Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
July 12, 2012 VOL. 4, NO. 28
Tunnels, bikes and food Learn history and ecology, then have a barbecue. Page 2
Board gets an earful Citizens are upset with hospital board. Page 3
She’s outta here Local activist is moving out of state. Page 6
Police blotter Page 7
Chess players make their move Page 10
North Bend Vigil remembers those fighting cancer bank robbed By Michele Mihalovich A man with an assault rifle walked into Chase Bank in North Bend July 9 and robbed it, according to North Bend Police Chief Mark Toner. He said a white man walked into the bank at about 6 p.m. with his weapon displayed. Six people, customers and employees, were in the store at the time of the robbery, but Toner said no one was hurt. He said the suspect fled in a red-colored SUV, but he would not release the amount of money taken from the bank. Toner said the King County Sheriff’s Office’s Major Crimes Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigations will investigate the case. Michele Mihalovich: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
By Mary Miller
Christa Dietz, an American Cancer Society team member, lights candles to give participants during a vigil at the Relay For Life held July 7 and 8 at Snoqualmie’s Centennial Field. For more photos, go to Page 13 and www.snovalleystar.com.
Bears gone wild Young maestro Pianist is top soloist at Bellevue Jazz Festival. Page 10
Tiny champs Youth wrestlers bring home titles. Page 12 Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
North Bend block party this weekend
Meeting to educate residents about living with bears, new laws By Michele Mihalovich Before Snoqualmie Ridge became a business hub and housing development, it was acre after acre of Weyerhaeuser timberland — a virtual smorgasbord for bears. But apparently the bears didn’t get the memo about them no longer being welcome. Every year, Snoqualmie Police and state Fish and Wildlife officers receive a plethora of calls from residents reporting bears in their yards, in their neighborhoods, tearing up their garbage, snacking out of their birdfeeders. One man at Alice Lake, just west of Snoqualmie
If you go ❑ Community meeting — bear smarts and the new law ❑ 7 p.m. July 17 ❑ Snoqualmie Fire Department 37600 S.E. Snoqualmie Parkway The Snoqualmie Police Department, state Fish and Wildlife Department and Waste Management will address the community about bear problems, bear-proof containers, and discuss a new law that took effect June 1.
By Sebastian Moraga
Ridge, was joined in his garage a couple of weeks ago by a hungry bear interested in his garbage cans. Megan Miller, who lives on Cascade Avenue, found a mother and two cubs ripping through trash in her fenced-in backyard June 22. Becky Munson, spokeswoman with the Snoqualmie Police Department, said police received the first call March 27, “and then it really ramped up in June.” As of June 30, the department had received 26 calls about nuisance bears, which she said was about the same number as this time last year. Munson also said she expected the calls to continue through August. However, wildlife officers said many of those calls could be eliminated with a bit of education, which is why a community meeting on bear etiquette is being scheduled for 7 p.m. July 17 at the
Do you wanna dance, under the moonlight, hug and kiss all through the night? No? Well, how about during the daytime, then? Because if you do, have we got an event for you. The annual North Bend Block Party returns to downtown July 14 to the tune of several local and regional numbers that will turn a busy street into an explosion of sound and color. The two stages will start their shows at about noon, with the Kellee Bradley Band opening the main stage and the DMW Martial Arts club opening the community stage. Rock ‘n’ roll by Dorian Blu, jazz by the Future Jazz Heads and Kelly Eisenhour
See BEARS, Page 2
See PARTY, Page 2
Courtesy of city of Snoqualmie
A trio of bears tears up a bird feeder in 2007.