Triathlon trio swims, bikes and runs
Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
August 18, 2011 VOL. 3, NO. 41
Tourist dollars Port and state work to get tourists to the Valley. Page 2
Fee hike County Council approves $20 car tab fee. Page 3
Police blotter Page 5
Boeing Classic Everything you need to know about the tourney is in our special section. Page 11
Sports, Page 20
Union leader More than rocks at this quarry wants action from school district By Sebastian Moraga Art Galloway, president of the Snoqualmie Valley Education Association, the Valley’s teachers union, said the school district needs to “walk their talk” if it’s going to call the current negotiations a collaborative process. Galloway’s response was to a statement the district’s public information coordinator, Carolyn Malcolm, issued a day after the Aug. 9 meeting between the district and the union. The statement reads in its entirety: “The district has been working with the teachers' union in a collaborative process over the past few months and has several more meetings scheduled in August. “We respect our teachers and value the vital contributions they make to ensure Snoqualmie Valley students receive a quality education. “Despite ongoing reductions to education funding from the state, our district has worked very hard to keep cutbacks from impacting students and teachers in the classroom, sustaining staffing levels for the coming school year.” See UNION, Page 2
Low rider Strange bikes appear in the Valley. Page 18
Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
Check election results online The Aug. 16 election included King County Proposition No. 1, which would renew the Veterans and Human Services Levy. If passed, the levy will raise money for services for veterans, active military and families in need. Property owners would pay 5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Check the SnoValley WEB E X T—R A Star’s website Check results online at www.snovalleystar.com
Contributed
How many children and parents can you fit into one heavy lifter? At least 10, according to the North Bend MOMS Club. Club members toured the CalPortland Rock Quarry in Snoqualmie this spring, and learned about how rocks are turned into concrete. The MOMS Club is a support group for mothers who choose to stay home to raise their children. Each month, the club has one meeting and several scheduled activities.
Si View park district asks voters to shore up its funding with tax hike By Dan Catchpole Si View Metropolitan Parks District is asking voters to save its 2012 budget. The district’s board of directors has approved two measures for the November general election ballot to preserve Si View’s property levy. The district’ ability to collect taxes is being threatened by a state cap, which limits combined nonstate property levies to $5.90 per $1,000 of assessed value. As home values have declined, most taxing districts have maintained their budgets. That means they have to take a bigger share per $1,000, which has pushed nonstate property levy rates up against the cap in several taxing districts across the state. Based on projections from
By Mary Miller
The Si View parks district could have to curtail programming at the Si View Community Center if its property tax revenues are slashed by a state-imposed limit on property levies. the King County Assessor’s Office, Si View could see its property tax revenue cut by as much as 84 percent, said Travis
Stombaugh, the district’s director. See PARK, Page 2