Teen arrested

for counterfeiting

A 17-year-old Mount Si High student was arrested for

manufacturing counterfeit money. Police caught the teen with a fake $5 bill during a

traffic stop in Snoqualmie. The teen told police that there were three

other people involved in the funny money scheme.

Police raid

Fall City home

King County Police stormed a Fall City trailer home that was known as

a “haven for dopers” and arrested a 23-year-old man. The man was a

suspected methamphetamine dealer whom police had investigated for

several months.

King County Code Enforcement also condemned the property

because the area did not have a septic system.

Street problems in Snoqualmie Ridge

The slim streets in Snoqualmie Ridge were supposed to slow

down traffic and create a neighborly, pedestrian-friendly, compact

community. Instead, police officials told the city council that the narrow streets

made it difficult for police and fire crews to get through.

To ease the congestion, the council needed to decide which side of

the streets would have No Parking signs.

Veteran leads Carnation police

Sgt. Bonnie Soule won the top spot as Carnation’s new police chief.

She had been with the King County Sheriff’s Office for 19 years.

Soule led deputies Bill Brown and Scott Allen through the change

from an independent department to a force working under a city-county contract.

Rhynalds gets

six months

The driver involved in the hit-and-run accident that killed a North

Bend teen in November 1998 was sentenced to six months in jail.

Michael Rhynalds, 27, was also ordered to view the autopsy photos

of Dane Rempfer and to read the report of the teen’s death.

On Nov. 7, 1998, Rempfer was walking along East Ribary Way

with three friends when he was struck and killed by a 1988 Mustang driven

by Rhynalds.

City engineer resigns

Snoqualmie City Engineer Bob Hansen resigned after Mayor

Randy “Fuzzy” Fletcher asked him to step down.

Fletcher declined to offer specifics on Hansen’s resignation, but

the mayor said the city council supported his decision.

Public works contract approved

The city of North Bend forged a three-year contract with its

public works employees.

Under the new contract, all wage steps for employees would be

increased by the cost of living adjustment; each employee would

receive an extra $75 a month; the city would provide a longtime disability

insurance policy; and the contract would contain a sick leave buy-back

provision.

The contract was retroactive to Jan. 1, 1999.

Tollgate Farm lawsuit settled

The developers of Tollgate Farm were ordered by a King County

Superior Court judge to cover the city’s $17,823.86 costs of defending

itself against one of the developer’s lawsuits.

Campbell Mathewson, project director of the proposed

development, said they would appeal the decision.

Last July, the developers filed two lawsuits against North Bend that

said the city ignored the development applications when they were first

submitted.

Missing hikers safe

Two men who were lost in the Cascades for about a week

emerged from the wilderness alive and well.

Jeff Curry and Brent Cooley told family and friends they would be

gone on a three-day snowshoeing trip. But when the pair didn’t return, family

and friends called police. About 70 search and rescue workers and

volunteers looked for the two hikers but were unable to find them.

However, several days after the men were reported missing, they

managed to find their own way out, to the relief of their families.

Residents petition for school redistricting

Some residents of Snoqualmie Pass were unsatisfied with the level

of education the Easton School District provided their children.

A petition to become part of the Snoqualmie Valley School

District was signed by the majority of registered voters, leaving it up to the

Educational Service District to decide the fate of the handful of students

that would be affected by the proposal.

Winery destroyed by fire

The Snoqualmie Winery was destroyed in a fire, despite the efforts

of more than two dozen firefighters from three agencies.

Officials guessed that the blaze resulted from the failure of one of

the electrical components in the ceiling cavity. Authorities said damage

from the fire was about $250,000.

Several areas of concern arose, however, about who responded to

the two-alarm fire.

Eastside Fire and Rescue initially sent firefighters from Issaquah to

help Snoqualmie fight the fire instead of crews from the closer station in

neighboring North Bend.

Ten minutes after the first call for help, the Eastside Fire battalion

chief sent an engine and two aid units from North Bend.

Post-fire investigation also determined that Snoqualmie did not have

a “pre-fire plan” for the winery on

file.

Land purchased for arboretum

A 22-acre parcel of land was purchased for the future Preston

Arboretum. The parcel is located northwest of the Preston industrial area.

The King County Park System purchased the land for $1.7

million from Preston Industrial Associates.