Metzger completes Marine training
Casey Metzger, a 2005 graduate of Mount Si High School, graduated June 27 as a private from Marine Corps Recruit Depot boot camp in San Diego, Calif.
Metzger will move on to the School of Infrantry at Camp Pendleton, Calif., then attend Marine Occupational Specialty training, where he will become a combat engineer.
Asked why he chose to join the Marines, Metzger said that he wanted to join the best.
Irwin completes U.S. Navy training
Navy Reserve Seaman Recruit Cassie L. Irwin, a 2007 graduate of Mount Si High School, recently completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command at Great Lakes, Ill.
During the eight-week program, Irwin completed a variety of training that included classroom study and practical instruction on naval customs, first aid, firefighting, water safety and survival, and shipboard and aircraft safety. An emphasis was also placed on physical fitness.
The capstone event of boot camp is “Battle Stations,” an exercise that gives recruits the skills and confidence they need to succeed in the fleet. Battle Stations is designed to galvanize the basic warrior attributes of sacrifice, dedication, teamwork and endurance in each recruit through the practical application of basic Navy skills and the core values of honor, courage and commitment. Its distinctly Navy flavor was designed to take into account what it means to be a sailor.
Tolt High School Reunion planned
Past students of Tolt High School will get their chance to relive old times and catch up on new ones.
All Tolt graduates, plus anyone who attended the school at one time or other, including teachers, employees and friends, are invited to a get-together, 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 3 at Sno-Valley Senior Center. Grads should bring pictures, old or new, plus all the old tales they can think of.
A potluck happens at noon, and visitors should bring their favorite hot dish, salad or dessert. Punch and coffee will be served.
A special invitation goes to the class of 1988, because this year marks their 20-year reunion.
Organizers are spreading the word about the reunion, hoping to bring in as many people as possible.
For more information, call Isabel Jones at (425) 333-4436. Sno-Valley Senior Center is located at 4610 Stephens Ave., one block off the main street behind city hall.
Greenway to tackle Little Si Trail repairs
The Washington Department of Natural Resources is working with volunteers and the Mountains to Sound Greenway to spruce up the two-mile Little Si Trail in the Mount Si Natural Resources Conservation Area.
“The Little Si Trail is in dire need of renovation,” said Kelly Heintz, a natural areas manager with DNR, adding that Mount Si trails are being loved to death.
Trail crews and volunteers are renovating the Little Si trail to protect the mountain’s fragile natural resources and ensure safety of the growing number of users, using a $75,000 National Recreational Trails Program grant and state capital funding.
Volunteer work will help prevent erosion and natural resource damage.
Drawn to the old-growth forests and unique flora and fauna surrounding the trail, every year approximately 150,000 hikers climb the well-worn trails in the Mount Si Natural Resources Conservation Area near North Bend, part of the Mountains to Sound Greenway. With thousands of hikers using the trail in the past decade, the damage is easy to recognize. Exposed tree roots are tripping hikers. Water running down the trail leads to muddy and dangerously slick conditions. As hikers avoid these wet spots and rocky gulches, the trail has gradually widened, causing further environmental damage. To join a volunteer work crew on the Little Si trail, contact the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust at (206) 812-0122, or www.mtsgreenway.org.
