By Alejandro Dominguez
Herald Writer
INDEX – A group of rock climbers announced Friday that they’ve raised enough money to buy the Index Lower Town Wall.
The Washington Climbers Coalition stepped up to purchase the rock climbing wall after a private landowner considered selling the property to a quarry.
The coalition got their….
Read Complete Story HERE> HeraldNet: Climbing group buys Index wall.
Off-road vehicle proposal scrapped for public roads near foothills
Plan to boost tourism near Reiter Foothills instead caused alarm
By Noah Haglund
Herald Writer
GOLD BAR — Snohomish County has dropped a plan to allow off-road vehicles on county roads near the state’s Reiter Foothills.
The idea was supposed to boost tourism and economic development by allowing off-road vehicles better access to the state recreation area. It would have applied to off-road motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and dune buggies.
Complete Story HERE> HeraldNet: Off-road vehicle proposal scrapped for public roads near foothills.
This is a pretty good article by Andy Rathbun of the Everett Herald:
Andrew Abramavage was streaming the rapper Drake on his cellphone as he stood alongside U.S. 2, one thumb out, trying to catch the eyes of oncoming drivers.
The 23-year-old University of Washington-Bothell student wanted to make it to the mountain town of Baring, to visit friends.
He had nine miles to go.
Read the complete story and see some great links via HeraldNet: Discovering quirky slices of Americana on U.S. 2.
Herald Staff
Prepare for periods of sluggish traffic and closed lanes near Marysville and Sultan next week as state road projects move forward.
Work on a three-year, $50 million project to replace the aging swing-span bridge over Ebey Slough is expected to result in overnight lane closures on Highway 529 between Everett and Marysville.
At the same time, drivers traveling between Sultan and Gold Bar on U.S. 2 can expect about two weeks of daytime delays as Washington Department of Transportation crews repair the highway’s pavement.
Complete Story HERE - HeraldNet: Overnight closures for Highway 529 bridge; daytime delays for U.S. 2.
By Andy Rathbun
Herald Writer
INDEX — A group of rock climbers is nearly finished raising a mountain of money to preserve an internationally renowned granite wall near this mountain town.
The Washington Climbers Coalition has pulled together about $250,000 in the past year to buy the Index Town Wall. It hopes to raise another $50,000 by September.
Volunteers with the coalition are so confident they will meet their goal that plans are under way now for a mid-September celebration.
“That would be true,” said Doug Walker, 59, of Shoreline. “I think we can get this done.”
The group’s mammoth fundraising effort will help rescue the 500-foot wall from possible development.
“What’s amazing about Index is you’ll do a climb there and every inch of every pitch is just stellar,” he said. “You often don’t get that experience.”
Complete Story HERE>> HeraldNet: Effort to save climbers’ rock wall close to goal.
While trail mileage goes down, DNR officials managed to make the riding much more challenging.
By Andy Rathbun
Herald Writer
GOLD BAR — Off-road vehicle riders could return to Reiter Foothills this June, but they will have a smaller piece of land to ride on.
The state Department of Natural Resources on Thursday unveiled its $10 million plan for the foothills, which have been closed to off-road riders since November.
Read complete story via HeraldNet: Reiter’s off-road acreage shrinks.
By Mike Benbow
Herald Writer
Washington state got a new phone company Friday when state regulators approved the sale of Verizon’s landline business to Frontier Communications.
This is a must read. Click below to read the complete story. Is high speed in the future for Index???
via HeraldNet:.
By Andy Rathbun
Herald Writer
SULTAN — Gloria Wolter brought two white candles to her son’s highway-side memorial on Thursday.
As cars and trucks roared by, she quietly lit the candles. Her eyes welled up with tears.
She visits the U.S. 2 intersection at Rice Road every day, checking on the collection of stuffed animals, flowers and crosses.
Read the rest here: HeraldNet: Mother fights for a safer U.S. 2.
By Andy Rathbun
Herald Writer
GOLD BAR — Snohomish County officials have their eye on a sprawling piece of troubled land.
County Executive Aaron Reardon voiced his full support on Wednesday to take over the Reiter Foothills — a 10,000-acre spot that is popular among off-road-vehicle riders but now closed to them.
Read the rest of the story HERE – http://tinyurl.com/yek2x35
By Andy Rathbun
Herald Writer
SULTAN — A controversial shooting range might wind up in the line of fire on Wednesday.The Snohomish County Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing to discuss turning an east county gravel pit into a no-shooting area at the request of neighbors.
Read the complete story via HeraldNet: Neighbors, target shooters at odds over Sultan gun range.
Also check out the comments from other readers!
Index Bulletin Board, News As IT HAPPENS | Ed | 
August 27, 2010 4:41 pm | 
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