Valley Record SNOQUALMIE
Wednesday, oCt. 3, 2012 • Daily updates at www.valleyrecord.com • 75 cents •
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The fear fighters
Medical marijuana storefront departs Preston
Serious skills mingle with fun in new women’s defense series By Carol Ladwig
SPORTS
Staff Reporter
Mount Si Tennis players build their skills in challenging season Page 8
There’s no reason the activities planned for this evening’s self-defense class should be fun, but they are. People are talking quietly or laughing out loud, sprawled on the floor of the Snoqualmie Fire Station, or doing some gentle stretches. They’re relaxed and joking, but transition quickly to all seriousness for a final review of their training, and of the evening’s program with Officer John Lievero. Well, mostly serious. When Lievero repeats the final rule for the night, “no weapons, OK?” he gets a quick retort from one student, flexing her biceps as she says, “None except for these babies!” Just like that, the 17 women go back to joking, and the first few students gets geared up for practice.
BUSINESS
See DEFENSE, 3
Preparing for retirement? Valley group starts monthly discussions Page 6
Index Opinion 4 On the Scanner 9 10 Calendar 11 Puzzles 15 Movie Times Classifieds 12-14
Vol. 99, No. 19
The Kind Alternative, one of 23 shops closed by DEA letter, re-opens in Black Diamond By Valley Record Staff
Carol Ladwig/Staff Photo
Standing up to her ‘attacker,’ police officer Dave Bond, a RAD student tries the selfdefense techniques she’s learned in a class with Snoqualmie Police Department.
Lost alleys, found After decades of overgrowth, Snoqualmie survey is reclaiming paths By Seth Truscott Editor
Bordered by fences on both sides, the strip fronting River Street is a patchwork of tall grass, concrete blocks, stacked firewood and leaf litter. Roots of big maples furrow the ground. A child’s fort overlooks the scene. On the city’s official maps, this place is supposed to be an alley. But the connector between River and Newton Streets went back to nature years ago. Not for much longer. The city of Snoqualmie is in the midst of a complete survey of downtown alleys, with the aim of transforming how people move around this historic neighborhood. See ALLEY, 5
Seth Truscott/Staff Photo
Once an alley, this strip of land off Snoqualmie’s Silva Avenue may become a connector again. Dan Marcinko, the city’s Public Works and Parks Director, says a new alley survey by Perteet, Inc., will make for a complete picture of downtown, and a more accessible city.
The Kind Alternative Medical Marijuana Collective in Preston has been temporarily shuttered since early August, after receiving a warning letter from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. The letters, sent to the operators and landlords of 23 medical marijuana facilities in western Washington, stated the operations had to cease immediately because of their proximity to school zones or drug-free zones. A sign on the Kind Alternative’s windows stated that the facility was closing as a courtesy to neighboring businesses. Although the collective has closed its storefront, the operator said they have continued to make deliveries to patients. The adjoining Go’in Glass Lounge, which does not provide any marijuana, but sells pipes and other devices, and provides a patient-only area for consumption of marijuana, will remain open. Collective operators hope to return to their Preston facility in the near future, as Seattle and unincorporated King County zoning laws are updated. See MOVE, 5
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