Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
June 16, 2011 VOL. 3, NO. 24
Funny money North Bend merchants are plagued by counterfeit bills. Page 3
Candidates file
Mount Si says farewell to class of 2011 Page 10
Tribal council is targeted for shakeup Chief asks membership to throw out several of its elected officials By Dan Catchpole
Ballot is set for November election in the Valley. Page 3
Police blotter Page 9
Snoqualmie Tribe Chief Jerry Enick is calling on the tribe’s members to throw out most of their elected officials. The longtime chief has called
for a meeting of the general membership June 18 in Monroe. The Tribal Council has done nothing wrong, and Enick is acting beyond his authority, Tribal Administrator Matt Mattson said.
The catalyst came when the Tribal Council voted in early May to postpone the tribe’s annual general elections until July, after an audit of the tribal membership is finished. For several years, the Snoqualmie Tribe has been plagued by competing claims of who is and who is not a member. The sides typically break down along the lines of the five extended families that make up
the tribe. At stake is control of the proceeds from the tribe’s casino, which generates more than $200 million a year. The money has been a boon and a burden for the tribe. “The casino made a big difference it seems in the attitude of people because of the money,” Enick said. See TRIBE, Page 7
Ground broken YMCA still excites despite lingering questions to city. Page 12
Laughter, the best medicine Farmers’ frenzy North Bend market has something for all tastes. Page 12
Herman Shey (left), Juanita Erwin, Cleo Krenzler and Oksun Cave rub each other’s shoulders during laughing yoga at the Mount Si Senior Center. The free class targets caregivers, allowing them time to loosen up and have fun, but anybody can attend. By Laura Geggel
Heady plans Co-valedictorians are going their separate ways. Page 15
Snoqualmie first responders honored for rescue By Dan Catchpole
Champions honored City heralds triumphant return of baseball team. Page 16
Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
Snoqualmie firefighter Darby Summers doesn’t consider himself a hero. But that didn’t stop the city from giving him a Medal of Valor for rescuing a drowning woman in the Snoqualmie River. The city also awarded a Medal of Valor to Snoqualmie Police Officer Sean Absher, who assisted with the rescue. Summers and Absher were among the first responders to reach the river near Snoqualmie Falls on May 22. A couple had been playing with their two dogs in the water, which was running high and fast due to winter snow melting.
When one of the dogs began struggling in the current, the man and woman, both 29 years old, jumped in after it. But they found themselves fighting for survival in the cold, powerful flow. People on the riverbank called 911, and within a few minutes, Summers, his partner Jake Fouts and Absher were on hand. Summers saw the woman, who was about 200 feet away from him and caught in an eddy. Her head was just barely sticking out of the water, which she had been struggling in for about 10 minutes. Her fiancé was nowhere in sight. Fouts grabbed their swift-
water rescue gear, but there wasn’t time to break it out, Summers said. “It was clear that she was drowning right then, and there was Darby Summers no time to put on a dry suit,” he said. He put on a life vest, and walked into the river in his everyday uniform and boots. With the river running high and cold, there was no margin for error.
“What she did is remarkable. She was stuck in a cold nightmare, and she had the willpower to hold on out there and fight to be rescued.” — Darby Summers Snoqualmie firefighter
“I knew I had to do it right the first time. Otherwise, I’d be losing strength,” Summers said. He quickly reached the woman and grabbed her. She was exhausted. See HEROES, Page 3