Carnation voters have rejected an almost 50 percent property tax increase in the Nov. 8 election, leaving their city council members wondering what exactly the community wants.
A farewell roast of outgoing North Bend councilman Chris Garcia was planned for Tuesday, Nov. 15, but it turned into an emotional tribute to his nine years of service to the city.
Setting an ambitious schedule for her fledgling foundation, North Bend parent Kim Baker readily admits that she will need help to accomplish her goals.
“Right now, were looking for strong partners in the community to help us make a difference,” she told the small group attending the first public meeting of Survivors of Snoqualmie Valley School District No. 410 Foundation.
With one leg slung over her acoustic guitar and her notebook opened in front of her, 15-year-old Samantha Cesmat perches on the edge of an overstuffed chair, ready to compose. Here in her family’s Snoqualmie garage, surrounded by photos of Paris, hand-drawn art, and the drumset that her brother sometimes plays while she’s writing, is her favorite place to work.
When inspiration visits, though, she could write a song anywhere.
Three challengers now hold leads over incumbents in the Snoqualmie Valley general election races, as of Tuesday, Nov. 15.
In the Snoqualmie Valley School District, Director District 3, challenger Carolyn Simpson remains ahead, with 54.13 percent of the vote and 4,197 individual votes, to Craig Husa’s 45.52 percent and 3,530 votes.
Asked for a statement on her apparent win, Simpson responded by thanking all of the voters.
Nowadays, the thrill of shooting down Class IV rapids may not be quite the same adrenalin rush that it used to be for Richard Stewart. One reason is that he has to divide his attention between navigating the river, making it look fun, and appearing to be a pro while he does it.
Stewart, of Snoqualmie, is not simply a rafter, he’s also the producer, cinematographer, composer, narrator, and lead performer in a movie on whitewater rafting, which he’s creating for the North Bend Amateur Film Challenge in December.
Thursdays at lunch, Gina Estep has miles to go, and things need to run on a stopwatch-precise schedule for her to get where she wants to be. In a little less than a year’s time, she not only wants to be in New Zealand, representing the United States with her friend and workout partner, Stephanie Haner, in the world triathlon championships, but she also wants to be at the top of her game when she gets there.
“I personally want to be in the top 10, but I know that’s going to be really challenging,” said Estep, the Community and Economic Development Director for the city of North Bend. So, she has adopted an ambitious workout schedule for six days of the week, running, cycling, and swimming for about two hours each day.
North Bend’s 50 year-old wastewater treatment plant is the source of complaints about ongoing unpleasant odors, and in the summers, of complaints about murky and foamy discharges into the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River.
City officials have acknowledged the odor problem, and are in the middle of a plan to address it, but the occasional discharges of seemingly untreated water from the plant are more difficult to manage.
Residents like David Willson and Bryan Townley, who reported and photographed an apparent sewage discharge into the South Fork just before 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16, say it looked and smelled like raw sewage.
North Bend has six months to adopt a new contract for solid waste disposal. The city’s current contract, with Allied Waste, expires in May, and after two months of negotiations with Allied for an updated contract to include the city’s annexed areas, city staff have recommended soliciting bids from all interested contractors.
City Administrator Duncan Wilson told the North Bend City Council that the city had “a unique opportunity, to negotiate with our existing carrier,” for a new franchise contract, because Allied Waste was part-owner of Kent-Meridian Disposal. Kent-Meridian serves North Bend’s Maloney Grove, Stilson, and Tanner annexations, with a contract that the council renewed through 2022 at its July 19 meeting.
Neighbors of four homes that were broken into the week of October 14 are working to help law enforcement capture the thief.
An artist’s sketch of the man who was seen breaking into one of the homes on High Point Way has been circulated throughout the area, and neighbors are urging anyone who’s seen him to contact the King County Sheriff’s Department.
Last week, the Valley Record sent each SVSD school board candidate a brief questionnaire on some of the issues raised during this school board campaign. Each candidate was asked for a statement on their background and qualifications, a question on the freshman campus concept, and a question on an issue that they specifically mentioned.
All were asked: Do you support the proposed freshman campus concept?
Valley cities are looking for the little wins in their budget process this year. In Snoqualmie, that means changes like new employee insurance coverage with more out-of-pocket costs for employees, but no increase in the city’s contribution. In North Bend, it’s a few small paving projects added to the schedule. In Carnation, where city staff and services have been steadily reduced for the past two years, simply holding steady will be a victory.
None of the cities are anticipating a reduction in staff in their 2012 budgeting processes. However, none of them are planning any capital projects for 2012, either.
There’s an expectant feel at Tokul Creek Hatchery. The secluded operation just downstream from Snoqualmie Falls on State Route 202, is probably at its quietest this time of year, with no fish eggs waiting to hatch, and only a few buckets’ worth of fry waiting to be planted in area lakes.
It’s almost literally a pregnant pause for the three-person hatchery, awaiting the start of the busy winter steelhead spawn later this month.
Soon, hundreds of the fish will be powering up the Snoqualmie River, then Tokul Creek, following the familiar scent of their birthplace.
