Year ini Review – March
Published 3:09 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
Remains found near Highway 18
The skeletal remains of Jennifer Justus of Seattle were found off a
dirt road near Highway 18. The body was discovered after a man told police
that he found a hand in his dog’s food dish.
It took search crews only several hours to find the body, which
was about two miles away from where the hand was found.
Garage sale signs given thumbs up
The North Bend City Council voted to kill a proposal that
would have charged residents $15 for posting “yard sale” or “garage sale”
signs around the city.
Councilman Mark Sollitto called the fee “onerous,” and said that
compared to other cities, North Bend didn’t have a big sign problem.
Loss prompts
law changes
The family of Dane Rempfer, the teen killed from a hit-and-run
accident, proposed a bill that would stiffen the penalty for hit-and-run
drivers when a death results from the accident.
The existing law weighed injury and death the same — as a Class
C felony — with a sentence of up to five years in jail and up to $10,000 in fines.
The bill was not voted on during the last legislative session, but the
family said it would patiently wait for next year.
Man charged for baby’s injuries
Todd Hensley, 21, of Snoqualmie was charged with second-degree
child assault after police said he shook his 2-and-1/2-month-old daughter so
hard that three of the infant’s ribs were broken.
He pled not guilty to the charges and faced a sentence of 31 to
41 months in prison if convicted. The baby was taken to Children’s
Hospital in Seattle with two subdural hematomas (bleeding around the
brain), three fractured ribs, a hemorrhaged retina and a fractured tibia.
According to charging papers, Hensley had been baby-sitting
the child on March 5 while the mother, Candis Scott, was at work.
Triple murder shocks Valley
A mother and her two daughters were brutally murdered in
their Snoqualmie home on Southeast Reinig Road on March 6.
Anouchka Baldwin, Salome Holly and Amanda Baldwin were
allegedly stabbed to death with a butcher knife by Anouchka’s husband Dayva
Cross. Cross spared his step-daughter Mellissa’s life, but kept her hostage
in the family’s home for over five hours. She escaped and called police
after Cross fell asleep.
Several days after the murder, Cross attempted to commit suicide
in his jail cell by shoving mattress stuffing in his nose and throat.
Cross was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and
one count of first-degree kidnapping.
Tech levy to go on May ballot
The Riverview School District board of directors voted to place a
$3.9 million technology levy on the May 18 ballot.
If approved, schools would have six computers per classroom and
updated computer labs.
The proposal would cost homeowners roughly $90 a year for
a home assessed at $200,000.
High-tech company on Ridge
The Inception Group, a high-tech company that helps develop the
technology used in a wide variety of products, announced that it would build
a new 40,000-square-foot facility on Snoqualmie Ridge. The building
was expected to be finished in October.
The facility would house The Inception Group’s four associated
companies: The Clary Company International, MicroSound Systems,
Inc., Advanced Cochlear Systems and Metron Systems, Inc.
Councilman quits
North Bend city councilman Matt Donovan said he would step
down from his city council seat within the next two months.
Donovan gave the sale of his Forster Woods home as the main
reason for his resignation. He intended to buy a home in the Woodriver
subdivision, outside of the city’s limits.
Carnation to vote on new form of government
The Carnation City Council unanimously decided to let citizens vote
on May 18 on whether they wanted their city to be run by a mayor or manager.
If approved, voters would select new city council members in the
fall. The council-manager form of government would consist of five
council members directing a full-time manager.
