VALLEY RECORDSNOQUALMIE

INDEXVALLEY VIEWS 4 LETTERS 5SCHOOLS 6CALENDAR 7SPORTS 9ON THE SCANNER 11CLASSIFIED ADS 12-14

Vol. 97, No. 10

SPOR

TS Lots of cyclists headed for North Bend, arts benefit Page 9

PARE

NTIN

G Girl Scouts explore ways to eat healthy in recipe book Page 8

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2010 DAILY UPDATES AT WWW.VALLEYRECORD.COM 75 CENTS

YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER, SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF SNOQUALMIE NORTH BEND FALL CITY PRESTON CARNATION

97YEARS97

YEARSYEARSYEARSYEARSYEARS

425.831.6300 www.lesschwab.com610 E. North Bend Way • North Bend

3894

30

Green light for North Bend

fire stationNext up: Twin bonds for North Bend vote

BY ALLISON ESPIRITUStaff Reporter

With sighs of relief, North Bend City Council members and King County Fire District 38 com-missioners unanimously approved an agreement last month to replace current Fire Station 87 with a new facility.

The long-awaited approval came at the council’s Tuesday, July 20, meeting and at a board of commis-sioners’ special meeting on Thursday, July 22.

“Thank God we got it done,” said North Bend Councilmember Alan Gothelf.

The agreement caps a two-year ordeal between the two entities to propose and finalize the finer details of funding, access, ownership, design and long-term provision of space for the station.

Both sides agreed that costs and ownership would be split. District 38 has agreed to pay 57 percent of the projected $5 million station, while the city of North Bend is responsible for 43 percent.

District 38 pays more because it includes 63 per-cent of the assessed evaluation of the station’s service area, while 37 percent lies in the city of North Bend.

“They are paying a little less but we are getting 50 percent ownership as a trade off,” North Bend City Administrator Duncan Wilson said. “This is assum-ing the architect tells us we can build it at the price we anticipate.”

With the interlocal agreement final, the push for a new station moves into the voters’ sphere. The fire district will forward a $2.85 million bond to its residents, while North Bend will float a $2.15 million bond. The vote could come as soon as February.

“It’s now up to the voters to get it moving,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Dee Williamson.

If approved, the new Fire Station 87 would include a public meeting room, bay space for six vehicles, eight sleeping rooms, crew and public restrooms, a decontamination room, a fitness room, storage, living and office spaces, while saving on energy costs.

It must meet the standards set by Eastside Fire and Rescue, include the essentials of a modern fire station and fit in and enhance the character of the city of North Bend.

The current fire hall, adjacent to North Bend City Hall, was built as a volunteer station in the 1940s and has been remodeled several times. Fire crews living there have dealt with rat infestations, asbestos and cramped sleeping quarters.

Seth Truscott/Staff Photo

Surveying the Northwest Railway Museum’s new Train Shed Exhibit Building, Executive Director Richard Anderson stands along one of three future track lines in the 25,000-square-foot structure. Once tracks are laid, the building will safeguard the museum’s vulnerable cars from the elements.

Full steam aheadRR campus takes shape

with exhibit buildingBY SETH TRUSCOTT

Editor

Tapping floorboards into place aboard the Northwest Railway Museum’s long, lean car No. 218, volunteer Russ Stegner is restor-ing history, a plank at a time.

The gray-bearded Stegner has loved trains since childhood. Now, at age 73, his efforts at the museum’s Conservation and Restoration Center, or CRC, pre-serve the legacy of the rails while keeping him in shape, too.

The 1912 Barney and Smith 218 car was the first vehicle in the doors of the CRC, built four years ago to give volunteers a place to restore venerable but deteriorat-ing cars and locomotives to their original glory.

This summer, the Northwest Railway Museum’s campus makes its next transformation, with the addition of the new Train Shed Exhibit Building. Construction of the shed is nearly complete; once finishing touches are done, the building will shelter all vul-nerable cars in the museum’s col-lection, safeguarding them from further decay.

“If it had been here 50 years ago, we wouldn’t be doing this,” said volunteer Bob Miller. “We would have been able to preserve a lot of the wooden artifacts we have.”

New shedWick Constructors of Bellevue

are on the final punch list for the $4 million, 25,000-square-foot shed, which covers half an acre.

“This is a big deal. This is very positive,” said Richard Anderson, the railway museum’s executive director. Construction began last

SEE SHED, 3

www.valleyrecord.com Snoqualmie Valley Record • August 4, 2010 • 3

Marysville Globe, Arlington Times, SVR

Real people. Real attention.SM

Join us on

Find a branch near you at cascadebank.com or call 800-326-8787The value of the free gift may be reported on form 1099-INT. Offer expires August 28, 2010.

If you’re looking for a truly local bank, switch your business or personal checking to Cascade Bank. Cascade offers:

• the convenience you want

• the personalized service you deserve

• FREE access to 17,000 ATMs

Switch to Cascade's checking and receive a FREE Kore Gear backpack.

SNOQUALMIE VALLEYChamber of Commerce

SNOQUALMIE VALLEY Chamber of Commerce8051 Falls Ave #2A in Snoqualmie, WA 98065 • PO Box 357 in North Bend, WA 98045Phone: 425.888.6362 • Fax: 425.888.4665 • info@snovalley.org • www.snovalley.org

North BendSnoqualmie Pass 3

87068

Tour de Peaks Finish Line

Tour de Peaks Family Ride

Join the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of

Commerce today to get all Valley households talking

about your business!www.snovalley.org

SnoqualmiePreston

Fall Cityserving…

We’re active, we’re local, and we’re dedicated to promoting your business!

Si View Parks Ribbon Cutting

NOW ON FACEBOOK!

Visit us online at www.snovalley.org , email us at info@snovalley.org, or call us at 425.888.6362 for details and more information.

Visitor Information Center Open – Memorial Day thru Labor DayLet us help you promote your business.

CALENDAR OF EVENTSAug. 7-8 Snoqualmie Valley Festival

of Music at Mountain MeadowsAug. 13-15 Festival at Mt Si &

Tour de PeaksAug. 21-22 Snoqualmie Railroad Days

Aug. 23-29 The Boeing Classic Champions Tour at TPC

Snoqualmie Ridge

Help us promote the 22nd Annual TOUR de PEAKS and YOU WILL BE

PROMOTING YOUR BUSINESS“A VALLEY RIDE WITH A MOUNTAIN VIEW”

Four different routes, ranging from a 6 mile Family ride, to a 70 mile complete Valley ride. Riding to suit every taste! Explore these routes,

ride in some neighborhoods you haven’t seen before.

Hundreds of visitors will be riding or walking right past your door. • Festival at Mt Si activities all weekend, lots of visitors!• Saturday parade, Saturday night Fireworks!• Kiwanis Community Pancake Breakfast, Saturday and Sunday• ~ Half the proceeds to bene� t Mt Si Senior CenterRotary Beer Garden at Si View both days during the Festival • Show your customers that you CARE about the COMMUNITY!• Join the Chamber TEAM• Let the Chamber Visitor Center work for you• Experience the power of networking and partnership marketing!•

It’s your Community – Keep it growing StrongerKeep it Local!

July, just months after a dev-astating flood hammered museum facilities. Since then, the museum started an annu-al gala benefit and took over organization of Snoqualmie Railroad Days.

The last 18 months, Anderson said, have been more eventful than any time in the previous 18 years.

Workers will soon lay 1,200 feet of track to bring cars into the building, which will enter through three huge steel-and-glass roll-up doors, the largest of which weighs six tons.

Besides cars, exhibits will be spread throughout the build-ing. Tracks lead to a rear plaza, where the museum envisions outdoor receptions and pro-grams. The collection inside will change over time, giving visitors incentive to return.

Even after weeks of hot weather, the shed’s insulated steel walls keep the tempera-

ture inside cool. Circulating fans and wall louvres keep air flowing to minimize mold and damp. Special windows block damaging ultraviolet rays.

Once complete, the shed will transform downtown Snoqualmie, housing rusty cars and drawing sightseers who now roam a roadside trail along Highway 202.

Visitors will board trains at the North Bend and Snoqualmie Depots, disem-barking at the shed for tours of that facility and the CRC.

Some cars and signs will remain along Highway 202.

“There will still be a rea-son for people to stop and walk the trail,” Anderson said. But with the exhibit building, “we’ll be able to provide a much fuller experience, play a greater role as an educational institution.

“We’ll be playing a role in the economic vitality of down-town Snoqualmie,” he added. “We’re a destination in our own right.”

The shed “will be a real attraction,” said Fritz Ribary, exeuctive director of the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Ribary said he is amazed by how often he sees sightse-ers walking the roadside trail, viewing the cars. The shed allows them to see the collec-tion in all weather.

“It’ll give people an opportu-nity to have more time to view

the engines and cars,” Ribary said. “Hopefully, they’ll be able to run a train for people who would like to see that during the week.”

Future plansPost-construction, the

museum now focuses on res-toration of the Messenger of Peace, a century-old rolling chapel. The museum recently received a $50,000 Partners in Preservation grant to bring the Messenger, once crumbling on the Pacific Coast, to its heydey appearance.

When finished, restored cars including the Messenger, the 218 car and its White River Lumber Co. Caboose 001 will be showcased in the exhibit building. A ribbon cutting for sponsors and donators is planned for autumn.

The shed is only the second piece of a multi-building cam-pus vision, which has its roots in the museum’s incorporation in 1957. The site had been selected as far back as 2000, with plans for a conservation center and train barn.

Still to come are a library, archive and classroom building

and a possible roundhouse.“We’re already working on

the library,” Anderson said. “It’s a challenging environment to be fundraising in. But we have a great plan.”

“We’re developing a destina-tion campus,” he added. “We’ll be offering a full experience here.”

The finished campus will contribute to the local body of knowledge on railroad history.

“Almost everybody is con-nected to the railroad in some way,” Anderson said. “This part of the country was opened up by the railroad.”

SHED FROM 1 Train shed factsSize: 25,000 square feet; half an acreHeight: 35 feetLength: 300 feet, enough for several cars, end to endCost: $4 millionLocation: Northwest Railway Museum’s Stone Quarry Road campus, Snoqualmie.Average inside temperature: 65 degreesFoundation depth: 27 feet