Monroe Monitor @ Valley News

Vol.119, No. 41, October 13, 2009 • 113 West Main Street, P.O. Box 399 • Monroe, WA 98272 • (360) 794-7116 • Fax (360) 794-6202

 Winner of 17 Washington Newspaper Publishers Association awards for 2009! • The Voice of The Sky Valley Since 1899
Monroe Monitor The Web
This week's stories:

Monroe council shoots down $9.6 million offer for land at North Kelsey

Fall farm tour coming to Fern Bluff Road this Saturday

Sultan woman killed in hit-and-run

Police seek help in case of missing Monroe man

Legal notices

Main page

Much more inside:

Page 1:Monroe council shoots down $9.6 million offer for land at North Kelsey / Fall farm tour coming to Fern Bluff Road / Sultan woman killed in hit-and-run / Police seek help in case of missing Monroe man

Page 2: Around The Valley / Flashback / Police Reports / Sky Valley Community School registering for new session / News Briefs

Page 3: Mayoral candidates discuss skills, the issues

Page 4: Election 2009 (con't from page 3) / Monroe students and teachers work to bring down barriers for Hispanic students /

Page 5: Editor's Notebook: "An Antidote to Prejudice" / High Rock wreck may have been due to heart attack / Letters / Professional Directory / Church Directory

Page 6: The Valley News: Sultan and Gold Bar team to clean up graffiti / Sultan police arrest transients misusing parks / Author Richard Farr to discuss true disaster tale at Sultan Library / Classified ads

Page 7: The Valley News: Promise to allow gun range "a cruel hoax" organizer says / News briefs / Teachers reach tentative agreement with Sultan School District / Find It Fast Directory

Page 8: Sports / Farm tour (con't from page 1)

    
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MONROE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
MONROE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
MONROE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
SKY VALLEY FOOD BANK
EAST COUNTY SENIOR CENTER
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US HIGHWAY 2 TRAVEL INFO
MONROE/SKY VALLEY FAMILY YMCA

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Stocking's Garden
  STOCKING'S GARDEN AND NURSERY has been a source of fresh vegetables for the Sky Valley for years. Saturday, tour the farm and learn how to make soup from all those veggies, plus visit two other farms along Fern Bluff Road, during the Sky Valley’s Third Annual Fall Farm Tour.
PHOTO BY DAN ARMSTRONG
Fall Farm Tour coming to Fern Bluff Road This Saturday

By POLLY KEARY, Editor

Ride a hay wagon through a field full of cows. Swing from a rope into a bouncy hay mow in a giant barn. Taste locally grown vegetables. Watch a woman spin and knit yarn from wool taken directly from a sheep. Take the kids through a corn maze. Saturday, Oct. 17, people will have a chance to do all that and more in a tour of three farms, all within a few minutes of each other on Fern Bluff Road.

It’s the third annual Fall Farm Tour, and this year it’s meant to be easier to access for people who’d like a chance to experience farm life at the height of the harvest season.

In previous tours, many farms were included, and were spread out all over the map. But some families had a hard time doing the tour because of the logistics of getting kids in and out of the car numerous times, and because of the drive time involved.

We’re totally changing the format,” said Debbie Copple of the Sky Valley Chamber of Commerce. “Instead of being spread all over the area, we’re narrowing it down to three farms, all on Fern Bluff Road.”

The first stop along the farm tour is the Rivers End Ranch, where cattle farmers Jerry and Stacy Labish will host tours. “He’s going to hook his tractor to the hay wagon and ride through the bumpy fields where all the cattle are standing,” said Copple. “He has a great hay loft; you can swing on a rope and land on the hay. It’s an old-fashioned cattle farm on one hand, but it’s state of the art, very organic, chemical-free.”

There will be roping demonstrations, historical displays courtesy of the Sultan Historical Society and story times sponsored by the Sno-Isle library.

The second stop will be at Groeneveld Dairy Farm. Here, dairy farmers Chris and Anna Groenevald invite the public to tour their third generation working dairy farm. “There’s a little maternity ward going on there, and if we’re lucky, there might be babies,” said Copple. “They are going to have FFA and 4H kids out there showing off their animals and letting kids get up close and personal. They will talk about what it’s like to raise an animal and how kids could do it if they wanted to. Most of the students they have out there are city kids. The Groenevelds are very involved in youth education. It’s a great program.”

Also onsite will be a craft table, sponsored by Small hands Child Care. This booth will give kids the opportunity to create a keepsake to remind them of their fun day spent at the Sky Valley Fall Farm Festival.

The third and final stop will be at the Stockings Garden & Nursery. “They’re going to have cooking demos, and Black Sheep Creamery out of the Duvall area will talk about the dairy goat business and sell their cheese,” said Copple. “And Gretchen Wilson of Gretchen’s Wool Mill, she will shear, card, spin, and make wool into something in one afternoon.”

There will be a corn maze there, storytelling is planned, and local chefs will demo vegetable soup with local veggies and planked, local salmon. There will also be a historical farm display.

The Farm Tour begins at noon Saturday and continues till five. All three farms are located on Fern Bluff Road, which is a loop road with both ends intersecting with US 2.