Mount Si battles the elements to win first home meet Page 8
Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
Chamber names new director
March 28, 2013 VOL. 5, NO. 12
Open opportunity New school board seat is there for the taking. Page 2
By Michele Mihalovich
help to ensure that charges stick if and when we make an arrest in the case. Better to take the time and investigate thoroughly than make a hasty arrest and have the suspect released and ultimately not be prosecuted for the crime. “I can tell you the case is progressing. That is all I can say on that for now.” Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) toll free.
Nathan Perea was named as the executive director for the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce, and starts April 1. The position has been open since early January, when former director Kevin Dwyer left for a job in Oregon. Perea, 34, served as director of membership development at Issaquah’s chamber for the past two years, and said he has some Nathan innovative programs that Perea proved successful in Issaquah that he’d like to apply to the Valley. He said what he finds to be most successful is taking a chamber from being generic to getting specific to member needs. Perea said he plans to do that by taking time getting to know current members, as well as meeting as many people from the community as possible. “My role is to support the entire community, which is why I think it’s good to meet everyone,” he said. Perea said the chamber board’s biggest goal for him is to infuse new energy and passion into the chamber. “I’ll work on behalf of the entire Valley with a unified voice so everyone feels a part of this,” he said. “One thing I’ve found in modern chambers is that geographic boundaries are less important. The quality of programs you’re providing is much more important.” Perea received a degree in business administration and information systems from Western Washington University in Bellingham. He’s married and has three children.
Michele Mihalovich: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www. snovalleystar.com.
Michele Mihalovich: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www. snovalleystar.com.
Contributed
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Police blotter
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Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
Stairmasters Snoqualmie Fire Department firefighters (from left) Mike Wallace, Ben Parker and Chris Stephen participated in the 22nd annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimb March 10. They raised $3,050 between them, and climbed 69 flights of stairs, 1,311 steps with 788 feet of vertical elevation, Battalion Chief Todd Reynolds said. The firefighter’s union, Local 2878, which represents most of the firefighters in the area, raised $30,888 with the stairclimb, which gives money for Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation.
No arrests yet in New Year’s fatal hit-and-run accident By Michele Mihalovich No arrests have been made yet in the Jan. 1 hit-and-run that killed 57-year-old Lucy Pieczatkowski, but the case is progressing, Sgt. Cindi West with the King County Sheriff’s Office said. “I can tell you that I have had some calls since the accident, but the ones I had were people that did not have first-hand knowledge but had ‘heard’ something,” she said. “Sometimes, on cases, we can still use that information to try to contact others who may have actual knowledge.” The accident happened at about 3 a.m. Jan. 1.
On Jan. 2, police did locate a white Ford truck in the North Bend area they believe was involved in the fatal accident. North Bend Police Chief Mark Toner said the sheriff’s office still has the truck. Many in the small town are wondering why an arrest hasn’t been made when police know who owns the truck, West said. “We may know who the vehicle belongs to in a case like this, but we still have to have evidence of who was driving at the time of the accident,” she said. “I know it can be frustrating for family and friends of the victim, but conducting a thorough investigation from the start will