Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
March 7, 2013 VOL. 5, NO. 9
Annual relay for life kicks off Page 6
Police gun range is under fire for age and residue By Michele Mihalovich
Cops on the line Snoqualmie Police make plans to serve North Bend. Page 2
Lunch and learn Program focuses on drug abuse awareness. Page 2
Police blotter Page 5
Dads who rock Davey French, of Everclear, travels with old, new bands. Page 6
Top teacher Piano teacher wins national scholarship. Page 6
Springtime sports Softball, lacrosse, tennis get ready for season. Pages 10, 11
Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
After 15 years of being shot at with handguns, long-range rifles and semi-automatic weapons, the rubber that lines the back wall of Snoqualmie Police Department’s indoor gun range is no longer absorbing bullets like it should. In fact, an incident three weeks ago, where some shrapnel backfired after an officer shot into the rubber, caused the department to put a “range closed until further notice” sign on the door. “No one was injured in the incident,” Capt. Nick Almquist said, adding that on top of officer safety, “We’re concerned with the amount of gunpowder and lead that has accumulated over the years, which could be a hazard to fire and air quality issues. And in the interest of safety, we decided to shut it down.” The 25-yard-long gun range, located in the lower level of the police station, smells like a tire factory when you first walk in. The walls and ceiling are covered with black soundproofing pads. And the rubber backstop, five feet thick at its deepest point, shows its age with deep gouges after years of being shot. The police department asked the City Council Feb. 25 for emergency abatement funds to get the hazard cleaned up. NCM Contracting Group, a national company that provides demolition and remediation services and has a branch office in Snoqualmie, was awarded nearly
By Michele Mihalovich
Capt. Nick Almquist, with the Snoqualmie Police Department, picks up a spent bullet from the floor at the department’s indoor gun range. $60,000 to clean up the hazard, remove the rubber backstop and dispose of all hazardous material. Once the abatement work is completed, the police department still won’t have a gun range. Almquist estimated that it would need about another $50,000 to install a new rubber backstop, and fix the metal tracking system that hangs from the ceiling and allows shooters
to load a new target and, with the push of a button, slide it down to the backstop. Almquist said SPD allows other agencies to use the facility for $35 per hour, and said sometimes the users — not police officers, of course, but game officers more than likely — don’t have the best aim and accidentally shoot the metal tracks instead of the target. Chief Steve McCulley said
Volunteer firefighters join SFD’s ranks By Michele Mihalovich Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson warned two new volunteer firefighters during a Feb. 25 pinning ceremony that he accidentally sticks people 50 percent of the time. While the mayor did struggle latching a little pin onto Ethan Glynn’s shirt, both recruits came out unscathed. Glynn and Adam Thalhofer, who started with the Snoqualmie Fire Department in early 2012, received pins for completing the EMT portion of their training.
Fire Chief Bob Rowe said he has modified the department’s volunteer program recently. “We used to have the recruits go to firefighter school first, then EMT school,” he said. “This is more than six months of training, and we found that they were forgetting the suppression side of things when they went through EMT school.” Rowe said that since 77 percent of the calls the station receives are medical, he decided to have the new firefighter recruits become EMTs first, and then spend a minimum of six months working on their skills
and gaining knowledge before moving on to the fire suppression side of the job. Before a volunteer is even sent off for EMT or suppression training, there are quite a few hoops to jump through. Rowe said the most basic requirements are being at least 21, living within 15 minutes of Snoqualmie and holding a valid driver’s license, as well as being able to read, write and understand English. Twice a year, the department holds an entrance exam that See FIREFIGHTER, Page 3
the facility is a very important asset for the police department to keep. All officers must receive so many hours per year of gun training, and the department having its own facility has saved taxpayer dollars over the years. “It is hard to come up with a dollar amount in savings,” he said. “It does reduce overtime See RANGE, Page 3
Seasonal public works and parks workers needed in Snoqualmie The city of Snoqualmie Public Works Department and Parks and Recreation Department are currently hiring for temporary seasonal workers for fourmonth positions. Position descriptions and application information can be found on the GovJobsToday website at www.govjobstoday.com. The application deadline is March 15.