VALLEY RECORD SNOQUALMIE
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2010 DAILY UPDATES AT WWW.VALLEYRECORD.COM 75 CENTS
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Squashed hopes
Tears, joy on tribe’s 11th birthday
Explore the local scene in Fall & Winter Visitor’s Guide See Inside
A royal evening at Mount Si High School Homecoming Page 5
INDEX
BY ALLISON ESPIRITU Staff Reporter
Most autumns, Halloween is a big deal at the Nursery at Mount Si. Families take their pick of a sea of pumpkins in the North Bend nusery’s field, and hay rides, cider and popcorn treats turn the visit into a picturesque excursion. This season is different. Owner Nels Melgaard will shut down for the winter at the end of sales this month, because foul weather and a rampaging herd of elk did in his pumpkin patch. “The spring was devastating to us,” said Melgaard, who founded the nursery and garden center 11 years ago. Cold spring weather delayed planting, and the pumpkins never caught up. “We had a fabulous germination, but it was too late,” said nursery manager Christine Earl. SEE SQUASHED, 14
BY SETH TRUSCOTT Editor
Allison Espiritu/Staff Photo
Visiting his hard-hit, green pumpkin field, Nursery at Mount Si owner Nels Melgaard had to cancel patch plans this season due after bad weather and elk damage ruined his crop. Melgaard is looking for a more permanent solution to elk damage than a fence.
The songs of celebration by the small group of Snoqualmie Tribe drummers turned solemn when the trees began to fall. Kissed by a misty breeze from Snoqualmie Falls, the tribal drummers gathered Wednesday, Oct. 6, at the cataract to mark the 11th anniversary of federal recognition of the tribe. “We’re getting back in touch with the things we need to do,” said tribal singer Jessy Lucas. SEE TRIBE, 3
Family seeks new home in fire’s wake Harrowing escape, generous donations for homeless seven
VALLEY VIEWS 4 5 SCHOOLS 6 LETTERS 8 SCENE 15 SCANNER 16 OBITUARIES CLASSIFIED ADS 17-18
BY SETH TRUSCOTT Editor
Vol. 97, No. 20 Seth Truscott/Staff Photo
Dad Robby Calley leafs through a donated book with son Noah, 4, in their temporary home at a North Bend motel.
Two weeks after losing all their possessions to fire, the tables in the MuseCalley family’s room at the Sunset Hotel are piled with toys and donations. For days, strangers brought them hot meals. Others provided new books and groceries.
When a $1,000 gift card to Target appeared, “I was so happy, I started crying,” said Sarah Muse, a mother of four. Now, what the family needs most of all is a new home. Sarah, her husband Robby Calley, sons Noah, 4, Robert, 8, Kaleb, 15, daughter Kylan, and mother Judy, became homeless when a fire destroyed their apartment home Monday, Sept. 27, in Snoqualmie. The catastrophe came two months after Robby
broke both his hands in a fall off their apartment balcony. “I was doing everything for him,” Sarah said. “He’s supposed to be in bed all the time.” On the day of the fire, Sarah had helped Robby eat, and they were taking a nap when the blaze broke out. “We were sleeping,” Sarah said. “All of a sudden I heard Noah screaming, a scream I had never heard before.” She flew into her son
Kaleb’s room, where the little boy told her, “I’m sorry, mom. I’m so sorry.” Noah had found a cigarette lighter in the room and was playing with it in a closet. The fire quickly spread up the clothes and into the shelves and attic. Sarah and Judy’s efforts to put it out were to no avail. The fire raged through the entire apartment. “It was unbelievable,” said Robby. He rushed SEE FIRE, 2
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Elk, bad weather force North Bend pumpkin grower to cancel season, search for answer
14 • October 13, 2010 • Snoqualmie Valley Record
squashEd FROM 1 “We’ll have a field of orange pumpkins in mid-November, if the elk don’t get to them first,” Melgaard said.
Elk troubles
source, so this time of year, they high-tail it to the nursery.” “Even in a good pumpkin year, they do a lot of damage,” Melgaard said. “If we have a successful crop, we only lose a percentage to the elk.” Melgaard is a member of the Upper Snoqualmie Valley Elk Management Group, which is studying the growing local herd. Elk group president David Willson said the group is trying to decrease damage through a Master Hunter Program, exploring collaring studies and working to improve wild habitat just outside North Bend. The group has also prepared a brochure, “Elk and Private Property Damage,” with tips on prevention, deter-
rents and reporting options. “The most effective defense for the nursery will be an eight-foot wire fence,” Willson said. His group can work with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to find volunteers who can help build the barrier, which can cost as much as $20 per foot. As a small businessman, Melgaard finds the cost of such a project hard to swallow. “It’s a huge job, about $40,000 or more to do that on our property,” he said. “Even if they gave me the fencing, I can’t pay for it.” Melgaard would prefer a permit allowing controlled hunting. Depredation permits allow shooting of elk, deer, turkey and waterfowl that cause serious damage to public or
private property, pose a health or safety hazard, or damage agricultural crops or wildlife. Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Officer Chris Moszeter said such a permit wouldn’t solve Melgaard’s problem, as shooting hours are between 6:25 a.m. and 7:35 p.m., but elk are a nocturnal issue. Moszeter supports the fence option, calling for an alternate funding source.
Wider impact Melgaard isn’t alone in weather impacts. Other growers said 2010 has been a difficult year. “People are tearing their hair out,” said Fall City Farms owner Debbie Arenth. “Everybody is having the same problem.”
Arenth said there were only four days in May that didn’t have record lows. “That is when we in western Washington have to plant everything. We couldn’t get things in the ground. The fields were wet. Everything that we put in rotted.” Cool weather affected pollination. Arenth predicts plenty of pumpkins, including some big ones, but they’re late. In the patch, she said customers won’t know the difference, but the farmers do. “Economically, it’s a big
deal,” Arenth said. Melgaard encourages Valley residents to visit all of the other local farmers who are offering u-pick pumpkins. “I want to remind everybody not to write-off the u-picks and local growers,” he said. “This is your local community and they’ve had a rough year and would really like to see you.” • For more information on elk, visit www.snoqualmievalleyelk.org. To learn about the nursery’s fall sale visit www. thenurseryatmountsi.com.
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The Valley’s growing elk herd has taken a toll on the nursery in the last three years. “In this part of the Valley, the farmers never had an elk issue,” Melgaard said. “It’s known that the elk population is growing and is way out of control.” Elk sleep, stomp and roll in Melgaard’s fields. They’ve also acquired a taste for pumpkin. “The elk have us all figured out,” Earl said. “They know pumpkins are a good food
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