In a half-empty room, a milestone brews. Four chessboards are lined up; one of them is occupied. On one side is Matt McKendry and on the other side is Jim Nelson. Both are chess aficionados getting ready to make history, if only personal history. Nelson has played chess for four decades. McKendry has been alive…
Officials start the process to replace state Sen. Cheryl Pflug
King County Council members started the process June 11 to appoint a successor to Republican state Sen. Cheryl Pflug. Under state law, the council is responsible for appointing a successor to the Senate seat after Pflug resigns July 1 to accept a state board post. The law calls for GOP officials to submit three candidates…
Hadley Dean Rogers
Hadley Dean Rogers was born Aug. 16, 1935, to his parents Ken and Medora Rogers. He joined them in heaven on June 15, 2012. Hadley’s siblings include his brother Keith Rogers, of Elroy, Ariz., and his sister Gaynel Gunderson, of Soap Lake. He was preceded in death by his brother Neil Rogers, of North Bend….
Mount Si grad Nikki Stanton is now playing for Sounders Women team
College player will spend her summer learning from the best For Nikki Stanton, dreams do come true. “This is as good as it gets,” she said. The former Mount Si High School soccer player has found herself this summer playing alongside seven national team players in the Seattle Sounders Women team. “I looked up to…
Snoqualmie Valley resident looks back at time inside Hanoi Hilton
The interrogator Joseph Crecca nicknamed “The Agent” began speaking. Speaking of how American Air Force pilots like Crecca had attacked the Vietnamese. How Vietnamese blood had been shed. And how the Vietnamese were “determined to fight and win.” Then, American F-105 planes flew above their heads. And the speech screeched to a halt. Unlike The…
School district grapples with middle school plan
If and when the Snoqualmie Valley School District returns to two middle schools, their similarities will outweigh their differences, Assistant Superintendent Don McConkey told parents May 22. The final word on how similar they will be — in activities, in classes, in curriculum — will depend on the budget for those years. “That may have…
North Bend murder suspect found dead in bunker
By Christine Clarridge and Emily Heffter Seattle Times staff reporters SWAT team officers prying open Peter Keller’s elaborate underground bunker Saturday morning worried the heavily armed survivalist might try to ambush them or blow them up with a booby trap. Instead, after using explosives to loosen the lid to his 20-foot-long, two-story hideout, they found his body, a…
Local senator sponsors bill to cut down on Medicaid fraud
Lawmakers — including local State Sen. Cheryl Pflug — passed legislation to crack down on Medicaid fraud and recover taxpayer funds. The measure, Senate Bill 5978 or the Medicaid Fraud False Claims Act, aims to create additional tools for the state to pursue Medicaid fraud. Supporters said the effort could raise millions of dollars in…
Detectives obtain DNA profiles on eight sets of remains
The King County Sheriff’s Office recently received good news on its efforts to identify the remains of eight individuals who have been long termed “John/Jane Doe” homicide victims, Cindi West, KCSO spokeswoman, said March 19. Some of those cases are local. The Bode Technology Group, working under a National Institute of Justice Grant, was able…
Dialogue begins concerning truck idling ban
The majority of people who turned out for a public hearing on North Bend’s proposed truck idling ban spoke out against the ordinance, including a TravelCenters of America field manager from Oregon. The TA truck stop, known locally as Truck Town, has been located near Interstate 90’s exit 34 for nearly 40 years. But the…