Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
December 15, 2011 VOL. 3, NO. 50
Stay a while Plan is filed for new hotel near North Bend. Page 2
VOICEs united Valley nonprofits come together to help others. Page 3
Police blotter Page 6
Winter blahs Counselors give tips for dark day doldrums. Page 8
Reading is fundamental Page 10
Shouting North Bend lights up ‘fore’ was not enough State OK’s elk hunting to curtail damage to TPC Snoqualmie Ridge golf course By Dan Catchpole In an effort to curtail damage from elk at the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge golf course, a limited hunt is being permitted on the property. The hunt will occur sometime before March 15 and will be managed through the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. The hunting will be done by members of the state’s Master Hunter Permit Program, which promotes responsible hunting. The elk herd has caused increasingly extensive damage to the club’s facilities for the past two years, said Ryan Whitney, TPC Snoqualmie Ridge’s general manager. “It’s the first thing we check every morning, and the first thing we repair every day.” The golf course hosts the See ELK, Page 3
Riverdancers Locals show off Irish dancing skills. Page 10
Rookies hold court Basketball team has athleticism, lacks experience. Page 12
Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
Local groups get grants
By Mary Miller
Members of Snoqualmie Valley’s Panther Pride Unicycle Team perform for the crowd at North Bend’s annual holiday tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 10. Despite chilly weather, hundreds of people turned out to enjoy the holiday season event.
Food bank is lifesaver for a life-enjoyer By Sebastian Moraga For people on a tight budget in a rough economy, the Mount Si Helping Hand Food Bank is a lifesaver. For Jen Hansen, that is literally the case. A diabetic at 89, Hansen lives on her pension and a strict diet. The North Bendbased food bank helps her on both counts. By her own account, she lives on cereal, milk, eggs, veggies, raw fruit and a particular kind of bread she likes. The food bank has got them all. “I’ve been able to eat some of the things I’m supposed to, because I get it from them,” she said. “And for free.” If the food bank weren’t there, her blood sugar would
Fund for the Valley The SnoValley Star’s Fund for the Valley benefits a 501(c)3 charity each holiday season. This year’s recipient is the Mount Si Helping Hand Food Bank. Contribute by sending donations to Fund for the Valley, c/o SnoValley Star, P.O. Box 2516, North Bend, WA 98045. Donor names will be published — but not donations amounts — unless anonymity is requested. not be what it is, and she wouldn’t be who she is: An 89year-old pistol full of stories, one-liners and interests, from picking berries in her yard to
grabbing a shovel and giving it the business with her nonagenarian hips. “These are still my hips,” she said. “I’ve got them wired together.” A pause and then, “I’m like a junkyard.” Her cardiologist, she said, would beg to differ. “‘Jan,’ he told me, ‘I’ve never seen anybody as healthy as you. You’ll make 100 easy.’” The idea of hitting the century mark does not hold the same appeal it once did. Not since 2005, when the love of her life left her side after 64 years. “We got married in 1941,” she said. Since Norman Hansen died, See FUND, Page 2
Organizations in the Snoqualmie Valley received more than $180,000 in grants for new sports facilities from King County. In all, the county awarded $685,185 to 13 entities as part of the King County Parks’ Youth Sports Facilities Grant program. The matching grants were announced in November. “Through these grants we can support the kind of activities that promote good health, build self-esteem and teach teamwork,” County Executive Dow Constantine said in a statement. The grants, as large as $75,000, are administered by the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. Grant funds can be used for a variety of projects, including construction or rehabilitation of ball fields, playgrounds and sport courts. The program is funded and sustained through a one-quarter of 1 percent tax on car rentals. The money can only be used for developing and constructing facilities, and not for maintenance or operations costs. The recipient organizations match the grant awards with their own money. “By partnering with these worthy organizations, we are able to accomplish more than any of us could do alone,” Constantine said. Three groups in the Valley received grants. The Si View Metropolitan Park District got a $65,000 grant to improve athletic fields at Si View Park. The Snoqualmie Parks and Recreation Department received $70,644 for work at Carmichael Park Field. The Snoqualmie Valley School District got $45,000 to help pay for improvements to playground facilities at Fall City Elementary School. Also, the Sammamish Rowing Association was given a $50,000 grant for improvements to the Marymoor Boathouse. Several Valley teens row with the association. Since the grant program began in 1993, King County has awarded more than $11 million for use in nearly 300 new or renovated youth sports facilities, according to a news release from the executive’s office.