Valley Record SNOQUALMIE
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2015 n DAILY UPDATES AT WWW.VALLEYRECORD.COM n 75 CENTS
1021 S YEAR
Fire chief signs off Lee Soptich retires after lifelong career in firefighting By EVAN PAPPAS
SCHOOLS
Schools network gives students technical skills Page 8
SCENE
Staff Reporter
Celebrate the season with Valley Center Stage’s holiday show Page 10
INDEX Opinion Blotter Calendar Puzzles Classifieds
4 7 15 15 16-18
Vol. 102, No. 28
A bottle full of black and white marbles is passed around the room as each person drops one into their hands. If you get a white marble, you are in. If not, you are sent home. Lee Soptich takes a marble. It’s white. After a 15-year career as Fire Chief of Eastside Fire and Rescue and decades as a firefighter, Soptich retired on Nov. 30. Reminiscing about his career, he spoke about the marble game he had to play to join the volunteer firefighters in Selah, in 1975. “It went around the table and you put a marble in your hand. If it was white, you’re in, if it was black, you’re out. It only took one black marble for you to be out,” Soptich said. “That’s how I got started in the fire service and then they just said ‘Here’s your equipment, when you hear the fire whistle we’ll show you what to do.’” Born in Selah, Soptich joined the volunteer firefighters when he was 18. Within a month of volunteerPhoto by Robin Marie Photography ing, he was hooked and knew that Carnation boy Tim Bennett takes Fire Chief Lee Soptich’s blood pressure at the he always wanted to be involved 2015 Carnation Fourth of July celebration, and open house at the Carnation with fire services. Fire Station.
City property taxes set for 2016
Snoqualmie Carnation, take tax increases for 2016, North Bend opts out By CAROL LADWIG Editor
As of Nov. 30, Valley cities had set their property tax levies for 2016. Two, Snoqualmie
and Carnation, approved the 1 percent annual increase allowed by state law; North Bend approved a 0 percent increase, for the second year in a row. Effective Jan. 1, 2016, the city of Snoqualmie’s total tax levy will be $6,728,000, which includes an increase of $52,946, just under the 1 percent limit. The total levy also includes a tax for repayment of the debt voters approved in 2002 to build a new fire station. These taxes combined result in a city tax rate of $2.68 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value in 2016, which would total $1,315 in taxes for a $490,000 home ($490,000 is the average home price in Snoqualmie).
“I remember as a teenage firefighter the excitement was ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen, I don’t know if there is going to be a call, and I don’t know what kind of call it’s going to be,’” he said. “That’s what drew me to it, the challenge of the unknown, and that’s what kept me in it.” From volunteering in Selah, he was hired on as a firefighter in Yakima in 1979 and eventually became the Carnation Fire Chief in 1986. Thinking back on his days as an active firefighter, Soptich recalls some of the tight spots he got himself into. “We were going upstairs thinking the fire was there when it was actually in the basement,” he said. “So it burnt out the stairwell and we fell through the stairs. “I laugh about it now because there were two of us and we fell into a closet on the main floor. I remember our officer coming around, opening the door and saying ’Hey, are you guys going to put the fire out or not?’” After a couple years, the Carnation department merged with Fire District 10. In 1995, the fire chief of the merged district stepped down and Soptich got the job. After four years in that role, Carnation, District 10, Issaquah, and North Bend all came together to form Eastside Fire and Rescue (EFR). After the first year of EFR’s operation, the fire chief left and Soptich was offered the position. He has been the fire chief of EFR since 2000. SEE FIRE CHIEF, 2
Carnation’s tax levy will total $269,767, which includes an additional $2,553 for the 1 percent increase in property tax revenue. The total includes $12,000 from a new construction levy, setting the city’s 2016 tax rate at $1.26 per $1,000 of assessed value. For the average home in Carnation, valued at $618,000, it’s $791 in taxes. North Bend’s total levy, which also includes debt service for a fire station bond, will be $1,694,491, for a rate of $1.44 per $1,000 of assessed value. For the average home in North Bend, valued at $582,000, it’s $838 in taxes. SEE PROPERTY TAX, 3
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