August
Published 2:23 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
Historic district gets OK
In a move that could bring in more tourist dollars but has irritated
some property owners, a section of North Bend’s downtown commercial
area was officially designated a Historic Landmark District.
The district includes 17 buildings and two vacant lots, and was
nominated for the designation by the North Bend Landmarks and Heritage
Program, a cooperation between the city and the County’s Landmarks
and Heritage Program. The program’s purpose is to support local history
through the preservation of significant buildings.
With the designation comes a set of regulations and guidelines for
altering the buildings, and tax incentives for building owners to revive
their structures.
Police dig up pot patch
A marijuana crop with an approximate street value of $72,000 was
discovered Aug. 3 on city-owned land near the Snoqualmie Valley
Trail, close to the Mount Si Golf Course.
A caller had tipped off the Snoqualmie Department of
Public Safety — Police Division the prior week to two other sites, which had
already been harvested when police arrived.
When officers flew over the area to search for more crops, they
discovered the 36-plant patch carved out of a blackberry thicket.
To date, no arrests have been made from the find, but police are still
investigating.
W/pix
Mount Si grad films young civic activists
Mount Si High graduate Paul Gordon completed a video project
in which he filmed and interviewed youth activists from across the
country about their civic projects.
Gordon, who is currently attending the University of Washington,
said he is convinced many of the problems facing today’s kids can be
alleviated by them getting involved in their communities.
The purpose of the video is to encourage other children and teens to
get involved and to show Americans that youth can have a positive influence
on their local cities and towns.
Gordon and his mother Elaine have flown across the country to
work on the project and are now pitching the videos to HBO and television
networks.
Panther Pride is cat’s meow at nationals
The Panther Pride Demo Team took 250 first- through fifth-place
honors at the National Unicycle Convention in Adrian, Mich.
When not competing, the unicycle team performs year-round at
parades, events and sports teams’ half-time shows. The 96 riders are coached
by North Bend Elementary physical education teacher Alan Tepper.
Forty-six demo team members participated in the competition
and came away with 120 first-place honors and set 10 national records.
Blaze nearly destroys home
A house fire that was most likely the year’s largest and most
damaging occurred in an unincorporated King County area that does not pay for
fire protection services.
The home in the 36200 block of 89th Place was at least 90 percent
destroyed in spite of having more than 30 firefighters, seven fire engines
and four water-tender trucks battling the blaze. The fire had already reached
the roof when a neighbor noticed smoke. The house is surrounded by high
timber and firefighters were worried a wildfire would occur.
Nobody was home at the time of the fire, but a North Bend
firefighter rescued two rottweilers from the garage with a chainsaw.
Car chase ends in death, airlift
A 23-year-old Pierce County man died in a four-car accident Aug.
10 after leading several police agencies on a chase along Highway 18.
David T. Roehr of Graham was pronounced dead at the scene near
the Raging River Bridge. Another man, Gary M. Nelson, 37, an off-duty
Seattle police sergeant who lives in Auburn, sustained head and chest
injuries in the accident and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center.
According to police, Roehr had stolen a 1993 Honda Civic earlier
that day in Puyallup. Later, Auburn police contacted the King County
Sheriff’s Department and told officers they were chasing the car.
Sheriff’s deputies took over the chase in the Maple Valley area.
The suspect’s car reached speeds of up to 80 mph and Roehr drove
recklessly until he tried to pass a
tractor-trailer, then collided violently with
Nelson’s 1992 Ford pickup. The drivers of the tractor-trailer were not injured.
The accident shut down Highway 18 for several hours.
Treemont project faces more delays
The decision to allow the proposed Treemont development to be
located behind Tall Chief Golf Course was delayed.
Metropolitan King County Council members, who were to
approve, deny or approve the project with conditions, decided additional
environmental and traffic studies were needed. As a result, the project’s final
environmental impact statement (FEIS) document was handed back to King
County Hearing Examiner Stafford Smith for further study.
Although the subdivision was proposed to include 194 homes by
the property’s owner, Port Blakely Communities, it could be cut down to
88 or even 47 homes, depending on the hearing examiner’s findings.
Dutch conglomerate buys Optiva
It was announced that Snoqualmie-based Optiva Corp.
will be acquired by Netherlands-based Philips Domestic Appliances and
Personal Care (DAP), a division of Royal Philips Electronics.
With the acquisition of Optiva, which manufactures the
Sonicare sonic toothbrush, employs approximately 600 people and has an
average $175 million in annual sales, Philips DAP expects to become the No. 2
global manufacturer of dental care products.
Mount Si graduate heads to Olympics
Nick Rogers, a 1994 graduate of Mount Si High School, headed
to Sydney, Australia to compete in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
The former high-school 3,200-meter race champion will be
competing in the 5,000-meter race.
Rogers, whose interest in running began in high school, beat the
“A” standard in running and landed a
spot on the Olympic team. His mark was 11 seconds better than what
was needed to qualify and was the 14th all-time best among U.S. runners.
W/pix
North Bend rejects flood map
City of North Bend officials rejected the latest version of a
federally funded Flood Insurance Flood Rate Map (FIRM) saying the document
is incomplete.
The map, on which Valley insurance rates are based, was revised
from a more than 20-year-old version that was considered outdated. It covers
the cities of North Bend and Snoqualmie, along with unincorporated
King County areas, and was produced by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
Officials said FEMA did not provide the calculations it used to
determine elevations for floodways and floodplains, which residents and
officials would like to check for accuracy. Also, the map does not include
Ribary, Gardiner and Clough creeks, which contribute to the Valley’s
flooding problem and pose further questions regarding its accuracy.
