Valley Record SNOQUALMIE
1021 S YEAR
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016 n DAILY UPDATES AT WWW.VALLEYRECORD.COM n 75 CENTS
Eastside Fire names new chief By MEGAN CAMPBELL
NEWS
Issaquah Reporter Staff Writer
Another Little Free Library comes to the Valley Page 2
The Eastside Fire and Rescue board has made an offer to an Arizona fire chief to fill the open Eastside Fire chief position as soon as Feb. 1. “I’m excited to get started,” said Jeff Clark of the Chandler Fire, Health and Medical Department in Chandler, Ariz., last week. “Overall, it’s not my goals
that are important, but what we do as an entity.” For the last seven years, Clark has been the fire chief in Chandler, which is more than 1,400 miles south of Washington and has a population of about 250,000 people. He began his career there as a firefighter and paramedic in 1991. Clark, 47, has also served as fire chief for the Chandler County Island Fire District, which provides emergency
response to county islands within the city’s boundaries. Additionally, Clark was the city’s assistant city manager for three years. He oversaw neighborhood resources and the IT departments. He has an associate of applied science and fire science from Mesa Community College, a bachelor’s degree in public safety administration from Grand Canyon University and a master of administration from Northern Arizona University. Clark’s wife and two children will move up to Washington after his daughter graduates from
high school in May, he said. Although, he said he and his wife have been planning to move up to the Pacific Northwest for about five years. “We love it up there,” he said. And Eastside Fire and Rescue “felt like a great fit,” he said. Clark was one of four final candidates gunning for the Eastside Fire and Rescue chief position, including interim fire chief Greg Tryon. The panelists and the Eastside Fire personnel committee who interviewed candidates Dec. 1 brought the recommendation to hire Clark on Dec. 10.
Building ‘battle’
SCENE
Library hosts gingerbread house challenge
Holiday lights contest winners in Snoqualmie announced Page 7
INDEX Letters Puzzles Obituaries Classifieds Calendar
5 6 8 9-11 12
Evan Pappas/Staff Photos
Above: Brothers Kazu and Kiyo Nelson combine their efforts to put together one big gingerbread house, during the Dec. 22 Gingerbread Battle at Fall City Library. Left: Savannah makes a face while putting the roofing on her gingerbread house. The winter-break activity was sponsored by the Fall City Friends of the Library.
Vol. 102, No. 33
Children tried their hands at construction last week in the Fall City Library’s gingerbread house competition, Dec. 22. Maggie Wong, librarian and organizer of the event, said she got the idea from a colleague at the Des Moines library who previously did the event with great success. “We are on winter break and teens need something to do,” Wong said. “Match sugar with a fun activity, that’s golden.” All of the materials needed for the program were supplied by Friends of Fall City library. Wong hopes the library can become a location where more people go to look for programming like this. Wong got a resounding “YES” when she asked if participants wanted to do this again next year.
Photo courtesy of the Chandler Fire, Health & Medical Dept.
Jeff Clark has been selected as the new chief for Eastside Fire and Rescue. He has been the fire chief in Chandler, Ariz. for the last seven years.
Snoqualmie Tribe sues casino CEO The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe filed a lawsuit Dec. 23 in King County Superior Court, seeking to recover $150,000 from a former Snoqualmie Casino employee, Wendell Long. Long started as CEO in May 2015; the tribe terminated his employment in October. The lawsuit alleged that Long abused his position by hiring unqualified friends for jobs, approving a bonus system without authorization, and misusing tribal funds. “We have been carefully reviewing the conduct of the former casino CEO Wendell Long over the last month,” said Carolyn Lubenau, the Chairwoman of the Snoqualmie Tribal Council. “Our goal with this lawsuit is to recover the money wrongfully obtained from the tribe. People who take advantage of the tribe must be held accountable for their conduct.”
YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER, SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF SNOQUALMIE n NORTH BEND n FALL CITY n PRESTON n CARNATION
IS YOUR VEHICLE READY FOR WINTER? 1497214
✔ Snow Tires ✔ Snow Wheels ✔ Tire Chains ✔ Batteries ✔ Free WiFi ✔ Free Coffee & Popcorn
www.lesschwab.com
®
610 E. North Bend Way • North Bend • 425.831.6300