More room to roll? by Seth Truscott

VALLEY RECORD SNOQUALMIE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2010  DAILY UPDATES AT WWW.VALLEYRECORD.COM  75 CENTS

Fallen soldier to be honored at game

Liberty isn’t easy for Wildcat football in tough road match-up Page 6

BY SETH TRUSCOTT Editor

Growth at the busy Truck Town hub was at the center of an hour-long discussion last week on future development in North Bend’s Tanner Annex. The city of North Bend is considering expanded trucking services, among other growth, in its newly added eastern neighborhood. Comments were mixed at the Tuesday, Sept. 21, public hearing on development in the annex. Some residents strongly opposed a truck hub expansion for environmental and quality of life reasons. Others said expansion is inevitable, and called for strict guidelines and community involvement. Gary Fancher, a Twin Falls Middle School parent and resident of Middle Fork Road, told the council that a truck center near the school is not in the community’s best interests. “This will expose our kids to diesel exhaust and cancer-causing particulate matter,” Fancher said.

Mount Si High School’s Friday, Oct. 1, home football game will include a sombre interlude, as members of the Valley’s American Legion post and a U.S. Marine color guard remember fallen soldier Eric Ward. Plaques bearing Lance Cpl. Ward’s name and recognizing Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan will be placed at the veteran’s monument at the stadium. Ward, 19, a 2008 Mount Si graduate, was killed as a result of enemy action last February on Afghanistan’s Helmand province. He is the first Mount Si graduate to die in the Middle Eastern/Asian conflict. Ward’s family and close friends have been invited to attend the ceremony, both on the field and at the memorial site. The name plaque will be presented to them for installation. “We’re extremely honored,” said Ward’s mother, Ames Lake resident Monica McNeal. In the last six months, McNeal has become very close to Ward’s brothersin-arms in his Marine Corps Second Battalion, Second Marine Division, the 2/2 Warlords. These young Marines knowingly make huge sacrifices for their country, she said. “If they miss a birthday, they miss the birth of a child,” McNeal said. “They don’t think twice. They do it very humbly.” Her son was only one of many to give their lives in service to their country, she said.

SEE TRUCKS, 2

SEE HONOR, 3

Seth Truscott/Staff Photo

LIVING

As parking stalls fill up behind him, South Carolinia-based truck driver Ray Jackson leans against his engine during a stop Wednesday evening, Sept. 22, at North Bend’s Travel Centers of America hub. Drivers like Jackson welcome truck stop growth. By law, truck drivers must take a 10-hour break after each 11-hour driving period. Fewer truck stops mean drivers are often left without a place to park.

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Vol. 97, No. 18

More room to roll? Truckers, North Bend residents weigh in on proposed truck hub expansion BY ALLISON ESPIRITU Staff Reporter

Truck driver Harold Parker had found his parking space at the North Bend truck stop, and he wasn’t going anywhere. With the busy Travel Centers of America hub filling with vehicles as evening approached last Wednesday, Sept. 22, Parker hunkered down in his cab, playing solitaire on a cell phone. “I’m staying right here,” said the South Dakotabased driver. “At this time of day, parking gets hard to find. There’s not much room anymore.” By law, truckers must take a ten-hour break after every 11 hours of driving. With limited truck stop choices in the Puget Sound region, truckers like Parker have to plan ahead or be out in the cold when it’s time to call it a day. By 5 p.m. Wednesday, there were only a handful of the 170-odd stalls at North Bend still available.

“You’ll see guys parking on ramps because there is no place else to go,” Parker said.

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Recycle, donate to food bank at one-day Snoqualmie event

TRUCKS FROM 1

Regional plan A Truck Town expansion will not be allowed unless a regional freight mobility plan is developed, according to Gina Estep, North Bend’s Community and Economic Development Director. Such a plan would incorporate strategies that mitigate impacts of expansion for North Bend and show how the trucking industry can meet its needs as a region, rather than placing all the burden on the city. City Administrator Duncan Wilson stressed that the plan would include Seattle, Issaquah and Snoqualmie Pass along with the businesses and citizens of North Bend. “I’m encouraged to hear that the city is not allowing expansion of Truck Town until the regional plan has been put into place,” said Middle Fork Road resident Craig Lockwood, who, along with other speakers, wants the plan to come first. “There is no option with trucks,” said speaker Jeff Martine. “We have to have more parking, enforcement, amenities, and I don’t see any other option from expansion.” Residents voiced a number of conditions for consideration if Truck Town were to be expanded. These included a radio system that would coordinate with regional ports to get trucks in and out more efficiently; increasing police or private security patrolling; becoming carbon neutral; and making sure the community is involved. “I’d like to request that during the regional process and redefining all of this, the vision statement from North Bend and interests of their citizens be represented,” said resident Frank Cranney. “These are people (who) form a part of this community and their interests and opinions should be valued and given full attention.”

Eddie Thomas welcomed an expanded Valley truck stop. “Where are we supposed to go?” said Thomas, who was waiting to load his empty trailer in Seattle. “I can’t park on the side of the road.” Roadside parking is dangerous and can carry fines, yet trucks routinely park off arterials near the North Bend stop. “I’d rather be parked in a truck stop than beside the road,” said driver Frank Sutley. “It can be dangerous on the road.” Truck drivers face a chewing-out or fines if they don’t make their required halts. “We don’t make a killing anymore,” said Jackson, who was hauling an oversize tractor back to South Carolina from the Port of Seattle. He said mandatory breaks increase pressure on drivers— and truck stops. Truckers say they idle their engines because they need power to run heaters and air conditioners. Some companies provide secondary engines to run these systems, but many do not. “It is what it is,” Sutley said. “You can’t burn up and you can’t die of cold.” Sutley and other drivers said it’s tough to watch as communities develop but truck services fail to keep pace. “The bigger a city gets, the more property they have,” Sutley said. “You need more truck stops because you’ve got more business.”

Seth Truscott/Staff Photo

A Fall Recycling Event is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2, at Centennial Fields Park, 39903 S.E. Park St., Snoqualmie. Household items will be taken for recycling. Free shredding will be available. Residents are invited to bring up to three grocery bags or two copy paper sized boxes of residential records only. Non-perishable food items will also be accepted for the local food bank. A list of items accepted and instructions for drop-off are at www.cityofsnoqualmie.org in the ‘Community Activities’ section. To learn more, call (425) 888-1555.

Trucker Frankie Sutley of Winterhaven, Fla., checks his tires at the TravelCenters of America lot in North Bend. With truck stops vanishing in the Seattle vicinity, Sutley welcomes expansion of the North Bend hub. “I’d rather be parked in a truck stop than beside the road,” Sutley says. “It can be dangerous on the road.”

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(Left to Right) Snoqualmie Valley Hospital X-ray / CT Technologist Marcia Korich and Medical Imaging Department Manager Gregory Merrill review images. Photograph by: Lindsey Oliver

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Growth needed Visiting Truck Town, truckers Ray Jackson and

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Fancher is concerned that the city’s no-idle rule, which takes effect after 50 percent of site value is made in improvements to land, wouldn’t come into play in a Truck Town expansion. “The no idle rule is important. But I don’t see them doing anything in improvements that would be worth 50 percent equity,” he said. “I see that as a nonstarter.”

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