Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
Mount Si football tops Kennedy Page 12
Local 17-year-old is ‘brain surgeon for a day’
September 6, 2012 VOL. 4, NO. 36
‘Hope’ful House of Hope gives people a chance. Page 2
By Sebastian F. Moraga Days before the start of her 12th year of schooling, 17-yearold Mari Patis learned she might someday need 12 more. Bring it on, she said. A fan of science, the senior from Mount Si High School signed up weeks ago for the Brain Surgeon for a Day promotion at Swedish Hospital in Seattle’s Cherry Hill neighborhood. To her surprise, she was among the 25 people selected out of more than 100. At Swedish, Aug. 24, she met brain surgeon Greg Foltz, who told her and the other participants that completing the training needed to become a brain surgeon takes 12 years. Foltz also showed Patis the tools of the trade, samples of brain tissue, what a brain tumor looks like, and how Swedish pre-
What’s the buzz? New businesses come to the Valley. Page 3
Protect yourself Police offer women’s selfdefense class. Page 3
By Greg Farrar
Mari Patis, 17, a Mount Si High School senior, inserts a stealth navigation pointer into a plastic head model and watches a monitor, where the pointer and a magnetic field emitter combine to show the structure of a brain.
Guided tour Local’s book offers tips for hiking Rainier. Page 6
serves tumors for research. “It was a great opportunity,” Patis said afterward. “I actually volunteer at Snoqualmie Valley Hospital and there isn’t a lot of patient interaction. This wasn’t patient interaction, but there was a lot of hands-on procedures and that was the fun of it.” She would have liked a bit more one-on-one time for the participants, which would allow them to ask more questions, she said. Still, Swedish had never held a Brain Surgeon for a Day before. Patis said the hospital did a good job. As for the 12 years, Foltz told Patis they happen pretty fast, if you dedicate yourself to the work. The day itself went by pretty fast, with Patis and the rest of the group showing up at 10:30 a.m. “I’m pretty sure I was the youngest one there,” she said. “I don’t really know a lot about it, so I wasn’t sure how the doctor would explain surgery.” What followed was easier than she thought. The tour See SURGEON, Page 2
Ready for anything Leave your mark on Snoqualmie ramps up disaster preparedness Dress to impress Learn about Indian weddings and dresses. Page 7
Police blotter
Page 14 Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
By Michele Mihalovich Emergency personnel in Snoqualmie learned a thing or two during January’s storm, which left much of the area cold and without power for days — the city needs more trained volunteers to help during disasters, and those volunteers need to pass a background check. Snow and strong winds caused major power lines to fall across Snoqualmie, and many chilly citizens got to see the inside of the town’s new YMCA for the first time when they sought warmth at the center. By day two, the community
center was able to stay open throughout the night because one of the city’s generators was hooked up at the center for the emergency. City workers and YMCA personal manned the temporary shelter, but Snoqualmie Fire Chief Bob Rowe said city workers couldn’t be expected to be available 24/7 without a break for such emergencies. “Given our limited resources, we rely on our community to assist when willing and able,” he said. Snoqualmie is in the process of making the YMCA community center the Upper See DISASTER, Page 2
downtown North Bend By Michele Mihalovich
The city of North Bend is holding a community competition for designs of how the downtown plaza should look, and winning could earn you $100 in pocket change. The city received a $350,000 grant, and will match it, for the plaza, which will be on the corner of North Bend Way and Main Avenue. Mike McCarty, North Bend’s senior planner, said the plaza’s centerpiece will be a traffic circle, and people’s design concept of that is unlimited, except a 5-foot minimum height, and the centerpiece must fit within the 20-foot diameter of the circle.
“But during closures of North Bend Way for festivals, such as the Block Party, the plaza will provide a central gathering space and centerpiece for concerts and events,” he said, adding that it’s an opportunity for people to leave their creative signature on the future of North Bend. In addition to the centerpiece, the city is asking designers to come up with details that extend to sidewalks, seating details and landscaping concepts. “The reason for offering the contest to the public is to have a creative way to get the public involved in the project and wind up with a design See PLAZA, Page 2