Ruth Moen, new principal of the Snoqualmie Valley School District’s new middle school, didn’t want to call it a day Thursday night, Jan. 24, until she found out what the name of her new assignment was going to be.

However, Moen and the rest of the Valley will have to wait until the Feb. 7 board meeting, so that absent board member Kristi Sullivan can break a deadlock in the new school’s naming process.

School board members Rudy Edwards, Kathryn Lerner, Marci Busby and Caroline Loudenback reached a stalemate, voting four times Thursday but always ending up with two votes for Twin Falls Middle School and two votes for Clara M. Vinup Middle School.

The third option, Kaleetan Peak Middle School, drew no board votes.

Vinup was a cherished educator in the Valley who taught grades fifth through eighth, starting in 1924. She taught the longest of any teacher in Washington state, 56 years, and made significant contributions to education in the Valley.

Kaleetan Peak and Kaleetan Creek are scenic areas in the nearby Alpine Lakes area. Kaleetan also means “arrow,” according to the Washington Names and Places Web site, and has a scientific meaning of a soil classification that is ideal for growing trees unique to this area.

The cascading Twin Falls is a series of waterfalls at Olallie State Park near North Bend. The lower falls, where the Snoqualmie River plunges 135 feet, is by far the largest.

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