All about Town Post Turkey

All About Town

Well, here I am in kind of a déjà vu . . . . writing again for the Eagle, though this time on-line. I had the chance, while cleaning out some of my clutter, to stumble upon some back issues of the Eagle. Wow. Lots stuff, mostly good, but what a great little newsletter we had, filled with some good information and some weird and wacky stuff too, that represented a lot of work from a dedicated staff. Hats off to previous editors Sandy Gordon, Karen Sample, and Chester Shaw who brought us to where we are today. And kudos to Ed Boress for resurrecting and transforming it again. Hopefully this On Line Eagle 2.0 will provide readers with the same amount of information, amusement and love for this small mountain town called Index.

So, where to begin. First of all, the Thanksgiving dinner is in its final stages of digestion, and curses to the person who made that gawd-awful pistachio pie. Index was blessed with an absolutely stunning day – bright sun, clear skies and freezing temperature. A little ice on the road but nothing to worry about. Out of town visitors were many, including past resident Julia Gibb visiting friends and son Alex who lives here in town. Some locals made sure that those without had some “with” on this holiday, and hopefully those good feelings will tide over to everyone throughout the year. Other locals decided to venture past the bridge to visit relatives, friends or just to spend some time alone before the season officially begins. I always figured it started at Halloween for those who love to plan ahead, but it usually begins the Friday after Thanksgiving – all that food stimulating the part of the brain labeled “Shop Now.” Plus the 10 pounds of ads in the local paper might have something to do with it.

And now the race is on for “Those That Have the Most Christmas Lights/Decorations Up the Soonest.” It is a subtle competition, no midnight tampering of light sets by envious neighbors, but I imagine the electrical transformers supplying power to the town tend to hum a little louder starting this weekend. I know my daughter has caught the fever, and was searching the cupboards and sheds for “just one more strand of light.” Then the worst happened, the directions on how many sets could be plugged in together were disregarded and the line up and around the house went dark. Oh, so unjust and cruel! So, we’ll begin again. Sometimes I think this is China’s curse to us, just one little loose light or one extra (or three) strings together and the entire workforce of America comes to a halt to fix it – or tromps to the store to buy another set (or five).

The big news that everyone should sit up and take notice of, is the Forest Service’s comment period for the Index Sportsmans Trapgrounds proposed re-opening. The Sportmans had operated the shooting range for years. They would have shooting on Sundays and (I think) Thursdays for years, shooting clay pigeons beneath the beauty of the Index Wall. For years the Sportsmen supported the town in various ways, most memorably using the facilities for the Index Haunted House, Spaghetti Feed and the Index Mud Fest. But the years of shooting led to the contamination of the soil and the site was closed down citing lead and other health and environmental issues. A lengthy and costly clean up was discussed but no real action has been taken. Now the Sportsmen are asking that the shooting range be re-opened effective somewhat immediately on a special permit for a one year period. Proposed shooting would be two days a week, Thursdays from 3:30 pm to 10:00 pm and Sundays from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. Comments can be sent to Skykomish District Ranger Barbara Busse via email at bbusse@fs.fed.us , by phone at 360-677-2414 or to PO Box 305, Skykomish, WA 98288, and the deadline for those comments has been extended to December 6, 2007. So, whichever side of the fence you are on this issue, the important thing is to grumble (or exalt) to the proper people who can determine the outcome on this issue. Click on the thumbnail at the end of this article to view more information.
All eyes are on the weather to see when the Stevens Pass Ski Area will open. The Ski Area provides employment to many Index area residents, plus a little bit of fun to many more. So it is with crossed fingers that we wish for snow, enough for some awesome skiing but not enough to overwhelm Index maintenance man Bill Cross and his deft maneuvering of the town truck with its snow blade. What an awesome job he does keeping our streets clear of snow. That is one less excuse for not being able to get to work down below on a snowing day. And Assistant Fire Chief Ernie Walters is hoping to be able to use the district’s snowmobile here in town. Hmmn, yet another reason to join the fire department would be to “train” on the snowmobile . . . .

So, while the warm glow of turkey still is in my, um, heart, I wish to all readers the peace and calm of another joyous holiday season, however you choose to celebrate.

Leigh Christianson

Click on thumbnail below to read more about Index Sportsmans Trapgrounds proposed re-opening:

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