Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
July 18, 2013 VOL. 5, NO. 28
Malpractice award Local family receives big payout from the UW. Page 2
New firefighter Snoqualmie introduces newest member. Page 3
Give it a spin Page 10
New fire station is open First responders love the new digs By Michele Mihalovich
Relay for Life Teams are forming for the annual event. Page 5
The emblem on the side of North Bend fire vehicles is a black sheep, an indication of how firefighters felt If you go they ranked North Bend in years Fire Station past. open house “We 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. were kind July 20 of consid500 Maloney ered the Grove Road trash station, always getting everybody’s hand-me-downs,” firefighter Bob Venera said. An impromptu tour June 24 of the old fire station No. 87, See STATION, Page 6
Police blotter Page 8
RIP-it good Mount Si team wins first tournament. Page 10
Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
North Bend Block Party set for this weekend By David Hayes In 2009, the city of North Bend held a little get-together to celebrate the city’s centennial. The results were so overwhelmingly positive, the event became an annual tradition. The Downtown North Bend Block Party returns July 20, bigger than ever. Gina Estep, community and economic development director, said the public has responded quite favorably to the one-day festival. See PARTY, Page 3
Contributed
Dee and New Variety perform in 1967.
Councilman had 15 minutes of fame performing with The Doors By Dan Aznoff Every kid who has ever played in a garage band dreams of the opportunity to be pulled from the audience and perform live and in concert with their favorite rock legend. That dream came true for North Bend City Councilman Dee Williamson in 1967, when a man in a dark suit came up to him during a concert of The Doors and asked the 17-yearold to sit in with the band for its last set of songs, including the group’s signature tune, “Light My Fire.” Williamson and his band— Dee and the New Variety—had won third-row seats to see Jim Morrison and The Doors perform live as reward for winning the local Battle of the Bands during high school in his hometown of Las Vegas. The contest, he remembered, was sponsored by KENO Radio. Williams said The Doors had just released their first album and were booked to play at the
4,000 seat auditorium in the old convention center. “This guy in a suit came down the aisle and asked which one of us was Dee Williamson the keyboard in 1967 player,” he remembered. “That was me. The guy was pretty sure we knew the music because we had won the Battle of the Bands by performing music by The Doors.” Some local teenager The future city councilman jumped at the opportunity to share the spotlight with Morrison and other members of the original band, including drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger. He sat down at the keyboard normally occupied by Ray Manzarek for
the finale. Thinking back after the concert, Williamson remembered that the keyboard player had looked ill, but did not Dee Williamson know until today later that he had suffered through the concert with food poisoning. When the concert ended, Williamson remained seated behind the keyboard while the rest of the band made its way off stage. But he does remember the iconic Morrison turning around to give him an intentional wink before he walked over to sign autographs for some adoring fans. “The girls were not interested in some local teenager,” he remembered. “After all, I was See DOORS, Page 3