Year in review: Festivals and celebrations, semi-pro baseball and wildland fires are in the summer news

Published 10:41 am Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Summer brought all of the traditional festivals back, plus the start of semi-pro baseball in Fall City. While the warm, sunny days were popular all around, they also prompted concerns about fire safety and preparedness.

June 3:  Tollgate Farm Park to open

Tollgate Farm Park in North Bend opened in May, but the official ribbon cutting was June 10. The park underwent improvements such as paved public access, a parking area, a gravel trail, a picnic area, and drinking fountains.

Si View employees Sara Posey, left, and Emily Ferree check on the playground equipment installed at North Bend’s newest park, the Tollgate Farm Park, scheduled to officially open with a June 10 ribbon cutting.

June 10:  Training day

Firefighters from Eastside Fire and Rescue, Woodinville Fire, Duvall Fire, Seattle Fire, Bothell Fire, and Bellevue Fire participated in a wildland training day in Carnation.

Scott Fleming, Fall City Fire, cuts into a log during a fire-protection training drill held this summer in Carnation.

Snoqualmie Valley students celebrated the last day of school.

Claire Stone hold still while her parents, Wendy and Chris, secure her helmet for a celebratory last-day-of-elementary-school motorcycle ride.

Bus driver Natalie DeVoe is decked out in colorful leis for the last day of school.

The Tanner Jeans Bike Rodeo was held in two cities.

Mason Keating, age 4, all but dances, he’s so excited to get a new bike helmet at the bike rodeo in Snoqualmie June 13.

June 17:  Hats off to grads

Mount Si High School awarded diplomas to 356 students of the Class of 2015. Cedarcrest High School graduated 232 students. Two Rivers School celebrated the graduation of 26 students.

Mount Si High School’s Class of 2015 celebrates graduation with the traditional cap toss.

Two Rivers seniors celebrate, just before their graduation ceremonies begin on Wednesday, June 10.

Cedarcrest class speaker Sydney Lisk presents Cedarcrest Principal Clarence Lavarias with a lei after receiving her diploma.

Semio-pro baseball came to the Valley with not one, but two teams

Dirk Dembrowski hurls a pitch in the Honkers home game June 13.

Baseball fan Linda Lasure sounds her goose call for the Honkers.

A Hurricane player tags out a Honker at Fall City, where two semi-pro baseball teams played this summer. The Northwest Honkers, in green, started in 2010 and the Snoqualmie Valley Hurricanes, red, are all new this season. Both play in the Pacific International League.

Fall City celebrated Fall City Days.

Anji Donaldson starts the ice cream trucks to get the Fall City Day Kiddie Parade rolling.

Attracting attention wherever they want, the Trash Apes created a stir at Fall City Day Saturday.

Carl Lind, Fall City Day Grand Marshal, puts a hand on his wife, Nadine’s shoulder, during the parade.

June 24:  Trail closed

Part of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail north of Carnation was closed as contractors tore out a failing bank reinforcement and replace it with a steel one. The new reinforcement is 40 to 60 feet long and is faced with thick sheet metal. The old riverbank support was built using old car bodies. Work on the trail is expected to be complete in February.

King County staffer Robert Nunnenkamp discusses the Sinnema Quaale construction project that has closed the Snoqualmie Valley Trail between Stillwater and Duvall, and the challenges of working in such a narrow area, between a river and state highway.

July 1:  Joyful portrait

North Bend artist Rebecca Orcutt, 22, had a painting on display in the National Portrait Gallery in London, as a selection in the 2015 BP Portrait Award show. Her oil painting of a friend was one of only 55 paintings selected for the show.

Rebecca Orcutt and her portrait subject, Andrew Farley, get silly when posing for photos with her painting, center, which was selected for the 2015 Portrait Award Show.

July 1:  Sister city navy visits Snoqualmie

A group of officers and cadets from the Peruvian navy ship BAP Villavisencio visited Snoqualmie in June and enjoyed a week of tourist activities including a visit to Snoqualmie Falls and golf. They departed for home June 13, laden with donated firefighting equipment for the sister cities firefighter exchange program.

Members of the Peruvian navy and Snoqualmie Sister Cities Association visit Snoqualmie Falls.

Carnation celebrated the Fourth of July

The kiddie parade featured lots of red-white-and blue youngsters on star-spangled bikes and trikes.

Carnation resident Owen Kilfoyle, 21, grabbed a flag to wave as he crossed the finish line in the 5K race that starts off the Great Carnation Fourth of July celebration.

Al Rush, parade grand marshal, tips his hat to the crowd.

July 8:  High school requires more land

A new proposal for the remodel of Mount Si High School would shorten the construction timeline from eight years to three, at the cost of demolishing homes on seven parcels of land on the southwest corner of the high school property. The district made purchase offers, but will begin condemnation proceedings, as allowed by state law, if no agreement is reached.

A model of the new Mount Si High School illustrates how big the new building will be, roughly 350,000 square feet. As proposed, the project would take only three years, but would require seven more parcels of land.

July 8:  Human bones found on Mount Si

Few clues can be found to identify the human remains that two hikers recently discovered on Mount Si. Along with bones, a pair of glasses, a watch, shovel and some clothing were found. The Sheriff’s office is asking the public’s help to identify the deceased.

July 15:  More repairs for trail bridge

A safety project to replace rotted portions of the Meadowbrook Bridge along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail will require a two-week closure of the trail, July 20 to 31. The repairs were identified as needed this spring, when King County Parks staff replaced the wooden staircase that had been damaged in a May 27, 2014, arson incident.

July 15:  Relay for Life

The 14th annual Relay for Life brought together 43 teams, six of them all-youth teams, and more than 300 people to raise funds and fight cancer at Torguson Park July 11 and 12.

Max Leslie, 4, riding on his grandfather’s shoulders, grins as he touches the roof of the inflatable colon tunnel on the Relay for Life track. Grandparents Fred and Cheryl Hull of St. Geroge Utah, were visiting for the day.

Patty Salgado is offered her first survivor’s medal, as she lines up for the first lap of the Relay for Life Snoqualmie Valley.

July 15:  Thomas arrives

Snoqualmie’s Northwest Railway Museum has seen an estimated 9,200 delighted train lovers during its first weekend of Day out with Thomas.

A mom holds up her son for a closer look at the model trains running inside the Northwest Railway Museum. Below, a family poses for a photo with the animated character.

July 15:  Habitat home dedicated in Snoqualmie

Members of the Bu-Say family received the keys to their new home June 6, in a dedication ceremony. Snoqualmie’s Koinonia Ridge is the largest Habitat for Humanity neighborhood in the Northwest.

P’lae Say, center, holds up the keys to her family’s new in Snoqualmie.

July 22:  Community center again

The Si View Community Center held its grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 16. The ceremony marked the official opening of the newly renovated center, closed since January.

Although the Si View Community Center has been open for programs since the last week of June, staff and supporters filled the new space for its official ribbon cutting and grand re-opening July 16 after months of renovations that caused Si View programs to be relocated to buildings throughout the Upper Valley. Ribbon holders Emily, left, and Sarah LaBarge, center, and Kaylie McGhee right, were ready for the big moment when Parks Commission President Mark Joselyn cut the ribbon.

North Bend held its annual Block Party

Kids gather around to see and touch a small alligator with the Reptile Man.

Matthias Dickelman, 7, works on his moves at the hoop shoot.

Cars line the streets of North Bend last Sunday during the Legends Car Show.

July 22:  Brush fire fought in North Bend

A brush fire that broke out Sunday near North Bend Way and Tanner Road brought a prompt and aggressive response from area firefighters. Along with the U.S. Forest Service fire team, five area fire agencies sent support and called in volunteers to provide backfill coverage at each of the stations during and after the fire. Because of the warm temperature and wind, North Bend officials acted as if the fire were a worst-case scenario, before they could assess it.

Six fire agencies responded to the brush fire in North Bend Sunday afternoon. The fire was contained by 4 p.m. No cause has been reported yet.

And another one in Snoqualmie, July 23.

A firefighter is enveloped in smoke while extinguishing the grass fire.

July 29:  New Tent City

Tent City 4, the roaming homeless encampment that was recently in Preston, has moved to the Echo Lake area of Snoqualmie July 11. More than 30 residents are part of Tent City 4 and have moved with the group to the county-owned land.

A Tent City 4 sign warns tenants against straying off their chosen site, and onto nearby residential lots.

July 29:  City knew some of new hire’s troubles

Snoqualmie officials say they knew of some of Police Officer Nick Hogan’s history of trouble with lawsuits at the city of Tukwila, but had no plans to discipline or dismiss him. Hogan was hired here Feb. 10, 2014.

August 5:  Hydro project goes underground

Black Canyon Hydro, a hydropower development firm, has revised its proposal for a 25-megawatt power plant on the North Fork of the Snoqualmie River. The proposal now features a “roughened channel” instead of an inflatable dam and much of the project is located underground, and farther from Ernie’s Grove.

Aug. 5:  Big Bend Bash starts festival

The Festival at Mount Si is introducing something new this year, the Big Bend Bash, or B3, to its opening night schedule. B3 will feature four young bands, all under 21 in a Friday nigh show, followed by a glowstick-based revival of the torchlight parade from years ago.

A boy named Griffin is chosen to start the Glow Walk Friday night.

Joey Owen, with sister Kelly and dad Mark watching, perfects his bubble-blowing skills during Friday night Festival at Mount Si activities.

Painter Hester Mallonée was inspired to start working on an abstract piece during the Festival at Mount Si art show Saturday.

Austin Jenckes performed for a large crowd during the festival on Sunday.

Aug. 12:  New Torguson Park entrance

Les Schwab Manager Kevin Schallhorn helped negotiate the donation of a sliver of company-owned property to the city of North Bend, to create a new entryway into Torguson Park. The project will be part of the redevelopment of the 2014 gas explosion site, which includes plans for a three-story building with 5,000 feet of retail space and 32 condominiums.

Les Schwab Manager Kevin Schallhorn stands on the site of a sliver of property his company will donate to the city of North Bend, to create a new pedestrian entryway into Torguson Park.

Snoqualmie celebrated Railroad Days

Northwest Railway Museum Board President Dennis Snook, dressed in historical garb, and surrounded by historic re-enactors, gave the history of the 125 year-old Snoqualmie Depot at a ceremony commemorating the depot Sunday morning.

Timbersports athlete David Moses cuts through a lot with a loud, but crowd-pleasing chainsaw Saturday.

The E Clampus Vitus drill team won first place in their category in Saturday’s parade.

Aug. 19: Peru firefighter finds the future in Snoqualmie

Peruvian firefighter Patricia Bendezu visited the Snoqualmie Fire Department for training and a cultural exchange, coordinated by the Snoqualmie Sister Cities Association, and her home city of Chaclacayo, Peru. Bendezu participated in swift-water training and went on several calls with the Snoqualmie crew during her stay.

Patricia Bendezu, a firefighter with Snoqualmie’s sister city of Chaclacayo, Peru, poses for an exuberant photo during swiftwater rescue training with the Snoqualmie Fire Department.

Aug. 19: Kicking off the Classic

Pro golfers and Seattle sports celebrities started off the Boeing Classic Monday morning with the Rumble at the Ridge, a golf tournament raising funds for organizations such as Pete Carroll’s “A Better Seattle.” The Rumble was all for a good cause, but the golf got serious later in the week. Billy Andrade claimed the Classic title at the end of the weeklong event.

Randall Morris winds up for a drive down the fairway at the Rumble on the Ridge, part of the weeklong Boeing Classic, which started Monday at the Snoqualmie Ridge TPC Golf Course.

Watch for stories from the rest of 2015 posted throughout the week.