Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
December 6, 2012 VOL. 4, NO. 49
Tree for the ages Family has a tradition with Christmas trees. Page 2
County reaches out King County hosts meeting for residents. Page 3
Y builder honored Group singles out new facility for its impact. Page 7
Time to learn Area leaders tour local schools.
Hundreds audition for ‘Survivor’ Page 6
Early Christmas for North Bend Seahawks fan By Michele Mihalovich There are Seattle Seahawks fans, and then there are SEAHAWKS fans. The type of men who live, eat and breathe Seahawks. The type of men who lose sleep or go into a deep depression when the Seahawks finish the season with an embarrassing NFL losing streak. Such is the case of A.J. Carstens. Chances are Carstens, a 29-year-old man with Down syndrome, has sacked your groceries at the Safeway in North Bend. Maybe you noticed he was in an exceptionally good mood, but didn’t know it was because Seattle had won a game that Sunday. Or maybe you noticed he was in a funk, but didn’t know it was because quarterback Matt Hasselbeck left for greener pastures. But his stepfather, Chuck DePue, knew his moods. “He was massively dedicated to Matt Hasselbeck, and when he left, A.J. was devastated,” he said. “He’s like any football fan. When your team’s going down the tank, he gets upset. I had to sit him down and talk to him.” DePue gave A.J. hope when he said the new coach, Pete Carroll, hired in 2010, was going to turn things around for the Seahawks.
And things have been looking up for the Seattle team, which made A.J. Carroll’s biggest fan. How about a Seahawks jersey, A.J.? “Sure,” he said. How about a jersey of the hotshot new quarterback Russell Wilson, or veteran playmaker Marshawn Lynch? No thanks. DePue said Carstens insisted on a Carroll jersey. “We tried to explain to him that Carroll was the coach and didn’t have a jersey … didn’t have a number,” DePue said. “A.J. didn’t care. He wanted a Carroll jersey, so we went out and had a special jersey made with the coach’s name on the back.” Carstens has been working out at Mount Si Sports and Fitness, and dropped 60 pounds in the hopes of getting in shape enough to try out for the team, DePue said. Every night before bed, A.J. says a 20-minute prayer for the Seahawks. “Dear God, help Pete be stronger. Help Pete be smarter. Help Pete be wiser,” DePue said about the prayer. “He just says that over and over again until See FAN, Page 2
By Chuck DePue
A.J. Carstens, 29, of North Bend (right), had a private conversation with his hero, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, at the Seahawks practice field in Renton on Nov. 30.
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When pot is and isn’t legal under new law By Michele Mihalovich
Time for culture Wildcats host exhibition game with Aussies. Page 12
Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
Teenagers who are thinking how fun it’s going to be to smoke pot at a park in front of police due to the new marijuana laws might want to rethink that game plan. Snoqualmie Police Chief Steve McCulley said there are two things wrong with that scenario. One, Initiative 502, which passed in November and went into effect Dec. 6, allows that anyone 21 and older may be in possession of one ounce or less of marijuana. And McCulley said his officers are really going to be educating and enforcing those laws for people younger than
21. But he also pointed out that smoking pot, or consuming marijuana-infused products, such as drinks or brownies, is illegal if done in a public place — no matter your age. And that includes driving on public roadways, McCulley said. You can’t drink a beer while driving, and you can’t puff a joint on Washington roadways. McCulley said that if someone gets pulled over, for say a speeding infraction, and the unmistakable waft of marijuana hits an officer’s nose, the driver may be asked to show the marijuana. “But it’s not like my officers are going to be issued scales to
weigh it out,” he said. The police also, for now at least, won’t be asking you where you purchased your under-an-ounce stash, McCulley said. The interesting thing about this new law, he said, is that the regulatory authority — Washington State Liquor Control Board — has until Dec. 1, 2013, to come up with a game plan for regulating the sales of marijuana. So, for right now, only licensed medical marijuana dispensaries have the legal authority to sell pot and pot products, and that can only be sold to medical marijuana cardholders, he said. While there may be some gray areas with the new law, one thing hasn’t changed, See POT, Page 2
North Bend Holiday Festival returns this weekend The city of North Bend is hosting its annual Holiday Festival Dec. 8 in downtown North Bend. Gina Estep, director of the city’s Community and Economic Development department, said festivalgoers could expect to see a few new offerings this year. Chaplin’s Chevrolet is sponsoring the tree in the heart of downtown; all downtown businesses have come together to provide an array of activities within their stores and restaurants, from live music to specials and sales; and the streets will be decorated with garland and lights, she said. The traditional offerings remain, like the fire pits, photos with Santa and the community See FESTIVAL, Page 3