Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
April 25, 2013 VOL. 5, NO. 16
Majestic owners Page 6
Hollywood actor opens his own North Bend theater By Megg Joosten
New driver Teen motorist hits bicyclist.
Page 3
Trail closing Snoqualmie Valley Trail will close through summer. Page 3
Police blotter Page 6
Guitar hero Blues Walk comes to North Bend. Page 7
Sitting in the audience, watching his cast rehearsing for “The Wind and the Willows,” North Bend resident Gary Schwartz sings along quietly. “Arch your back, bring your shoulders up higher,” he instructs one of the actors who is playing a horse. “That’s a horse.” Every year, Schwartz can be found playing Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol,” performed by the local Valley Center Stage theater in North Bend, Gary Schwartz a theater he founded. He enjoys directing because it gives people the opportunity to develop as actors and get in touch with their natural talent, he said. “It’s rewarding for me to see the community developing together, watching actors young and old working together and growing as artists,” he said. Schwartz hasn’t always lived in a small city, playing Scrooge,
By Megg Joosten
Part of the cast of ‘The Wind and the Willows’ sings a song during a rehearsal. singing along in the audience and calling out directions to aspiring actors; that came later in life. He grew up in upstate
New York and started his acting career as a mime. When working in New York City didn’t work out, Schwartz moved to Los
Angeles, where his career took off. He played a small role in See SCHWARTZ, Page 2
Local Boston Marathon runners say attack won’t deter them from running in it again He said people started trickling into the bar, reporting tidbits of information. Dave LaTourette, 50, of North Bend, “There were a couple of people who and Sean Sundwall, 40, of Snoqualmie, had showered after the race and said they ran across the Boston heard the blast and that “We’ll go there to stick our Marathon finish line their hotel windows April 15 about an hour fingers in the air at the people rattled,” LaTourette said. before two bombs “We could see somewho did this — show them exploded, killing three thing on the TV, but it and injuring 180. really look that that freedom means something didn’t Neither actually bad. It wasn’t until they to us and we’ll express that heard the bombs go off. turned the TV up that LaTourette, a private started getting inforfreedom by running next year.” we investigator, said he met mation about how bad up with other runners at it was. — Dave LaTourette a bar about two blocks “People started pullBoston Marathon runner from the finish line. ing out their smart“Typically, I like to phones. At first, it was drink a frosty microbrew one person killed and after running,” he said, adding that the bar 20 people injured. And then, the numbers was loud and the TV was turned down. just started going up.” By Michele Mihalovich
Big swing Golf team looks good at halfway mark. Page 12
Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER A Facebook photo shows Sean Sundwall competing at the U.S. Oylmpic Marathon Trials in New York City.
See MARATHON, Page 3