Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
December 13, 2012 VOL. 4, NO. 50
Hotel plan upsets some Casino wants to build 20-story hotel. Page 3
Husband inspires wife to write book Page 8
Firefighters save local dummy
Shelter stays
By Michele Mihalovich
Hearing examiner denies appeal. Page 3
Eastside Fire & Rescue firefighters had good reason Dec. 7 to call the man dangling upside down from a rope over the swollen Snoqualmie River a dummy. He celebrated Washington’s new law that allows recreational use of marijuana by making a homemade bungee cord, tied it to the suspension bridge over the river at ToltMacDonald Park in Carnation, and jumped. But he apparently hadn’t thought about how he was going to get back on the bridge after the jump. And there he dangled. But in all fairness to the man waiting for firefighters to rescue him, he literally was a dummy, a mannequin used for training exercises. EFR Lieutenant Ben Hudson, stationed in Carnation, served as lead instructor for the threeday firefighters’ drills. He came up with the above rescue scenario, but the training the firefighters practiced that day could have worked for many situations, like an 8-year-
Deal closes Hospital board closes on Leisure Time property. Page 6
Big time Local authors are featured in national magazine. Page 8
Man exposes himself in grocery store He was later arrested and charged with three misdeameanors By Michele Mihalovich
By Michele Mihalovich
Paul McCall, a firefighter with Eastside Fire & Rescue, lowers himself down from the Tolt-MacDonald Park suspension bridge in Carnation to “rescue” a training dummy Dec. 7. old kid trapped on a rope swing over a body of water, he said. Hudson said firefighters often train for “low-frequency
but high-risk” situations. “Those situations don’t hapSee RESCUE, Page 2
A Snoqualmie man was arrested on three counts of indecent exposure Nov. 14 after two teen girls reported he had exposed his penis near the deli at the IGA grocery store in Snoqualmie. The girls, 13 and 14, told police that they were getting pasta by the deli aisle when they saw the 32-year-old man walk by “with his penis hanging out of his pants,” according to documents from the Snoqualmie Police Department. The mother of the two girls had been waiting in her vehicle while the girls grabbed something for dinner at the grocery store. The mother told police the girls came back to the vehicle and told her what they saw. She said they waited in the car for the man to come out of See EXPOSE, Page 2
Help the SnoValley Star aid the Valley’s needy Take a shot Basketball season is under way. Page 12
Police blotter
Page 14
Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
Fund for the Valley, a community fund established to address hunger and emergency aid for Snoqualmie Valley families, kicks off its second year with all donations going to the Mount Si Helping Hand Food Bank in North Bend. Families in the Valley struggling to fill their cupboards will be the direct beneficiaries of your donations to the food bank. The holiday fund drive gathered $3,695 its first year. The second year’s goal is to break that mark. Area residents and businesses do already contribute to the food bank. The Valley’s three grocery stores contribute surplus food every week. Community
groups, churches and many individuals make food and cash donations, or participate in benefit events. And taxpayers contribute via the cities of North Bend and Snoqualmie. Nevertheless, demand is growing. Many of the food bank’s clients are working, but are unable to make ends meet. The impact is especially hard on the 300 children and 150 seniors that rely on the food bank each week. The food bank’s clients include people who have been laid off and are in between jobs, people facing unexpected and staggering healthcare costs, and recently divorced parents struggling to make ends meet. Some
come only once. Some come for a few weeks or months until they find a new job. Some come from time to time, when they need some support from their neighbors and community. The one common characteristic is uncertainty. “A lot of the people who come are in transition. There’s something that’s happened in their life,” and they need a helping hand, the bank’s director, Heidi Dukich has said. The greatest benefit the food bank provides is some security and stability for its clients. “When you give that help, you’re providing more than food. You’re providing peace of mind,” Dukich said.
The need for assistance from the Mount Si Helping Hand Food Bank is expected to continue to grow. Your donation can make a difference, SnoValley Star Publisher Debbie Berto said. “We hope to build on the foundation we set last year,” she said. “We are grateful for those who donated last year and hope to count on their help this time around.” Only 501(c)(3) charities will receive the money, making contributions tax-deductible. Send checks to Fund for the Valley, c/o SnoValley Star, P.O. Box 2516, North Bend, WA 98045. Donor names will be published (but not donation amounts) unless anonymity is requested.