls by Kathleen Frugé-Brown. Also at City Hall is a panel of five murals by Snoqualmie artist Dick Burhans depicting the Snoqualmie Valley timber industry.

Learn more about the Snoqualmie Arts Commission and artwork in Snoqualmie by contacting Nicole Sanders at nsanders@ci.snoqualmie.wa.us or 888-5337.

Free drop-off of wood debris from the recent storm is available Feb. 4 – 5, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the corner of Snoqualmie Parkway and State Route 202.

No leaves, sod, grass clippings, food waste or animal waste will be accepted, nor construction debris or any other type of solid waste.

This service is offered courtesy of the City of Snoqualmie and is open to Snoqualmie residents and businesses. King County is offering other free drop-off points for citizens of greater King County. Check locations and times at www.kingcounty.gov.

The Snoqualmie Parks & Recreation Department will host a free 45-minute workshop for homeowners on how to assess tree damage and take corrective steps that may salvage limbs that are not too badly damaged. The workshop will be on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 1:00 p.m. at the Snoqualmie Community Center/ YMCA, 35018 SE Ridge Street on Snoqualmie Ridge.

Also, soft-surface and wood-chip trails damaged by the recent winter storm have been cleared and are open for use.
For more information, contact Joan Pliego with the city at 888-1555, ext. 1125 or go online at www.cityofsnoqualmie.org.

Parents and teachers crowded the conference room at the Snoqualmie Valley School District offices Jan. 26 and waited hours to speak their mind.

The issue of whether the district will turn the 40-year-old Snoqualmie Middle School building into a ninth-graders-only annex of the high school in 2012 will remain unresolved for at least 30 more days.

Given the tenor of the discussion Jan. 26, several people, however, seem to have made up their minds.

“Both my daughters attended Chief Kanim at the peak of its size and it was fine,” said Liz Piekarczyk, co-chair of the Snoqualmie Valley PTSA Council. “I’m more worried about Mount Si not having a freshman learning center than about having to buy a couple of portables.”

The district has three of the county’s 58 middle schools. The county’s middle schools average 700-plus students; Snoqualmie Middle School has 460, Chief Kanim Middle School houses 404, and Twin Falls Middle School carries 575, said Ryan Stokes, the district’s finance director.

A 50-50 split of the SMS students would result in two campuses of 600-plus children, likely requiring up to seven portable classrooms at each school to accommodate them.

“It would be a big change for us to go from 400 to almost 700,” Chief Kanim Principal Kirk Dunckel said.

Tony Manjarrez, a teacher at Snoqualmie Middle School, asked the school board to consider the high cost of extra-curricular activities with two schools.

One fewer school may mean students would have one fewer nearby place for activities.

“With two schools, will it increase cost of transportation for extra-curricular programs?” Manjarrez asked. “What will we do? Where will we go? Seventy percent of our students participate in activities.”

While some district staffers voiced worries that teachers might not be able to serve children as well once classrooms swell in size, other employees said the district had lived once through a two-middle-school scenario, and survived.

“Those of us who have sophomores,” parent and district employee Betsy Evenson said, “have had sixth-graders in a two-school model and eighth-graders in a three-school model.”

The two-school model, Evenson argued, has its advantages.

“I love Chief Kanim,” she said. “But the two-school model challenged my child more socially.”

Other parents argued the two-school model presents other, more dangerous challenges.

“In terms of student safety, it doesn’t look good,” said Stephen Kangas, an Opstad Elementary School parent. “And it’s a bit discouraging to not hear one bit about student safety.”

After meeting with a small group of concerned neighbors Jan. 24, organizers of the Festival at Mount Si are moving to revamp their plans for this year’s event.

“We will be moving forward with a different option,” said Jill Massengill, president of the board of directors for the nonprofit North Bend Education and Cultural Association.

Festival planners had to develop an alternative layout for the 2012 gathering because Si View Park will undergo extensive renovations at the time of the festival, slated for Aug. 10-12.

Because of those renovations, the park will not be available for even limited use during the festival, said both Massengill and Minna Rudd, program coordinator for the Si View Metropolitan Park District.

According to Massengill, with the park not available to host vendor booths, one option was to place those booths on Southeast Orchard Drive. The street would have been closed, with even local resident access restricted. But according to several sources, that idea just did not sit well with some Orchard Drive residents.

“Our immediate concern was, how are going to get in and out of our homes?” asked Kirsten Jestrab, who said she wanted to make it clear she was speaking only for her and her family, not other Orchard Drive residents.

Jestrab lives on what she described as the Orchard Drive cul-de-sac near Si View Park. She said if the street was completely blocked, she and at least three other residents would not be able to reach their homes except on foot. Jestrab said she and others were asked to park off-site, away from their homes for the three days of the festival.

“I actually like the festival quite a bit,” she added. “But they were actually asking quite a bit.”

Instead of completely blocking Orchard Drive, Massengill talked about moving booths and vendors to the far end of Si View Park. The booths still would be in the street, but would not block any homes.

“I think it’s our only choice,” Massengill said.

Orchard Drive still would be blocked to through traffic, but residents would be able to come and go from their homes.

That is the arrangement every year for the festival, Massengill said, adding the proposal still awaits the approval of police officials, who must sign off on closing any streets.

For her part, Jestrab said festival and park officials at the Jan. 24 meeting all seemed receptive to the comments of residents.

“They were really nice, nice people,” she added. “They were really concerned about what we thought.”

One suggestion made by one resident was to simply cancel the festival for this year, Massengill said, quickly adding that was never a serious consideration in her mind.

“That would be devastating,” she said, adding about 25,000 people attended the festival and the grand parade every year.

The festival and its booths will be back in Si View Park in 2013, Rudd said. As for the planned renovations to the park, they should start in June. Improvements to the park will include it being leveled, fields reseeded, restrooms improved and a picnic shelter added, Rudd said.

Tom Corrigan: 392-6434, ext. 241, or tcorrigan@isspress.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.