Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
May 5, 2011 VOL. 3, NO. 18
Top doubles tennis team focusing on singles play Page 12
School bond failure is ‘a loss for children’ Yes votes are far short of required 60 percent to pass By Sebastian Moraga
What gerrymandering? Residents speak against proposed district changes. Page 2
Snoqualmie Valley Schools Superintendent Joel Aune said the failure of a $56.2 million school bond meant to build a new middle school in
Snoqualmie Ridge was a defeat for the school board, the district, the volunteers, but above all, for the children of the Valley. “This election was more difficult than the one in February,” Aune said during a school board meeting April 28. “Twelve school boards had propositions on the ballot in this state, and so far, we’re 0-for-12.” An emotional Aune said the anti-tax sentiment permeating the state, coupled with the limping economy made it difficult
for the bond to pass. The bond would have required district residents to pay 49 cents per $1,000 of their homes’ assessed value each year. As of May 2, the yes votes had yet to break the 57 percent mark. They were at 56.39 percent; 60 percent is needed to pass. The election will be certified May 11. “It appears we’re not going to make the 60 percent,” Aune said April 28. “We are all but certain.”
Conversely, North Bend parent Stephen Kangas, who opposed the vote, said he was very pleased with the result. The bond, which would build a replacement Snoqualmie Middle School while the original became an annex for the high school, failed by one vote in February. The two sides are more than 1,000 votes apart this time around. See BOND, Page 3
Mill annexation hearing stirs heated debate
Police & Fire Page 8
By Dan Catchpole
“I was doing an area search and found the car parked on the side of the road,” Toner said. He reported the car to the sheriff’s office, which had received a missing persons report earlier that afternoon from Milton police.
Opponents and supporters of Snoqualmie’s proposed annexation of the former Weyerhaeuser Mill site turned out to speak their minds at a Planning Commission public hearing May 2. The Planning Commission, though, was only considering how the area should be zoned if the city and King County agree to the annexation. The narrow focus did not stop both sides from voicing their opinions on the value of annexing the site, which sits in unincorporated King County. The site was once the economic engine of the upper Snoqualmie Valley. Some city leaders want it to be again, and point to the success of the DirtFish Rally School. But some neighbors say that engine is already too noisy and needs to be muffled. Opponents told the Planning Commission that the driving school is tearing into the Valley’s bucolic character and they questioned the economic benefit of Snoqualmie annexing the property. “Is this who we want in our community?” asked Warren Rose, who lives on Indian Hill, about a mile from the mill site. Supporters said the school has benefited the area’s economy and is not much of a nuisance. A two-day rally race held at DirtFish brought in additional
See BODY, Page 3
See ANNEXATION, Page 2
Coming and going Chamber’s in new location; director is on his way out. Page 6
By Dan Catchpole
Wheel of a good time Snoqualmie students win Battle of the Books. Page 10
Rookie jitters Newcomer helps Mount Si win 4x100 track relay. Page 12 Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
Safe at the Safe Mount Si’s Robb Lane catches a throw from right fielder Nate Sinner. The throw was on line, but couldn’t beat the Nathan Hale’s Theron Simpson. For more about the April 30 game at Safeco Field in Seattle, see the story on page 12.
Body of missing Milton man recovered from Snoqualmie River By Dan Catchpole The King County Sheriff’s Office recovered the body of a missing Milton man from the Snoqualmie River near North Bend late April 28. Family members last saw the 51-year-old man on April 25, according to Milton Police
Chief Bill Rhoads. The man’s car had been parked about a half-mile away at the Mount Si trailhead for several days. At about 3 p.m. April 29, Sgt. Mark Toner, of the sheriff’s department, who is also chief of North Bend Police, inspected the car, which was parked illegally.