Valley Record SNOQUALMIE
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26, 2014 n DAILY UPDATES AT WWW.VALLEYRECORD.COM n 75 CENTS
Reichert warms to business topics Pink hair and all, Mount Si wrestlers take state podium Page 11
BY CAROL LADWIG Staff Reporter
Signing off North Bend sheriff’s substation prepares to close shop for Snoqualmie police transition March 7
SCHOOLS
BY CAROL LADWIG
Two Rivers students learn the mysteries of HAM Page 13
INDEX Opinion 4 6 Business 8 Movie Times 14 Obituary 15 Calendar On the Scanner 19
Vol. 100, No. 40
M
Staff Reporter
Carol Ladwig/Staff Photo
Top, Sgt. Mark Toner offers badge stickers to Abel Wheeler and his sister, Adeline, and mom Kara, when he met them outside the North Bend substation. Right, an information display at the station, already marked for moving. Bottom, Office Manager Kym Smith, in mock anger, gently corrects someone on how long KCSO has been serving North Bend (it’s 40 years).
oving day hasn’t quite arrived at the North Bend Sheriff ’s substation, but the signs show that it is coming. Colored slips of paper marked “city” or “KCSO” are taped to tables and desks, and one corner of the front office is stacked with stuffed boxes, marked “Star Wars” or “Bath Sets” (leftovers from the department’s annual Operation Santa gift drive). The staff photos in the lobby aren’t coming down just yet, though, and more of the walls are being covered as Office Manager Kym Smith continues building her history display of the department’s 40 years as North Bend’s police force. That’s right, 40 years, Smith says, pointing to the Dec. 27, 1973, issue of the Valley Record, with a photo of Mayor Oscar Miller signing the agreement to contract with the King County Sheriff ’s Office for police services. The relationship built on that contract ends at midnight, March 7, when the Snoqualmie Police Department begins covering North Bend. Well, the formal relationship ends, but both Smith and Police Chief Mark Toner can foresee staying in touch with the community they’ve served for years. Smith and administrative assistant Erin Mitchell both live in North Bend and hope to continue working in the community. Sgt. Toner leaves after four and a-half years as the city’s police chief for a patrol position south of I-90. SEE TRANSITION, 2
Congressman Dave Reichert shed his jacket early in his talk Friday at the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce luncheon, but he hadn’t even gotten to the day’s hot topic. Reichert, U.S. Representative to the House for Washington’s DAVE REICHERT 8th District, covered the Eighth District U.S. recent government shut- Congressman down and debt ceiling vote (aggravated by party conflicts), tax reform (potentially from six tax brackets down to three), SEE REICHERT, 10
Taxing questions Snoqualmie council eyes tribal tax exemption bill with apprehension BY SETH TRUSCOTT Editor
Snoqualmie’s city council is watching the progress of a state bill exempting tribe-owned land from property taxes with growing concern, wondering how that change would affect everyone else’s taxes. SEE EXEMPTION, 5
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