Your locally owned newspaper serving North Bend and Snoqualmie
Mount Si has four champs at KingCo tourney Page 7
Friday, February 12, 2016
Cities declare local water is safe to drink By Dylan Chaffin dchaffin@snovalleystar.com While nationwide concerns continue to rise after the severe contamination of Flint, Mich., drinking water, Snoqualmie and North Bend officials say that both cities meet the state and federal
guidelines for safe drinking water. The City of Snoqualmie released a press release late last week saying that consistent testing confirmed neither lead nor copper have been detected in the city’s three water sources. Based on state Department
of Health guidelines for lead and copper, the city’s water quality is considered “optimal.” “Delivering quality water to our customers is top priority,” said Joan Pliego, Snoqualmie’s public information officer, in an email. “City of Snoqualmie water
sources are tested for more than 100 contaminants each year. The results of our water testing are routinely reported to the Department of Health and are available to all of our water customers.” The city releases those findings in an annual report each May, updated by the Public
Works department. The north and south wellfields, where wells No. 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8 are located, were developed for the city during the two phases of Snoqualmie Ridge development. Wells No. 1 and 2 are See WATER, Page 5
Snoqualmie graduation rate at alltime high By Dylan Chaffin dchaffin@snovalleystar.com
By Greg Farrar / gfarrar@snovalleystar.com
A Richmond Transport Ltd. Tractor trailer out of Richmond, British Columbia, leads a line of traffic as it hauls a cargo of two dump truck beds Feb. 4 through downtown North Bend on Bendigo Boulevard (state route 202) towards Interstate 90.
North Bend seeks outside funds to mitigate impacts of trucking industry By Dylan Chaffin dchaffin@snovalleystar.com Since the mid-1960s, North Bend’s Truck Town off Interstate 90’s Exit 34 has offered a place for drivers to eat, sleep and rest before continuing west to Seattle or east over Snoqualmie Pass. As the only truck stop in
King County, it hosts 140 parking stalls, several restaurants, gas stations and hotels, and was annexed by the city around 2010, said Mayor Ken Hearing at the Jan. 28 Planning Commission meeting. However, Hearing said North Bend is shouldering a majority of the stresses
that trucking can put on a small town, and is seeking help from state, county and federal planners to adjust to the impact of the trucking industry. “Years ago, we held stakeholder meetings, inviting the Washington State Patrol, the Department of Transportation, ports of
Seattle and Tacoma, and when we asked for help, they said, ‘Hey, not our problem,’ ” Hearing said. Hearing said Truck Town isn’t a significant source of tax revenue for North Bend. Now, the city is considering passing an ordinance that See TRUCKS, Page 2
The hard work of students, teacher and administrators has paid off for the Snoqualmie Valley School District, reflected in the district’s on-time graduation rates. In an announcement made last week, the district said the overall graduation rate has grown steadily in recent years, and has now climbed to 92 percent, the district’s highest graduation rate since the state officially began reporting on the same group of students from freshman to senior years in high school. In comparison, the average graduation rate in the state is around 77 percent, the district said. See GRADS, Page 5
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