Day of Silence – ponder this!

Once again, Ken Hutcherson is stirring things up about the Mount Si High School Day of Silence. As I understand it, prior to Pastor Hutcherson’s involvement, the Day of Silence had been held at Mount Si without any ‘disruption,’ and that the absentee rate on that day in 2007 was essentially the same as for any other school day. It was only last year — when Pastor Hutcherson called out his “prayer warriors” — that the absentee rate soared.

Can someone tell me how the Day of Silence is disruptive? It seems, for many, to be a positive and educational event. As for disrupting learning at school, students participating in the Day of Silence may not speak during the day, but they agree to speak in class as necessary. In a world where hatred and intolerance are everywhere, I applaud these young people who choose to speak out in such a creative way for not only tolerance but, in a very real sense, for human rights.

What seems to be disruptive is an outside influence such as Pastor Hutcherson, who, as quoted in the Valley Record, seems prepared to be disruptive if Mount Si allows the Day of Silence this year. In response to a board member’s statement about “balancing the responsibility to teach students and their constitutional right to free speech,” Pastor Hutcherson said, “With that attitude, you’re going to see what it is to be disruptive.”

Whoa! Did I hear “DISRUPTIVE”???

Leonard Eiger

North Bend

Ideas for North Bend

Several months ago, after living in a few larger Puget Sound communities, my wife and I returned to the beautiful North Bend community.

It’s certainly changed a lot in the 34 years since Lisa and I were married at Mount Si Lutheran Church by Pastor Sackman. However, it still has that small town character we both enjoy, as does the adjacent town of Snoqualmie. But there are a couple of changes I’d like to see made that would make North Bend even better.

First off, I think it would be great if the city used the new roundabout on the south end of town or the older one west of town for a nice veterans memorial, perhaps something like the one in Enumclaw.

Secondly, I think it would be great if the Si View Community Center found a way to display the American flag both on the outside and on the inside of this historic building.

Both of these changes might sound a little bit “Mayberryish” to some folks. But as a Marine Corps combat veteran and a strong advocate for our younger North Bend residents, I really think both of these changes would suit the entire community just fine.

Jim Curtis

North Bend

Valley pets

What a treat to see a whole page dedicated to our Valley animals in our Valley paper! Good job! I hope you have plans for more.

It’s very refreshing. We have a lot of great people right here in our small towns.

We have some truly remarkable animal lovers in our midst, doing great things for all creatures great and small.

Debbie Koop

Snoqualmie

Great start

for SIP fundraiser

It is special when any first-time fundraising event gets off the ground in the Snoqualmie Valley.

But it is truly phenomenal when the event is Sip of Snoqualmie, a wine-tasting on Saturday, March 14, that drew 32 Northwest wineries and a sellout crowd of 500 from all over the Eastside.

We at Encompass have many individuals and organizations to thank for that success, including your newspaper as a whole and your ace columnist Ram Majlessi, “The Wine Guy.”

Key sponsors who played a big role include KWJZ 98.9, Nintendo and PC Bennett Consulting. I would be remiss if I did not call your readership’s special attention to our venue, the new Snoqualmie Casino, which made priceless contributions to Sip of Snoqualmie and whose staff demonstrated expertise and grace that are beyond compare.

In this challenging economic climate, I cannot tell you how grateful we are that Sip of Snoqualmie was able to so effectively raise crucial funds and enhance awareness for Encompass and our mission to nurture children, enrich families and inspire community. As we know from the founding of Encompass 42 years ago, great things can happen with love, caring and compassion.

With your help, we will continue to build the dream!

Gregory Malcolm

Encompass Executive Director, North Bend