Hospital and ACMC start negotiations

The Board of commissioners for Snoqualmie Valley Hospital

District No. 4 voted to accept American College of Medical Centers’

revised Memorandum of Intent.

The board’s action cleared the way for negotiations with ACMC on

its proposal to reopen the hospital.

Safeway to open in Duvall

Safeway officials broke ground on the lot that will hold a

42,000-square-foot store on State Route 203 near

Big Rock Road.

The store was originally slated to open last year, but because of

negotiations on traffic issues, the date was pushed back to next June.

Flood properties up for sale

Two homes in Snoqualmie went up for sale as part of the city’s

buyout project that uses federal money to buy flood-damaged homes.

Previous homes that were sold under the program went from

anywhere between one and 500 dollars. The properties are then usually

converted into a park.

City acquires tree farm

The city of Snoqualmie and the owners of the Candy Cane Tree

Farm in Snoqualmie have agreed on a price for the property.

Under the agreement, owners Don and Lynn Douglass will

receive $310,000 for their 20-acre lot and also retain the right to harvest trees for

two more years. The city will then convert the lot into ball fields.

Fire strikes Eldorado Stone again

Fire destroyed another one of Eldorado Stone’s building on

West Entwistle Street in Carnation. The early morning blaze caused an

estimated $500,000 in damage. No one was injured and officials couldn’t

determine the cause of the fire.

Hensley pleads guilty

Todd Hensley, 21, of Snoqualmie pleaded guilty to second-degree

assault for shaking his 2-and-1/2-month-old daughter in March. The baby

received three fractured ribs, brain damage and other injuries from the

incident.

Hensley faced a sentence of 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 years in prison.

Battle over Laatsch proposal continues

Proponents and opponents of the proposed Laatsch annexation in

North Bend went before that city’s council to speak their piece. When all was

said and done, the council decided to table the issue for further consideration.

The argument pits property owners against several neighbors

who would like to sell the land for development.

Cougar snatches goat

A goat that was tethered on someone’s property was

possibly killed by a cougar, officials said. The cougar — or whatever killed the

goat — apparently dragged the body up the mountainside.

Earlier, Issaquah police and state wildlife officials shot and killed an

80-pound cat in Issaquah.

Crowd gathered to save cross

More than 150 people rallied on North Bend Way to save

Brandon Blount’s memorial cross. The Department of Transportation originally

told the Blount family that they would remove the cross, but later said

they would not touch the memorial until the two sides met.

Officials from DOT said they received several complaints about

the memorial which shouldn’t have been in the county’s right-of-way.

Blount was killed in a two-car accident in 1997.

Primary results in

There was a low turnout of voters for the September primaries, but

issues were decided nevertheless. Marcia Korich-Vega and

Carol Peterson both advanced to the November election in the Snoqualmie

council race. Voters rejected Fire District 38 and Carnation’s police levy.

And David Irons Jr. beat out 10-year incumbent Brian Derdowski for

the King County council seat.

Hospital talks end

Hospital commissioners voted to end discussions with the

American College Medical Center, (ACMC) who wanted to reopen the hospital. The

two groups had been meeting since August.

The commissioners said ACMC’s credibility was “significantly

undermined” after it stated that it had contacts with Overlake Hospital

Medical Center. A representative for ACMC said that was not the case, and

they made it clear to the commissioners that they only had verbal agreements

with Overlake.

Nyberg retires from Ridge

After 25 years with Weyerhaeuser, Jim Nyberg decided it was time

to move on to other projects.

Nyberg was the person who took Snoqualmie Ridge from

inception through planning and on into the growing residential/business

development it is today.