Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
October 3, 2013 VOL. 5, NO. 39
Mount Si brings down Interlake Page 10
Snoqualmie Police hire new officers to prep for serving in North Bend
Unicyclists head to Issaquah
Teachers deal with new contract Read this clarified version of last week’s story. Page 2
By Sherry Grindeland
Drive-thru flu shots They’re quick and easy at Snoqualmie Hospital. Page 5
Police blotter Page 8
Chili showdown Annual event helps animals.
Contributed
Page 9
Fast company Locals ride to wins in BMX championship Page 10
Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
Look for the Snoqualmie Valley Unicycle Club riders in the Salmon Days Parade in Issaquah Oct. 5 and 6. Grace Luccio, Miranda Nelson and Briana Dowling (from left to right) stay atop their unicycles through Snoqualmie Railroad Days in August.
Local man strives to help prisoners in Africa By Dan Aznoff After 15 years of keeping cars and trucks on the road, Nate Bean, the owner of Integrity Automotive Maintenance & Repair in Issaquah, discovered his true calling had little to do with changing spark plugs or servicing radiators. The North Bend resident has joined forces with a local prison ministry that reaches out to men who may have lost their way. The stamps on his passport trace his recent missions to three continents and more than seven countries in less than 36 months.
Bean has been an advocate of his religious convictions for several years. His curbside ministry dates back to evenings he spent sharing portions from the gospel on the sidewalk outside Bellevue Square. “Nate has an evangelistic call on his life. He shares the gospel in outdoor settings regularly in malls and street corners,” said See BEAN, Page 2 Contributed
Children smile in a neighborhood outside a prison in eastern Africa during a June 2012 ministry trip taken by Nate Bean.
Adding a whole city to the service area doesn’t happen overnight for the Snoqualmie Police Department. It takes months of planning and implementation said Snoqualmie Police Chief Steven McCulley. Officially the city of Snoqualmie Police will include the city of North Bend in their beat beginning March 8, 2014. Currently, North Bend contracts with the King County Sheriff’s Office for police services. North Bend made the change for two reasons: to guarantee a police officer would be present in the city limits at all times and to save money. Initially the city expected to save about $350,000 a year out of the $1.2 million it pays King County. But it doesn’t quite pencil out that way, said North Bend City Administrator Londi Lindell. She explained the costs were complicated. The $1.2 million doesn’t include salaries for city staff who work in the sheriff’s office and other administrative costs. The projected savings
is now about $200,000 a year. McCulley and his staff have been gearing up for the expanded operation since an inter-local agreement between the two cities was signed Sept. 10, 2012. He expects the transition to be seamless when they take over at 0001 hours March 8. “We’ve been brainstorming with everyone from the union to our sergeants,” McCulley said. McCulley recently was at a North Bend City Council meeting to give a status update. Four of the additional seven police officers required to serve the expanded two-city area have been hired and have started training. These include: q Dmitriy Vladis from the Maui County Police Department. He and his wife are originally from Kirkland. q Anthony Graham from the Sequim Police Department. Graham is a former National Parks Police Officer. q Daniel Goddard, a records technician from the Issaquah See POLICE, Page 3