Yelm Issues: July 2007 Archives

Jean Marie Christenson with WA. Gov. Christine Gregoire
Photo courtesy of Ms. Christenson

Guest Entry from JeanMarie Christenson:

Today I am sharing with you about a meeting I had with Fire Chief Rita Hutchenson in regard to the upcoming Levi for Fire District 4, and some of the brainstorming ideas that came out of our meeting.

Fire Chief Rita Hutcheson has done a stellar job of championing her cause on behalf of the Fire Department. I don't think any Candidate-for-office could say they were out more than Rita enlisting support for issues. I shared with Rita that I would like to see a more affective way to bring funds to our Fire District then have been traditionally used. I would like to get away from a bandaide approach and see if we could find more long term solutions.

Listed here are some of the ideas I've been thinking about and shared with Rita at our meeting:

(1) The Lottery was originally presented to the voters as a means to support schools. In the end however, the money was not used specifically for schools but instead went into the General Fund.

Question: Are Fire Districts able to tap into that fund, or make application in some way to be supported by that fund?

(2) Developers and impact fees: Developers should be helping to relieve the stress brought by their projects to the local area with impact fees substantial enough to absorb this burden, including that on Fire Districts. It is my understanding that impact fees are used by the Fire Department for equipment only...but wouldn't that be a substantial help when we are taking about tens/hundreds of thousands of dollars in needed equipment?

(3) Could City, County, District and State General Funds all help?

(4) I asked Rita if different Fire Districts supported each other? It seems to me a system of Sister-Districts (like certain cities have sister-cities) could be helpful because not every Fire District is short of funding, and some are actually quite flush. The Brotherhood and Sisterhood of Districts could be supporting each other, or perhaps there could even be a Statewide Fire-District-General-Fund?

(5) Of course, individual contributions, and local events to raise money for the Fire Department are always fun, and a great way to get citizens involved directly at the same time.

(6) Also, with the numerous projects the Capital Budget helps to fund, could some money be allocated from that source? Certainly local Fire Department facilities could greatly benefit from Capital Budget funding.

(7) And, it seems to me, the single most helpful thing that could happen for Fire District 4 is a 24 hour Medical Emergency
Facility in Yelm or Rainier. 80% of our Fire District's funds are spent on response to Medical and Health Care urgencies/emergencies.

If the burden were taken off of the funding needed to respond to these situations with a local Medical Emergency Facility, those funds would be freed up for other Fire District needs ... and again...we are talking about 80% of Fire District 4's available budget. I know Representative Tom Campbell has supported the idea of a Medical Emergency Facility in our area for some time, and I think it is time we step forward and ask the State to fund this project.

While it is clear that Fire District 4's need for funding is immediate I feel we should additionally look for long term support systems and resolutions that will work into the future. I know that Fire Chief Hutcheson agrees.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

JeanMarie Christenson
1st Vice Chair, Democratic Party
Legislative District 2
& Precinct Committee Officer
Weir Prairie Precinct 128 (near Rainier)

Find out more about the upcoming Fire Levy.

Logo from Citizens for Fire Protection website

Children's School of Excellence (CSE) entrance
Photo from CSE website

The Children's School of Excellence (CSE) raised a reported $132,000+ at the auction last Saturday night, and that does not include 4 scholarships totaling $20,000 given at the event's conclusion. Auctioneer Larry Schorno and his energetic daughter Cindy outdid themselves in this year's auction as they were so much a part of the collective body of participants. Their love and care was visible and experienced by all !!!
Retired Thurston County Sheriff Gary Edwards made a dramatic entrance on his Harley motorbike with Auction Chair Linda Evans !!!
Yelm Community Schools' Denise Bagwell brought her experience with the annual Dollars for Scholars and recorded the auction sales along side CSE's Shuba Nandyal & Vivian Clermont.

Jeevan Anandasakaran is the School's internet programmer, engineering the whole site. He volunteers all his time.

Janine Olson reportedly procured more goods than any volunteer, drove more miles, resolved more problems, and kept a cheerful outlook for months. With three children, this lady made tireless efforts at the drop of a pin. The auction would not have been a success without her!

Yvonne Lebron, CSE's administrative assistant, kept every loophole sealed, kept all the volunteer teams supplied with material, kept a smiling face throughout chaos at every turn.

Omey Nandyal is CSE's newest board member and the mind and man behind CSE's growth. He has been instrumental in helping realize CSE's ambitious operational and educational goals, with emphasis on fund raising.

The CSE board is a progressive, caring, capable, hands-on board. They are behind every action, every call, every step. They do more than any school board. They give time when there isn't any. They do whatever it takes to keep the school in seamless operation, improve every level, and plan for future growth. Congratulations to Board President Carey Miller & all of the Board of Trustees.

Larry Schorno announced he is the auctioneer at most of the large auctions in Washington State and CSE’s was the most successful in the State he has ever seen. A big congratulations goes to Chair Linda Evans and Co-Chair Roberta Brittingham for the event and in charge of the fantastic decorations and bountiful table spreads.
Everyone deserves praise for their hard work to pull off such a fine event for our community's children!

The highlight of the evening was the $40,000 paid by Sir Robert Jones for a pair of Ramtha's boots, donated by channeler JZ Knight.

Thurston County Roads & Transportation Services officials have announced the Bald Hill Road upgrade project will begin today. Motorists are recommended to allow extra time when using the 3.6 miles stretch of this road.

Project: Bald Hill Road
Location: Four Corners to Smith Prairie Road
Description: Road upgrade.
Expected Completion Date: 2007
Estimated Cost: $3,700,000
Funding Sources: $2,160,000 Federal

Children's School of Excellence (CSE) entrance
Photo from CSE website

The Children's School of Excellence (CSE) has announced their 4th Annual Auction & Garden Party tonight on their Rainer Campus.
Last year they raised more than $175,000. For 2 years in a row, this little 70-student private school has raised more money for their students by auctioneer Larry Schorno than the Yelm Chamber of Commerce's Dollars for Scholars has raised for the multi-thousand students Yelm Community Schools by the same auctioneer.

This writer has missed very few City Council meetings in the last three years and has rarely seen Council Chambers standing room only or public comments lasting an hour. Most Council sessions are concluded in under 25 minutes. Get traffic on the docket and citizens turned out in force.
Mayor Harding obviously read this blog [see July 19th entry] and announced that Level of Service (LOS) was not pertinent to the Six Year Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) saying that LOS had nothing to do with the STIP.
As mentioned by this writer on the record, it has to do with pubic safety on city streets, which needs to be considered in road projects here.

My letter to our State & County officials sums up the evening quite well:

Dear Senator Rasmussen, Rep. McCune,
Rep. Campbell & County Commissioner Oberquell,

Last night was the Yelm Public Hearing on the city's 6 year Transportation Plan (STIP). Council Chambers were packed with a "standing room only" crowd & citizens commenting on various issues about Yelm's traffic & road
conditions, with the hearing lasting for 1 hour & 4 minutes.

Many of the comments were about the many Level of Service (LOS) D + F intersections along the Yelm Ave. corridor that affect public safety. Pointed out was the fact that the City of Yelm has accepted LOS F conditions along this road since 1992, an LOS that was supposed to be temporary until fixed, unless something was being done to mitigate the situation. That mitigation has always been the bypass, which we all know is not totally funded and if so, will not begin construction until 2013 and opening in 2015, almost 25 years with LOS F conditions. Also mentioned were that developments adding to an LOS F road need to be kept to a minimum until the road is brought to a higher threshold. As we all know, such is not the case what with Tahoma Terra and so many other approved developments in Yelm alone. While many new road projects have added to Yelm overall, the main corridor is backed up to the Red Wind Casino on Thursday & Friday afternoons, and is nearing a gridlocked condition, which will eventually stifle growth in the area of the county.

Why even Community Development Director Beck stated last night to the Council in his Staff Report that the Hearing Examiner here for four hearings on developments Monday showed that traffic figures should be combined from new developments back in the Tahoma Terra area and when doing so, Longmire St. accessing Tahoma Terra then failed; the City had separated the traffic numbers, lessening the impact on paper. Not one question was raised about that from Council. And a failed Longmire feeds onto Yelm Ave. West! How long is this city going to keep adding failed roads to an LOS F SR 510 in city limits?

Mayor Harding stated to the audience,
"You need to be a voice and contact your State representatives. We have ongoing meetings with State officials and are very active."
He further stated that 67% of the traffic on Yelm Ave. is from outside the City limits and originates in Thurston & Pierce Counties. He said we need to contact our County Commissioner.

Mayor Pro-Tem Isom added,
"It's (the Yelm Ave. road conditions) a State problem. Put pressure on your State Representatives."

Further, Council member Don Miller asked Community Development Director Grant Beck if the state controls the road, with Mr. Beck answering the city has to get permission from the State to do anything on Yelm Ave. (SR 510 & 507). Mr. Beck further stated that while that is the case, the city asked and approved a LID on a portion of that road. Mr. Miller re-emphasized that it's still a State Highway that the State controls. In my view, using this as an excuse is absurd. The City can do almost anything they want on that road, if they consult the State.
[Mr. Miller, the city sure got a Wal-Mart entrance/egress approved quite easily on a state highway within city limits. HMMM!]

Additionally, a lady asked why Yelm even bothered having a Public Hearing, since the vote was scheduled right after the hearing. No discussion amongst the members was even scheduled or raised about all of the public comments. She suggested the decision was already made and asked Council to wait at least until the next meeting and discuss what the public said at the Study Session. I suggested tabling the STIP until further review could occur. Bottom line, the Public Hearing seemed just for show. The vote went on unanimously to approve the STIP, “slam dunk.”

For over three years, I have attended almost every Yelm Planning Commission Meeting & City Council meeting, as anyone there can attest. I have repeatedly spoken out on the record about traffic here, including my statements last night about deteriorating public safety along Yelm’s main corridor, requesting a further look at the STIP to work with State & County officials to get funding for improvements. I have spoken to Reps. McCune & Campbell in their Town Hall Meetings here about this issue.

I am writing asking for help:
City officials say to pressure you.
OK, here I am.
Or, is this issue just another toss of the football amongst our jurisdictions’ elected officials, while Yelm is choking in unbridled growth & traffic?

Most sincerely,

Stephen R. Klein

cc: Mayor Ron Harding

So, expect more of the same:
gridlock, safety compromises, & loss of revenue to local businesses in the "downtown core" as citizens avoid the traffic here, which was mentioned by one lady. This writer is so surprised local businesses do not go on-record to the Council about the loss of revenue because of the traffic here.

And, stay tuned for more traffic woes to come, as highlighted by the front-page headline article in the NVN out today:
"Yelm Wal-Mart busier than expected."

And, nary a word was mentioned in the city's newspaper of choice for public listings, the Nisqually Valley News about the largest attendance for a Council public hearing in years and the length of said meeting. The NVN had a reporter there, too.
Wazzup with that?
Why was that not considered a newsworthy item to report?

What say you?

Relay For Life® logo
Logo from the American Cancer Society website

Yelm's American Cancer Society Relay For Life® is August 4-5 at the Yelm High School.

"Relay For Life® is a fun-filled overnight event designed to bring together those who have been touched by cancer in our community. At the event, we celebrate survivorship and raise money to help the American Cancer Society in its mission to save lives, help those who have been touched by cancer, and empower individuals to fight back. During the event, teams of people gather at schools, fairgrounds, or parks and take turns walking or running laps. Each team tries to keep at least one team member on the track at all times.

But, Relay is much more than a walk around a track. It is a time to remember those lost to cancer and celebrate those who have survived. It is a night for people who have shared the same experience to comfort and console one another. During this event, we honor survivors during the Survivors Lap and we remember those we lost to cancer during the Luminaria Ceremony. We also celebrate life, friendship, and a chance to work together toward a cancer-free future...

Sign up today to become a part of the Relay phenomenon. Together we will fuel the work – and the hope – that can help make a cancer-free future a reality," quoting their website.

Sign up.

This writer thought this letter to the Eatonville Dispatch and the newspaper's reply was instructive on the Relay for Life proceeds.

Photo courtesy of Guustaaf Damave Photography

CITY OF YELM COMMUNITY & GOVERNMENT RELATIONS POST FILLED WITH VETERAN NVN REPORTER

A new position was created in this year's budget for a
Community & Government Relations coordinator.
That person will begin working for the City of Yelm on August 1, 2007.

The position entails the following:

* Policy analysis
* Public surveys
* Pending legislation

There were several applicants that made their way through the interview process to their 2nd & 3rd interviews.

Cindy Teixeira, our local veteran newspaper reporter was selected.
Her last day at the Nisqually Valley News is Thursday, July 26.

The Yelm Community Blog congratulates Cindy in her new post
& wishes her lots of fun in her new adventures...

Cell Phone Tower
Photo courtesy of Yelm-based photographer Guustaaf Damave

Former Clearwood Community Board member Valerie Cawley has given the Yelm Community Blog permission to print her letter exchange with the Clearwood Community Assn. Board last week on one facit of the cell tower issue.
Is the Clearwood Community Assn. Board hampering knowledge on the propsed cell tower from being disseminated to the members? You decide:

1. Letter from the Board to Mrs. Cawley:
July 17, 2007
The Association has received calls at the office from Clearwood members that you are knocking on doors
soliciting your agenda ([against a] cell phone tower) and they are upset.

Please refrain from doing this; you can only solicit for the Heart Fund, Cancer Fund, Boy Scouts etc, Please
read the Red Book Pages 9-10, item 7 in regards to soliciting.

Thank you.

Sincerely

Richard Hintze
Secretary
Clearwood Community Association
Violation Committee of the Board of Directors

2. Letter from Mrs. Cawley to the Board:
July 18, 2007

Subject: Letter dated July 17, 2007

Dear Mr Hintze

It is my understanding that complaints are usually reviewed before Violation letters are mailed.

A review of the complaint that I have been "knocking on doors soliciting” my agenda (cell phone tower)
may have saved the community a $0.41 stamp, and your time. It did not happen!

You refer me to a section of the Red Book concerning "Solicitation"! I am aware of the CC&Rs for Clearwood
Community Association, and I suggest that the Board's interpretation, with regard to soliciting, is flawed.

I see nothing in the Rules and Regulations that prohibits free speech, the right to assemble peaceably to discuss common interests, or the right to petition. Members have every right to discuss any issue at any time or place.

Solicitation is clearly defined as "commercial" or "sales". Neighbors discussing up-coming elections or handing out flyers does not fall under these categories. This is not a "Banana Republic"!

If I feel the need to knock on doors in the future, I consider it my right to do so. If members of our committee wish to knock on doors they also have that right. This is our First Amendment Right under the Constitution. I refer you to The Bill of Rights.

I think you will find that the problem is with the Board and how it choses to its interpret the Red Book.

If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to call me.

Sincerely,

Valerie Cawley

3. Further quoitng Mrs. Cawley,
Here is the bylaw regarding "solicitation" as it appears in our CCRs;

Red Book (Rules and Regulations) Pages 9-10, Item 7

Quote, "No solicitors shall be permitted within Clearwood. The preceding sentence shall be interpreted as follows:

a) To prohibit commercial soliciting (by members or non-members) seeking to promote sale of commercial products or services.

b) To prohibit soliciting by non-members within Clearwood for donations or sales of items on behalf of any non-profit charitable, religious, community welfare or similar organizations."

THAT IS BASICALLY IT, but they clarified above items (a & b) as follows:

c) to NOT prohibit soliciting of donations or the sale of items, by members, on behalf of non-profit charitable, religious, or limited to, Heart Fund, Cancer Fund, and recognized fund raising groups such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Lions, Kiwanis, or local Fire Dept.

The "Solicitation" concerns as stated in the original CCRs was solicitation for money or services not sharing of information.

Valerie Cawley

From the Yelm Community Blog:
The Clearwood Community Board has sent out ballots regarding Resolution No. 2007-02-06 on cell towers being allowed in the Community.

Community property owners received their ballots enclosed with their Clearwood Summer Newsletter on Saturday, July 14th.

Ballots must be mailed by August 10th or dropped off at the Clearwood Office by August 15th.
P.S. If you are renting, contact the owner of your property!

YOUR VOICE MATTERS, SO PLEASE VOTE!

While Cindy Teixeira's Nisqually Valley News story and Clearwood Board President attempted to make my comments the issue and sidestep important points in this debate, both the pros and cons of a cell tower in the Bald Hills Community have staked their cases to the Clearwood Community members. My previous comments stand unchanged, recorded here previously for all to read and discern for themselves. Scroll down to May 19 & May 14, 2007

Photo courtesy of Guustave Damave Photography

We wish the owners & staff of Yelm's Annie's Bistro well on their next adventures.
Annie's Bistro closed last night after 5 years of bringing Yelm a quality dining experience.
Yelm City Council member Don Miller & his lovely wife Char, this blogger & his lovely wife Yael were some of the guests
being served on a very busy closing night.
Annie's fine menu, wonderful food and smiling staff will be sorely missed.
New owners have purchased the business and intend to reopen next month.

Representative Tom Campbell
Photo from Representative Campbell's official website

Reprinted with permission of the Dispatch

July 18, 2007

Interview with Rep. Tom Campbell
by Bruce Smith

"Due to scheduling conflicts, the Dispatch was unable to cover State Representative Tom Campbell’s Town Hall meetings last May. This week, the Dispatch finally caught up with the busy legislator, who is also a practicing chiropractor. Campbell represents the 2nd Legislative District, which includes all of Graham, Kapowsin and Eatonville, and stretches from Orting to Yelm.

Traffic and Roads

“Traffic is the number one issue I hear about from voters,” said Campbell, who confirmed that the Cross-Base Highway will be built. “The money for the initial construction is already in place, and the last remaining environmental concerns will be resolved in the near future.” He also advised the new Regional Transportation Investment District, RTID, to follow new state laws requiring 95% of tax money raised in Pierce County is spent there. “Otherwise, voters will turn down RTID in November.”

WASL

“WASL is a Dodo bird that we keep throwing money at and hoping it will fly. What we need to do is push it off a cliff! Over a billion dollars spent on WASL and what have we got? Not much.” Specifically, Campbell calls for the repeal of WASL and replacing it with the PSAT and SAT tests, which are taken nationwide by all college-bound students. Campbell also wants the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to be disbanded and authority returned to local superintendents and their school boards.

The Dump

“The Dump (at 304th in Graham) is the epitome of Government not listening to the people. John Southerland and LRI got their building permits signed two hours before the Governor signed Marilyn Rasmussen’s and my bill forbidding the construction of landfills above aquifers.”

Youth

“The fact that the construction of the Skills Center has been delayed by the County is a black-eye for local government. The state has appropriated $30 million for the Skills Center; now it’s time to build it.” Campbell also indicated that the Bethel Boys and Girls Club’s Community Center is moving forward, with $1 million appropriated by the state.

Graham

“The Graham Community Plan will not protect Graham,” said Campbell, who advises local leaders to form a “vision committee” and develop plans to incorporate Graham as a township or city.

Public Health

Campbell’s bill requiring all health facilities to publically disclose when patients contract “hospital-acquired infections,” was signed into law this year. Campbell also champions the creation of an independent panel to investigate and punish health professionals who mis-treat or abuse their patients," quoting Bruce Smith, Graham reporter for the Eatonville-based Pierce County Dispatch.

The media and local city officials were noticeably absent at Rep. Campbell's Yelm Town Hall Meeting on May 19th.
This writer had the distinct pleasure of sitting next to Rep. Campbell and his wife at the RFK, Jr. talk to the Ramtha School students in Yelm on June 27.

On Monday, July 16, 2007, the Yelm Planning Commission met to approve their changes to the
Yelm Comprehensive Plan Transportation Chapter. [This writer was the only non-staffer in the audience.]
Now, this goes to the public for input.

Quoting the City of Yelm website:
"The Yelm City Council has scheduled a public hearing to receive comments on the 2007-2013 Six Year
Transportation Improvement Program and a proposed amendment to Chapter 15.40 YMC amending the
formula for establishing a transportation facility charge.

The hearing is scheduled for 7:30 PM on Tuesday, July 24, 2007, and will take place in the Council
Chambers at Yelm City Hall, 105 Yelm Ave West.

The Six Year Transportation Improvement Program is the capital facilities document that guides
transportation funding for a six year cycle. The STIP is based on the Yelm Comprehensive
Transportation Plan and is the ‘implementation’ document for the overall plan. Projects that are not on
the STIP are not eligible for State or Federal funding, or the use of local Traffic Facilities Charges (TFC’s).
Although it is a six year plan, it is required to be updated annually as projects are completed and new
priorities arise."

THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC TO COMMENT ON THE TRANSPORTATION PLAN FOR THEIR COMMUNITY FOR THE NEXT 6 YEARS.
If we do not step up and let our elected officials and their staffs know our views, we allow them then to do as they please.

Everyone agrees that traffic is the number one issue here.
How did it get this way?
Because the public did not let their officials know they want better conditions.

Now is YOUR chance and I will make this very simple to understand.

Intersections along our main thoroughfare are graded like your High School Report Card from A (best) to F (worst), based on traffic statistics taken by a certified traffic engineer. This grade is called a "Level of Service" or LOS for short.

This City Council and preceding ones, in conjunction with advice from the Community Development Department, have accepted some intersections along Yelm Ave. to operate with a D or F grade, meaning poor or gridlocked traffic conditions. To be clear then, your city officials ALLOW these terrible grades of traffic because we allow them to allow it. That is why there is only one through lane in and one through lane out of Yelm, while they continue to approve all applications for developments. The City sets MINIMAL standards to be adhered to, while they approve unbridled growth, with traffic conditions guaranteed to deteriorate. And, we the citizens permit these actions with our collective inactions. Just take a look at the City's website for additional developments going through the hearing examiner this Monday, including the next phase of Tahoma Terra [then click Agendas/Notices, then Public Notices]. Will any of the public be there to object to any of these and their ensuing traffic? Has any of the public even read the traffic studies reporting how many cars will be added to the exisiting traffic snarl from each development to our one lane in and one lane out.

YOU can change that!
YOU can come to this meeting and tell your city's officials, "WE DO NOT ACCEPT THE CITY'S LEVEL OF SERVICE GRADES OF D & F AND WE,
THE CITIZENS OF YELM AND VICINITY REQUIRE THE CITY TO MAKE OUR TRAFFIC'S LOWEST LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS) C AND ABOVE! And, City Council, if you can not maintain that as the standard, then we the citizens, require you to deny any project or make them pay to fix the problem. In other words, we, the citizens demand the developers pay for all of the impacts they add to our roads. The city will say the developers currently pay an impact fee and while that is true, the impact fees the city imposes only maintains a minimum of our poor level of servce D or F. Don't you want better than our current traffic conditions?

Poor Level of Service (LOS) grades are dictated by the city because no one gives input.
So we have allowed the city council to get away with providing just a minimal level of servce for our streets' traffic grades.
If the public would force the city to a higher Level of Service (LOS), and we demand say LOS C and above, there WILL be changes made here.

The city must set a standard for roads for the next 6 years and this is what this meeting is about. The Yelm Loop will not be part of this discussion because even if funded, that road will not be completed and in service to relieve traffic here by 2013, and that is from the Washington State DOT website link on the City of Yelm's homepage, which says construction will begin in 2013, though not currently funded. This 6-year transportation plan extends only through 2013.

Even Lacey is affected by Yelm traffic, according to this Olympian story out yesterday, "Residential and commercial development in Hawks Prairie and construction of new homes in Yelm have driven that growth in vehicle traffic [at the I-5 interchange at Hawks Prairie.]."

I have come to believe there will be a multi-jurisdictional meeting this Fall with the public, city, county & state highway officials invited to all come together in an exchange about traffic on State Highways 507 & 510 within Yelm's city limits. If you, the public, understand that Level of Service (LOS) here can be dictated by you though speaking up at meetings such as next week's and the one this Fall, we will all benefit. What has never happened for the last 20 years and should have happened is the public getting involved in demanding better than the current bottomless LOS F traffic condition.

Don't let them whitewash this issue by telling you, "What do we do, stop all growth?"
That is NOT what this is about.
This is about the citizens demanding an improved Level of Service grade on our city's streets to insure approved growth is provided for on our roads that affects our city's commerce, public safety and quality of life.
In this writer's view, if we continue allowing Yelm Ave. with only one lane in and one lane out of town with no capacity increase, all the while thinking a bypass is around the corner yet adding all of these developments and their vehicles, mix in a Super-Wal-Mart's vehicle surge, is that not a recipe for gridlock?
IF THIS TOWN IS IN GRIDLOCK, HOW CAN IT GROW?
I have provided several alternatives over the last two years, including widening Yelm Ave. to 5 lanes within city limits, making Washington St. a 2-lane through one-way street eastbound from Longmire to 3rd St., and adding round-abouts at major intersections, like Edwards & Yelm Ave. West with the new Stevens St. addition connecting to Edwards St. soon, all to keep traffic moving. All have been rejected.

I can not do this alone. I need your help! Your city officials need to hear from you - and loud!

Bottom line:
Are you interested in changing traffic here or not?
You have a chance to share your views this Tuesday.
Let's fill the Council Chambers, so that they must move the meeting to a larger hall and show out in force that we mean the time is now for change!
Sign your name on the sign-in sheet to speak your views!
DOESN'T THIS ISSUE DEMAND YOU BE THERE TO SPEAK UP?

Our elected officals are here to serve us, the voters; not the other way around!
And indeed they HAVE served us - just without our input and direction as a community, on this issue.

Photo courtesy of Guustaaf Damave Photography

PRIDE OF THE PRAIRIE TARNISHED TODAY WITH THE WAL-MART EFFECT

The very moment of the posting of this blog entry this morning marks the offical opening of Yelm's Super Wal-Mart in ceremony and glee.

This writer was contemplating all that this will mean for this town.

Many of you have written in to say that you support Wal-Mart, the jobs that have been created here and the low prices brought to Yelm.

Yes, in near-sightedness, you could make that claim and revel in that for awhile, however at what cost on our future?

Did you know that the majority of Wal-Mart products are made overseas - and much from one country alone - China?

You may say, so what?

This has cost our fellow Americans jobs.

Read this from the Economic Policy Institute,
"The manufacturing sector and its workers were hardest hit by the growth of Wal-Mart's imports. Wal-Mart's increased trade deficit with China eliminated 133,000 manufacturing jobs, 68% of all jobs lost. Overall, the Wal-Mart trade deficit displaced and 308,100 jobs in 2006. On average, 77 U.S. jobs were eliminated for each one of Wal-Mart's 4,022 U.S. stores in 2006. (See The Wal-Mart Effect for more details.)

And the AFL-CIO weighs in on the Wal-Mart issue,
"Those low-cost goods at Wal-Mart ultimately come at a high price: lost jobs, lower wages and unsupportable U.S. trade deficits.

Wal-Mart is the single largest importer of foreign-produced goods in the United States, and the majority of its private-label clothing is manufactured in at least 48 countries around the world—and almost none in the United States."

Further, now we have what The New York Times calls "... a quality crisis" on goods coming from China, from where well over $18 billion of Wal-Mart's products are imported.
"Weeks after tainted Chinese pet food ingredients killed and sickened thousands of dogs and cats in the United States, this country is facing growing international pressure to prove that its food exports are safe to eat.

But simmering beneath the surface is a thornier problem that worries Chinese officials: how to assure the world that this is not a nation of counterfeits and that “Made in China” means well made.

Already, the contamination has produced one of the largest pet food recalls in American history, heightening global fears about the quality and safety of China’s agricultural products. And evidence has also shown that China exported fake drug ingredients, threatening to undermine the credibility of another booming export.

'This isn’t an international crisis yet, but if they don’t do something about it quickly, it will be,' said David Zweig, a China specialist who teaches at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. 'The question is whether it spills over and ‘Made in China’ becomes known as ‘Buyer Beware.’ '"

What ever happened to buying labels with Made In USA, where quality is king?

Since when did we become a society buying everything on the cheap and selling out our quality products for lower prices and shoddy, even dangerous goods?

JibJab takes a look at these issues and the effects of Wal-Mart on small town America with satircal humor.

The Yelm City Council earned the Jefferson Muzzle Award in 2006 for not allowing their constituents public comment on the Wal-Mart project, stifling any dissent. Their decisions are choking this town in traffic & unbridled growth.

That is what this writer is contemplating this day.

This writer sheds a tear as this town will look far different in one year, two years and more, as the fast food, home improvement stores, oil change shops and soon some other big box stores develop the east end of town, all the while gridlocking this town's traffic, as more vehicles and delivery trucks are sucked into the ever-widening Yelm commercial zone.
Local home-owned stores offering quality products will carry on for awhile here and then some will struggle as they will be unable to compete. We will say good-by to some of our neighbors' own businesses as the Wal-Mart effect invades Yelm.

Many say growth is inevitable and Wal-Mart will be the catalyst to more industry, jobs, and big name stores here.
Is that why you moved to Yelm? Do you want Yelm to look like Hawks Prairie does today?

Never been to New York City or San Francisco and seen gridlock? Yelm has had it for years even before today. Today, and into the future, gridlock will reach new heights here.

So celebrate this day if you must. Relish in your glee for now.

Yelm will pay a dear price in the months and years ahead.

This is surely a sad day for the pristine & once-tranquil Pride of Nisqually Priaire.

The Nisqually Valley News has published their annual Who's Who? 2007 Community Yearbook & Business Reference.

This is a fine resource listing our local community's businesses.

You can get yours as an insert when you buy the Nisqually Valley News on newsstands this week.

Your Yelm Community Bog is listed this year.

"Winds, low moisture and high temperatures are increasing the danger of wild fires exponentially and on Tuesday, a tri-county burn ban was imposed.

It takes effect at midnight Friday, July 13.

At that time, no burning, except for recreational fires, is allowed in King, Pierce, and Thurston counties," quoting the Nisqually Valley News.

More information on burning in Yelm's vicinity can be found on the SE Thurston Fire/EMS site.

Map from Thurston County Parks & Recreation

"The Yelm-Tenino Trail from the Yelm Center Trailhead to the Tenino City Park Trailhead will be closed to the public from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday for the annual Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic.

The Cascade Bicycle Club of Seattle, the host of the event, estimates that 9,000 riders will participate.

For more information about the trail closure, call Thurston County Parks and Recreation at 360-786-5595," quoting The Olympian.

Photo from Port of Olympia website

Indeed, the 99 degree heat record broken at Olympia Regional Airport today broke the former record of 94 degrees set in 1961.

The all time high for any July is 102 F (39 C) set in 1994. Then click TEMPERATURE under GENERAL CLIMATE SUMMARY TABLES.
Olympia's hottest all-time high temperature ever was recorded on August 9, 1981 of 104 F (40 C).

Reprrinted here with permssion of Ms. Handley:

Dear Editor (Nisqually Valley News' Keven Graves):

I am glad to see that signage is on the agenda in the city of Yelm. Without the Mayor defining “business friendly” I have to question where this discussion is going. How far is the Community Development Department and the Yelm City Council going to go allowing this scourge to litter our streets with “business friendly” signage? Are they going to continue to play favorites?

Retail businesses have made a large investment in Yelm already. It is important to allow them flexibility in outdoor advertising. Special events, including the ones the city sponsors, local real estate agents, garage sales and political campaigns cannot be immune from signage rules. What has blanketed Yelm exponentially these past many months has been the signage that developers have accosted us with. Our main streets and side streets, sometimes more than five in an intersection by the same company, sometimes with people bouncing them up and down, are an affront to every driver and resident.

These signs are bunched together regularly at the intersections of 507/510, Yelm Highway at Longmire and at Five Corners. What an insult to our retailers who established businesses here, play by the rules and who have to compete with this offensive sales tactic right under their noses! Why do home owners have to tolerate looking out their windows only to have these signs staring back at them?

I would have fees and fines levied by _each_ sign, not each sandwich board or each location, with qualifying levels playing a factor. The cost of a garage sale sign would be one fee/fine. Real estate companies should pay another level along with special events. Political and other campaign signs smear the city whether they stick in the ground or are pasted like bumper stickers to anything that stands up straight. Each sign that is left beyond noon following voting day should be fined and paid by the campaign. Developers fall into another level unto themselves and should be thought of more along the lines of signage impact fees. Just because they can afford it, should not mean that we have to live with their signs for years to come in some cases, blistering our eyes until all their tens, hundreds and thousands of houses are sold!

The city employee that is in charge of signage should have a workweek that includes the weekend. More signs of every variety spring up Friday through Sunday than appear during the weekdays. These should not go unchallenged. He/she can collect them after validating their location with a digital camera.

We may be growing, becoming more like a big city each week, but we should not have to look like one.

Jean Handley

The Bald Hills Fire District, located outside Yelm on Bald Hills Rd. near the Clearwood Community
held an Open House Meet & Greet on Tuesday, July 3.
This writer and his wife went and met the volunteers, staff and their families and learned alot about
the direction of the newly independent fire district.

They hold meetings open to the public every Tuesaday evening at 7pm at the Fire Station.
These fine people are asking for your support, direction, involvement & input.

Quoting Bill Owen,
"We are starting a "First Responder" class in September. This is the first time that this class has ever been given in our fire district. We'd like anyone who wants to volunteer to be a medical responder to attend this class. The class will go into December, meeting two nights a week and some weekends. It will teach many life saving and assesment skills. Graduates from this class will be our first line of defence (sic) in medial (sic) response.

There is an organizational meeting along with audio of a recent code that will be discussed July 31 at 1900 hrs at the fire station. There is also an all day CPR class
Aug 14 (need to verify the date), and no one that doesn't pass the class can enroll in the First Responder class."

For more information, call Fire Distrcit #17 at 894-2517.

The Olympian reported this week that Tumwater is assessing increased fees for a developer's increased traffic:

"Almost $200,000 in fees will be required to compensate for increased traffic caused by a proposed 375,771-square-foot warehouse development, city officials said.
The development, ProLogis Park, is proposed for 32 acres within the Port of Olympia’s New Market Industrial Campus south of 76th Avenue and east of Kimmie Street.

The city this week issued a ruling that indicates the project would have no significant environmental effects other than traffic. To mitigate the traffic effects, ProLogis, a Kent-based global warehouse developer, will be required to submit the fees or build road improvements at the two affected Interstate 5 interchanges: Tumwater Boulevard and 93rd Avenue...

The deadline to appeal the ruling is July 10. If no appeals are filed, the ruling will clear the way for the project to move forward to a city hearings examiner for a building permit.

However, residents in the nearby Salmon Creek Neighborhood Association will appeal, group leader E.J. Zita said Friday [June 22].

Zita and other residents have protested the ProLogis project, saying it would bring increased traffic, noise, public-safety hazards and stormwater runoff and would destroy wildlife habitat.

[Ed. Note: These are some of the same arguments used to oppose the massive Wal-Mart Super Center opening in Yelm this month. This writer and others said City of Yelm impact fees on the Wal-Mart project were too low and did not take into account Wal-Mart traffic impacts on future road widening projects that will have to be made just to accommodate Wal-Mart generated traffic. And it's coming soon!]

The project is one of several potential large warehouse distribution centers under consideration by the city, which has proposed a law to make it tougher to build huge warehouses."

HMMM! This writer hopes these large warehouse distribution centers will not look to Yelm, whose City Council rolls over and hands the keys to the city to any developer. Luckily for now, we're too far off I-5 for them. Stay tuned!
With no one challenging incumbents on the Council, a local newspaper that does little investigative journalism into Council actions and a citizenry that does not participate in local government, looks like at least 2 more years of the same old thing - a Council that rubber stamps anything from Yelm's Community Development Department.

Harsh words?
Yes!
Someone needs to say them.

Superconsciousness Magazine

"Ramtha School of Enlightenment (RSE) student Jair Robles, is proud to announce the launch of the new international publication, SuperConsciousness Magazine, exploring human potential.

SuperConsciousness successfully captures the excitement of these evolving times through knowledge, information, and a continued focus on what is possible.

An introductory interview with Jair about SuperConsciousness Magazine, can be found on the Masters Connection website."

"Raised in Veracruz, Mexico, Jair is the youngest son of a successful publishing family. His father, Jose Pablo Robles, began as a reporter, moved up, and later bought the newspaper he worked for. Today, he is the owner and publisher of Llave Magazine and Imagen and Diario Del Istmo newspapers. Recently, he created the Imagen del Golfo news agency with 150 reporters. The elder Robles also taught journalism at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Growing up in this media household, Jair participated in many family discussions about politics, news, or social issues, topics that continue to interest him.
He eventually earned a Master’s Degree in public administration from Columbia University and went on to run his father’s newspaper for three years.
During this period he contributed articles and also wrote occasionally for the magazine.
In November, 1999, Jair attended a Ramtha event in Careyes, Mexico. At the retreat, Ramtha warned against worshipping anything from the past, and specifically ancient Mayan culture. Although this was a direct affront to Jair’s tradition, the message was clear and made sense to him. Ramtha’s teachings gave him knowledge, allowing him to consider possibilities different from anything he was previously familiar with," quoting Terry Church of Super Consciousness Magazine.

Ramtha's School of Enlightenment

The Sunday Business section of The Olympian reports:

"Home and condo sales through May in Thurston County are down 6 percent compared with the same period last year but remain strong, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service home-sales data for the first five months of the year.

Still, Lacey, Hawks Prairie and Yelm continue to be popular destinations for South Sound home buyers.

The year-to-date home and condo sales data show:

• 351 units have sold in Lacey

• 125 units have sold in Hawks Prairie

• 284 units have sold in the Yelm and Rainier area

Communities such as Lacey and Yelm offer shorter commutes for military personnel stationed at Fort Lewis, and both have benefited from a wave of home construction, South Sound real-estate professionals say.

In 2006, Lacey officials issued more than 1,400 residential and multi-family building permits, and Yelm officials issued 173 residential building permits.

Yelm building official Gary Carlson said that until 2004, the city had never issued more than 100 residential building permits in a year.

Carlson said he continues to see military families move to the area, and a Yelm home still is a little cheaper than one in nearby Pierce County.

'If you can’t qualify (for a home) in Puyallup, you might be able to qualify here,' Carlson said....

At the time, Yelm was nothing more than 'several single-wide trailers' but now has plenty of commercial development and traffic, he said.

The Ramtha School of Enlightenment, which is near Yelm, also has contributed to the city’s profile, Crandell said.

'You can’t understate the impact that they have had on growth in Yelm,' he said."