Yelm Issues: July 2006 Archives

S. E. Thurston County Fire Co-Chiefs Rita Hutcheson & Mark King have been presenting their Fire Department Services and Funding Report around the district with the September 19th Fire Levy on the upcoming ballot.

Your vote for this levy is needed to insure funding for these critical services.
Won't you consider becoming educated and mark your ballot FOR the Fire/EMS levy?

"Yelm Fire District, Thurston County Fire District #4 (Rainier), and Thurston County Fire District #17 have been operating together as S.E. Thurston Fire/EMS for the past 3 years. The City of Yelm has also received emergency services through a contractual arrangement. All contracts are due to be renewed in 2006. A decision was made as a result of increasing service demands with little increase in resources, to contract with a consultant to review the current operational agreements, to identify strengths, to identify weaknesses, and to make recommendations for the future direction of the organization. The purpose of this consultation was to assist the Fire Chiefs and elected officials in working together as a cohesive group for a common goal: better service for our communities. Mr. John Murphy, a consultant with Baldwin Resource Group, Inc., obtained information about the organization through personal interviews with the department Chief Officers, Fire Commissioners from each of the 3 boards, City of Yelm Council members, and the local representative for IAFF Local 3825 (Yelm). Also reviewed were written documents regarding budgets, contracts, response data, etc. from the fire districts and from the City of Yelm."
Click on the report's strengths, weaknesses and suggestions.

Did anyone notice that the exact same string of days cracked the upper 90's and 100's in other years, as the record heat wave in 2006? These are the official readings from Olympia Regional Airport.

July 20 102 record set in 1994
July 21 96 record set in 1994
July 22 99 record set in 1978
July 23 99 record set in 2004
July 24 99 record set in 2004
July 25 93 record set in 1988
July 26 96 record set in 1998
July 27 99 record set in 1998
July 28 100 record set in 1998
July 29 96 record set in 2003
And all but one record of these dates was set within the last 18 years. HMMM!

2006
July 20 87
July 21 101 new record
July 22 99 tie with 1978 record
July 23 98 one degree short of a tie with record
July 24 95
July 25 81
July 26 86

Dear Readers,

This writer sent an invitation to the two announced candidates for State Representative, District 2, Position 1, which includes this area to present their stands to all of you in depth, since the September 19 Primary is closing fast:
The incumbant Rep. Jim McCune (R)

Photo from Rep. McCune's website

The challenger Jean Marie Christenson (D)

Photo courtesy of Stephany Ray, Professional Photographer and Webmaster of MastersConnection.com

To date, only Ms. Christenson has responded to the request. Her statement to the Yelm Community Blog is below, unabridged in any way and in its entirety. This writer hopes Rep. McCune will share his vision with all of you, as well.

Dear Steve Klein and Voters,

Thank you for your invitation to be a guest on your Blog, and congratulations on the great reviews your Blog has been receiving!

As a resident and voter in District 2, I would like to thank you for your willingness to put yourself out there. As a Candidate for State Representative for District 2, I thank you for your participation in the political process, and for always encouraging others to do the same.

Additionally, I would feel remiss if I did not say, “Bravo, Mr. Klein” for your direct influence in the passing of Senate Bill 6323 which requires all candidates raising more than $5,000 file a public disclosure report …regardless of the city's population.

I have personally felt this sort of legislation has been way over-do, and now because of your direct influence the citizens in our State will be protected from a loophole that had allowed candidates in smaller jurisdictions to raise and spend unreported money. “Bravo, Mr. Klein. Bravo!”

With the upcoming very important September 19th Primary, the Campaign to elect Jean Marie Christenson is going full speed ahead. Campaign press releases will be going to all our District’s newspapers the first week in August.

We have a wonderful crew of volunteers and welcome everyone to participate. The Campaign to Elect Jean Marie Christenson’s wonderful Volunteer Coordinator, Jennifer Braun and I invite anyone who would like to support this incredible campaign to come aboard. You can contact Jennifer at quantummonad@hotmail.com

or phone her at: (360) 446-5623.

Out on the Campaign trail I am often asked to share something about my own life.

Well, I am a lifelong Washington resident, born in Spokane, and grew up in Wenatchee. I am the mother of a grown son, and my home is in Rainier, Washington.

Growing up in a rural community meant that I went to work in local orchards at a young age. Picking fruit in orchards, and packing fruit in the local packing sheds, along with income from my parent’s farm and cattle ranch, I was able to earn enough money for a good education, and I subsequently pursued a career as a counselor, both in private practice, and as a teacher of motivational seminars.

I have always held the belief that we should give back to our communities, and with that belief I made sure to find time to donate my services as a counselor to youth-at-risk, as a foster mother, and in the psychiatric department of the hospital at Washington State Reformatory. My experiences at the Reformatory led to my published book, The Keepers and the Caged.

My background has given me the life experiences that allow me to understand how to get something of value accomplished. In order for District 2 to have the sort of considerations it deserves, we must elect someone who is not afraid to stand up, challenge the status-quo, and be heard.

District 2 is known as the “abandoned child” of the State, and it is about time someone has the courage to say so, and declare, “We deserve considerably more attention, respect, and funding!”

If the current popular consensus is that District 2, a rural district, is not that important, I would say, “Where do you think the food you are going to eat for your dinner came from? I will tell you, ‘It came from a farm or a ranch!’”

I am committed to success for District 2, and hold a strong focus for the creation of jobs, protecting the environment, pursuing alternative energy resources, encouraging economic vitality for our farmers, supporting our educators and schools, and requiring accountability for our taxpayers’ dollars.

I ask you to please vote in the upcoming Primary Election on September 19th. Many political races are won or lost in the Primary Election!

You do not have to register by Party, but in order to vote you must be registered by August 19th.

September 19th ... Primary Election:

You will receive 2 Ballots for the Primary Election. One will be Democrat ... and the other Republican. You must choose which Ballot you wish to vote on, and may only vote on one-or-the other! This is the case only for the Primary Election. No one will know which you choose. (In the General Election you will be able to cross Party lines.)

Please remember to vote for your Candidate in the Primary Election!

Thank you again, Mr. Klein, for this opportunity to address the voters of District 2.

And I would remind all the voters that even if you think you may not be interested in politics, that does not mean politics is not interested in you!

It’s about the future, now.

Jean Marie Christenson, Candidate for State Representative, District 2, Position 1

Quoting City of Yelm Community Development Dept. Director Grant Beck "At the request of the Yelm Community Development Department, in order to keep interested parties up to date during the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement, the developers of the Thurston Highlands Master Planned Community have prepared a newsletter which provides a project status update. The newsletter was mailed by the developers to all interested parties who provided a mailing address during the expanded scoping process for the Environmental Impact Statement. The update is also posted on the City's website at www.ci.yelm.wa.us."

Further, Mr. Beck will be providing a Thurston Highlands Update to the City Council in the Council Study Session tonight at 5pm, which is open to the public for observation only, as there is no public discourse allowed at these meetings. Tonight's agenda may be found on the city's website, then click "Upcoming Agenda"

Photo courtesy Free Flow Media
Yelm Ave. East looking West

Additionally, Yelm Mayor Ron Harding gave the oath of office to just-appointed 7th Council member Russ Hendrickson last night, an installation and repair technician for YCOM Networks (Yelm Telephone) who is married to Yelm School Board member Denise Hendrickson. No local newspaper reporter was present as they were reportedly covering the Yelm Loop/DOT Open House & Access Hearing, so no photo was taken. However Mayor Harding stated there would be a reinactment for a journalistic photo/story. Congratulations to Mr. Hendrickson. In addition to Mrs. Hendrickson and City Planning Commisioner Perez, only this writer and his wife were in audience. [Ed. Note: We both felt that a 7 member City Council will greatly benefit this town and with three new members of late, there would be more ideas and discourse. Congratulations to the entire Council for this achievement. All were present last night and revealed a glimpse at the change to come. However, the City Council touted "diversity" would be the criteria in the selection process. A former City Council member & Mayor Pro-Tem plus a representative from Yelm Telephone, who's previous owner served on City Council defies the "diversity" intent. How about another woman from the many qualified applicants, for example? Or one not connected to in some way to city politics? ]

1. “WSDOT will host an open house [for the SR510 Yelm Loop Project] directly followed by an access hearing at the Yelm Middle School Commons at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 26, 2006. The access hearing will start at 6 p.m. ("An access hearing is a legal procedure to allow abutting property owners and others the opportunity to provide testimony related to property access. A Hearings Examiner will conduct this formal process. Comments will be recorded and included in the project record.") Yelm Middle School Commons is located at 402 Yelm Avenue West. The 2005 Transportation Partnership Project program allocated $33 million to fund the design and right of way for this project."
Key questions to ask at this hearing:
A. The March, 2006 report shows construction from 2013 to 2015, meaning the road will not be fully operational for 10 years (subject to funding). This schedule has been pushed back several times in the last 2 years. Is this a reasonable timetable?
B. The report shows an unfunded amount of $35 million. With continued delays on the start of this project, has the costs of acquiring land, interest on borrowing money, construction costs & fuel, plus inflation made this balance inaccurate? Are we looking at a project total closer to $100 million?
C. Although this is a State hearing, the question this writer continues to have is how City of Yelm traffic studies
for local developments still base their figures on a completed Loop to mitigate traffic, when the State DOT website says the Yelm Loop will not be open until 2015 subject to funding, which is tenuous at best.
Do you think that is very wise - saying that traffic from current and new developments will be handled by a road 10 years from opening?

Global warming is now at the forefront of massive heat waves occurring in a large part of the USA, Canada, Europe, Japan & China and right here at Olympia Regional Airport, Thurston County's official weather station, and 20 miles from Yelm.

Photo from Port of Olympia website

Indeed, the triple digit heat record broken at the airport Friday and the 99 degrees Saturday which tied the former 1978 record have affected this area, too. The interesting thing this writer observed is that the low on Saurday was 69 degrees, 8 degrees below the normal high.
The Olympian reported that "Temperatures of 100 and higher have happened only eight times in Olympia since 1948, said Ted Buehner, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Seattle."
Even Seattle & King County are taking global warming seriously, according to this Seattle Times report.

The 98 degree high temperature recorded today was one degree short of a tie with the 2004 record high of 99 degrees.

Reuters reported today on the climate debate and points out some interesting observations:
A. "Skeptics of the global warming theory, which predicts droughts and floods this century unless greenhouse gas emissions are curbed, say the media play up hot summer days for dramatic effect.
Bill O’Keefe, a board member of Washington think tank the George C. Marshall Institute and a consultant to the oil industry, said the record heat could be seen as part of a natural cycle of highs and lows."

B. "But many scientists say a warming trend is already clear. U.S. space agency NASA says 2005 was the warmest globally in more than a century and that the preceding three years were also the warmest since the 1890s. The U.S. National Climatic Data Center said the first half of 2006 were the warmest six months since records began in 1895."

Whom do you believe?
The usual skeptics and an oil industry consultant?

Or,
the facts and supporting scientific evidence?

You decide...

According to NOAA's official record keeping station closest to Yelm at Olympia Regional Airport,
July 21st recorded that date's hottest temperature on record at 101 F (38 C), breaking the former record for which this writer was here and experienced the 96 F (36 C) this date recorded in 1994.
The all time high for July 20th is 102 (39 C) also set in 1994 and is the hottest temperature ever recorded during any month of July.
Olympia's hottest all-time high temperature ever was recorded on August 9, 1981 of 104 F (40 C). Today's temperature was 3 degrees from a tie for the all-time record high.
The Olympian filed this report on the triple-digit weather.

USA Today reported on July 17th "For the first time in years, the $70 billion casual dining industry — sit-down eateries that generally serve alcohol and sell entrees from $10 to $20 — is taking a hit. Some of the big names — from Applebee's to Cheesecake Factory to Outback Steakhouse — report recent slides in sales at stores open at least one year. Many of their stocks are hovering at 52-week lows. Some folks are eating out less. Others are trading down to fast food. Some are skipping dessert or ordering less wine. The result is that casual dining's growth is slowing, and no longer outpacing the industry...For the first time in years, the $70 billion casual dining industry — sit-down eateries that generally serve alcohol and sell entrees from $10 to $20 — is taking a hit. Some of the big names — from Applebee's to Cheesecake Factory to Outback Steakhouse — report recent slides in sales at stores open at least one year. Many of their stocks are hovering at 52-week lows...
Driving the downturn:
•Rising gas costs. A home with two SUVs in the driveway needs an extra $1,500 per year to pay for costlier gas, Oakes says. "And the consumer is thinking the price hikes aren't temporary this time."
•Better downscale choices. Upgraded options at fast foodies such as McDonald's and fast-casual spots such as Panera Bread are attracting penny-pinchers, says Ron Paul, president of research firm Technomic. McDonald's on Monday reported second-quarter same-store sales up 4.2%.
•Higher credit card costs. Most major credit card issuers raised minimum payments last year, so many consumers have less "fun" money, Collier says.
•Weaker real estate market. As housing prices weaken, some folks "feel" less wealthy, Oakes says."

Yelm has several terrific casual-dining choices including:
Arnold's Country Inn
Annie's Bistro
Bar Cinco
Blue Bottle Espresso
Mr. Doug's
Casa Mia
Chinese Wok
Puerto Vallarta
And Toscano's
to name a few.

Won't you consider supporting one of these fine purveyors by taking your family out to dinner?

In today's Olympian, the war in the Middle East is not the top headline,
rather this writer is pleased to see Ramtha's School of Enlightenment gets top billing.
JZ Knight's invitation for her Fabulous Wealth Retreat at the Ramtha School's campus sent to community leaders, business owners and the media was accepted by only one of the invitees: The Olympian, who sent Lisa Pemberton, their Features Reporter. Her report appears today in stark contrast to Yelm's local newspaper, the Nisqually Valley News (NVN) which sent no one to the Retreat. The NVN front page headlines for this retreat's invitation screamed "Councilman critical of JZ Knight invite", previously covered here on this blog.
However, The Olympian provided the greatest in-depth report on JZ Knight and the Ramtha School of Enlightenment this writer has ever seen. Sincere thanks and appreciation go to Olympian reporter Lisa Pemberton for her research and commitment to provide Olympian readers with a balanced report and to Vickie Kilgore, Olympian Executive Editor for her courage to accept Ms. Knight's invitation in sending a reporter for three days to the RSE campus.
Here are The Olympian reports:
"Behind the gates at Ramtha's School"
"The business: Economic opportunities spring from teachings"
"The school: Personal journeys lead to Yelm"
"Striving for enlightenment"
"Questions and answers about Ramtha, JZ Knight"

This blog is doing exactly what this writer intended -
to share information and create discussion on a whole range of community issues in a forum not provided in this town. The very fact that there is controversy from these pages and from Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Isom is demonstrative of the fact that this writer's intent is working, and in just a few short months!
Now, Mr. Isom again criticizes this blog in today's Olympian with a further expected bump in hits. Thank you Mr. Isom for the free publicity! Readers just Google "Steve Klein, blog" and this link appears on the first page. Quoting The Olympian story,
"'Every article in there [Yelm.com] slams the City Council for everything they try to do, and frankly without any information,' said Yelm City Council member Bob Isom."
HMMM, that's an interesting observation! Mr. Isom, this writer lists every source for everything stated for the reader to read for themselves to obtain the full context. And, ALL stories are archived for future reference, something the local weekly newspaper does not do. Further, after last year's mayoral race, my wife and I purchased two full pages in the Nisqually Valley News listing our plans were we elected, as a gift to then mayor-elect Harding and the City Council to use in any way they like. That still stands for all to see thanks to Beyond the Ordinary.net archives.
And, this writer has invited guest commentary, all from experts in their fields.
More exiting stories to come...

1. “WSDOT will host an open house [for the SR510 Yelm Loop Project] directly followed by an access hearing at the Yelm Middle School Commons at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 26, 2006. The access hearing will start at 6 p.m. ("An access hearing is a legal procedure to allow abutting property owners and others the opportunity to provide testimony related to property access. A Hearings Examiner will conduct this formal process. Comments will be recorded and included in the project record.") Yelm Middle School Commons is located at 402 Yelm Avenue West. The 2005 Transportation Partnership Project program allocated $33 million to fund the design and right of way for this project."
Key questions to ask at this hearing:
A. The March, 2006 report shows construction from 2013 to 2015, meaning the road will not be fully operational for 10 years (subject to funding). This schedule has been pushed back several times in the last 2 years. Is this a reasonable timetable?
B. The report shows an unfunded amount of $35 million. With continued delays on the start of this project, has the costs of acquiring land, interest on borrowing money, construction costs & fuel, plus inflation made this balance inaccurate? Are we looking at a project total closer to $100 million?

2. Millennium RV, Inc. on 93rd near Yelm Ave. West is leaving our town saying Yelm's city council and restrictions on doing business here are no longer palatable for them to operate. Stop in and wish them well as they have supported this town’s RV servicing needs for years. This writer wishes them well in their new location in Randle. City Hall, are you taking note of this business's departure, along with Amtech and others?
What do you, the area citizen think of this?
How will our town's landscape change with the new Super Wal-Mart under construction this year?

Gordon's Garden Center President Kellie Petersen was the only person to make a public comment to the Yelm City Council on July 12. She spoke in response to Council member Bob Isom's June 28th Council meeting remarks about Yelm Council members receiving an invitation to be guests for a three-day workshop at JZ Knight's Fabulous Wealth Retreat at the Ramtha School, inspiring front page newspaper headlines. This writer asked Ms. Petersen if she would permit her letter to be shared with the community on this blog. Her comments are printed, unabridged and in their entirety as follows:

Kellie Petersen, Gordon's Garden Center President
photo by Mark Vicente

July 8, 2006

To the Council:

Two weeks ago JZ Knight extended an invitation to members of the Yelm City Council, local media, and business owners to a three-day “Fabulous Wealth” retreat.

It seems that for every industry there are more than just a few experts ready to share the secrets to their success – and they rightfully get paid for those secrets. Is it really so unusual for our city council to receive invitations to attend workshops or seminars on how to communicate with its constituency or to stay abreast of new trends in successful city government or other related topics? Yet I wonder how many of these brochures are read out loud at city council meetings.

Although I did not attend the city council meeting of June 28th, from what I read in the Nisqually Valley News on July 7th and the minutes of the meeting on the city’s website, the decorum of the council chambers more closely resembled a hen house. The paper stated that ‘Councilman Bob Isom questioned the motivation behind the channeler’s invitation’. It was further reported that ‘he suspected the invitation was an attempt to manipulate the council and noted that such an invitation was never sent to a sitting city council before.’ I have never sent the council personal invitations to a workshop at Gordon's Garden Center either, but I surely won’t do it now that I know I may be suspected of ulterior motives and subsequently railed in public at a city council meeting!

Further, how is it that the facilitator of that meeting, or the entire council for that matter, could not redirect Councilman Isom back to pertinent comments or the agenda at hand? Is our council so eager to divert our attention from really important issues? And why allow the discussion to go to such a low denominator as to include the denigration of Steve Klein for daring to disagree with the council? Are we now to understand that anyone who raises concerns for our city or is in disagreement with our council is assumed to do so just to “undercut the council”? How can we invite public comment and participation and then castigate those who dare to disagree? That seems to send the wrong message to the community.

I am concerned that Councilman Isom may be more interested in perpetuating an immature and very tiresome drama surrounding our city government’s irrational paranoia over JZ Knight ‘trying to take over the town’ than in helping to create an atmosphere of inclusion in our community. Our city government has much more important things to do than gossip about other community members. We look to our leaders to find ways to keep our community whole, not to jump on any chance to cause rift. We look to our leaders to take the high road – always. We look to our leaders to set the example – that’s why they are leaders –

Councilman Isom’s behavior was unbecoming of an elected public servant. I have never been a Ramtha Student, but I am still offended by the unprofessional behavior displayed. It appears to me that Councilman Isom executed the social faux pas, not JZ Knight or Steve Klein.

Respectfully,

Kellie M. Petersen
President, Gordon's Garden Center

In the July 7, 2006 issue of the Nisqually Valley News, Mayor Pro-tem Bob Isom says in the headline story that Steve Klein “writes an Internet blog that regularly rails against city officials and many of the council’s decisions. Isom said he believes Klein speaks up at council meetings to ‘undercut council.’”

“Undercuts Council?”
For what purpose would this writer wish to do that, Mr. Isom?

Yelm City Council member Bob Isom
Photo from City of Yelm website

This writer ran for Mayor in 2005 learning about how this city functions, attending almost every city council meeting plus several study sessions, asking questions and observing many things in getting up-to-speed on city government, with a desire to further this town’s prosperity. As mentioned to the NVN, I stated this is a Constitutional Republic mandating public involvement. Just because a citizen may disagree with council on some issues does not mean we cannot live and respect one another as neighbors; nor do council decisions dictate some blind allegiance as if to a King.
Bottom line, this Republic requires citizens to speak up and speak out.

Let’s review what this writer has brought before the public in just this year alone:

A. On the January 11th City Council Minutes, I stated the city’s growth projections used in the budget differ with what Asst. City Planner Tami Merriman was quoted as saying in the January 1, 2006 Tacoma News Tribune. You, the reader can compare the numbers for yourself from the Tacoma News Tribune story with the City of Yelm 2006 Budget. Then click "About Yelm", then "2006 Budget".
Access the Council Minutes and read for yourself. Then click "Minutes", then "January 11, 2006".

B. On the January 11th City Council Minutes, I stated that the Yelm Loop (SR 510) construction timelines were further projected out to 2015 and that road should not be relied upon to mitigate traffic here in the near-term decade.
This information is listed and revised monthly on the Washington State DOT website. Access the Council Minutes and read for yourself. Then click "Minutes", then "January 11, 2006".

C. On the January 11th City Council Minutes, I noted that the December 28th, 2005 Council Minutes recorded a split vote/impasse about the 2006 Budget, requiring Mayor Adam Rivas to record his first-ever, tie-breaking vote during his last meeting in office. When questioning Council member Miller about his vote against the 2006 Budget, he said he and Council member Joe Baker colluded to cause Rivas to cast a tie-breaker vote as a joke, that there really was no impasse. This writer suggested the Minutes be amended to reflect that. They were not. What happens if there are be future questions about a budget impasse and no mention of this debacle? Access the Council Minutes and read for yourself. Then click "Minutes", then "January 11, 2006".

D. On the January 23 Planning Commission Minutes, I stated the city’s growth projections used in the budget differ with what Asst. City Planner Tami Merriman was quoted as saying in the January 1, 2006 Tacoma News Tribune.

E. On April 23, this writer attended Rep. Tom Campbell’s Town Hall Meeting where he stated publicly that the city council approved Wal-Mart using incorrect traffic numbers and are permitting every development, leading to the creation of major issues for traffic, water and sewage. This man gave a frank assessment about Yelm's Wal-Mart approval that drew a heated response from Mayor Pro-tem Bob Isom. Rep. Campbell told Mr. Isom this was his meeting, enough of an argument and would give him his due at the end. This did not arise again. Mr. Campbell clearly stated we must get involved in our local government and tell them what we want - that they are here to serve their constituents, not the other way around. He encouraged us to keep speaking out on issues of importance to us and learn the processes to enact change and challenge the status quo.

F. On May 27, I questioned the expansion capabilities of the new Yelm High School stating “The new high school has capacity for 1,200 students, and will house about 1,100 when it opens this Fall, because the freshman class will relocate to the two middle schools in Yelm. Will the citizens soon be asked to foot the bill for more construction for Yelm Schools because of all the approved home developments?”
In a response from Superintendent Alan Burke, the answer was “Certainly, assuming that Yelm keeps growing, we will need to ask the voters to approve a school construction bond sometime between 2009 and 2013.” See the complete answer under May 28, 2006. Are the Yelm area property owners aware of this potential?

G. On the May 24th City Council Minutes (then click "Minutes", then "May 24, 2006"), I stated the then-proposed LID was supported by large, out-of town corporations and all of the LID opponents were made up of local voters. I also stated a center turn lane on the backs of the local taxpayer will not solve the traffic problems because a center turn lane adds no additional capacity, only assisitng flow. City Planner Jim Gibson replied that with a center turn lane and Loop, Yelm Ave. West can handle the traffic just fine. I told him the State DOT now shows the Loop opening in 2016, a full decade way; that the Loop should not be considered mitigating traffic in the near-term 10 year period and this LID is disingenuous because the city will have to come back and widen Yelm Ave. West to 5 lanes within 3-5 years. A LID was never proposed for Yelm Avenue East's expansion a few years ago and was only on the agenda for this portion of Yelm Avenue West because of a private development's specific request. The LID passed, placing a burden for some of the costs of the road improvements onto the backs of the "little people."

H. The City Council announced in the NVN on June 2nd that it would select a new Council member that will add diversity to the Council composition. Then, on June 14th, the council chooses a former Council member & Mayor Pro-Tem and current aid to the Lt. Governor. What about another woman or stated goal of diversity with someone bringing fresh, new ideas? See my comments under "June 14th", #3.

I. On June 14th (then click "Minutes", then "June 14, 2006") the council approved public monies to be used for a private development’s EIS. I wrote a Letter to the Editor of the NVN prompting them to write a front-page story on this issue July 7, 3+ weeks AFTER the council approval, where the city admits, “This work we’re doing is going to funnel into the Environmental Impact Statement [EIS] process for Thurston Highlands, [Yelm City Administrator Shelley] Badger said. “They’re going to use the data.”

And finally, on April 13th of last year, Bill Hashim is recorded in the Council Minutes (then click "Minutes", then "April 13, 2005") as requesting a moratorium on construction that would include the Wal-Mart application, in order to complete the city’s Critical Areas Update. Mr. Isom immediately motioned for a moratorium on moratoriums, quickly seconded by Joe Baker.

Bottom line:
Disagree with the Mayor & Yelm City Council and their stand has been proved time and time again – muzzle our people with moratoriums and restrictions on the mention of items the council wishes to avoid; the W-word, NASCAR, etc. - earning Yelm City Council the egregious 2006 Jefferson Muzzle Award.

You decide:
Undercutting Council?
Or
Shining the light to educate & stimulate community discussion on major issues affecting us all and asking questions to get our people thinking?
Giving YOU a voice!

What do YOU think?