“We’re doing pretty well in the ‘new’ department!” Sue Van Gerpen says as she ticks off the additions to Railroad Days festivities.

New to the annual Snoqualmie celebration, or returning after a long hiatus this year, are the balloon pop prize give-away, a pre-event Hobo Feed to benefit the festival, the return of Dan the Lego Man, a chance for young painters to join the Plein Air Paint Out, and a growing carnival atmosphere for the children’s area.

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After nine years as Snoqualmie’s police chief and 23 in the department, Jim Schaffer still remembers vividly the advice he got as a new chief from then-Mayor Randy “Fuzzy” Fletcher.

“Keep your mouth shut, your head down, and your nose to the grindstone!” Schaffer says, laughing.

As lessons go, though, Schaffer, who retired in July, may have taught as much as he learned in his adopted community. What he’s taught through example, just as simple as Fletcher’s advice, is this: If it’s for the community, just ask.

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The relaxed atmosphere of Mount Si High School in the middle of summer vacation affected almost everything. Shorts and flip-flops were the dress code, a dog was a regular participant in a week-long workshop, and students, already calling teachers Kyle Warren and Tracy Roberts by their first names, opted for the window shortcut instead of walking all the way around to the courtyard door to test their creations.

It didn’t quite relax everything, though. The drive to learn and succeed was as strong as it ever is in the building, during the Bots on the Sound robotics camp for girls, July 23 to 27.

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After 42 years in the valley, Alan Tepper has gotten to know a few people, but not with his full name.

He is actually, “known as Coach Tepper or Mr. T to most of us,” said North Bend Mayor Ken Hearing in a presentation to Tepper at the July 17 council meeting.

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Tons of dirt, concrete and debris were scooped out of the center of Snoqualmie Middle School this summer, the start of a major remodel. Over the next few weeks, construction crews will finish the floor and add a roof structure to what used to be a central courtyard at the school.

School starts Wednesday, Aug. 29, in the Snoqualmie Valley School District, so builders are hurrying to complete the most disruptive work before classes begin.

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In one rare moment, Clay Eals is all but speechless.

An author and journalist, best known to the Valley as communication director for Encompass, Eals is the guy who makes his living with his words. He is also clearly (if briefly) overwhelmed, when he talks about all the things that a long-dead, almost-famous folk singer has given him in the last 20 years.

They were huge opportunities like the music to court his future wife, and a legitimate reason to travel the continent, meeting, interviewing, and once or twice going crab-fishing with some of the most beloved musicians in America. They were also simple truths, about the incredible generosity of people, how cruelly short life is, and the necessity of following your dreams.

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When elected officials show up for a ground-breaking in their own hard hats and safety vests, you know they’re excited. North Bend Councilman Ross Loudenback was already explaining “they told us to wear this stuff,” as he strode onto the site of the future North Bend Fire Station Wednesday, July 25, but he didn’t need an excuse.

Nearly all of the 50-some people gathered for the ground-breaking on the future Station 87 were looking forward to the project getting under way, especially the pre-school class that trooped across the street that morning for a closer look.

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