With his straight talk and his long history in the community, Bob Gilbertson is the complete Carnation local, and a good choice to be the grand marshal of the Carnation 4th of July parade next week.
When Gilbertson started working for the city of Carnation 30 years ago, he says a car went down the main street, Tolt Avenue, every five minutes or so.
“Now, the cars don’t stop,” he said, watching the traffic from the deck of Sandy’s Espresso.
John Petree will let the experts track how many years Carnation has highlighted hot rods and Harleys during its July 4 festivities. The important thing for him is that it’s still going on after 16 years.
“There’s a lot of talent in the Valley here… a lot of these guys are working as designers and engineers, and doing this in their spare time. People need to see it,” he said by telephone last week.
That talent is on display every Independence Day in Carnation, at the custom car and bike show, Hot Rods and Harleys. This year, Petree’s second as coordinator, the show has also been opened up to custom 4-by-4’s. As long as it’s custom, it’s welcome at the show.
Cori Pflug-Tilton likes to be prepared for whatever may come, and she has to be, as principal of Snoqualmie Elementary School.
“It’s a very dynamic place,” she said one morning during the last week of school. Students and staff were eagerly anticipating Friday, and she was working on year-end staff reviews, but making time for any parent that knocked on her door.
“It’s not a problem when people show up to talk to you,” she said. “It’s an opportunity.”
Ann Landry wrote a song for the occasion, and got Louise Wall and Nancy Wray to sing and dance backup, too. It was no surprise to the ladies assembled for the June meeting of Snoqualmie Valley Women in Business—they were used to Landry’s musical ways, and besides, it was a special day.
The event was the third anniversary—the song was a birthday song, and there was cake—of the organization, started by a handful of businesswomen dedicated to bringing personal and professional growth, community service, and networking opportunities to their fellow businesswomen.
Principal Randy Taylor knew it was coming. Max Brown had clearly shown him the poker chip before flipping it to him from about five feet away. Even so, he fumbled and dropped the chip, which rolled a little way, with Brown chasing it in his cap and gown.
It was one of many funny and touching scenes during Friday commencement exercises at Mount Si High School, where nearly 400 seniors were awarded their diplomas. Another was the fist bump between Kym McNiven and teacher Bill Halstead, who brought her walker around so she could walk, unassisted, from the stage where she got her diploma, to the spot where Taylor waited to shake her hand in congratulations.
Incumbents are largely unopposed in the Snoqualmie Valley in the fall 2011 round of elections, with the distinct exceptions of the city of Snoqualmie and the Snoqualmie Valley School Board. When the candidate filing period closed Friday, June 10, all but one position on the ballot for Snoqualmie City Council will be contested, and all Snoqualmie Valley School Board members face competition for their seats.
In Snoqualmie, incumbent Jeff MacNichols will run against Microsoft contractor Kevin Ostrem for Position 2 on the city council, and Kingston A. Wall will face former council member Terry Sorenson for his Position 4. Charles Peterson is unopposed in his bid for Position 6.
In Snoqualmie Valley school board races, each incumbent has a challenger.
“It’s a good thing to be a good starter, but it’s a better thing to be a good finisher,” Brian Major says as he brushes in the final details on a line of river rocks. He was talking to Megan Winter and Delaney Bullinger, two Mount Si High School seniors who were actively being good finishers, cleaning their painting supplies as they wrapped up work on the 25-by 14-foot mural they’d been working on this sunny Saturday, June 4.
“We’ll be back tomorrow,” they promised, as they helped close and pack up paints. It was a little after 4 p.m., and before long, the trees surrounding Fall City’s Art Park, on the corner of 335th and Redmond-Fall City Road, would cast long shadows on the mural, making it difficult to paint.
A unanimous vote by the North Bend City Council June 7 was the first step to setting a citywide moratorium on the opening or operation of any medical marijuana dispensary, for one year.
The decision will create an ordinance that would implement the moratorium. Ordinance changes require a public hearing before adoption, however, and the city has set a public hearing date of July 19.
Two Rivers’ courtyard felt more like a family room than a school facility last Wednesday evening , June 8. There were lots of people, lots of conversations, a bunch of cameras snapping away, and a baby’s high-pitched giggles punctuated most of the talk. Mainly, though, there was an overwhelming sense of pride shared by all who came to see the Two Rivers Class of 2011 receive their high school diplomas.
One person was treated for injuries from a two-car accident that happened Thursday morning, June 9, on State Highway 202 near Fall City.
A Snoqualmie woman was injured who was driving westbound on the highway when she swerved to avoid an oncoming minivan that had crossed into her lane.
The 17 year-old driver of the eastbound vehicle and his 4-year-old brother were both uninjured.
The tea tray is silver, and the cups Sinacia Yovanovich is delicately settling on it are worthy of the service. True, they’re not porcelain, but they’re not paper, either. In mismatched but sturdy ceramic cups, the first coffee drinks of the day are getting their perfection review from Yovanovich, at the Eurolounge Café in downtown North Bend.
It’s a narrow shop with a green marble floor, dark wood, an exposed ceiling and a classic coffeehouse feel, and it’s a dream come true for Yovanovich.
Wind power, kinetic energy, solar panels, all were considered, then discarded in three Tolt Middle School students’ quest for power. They needed a renewable energy source to drive their invention…whatever it was.
“We were supposed to make an item… out of recycled materials, so it’s green,” Vaibhav Vijay said.
The prototype they built earned them second place in Green Manufacturing at the state Technology Student Association’s contest, and a chance to compete at the national convention in Dallas, June 21 to 25.
Two Rivers School, an alternative education venue in the Snoqualmie Valley School District, needs a new principal. Tom Athanases, the…
