Valley Record SNOQUALMIE
101RS YEA
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2015 n DAILY UPDATES AT WWW.VALLEYRECORD.COM n 75 CENTS
Garbage change
Seeking a home
New trash ordinance aims to hinder garbage bears
Valley Renewal Center’s winter homeless shelter is homeless now too By ALLYCE ANDREW
SPORTS
Staff Reporter
Third in region, Mount Si sends wrestlers to state’s Mat Classic Page 9
Jennifer Kirk, with the Valley Renewal Center, is pushing to keep the Valley’s homeless population safe as winter comes to a close. To do it, she’ll have to set a precedent, opening the first homeless shelter in Snoqualmie since 2013. The Valley’s seasonal shelter, the North Bend Winter Shelter, was open during winter months at the Mount Si Lutheran Church since 2012, but it closed Feb. 3. Kirk said the Valley Renewal Center applied for a permit from North Bend, but never heard back from the city, so they opened the shelter regardless.
By ALLYCE ANDREW Staff Reporter
Allyce Andrew/Staff Photo
YMCA volunteers Rullie Harris and Cassie Craig prepare a community dinner at Snoqualmie United Methodist Church, which is waiting for a city permit to host a winter shelter for the homeless. “Our decision to close (in North According to North Bend City Bend) was because the church asked Administrator Londi Lindell, the us to uphold what we promised to Renewal Center applied for a permit, the neighborhood,” Kirk explained. but did not agree to the conditions. “We did not choose to leave because SEE SHELTER, 2 of permitting.”
Seed exchange marks fifth year of growing Page 10
INDEX Opinion 4 5 Puzzles On the Scanner 6 Classifieds 12-14 15 Calendar
Vol. 101, No. 39 Allyce Andrew/Staff Photo
Sophia Finn drops her vote off at the King County ballot van in Snoqualmie on Election Day.
Support was strong in the Snoqualmie Valley School District for a bond proposal in the Feb. 10 election. As of press time, the district’s $244 million bond was passing with more than 62 percent of the vote. The “yes” votes numbered 6,313 after the first count, to 3,807 “no” votes. The bond measure, also known as Proposition 1, proposes to build a sixth elementary school in time for a fall, 2016, opening and over the next eight years, demolishing and rebuilding most of Mount Si High School. It would also make repairs to every school building in the district, and eventually return the high school’s Freshman Campus to use as a middle school. Election results will be certified on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
SEE TRASH, 3
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The Snoqualmie City Council unanimously approved adopting a new garbage disposal regulation, making unintentionally feeding wildlife through garbage negligence a misdemeanor. If a bear has rifled through a homeowner’s trash, the revisions allow Snoqualmie Police to issue a warning requiring the resident to purchase a wildlife resistant container. Police can issue a $125 ticket on the second offense. Waste Management, the city’s trash service provider, offers wildlife-resistant options for an additional monthly fee. “We’re not going to be out patrolling the garbage, obviously. The whole idea is to mitigate bear-human interaction,” Police Chief Steve McCulley explained. “So, someone complains and says bears have gotten into your garbage and we respond. We give a warning and we give them education and information about how to avoid this.” Councilwoman Chelley Patterson said, “If you put your garbage out and wildlife never get into it, then that’s not negligent feeding — even if that might be potentially feeding them.”
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