Your locally-owned newspaper, serving North Bend and Snoqualmie, Washington
December 26, 2013 VOL. 5, NO. 51
Fusion has energy Page 10
Snoqualmie tribe celebrates role in national tree By Sherry Grindeland
Owl pellets Fun day planned at Cedar River Watershed. Page 2
He’s tops North Bend names employee of the year. Page 3
Meet the challenge Snoqualmie in hunt for green challenge title. Page 6 By Sherry Grindeland
Sharon Frelinger and the Snoqualmie Tribal Council don’t need a road map to track the route of the spruce tree that was trucked from Washington State to Washington, D.C. They just need to look at the postmarks on the mail they received. Native American elders from across the country sent thank you notes to the Snoqualmie in appreciation for their sponsorship of the National Christmas Tree. Frelinger read aloud from one note during a tree dedication ceremony Dec. 21. More than a dozen tribal members gathered in front of the Snoqualmie Casino to commemorate their participation in the annual holiday tradition of placing a National Christmas tree on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Their celebration featured the acquisition of a smaller version of the national tree. They blessed a 12-foot tall Engelmann spruce that will be planted on a berm above the Casino’s main
Linda Sweet Baker, an elder with the Snoqualmie Tribe, led the tree blessing ceremony outside the Snoqualmie Casino Dec. 21. She was assisted by her daughter, Lois Sweet Dorman, who’s hand is pictured.
Police blotter
See TREE, Page 2
Page 6
Top educator Cindy Wilson named vice principal of the year. Page 9
High School students raise funds to help get clean water to developing countries
Thefts force closure of postal box
By Maria Erickson
By Sherry Grindeland
All-American Mount Si graduate recognized Page 10
Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER
The dudes who stole the mail in North Bend weren’t grinches, scrooges or other holiday grouches. They were just plain bad guys said Darren Engelhart, the postmaster. Someone broke into the big blue collection box outside the North Bend Post Office after 5:14 p.m. Dec. 17. This was the most recent in a string of mail thefts plaguing the area, Engelhart said. Mail is a prime target during the holiday season because packages pile up on front porches and greeting cards sometimes contain cash or gift cards. “If you have mail jammed in your box from multiple addresses, chances are someone has been
By Sam Kenyon
Post Office officials have closed a drop box after a theft. stealing. They go through it and then dump it in other boxes or pile it up on dead end streets,” he said. See POST, Page 3
Christmas may be over but Abigail Bottemiller still has a holiday gift to bestow. The Mount Si High student and other members of the school’s National Honor Society club will give the present of clean water to a rural area in a developing nation. They’ve been raising money for the project for several weeks. Proceeds from the fundraising drive will be sent to the non-profit charity:water. The group funds water programs in 20 countries. “The holiday season,” said Bottemiller, “is such a perfect time to give such a simple but profound gift: A clean water supply.”
Honor Society members have been distributing informational brochures around school and the Snoqualmie Valley for several weeks. “We all have so very much to be thankful for in this country,” Bottemiller said. “We have so much that we take for granted, especially clean water. Even the water in our toilets is cleaner than what 800 million people around the world are drinking.” The Mount Si Honor Society members, like other students at the high school, are encouraged to perform community service. That comes from a See WATER, Page 3