By Dennis Box

The Courier-Herald

The Bonney Lake/Lake Tapps Courier-Herald is celebrating its first anniversary and is officially plunging into its second year.

In a single year a surprising number of events have taken place.

Bonney Lake's water puzzle was covered in the first and last issues of the year, and many in between.

Fennel Creek, the Washington State University Demonstration Forest, the skystone artifact, Lake Bonney cleanup and state champion gymnast Bri Schwartz have all garnered headlines during the last year.

The paper has published pictures of the Bonney Lake High School taking shape as it prepares for its 2005 opening.

The fluoride mandate has come and gone - and come again and apparently is gone again.

A new ZIP code for the area looks to be right around the corner.

The newspaper has covered two general elections and a primary in its first year. The first general election told the mayor to keep his job, the second shot down the parks and community/recreation center bonds.

In January, Puget Sound Energy's closed its White River hydroelectric plant, but Lake Tapps still survives. The end of this story has yet to be written.

After 14 years of planning, both the Cascadia and Falling Water developments are on the cusp of adding more than 17,000 people to the area during the next two decades.

Many folks around the community have talked and written to the paper about growth, traffic and what Bonney Lake will look like in the future.

Eric Paffenroth, who lives on the Inlet Island, moved here several years ago from the South Hill area. The growth in the area has him wondering about Bonney Lake's identity.

"I look around Bonney Lake and I wonder where is the planning," Pappenroth said. ""What is Bonney Lake going to look like in 10 years?"

Pappenroth's concern is a puzzle the City Council has struggled with during the last year.

"Our city is searching for an identity," Councilman Neil Johnson said. "How do we want our city to look? I would like to see a connected, walkable city, where we can walk from one end to the other - a community."

The soul and identity of any community is its people and the stories of their lives.

Jackelyn Gidlof is a 79-year-old retired interior designer, builder, semi-truck driver, tour-bus driver and senior-center bus driver. Her favorite stories are the profiles of people around the community.

"I like the personal articles about different people," Gidlof said. "I think it is invaluable. I enjoy those stories very much."

If there is a community heart in the Bonney Lake area, it beats within Louisa Smith. She is one of the moving forces behind Bonney Lake Days, a historical treasure trove of information about the area and a person who is always available for the community.

"It's a milestone if you (the newspaper) can make it a year because so many others haven't," Smith said. "You're allowed to stay for a second year. You've done all right the first."

Looking at next year plenty of stories are brewing, like building a new City Hall, the sale of the Demonstration Forest and as always, high school sports.

The mayor's job and three councilman's seats, Dave King, Deputy Mayor Dan Swatman and Johnson, will be up for election.

Keep watching for stories about new businesses and restaurants. There may be some surprises ahead, like where Home Depot lands.

Bonney Lake is a city in transition, houses are being built at a breathtaking rate while more people move into the area.

Ahead are hard decisions about roads, traffic and what Bonney Lake is really all about.

"The city will continue building for a while," Mayor Bob Young said. "What happens between 214th (Avenue East) and 234th (Avenue East) should be the next big growth spurt. We are a city coming of age."

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com.