Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
October 31, 2013 VOL. 5, NO. 43
Happy Halloween Coin drive Middle schoolers support veteran’s memorial. Page 2
Free batteries Firefighters give away batteries to spur replacement. Page 3
Police blotter Page 7
Long walk Walkathon raises funds for elementary school. Page 9
Mount Si clobbers Mercer Island Page 10
Casino’s top chef took a long road to the Valley By Sherry Grindeland Bruce Dillon, 54, was hooked the first time he saw someone make mayonnaise. He had just answered an advertisement for summer work in a Miami restaurant. His entire culinary experience – he was just 20 – had been just toasting hot dog buns. “I had never cooked in my life but then I watched the restaurant owner make homemade mayonnaise. It was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen,” he said. “I’ve never bought mayonnaise in the store since then.” Dillon, executive chef at the Snoqualmie Casino, developed a taste for cooking that summer. His boss, Sara Sharpe, poached turkey breasts and made bread. He wanted to learn more. Instead of returning to the University of Florida, Dillon went to culinary school near Washington D.C. He honed his skills at, L’Academie de Cuisine in Maryland. He still remembers the class taught by Julia Child. “She showed us how to make a red pepper flan,” Dillon said. “Julia Child was taller than I expected and she was a wonderful teacher. If you know how
Lacrosse team has a new coach. Page 10 Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
Opening date: Nov. 6, 2008 Cups of coffee served: 4,042,619 Guests who have eaten at the Falls Buffet: 2,344,593 guests Cars valets have parked: 1,100,100 Water bottles used in one year: 1.2 million Plastic bottles saved since going to water stations: 111,500 Two $1 million jackpots Feb. 27, 2010 $1,035,009.44 on Gold Series game: Kingdom Cash June 11, 2012 $1,045,270.48 on Gold Series game: Gold Cup
By Sherry Grindeland
Bruce Dillon, head chef at the Snoqualmie Casino surveys the kitchen. He oversees the production of thousands of meals every day. to make crème caramel, you can turn that technique into a savory dish – the flan. We learned to take basic components and techniques and build wonderful dishes.”
1 family produces 3 generations of Wildcat football players By Sam Kenyon
New coach
Snoqualmie Casino Fun 5-Year Facts
The Christensens have been coming to the Mount Si football field for 69 years. Bradley Christensen, current senior lineman for the Wildcats, is the third generation of his Snoqualmie family to play football for Mount Si. When Brad’s father, Bubba, who played on the line from 1987 to 1991, and his grandfather, Bob, who was a defensive back and a receiver from 1964 to 1968, come to watch Brad, they are looking at a game that is far more sophisticated than the one they played. “It’s exciting, it’s great,” said Bob. “It’s so much more evolved now.” When he and his son played the game was not the complex machine it is now. They didn’t
have film, or training camps. Bob didn’t have a weight room. Bubba’s football days were more primitive. “You were lucky if you got a good helmet,” said Bubba. The equipment isn’t the only difference. Today’s culture of concern about hitting and concussions wasn’t something that Brad’s dad or grandfather had to deal with. Bob describes one day at practice when his coach introduced him to a forearm shiver by giving him a bloody nose and knocking his helmet off. Now the sport prioritizes safety. The players on the team dedicate themselves to the game now, with Sunday practices and film study sessions. That didn’t happen in Bob and Bubba’s day. See FAMILY, Page 2
Dillon returned to Florida kitchens to work for Sharpe – a woman he still calls his mentor. One day they cooked a gourmet meal for 150 political donors; the next he was part of a team
Snoqualmie Valley Hospital listed in top 20 critical access hospitals Snoqualmie Valley Hospital was recently recognized as a Top 20 Critical Access Hospital in quality for 2013 by the National Rural Health Association. The hospital was recognized for outstanding quality out of more than 1,300 Critical Access Hospitals across the nation. “This is an excellent reflection of all the work everyone has done to continually improve the quality of care at our hospital,” Rodger McCollum, CEO for Snoqualmie Valley Hospital District, said. “It is a real testament to how we safeguard the health of our communities.” Critical Access Hospitals provide essential services to the communities they serve and are certified to receive cost-based reimbursement from Medicare. Snoqualmie Valley
that fixed grilled salmon, roasted potatoes, asparagus and hollandaise sauce for 5,000. No fear in the kitchen “That kind of work took away any fear I had in the kitchen,” Dillon said. “You learn failure is not an option. You might not See CHEF, Page 3
Hospital received CAH status in 2005. The quality rating is determined by iVantage Health Analytics tabulation from publicly available data sources, including Medicare Cost Reports, Medicare claims data, Hospital Compare reporting and related sources. They are based on the percentile rank across five categories of Hospital Compare process of care measures. The National Rural Health Association is a nonprofit organization working to improve the health and well-being of rural Americans and providing leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education and research. NRHA membership is made up of 21,000 diverse individuals and organizations, all of whom share the common bond of an interest in rural health. For more information, visit http://www. RuralHealthWeb.org.