snovalleystar020713

Sidewalk kerfuffleWhowillpaytocutthecurbs?

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New advisorsSnoqualmieappointsmem-berstoitscommittees.

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Police blotterPage5

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PlayersBrotherandsisteraretopsonthepiano.

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February 7, 2013

VOL. 5, NO. 5

Post season boundBoysbas-

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Unbeatable girls

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Your locally-owned newspaper,

serving North Bend and Snoqualmie,

Washington

Prsrt StdU.S. Postage

PAIDKent, WA

Permit No. 71

POSTALCUSTOMER

1

?Mayor Ken Hearing

Councilman David Cook

Councilman Alan Gothelf

Councilman Ryan Kolodejchuk

Councilman Ross Loudenback

Councilwoman Jeanne Pettersen

Councilman Jonathan Rosen

Councilman Dee Williamson

During a “get to know each other better” exercise at the North Bend retreat Jan. 25, elected officials were asked to write some interesting fact about themselves and the others would guess who made the statement. This is what they wrote.

How well do you know your North Bend elected officials?

Answers:

?

1. Cook, 2. Rosen, 3. Hearing, 4. Gothelf, 5. Loudenback, 6. Williamson, 7. Pettersen, 8. Kolodejchuk

1. “In 1990 I had lunch with Ted Turner and Jane Fonda.”2. “I once voted for a Democrat.”3. “I cut down a cherry tree on Washington’s birthday when

I was four.”4. “I was both a mortgage broker and a real estate agent

in past life.”5. “I was barred from traveling on the Princess Marguerite

Ferry from Seatac-B.C.”6. “Played organ with The Doors.”7. “Used to speak with Southern accent, including “ya-all.”8. “Bought first gun at age 11 with my own earned money.”

By Michele Mihalovich

A $100,000 reward is being offered for informa-tion leading to the arrest of the man dubbed “The AK-47 Bandit,” who is suspected of robbing sev-eral banks with an assault rifle in the West, includ-ing North Bend’s Chase Bank in July, and shot and wounded a Chino, Calif., police officer.

North Bend Police Chief Mark Toner said he attend-ed a January press confer-ence in Chino, along with representatives from all of the other agencies inves-tigating the multistate crimes they suspect the

bandit had a hand in.He said each was basi-

cally comparing notes with other investigators, which included the Chino Police Department, Rexburg Police Department in Idaho, the Vacaville and Sacramento police depart-ments in California, as well as FBI offices in each of those jurisdictions.

Toner said investigators have “played out most of the leads we’ve gotten” and are hoping that a large reward and increased national attention might trigger something to gen-erate more tips.

Contributed

North Bend Police Chief Mark Toner(center)appearsataCaliforniapressconfer-encewithChinoPoliceChiefMilesPruitt(left)andtheFBISpecialAgentinChargeforLosAngelesBillLewis.Theyweretryingtogeneratenationalpublicitytohelpfind‘TheAK-47Bandit,’whoissuspectedofrobbingseveralbanks,includingNorthBend’sChaseBank,andshootingaCaliforniapoliceofficer.

Reward offered for AK-47 Bandit


Accusations about Adam Hayes beating his chocolate Lab with a 2-by-2 piece of lumber began appearing on North Bend and Snoqualmie Yahoo groups Jan. 28.

A person going by the name “SnoqualmieJoe” posted some-thing he said he read on his friend’s Facebook wall, and fig-

ured all animal lovers needed to know about this man and his heinous crime, and urged people to boycott Hayes’ business, FaceLIFT Painting LLC.

Readers were so incensed, they vowed to boycott the busi-ness.

SnoqualmieJoe also posted that he’d learned more about


Imagine Housing, which is proposing an affordable, rental housing project in Snoqualmie Ridge, went back to the draw-ing board after hearing concerns from neighbors.

The organization unveiled those changes at a Jan. 23 com-munity meeting, and plans more tweaking and a second meeting this month.

Ann Levine, executive direc-tor for Imagine Housing, based in Kirkland, gave a short presen-

tation about the changes, and then invited people to visit the various stations set up around the room for more details.

“We’ve listened to your feed-back and tried to incorporate some changes to address the comments we received from the community,” she told the group gathered at Snoqualmie’s Community Center.

A big concern came from neighbors who thought the pro-posed five buildings, each four

Man doesn’t beat dog

Affordable housing group to adjust designs

See BANDIT, Page 2

See DOG, Page 2

See HOUSING, Page 3

SnoValley Star FEBRUARY 7, 2013

2

Anyone with information about the North Bend robbery or the identity or whereabouts of the suspect is urged to con-tact investigators at a toll-free number established for the case, 855-9-BANDIT, or send an e-mail to [email protected].

The suspect is considered heavily armed and danger-ous, and individuals who may come into contact with him are advised to contact law enforce-ment immediately and refrain from taking independent action to apprehend the suspect, an FBI press release said.

Michele Mihalovich: 392-6434, ext. 246, or [email protected]. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

the dog beater, and he urged people to write business reviews about FaceLIFT on Yelp and Angie’s List.

One man wrote that he didn’t think it was right to unfairly jump to conclusions about a person in an unnamed Facebook post, to which Traci wrote, “I appreciate that you don’t want to unfairly jump to conclusions, but let me ask you this? Would you have that same reaction if he was beating his daughter or son with a block of wood? Or his wife?”

Others emailed Rep. Jay Rodne and encouraged others to do the same.

SnoqualmieJoe chimed in again and wrote, “Don’t turn a blind eye to this crap and do nothing. Follow Bill’s lead and email rep Rodne like he did.”

The wrong guy

The problem is that Adam Hayes was not involved in the animal abuse incident.

North Bend Police Chief Mark Toner confirmed that the incident, which happened at about 8:30 a.m. Jan. 25 in an unincorporated area of King County just outside of Snoqualmie, did not involve anyone by the name of Adam Hayes.

The Star contacted Hayes, who lives in Everett, and asked him if he’d received any strange phone calls or emails accusing him of animal abuse.

“Yes!” he said in an aston-ished voice.

Hayes said that on Jan. 25, a woman called and asked if his name was Adam Hayes, did he own FaceLIFT Painting and did he own a dog?

Yes, yes and yes.“Then, she asked if my dog

was a chocolate Lab,” he said. “When I told her no, she said she’d read on Facebook that I was beating my dog with a 2-by-4.”

He said what the woman was saying to him was just bizarre.

“I have never hurt my dog,” he said. “I would never touch my dog with a 2-by-4. I have to practically carry her outside to go to the bathroom, she’s so old.”

Hayes said he didn’t really pay attention to what the woman said after that.

“I thought she was trying to pull some sort of scam with Labrador pups. But I was so freaked out that I went home immediately and got on my Facebook account to see if I could find the post she was talking about,” he said. “I mean, this is my livelihood

we’re talking about.”When he couldn’t find any-

thing, he shrugged it off.

Trying to discipline dog

When the Star told Hayes about the posts, he said he was turning it over and over in his mind about how in the world his name could have come up.

He has done work in North Bend and Snoqualmie, but he hadn’t been there for months. And he hadn’t received any complaints from unhappy cus-tomers.

Then, it dawned on him. Two months ago, he’d sold one of his work trailers, which still had the business name on it, to a friend of his who lives in Snoqualmie … and owns a chocolate Lab.

That friend contacted the Star and told his side of the story. He asked that his name not be used, because he’s “afraid for my wife and kids,” he said.

“I have a wonderful choco-late lab named Coco,” the man said. “I love her. She’s an out-door dog, but we have a heat lamp out there for her.”

He said Coco, who is 2 years old, had decided that a rubber piece that goes around a tree so the tree doesn’t get chopped up while using a string trimmer was a perfect toy.

He said when he grabs it from her, she thinks it’s a game and that the two of them are playing.

“I decided I had to do some-thing so that she understood that I wasn’t playing,” he said. “So, I spanked her bottom with a short piece of lattice. When I went to spank her a second time, it just shattered because it’s such a flimsy piece of wood. It didn’t hurt her at all.”

But he said a woman misin-terpreted it and started scream-ing at him.

He said he and Coco went to the back yard and he could still hear the woman screaming.

He said it was about time for him to walk his daughter to the bus stop, and he didn’t want his daughter to have to hear all the screaming, so he called the police.

What he didn’t know is that the woman had also called the police.

Unverified info, sources

The man said a King County Sheriff’s Office deputy came to his house about the incident. He said he showed him the piece of lattice he used, the deputy made notes, spent some time with the man and Coco, saw that there was no welts on the dog and that the dog “appeared happy, friendly and frisky” and that there was noth-ing to be concerned about.

The man said a neighbor told him that the woman came back the next day and was taking photos of the FaceLIFT Painting trailer he’d bought from Hayes that was parked in his driveway.

The man said he figures that’s how Adam Hayes got dragged into the mess.

“Adam is completely inno-cent in this,” he said. “Now, he’s having to fight a battle that wasn’t his to fight in the first place. I guess some people have come to his defense and removed the posts. But once something gets on the Web, sometimes you can’t ever erase that stuff.”

One of the people who came to Hayes’ defense was North Bend Mayor Ken Hearing.

He, too, checked on the story because he said he was bothered that someone named a person and a business from an unverified source.

Hearing said he learned from police that Adam Hayes was innocent, and posted a general notice to the Yahoo group.

It read in part, “According to Chief Toner, most of the rest of the information is inac-curate at best. Please be careful when posting things that may be hurtful to other people and their families.

Naming names can be unnecessarily damaging to reputations. At the very least, post only those things that you verify yourself.”

SnoqualmieJoe’s response was, “Sorry, Ken, but I will respectfully disagree with this statement.”

A woman named Angela Barrus also decided to do her homework, and contacted Hayes.

Her post after that conversa-tion said, “This Yahoo group is a fantastic service to our val-ley. I invite all participants to use it responsibly. I also invite those who have misrepresented a good man’s name to go above and beyond to do ALL that they can do to attempt to repair damage.”

Hayes is calling Barrus his guardian angel.

“There are people out there willing to say no to evil talk,” he said. “I hope the people of Snoqualmie know now that I am not responsible for this, and I hope it doesn’t affect my busi-ness. I love people, and every-one is entitled to their opinion, but make sure you have your facts straight.”

Hayes, a married man with three boys, told the Star that the whole experience has been surreal.

“You hear of stories like this, but you just never think it’s going to happen to you.”


BanditFrom Page 1

DogFrom Page 1


A small issue about side-walks is causing a bit of friction between the North Bend’s street department and the railroad museum’s director – and neither is backing down.

Richard Anderson, executive director of Northwest Railway Museum, helped secure funding for a smooth railroad crossing upgrade on Main Street near the North Bend Train Depot, and


A construction workerpoundsdownthesurfaceatarailroadcrossinginNorthBendsoasphaltcanbepouredJan.25.

Somebody has to pay for these sidewalks

See SIDEWALK, Page 5

FEBRUARY 7, 2013 SnoValley Star PAGE 3

3

stories high on top of a parking structure, would block their views.

John Woodworth, an SMR architect working on the project, said all of the buildings were lowered by one floor.

The project still had to have 160 units, so to make up for lost space, he added three, two-story town-houses with a partially below-grade parking level, he said.

People told Imagine Housing they were also concerned with there not being enough parking for a 160-unit rental complex, so Woodworth said they widened the streets.

Levine told the group that designers also listened to feedback that suggested the buildings should have a more “Craftsman-style”

look, so it fit in with the rest of Snoqualmie Ridge.

When Imagine Housing first presented its proposal to the Snoqualmie City Council in June, many people who attended the meeting said they had concerns about only hav-ing one access point in and out of the workforce development.

Unfortunately, Woodworth said, their hands were tied on that issue.

Snoqualmie police and fire chiefs were at the January meeting, and said emergency vehicles would have an emergency access route to the proposed development.

People at the original meeting were also calling the project “low-income” housing and said they feared the crime rate would increase if the proj-ect were approved.

Police Chief Steve McCulley pointed out that the workforce hosing rent-

al units are hardly “low income.”

The one-bedroom units, which cost $924 monthly, require that the person leasing them makes at least $28,020 annually.

“Clearly, these apart-ments are for working families, not an unem-ployed, homeless fam-ily,” Levine said during her presentation. “We want to make sure we’re putting people in those apartments that can afford them.”

McCulley said even if it were low-income housing, that doesn’t necessarily mean there is going to be an increase in crime.

He said he contacted police departments where other Imagine Housing

projects have been con-structed, and he said none reported a spike in crime.

McCulley said he also heard that a citizen came to the meeting

with statistics that show Snoqualmie’s violent crime would increase 157 percent if the project goes forward.

“In 2011, Snoqualmie had five cases of violent crime,” he said. “So, even if that percentage were correct, that would mean we’ll see seven instances of violent crime. So, some-times, percentages can be

deceiving.” Imagine Housing asked

the city in June to con-sider an exemption on the property taxes for the new buildings, which could range from $765,000 to $890,000 in the 12-year period.

Quite a few people showed up at that meet-ing upset about the exemption, so Imagine Housing went back to the drawing board for that as well.

Eric Evans, the direc-tor of Imagine’s hous-ing development, gave a presentation to the City Council and staff at the annual retreat Jan. 30.

Evans said the project was still feasible if the city granted the exemp-tion for eight years

instead of 12, and grant-ed a fee waiver.

He figured that would bring the loss in revenue for the city to $590,000.

Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson, who attended the community meeting and council retreat, said neither he nor his admin-istration has made any recommendation to the City Council about the tax break.

He said he’d heard that if the city elects to waive the property tax, then that decision would also affect other taxing districts, such as King County and the Snoqualmie Valley School District.

But Evans said that if a school district was sup-posed to get $1 million, it would still get $1 million.

HousingFrom Page 1

Attend Metro transit meetings to offer ideas

The Snoqualmie Valley is poised to become the first area in King County to see a package of redesigned transit services tailor made to the needs of Valley resi-dents, according to a press release from the county.

Recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach to transit does not meet every community’s needs, Metro began working with Valley residents last fall to identify transportation options that are more cost effective and better meet the needs of residents and riders.

The Snoqualmie Tribe has also been an impor-tant partner, according to the release.

That feedback has now produced proposed options that will be the subject of continued community dis-

cussion at two upcoming meetings. Those meetings will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 at Cherry Valley Elementary School, 26701 Cherry Valley Road in Duvall and from 6–7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at Fall City Elementary School, 33314 S.E. 42nd St. in Fall City.

Metro’s proposal includes adjustments that reflect the community’s desire to see all-day service to Snoqualmie Ridge.

Improved connec-tions between Duvall and Redmond, and a more reli-able and better connected Valley transit network were also priorities shared by stakeholders.

The proposal will be available at http://metro.kingcounty.gov/have-a-say beginning Feb. 7. Residents can also share their feed-back via an online survey.

Contact Ashley DeForest at 206-263-9768 [email protected].

Snoqualmie council appoints new advisors

The Sno-qualmie City County reappoint-ed many com-munity members to its vari-ous boards and com-mittees Jan. 14, but there was one new face.

Steve Penn-ington, of Steve’s Dough-nuts fame, was appointed to the arts commis-

sion.Pennington said he’s worked

on several arts projects with Sally Rackets, who was reap-pointed to Arts Commission at the same meeting, and really enjoyed it.

So, when Rackets asked him to apply to the open commis-sion seat, he said, “Why not?”

Other appointments include: q Planning Commission

Reappointments: Trapper Bailey and Darryl Wright

q Lodging Tax Advisory Committee: Rod Lapison and Doris Christenson with Salish Lodge and Spa, Dick Kirby with Snoqualmie Valley Historical Museum and executive director of Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce, and Richard Anderson with Northwest Railway Museum

q Parks Board Reappoint-ments: Danny Evatt, Lee Prewitt and Robert Merikle

q Arts Commission also included appointment for the student non-voting members Mileah Smith and Jordy Larsen.

Steve Pennington

Sally Rackets

Woman swept away while trying to cross river is rescued by EFR

A woman attempting to cross the south fork of the Snoqualmie River on foot at about 4:20 p.m. Feb. 1 ended up having to be rescued, said Sgt. Cindi West, of the King County Sheriff’s Office.

West said a fisherman told the woman not to try and cross, but she did anyway and was swept down-river and pinned to a log.

“As you can imagine, the water is very cold, and the fisherman called 911,” West said.

Deputies and an off-duty firefight-er with Eastside Fire & Rescue arrived at the scene.

West said the firefighter shim-mied across the log the woman was caught on and grabbed her backpack to hold her head above water.

The Snoqualmie Fire Department’s swift water team arrived and got the woman out of the water, West said, adding that the woman, in her 30s, was taken to Swedish/Issaquah and treated for hypothermia.

Get involvedA second com-

munity meeting will be from 7-9 p.m. Feb. 20 at Snoqualmie City Hall. View the presentation materials from the recent community meeting at http://imaginehousing.org.

Citizens can make a difference by contacting their elected representatives.

Federal

President Barack Obama (D), The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20500; 202-456-1414; [email protected]

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D), 511 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3441; http://cantwell.senate.gov/; 915 Second Ave., Suite 512, Seattle, WA 98174; 206-220-6400

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D), 173 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; 202-224-2621; http://murray.senate.gov/; Jackson Federal Building, Room 2988, 915 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98174; 206-553-5545

U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-8th District), 1730 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515; 202-225-7761; 22605 SE 56th St., Ste. 130, Issaquah, WA 98029; 425-677-7414; www.house.gov/reichert

State — Governor

Gov. Jay Inslee (D), Office of the Governor, P.O. Box 40002, Olympia, WA 98504-0002; 360-902-4111; www.governor.wa.gov

State — 5th District

Sen. Mark Mullet (D), 415 Legislative Building,

P.O. Box 40405, Olympia, WA 98504-0405, 360-786-7608; 800-562-6000; [email protected]

Rep. Chad Magendanz (R), 417 JLOB, P.O. Box 40600, Olympia WA 98504-0600; 360-786-7876; 222-7092; [email protected]

Rep. Jay Rodne (R), 441 JLOB, P.O. Box 40600, Olympia, WA 98504-0600; 360-786-7852; [email protected]

Toll-free Legislative Hotline: 800-562-6000.

County

King County Executive Dow Constantine, King County Chinook Building 401 Fifth Ave., Suite 800, Seattle, WA 98104; 206-296-4040; or [email protected]

King County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, District 3. King County Courthouse, 516 Third Ave., Room 1200, Seattle, WA 98104; 206-296-1003; 800-325-6165; [email protected]

Snoqualmie Valley School Board

President Dan Popp, District 5, [email protected]

Vice President Scott Hodgins, District 1, [email protected]

Carolyn Simpson, District 3, [email protected]

Marci Busby, District 4, [email protected] Doy, District 2, geoffrey.w.doy@com-

cast.netWrite to the School Board at Snoqualmie Valley

School Board, P.O. Box 400, Snoqualmie, WA 98065. Call 831-8000.

and go swimming to wash it off.”

“That’s a fact,” Dud said.

“But I think it would be kinda fun to sweat right now. You know, just sit in a hot sun and bask like an old lizard and sip iced tea…”

“… and wear dark glasses,” said Herb.

“ … and watch girls in biki-nis,” said Dud.

They looked at him.“Around here?”“Well, no. I mean, Guatemala

or Florida, you know.”“Yeah,” said Herb.

“Guatemala.”About that time Loretta came

up. “You boys want your coffees topped off, or should I just turn the hose on you?”

They shoved their cups for-ward and grinned.

“Sale on snow shovels down at the hardware store,” said Doc.

“Heard that,” said Dud.

Brought to you by Slim’s award-winning book “A Cowboy’s Guide to Growing Up Right.” Learn more at http://www.nmsantos.com/Slim/Slim.html.

OpinionPAGE 4 FEBRUARY 7, 2013

Seperating education is not a budget solution

Published by

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Home Country

Slim RandlesColumnist

Winter has its own sort of conversation

Last Friday, the House of Representatives split along party lines on a proposal to create a separate budget for K-12 education funding. If approved, the education bud-get would need to have been funded before the state could look at its other obligations.

It’s just not that simple.The state constitution says that education is to be the

paramount duty of the state government, but it never really gets into what paramount means.

However, thinking of it only in terms of school funding is overly simplistic.

While dollars are extremely important, there’s a lot more to education than making sure teachers have ade-quate resources.

House Republicans said their proposal to split the bud-get was meant to address the Supreme Court’s 2012 deci-sion that the Legislature wasn’t funding education prop-erly.

That might be more believable if they hadn’t been pushing the measure every year since 2006.

In reality, the plan had little to do with education and more to do with stripping funding from the sorts of social programs the GOP has never liked to begin with.

If education were funded first, there would be less left over for everything else, and “everything else” contains some important programs which also contribute to educa-tion.

Rep. Chad Magendanz (R-Issaquah) quoted President Obama saying a world-class education is the solution to poverty.

We couldn’t agree more. But education goes hand-in-hand with housing, food to eat and health care.

Students can’t learn without all of those ingredients and more. Whether or not an education budget is separate from the general state operating budget is immaterial. All roads lead to the same tough decisions.

Our legislators need to find necessary budget cuts and new revenue sources to make education the top priority. Introducing bills destined to be nothing more than team building for the political parties is not the way to non-partisan solutions.

The voters have made it clear they want their represen-tatives to make education funding the priority above all else. They’ve also made it clear that partisan politics can-not be an excuse for stymying the process.

Last Friday’s vote was just business as usual. We’re dis-appointed.

By Slim Randles

If you didn’t know what time of the year it was, or what the weather was like, you could tell simply by eavesdropping at the philosophy counter of the Mule Barn coffee shop. Let’s give it a try.

“Good to see you here, Doc,” said Herb Collins. “That warm water on the battery trick work for you?”

“Thanks, Herb. Yep. I tried it this morning. What’s that you got there?”

“Travel thingie. You know it’s more than 80 degrees in Guatemala … right now?”

“Saw a deal on TV,” Dud said. “They’re water skiing in Florida. You can go fishing down there all year round.”

“You going to Guatemala, Herb?” said Doc.

“Maybe. Been thinking about it. I don’t know much Spanish, though.”

“All you need to know,” said Dud, “is ‘Hace mucho calor,’ Herb.”

“What’s that mean?”“Sure is hot!”“I was just thinking yester-

day,” said Doc, “of the unsung beauty of sweat. You know, we take sweat for granted in sum-mer. Heck, we even dislike it

4


5

North Bend

Bartering boyA Sure Shot employee called

police at 1:40 a.m. Jan. 18 to report that a juvenile boy was hanging outside the bar and trying to trade a bottle of wine for a pack of cigarettes. Police didn’t find the 16-year-old boy immediately, but received another report from QFC that a young male had tried to steal lighters. Police found the boy at North Bend Elementary School with a suspected stolen bike and released him to his parents.

Burglary A woman who had stored her

belongings in a North Bend stor-age unit for the past three years reported to police Jan. 24 that items have been going miss-ing over the years. She said it appears someone is getting into

the unit from the rafters. Police did find a footprint on a box in the back of the unit. The list of items stolen includes a Buddha figure, cameras, china, crystal collection, necklaces and a mink coat.

Drunken drivingWitnesses reported at 10:05

p.m. Jan. 18 seeing a white Jeep slide on ice and then roll over on Southeast North Bend Way. Robert Christophe Navarro, 48, of North Bend, was arrested for driving while intoxicated.

DisturbancePolice responded to a distur-

bance call at 9:16 p.m. Jan. 19 involving a suicidal subject and intoxicated juvenile females in the 100 block of West Fourth Street.

Dumpster divingA Les Schwab employee

phoned police at 9:15 p.m. Jan.

23 to report finding power tools in a trash bin.

Please arrest mePolice noticed a 25-year-old

man charging his cellphone outside at Scott’s Dairy Freeze, which is owned by Mayor Ken Hearing.

The man asked to be arrested for loitering. Police did find he had a misdemeanor warrant for a DNR rule violation, so arrested him. He was also banned from the Dairy Freeze.

Snoqualmie

Where is North Bend again?

Police received a call at 9:09 p.m. Jan. 31 from a witness who reported watching a silver Toyota pickup swerving all over Railroad Avenue Southeast. Police stopped the vehicle on Mill Pond Road. The driver, whom police did not identify,

said he’d had a beer and two shots of whiskey in Algona and was trying to find North Bend. Police found a half bottle of Fireball whiskey in the back seat of the man’s vehicle. After fail-ing field sobriety tests, the man was arrested for driving while intoxicated and taken to the Issaquah Jail.

North Bend fire calls

Fifteen fire engines responded to a house fire at 9:13 p.m. Jan. 25 in the 13000 block of 432nd Avenue Southeast.

Three fire engines responded to a chimney fire at 4:54 p.m. Jan. 29 in the 43000 block of Southeast 76th Street.

One fire engine responded to a vehicle accident with inju-ries in 5:36 p.m. Jan. 29 on Meadowbrook Way Southeast.

Snoqualmie fire callsFirefighters assisted Eastside

Fire & Rescue crews Jan. 25 with

a structure fire in North Bend.Firefighters responded Jan.

25 to a report of a semi-trailer fire on Highway 18 at the summit. They arrived to find a smoldering brake fire. The brakes were cooled down, and the vehicle was left in the care of Washington State Patrol for towing.

Firefighters were dispatched Jan. 28 to the YMCA for a fire alarm. After investigation, it was determined the alarm was set off by workers.

Firefighters responded Jan. 28 to a fire alarm sounding at the Falls Condo complex. Upon investigation, no fire was found, but a loud noise was com-ing from a homeowner’s bass speaker. Firefighters unplugged the speaker, and advised the homeowner to seek a technician to track down the cause.

The Star publishes names of those arrested for DUI and those charged with felony crimes. Information comes directly from local police reports.

Police blotter

Frank Page, the city’s public works director signed off on the work permit.

Anderson said he outlined exactly what con-tractors were going to do to improve the very bumpy crossing: remove old asphalt, insert con-crete panels that would be set under the rails for support and lay new asphalt to smooth everything out.

Nowhere in the paperwork did he say he would “fix” the sidewalks on the corners of the crossing.

But on Jan. 18, just days before construc-tion was set to begin, Page, who’d signed off on the project Dec. 5, 2012, told Anderson that the museum would have to replace two of the four sidewalks to make them Americans with Disabilities Act compliant. The sidewalks weren’t disturbed in any way during the upgrade, which began Jan. 21.

Page told the City Council at its annual retreat on Jan. 25 that he accepts full responsibility for signing off on the project without spelling out what should be done about the sidewalks, but he told the council that the work permit clearly states that the applicant will comply with all city ordinances.

Anderson said railroads don’t have to follow city codes, only the state’s authority that oversees railroads.

And those laws state that the railroad is respon-sible for maintaining crossings only 12 inches past the rail, said Anderson, and that’s still not touch-ing the sidewalk’s edge.

City administrator Londi Lindell told the city officials and staff gathered at the retreat that she understood Page’s principles for wanting to hold the museum to its implied obligation, but in reality, she said, trying to get money from the museum, a nonprofit with no money, would be very difficult.

But, she said, the city attorney did say the side-walks must be ADA compliant. Anderson and Page figure it will cost $11,000-$12,000 to upgrade the sidewalks.

Lindell said she would look at different funding scenarios to figure out how the sidewalks should be paid for, and how much if any, should the museum’s share be.

SidewalkFrom Page 2

Salish Lodge earns AAA Four Diamond Award

AAA recognized Snoqualmie’s Salish Lodge and Spa and its dining room with a Four Diamond Rating.

This is the 23th consecutive year the Salish Lodge and Spa has been included on the list, and the 22nd year the dining room made the list, according to a AAA press release.

“To achieve and maintain a high

level of hospitality in today’s com-petitive marketplace is a significant achievement,” Jennifer Cook, senior manager of corporate communica-tions, AAA Washington, said in the release. “We are proud to recognize top industry leaders and celebrate their long-standing commitment to provide quality service and a memo-rable experience for guests.”

AAA inspectors conduct on-site

evaluations to identify emerging trends in the hospitality industry and observe the use of increasingly personalized approaches to enhance guest comfort and satisfaction. Lodgings and restaurants can earn one to five AAA Diamonds.

A detailed list, including photos, of AAA Diamond Rated hotels and restaurants can be found on AAA.com/diamonds.


Someone at the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital has a pretty good sense of humor. Sitting inside the hospital lobby is a baby grand piano with a songbook opened to the little ditty “Heaven Can Wait.”

Hospital humorCounty seeks proposals for youth sports facilities

Local youth sports organizations can apply for King County grants to build or upgrade rec-reation facilities.

The county Youth Sports Facilities Grants Program provides matching grant funds from $5,000 to $75,000.

Overall, officials awarded $12 million through the program in the past 20 years.

The fund administrator, the county Parks and Recreation Division, is accepting applica-tions from qualified groups. The applicants must partner with a public agency, such as a school district or city parks department, to develop or renovate sports facilities.

“Youth sports facility grants are a good deal for taxpayers and a great deal for the youth of King County,” King County Councilman Larry Phillips said in a statement. “They draw matching investments from communities for recreation and play areas, create livable neigh-borhoods, and give kids opportunities to be active.”

Funding for the program is generated through one-quarter of 1 percent of car rental taxes. The program also receives $25,000 annu-ally from the Youth Sports Facilities Grants endowment established after the county sold a government-owned building.

Submit applicants for King County Youth Sports Facilities Grants Program through June 21. The deadline for letters of intent is May 3. Find the application packet at www.kingcounty.gov/parks and click the YSFG link. Contact Program Manager Butch Lovelace at 206-263-6267 or [email protected] to learn more.

communityPAGE 6 FEBRUARY 7, 2013

6

By Sebastian Moraga

Chasing a ghost? Hardly. Randy Hansen has spent the past 40 years praising one, one guitar string at a time.

The Seattle-area guitarist has made a career out of his devo-tion to Jimi Hendrix, performing as a tribute act to the Seattle-born rock legend, who died in 1970, four years before Hansen began playing his songs.

“To this day, there are a lot of things that make me go, ‘How did he do that?’” he said in a phone interview. “When you start examining it, you realize what a genius he was.”

Hansen will bring his show to the fifth annual Finapalooza, as the headliner of the second of three days of rock bands, at 11:45 p.m. Feb. 8.

To Hansen, Hendrix’s genius remaining alive for decades after his death proves his status as a trailblazer.

“I had been playing guitar, and everything I listened to, I thought it was great, but I never thought music was going to go much further,” he said. “He changed the whole ballgame. You could spend the whole time figuring out how he did what he did.”

He began playing Hendrix in 1967. He belonged to several bands, but none of his band-mates could play anything of

Hendrix’s beyond “Purple Haze,” he recalled.

“It was hard,” he said of play-ing Hendrix’s music. “People were afraid of it. It was like if today we tried to form a band that only plays Yes tunes. Anyone who breaks ground is

going to scare the hell out of everyone at first.”

His Hendrix show has changed over the years. He used to play Hendrix songs note for note.

Now, he said, he embraces his idol’s ability to improvise, in

songs and during shows.“I try to go by what I feel the

audience will like to hear next,” he said.

A seasoned performer, Hansen has shared the stage with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Miller, Heart, The Kinks and Hendrix

drummer Mitch Mitchell. He has done some un-Hendrix stuff, but crowds like the tributes.

“The reason I dedicated myself to Jimi is, I saw nobody else doing that,” he said. “I was like, ‘Well, I seem to be OK at doing it and people say I remind them of Jimi, and saying that I should never stop doing it.’”

So far, it’s working, 38 years and counting.

“I don’t think people grasped what Jimi was about,” he said. “His trying to change the world and make it nicer. The common man sees him as a psychedelic guitar player who did a lot of drugs. That’s so false about him. My aim doing this is that hope-fully people will get on YouTube and do some exploring and find things about his life, and realize that this guy was like a prophet.”

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or [email protected]. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

Randy Hansen is keeping the Jimi Hendrix legend aliveIf you goRandy Hansen11:45 p.m. Feb. 8Finaghty’s Irish Pub7726 Center Blvd. S.E.Suite 110Snoqualmiewww.finaghtys.com

Contributed

Randy Hansen, who has made a career out of paying tribute to Jimi Hendrix, will perform this week at Finaghty’s Irish Pub. For almost four decades, he has played the rock icon’s music on stages across America and Europe.

As technology continues to play an increasingly important role in health care, the national movement toward electronic health record systems is leading to many improvements in the quality of patient care.

Dr. Kim Witkop, vice presi-dent of Medical Affairs for the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital District, was instrumental in promoting physician adoption of electronic health records at the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital and its clinics.

“We introduced electronic health records in our hospital and clinics in 2006 as a way of bringing in the best practices,” Witkop said. Such records “allow a collaborative care effort in that patient records can be shared, not only within our organiza-tion, but across other organiza-tions and with our patients as well.”

Electronic health records contain all of a patient’s health

information, including age, weight, medical history, medica-tion and allergies, immuniza-tions, laboratory test results, radiology images and billing information in digital format. The records are complete, accu-rate, up-to-date and remotely accessible to providers.

Digital records make it pos-sible to improve the quality of patient care in numerous ways. They require less time to update than paper records, allowing providers to spend more time with patients. Patient allergies are prominently displayed, and reminders can be activated when certain tests or procedures are due.

Electronic records are also more secure than paper records. Plus, transcription errors and handwriting issues are eliminat-ed with digital records.

“Anytime you remove the potential for human error from the process, you increase patient

safety,” Witkop said. “This is due to interfaces with laboratory instruments, imaging equip-ment, medication dispensing units and other similar devices.”

Perhaps the most significant impact of electronic records is improved quality and safety of medicine administration. Snoqualmie Valley Hospital uses a barcode medicine system to match patients to their correct medication, reducing the poten-tial for medicine errors.

Future capabilities of the records include a Web-based patient portal that will enable patients to schedule appoint-ments, ask questions of their physicians, view test results and order prescription refills.

“These capabilities will allow patients to become more involved in their personal health care,” Witkop said. “It’s exciting to be part of a system that deliv-ers such high quality patient care.”

Snoqualmie Valley Hospital adopts use of electronic health records

The Snoqualmie Valley YMCA launched the 2013 Partners With Youth Campaign to provide area children and families broader access to programs.

Donors make contribu-tions to the YMCA, which in turn uses the money to bring free and subsidized services to the community. This year, the YMCA’s goal is to raise $47,000, according to a YMCA of Snoqualmie Valley press release.

“The generosity of PWY donors helps us bridge the gap to better health, well-being and educational opportunities for struggling families through-out the Snoqualmie Valley,” the release stated. “By nurtur-ing the potential of youth, promoting healthy living and fostering social responsibil-ity, the Y works to ensure that everyone has the opportunity

to achieve their potential.”The Partners With Youth

Campaign chairman is Father Stephen Sundborg, president of Seattle University. The campaign “brings out the best in our community so we can bring out the best in others,” he said in the release.

Last year, the first for the YMCA in the Snoqualmie Valley, Partners With Youth Campaign donations financed programs such as summer camps, after-school education

How to helpCall the Snoqualmie Valley

YMCA at 256-3115 to learn how to make a donation to the Partners With Youth Campaign, or go to www.seattleymca.org. Click on “Donate.”

YMCA starts annual youth campaign as one-year mark approaches for Valley

See YMCA, Page 7


7

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Dale Levi Penry

Dale Levi Penry, a 30-year resident of North Bend, died Jan. 26, 2013.

Dale was born August 28, 1942 in Red Oak, Iowa, to Fred and Mary Penry. He married Helen Smalley on Sept. 21, 1970, in Snoqualmie. Dale had a variety of jobs throughout his career — he was creative and could come up with a solution to fix any problem.

Dale enjoyed yard work, woodworking, and he used to raise and show Morgan horses. He loved spending time with his

grandchildren and family. Dale was a member of the Eagles and Moose Clubs.

Dale is survived by his wife Helen Penry; their children Jason Penry, of North Bend, and Rea Jeana Ross, of Snoqualmie; grand-children Jordan and Byron Penry, Ashley

Fisher and Sarah Ross. At his request, no services will be held.

Friends are invited to share memories, view photos and sign the guestbook at www.flintofts.com.

Obituary

Dale Levi Penry

and family-based events. “At the Snoqualmie Valley YMCA, we

believe that lasting personal and social change can only come about when we all work together to invest in our kids, our health and our neighbors,” Dave Mayer, the facility’s executive director, said.

The last day for the fundraiser is March 15, said Mayer, who added he sees the fundraiser as a good chance to tell people about the YMCA.

“We wish that we could have educated the community more in Year One about the scholarship opportunities that we have to be able to send kids to camp,

before and after-school care programs and membership,” he wrote in an email. “We look forward to telling our YMCA story more during our 2013 Partners With Youth Campaign.

The event is the first major fundraiser of the second year of the facility. The Snoqualmie Valley YMCA turned a year old on New Year’s Day.

“The first year was great,” Mayer said. “When we first started, we set out to be the community hub of the Valley, and we were a great site for after-school care, for teens and for families wanting to lead healthy lives. We really made an impact in the first year.”

The YMCA will continue to reach out to the rest of the Valley with more programming and partnerships, Mayer added.

YMCAFrom Page 6

Please recycle this newspaper

SportsPAGE 8 FEBRUARY 7, 2013

8


Mount Si High School’s 67-60 overtime win against Juanita Jan. 31 ensured the Wildcats a spot in the KingCo conference tournament, but it was their record against Bellevue that made them the No. 2 seed.

Bellevue and Mount Si had 11-3 conference records, but since Mount Si beat Bellevue in two regular season games, that put the Wildcats in the No. 2 spot and forced Bellevue into a loser-out game Feb. 2, Wildcat coach Steve Helm said.

Bellevue beat Interlake, 87-49, Feb. 2, and will faceoff against Mount Si at 3 p.m. Feb. 5 at Bellevue College, while Liberty and Mercer Island play later that same day.

How those two games play out will determine who plays in the champi-onship bout Feb. 7, and how all four teams will advance in the regional playoffs.

Wildcat junior Jack Nelson held a major role in the Juanita win, tossing in 17 points, with three being sunk from outside the red line.

Mount Si’s Trent Riley scored 19 points that night. He walked up to Nelson after the game, patted him on the back and said, “You were the hero tonight.”

Nelson, whose big-gest scoring night in the season was 18 against Interlake, said of Riley’s accolades, “Trent has always been my idol, so it’s great hearing that come from him.”

“What an exciting game,” Helm said. “We really shot well tonight, especially with free throws in overtime when we hit seven of eight. Juanita played very hard tonight, and we only beat them by four the last time we met. But, what a great win for our team and the school.”


Basketball gets No. 2 seed in KingCo tournament

Calder Productions

Wildcat junior Jack Nelson scored 17 points in their 67-60 win against Juanita Jan. 31.

“What a great win for our team and the school.”

— Steve HelmCoach

By Sebastian Moraga

They are unique; they’re unit-ed; they are unbeaten.

Eight eighth-graders from Snoqualmie Middle School — Emma Smith, Hayden Frederick, Kallin Spiller, Mady Privatsky, Chaija Olssom, Scout Turner, Kelli Keene and Jill Chellis — finished their season with an 8-0 mark this winter. It was the sec-ond consecutive year the team won all of its games.

“The key is they have been playing together for years,” coach Brad Hillard said. “That really helps your cohesion and your flow. You can beat teams that have individual stars if you play as a team.”

Privatsky agreed.“We are all really good, but

that really doesn’t matter if you can’t play as a team,” she said.

Hillard has been coaching for almost 20 years, and said this group is the best he has ever had.

“They all shoot, they all can play defense, they can all drib-ble,” he said.

They all love the sport, too.“It’s fun,” said Scout Turner,

whose dad is also a basketball coach. “It’s fast, not like soft-ball.”

“If you have a bad day, you bring that bad day to the court,” Privatsky said, “and you take out

all your anger on that ball.”The team’s stinging defense

sets up its fast offense. With no drama to speak of and no player

seeking to score all its points, the team spreads its offense all game long.

“They have no problem pass-

ing to the open man, the open girl,” Hillard said.

Even when playing against the boys, they held their own,

winning half their games against the eighth-grade boys at SMS.

They won the first two, and the boys won the next two after the summer.

“We won a couple, but then they all grew like a foot over the summer,” Privatsky said.

Frederick agreed, adding that the boys didn’t take the matches seriously at first, but it all changed after the girls beat them.

“The last game, they came in with a different attitude,” Hillard said. “They were afraid of getting beat.”

The team won all of its sea-son games by at least 20 points, a strong end to their middle school careers. They will all be ninth-graders next year, so it’s unclear whether the team will remain glued in high school. They will likely keep playing together in their select team.

“We don’t want to split up in high school,” Privatsky said.

Regardless of what hap-pens, they will always have the memory of their two unbeaten seasons.

“The team was so strong, one through eight,” Hillard said, “that I could pick five names out of a hat and start them.”


SMS hoops team finishes second unbeaten season in a row

By Sebastian Moraga

The Snoqualmie Middle School’s eighth-grade basketball team finished a second unbeaten season, with an 8-0 record. From left, Kelli Keene, Chaija Olssom, Scout Turner, Jill Chellis, Mady Privatsky, Emma Smith, Hayden Frederick and Kallin Spiller.

saltwater.”The team took

an engine built especially for the saltwater, with aluminum parts instead of magne-sium.

Magnesium corrodes really fast in saltwater, almost turning to dust, he said. Aluminum still corrodes, but not as quickly, Perkins added.

Perkins made it through the races without having to change engines.

“We knew it was going to improve our per-formance, but we didn’t know how much,” he said. “The boat ran really well.”

Perkins and his eight-person working crew finished fifth in the first heat, won the second, and finished third in the third heat.

Going into the final heat, Perkins stood fifth on points, he climbed one spot in the final race.

Perkins praised his crew chief for the result.

“Our crew chief ,Jim Harvey, he’s brought a lot to the table,” he said. “We continue to improve with his knowledge and experi-ence.”

It was Perkins’ fourth trip to Qatar. The race was sanctioned through the Qatari Marine Sports Federation, which has high hopes for its sport and its home country.

“Their duty is to make Qatar the capital of the world of marine motors-ports,” Perkins said. “The king himself is a racer. They’ll race anything that goes in the water.”

Proof of that is the fact that next month, Perkins is heading back over. The first race of the 2013 sea-son is in the oil-wealthy nation, where the sport has a sizable fan base.

“Qatar is very much like the western United States,” he said. “Their religion there is Muslim, but they are not extrem-ists, it’s a lot like here, with Christians, and Jewish people and Muslims, except that the majority is Muslim.”

Still, Perkins said, most of the time it feels like just another race. Hanging among racers and mechanics and friends, nothing feels different.

“You don’t feel like you’re halfway around the world,” he said. “It feels like you’re just down the road.”

Erin Stafford, Perkins’ girlfriend agreed.

“It reminded me of home a little bit,” said Stafford, a native of San Diego who grew up watch-


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Girls’ season ends in a loser-out game against Liberty

The Mount Si High School girls basketball had three games this past week, but only one was going to determine its future in the play-offs.

The Wildcats posted a 55-44 win Jan. 29 against Interlake, and then turned around Jan. 31 and lost 53-39 in its bout against Juanita. The team’s overall record stood at 7-12, with a 4-10 conference record, put-ting them in the sixth KingCo 3A conference spot.

Coach Megan Botulinski said the playoff picture wasn’t completely dead, because the team would play a loser-out game Feb. 2. Unfortunately, the girls lost the bid in a 52-42 loss against Liberty, so it is not advancing to the KingCo conference tournament.

By Sebastian Moraga

For Brian Perkins, suc-cess is all a matter of degrees.

Or rather, Degree.The deodorant com-

pany sponsored a hydro-plane racing team this season but pulled out its sponsorship before the world championships in Qatar in January.

The team, which sport-ed the number 88 on its hydroplane tail, could not make it to Doha, nation’s capital and site of the race. So the Snoqualmie Casino team of North Bend racer Brian Perkins got to make the trip instead.

He finished fourth out of 10 racers in the equivalent of the World Championships of the International Union of Motor-Nautics.

The team raced under the sponsorship of Snoqualmie Casino, but with the Degree team’s number.

“We were just honor-ing the 88 team by carry-ing their number on the boat,” said Perkins whose team number is 21.

As a team, the 21 squad did not acquire enough points during the season to go to Qatar, and Perkins had planned to stay home. Instead, Perkins, his team and his girlfriend Erin found themselves traveling to the Persian Gulf.

“From the time I left my house to the hotel in Qatar it was about 30 hours,” he said. He left at 10 a.m. and arrived at 6 p.m. the next day.

Work in Qatar started at 4 a.m., setting up the boat. The first day kept them busy testing the boat in the saltwater of the Persian Gulf.

“Our main goal was to protect equipment,” Perkins said. “Saltwater is very difficult to run in. It corrodes every metal unless it is stainless. The boat takes a beating in the

North Bend’s Perkins among world’s top hydroplane racersing races on her home-town’s Mission Bay. “The atmosphere was similar to racing on Mission Bay. People over there were super, super friendly, and it was really cool to watch the little kids going to the pits and meeting the driv-ers.”

Down the road from the Qatari saltwater stands the Souq Waqif, a stand-ing market and tourist attraction Perkins said was reminiscent of Pike Place Market.

“It’s one of the things we enjoyed,” he said. “All traditional food, tradition-al knickknacks, traditional culture. It really gives you the flavor of Qatar.”

Down the road from his North Bend home is Lake Sammamish, home of Tastin’ and Racin’ a staple of Eastside summers for 16 years that will not occur in 2013.

“It’s just a bummer,” said Perkins, who com-peted in Tastin’ and Racin’ for 12 years. “It’s a real bad deal for our sport, but it is what it is.”


By Chris Denslow

Hydroplane racer Brian Perkins celebrates his good performance at the World Championships in Qatar in January.

Local news ...

SnoValleyStar

schoolsPAGE 10 FEBRUARY 7, 2013

10

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By Sebastian Moraga

Final exams are no game. Except in this class.

Students at Mount Si High School’s “Introduction to Computer Science” had to create a game concept using what they had learned in class.

Instead of joysticks, gamepads or keyboards, the game had to use a Kinect sensor as a means of control, which led to a surreal scene at the Wildcat Court Feb. 31.

Students contorted themselves and waved arms and legs to catch the attention of the sen-sor and make their games work. Which worked fine, until someone — a fel-low student, a teacher, a camera-toting visitor — walked behind the stu-dents.

Game or not, this was serious business, and the scowls on the students faces said so. Some worked solo; some worked in groups. They all did their share of wav-ing at the gizmo in front of them.

Students had two weeks to creates game, using sounds, graphics and the sensors.

Over three days, the students showed off and tried out, their work. They also filled out bal-lots for their favorite.

Nicholas Townsend, a freshman, created a game called “Mortal Kombatz.” It received the most votes.

The upcoming STEMFest, featuring the district’s efforts in the teaching of science, tech-nology, engineering and math, will also serve as a

showcase to some of the games.

The Kinect sensors came via a donation from the Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation. Microsoft offered vol-unteer teachers Charles Parker and Juan Pablo Jofre, who co-taught the class with MSHS teacher Kyle Warren.

Parker and Jofre vol-unteered as part of the Redmond giant’s TEALS — Technology Education

and Literacy in Schools — program.

“It’s a grass-roots, employee-driven program that provides course cur-riculum and helps place high-tech professionals passionate about technol-ogy literacy, and brings computer science educa-tion into STEM classes,” the website stated.

“I personally care deeply about this,” Parker

If you want to play, move

By Sebastian Moraga.

Joseph Havas, a student at Mount Si High School’s com-puter science program works on the game he helped develop as a final exam for his class. Havas and his classmates used Kinect sensors to control games each of them had created.

See KINECT, Page 11

By Sebastian Moraga

See siblings play. See siblings play really well.

Thirteen-year-old Donavan See and 12-year-old Angel See have earned high honors in the Carnegie Hall Royal Conservatory Music Achievement program. Donavan passed with high honors level 7 and Angel passed with high honors level 6.

“This exam is standard-ized throughout the coun-try,” piano instructor Bob Pajer wrote in an email. “A student who takes it here meets the exact same standards in piano perfor-mance and music theory as any city in the country. To achieve the levels these two students achieved is remarkable.”

The siblings have been playing the piano for about eight years, encour-aged by their mother Delina.

“I did learn piano when I was young, but I didn’t get very far,” Delina said.

“I always wanted to learn the piano, and I never got to do it, so I started them both and got them to do it.”

Donavan plays piano. Angel plays piano and clarinet.

Angel admires her brother’s diligence. Donavan likes his sister’s gift to be a quick study.

The level 6 exam was Angel’s first.

“I was so freaked out, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t even get the honors part,” she said. “I thought I would just pass and that’s it.”

When she heard the news she had passed with honors, she thought the judges had made a mis-take.

Big brother Donavan was nervous, too, but then felt better when he began playing and knew that his old friend the piano was being friendly again.

“Piano is just fun, a great pastime and it makes me feel very accomplished about myself,” he said.

“Piano is a big part of my life. Without it, most of the music in me would not be there.”

Angel feels just as strongly, with one differ-ence: Her instrument is the clarinet.

“I like to know that I can play something other than piano,” she said.

Both played mostly classical pieces during their tests, with Donavan playing some jazz as well. All pieces had to be played from memory.

In five years, Donavan said he hoped to hit the top level of the program, which is 10. He does not see piano as a future career, but as a hobby.

Angel has different dreams.

“I want to be in one of those really big concerts where a lot of people want to attend,” she said, “just to see me.”

Concert pianist or ama-teur musician, Delina said she’s very proud of her

Contributed

Donavan and Angel See along with their piano instructor Bob Pajer. The siblings have com-pleted levels 7 and 6 respectively of a nationally-recognized piano program.

Piano playing siblings make great sound on the ivories

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stated in the website, “and enjoy volunteering, so this has been a great way to give back.”

STEMFest is at 6 p.m. Feb. 11 at Mount Si High School.

People wanting to volunteer in the TEALS program for next year may contact Warren at [email protected], or Principal John Belcher at [email protected], or 831-8102.

KinectFrom Page 10

children. That’s only one of the feelings coursing through her when she sees them tickling the ivories.

“I also feel nervous at the same time,” she said. “I worry that they make a mistake in front of an audience. When they play at home, I don’t pay much attention, because I’m usu-ally doing my housework.”

The Sees have one piano, so the two children take turns.

There’s hardly any competition, Delina said. Instead, they play together doing duets and having fun, she said.

“I don’t expect them to make a career out of it,” Delina added. “But it’s something they can use when they want to take a break from the job or give them inspiration when they need it.”

By Sebastian Moraga

Twice a week, the teach-ers shrink at Cascade View Elementary.

Oh, the regular edu-cators retain their size, their paychecks and their drivers’ licenses. But they receive help from below.

Fourth and fifth grad-ers tutor second graders before school or during recess two days a week on basic reading skills. Then, another group of students work as peer mediators on the playground.

A crew of students works “being additional eyes, or helping children learn games and generally being out there to help the younger kids on the play-ground,” said school coun-selor Sandra Smelser. The peer mediators are there with the kindergartners before school every day, she added.

On top of that, a reading-buddy program pairs up older and younger students inside classrooms to work on reading some more.

The result is a group of fourth and fifth graders who look to enter middle school armed with strong leadership skills, Smelser said.

“We try to give as many kids who would like to do it the chance,” she said. “They go through a train-ing program and they have to prove reliable.”

Teachers – the grown-up kind – keep track of the tutors’ attendance and punctuality.

“We teach them how to work with the younger

Pint-sized tutors making a difference at Cascade View

kids, how to provide encouragement and skills,” she said. The skills include persever-ance, word recognition, vocabulary, and phonics.

Older students and younger students alike relish the chance to work together, Smelser said.

“They love it,” she said. “The younger chil-dren look up to the kids who work with them. One of the things we teach is to make sure it’s pleasant so the younger kids are eager for their tutoring day. It’s a nice combination of hard work and fun.”

This is the seventh year of the program. With relationships build-ing between younger and older students all across

the school, a climate of respect grows within the walls of Cascade View.

“A culture that repre-sents caring for everyone in our school, regardless of age,” she said.

Ray Wilson, principal at CVES, said the pro-gram brings joy to the grownup teachers, too.

“It is a genuine joy to witness the sincere inter-est and ownership that the fifth graders take in the accomplishments of their little buddies,” he wrote in an email. “What a great opportunity this is for our students to not only improve skills, but role model and build lasting relationships with younger students that they will remember for year to come.”

PianoFrom Page 10

calendarPAGE 12 FEBRUARY 7, 2013

12

StressDepressionLife TransitionsLoss and GriefRelationship Problems

Everyone Needs a Little Help Now and Then...

Patty Groves, M.A., L.M.H.C.Issaquah Creek Counseling Center

545 Rainier Blvd. N., Issaquahwww.issaquahcreekcounseling.com

(425) 898-1700

Music/ entertainment

q The Black Dog presents Neil Simon’s “California Suite” at 8 p.m. Feb. 14-March 2. Dinner is available every night from 6-7:45 p.m. Cost is $15. 8062 Railroad Ave. S.E., Snoqualmie. Get tickets via www.brownpa-pertickets.com or call 831-DOGS (3647).

q Finaghty’s Irish Pub presents Finapalooza V, with 10 Northwest bands over three days. 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Feb. 7-9, 7726 Center Blvd. S.E., Suite 110, 888-8833, $5 tickets for Thursday, $12 for Friday and $18 for Saturday and $25 for a three-day pass

q Pete Petersen Trio with Donny Osborn, 7 p.m. Feb. 8, Boxley’s, 101 W. North Bend Way, 292-9307

q Comedy Night fund-raiser for Mount Si Senior Night 2013, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 10, North Bend Theater, featuring comedians Andrew Rivers and Kermet Apio. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for high school seniors. For people 17 and older.

q Valley Center Stage presents “Pinocchio: A Participation Play for Young Audiences,” by Kathryn Schultz Miller, 7 p.m. Feb. 8 and 15, 2 p.m. Feb. 9 and 16, a show for children 4 and older. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $7.50 for children. Purchase tickets at www.valleycenterstage.org.

Eventsq The Snoqualmie

Valley Hospital District will present “Prevention Works: Youth Suicide Prevention

and Intervention,” with speaker Karyn Brownson, a King County trainer for the youth suicide preven-tion program. Open to the public, 1 p.m. Feb. 7, Snoqualmie Fire Station, 37600 S.E. Snoqualmie Parkway. Lunch available for attendees. Register at www.snoqualmiehospital.org.

q “For the Love of Snoqualmie” Week comes to downtown Snoqualmie Feb. 8-14 with a full slate of events, including Valentine’s Day dinners at The Woodman Lodge, The Black Dog and Gianfranco Ristorante. Also, from noon-6 p.m. Feb. 9, shops downtown will host a variety of activities includ-ing an Art Walk, children’s activities and specials at many stores. Contact the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce at [email protected] or

Contributed

Mount Si High School will host the second annual Empty Bowls meal and silent auc-tion fundraiser to benefit the Mount Si Food Bank. A simple meal of soup and bread in bowls handcrafted by Valley students will be followed by the auction. The event runs from 4:30 -6:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at the school commons, 8651 Meadowbrook Way S.E., Snoqualmie. Purchase your $20 ticket online at www.mountsifoodbank.org.

Fill the bowls

888-6362.q Heart-Saver CPR

Class, 6 p.m. Feb. 12, Snoqualmie Fire Station, 37600 S.E. Snoqualmie Parkway. Class fee $10 per person. Contact Liz Luizzo at 888-1551 or at [email protected]. to register and pay before-hand.

North Bend LibraryUnless otherwise noted,

all events occur at 115 E. Fourth St. North Bend, 888-0554.

q Study Zone, 2 p.m. Feb. 10. Drop in for free homework help in all

subjects from volunteer tutors. For teens.

q Infant and Family Story Time, 11 a.m., Feb. 11, for newborns to 3-year-olds, with adults, siblings and older children welcome. Songs, rhythm instruments, action rhymes and a tiny tale for the very young.

q Talk Time, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11. Improve your speaking and listen-ing skills in this English conversation group. Learn more about American cul-ture and meet people from around the world.

q Toddler Story Time, 10 a.m. Feb. 12, for chil-dren ages 2-3, with adults and younger children and siblings welcome. Share the world of books with your child and come for stories, songs and sur-prises.

q Preschool Story Time, 10:45 a.m. Feb. 12, ages 3-6, with adults and siblings welcome.

q SnoValley Writers Work Group, 6 p.m. Feb. 12, join local writers for writing exercises, critique and lessons on voice, plot and point of view. Email [email protected] for assignment prior to coming to class. Adults only please.

q AARP Tax Prep assis-tance, 10 a.m. Feb. 13. The AARP will have three

trained individuals prepar-ing taxes every Wednesday through April 10. Free to everyone regardless of income or age.

Snoqualmie LibraryUnless otherwise

noted, all events occur at 7824 Center Blvd. S.E., Snoqualmie, 888-1223.

q Preschool Story Times, 1:30 p.m. Feb. 11, and 10:45 a.m. Feb. 13, ages 3-6 with adult. Share the world of books with your child and come for songs, stories and sur-prises.

q Young Toddler Story Times, 10 a.m. p.m. Feb. 13, ages 6 months to 24 months with adults, younger children and siblings welcome. Enjoy bouncy rhymes, familiar songs and stories with your little one.

q Anime and Manga Club, 3 p.m. Feb. 13. Watch anime movies, eat popcorn and practice your manga drawing. All levels welcome.

q Study Zone, 3 p.m. Feb. 13. Drop in during scheduled hours for free homework help in all subjects from volunteer tutors.

Send us your calendar item by emailing us at [email protected].

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Documents

north bend retreat

chino police department

police officer

sacramento police

rexburg police department

elected officials

large reward

snoqualmie yahoo groups