Comments have been posted to the Nisqually Valley News (NVN) story:
"Yelm hikes water hookups 235 percent"
saying

1. whatnext wrote on Aug 30, 2010 6:11 AM:

"So tired of Yelm and how it makes it's residence pick up their slack.
First it was irrigation cutbacks and then fines for going over set water allotments.
In one month Of July our development here in yelm even after changing all the irrigation heads to low flow we used up half our allotment forcing us to shut off the water in fear we would have to pay serious penalties.
I dont think I will be buying my next home in Yelm.
P.S. We need another coffee place in Yelm like we need a mexican restaurant! "

2. m1987 wrote on Aug 31, 2010 8:12 AM:
" Yelm is getting even more ridiculous than its ever been!"

QUESTION:
Why is a whole new water system being built 2 miles from the current water system and on the backs of Yelm's water rate payers?

Why was this question NEVER raised in the NVN's story about the 235% water connection fee increase? Afterall, they have the Water System Plan (WSP) and can see all of these facts for themselves.

Where is the desire to do the right thing on the part of Yelm's leaders?

Posted by Steve at 6:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

BLUE WATERS ACUPUNCTURE CENTER

GRAND OPENING - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
2:00 noon to 1:30 pm

"Chinese Medicine includes numerous time tested methods many proven via continuous use for over 1000 years, to help restore balance and harmony to your life. To assist us in enhancing your health and well being and to help you to recover from illness we may recommend Acupuncture, and in addition we may recommend Chinese Herbal Formulas to continue the balancing process after you leave our office. We may also recommend several other forms of therapy to extend your treatment between visits. Come see what this form of alternative medicine can do for you. It is natural, safe, holistic and effective."

Dr. Michael E. Carruth, MD, LAc told the Yelm Community Blog:

"I am truly excited to be newly opened in Yelm, WA as of May 8th 2010. I have always been a small town type of person and for me Yelm provides just that. I am honored and pleased to be able to serve the citizens of Yelm and of the surrounding communities.
I personally have found Yelm to be a dynamic mix of friendly, open, genuinely caring individuals with a good sense of humor.
For me, Yelm has just the right blend of features I was looking for in locating to a small town. I am also quite aware of the west coast’s open mindedness to complimentary and alternative medicine."

Blue Waters Acupuncture Center
211 Yelm Ave. West, adjacent to Yelm National Auto Parts.
(parking in rear of building)
Yelm, WA 98597
Phone: (360) 790-5625
info@bluewatersacupuncturecenter.com

TELL BLUE WATERS ACUPUNCTURE CENTER YOU READ ABOUT THEM ON THE YELM COMMUNITY BLOG.

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Flames return to lands forged by fire
Environment: Controlled burns planned for 200 acres of prairie land this fall

The Olympian's John Dodge reported recently,
"The Nature Conservancy, working with state and local agencies and fire districts, plans to set about 10 fires totaling 200 acres late this summer and fall on the prairies of South Sound...

It’s part of a continuing effort that began in 2001 to use a centuries-old tool – fire – to restore fire-dependent prairie landscapes on public and conservancy-owned land in south Thurston County."

Unseasonable rain forecast for W. Washington
"The National Weather Service forecasts about one inch of rain Tuesday in much of Western Washington as an unseasonable wet and windy system moves through the Northwest," quoting the AP in The Olympian.

Posted by Steve at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Alan Zibel reports for the AP on MSNBC:

New home sales hit slowest pace on record
Unexpected 12.4 percent drop is latest sign recovery fading

"Sales of new homes dropped sharply last month to the slowest pace on record, the latest sign that the economic recovery is fading.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday [Aug. 25] that new home sales fell 12.4 percent in July from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 276,600. That was the slowest pace on records dating back to 1963. The past three months have been the worst on record for new home sales...

Weak home sales mean fewer jobs in the construction industry, which normally powers economic recoveries. Each new home built creates, on average, the equivalent of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders."

Ed. Note: How will that translate to Yelm?
Long-time Yelm Remax agent Cynthia Schmier, who has her fingers on the pulse of Yelm real estate, gave a personal account to Yelm's City Council last Tuesday about the massive water rate increases & 235% increase for residential water hook-ups here affecting people's decisions to not rent & buy homes in Yelm's city limits, especially military on a monthly stipend.

And effective this Wednesday in Thurston County:
time of Transfer / sale inspection
Program Begins September 1, 2010

Thurston County's sewage system regulations (Article IV) were updated on May 18, 2010 to meet the minimum requirements of state law WAC 246-272A-0015. A key part of these amendments is a requirement for the evaluation of On-Site Sewage System (OSS) when the property they serve is sold or transferred. The requirement was put in place to help inventory sewage systems and identify and assure the timely repair of Failing Sewage Systems.
Application and Supporting Documents

Part of this process requires an Industry Professional, either a certified Pumper, Installer, or Monitoring Specialist, to inspect the system. The following documents must be submitted to our office either by mail or in-person along with the $170 fee.

Thurston County Public Health and Social Services Department
412 Lilly Rd. NE
Olympia, WA 98506-5132
(360) 867-2500

Posted by Steve at 6:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hopefully, we will be hearing soon from Mayor Harding on the city's plans for the future of the Yelm Library.

With a little over a year until the lease is up in the current facility, the city will have to share with the public all of their efforts to secure the library's future in Yelm, whether at the current facility in some breakthrough rental deal, the former Police Station structure or some other option.

In the meantime, this writer's wife wrote a rare Letter to the Editor to the Nisqually Valley News on the distortions of what has been written by former Nisqually Valley News reporter, most recent City of Yelm Community and Government Relations Coordinator (whose position was eliminated in 2009 during the city's cost-cutting) & Friends of the Yelm Library official Cindy Teixeira.

Yael said,
"Our library is about to shrink down considerably, as Mayor Harding has publicly stated. His comment that the library should be of a size to only serve City of Yelm residents ignores the fact that property tax-payers
outside of Yelm contribute a large percentage to fund Yelm's library.

Some serious people stepped up in a significant way long-ago & asked about the future of a public library building, years AHEAD of the ending of the 2011 lease. Cindy Teixeira's letter last week unintelligently attacked those that stepped forward...

We all want a library here."

CLICK HERE for the full text of Klein's letter, used here with permission.

Posted by Steve at 6:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Director Nancy Tribush Hillman announces the presentation of
LISTEN TO ME, an original musical revue
with musical direction by Stephen Borsuk.

LISTEN TO ME,
title song by Steven Silverstein (music) and David John Madore (lyrics), is about a group of ambitious and diverse young people who compete to win first prize in the local literary contest.....by presenting original performance pieces on the subject of the evolution of communication through the ages.

They are daunted, urged on, critiqued and inspired by a motley group of local judges, and their own personal internal grudges. No one, not even the cast, knows who the winner will be.
The show features music from Broadway's funniest and brightest hit shows.
Choreography by Patrick Wigren and Lucrecia Longshore.

This is the Inaugural debut as an outdoor live theater space for the Covered Stage at Gordon's Garden Center.

SATURDAY & SUNDAY EVENINGS AT 7:30PM.
ALL TICKETS $10
Gordon's Garden Center
508 Yelm Ave. E.

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JZ Knight
Photo Copyright © 2010 JZ Knight.
Used with permission

JZ Knight is reporting on her website,

In a broad-ranging interview with JZ Knight, MSNBC’s Cosmic Log reporter Alan Boyle writes:

“It’s been six years since “What the Bleep Do We Know!?” blended the woo-woo world of spiritual self-actualization with the woo-woo world of quantum physics — with a channeled 35,000-year-old spirit named Ramtha playing a prominent role in the documentary.

Today, JZ Knight, the 64-year-old woman who channels that 35,000-year-old spirit, is looking back at the “Bleep” and giving a lot of thought to what lies ahead.”

CLICK HERE for the MSNBC interview.

Also from Mr. Boyle’s report,
JZ Knight discusses spirit channeling, quantum physics and life after “What the Bleep Do We Know!?” Click to watch video clips:

* The linkage between physics and personal reality
* Mind over matter? JZ Knight argues that mind is matter
* Looking beyond the ‘What the Bleep’ movie
* Making a quantum leap from the laboratory

Posted by Steve at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yelm Council member Tracey Wood questioned the Council's Agenda item Tuesday night a 3 fold + increase for new residential water connections via Ordinance No. 926, from $1,500.00 per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) to $5,036.00 per ERU.
This is wonderful & shows he is thinking.
He just need to go one step further.

Even Mayor Pro-tem Bon Isom asked City of Yelm Project and Program Manager Stephanie Ray if this kind of major increase had a cap.

Both of these concerns were wonderful, yet missed the point.
As Mrs. Ray explained, as is seen now, this increase is only because of Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) which required these kind of increases.
Why are there Capital improvement Projects (CIP) for new wells. new reservoirs, new infrastructure, new multi-miles of pipelines, new decontamination tests and other items to support a new water system 2 miles from the existing one?
DRILL BABY, DRILL.

Only because this City Council has approved all of this in their Water System Plan and is using major water rate increases to exiting customers and outrageous new connection fees on new residential hook-ups to fund to the 10's of millions of dollars for a whole new water infrastructure in the SW area (Thurston Highlands).

Doesn't that want to make you want to ask what is wrong with the existing water system?

And well-respected, local real estate agent Cynthia Schmier raised some excellent points about the water rate increases here affecting home rentals & sales. She should know, as she's been in the real estate market here for years.
Unfortunately, Mayor Harding did not get her and answered rather defensively saying his water rates for his family of 4 were only about $20 per month - the rest was for sewer.
He missed the point - the huge increases to water bills affecting his constituents HAVE been for water, raising monthly bills from $50 to $60 and up.
This lady is a bellwether of what is going on in this town & what she said should bring the Mayor and City Council to attention:
Ms. Schmier said people cannot afford to move to Yelm anymore after seeing the new residential connection fees, increased monthly water rates, increasing taxes & other city imposed sanctions and fees, especially as these affect military families on a monthly stipend.

To Mr. Woods' benefit, the Water System Plan (WSP) was first voted before he took office, though he voted for water rate increases in 2010 and to send the WSP to Health for approval.
Of course, last night he anyway went ahead & voted for the massive connection fee increase.

Hopefully, Mr. Woods will be asking more and more questions.

Posted by Steve at 5:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Weather record for today's high-temperature tied the official reading at Olympia Regional Airport with 90 degrees, set in 1982.

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From the McCrea Winery website:
"The McCrea Cellars winery is located in a lovely country setting with a stunning view of Mt. Rainier. We're a half-hour from Olympia, the State capital, and benefit from being only about an hour south of Seattle, with its many fine restaurants, markets, and cultural riches. Our lush, green maritime zone has a moderate climate with warm summers and occasional winter snow."

Rolf Boone reported for The Olympian on August 12th:

"Doug McCrea of McCrea Cellars of Rainier plans to open the Olympia Wine and Tasting Bar at noon Saturday [Aug. 14] , featuring the red and white Rhone Valley varietals that the business is known for, as well as Salida wines, a relatively new wine label for the company.

The wine-tasting bar is in the New Caldonia Building on Fifth Avenue, which also is home to the Olympia Downtown Association and the shoe store Bonaventure.

McCrea Cellars offers wine tasting by appointment at his production facility in Rainier, but the location doesn’t lend itself to visitors, he said. The new tasting room allows the business to market itself to an area outside of Seattle, potentially boosting its direct-to-consumer sales, which represent 18 percent of McCrea’s sales."

Posted by Steve at 5:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)