Volume 2, Issue 3

Town Calendars Index, Baring, Skykomish

2

Hubbitats — 9 By Bob Hubbard

3

Cascade Quest 2005 By Mark Klein

6

The “Bear News” By Linda Tate

8

Gold Bar Historical News by DorothyCroshaw

10

How to reach us and the important small print

14

Chinook Expedition By Shane Turnbull

17

Inside this issue:

Happy Holidays! December 2004

Things to Come. . .K-4 The Reptile Zoo! Taken from the “Bear News” by Linda Tate

Our field trip to the Reptile Zoo has been scheduled for Decem-ber 21st, in the morn-ing. We will be leaving at 9:00 am and back by lunch. Parents are

welcome to join us. I am not sure how much room we will have on the bus. Parents may need to pro-vide their own transpor-tation. On Wednesday the 22nd of December we

will be decorating Christ-mas cookies the last hour.

Please contact me by this Friday if you can help out by donating some plain baked cookies, frosting, or

¢

Serving the Gold Bar, Index, Baring & Skykomish areas

See this in full color. A PDF file is easy to

open. See page 14 for more information

Download a color

copy for F

REE! !

Thanks to all the folks that have contributed articles and stories for the month of December. Special thanks to Bob Hubbard, Lisa Stowe, Mark and Sandy Klein, Linda Tate, Nina at the Der Baring, Harry at Sky Valley Video, Shane at Chinook Expeditions, Joan and Samantha Amenns, Dorothy Croshaw, and a special thanks to Clint & Elaine Dre-ger at Fire With Fire, Pa & Puff at Skyland Ranch, Mike & Cherie Eddy, Eric & Kim, Bill Casey, Cynthia at First/Lance Chance, Lori Cleaver at USPS, Mike Fitz-gerald at Index Fire #28, . There are many more not listed here. Thank you.

Happy New years!

2

The Mt Index Reporter 2004

Mark & Sandy Klein

Owners

Mt Index Village Espresso Chalet

Sled Dog Supplies 360-793-7932

Index Town Calendar Town Council 1st Mon—7 pm Museum Historical Society 2nd Tues—7 :30 pm Index Sportsmen’s 3rd Mon—6 pm Fire Commissioner Meeting 2nd Wed—3 pm Fire Hall Index Community Church Sun—10 am Index AA Meetings Every Wed & Fri—8 pm Sun—6 pm Skyland Ranch AA meeting Wed—8 pm Tipi Trek Activities Sat—7 pm NEW Bookmobile 1-800-342-1936 #7059 2nd and 4th Thurs 2:30 - 4 (break) 5—6:30 pm Index School

Index Planning Commission

Last Wed—6 pm Town Hall

Baring Lion’s Club 2nd Tues each month at Der Baring Store

Skykomish Calen-dar Town Council 3rd Mon— 6:30 pm Skykomish Town Hall

Pasado Spay Van Schedule

for January 2005

Gold Bar Jan 18

Family Grocer

Sultan Jan 18

Red Apple

3

Hubbitats — 9 by Bob Hubbard

Miller River

(Miller River Group Camp)

T o celebrate the holiday sea-son I’m going to write a fairly short col-umn. It’s not that I can’t think of enough stuff to fill a long column, its rather the opposite: every subject I’ve toyed with has blown up into big, complicated inter-meshed, sub-disciplines, and I can’t seem to squeeze them into manageable lengths and clear, simple text. This won’t do. I’ve had too many long columns in a row, and I want to break up the pattern once in a while.

So this time we’ll go to a place where we can have it simple and enjoy-able gut reaction to Nature, instead of a place where we might spend pages more cerebrally putting site history back to-gether again from the on-site clues, as is my normal style.

A warning though; there is no developed or even primitive access trail this month. You’ll have to do that high-stepping, brush-parting stagger dance that we call bushwhacking. The good part is that there is only about two or three tree lengths of bushwhacking to do total, coming and going, and its virtually impossible to get lost that close to the road.

So we hop in our transports and motor on up the Miller River valley to the Forest Service’s “Miller River Group Camp”, about 2 miles up the valley from the Old Cascade Highway, and we park out at the head of its driveway, by its (usually closed) gate.

The “Group Site” is a small, developed campground of about 20 spaces, down by the river. It’s a pleasant enough stroll in itself, off-season, and I often walk my dog there, but that’s not

our goal . Instead, we walk in the driveway a couple hundred feet and take in the ambiance of the forest.

It’s a mixed forest, with conifers and hardwoods both. The hardwoods, having dropped their leaves, create lighter openings among the darker and shadier conifers, and their branches are fes-

tooned with long banners of moss and lichens. Ob-viously this is a very wet spot in the mountains, to judge by the degree of moss development.

The conifer trees are mostly Western Hem-locks, Pacific Silver Firs and Western Red cedars. The Hemlocks and Firs are technically old-growth, although they are not very big for all that; most are less than 2 feet in diameter and 180 to 200 feet tall or so. If that were the totality of this forest it wouldn’t be much to write home about, aside from its fairly good wildlife habitat value.

But the Cedars make up for all the other of the

(Hubitats continued on page 5)

H Hours Monday Thru Thursday 7 am to 7 pm

Friday and Saturday 7 am to 9 pm

ANTIQUES/ GREAT FOOD/

Old Time Soda Fountain

Friendly service

Located on Hwy 2 at Baring, WA.

4

THOM BOULLIOUN ALWAYS KNEW HE’D

write his life story someday. But his life kept getting

in the way! After his fiancé died in 1976, he worked as a

Property Manager at Red Carpet Duce Realty in Everett when

he was first diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. Although he

lost his hearing on the left side, he recovered good enough to do a short

stint at Boeing, Mascios’ and most recently Romac Industries in Sultan.

Changing jobs, several times he endured two more brain surgeries. Nearly twenty-two years

and three surgeries later he finally won his battle with the brain tumors.

At 53, Boullioun finally started putting together short stories, interspersing his works with poignant anecdotes and wry vignettes about his life. He has a natural flare for clear writing. “I’m having a blast, he says

Boullioun isn’t alone. Many people want to write, and the funny secret is, anyone can write. We all have the ability. But people often put off setting pen to paper because it can seem just too intimidating. Writing takes time and work, and it’s often hard to find hours for writing in a normal, busy schedule. The rewards are so great, however, that you should not wait until you retire to express yourself. Writing provides a host of emotional and physical benefits that can enrich your life. And it is never too late — or too early— to begin. Call or contact us today about your story idea(s) For contact information see the small print on page 12

R i g h t h e r e

w r i t e N o w

Local publisher

Thom Boullioun shows us the benefits of writing and how it can

full-fill our need for expressing creativity

5

When you get sick of

commercial forests this

Is a place to come to

get well again.”

site’s shortcomings. They’re enor-mous. There’s only about 9 of the big one, lurking in the brush just north of the driveway, and they look pretty big from the driveway, but not OhMyGod big, just pretty big. That, and the fact that the brush is pretty thick and tough between the groves and the driveway has saved the grove from the casual attentions of the car-bound recreationists using the Group Camp.

We, however, are more curious, more determined to see the oddities and highlights of the forest than the average recreationists, so we visually take the measure of this grove from the driveway road, then go back out to the Miller River road and walk North on it for a few hun-dred feet before starting our bush-whack into the grove of big cedars. We know about the relationship be-tween those sunny hardwood open-ings and the density of brush on the ground, so we aim for the place where we can do most of our bush-whack under the dense crowns of the conifers. Sighting North along the road, we aim for the base of the tall-est roadside tree on the right, a Hem-lock; and we cut directly away from the road at that point.

On the way in from the

(Hubitats continued from page 3) road we catch glimpses of the lighter–shaded crowns of the Cedars ahead and steer to the left, so we arrive first at the Northern most of the big cedars, which is also the biggest individual tree of the bunch. Crossing the small seasonal stream which curls around through the grove we arrive at the base of the tree at its Northwest side.

It challenges the mind to

comprehend the size of this tree. The massive, tapering trunk climbs a hundred feet, and disap-pears into the bottom of a vast, expanded crown of light green foliage. Even at this point— half-way up the tree– the trunk is im-pressively big, perhaps 6 to 8 feet or so in diameter. Looking up it, the whole tree appears to lean away from you, and you wonder if there’s a dry spot out of the rain under the trunk on the far side. When you bushwhack around to the far side, however, and look

up, you see that the tree appears to be lean-ing directly away from you there, too. In fact the tree is growing straight up, some-thing almost hidden from any one viewpoint by the taper of the bit trunk. 25 years ago I ran a tape around the trunk at breast height—the standard height for measuring tree diameters, but I forgot the exact reading. It was a little over 16 feet in diameter, though.

One of the other trees just South of this one is nearly as big, perhaps 15 feet in diameter. A couple of the stumps are even fatter than these, but give rise to two big stems per stump instead of one really big stem. The skinniest of the Nine is probably still greater than 10 feet in diameter, nothing to sneer at, size-wise, no matter what type of forest you’re talking about. It’s worthwhile to bushwhack around and visit all the big Cedars before plunging back out to the road.

When you get sick of commercial forests this is a place to come to get well again. When you start to think of forests as renewable resources and 120 year old stands as old growth, its time to come visit the Doc-tor and get rid of your hallucinations. There are bigger trees around, believe it or not, but I know of no other places with so many really big trees so close together, and so close to the road. So, if you’re cruising around with a case of the forest blahs, and you need something to just blow you away at a gut lever, come on up the Miller. The Doctor is in. You’ll be glad you came.

Got Wood? Tree Professional

Removal of dangerous trees

Tree Trimming

Removal of trees

In ‘close quarters’

Call Eric Dudley

For a free estimate

360-793-3975

Mike’s Ditches Mike Eddy

360-793-1601

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6

You can visit us on the Web and buy too!

www.pinkflamingogifts.com

Mel & Lua Hendrickson

Owners Annuals/Perennials

Trees +Shrub + Gifts

On SR 2 in Startup, WA 98293 (360)793-2085

See you in Spring!

T H E C A S C A D E QUEST

Of the many forms of transportation be-queathed to the world by our ancestors, none is more fascinating than Dog Sled-ding. Modern day dog mushers, standing on the sled runners today cast an almost identical shadow as the Eskimos did over 1,000 years ago.

Currently, dis-tance dog sled races en-deavor to commemorate the pioneers and honor the husky sled dog’s indomita-ble spirit which was forged years ago from survival techniques to travel quickly across frozen masses.

Miraculously, each

puppy born today of sled dog de-cent packs a DNA memory code of a desire to run and pull with a team (pack). It is their lifelong quest to consume great adventures with their timeless companions, humans. As a result, there is no other ground dwelling animal with the design and ability to travel over 1,000 miles in less than ten days as does the Alaskan Husky Sled Dog.

When you think of a great sled dog race, we automatically think of Alaska’ Iditarod. While Washington differs greatly from Alaska, we do have a great sled dog race, The Cascade Quest. The Washington Distance Mushers as-sociation have designed a 220 mile Iditarod Qualifier in January, which can challenge even the toughest of Iditarod hopefuls for that time of year.

The Trail Beginning at the pictur-esque setting of Eagle Creek Ranch on Friday, Jan. 28, 29, & 20th—2005, the teams will ascend Chumstick Mountain, 5,800 ft. in elevation. A twelve mile climb starting out from about 2,000 ft. in elevation. The reward is a 4,200 ft. drop in elevation on the backside, negotiating tight switchbacks at nearly 20 miles per hour. Mushers will be on their toes, constantly wrestling their sled to keep it up-right. Once the teams reach the valley floor they will travel a much easier pace. For the next 60 miles they will follow the Chiwawa River and surrounding mountains as it meanders through the most pris-tine of the Cascade’s icy cathedrals towering above. Here along the river the mushers and dogs find a rhythm and settle in to a pace

(Cascade Quest continued on page 7)

Washington State’s 200 mile Iditarod Qualifier By Mark Klein — WDM President and Founder

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From the Postmaster of the Index Post Office December 2004 Lori J. Cleaver, Postmaster,

503 Avenue A, Index, WA. 98256-9998

360-793-2344 Fax: 360-793-2344

Approaching Winter Brings Travel Reminder

Need a Burn Permit or Volunteer Application?

Stop by the Index Fire Station at 512 Avenue A

Mike Fitzgerald column will return next month.

Military/Overseas Mailing Dates Use the dates below to ensure your overseas packages arrive by December 25. Items for delivery by Hanukkah

should be mailed five days earlier.

Nov. 13 Parcel Post to military APO/FPO addresses

Dec. 6 First-Class cards and letters or Priority Mail to military APO AE ZIPs 093 addresses

Dec. 11 First-Class cards and letters or Priority Mail to all other military APO/FPO addresses

Dec. 13 Global Airmail letters, cards and Parcel Post to Africa and Central or South America Intl Mail

Dec. 20 Global Express Guaranteed International Mail

harmonized by the music of their plastic runners.

The teams will come to rest after the second leg of their journey, as they step back in to time at the historic mining town of Trinity. The only sign of the 21 century will be the sound of an occasional snow

(Cascade Quest cont from page 6) machine. Completely remote and snowed in some seven months out of the year, mushers will deal with their dogs without many of the mod-ern day conveniences. Once the dogs are bedded down, there will be some time to sit around the campfire and tell stories. Rustic cabins will pro-vide shelter if needed for the mush-ers, and their dogs will be resting near by.

The teams will depart after their required lay-over and continue the journey back to the Fish Lake Area with surrounding mountains sub courses thrown in for variety. The quest will take them over trails like the Faultline Loop, Sugarloaf, Moe Ridge and Chumstick mountain. The race finish will end at the Fish Lake Sno-Park Sunday morning with a ceremo-nial finish and banquet in Leaven-worth Washington.

In conclusion, The Cascade Quest will be a milestone for Washing-ton State. A race of this caliber will draw many professional and semi-professional teams from all over the U.S. and Canada.

Enthusiasts will witness Washington’s most challenging terrain and longest sled dog race. We look for-ward to seeing everyone at this great event and hope you enjoy the beauty of the Cascade Mountain Range.

Phone: 360-793-7932

Editor’s note: For more information you can visit their website at

http://www.cascadequest.com

360-793-7932

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Global Discovery! December 17, 2004 In the even of school closure… listen to KIRO 710 am

or KIOR TV — Channel 7 for updates

What Coming UP? 12/17 No Music or Band Today

12/21 Board Meeting

12/22 Early Release 11:30

12/23 Winter Break Begins

Mona Tate helps the 5—7th grades with crafting projects!

The K-4 class connected through a live video link on December 10th to the North Pole. One school in Washington (Index) and three schools from Texas were able to see and speak with Santa and his reindeers. Santa taught about the North Pole flora and fauna. The kids were given the op-portunity to ask questions. Santa had done his checking and knew a lot about out kids. Santa told Krysta he hopes she would heal soon. He asked how our principal was doing after surgery. He asked Graham to have his mom make the same

cookies as last year … since he liked them so much. He asked how Michael had been behaving. He praised Courtney for remembering her sister on her letter to him. Mason’s eyes widen when Santa knew what he asked for, for his mother’s gift.

Yes, this was added work to set up. But if you saw the face of Isabel when Santa told her she knew the true meaning of Christmas… you would understand the magic of working with children. For me the hardest part is to blink often enough to keep the tears of joy back.

Thanks for the corndogs Tracy!!! We loved them and you! Let’s do another Read-a-thon soon! I love wearing my pajamas to school

Technology opens Doors. . . . The children were asked to write a holiday wish for someone. Here are their responses: Kalub gr. 1 — Wishes for a baby motorcycle, small dirt bike, game-boy, chess game, aliens, and that everyone had candy, an Xbox, Halo 2 and a million dollars. I would like to have a white Christmas.

Mason gr. K — Would like more Vegie-tail movies, Vegie-tail toys, and a tree house with a bathroom and other things like a real house. He wishes that his mom would

9

get a tree house too and a treasure box to keep her jewelry in.

Courtney gr. K — Would like a baby. She also wants the Princess and the Popper castle, a Barbie couch that unfolds like a hide-a-bed, and Barbies. She also would like to wish her sister, Cassie, a Merry Christ-mas.

Christina gr. 1 — Wishes for a Christmas Pony House and a Fairy Topia which is kind of like a mini Barbie. She wishes that her mom would get a neck-lace and earrings. Also, that her brother would get a Spiderman house.

Kjeld gr. 3 — I wish that Rowan had every video game.

Rowan gr. 3 — I wish for Kjeld (even though he’s the most brainiac) stuff to rot his mind … like candy. Also that Kalub could have a Dragon Lego and a dirt bike.

Tianna gr. 4 — I wish Krysta didn’t break her arm.

Art gr. 3 — I wish Graham would get a pool table.

Kaylee Marie gr. 2 — I wish that I could spend time with my mom and that every buddy could have a good Christmas.

Graham gr. 4 — I whish Jonathan could have a judo chopping kit.

Taylor gr. 4 — I wish for my brother, Lex, that on Christmas he would not bother me or get mad at anyone.

Isabel gr. 1 — I wish that all the poor kids could have new shirts and pants. Plus I am sending my love to Adie.

Delette gr. 6 — My holiday wish is that my family has a great Christmas.

Shakanna gr. 5 — I have a wish for every one… I wish that every one has a very — very good holiday.

Malie gr. 6 — I wish that my Uncle Sig would come up to my house for Christmas.

Elizabeth gr. 5 — I whish Bailey and her parents would get the house they want for Christmas.

Arlis — that our staff gets all healthy by hear’s end.

Joanie — Wishing everyone joy and love.

Tracy — My wish is peace on earth, good health & happiness for my family and friends plus joy. … like the joy the holidays bring on the face of my daugh-ter.

Martin — Health and happiness to those who need it.

Kristi — I just want to feel all better. A New Year’s wish would be to see preschoolers here again. P.S. I

hope you can still hear the bell jingle on the Polar Express. Enjoy this magical time of year.

Karen — I wish for Martin & Kristi good health + for Linda happiness in her new home. I wish for everyone a peaceful holiday filled with fun, laughter, family & wonder …. + no stress. Happy, Happy Holidays to all the kids & staff! See you next year!

Me (Linda) — I wish love would reign on earth and good health to all!

Dorothy reminds us …

Read aloud with your child at home… Why read aloud? Reading aloud is the single best way to encourage your child to become a lifelong reader. By setting aside a special time to read with your child each day, you can improve literacy skills, awaken the imagination and create special memories. Read with your child at least 20 minutes a day, 20 days a month.

More tips for reading:

• Set a cozy mood by sitting close together during read-aloud time. This is great way to relax at the end of a busy day.

• Take your time while you read together. Let your child absorb the words and pictures, and ask questions about the story.

• It’s okay if your child can’t sit still to listen to a story. He or she may want to draw or play quietly while you read.

• Try lots of books! Read old favorites over and over, but make new books friends as interests grow and change.

• You don’t have to read every word. Feel free to adapt a story to suit your needs.

• Take turns reading even when your child reads well. It’s fun to share the pleasure of a good book.

• If your child doesn’t like a book, set it aside and read another one.

• When your child reads aloud to you, give your full atten-tion. If he or she has trouble with a word, just help say the word and go on.

• Make regular visits to the library and bookmobile so your child can check out books. The children’s librarian can suggest books and tapes you’re both sure to enjoy.

10

Have scratched DVDs or CDs?

We can fix them and make

them look and play like new for $3 each

Sky Valley Video Open every day to serve you

From 10 am to 8 pm

Located in Gold Bar

On your way up the valley

Tel: 360-793-2804

VHS, DVDs, CDs, DVD-RW

A continuation of a previous interview

Maxine Popps’ favorite store in Gold Bar was Klein's Grocery Store. Klein's was where the Second Hand store is now. She had many acquaint-ances at the store including the own-ers. Klein's Grocery Store was the store which usually had all of the lat-est news. There was also the Valley News and the Everett paper. Mrs. Popps used to get the Valley News and her parents used to get the Everett paper which is the paper she gets today. The trains used to throw the newspapers listed above to her parents as a delivery service.

The railroad was built in 1893. Peo-ple used to ride the trains and when they went by her family would wave to them. When there was a bad snow storm the conductor and his men would come and have tea with Mrs. Popps'’ parents. The train was not the only means of transportation. There was a bus called the Index Stages that went from Monroe to Skykomish.

Most people were either log-gers or farmers. There were many farms in Gold Bar. The Family Gro-cer was a raspberry farm and there used to be an apple and raspberry farm next to the fish hatchery. Mrs. Popps remembers the Gilmore family having a blueberry farm. Another job the men of Gold Bar had was clearing the area for incoming power lines.

The elementary school was always across from Mrs. Popps’ house but it used to be lot bigger. It was two sto-ries high! There was also a gymna-

sium around were the play area is now. There were many clubs and activities at the school. There were potlucks, community clubs, and the V.F.W. to name a few. Mrs. Popps and her friend Glenrose Williams would help in the cafeteria.

In all of her years here Mrs. Popps has seen many changes. One of her least fa-vorite things she used to have to do was mop floors. Her fa-vorite things about Gold Bar

were the scenery, especially the mountains with snow on top of them, and the closeness in the com-munity.

Special thanks to Glenrose Williams for confirming dates.

MAXINE POPPS PART 2 BY SAMANTHA K. AMENN

Photo courtesy Gold Bar Museum

11

year at the VFW, we are most grateful fro all the services they have extended to us this year.

our next meeting with the Historical Society will be held in January at the VFW 1 pm and we will reopen in Febru-ary. At that time our hours will

be 12 noon to 4 pm. Anyone interested in joi8ning our society are cer-tainly more then welcome , our door is open to one and all.

Dues are $10.00 singles, $15.00 for families, and $50 for Spon-sors due the first of each year.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holi-day to all — Dorothy Croshaw

From the Presidents Desk by Dorothy Croshaw

Gold Bar — The city has finally given us the sad news that they will no longer fund the museum. Not really a shock with all the rumors going around that they would-n’t support us any longer. But, still very sad to say the least, in the past it had been well re-ceived by past m a y o r s a n d council members. We will send out notices to our citizens of the outcome and thank them for their support all these years.

We celebrated our ninth Christmas Potluck this

Check out what this squirrel is doing with this pumpkin left over from Halloween. I didn’t have room last month to run these pictures — Editor (Continued on page 14.)

The Gold Bar Historical Society

SQUIRREL HAS FOUND IT’S HOME!

PAGE 11 THE MT INDEX REPORTER VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 3

Still very sad to say the least, in

the past it had been well

received by past mayors and

council members.

Story and photo ‘from the web’

courtesy of Dorothy Croshaw

12

Index Town Council Regular Monthly Meeting December 6, 2004

MINUTES DRAFT ONLY The regular monthly meeting of the Index Town Council was called to order at 7:00 PM on Monday, December 1, 2004 by Mayor Bruce Albert.

COUNCILMEMBERS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL PRESENT

Bruce Albert, Dean Johnson, Karen Sample, Patrick Woods, Sean Horst, Clerk/Treasurer Lisa Stowe, Maintenance Supervi-sor Bill Cross, Planning Commission Chair Bob Hubbard

Council member Boardman was not present. As he had contacted the Town prior to the meeting, his absence was considered excused.

Minutes from the November meeting were read. Johnson moved to accept the minutes as presented. With a second by Horst the motion carried.

Stowe read the November warrants, numbered 1307 through 1332. Payroll and tax warrants totaled $4417.14 and all others were $7402.41 for a grand total of $11819.55. Woods moved to pay the warrants as presented. With a second by Johnson the motion carried.

During public comment, a resident updated the Council on the Arts group. They will be meeting once a month, and plan on attending Council meetings as often as possible for updates. Currently they are working on creating a non-profit status, as well as a mission statement. Plans are in the works for another Arts Festival, and for art classes to be held in the carriage house.

There were no Council reports at this time.

Hubbard reported on the Planning Commission meeting, stating that no meeting was held in the month of Novem-ber due to lack of agenda items and the fact that the Commission had already met their required number of months. It is likely they will not hold a meeting in December, either.

During the maintenance report, Cross said that he had the snowplow ready to go, and that he will be on vacation for four days in January, when a back up driver may be needed if there’s snow. Albert will talk to Cross more about this.

Cross also thanked Albert for climbing the trees in the park and placing Christmas lights.

Peterson was not at the meeting and had nothing to report.

Under the Mayor’s report, Albert apologized for missing Wes Smith Day, which was November 18th. Stowe said that she spoke with the family and due to health reasons they were not available, either. The family spoke again about mov-ing this day to the summer.

Albert mentioned signs at the general store talking about a bear sighting in town. He said that in Washington there are between 27,000 and 30,000 black bears, compared to 30 in Connecticut, and so, with those numbers, it is not sur-prising that we see bears. He felt there was no need for Town action.

Planning Commission Chair seat was up for reappointment, and one letter of interest was received from the previ-ous Chair, Hubbard. As Hubbard has done an excellent job, Albert reappointed him for another term, pending approval by Council. Sample moved to accept this appointment, and with a second by Johnson the motion carried. Albert thanked Hub-bard for the good job he has done over the past six years.

The position of Emergency Management Coordinator is open. Albert spoke with Boardman, who has been unable to attend meetings and said that he felt it better to move on. After discussion it was apparent Council members would not be easily available due to the meetings being held in the afternoons on weekdays. Stowe and Cross will share responsibility for attending and reporting back to the Council. Albert will research the responsibilities.

This discussion segued into a general discussion about disasters and responsibilities. Council members would like to be better prepared in case they have to step in and take charge during a disaster. Stowe told them that the Disaster Plan is updated every January, and set up so that anyone could come in and take charge. There was talk about a training but no decisions were made. Stowe is available to go over the notebook with any council members.

(Continued on page 13)

13

Stowe told the Council that the animal rates from the City of Everett were increasing from $60.00 to $85.00 for 2005. The Town incurs this charge any time someone within the Town limits drops off an animal at the Everett shelter.

There were no business or land use applications at this time.

Resolution #04-04 relating to property taxes was presented. This Resolution was not passed last month as the Council wished to not raise taxes. If, however, the Town wishes to bank this amount, the Resolution is required, with “0” amounts rather than an exact dollar amount. Johnson moved to accept this Resolution, and with a second by Sample the motion carried.

Ordinance #379 relating to wages and salaries for 2005 was presented for action. Sample moved to accept the Ordinance as presented, and with a second by Woods the motion carried.

Ordinance #380 relating to the budget for 2005 was presented for action. Johnson moved to accept the Ordinance as presented, and with a second by Sample the motion carried.

Ordinance #381 relating to the garbage increase was presented for action. Sample asked if any comments had been received, and Stowe said a couple people had asked but no comments were received. Sample moved to accept the Ordinance as presented and with a second by Horst the motion carried.

Resolution #04-06 relating to the National Incident Management System was presented. The Council will review this for action at the next meeting.

As there was no further business Horst moved to adjourn. Sample seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.

Adopted by the Index Town Council this 3rd day of January, 2005.

Signed:________________________________ Attest: ___________________________

Bruce Albert, Mayor Lisa Stowe, Clerk/Treasurer

Editor’s note. This document has been modified to fit these page. Nothing else has changed. All contents are untouched otherwise. Thanks, Thom Boullioun

(Continued from page 12)

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The Mt Index Reporter is privately published by T A “Thom” Boullioun & friends. Using all volunteers we hope that you like the informa-tion that you read here. We have recently received some software that will allow us to upgrade this paper! All pictures & stories are from locals and all of the stories are taken directly from the area. — This month there were 300 issues printed. We also can provide this to you by subscription and now as a *.PDF file. That’s right soon you will be able to download a copy of the original publication and print it out on your own computer in color for FREE! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MtIndexReporter/join It is available at several local businesses in the following towns. In Gold Bar at Sky Valley Video, In the town of Index at the General Store, In Baring at the Der Bar-ing store on Hwy 2, and in the town of Skykomish at the Sky Deli across from the Chevron station. If you want an issue ask your local merchant to carry it. We want to make it available to you. For subscription information you can contact us at: Mt Index Reporter, Post Office Box 32, Baring, WA. 98224 or you can phone us at 360-793-7581 or via email at MtIndexReporter@yahoo.com.

The Small print

All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners(s). The stories and artwork furnished here are prop-erty of the providers and all the rest is considered copyright reserved for The Mt Index Reporter

By the time he finished, he emptied both pumpkins in two days

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FROM THE EDITOR<<

INFORMATION

The Mt Index Reporter continually strives to provide the latest and most accurate stories and general information taken directly from the surrounding areas without charging a high cost per issue. We achieved major advance this last year, nearly all of which focused on providing you, the read-ers with more information and stories all coming from here the town we live in. Whether you choose to read or send in story ideas, we want you to have easy access to this paper.

Since 2003, several locals teamed up and developed the idea of doing another paper (other than the Index Eagle). We originally printed 30 issues then 50 eventually printing 300 issues per month. We will print the paper and have it out on the 15th of each month. This month we are late.

Based on your input, we’ve made enhancements to this paper. Now you can get it at more places than before. You’ll find regular updates on upcoming activities in your town's) when you read this paper. You can also get it in the mail and now its even in color online. It’s easy if you have inter-net access!

The Mt Index Reporter has received many contribution last year. Just two months ago we were given the full version of Microsoft Publisher 2003. The earlier issues were prepared on an older Radio Shack computer that ran on kerosene (not really) it is now 100% computerized and it looks great on the screen. You can see it for yourself by going to our website. Thanks to everyone for their help. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MtIndexReporter/join

One final note. Hopefully you will notice the changes and tell your friends. You’ll find more detail information on activities in this area including stories on kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, camping, homes & cabins and other properties for sale. Also there will be a barter & trade section too. Ad-ditionally there has been an interest in the information on the over night accommodations that we have here. These and other changes are in direct response to what we’ve heard from you. Thank you for your input. This modest little newspaper basically takes the place of numerous brochures and flyers and saves the respective towns hundreds of dollars per year in printing — this publica-tion alone allow us to keep you informed and consistently updated. We want to make sure it con-tinues to be a valuable tool that can help you get the most out of the area.

We expect 2005 to be another exciting year during which we will continue to improve our paper and find new ways to help you learn about our beautiful valley.

Thank you, Thom Boullioun

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PAGE 17 THE MT INDEX REPORTER VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 3

The concentration of bald eagles and spawn-ing salmon in the Skagit River Basin is a spectacu-lar phenomenon in the Pacific Northwest. We are now conducting Bald Eagle Float Tours Decem-

ber through February and late March.

We are in the height of the season with departures al-most everyday and over 250 eagles flying around us. Call now to join us for a wonderful

‘Will return next month”

wildlife experience. There’s something special happening in the towns and on the river every weekend during the Bald Eagle Season. We go in the middle of the week too and these midweek trips are great for solitude and more wildlife viewing. We offer custom day trips and overnighters with lodging and great meals at Clark’s Skagit River Resort. Our trip prices vary but run $75.00 per person. We offer kids and seniors discounts. Group rates are every seventh person in the same party goes free. Just organize six of your friends and get a free trip. We also have handmade gift certifi-cates to be used on any trip this year and seasons passes for sale. I’ll look forward to hear-ing from you this season and hope you’ll check out our web-site at

: www.chinookexpeditions.com

Please call anytime, day or eve-nings to reserve your trip and find out more information

1-800-241-3451 lets go during the holidays!

Best Wishes, Shane Turnbull

STORY AND PHOTO BY THOM BOULLIOUN

With Shane Turnbull & CHINOOK EXPEDITIONS

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EMAIL ADDRESS UPDATES NEEDED

Be sure to maximize your subscription or member benefits by updating your email address with us.

We have increased our level of communicating via email and want to ensure that you are not left out. We send periodic news alerts as well as information about our area. After we are 100% digital we will be able to send you this newspaper via email too. Then you will be able to print this publication out in full color! If your email address (or other contact info) has recently changed, please let us know.

Doing so is easy. Call (360)793-7581 or email your new in-formation to: MtIndexReporter@yahoo.com

(Please remember to include your full name!)

The Mt Index Reporter Post Office Box 32 Baring, WA. 98224

THE MT INDEX REPORTER 2004

Remember this is your paper and you can help us. Send us your original stories & pictures and ideas today!

Phone: 360-793-7581 Fax: Please call first Email: MtIndexReporter@yahoo.com

Make the switch today. Subscribe to the Mt Index Reporter

New Website at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MtIndexReporter/

The Mt Index Reporter

Address correction requested

The Mt Index Reporter

Post Office Box 32

Baring, WA. 98224