Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
November 29, 2012 VOL. 4, NO. 48
Mount Si football team ends historic season Page 8
Focus on homeless is uniting the community By Michele Mihalovich
County budget finalized Council cuts proposed roads fee. Page 2
North Bend Police Chief Mark Toner knows the city has a homeless problem. He knows citizens are concerned about the gauntlet of sometimes scary people who line the bridges by the river trails. He knows city leaders want something done about the homeless sleeping in tents by the rivers. What he didn’t know was what could be done about it. What started out as a roadside conversation about the local homeless population later turned into an impromptu community meeting of more than
30 folks trying to come up with some kind of solution. Toner, with the help of Pastor Pete Battjes at North Bend Community Church, organized a Nov. 6 meeting through wordof-mouth and a string of emails. Toner told the Star he had had no idea whether anyone would show up, or if too many people would show up. He didn’t know if they were going to be in the “let’s help the homeless” camp or the “let’s run ‘em out of town” camp. But after the first meeting, he said, “I was extremely impressed with the significant and diverse turnout. From what started as
a small roadside conversation a few weeks ago with four others to having nearly three dozen energetic and compassionate citizens show up eager to offer input, support and resources is another great demonstration of the high level of community involvement people in our area consistently show.” The first meeting focused on who is homeless, and what the community can realistically do to help. Toner knows the group of about 24 homeless who live in the tents along the river, but others who turned out figured there were probably 80 regulars
if you count the car campers — people sleeping in vehicles on the city streets or private parking lots every night. Both are illegal in North Bend. The next question the group tried to answer was how it could help immediately. Talk turned to Frosty, a local river camper often seen walking around town with plastic bags on his feet. Toner recounted finding Frosty during January’s snow and ice storm down by the river with nothing but a sheet over his shoulders. See HOMELESS, Page 3
Christmas concert is coming
Tree time Group continues annual tree sale tradition. Page 6
By Sarah Gerdes
Checkmate Elementary students take up chess. Page 7
Local team digs deep Youth soccer team comes together. Page 8
Police blotter Page 10
By Michele Mihalovich
North Bend Public Works Director Ron Garrow, aka Crazy Tie Guy, demonstrates with the sailboat model what he plans to do after his Dec. 4 retirement.
Crazy Tie Guy is setting sail Dec. 4 By Michele Mihalovich
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The city of North Bend made two decisions that would change the course of its history. First, in 1999, it imposed a 10-year moratorium on all new construction that required water rights. Three years later, it hired Crazy Tie Guy. The city named Ron Garrow as its first public works director, and brought him on spe-
cifically to find a solution to the water problem. And if he could do it, they were willing to overlook his propensity for donning silly ties. Garrow didn’t use a divining rod to find a new water source, but he did use knowledge gleaned from his University of Washington master’s degree in civil engineering, with an emphasis in water resource management, and his work
with the cities of Fife, Milton and Federal Way. Tapping into that experience, he knew to not look for water in loose, sandy soil down by the river, and instead pointed the drill right on the city’s public works property, set atop hard rock. The Centennial Well was dug in 2008, and the final See GARROW, Page 3
For Snoqualmie Valley residents, the annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony is the kick-off for holiday activities and celebrations in the Valley. Another tradition in the Valley is attending the annual Community Nativity Christmas Concert, a nondenominational, interfaith affair that involves internationally celebrated recording artists alongside local student performers. This year, the 12th annual event is at 6 p.m. Dec. 8 at the North Bend building of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. “Christmas is a time for family, community and friends to gather together, and we are honored to be able to share in a little bit of this by hosting and providing the venue for such a wonderful event,” said Lind Stapley, a presiding counselor in the Bellevue South Stake that oversees the LDS congregations for the Snoqualmie Valley. “It’s a time and a place for us to come together, feel the love for See CONCERT, Page 2
SnoValley Star
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County cuts $20 road fee By Warren Kagarise Residents in unincorporated King County — including North Bend and Snoqualmie and more than 200,000 people countywide — no longer face a $20 vehicle-license fee to fund road maintenance. King County Council members dropped the proposed fee from the 2013 county budget, and approved the spending plan Nov. 13 in a unanimous decision. Instead, officials plan to lobby the state government for additional road dollars — a challenge as the state faces another budget shortfall next year. In September, King County Executive Dow Constantine proposed a $20 fee to fund road maintenance and storm response in rural and unincorporated areas. Constantine presented the fee as a way to extend maintenance and storm See BUDGET, Page 3
Concert From Page 1 each other and the love of the Lord.” A community celebration The Christmas Concert features students from the Mount Si Concert and Chamber Choir, directed by choir director Ryan Harris, along with internationally known recording artists and local churches. Harley Brumbaugh, the choral director for Voices of the Valley, said the United Methodist Church choir has been participating in the event since the beginning. “The idea was to share the Lord in different dimensions,” Brumbaugh said. “To me, all music has the potential to be sacred, and it doesn’t all have to be straightfaced and serious. It can be toe-tapping and finger-snapping because music has the ability to reach people in different dimensions.” Ed Evans, the coordinator from the LDS North Bend congregation, fondly recalls the concert several years back when Brumbaugh turned
from his choir and engaged the audience. “It was amazing,” Evans gushed. “After a moment’s surprise, we jumped in and started singing as Harley directed the attendees.” Brumbaugh laughs at the memory, but agrees that his approach is as unconventional as his 50-year career as a professional trumpeter in big bands. “Music is more than just a performance,” Brumbaugh said. “It’s a two-way thing. If you engage the audience, get them emotionally engaged in the audience, it’s shared.” Before leading the United Methodist Choir, Brumbaugh used his talents to establish the music program at thenBellevue Community College. He was always a minister of music at a church, where he integrated the latest and greatest musical methods and trends. “I wanted to carry that heritage through the singing — different microphone techniques, sometimes with no vibrato, sometimes a lot of close harmony,” he said. “It gives the music a contemporary sound that’s very different from a traditional choir.”
Don’t let Valley families go hungry The Mt. Si Helping Hand Food Bank serves 300 children and their parents and 150 senior citizens from Snoqualmie Valley every week. Budget cuts have made the future of the food bank uncertain, and that’s just not acceptable. Join the SnoValley Star in insuring that the Mt. Si Food Bank will be here next year, and the year after that…
NOVEMBER 29, 2012
Contributed
The Voice of the Valley choir will perform at a local concert Dec. 8. A jazzy Christmas Augmenting the approach is a performance by the Evergreen Community College Jazz Choir. Choral Director Kelley Eisenhour is also performing a solo. “We are fortunate to have a talent like Kelly perform for the community,” Evans said. Eisenhour has several albums to her credit, and a long career singing with the Boston Pops, on the main stages in Las Vegas and alongside Gladys Knight and the Pips. Eisenhour enjoyed her time traveling the world, but relishes the opportunity to teach students and give benefit performances during the holidays. “I like to do things for the community and be active,” she said. “I think Christmastime is a time to
If you go
Community Nativity Christmas Concert Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 527 S.W. Mount Si Blvd., North Bend Dec. 8 6 p.m. — nativity displays in the cultural hall 7 p.m. — concert starts Attendance is free, although a donation of a can of food per family us suggested. All food donations will be given to the Mount Si Helping Hand Food Bank. be around neighbors, and mingling and smiling and enjoying each other.” It’s a good thing, because after completing her solo with her choir, she joins up with her professional group, Groove for Thought, to perform at Boxley’s in North Bend. An event for all ages Three LDS congregations will combine to perform a trio of songs; Elise
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Vikari, the choral director, will solo as well. The members of the three congregations have worked hard to make the atmosphere and the food memorable. “The Mount Si Ward handled the marketing and publicity, the Snoqualmie Ward provided the decorations for the main hall, the Christmas trees, lights and pictures, and the North Bend Ward is making the best desserts,” Stapley said. “Members of all ages have assisted in the effort.” The same holds true for the choral groups. In the Voices of the Valley, the youngest performer is an 18-year old male; the oldest is Gloria McNeely, 93. “Here again, music bridges age gaps and cultural gaps,” Brumbaugh said. “Where else are you going to have a 93-yearold sitting a foot away from someone 18, and both are enjoying it? “That’s mankind as it should be.” Sarah Gerdes is a freelance writer. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
SnoValley Star
NOVEMBER 29, 2012
Budget From Page 2 cleanup on about 1,500 miles of roadway in unincorporated King County. The fee proposal arrived about a year after Constantine unveiled a tier system to rank roads in unincorporated areas. Rather than enacting the fee and creating a transportation benefit district in unincorporated areas, officials plan to lobby state legislators for a comprehensive state transportation package to address road maintenance. “The proposal to enact a transportation benefit district was a small solution to a very large problem,” Councilman Joe McDermott, Budget Leadership Team chief, said in a statement. “You will find the county in Olympia with a diverse and committed group of allies asking for a dedicated and adequate funding source for roads and transit.” Countywide, crews conducted about 20 percent less snow and ice removal this year, due to a lack of staffing. The county could cut plowing and sanding further during future winter weather, depending on resources. The shortfall stems
Garrow From Page 1 water rights were approved in 2009, which put an end to the city’s imposed moratorium, he said. Garrow said finding a new water source was his greatest achievement as a public works director. Since then, the city annexed a huge chunk of rural King County, houses are being built, a new pharmacy is being constructed, and who knows, maybe one day North Bend will get that new hotel it’s always dreamed about. But it was a different achievement that brought him the most personal satisfaction — convincing an anti-roundabout City Council to approve the traffic circle at North Bend Way and Southeast Cedar Falls Way, rather than putting in a traffic light. Garrow said he used to live in Bermuda and in Europe, where round-
from annexations of unincorporated areas into nearby cities, lower property valuations and a dip in gas tax revenue caused the fund to drop 25 percent, from $128 million to $96 million. Since 2010, the county Road Services Division has eliminated about 200 positions. Local property tax revenue and a separate roads levy support the County Road Fund. The county collects $2.25 per $1,000 in assessed value through the levy. Criminal justice system saves the county money Officials said the $7.6 billion county budget allocates $685 million to the general fund — the source of dollars for elections, law enforcement and other basic government functions. King County Council budget team members said 73 percent of dollars from the fund go toward public safety and criminal justice programs. The budget does not dip into cash reserves or the county’s rainy day fund. Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, North Bend and Snoqualmie’s representative on the council and a budget team member, said using more efficient practices in the criminal
abouts are heavily utilized. “I knew they worked great and knew a roundabout at that intersection would work great as well,” he said, but the council was pretty set on a traffic light. It wasn’t until a public hearing, with about 25 members of the public saying they wanted to give a roundabout a try, that the council finally relented and approved the newfangled traffic control device. “And every single one of those councilmembers have come up to me and said how great that roundabout is,” Garrow said, adding that more will be gracing the city soon. Garrow is also credited with securing $7 million in grants for street capital improvement projects; $1 million in grants for water capital improvement projects; $5.8 million in loans for water/sewer capital improvement projects; starting a pavement preservation program for city streets; and coordinat-
justice system saved the county money. “With better coordination, savings in one department will have a ripple effect among the sheriff’s office, courts, prosecutors and jails, while also improving outcomes for those caught up in the criminal justice system,” she said in a statement. The spending plan preserves funding and staffing for King County District and Superior courts, and the King County Prosecutor’s Office. The budget allocates funding to ensure the King County Sheriff’s Office has sufficient resources to maintain and replace the commissioned officers for patrol, as the agency faces a growing number of retirements. The council raised some fees in the budget, including building permit and surface water management fees. Officials included $1.3 million in onetime funds to support domestic violence shelters, legal aid, services for sexual assault survivors, post-incarceration education and housing services. The budget includes support for gang intervention programs and to improve educational opportunities for offenders transitioning from incarceration.
ing the overlay of many street segments, including portions of North Bend Way, Main Street and Park Street. He also developed the city’s Incident Command System and opened the Emergency Operations Center as incident commander for several local disasters. And all the while, wearing an appropriate, yet crazy tie. Budget hearings meant dusting off his Daffy Dollars and Bugs Bunny Bucks tie. The day the Star interviewed him, he wore a Dilbert tie. And on his last day as pub-
Homeless From Page 1 The group agreed that an emergency, overnight shelter was needed — especially since the rains had begun — even if it was just for the winter. “The purpose is to save lives,” said Paula Matthysse, a Fall City woman who showed up for both meetings. “There are a lot of fragile people out there in the woods, and some people don’t even have tents. I think about them every time the skies open up with the rains.” The assignment for everyone in attendance was to go to his or her church, family and friends, and see if anyone was willing to offer this no-frills, emergency overnight shelter just for the winter months. They were also asked to find out whether any churches would allow car campers use of their parking lots at night. The second meeting on Nov. 20 brought many of the same people, but a few new faces as well, including King County Commissioner Kathy Lambert. She said after the meeting that she showed up because the topic of
lic works director, he’ll sport a tie with sailboats — what he hopes to be boarding often as a retiree. Garrow works as a volunteer for the Red Cross and hopes to continue the emergency work that gets him out of bed late at night. He also told the Star that the Federal Emergency Management Agency recently contacted him and asked him to be on its reservist list. Garrow said the list basically makes him available for federal disasters, like the recent Hurricane
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PAGE 3
homelessness is near and dear to her heart. Lambert said she had to go into hiding years ago with three of her children to escape a domestic violence situation and they stayed in her car for a couple of days until family were able to take her in. “Homelessness can happen to anyone,” she said. “Homeless people have amazing stories. And they just need someone to reach out and help.” Lambert said it was wonderful coming to the community meeting where so many were willing to step up and possibly change lives. While no one came to the second meeting with a definite location suggestion, others agreed to hit the streets, make some phone calls and check on possible buildings. Lambert and North Bend City Attorney Londi Lindell strongly encouraged the group to seek out faith-based locations, because they wouldn’t have to apply for a conditional use permit, which could take a year or two to get approved. Someone said a local church was going to check with its board of directors to see if the church parking lot could
Sandy that hit the East Coast. It’s unknown what tie he’ll pick for responding to natural disasters. North Bend will honor Garrow at the Dec. 4 City Council meeting at 7 p.m.
be used for car campers. And a third meeting was scheduled for Nov. 27 at North Bend Community Church. But the community gatherings also resulted in a Thanksgiving feast. Toner said more than 40 people showed up, but only a handful of those were “homeless.” “We really wanted those guests to feel welcome and involved, so we insured that guests and volunteers ate together and interacted,” he said about the meal served at Mount Si Lutheran Church in North Bend. “During the meal, I looked up and saw all the tables full with a nice mix of everyone … If we separated them out, it may deter them from coming again.” Toner said after the second community meeting that he was thrilled about how things were moving. “The fact that so many came back is huge,” he said. “This is a fantastic example of grassroots work, and with this kind of involvement I have high hopes that we will succeed in our efforts.” Michele Mihalovich: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar. com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
if you’d like to see his sailboat tie. Michele Mihalovich: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
Opinion
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NOVEMBER 29, 2012
Editorial
Letters
More questions than answers about homeless
Thank you to voters for passing levy
We are impressed by the compassionate gathering of folks who are showing up at community meetings about the homeless, organized, in part, by North Bend Police Chief Mark Toner. The focus of these meetings is what can we do to help the homeless in North Bend, in the Snoqualmie Valley really. We’ve heard about the group of chronically homeless who live in the woods by our rivers, but we also learned about people who live in their vehicles and call the Safeway parking lot in North Bend home; and the people who live in campers and tents all year long in Fall City; and teenagers who’ve been kicked out of the house and live under bridges, or on friends’ couches if they’re lucky. But when you get 30 people together to find a solution, a lot of questions come up that are hard to answer. Where will we put them? Will it just be for winter or year round? Should a shelter be open all evening or 24/7? Will there be case managers on hand to help with services like mental illness, health issues, job placement and transitional housing needs? Will we provide food or showers? Who will staff a shelter and train volunteers? Are we going to turn away people who are drunk or who have criminal records? How are we going to pay for this? But the people who come to these meetings have not been deterred by all the questions. They are answer people. Being homeless is no fun, but being homeless in the winter can be a matter of life and death. And as one woman at the meeting said, “You don’t want that to happen here. It changes a community.” The community can’t turn its back on the problem when a life is at stake. Organizers and community members are trying to find a warm, dry place for the homeless in order to save lives. It’s a simple yet complex concept, and we hope they succeed.
WEEKLY POLL How do you feel about the redrawing of middle school boundaries? A. They pushed it on us, like they pushed the freshman learning center. B. They seem fair. We have to learn to adapt. C. I disagree with the final decision, but I respect the process. D. None of this is fair. Vote online at www.snovalleystar.com.
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We would like to thank Snoqualmie voters for passing city of Snoqualmie Proposition 1, the Public Safety Operations, Streets and Parks Maintenance Levy. Approval of this levy was critical to support current levels of public safety in Snoqualmie, maintenance of the city’s parks and trails system, and maintenance of safe streets. Your yes vote will ensure that all Snoqualmie citizens continue to benefit from these services and enjoy the high quality of life our community has built. Jim Schaffer, Chelley Patterson and Dave Battey Co-chairs, Keep Snoqualmie Safe Committee
cougar attacks and burglaries on the trail. I suggested to my friend that he should reevaluate his perception of what is a real threat, and what is “threatening looking.” Additionally, I suggested that the gentleman rescue a dog and assimilate it into our semi-country community, rather than be an antagonist. Howard W. Clark North Bend
Share your views
Citizens can make a difference by contacting their elected representatives.
Federal
Real threats are out there A friend of mine relayed a story about a gentleman who had a concern with “threateninglooking dogs” “off leash” on local trails the other day. No attack mentioned, just that the dogs were threatening looking. I am a newcomer to the Valley. I have only lived here for 13 years. I use various trails and mountains in the area, on an almost daily basis. I have never been threatened, or seen any threatening-looking dogs on these trails. I have, however, been threatened by a man with a machete, and seen coyotes and bears on the trails. I have read about murderers, escaped convicts,
President Barack Obama (D), The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20500; 202-456-1414; president@whitehouse.gov U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D), 511 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3441; http://cantwell.senate.gov; 915 Second Ave., Suite 512, Seattle, WA 98174; 206220-6400 U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D), 173 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; 202224-2621; http://murray.senate.gov; Jackson Federal Building, Room 2988, 915 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98174; 206-553-5545
Home Country
Play it smart and you will keep it safe Coffee always tastes perfect before daylight on the opening day of deer season, Dud Campbell thought as he sat in near-total darkness in his kitchen. He was being extra quiet so as not to awaken Anita. Turning on a flashlight on the kitchen counter, he wrote: Honey, I’ll be up Pine Canyon, hunting up a feeder creek 1.4 miles to the right. The truck will be at the campground. Doc and Steve both know the area I’m hunting. I’ll be back no later than 10 p.m. unless I call. An hour later, Dud quietly got out of the pickup and left a note under the windshield wiper: Hunting to the west between here and the ridge. Should be back here no later than 9 p.m. Dud Campbell Dud was sitting on a rock outcropping as the sun rose, feeling the warmth spread from inside out as another great day of anticipation came. He smiled, and then prayed. He always did during hunting season. His prayer wasn’t wishing for success, but simply expressing gratitude for this special time. This was the success. Sitting here
in the sun, hunting yet another year. An actual deer for the freezer is simply gravy on this feast. After lunch, Dud decided to try a different location, so he returned to the pickup and left a difSlim Randles ferent note. Columnist He got home about 9 p.m. and raved to Anita about the wonders of the day in the woods. “You left me that note, Dud,” she said, “but I don’t even know where that is.”
“No. But the sheriff’s department does, and search and rescue knows, and both Doc and Steve know.” She still looked puzzled. “You’re a good outdoorsman, though, aren’t you?” “Well, yes I am. That’s why I left the notes. Anyone can twist an ankle or fall up there.” He smiled at her. “Hunters have an old saying, Honey. If you take crutches with you, you’ll never break a leg.” Brought to you by the national award-winning book “A Cowboy’s Guide to Growing Up Right.” Read a free sample at www.slimrandles.com.
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NOVEMBER 29, 2012
SnoValley Star
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community
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NOVEMBER 29, 2012
Happy crew celebrates 25 years of tree sales By Sebastian Moraga Every year, Emily Ferree, 20, waits for months for the arrival of the day after Thanksgiving. Not for the sales or the offers. Not for the malls or the masses of people. For her, it’s a chance to work side by side with her second family. “I’ve never known anything else,” she said, standing near the corner of Snoqualmie Parkway and Railroad Avenue, surrounded by rows of Christmas trees she helps sell. “Never any Black Friday shopping or anything like that.” Ferree is the daughter of Kim Ferree, the man who started the Snoqualmie Valley Venturing Crew and who, 25 years ago, got five crew members to help sell Christmas trees as the crew’s only fundraiser of the year. Fifteen years into it, the crew moved the sale from Bellevue to Snoqualmie. The sale always starts on the day after Thanksgiving. It’s been 10 years in Snoqualmie, 25 years altogether. The customers remain loyal and so do the children of the crew, a coed division of the Boys Scouts of America for youths ages 14-21. Through snowstorms, rainstorms and chilly days the crew has remained as much a fixture of Valley Christmases as the holiday itself. “Two years ago, temperature was single digits every morning,” Kim Ferree said. “But people need their Christmas tree, so we stay in business.”
The crew sells about 1,200 trees a year. A nonprofit, the crew tries to stay competitive without gouging anybody, Kim Ferree said. “We know how much money we need for our crew,” he said. “We don’t need to get greedy.” The trees come from Orting in southeast King County. The customers come from as far as Tacoma. Many people, Kim Ferree said, followed the crew once it moved from Bellevue. The only group more loyal than the crew’s customers is the crew itself. Every year, Kim Ferree takes a picture of the entire crew, and hangs it on the wall of the trailer that serves as its on-site office. Some of the littlest children in the early pictures are now teenagers, or even older, and still showing up. Jesse Andress joined at 13. He’s 27 now. “I really enjoyed this when I was a teenager,” he said. “It really taught me a lot.” Emily Ferree agreed. “I wouldn’t be the same person I am today without the tree lot,” she said. Tree season, Andress said, is hard work on cold days, but it pays off during the rest of the year, when the tree sales finance the rest of the crew’s activities. The work begins when school does, in September. Then, 12 days before Thanksgiving, the crew starts setting up. Lights, stands, trees, the kitchen and, of course, Boris. “Boris is the secret,” Kim said. Instead of piling the trees
By Sebastian Moraga
A member of the Snoqualmie Valley Venture Crew lifts one of the trees the group sells from its spot in Snoqualmie. against a wall, the crew bores a hole in the bottom of each tree, then stands them upright on five-foot square bases made of metal pipe. This allows customers a 360-degree look at the tree. The crew christened the boring machine Boris. In its lifetime, Boris has worked on about 20,000 trees, Kim Ferree said. Two crewmembers hold the tree upright while Boris does its thing. It’s essential that the tree does not move, or it will sit crooked on the base. The crew gets hats and food during their shifts, as well as a place to stay warm and hang out. “We don’t want them to get sick,” Kim Ferree said. “We are open seven days a week, so we’ve got to staff it seven days a week.”
Most years, the tree stock sells out. Regardless, the crew remains in business until 5 p.m. Christmas Eve. “People have their traditions,” Emily Ferree said. “Some wait until after Thanksgiving or until Dec. 24, for religious reasons, to buy their tree.” A couple of times while in Bellevue, the crew sold trees after Christmas to a Russian family. The Russian Orthodox Christmas is Jan. 7. By the end of Christmas season, the crew is tired and wants to go home, Kim Ferree said. They are also happy because they know they have the money for the coming year’s activities. The tree-weary feeling lasts until early fall, when the crew starts talking tree lot again. By the time Thanksgiving
approaches, the thought is not on the latest deals on the latest gadgets, but on seeing friends and firs again. “The crew has shaped me,” crewmember Amber Boyce said. “It has changed my career path. Before, I was really unsure. Now, I know I want to be into some type of management.” Emily Ferree took it a step farther. “The tree lot has shaped all of us,” she said. “Even the kids who have been here three weeks, they come in and they enjoy this because they learn something.” Hannah Russell agreed. “It’s like a family,” said Russell, the crew’s vice president. “You get close with a bunch of people and you learn a lot.”
Warm up your winter with a cup of French chocolat chaud By Deanna Morauski Up until Aug. 18, 2011, I thought hot chocolate was made from cocoa powder. Then, my life changed. There are some days in a girl’s life that she will never, ever forget. You know, like the day she meets her future husband. The days her children come into the world. The day that O.J. Simpson raced down the highway in a police chase. And the day she is introduced to chocolat chaud. For me, it happened Aug. 19, 2011. A friend and I were speaking bloggish over surprisingly delicious vegan sandwiches and I was sharing with her that I had received a couple of notes from disgruntled readers who had given me an education about real chocolate. “They were almost vicious,” I
said in confusion. “That’s it,” she responded, “Finish your dessert. We’re gonna go get you some real hot chocolate.” So I hurried to finish a couple more bites of my vegan brownie and then used the sense I had left to ask for a doggy bag. “Are you sure this isn’t pudding?” I asked about the chocolat chaud. I was certainly not used to such gloriousness in a cup. For it was a liquid candy bar. And I shall never go back. I knew I had to learn to make it so I went home, put on my laboratory jacket (also known as a T-shirt with stains on the front) and started playing. French chocolat chaud ingredients: 12.25 ounces of the best dark chocolate you can buy (I use
three and a half 3.5-ounce bars of Valrhona 71 percent cacao from Trader Joe’s.) 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup 2 percent milk 3/4 cup sugar (Can be adjusted as needed. If you use semisweet chocolate, the sugar isn’t necessary.) 2 teaspoons vanilla Dash of salt (optional) Break chocolate bars into small pieces. Place chocolate in a double boiler on low heat. Stir occasionally and don’t allow chocolate to go over 110 degrees as it melts. Stir in heavy cream. Stir in milk.
Add vanilla and salt. Pour chocolat chaud into your prettiest cup or your coziest mug. Make some homemade whipped cream, because this chocolat deserves the real thing. Sprinkle with cocoa powder. Kick back and create a new moment you will always remember. This recipe makes three full servings or six mini servings.
Thank you, vicious chocolate lovers, for opening my eyes. Deanna Morauski owns, operates and cooks at the Old Hen Bed and Breakfast near North Bend with her husband John. She also blogs about food and cooking at www.theoldhen. com. Follow her on Facebook at www.facebook. com/theoldhen or on Twitter at www.twitter. com/theoldhen.
NOVEMBER 29, 2012
Schools
PAGE 7
Chess gains new faithful in SES program
Vet grateful for youth’s respect
By Sebastian Moraga
By Sebastian Moraga
The two boys sat across from each other, smirks growing bigger with each move. Then the inevitable. Kenneth Lynch, a fifth-grader, lifted a piece, placed it and said, “Checkmate.” Manjesh Puram, also a fifth-grader, went from smirk to Mona Lisa smile before conceding that his classmate of two years had beaten him. But only for a reason. “I went easy on you,” Puram said. “I keep telling him, ‘Go hard.’” Lynch retorted, setting up the two rows of plastic pieces for another game. Lynch, Puram and about six other grade-schoolers learn the intricacies of chess — and make fun of each other in the process — at the Chess4Life after-school program at Snoqualmie Elementary School. Some, instructor Wade McCorkle said, take the game of chess for what it is, a game. Others, like Lynch, compete in tournaments and take the game very seriously. Puram has not competed in tourneys yet, but he takes at least one responsibility like a pro. Born in India, he plays with a miniature Taj Mahal keychain next to him. “It’s my country,” he said, “so I’m proud to represent it.” The children learn tactics, moves and
With a curriculum vitae that includes a stint as a fighter pilot for the Air Force and another as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, it takes a lot to surprise North Bend’s Joe Crecca. But on Nov. 8, a group of teenagers did just that. “I was literally shocked,” wrote Crecca in an email. The youths in question, and hundreds of their buddies had attended a Veterans Day assembly at Mount Si High School, where Crecca had appeared as keynote speaker. The first impressive moment came as Crecca watched hundreds of students enter the Mount Si High School gym in orderly fashion, “showing obvious respect for each other as they all took their seats,” he wrote. Then, during his speech, which lasted about 10 minutes, Crecca asked the crowd of Wildcat students to stand if they were thinking of joining the Armed Forces. Dozens of students stood, and so did Crecca’s eyebrows. After the event, students lined up to shake Crecca’s and other veterans’ hands as a show of gratitude. Little did Crecca know, but he was in for yet another surprise. “Hours later,” he wrote, “I was at a service station refueling when yet another MSHS student came up to me and thanked me for my talk and shook my hand.” The respect shook not only Crecca, but also those who have known him for years. “I was overcome by how many children were there,” said his wife Joan in a phone interview, “and very respectful of the veterans.” To Crecca, experiences like that give him “renewed hope for the future of, and restored my faith in, our great country. All MSHS parents should be proud of their children,” he wrote. It was the first speech for Crecca at Mount Si High School. He has shared his experiences with students at North Bend Elementary, Twin Falls Middle School, Snoqualmie Middle School and, in June of this year, the graduation and commissioning of Air Force officers at Central Washington University. The respect given today to Vietnam veterans like Crecca stands far above the way they were treated in the 1970s. “As time goes on, more and more of these children are further away from the end of the war, 1975, April 30,” he said by phone “But I’m amazed that the faculty and the principals of the schools around here seem to be very respectful of the veterans, and want to ensure recognition of the veterans. That recognition gets passed on to the students, regardless of how much they know about the war.”
By Sebastian Moraga
Theresa Legat, at center, and Jeremiah Boivin, right, make their move during their Chess4Life after-school class at Snoqualmie Elementary School. chess-related activities, like Bughouse, where they play chess with a teammate. “They love Bughouse,” said McCorkle, who teaches three 10-week sessions during the school year. In Bughouse, a piece captured by a player becomes his teammate’s newest piece on the adjacent board. A former certified public accountant, McCorkle said he jumped at the chance to teach for a living the game he has played for 16 years. “This is way more fun,” said McCorkle, a chess instructor at three school districts. “I get to work with kids, and teach something that I really enjoy.” Most of the students are boys, but the
girls’ interest in the game is growing, he said. Like with every childhood activity, once one girl joins and her friends join, word gets around and more want to give chess a try. “People still perceive it as a boys’ thing, though,” he added. At Snoqualmie Elementary on this November afternoon, the group has only one girl: quiet-as-a-portrait Theresa Legat, who just so happens to love the game, McCorkle said. Slightly more noticeable in his own way was Jeremiah Boivin, a second-grader who jumped up and down repeating “I got it!” when he mastered a drill. “It’s a fun game,” Boivin said. “I just think it’s cool.”
Snoqualmie Elementary School teachers win grants for high-tech, and low-tech, needs By Sebastian Moraga From technology to thesaurus, the end-of-the-year presents arrived a tad early at Snoqualmie Elementary School. Ten teachers from the school received grants for classroom tools that included iPads, Lego Robotic Kits and thesauri. Four teachers received grants from the Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation: q Erin Whitey received money to buy die cuts for the preschool program. q Nathan Barnes received money to buy a set of thesauri for the fourth-grade classroom. q Marcia Townsend received money for the robotic kits and its programming software. q Kristi George received funds to buy headphones for the music program’s keyboards. According to a school email, the staff at Snoqualmie Elementary applied to the Mobile Learning Initiative grant from the Snoqualmie Valley School District Instructional Technology Department.
Two first-grade teachers, Shannon Caires and Catherine Heinz, received 15 iPads. The school’s fifth-grade team received 10 netbooks, the email said. Heinz said the first-grade team would receive 15 iPads between Dec. 17 and the start of the new year. The iPads would help intertwine the communication between teacher, student and parent, she said. “There’s multiple apps to download that the kids can use,” she said, later adding, “We can communicate with the students, we are able to take videos using the iPads and sharing that with our parents through the websites.” Single-user technology is limited in elementary classrooms, Heinz said. That will improve somewhat with the new gadgets. At the start, each of the five first-grade classrooms will likely work with three iPads each. Since each teacher has his or her own iPad, that gives each classroom four.
Students will split into groups to work with the iPads, Heinz said. In addition, the students will work on two computers. “They are not iPads but they can download the same apps,” she said, using the tech lingo word for application. The iPads will stay in the classrooms full-time, Heinz said, students will not take them home. A class will use all the iPads at once in bigger projects. Heinz said the new technology will help improve math fluency and reading comprehension, as well as a more engaged group of parents. The main target, of course, is the children themselves, who will see their scores rise and not just on tests. “They are really excited,” Heinz said, “about getting little rocket ship points that they get from all the correct answers they get.” Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@ snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
Sports
PAGE 8
NOVEMBER 29, 2012
Wildcat football team ends season with loss, but many achievements By Michele Mihalovich Snovalley Star reporter and Jayson Jenks Seattle Times staff reporter While Mount Si High School’s football team did not advance to the Gridiron Classic at the Tacoma Dome, they have nothing to feel bad about this season. Like coach Charlie Kinnune told The Seattle Times after losing to Bellevue 37-7 Nov. 23, “We’re not going to hang our heads. We’re going to keep our chins up. We’ll enjoy the year we had, the best team in school history.” Mount Si ended the season with the best record ever – 11-2. This was the first time in school history that the Wildcats made it to the Dome for state semifinals. Kicker Cameron Van Winkle broke a state record for most career field goals, and was named KingCo 3A Special Teams Player of the Year. Griffin McLain clenched the title of KingCo Lineman of the Year. Trent Riley, with one of the best injury comebacks in Mount Si history, was named KingCo Offensive Player of the Year and Punt Returner of the Year. Riley, who sat out his entire junior year due to an injury from basketball, also broke the
school record for most touchdowns in a season, which now stands at 22. Kinnune, who has coached the Wildcats for 21 years, was named KingCo 3A Coach of the Year. Quarterback Nick Mitchell also had an impressive year. The junior quarterback broke the school record of four touchdown passes in a game when he tossed five Nov. 2, but he shattered the school’s record of touchdown passes during a season, which was 16, and now stands at 33. And now, after the Bellevue game, they have a couple other noteworthy achievements: They were the first team this season to score in the initial frame against Bellevue, and they were the only team to take a lead against the Wolverines this season. That early lead came within the first five minutes of the semifinal game, when the Wolverines muffed a punt return that Mount Si recovered, which allowed quarterback Nick Mitchell to toss a 16-yard pass to Joey Cotto and score the Wildcats only touchdown of the night. But that early Wildcat success woke up the sleeping giants of high school football. Wolverine John Nguyen punched in two first-half touchdowns, including a 10-yard run
By Calder Productions
Wildcat Joey Cotto catches a touchdown pass from Nick Mitchell, which put Mount Si ahead of Bellevue at the Nov. 23 state semifinals at the Tacoma Dome. Bellevue won 37-7. that capped an 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter. Ryan Bordner added two first-half field goals that helped Bellevue to a 20-7 halftime lead.
Nguyen shouldered much of Bellevue’s offensive load, rushing for 147 yards and three touchdowns. “My main thing was just to run downhill,” Nguyen said.
“That’s my game is to run downhill, cover the ball and run hard.” Jayson Jenks: 206-464-8277 or jjenks@seattletimes.com
Underdog soccer team learned to use their skills, led to victory By Sebastian Moraga It started as an amusing cheer; it became a winning mantra. Before every game, the U-10 Cascade FC girls led one another in repeating, “1-2-3, I believe in the power of me.” Then, “4-5-6, there’s nothing that can happen that we can’t fix.” Then, “7-8-9, this is our time to shine: We are one team, with one heart.” Indeed it was, to the tune of a 2012 campaign with six wins, two ties and no losses. Not bad for a soccer squad that lost four out of eight games in 2011. With six new players and a new head coach in Nicole Rousseau, the team clicked after a very tough year. “The difference for these girls, they kind of had a charisma together, and really jelled well as a team,” said Rousseau, whose daughter Sydney plays for her. “A lot of it was learning how to get them excited through different music that means things to them, and gearing the practices
Contributed
The U-10 Cascade FC team just finished an unbeaten season under first-year coach Nicole Rousseau and assistant coaches Jeff Hunter, Matt Dorman and Scott Garcia. The team lost half its games a year ago and Rousseau credits the turnaround to the girls finally working as a team. toward things that meant more to them as a team.” The year before, the team
had struggled to come together. This year, the team became close-knit, with coaches
Rousseau, Jeff Hunter, Matt Dorman and Scott Garcia talking to the girls about how each
player has something that makes them special and different, Rousseau said. “Watching them come together and think about how to make up for their weaknesses, at the age they are, it was truly, truly amazing.” The biggest challenge for the group was figuring out how to turn this bunch of girls into an actual team. “You can have all sorts of great skills, but if they don’t jell, the skill set does not matter,” Rousseau said. The biggest challenge for Sydney was the last game against the Seattle Marauders, when she had to face the player wearing No. 10. “She was taller than my mom,” she said. “I had to toughen up and mark her.” The team scored 19 goals, allowing only three. They finished atop their division with 20 points, one more than Issaquah’s ISC Gunners. Their year is over, and no See SOCCER, Page 9
SnoValley Star
NOVEMBER 29, 2012
PAGE 9
Trent Riley revives his broken dreams By Jayson Jenks Seattle Times staff reporter In the doctor’s office, with his parents flanking him, Mount Si High School receiver Trent Riley heard the worst-case scenario from the doctor who had just reviewed an X-ray of Riley’s knee: He may never play sports again. Riley couldn’t hold back the tears. Neither could his parents. “I was just thinking, everything I’ve dreamed of since I was a little kid is about to be taken away,” Riley said. “I cried for pretty much a week straight.” At this time last year, Riley was still on crutches, unable to walk unassisted for four months. Mount Si’s football season had already ended, but Riley, a basketball player, could only watch. He had always shuffled seamlessly from sport to sport. Football to high school basketball to AAU ball. Suddenly, that was all gone. Worse, he didn’t know if they were gone for good. “A lot of thoughts,” Riley said. “I just always thought, ‘Will I be back?’” Yet here he is a year later, leading Mount Si’s 11-1 football team into a Class 3A semifinal game
against Bellevue at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 at the Tacoma Dome. Already, Riley has shattered the school record for touchdowns in a season, with 22. He was also named KingCo 3A/2A Offensive Player of the Year. “From the original news we got saying, ‘We hope you can walk when you’re 30,’ to him having a phenomenal year and getting recruited has been remarkable,” Mount Si coach Charlie Kinnune said. Riley started feeling pain in his knee while playing basketball the summer before his junior year, but brushed it off. Newport quarterback Isaac Dotson, Riley’s friend and one-time basketball teammate, calls Riley “one of the fiercest competitors I know.” Riley blocked out the pain for two months. Then, one day, he couldn’t anymore. Kinnune remembers an early football practice where Riley backpedaled, fell and rolled in excruciating pain. “He’s a tough kid, so I knew then and there that something was wrong,” Kinnune said. Riley went in for X-rays. He learned that he had a fracture in the lower femur in his knee and part of the bone had broken off.
Wildcat becomes a Triton
Riley’s two older brothers played college sports, and both his parents were athletes. His dad, Eric, is Mount Si’s offensive coordinator and the first coach Kinnune hired 21 years ago. “Pretty much everything we do as a family is about sports,” Riley said. He went into a funk. His grades slipped. He experienced depression. “I was at a point where I didn’t know what to do with myself,” he said. Yet things started to change for Riley after surgery fused the bones back together. He had screws in his knee for months and had to go through a long stint on crutches, and then rehab. “He deserves everything that comes to him,” Kinnune said. Riley has scored six touchdowns in Mount Si’s three playoff games. He’s returned a punt and an interception for touchdowns this year. And he’ll have options to continue playing at some level in college. That’s OK with Riley. It’s an opportunity to play, he says, and that’s all he can ask for. Jayson Jenks: 206-464-8277 or jjenks@seattletimes.com
Contributed
Abigail McLauchlin signed a letter of intent with the University of San Diego, California. McLauchlin, a Mount Si High School student, is a rower and plans to continue her sport, as well as major in nursing at USD.
Soccer From Page 8 more games are scheduled until the spring, but these girls from Carnation, Fall City, North Bend and Snoqualmie, know that the team they suited up for in 2012 is much more than a team now. “They were some of my best friends and we were there for each other,” said Sydney, a center-midfielder with the team. “When we won we felt good about it, and when we tied, we still felt good, since we did such a good job of working hard.”
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SnoValley Star
Police blotter North Bend Quick, I need to make a call
Verizon employees reported at 3 p.m. Nov. 2 that a teenaged male had just broken into a display case and stole two iPhones valued at $1,200, ran out of the store and jumped into a blue sedan.
Stocking up on necessities
An Osh Kosh B’Gosh employee reported to police at about 6 p.m. Nov. 10 that someone had stolen her Visa credit card from her purse and was using the card at Chevron, McDonald’s and Safeway.
Used car comes with baggage
A man reported Nov. 9 that while his vehicle was parked at QFC at various times between Nov. 7-9, someone used a key to carve racial and homopho-
bic slurs into the paint, along with a drawing of penises. Someone also squirted ketchup on the windshield and removed the windshield wipers. The car owner had just purchased the vehicle and called the previous owner to ask if anyone was upset with him.
Intoxicated man foils sock theft
People from a couple of businesses phoned police Nov. 9 regarding an unshaven, 51-year-old man. It appears that the man stole wine from Safeway, and later was reported as being “highly intoxicated” and attempting to steal socks from Sketchers, but he dropped them before leaving the store. Safeway asked that the man be banned from the store.
NOVEMBER 29, 2012
after she had set them out the night before.
Narcotics activity
It appeared the man had been drinking and fell off his bike. Officers drove him home.
Five subjects were banned from the North Bend Library Nov. 13 after multiple complaints from library staff members about possible narcotics activity and finding foil and plastic bags in the bathroom.
Rollover
Snoqualmie
I spy a prowler
Burglary A woman who lives on Meadowbrook Way Southeast reported to police at 1:11 p.m. Nov. 15 that she had just returned to her home, after having been gone an hour, to find her front door kicked in, beds moved around and prescription medication missing.
Can taggers
Drunken riding
A woman reported at 10 p.m. Nov. 12 that sometime had tagged her garbage cans with graffiti
Officers at 1:47 a.m. Nov. 16 found a man on Railroad Avenue Southeast with a head laceration.
An officer at 4:08 p.m. Nov. 16 noticed a rollover accident on the eastbound lane of Interstate 90 near exit 22. The Washington State Patrol was notified.
A woman reported to police that at 4 p.m. Nov. 19 she had parked her vehicle on Meadowbrook Way near Reinig Road. When she returned to her vehicle, the front passenger window had been broken and a man was inside her vehicle. She said he ran away and she didn’t get a good look at him, but he did take her iPod and sunglasses.
North Bend fire calls
One fire engine responded to a malicious false fire alarm at
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1:10 p.m. Nov. 18 in the 400 block of South Fork Avenue Southwest. Two fire engines responded to a vehicle accident with injuries at 9:14 a.m. Nov. 23 on eastbound Interstate 90. Three fire engines responded to a structure fire involving the chimney at 4:31 p.m. Nov. 23 in the 43000 block of Southeast 78th Street.
Snoqualmie fire calls EMTs and Bellevue paramedics were dispatched to the Snoqualmie Casino for a medical call. A patient was treated and then transported to a hospital. EMTs responded to the Snoqualmie Casino for a medical call. A patient was evaluated and left in care of family on scene. EMTs responded Nov. 16 to the downtown area for a medical call. A patient was treated and released at the scene to the Snoqualmie Police. EMTs were dispatched Nov. 17 to Snoqualmie Casino for a medical call. A patient was evaluated and left in care of friends on scene. Firefighters responded Nov. 18 to a construction road off of Swenson Street for a stump fire. Firefighters found a large stump and a 20-by20-foot area that was burning and extinguished the fire. EMTs responded Nov. 18 downtown for a man having respiratory distress and transported him to a hospital. EMTs responded Nov. 18 to Snoqualmie Ridge for a woman having chest pain and transported her to a hospital. EMTs responded Nov. 19 to Snoqualmie Casino for a medical call. A patient was evaluated and left in care of casino staff on scene. EMTs were dispatched Nov. 19 to Snoqualmie Ridge area for a medical call. A patient was treated and left in care of family on scene. Firefighters responded Nov. 21 to Snoqualmie Casino for a female with a skin rash. The Star publishes names of those arrested for DUI and those charged with felony crimes. Information comes directly from local police reports.
Calendar
NOVEMBER 29, 2012
Music/ entertainment
Have some sweets
q The Fabulous Johnsons, high energy rock ‘n’ roll, 9:30 p.m. Dec. 1, Finaghty’s Irish Pub, 7726 Center Blvd. S.E., Suite 110, Snoqualmie, 888-8833 q Open Mic Night, 8 p.m. Dec. 3, Snoqualmie Brewery and Taproom, 8031 Falls Ave. S.E. Snoqualmie, 888-1234 q Dmitri Matheny, jazz flugelhornist/composer, 7 p.m. Dec. 5, Boxley’s, 101 W. North Bend Way, 292-9307 q Rob Ickes and Jim Hurst, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6, Sallal Grange, 12912 432nd Ave. S.E. North Bend. Tickets are $15; doors open at 6:30 p.m. Hurst is a two-time International Bluegrass Music Association Guitar Player of the Year; Ickes is a founding member of the bluegrass group Blue Highway. Purchase tickets at the door or at www.sallalgrange.org.
Events q Ladies’ Night fundraiser for Valley Animal Partners, showing of “While You Were Sleeping,” starring Sandra Bullock, is at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 29 at the North Bend Theatre, 125 Bendigo Blvd. N., North Bend. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The $25 admission includes movie, one alcoholic beverage, appetizers, small soda and popcorn. All proceeds will benefit people and pets in the Snoqualmie Valley. Tickets for sale at U Dirty Dog, Pet Place Market and Another Hair Place. q Downtown Merchant Holiday Open House, 4-8 p.m. Dec. 1, downtown Snoqualmie. Visit stores and restaurants for complimentary treats, hot beverages, art exhibits, live music, food tasting benefits and coupons for holiday shopping. q North Bend Holiday Festival Gingerbread House contest, entries will be displayed in downtown North Bend businesses starting Dec. 1. Prizes for adult, family, teens, and kids’ categories. Call 888-2777. q Pancake breakfast with Santa, 8-11 a.m. Dec. 1, 411 Main Ave. S. North Bend, and Christmas bazaar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Breakfast, pictures with Santa, baked goods, gifts, and brand-new sheepskin boots and slippers. q Snoqualmie Valley Hospital District Lunch and Learn, “PostAcute Care,” noon Dec. 6, Snoqualmie Fire
Contributed
Cascade Dance Academy will perform “Nutcracker Sweets,” act 2 of “The Nutcracker,” and “Holidays on Broadway” at 1 p.m. Dec. 9, at Cascade View Elementary School, 34816 S.E. Ridge St., Snoqualmie. Tickets are $6 and available in advance at the academy’s main office, 7722 Center Blvd S.E., Snoqualmie, or at the door. Call 396-0538. Department, 37600, Snoqualmie Parkway S.E. q Santa’s Toy Shop Toy Drive at the North Bend Substation of the King County Sheriff’s Office, 1550 Boalch Ave N.W., to Dec. 11. New, unwrapped toys for tots to teens welcome. Office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to noon Friday. Santa will visit at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 1. q The Snoqualmie Valley Museum presents: “Beyond Smokey: The USFS In The Snoqualmie Valley,” 1-5 p.m. Saturdays through Tuesdays, 320 Bendigo Blvd. S., North Bend
Churches q Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church’s Stockings of Joy Project will meet to assemble stockings 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2. Stockings need items like hot powdered drinks, canned food, candies, gift cards, toiletries, socks, handkerchiefs, washcloths, towels, playing cards, stationery flashlights, novels, etc. Put donated items in parish hall donation box, 39025 S.E. Alpha St., Snoqualmie. Items will go to homebound residents
and residents of the Mount Si Transitional Center and The Red Oak Residence.
Snoqualmie Library Unless otherwise noted, events take place at the Snoqualmie Library, 7824 Center Blvd. S.E. q Holiday Songs Around The World, 1:30 p.m. Dec. 1 — The Miho and Diego Duo introduce songs from Latin America, Japan and more, playing bamboo flutes, marimba, percussion and guitar. q Preschool Story Times, 1:30 p.m. Dec. 3, 10:30 a.m. Dec. 5, ages 3-6 with adult. Come for stories, songs and surprises. q Young Toddler Story Times, 9:30 a.m. Dec. 5, ages 6-24 months with adult. Younger children and siblings welcome. Enjoy bouncy rhymes, familiar songs and stories. q “Sequential Storytelling,” 3 p.m. Dec. 5. Learn how graphic novels are written and produced by independent comic book author and artist Elizabeth Guizzetti. Topics include developing ideas, character design, plotting, storyboarding and more. For teens.
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SnoValley Star
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Cut a Christmas tree in national forest Revelers determined to cut a Christmas tree in the forest can head to the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and other U.S. Forest Service lands in Washington. Rangers started selling permits to cut Christmas trees in the 1.7 millionacre national forest Nov. 13 and plan to do so until Christmas Eve, Dec. 24. The forest is accessible from numerous
sites throughout Western Washington, including from Interstate 90 in and near North Bend. The cutting areas fall in the eastern King, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom counties. Nonrefundable permits cost $10 each, one tree per permit, with a tree height limit of 12 feet. Trees taller than 12 feet require a tall tree permit for $20. In addition, plan to purchase a parking permit if the trip includes parking
in a designated Sno-Park lot. But getting to the perfect tree poses a challenge. Most trees sit off of narrow, unplowed mountain roads, and a highclearance vehicle equipped with tire chains is often required. Check ranger stations for road and weather information before venturing into the forest. Learn more about how to cut a Christmas tree in the Mount BakerSnoqualmie National
NOVEMBER 29, 2012
Forest at the U.S. Forest Service website, http://1.usa.gov/TePOk8.
Chiropractic office opens in Snoqualmie Ridge Doctor Jason Green and his wife Dr. Tiffany Green opened Optimal Health Chiropractic in Snoqualmie Oct. 18. Jason Green said he provides upper cervical chiropractic, and his wife
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Local nonprofit organizations in the Snoqualmie Valley have joined forces, called One VOICE, to help needy families this winter. One VOICE is organizing the second annual Holiday Event Dec. 13-14 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 527 S.W. Mount Si Blvd., North Bend. According to its Facebook page, it’s asking you to help support neighbors in need by donating the following items: q Gingerbread house kits q Toys for Kiwanis Giving Tree
q Toilet paper and personal hygiene items q Gift cards: special emphasis on cards for teens and seniors q New and gently used winter clothing q New hats, stocking caps, gloves and mittens q New and gently used closed toe shoes q Dental products q Diapers and wipes q Nonperishable food for the Mount Si Helping Hand Food Bank q New and gently used blankets Donations will be accepted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays now through Dec. 11 at: North Bend q Encompass Main Campus, 1407 Boalch Ave. N.W. q Chaplin’s North Bend Chevrolet, 106 Main Ave. N. Snoqualmie q Peak Sports and Spine, 7726 Center Blvd. S.E., Suite 220 q Snoqualmie Chamber of Commerce, 38767 S.E. River St. Learn more at www.facebook.com/ OneVoiceSnoqualmieValley.
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