Low precipitation in May and even lower precipitation this summer equals a very dry Wilderness Rim and an extremely high fire danger.
The WRA Board of Trustees has banned fireworks and open fires on Wilderness Rim common property (Cascade Park and Greenbelt areas).
All of us have a responsibility to help keep Wilderness Rim green and safe.
http://www.northbendweather.com/wxrainsummary.php
With a $1000 grant from the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, WRA installed Dog Waste Stations in the Park and common property areas. Hopefully this will resolve some of the gifts left behind by pets and make cleanup more convenient for the neighborhood.
Thank you to Doug Greathouse and Wil Chromey for their work on this project!
View the June July 2015 Newsletter (PDF)
We had another successful Wilderness Rim Run/Walk in our community on Saturday, May 16th. No rain and not too hot – perfect for running and walking outdoors. The trail additions to the courses on the 5K and the park run for the kid’s 1K received rave reviews! Also new this year was the water station was supplied with our local cub scouts and volunteer firefighters, complete with aid car.
There were some repeats from last year’s races in the winners circle as well as some newcomers.
1K Winners:
First Place – Jeremiah Besso
Second Place – Rowan Hardy
Third Place – Reggie Danshita
5K Winners:
First Place Female – Julene McDonald, 22:05
Second Place Female – Emily Rourke, 24:24
Third Place Female – Kristina Platt, 26:08
First Place Male – Tyler McDonald, 25:36
Second Place Male – Taylor Schulte, 26:23
Third Place Male – Jeremiah Moore, 28:02
Thank you to President Steve McDonald for the passion and vision for making this event happen! Thank you also to the following volunteers:
Will Thomas – course set up, food prep, race rabbit, photography
Matt Rourke – course marshaling, food prep, water station setup, cleanup
Fernando Platin – course marshaling
Robert Beeler – course marshaling, photography
David Morrison – setup, course marshaling
Lenny Stoltman – course marshaling, water station
Joyce Jansen – planning
Jim and Jessica Besso – set up, timer, finish line, photography, cleanup
Wil Chromey – trail maintenance and the bright yellow gate
John Greer – course route
Leslie Kreher – course route
Doug Greathouse – greenbelt trail maintenance and park preparation
Dan Covey – cub scout coordination, fire station coordination, water station
Cub scouts – water station
Sean Sundwall of www.runsnoqualmie.com – safety vests and signs
North Bend Public Works – traffic cones
Want to be part of more great events like this in our neighborhood? Contact events@wildernessrim.org and see you at the next WRA special event!
Here is some Win-Win-Win advice: you can save money by lowing your water bill. You can enjoy a sense of accomplishment by learning a new, exciting skill that you can talk about at parties. You can feel the empowering satisfaction of moral superiority by contributing to a better world.
You can accomplish all of this by simply making sure your toilets are not leaking.
When a faucet or spigot is leaking, you can see the drips and puddles, but a toilet can leak for years without being noticed.
There are two types of toilet leaks: an overflowing tank and a leaking valve.
Overflowing Tank
If your toilet is never silent, it is probably overflowing. Inside the tank there is a plastic pipe that sticks straight up and is open at the top. If the water goes all the way to the top of that pipe, it is overflowing.
Leaking Valve
To see if the valve is leaking:
1) Put a few drops of a dark food coloring in the tank. If you don’t have food coloring on hand, you may use dye strips that are available for free from the WRA office.
2) Wait for an hour.
3) Look for food coloring in the bowl.
To see videos of how to fix a leak, go to http://www.youtube.com/ and search for “fix a leaking toilet”.
If you have an irrigation system, hot tub, pond, or other device that connects to your home’s water system, you are required to provide backflow protection and testing to WRA. Please contact the office for more information to comply with WAC 246-290-490.
Do you live on a private road in the Rim? It is the responsibility of the residents who reside on the private road to maintain the roadway. There is no county maintenance support as the other roads receive. The RID and LID programs for these roads are no longer being funded, so the financial responsibility falls solely on the residents. If you live on a private road and are interested in joining in the conversation about how best to approach the maintenance and repair issues of shared private roadways, please email Office@WildernessRim.org. Neighbors can work together to keep our community beautifully maintained.
Wildfire prevention is something Smokey the Bear has taught for decades. Did you see him at Cascade Park on Saturday, April 4? Neighbors young and old watched and participated in a variety of fun educational activities put on by the WRA Firewise Committee.
King County DNRP Project Program Manager, Linda Vane, spoke about vegetation and strategies for maintaining the areas around your home. She also brought materials (available in the WRA Office or online) for neighbors to see more examples of what the true dangers of living in a “Moderate Hazard” for wildfire neighborhood and what to do about it on your property.
Doug Greathouse, WRA Park Co-Chair, gave us all a demo of how quickly simple needles and leaves can burst into flames.
Matt Rourke, Chair of the FIrewise Committee and current WRA Trustee, is a forestry expert. He demonstrated techniques with tools and discussed how to keep your trees healthy as well as safety for your property.
Evergreen Tree Care, Inc. came out with a chipper truck and climbing crew. Watching the skill of removing some of the dangerous branches over the WRA Office was fascinating! Thank you to the teams for demonstrating ways we can keep our homes safe.
Fun times were had by all who attended this year’s Easter Egg Hunt and Peep Roast!
THANK YOU to those who volunteered by stuffing eggs, making signs, inviting friends, stoking the fire, hiding the goodies, cleaning up, and the many other details to make this event happen! Living in a neighborhood with such fun, caring people is amazing.
Would you like to be part of more events like this? Email events@wildernessrim.org or office@wildernessrim.org with your ideas or skills that you would like to use to serve your community.
WRA Tree Removal Guidelines
WRA members are not required to obtain approval of the ARC before removing trees, however, the WRA ARC Guideline 8.12.1 states that “Trees removed for safety or other reasons shall be replaced to maintain the natural sylvan environment of Wilderness Rim.”
DPER Tree Removal Standards for the Wilderness Rim Area (Residents must confirm their permitting obligations with King County DPER and WRA does not assume any liability from actions taken by homeowners and does not guarantee the accuracy of information provided in this bulletin):
You do not need a permit to remove trees on your property in Wilderness Rim if:
You must obtain a permit from DPER for removing trees on your property in Wilderness Rim if:
Except in hazardous situations, WRA members are encouraged to find out if their work area is affected by critical areas or their buffers.
