Remembering 2007: The Valley's top stories of the year

With the communities of the Valley growing and changing, many remarkable stories have come to the fore during the past year.

2007 saw many changes, from the start of construction of the Snoqualmie Tribe's new Casino Snoqualmie, to the move of the Snoqualmie library, new water rights for North Bend and continued growth on Snoqualmie Ridge.

Residents of the Valley were inspired in 2007 to raise money for cancer and help people struck by tragedy, and to write books for children and design a one-of-a-kind underground tunnel. Some local businesses closed in 2007, while new faces opened new enterprises. When the downtown fire hall was demolished, Snoqualmie's noontime whistle stopped for a while, but residents who cared made sure it returned.

All in all, the stories of 2007 showed communities that remain vital while facing change.

The following review wraps up many, but by no means all, of the major stories to affect and inspire the Snoqualmie Valley during the past year.

January

* A flood-damaged road in Preston was re-opened three weeks early thanks to an accelerated work schedule by the King County Road Services Division and its contractor. The total cost of repairs in the Upper Preston area was estimated at about $4 million.

* Fellow inmates Michael E. Elmore, 22, and Victor W. Doty, 26, were charged with first-degree murder for the November beating death of former Snoqualmie resident Kevin James Achartz, 40, who had been serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla for videotaping himself having sex with a drugged 17-year-old boy.

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