Earlier this month, the Key Peninsula got its first Blue Star Memorial Marker.

It was first unveiled at the Bay Shore Garden Club's 60th anniversary celebration, in which the group dedicated a memorial garden at the Longbranch Fire Department.

Here is an e-mail Cheryl Ozbirn sent to The News Tribune on June 15 (She also sent us this picture of the memorial to the right):

=> Read more!

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray will stop in Gig Harbor tomorrow to discuss the national shortage of nurses.

Her office sent out a press release if you want to attend:

Sen. Murray will hold a news conference at St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor to bring further attention to the local and national shortage of nurses and other critical health care workers.

She will also discuss her efforts to include federal funding in national health care reform legislation that will address workforce issues of tomorrow. As access to health care is broadened through national health care reform, even more nurses and other health care workers will be needed locally and across the nation in the future.

=> Read more!

The body of Lt. Brian Bradshaw, 24, of Steilacoom, who died June 18 in in Kheyl, Afghanistan, will come home Wednesday to Fort Lewis.
Paul Bradshaw said his son will be flown to Gray Army Air Field from Dover Air Force Base. His parents flew to the air base to be there when their son was returned to the United States.
A funeral service is scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m. at St. John Bosco Catholic Church, 10508 112th St. SW, in Lakewood. There will be a reception at the church and burial will follow later in the afternoon at Tahoma National Cemetery. The public is invited.
Bradshaw was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division in Fort Richardson, Alaska.
He died when an improvised bomb went off near him.
His unit deployed in stages to Afghanistan beginning in February and Bradshaw arrived in March.
Bradshaw is the first Pierce County service member to die in Afghanistan in more than a year. The last local casualty of that war, Marine Sgt. Michael Washington of Tacoma, was killed in a bombing of his vehicle on June 14, 2008.
The New Tacoma Cemetery and Funeral Home in University Place is handling funeral arrangements.
Mike Archbold: The News Tribune

Good news, dog owners who’ve wanted an off-leash area in University Place. Your wait is over.

On Thursday, Pierce County will set aside a temporary, one-acre area next to Chambers Bay Golf Course for canines to roam free.

The grand opening is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday at the Central Meadow area along the Soundview Trail. The area will be fenced off, and owners will be required to pick up after their animals.

But the park is only temporary, and won’t be around come 2015, based on a contract between the county and University Place. The county has identified three areas in the Chambers Creek Properties master plan for off-leash dog areas.

The county will dedicate an off-leash area when a pedestrian overpass in the property’s North Beach area opens late next year. A six-acre, off-leash area on the south side of the property, the largest and most-anticipated of future off-leash areas, won't be completed for another five years.

The SUNDogs group (Safe, Unleashed, Natural Dogs), which partnered with Pierce County and University Place to open the temporary park, said local dog owners couldn’t wait another five years.

The group raised $12,000 to prepare the site and help monitor the interior of the fenced area.

Thursday’s grand opening will feature informational displays for Chambers Creek Properties, SUNDogs, University Place animal control and the Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County.
For more information or to donate money for the temporary park, visit www.updogpark.org.

Governor Chris Gregoire has directed that flags at all Washington State agency facilities be lowered to half-staff Wednesday in memory of U. S. Army First Lieutenant Brian N. Bradshaw, 24, of Steilacoom, who died on June 25, in Kheyl, Afghanistan.
He died from injuries sustained from the detonation of an improvised explosive device.
Flags should remain at half-staff until close of business on Wednesday, or first thing Thursday morning. Other government entities, citizens and businesses are encouraged to join this recognition, according to the Governor's Office.

For Lenny Shearer, Orting’s Wild Rose Quilt Shop was the 22nd quilt shop she’d visited in two days.

She and her husband stopped there Thursday as part of a four-day “Quilt Shop Hop,” which is taking place at 57 shops in Western Washington through Sunday.

Upon entering the Orting city limits, Shearer and other quilters were greeted by a sign saying, “Welcome Shop Hoppers.”

Shearer, who lives in Lynnwood, said the event is a great way for quilters to find new materials and see different shops.

“That’s what makes it exciting, when you see the different designs at each shop,” said Shearer, 59.

About 2,500 quilters participate in the Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop every year, said Stephanie Pratt, who is coordinating the event throughout the region.

Local businesses get a boost from extra visitors, Pratt said, while quilters get to visit new shops and see different fabric offerings. Each shop gives away special fabrics produced especially for the event, along with kits to create a unique quilt block.

“It’s just an event to build interest and get people out to see what new fabrics are out there,” Pratt said. “It’s kind of this huge hidden industry you don’t think about.”

=> Read more!

(The following entry is also posted on TNT's Political Buzz blog).

Tacoma schools Superintendent Art Jarvis didn’t give the Tacoma School Board a chance to offer him a raise Thursday night.

Just days after board members gave him a positive performance evaluation, Jarvis made it clear he wasn’t interested in a salary increase.

The one-year superintendent, who previously served a year as interim Tacoma school chief, is one of several public officials who have turned down raises during the economic recession.

Jarvis noted at the start of this week’s school board meeting that Tacoma principals had forgone salary increases earlier in the year out of concern for the district’s tight budget. He said he’d like to do the same.

“It would be in all fairness to the other employees that have agreed to help us out,” Jarvis said. “I would not like to violate that.”

=> Read more!

Old Town in Tacoma is a lot older than it looks. The original location of the city before New Tacoma was formed by the railroad, it has some of the oldest houses in town and several key commercial buildings along N. 30th Street.

But the neighborhood doesn't really appear that old, at least it didn't until work crews scrapped off the pavement as part of a repaving project last week. Underneath was a beautiful brick roadway from curb to curb. Not many people saw it before it was covered again with a new surface.

Our Jonathan Nesvig – professional copy editor and amateur photographer – happened by and caught this view. Anybody else wish they'd left it like this?

Four animal welfare groups are re-running a program aimed at encouraging responsible pit bull ownership, and discouraging the dogs' overpopulation and exploitation.

The Responsi-Bull Project will offer free pit bull spaying and neutering, classes on owning the dogs, and obedience classes.

"Despite their top-rated temperaments or their once-respected status, pit bulls have become the breed of choice for many irresponsible people, and consequently are flooding animal shelters," said Andrea Logan, one of the project coordinators. "An estimated one-third of dogs entering our shelters are pit bulls or pit bull mixes, and 90 percent of those dogs will not find a home."

Here's what the project offers:

=> Read more!

Opponents of the way Sound Transit plans to run Sounder rail tracks from the Tacoma Dome to South Tacoma have started a blog called Do It Right Tacoma.

Here's how they state their position: "Sound Transit is planning to build a rail line through Tacoma and their current plans are NOT GOOD for the future growth of Tacoma. We're very concerned that the plans affect future economic development, damage critical environmental areas, and will greatly affect quality of life and recreation needs of the area."

Here is a link to the blog.

Just got an e-mail from the City of Gig Harbor that says Mayor Chuck Hunter will lead a cleanup party Thursday at Jerisich Dock.

Spokeswoman Laureen Lund writes:

Jerisich doesn’t necessarily have a “history” but is definitely a very popular and well used dock and park so of course generates trash. At low tide you can see things stuck to the bottom that just are not supposed to be there!

This is Hunter's first cleanup party. He got the idea after noticing trash on the beach while standing on the dock, Laureen said.

The cleanup takes place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The city is encouraging residents to attend and help.

Doris Jairala has been a faithful bus rider the past five years, taking the 53 route a few times a week to get to her housekeeping jobs.

Driving isn't an option for the 62-year-old University Place resident. She suffers from seizures and isn't allowed to get behind the wheel.

(To the left: Doris Jairala, of University Place, rides the Number 53 bus to her job as a housekeeper last month. The route will be eliminated in July as Pierce Transit reduces less-used routes such as hers. Joe Barrentine/The News Tribune)

So that means for her job, she hops on the bus to Lakewood, Steilacoom, UP and any other community in which her work takes her.

But she will be one of the thousands of riders who will have to find a new bus beginning July 12. Pierce Transit, squeezed by the economic downturn, opted to eliminate or reduce service on routes throughout the county that don't have a high ridership.

=> Read more!

Residents of the Far East Side are beautifying and stabilizing the area, and they're looking for new neighbors with the energy and vision to jump in on the fun.

They're urging prospective home buyers to come to the East Tacoma Home Buyer's Fair and Tour of Homes Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It's a two-part event, with a resource fair at the Portland Avenue Center, 3513 Portland Ave., and a tour of move-in-ready homes nearby.

At the fair, reputable experts will be on hand to discuss zero-down financing, down payment assistance programs, FHA and rehab loans. They'll have information on credit repair, budgeting, and the difference between an appraisal and a home inspection. They'll showcase the homes that will be for sale in the next phase of construction at New Salishan.

They'll also introduce the community leaders who are revitalizing the neighborhood around what was once called T-Street Gulch. It's First Creek now, and it's a hotbed of activism and optimism.

On the tour, agents will show off homes in the $100,000 to $250,000 range. Some are bank-owned, some are new, and all are ready for buyers.

Organizers and supporters include the Women's Council of Realtors and Tacoma/Pierce County Association of Realtors, Tacoma Housing Authority, Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Tacoma Public Utilities, United Way of Tacoma/Pierce County, Tacoma/Pierce County Asset Building Coalition, HomeSight, and the Federal Reserve Bank.

For information, call Edwina Magrum at (253) 474-7083, or e-mail her at emmag@harbornet.com.

The Puyallup Tribe is sponsoring the event organized by the City of Tacoma Safe and Clean Team, Improving Livability through Home Ownership.
support from an A-team of sponsors and participants.

People arrested and jailed for misdemeanor crimes in Lakewood might have noticed that they're being bused between their cells and the courtroom.

On June 8, Lakewood began transporting its misdemeanor arrests from the Pierce County Jail to Lakewood Municipal Court.

Those inmates are brought in through a secured area, accompanied by two of Lakewood's finest. People in the courtroom are screened, just like at the County-City Building.

Kathy Westerdahl, Lakewood's director of court services, said the change won't save the department money. (Any savings is offset by transportation costs)

=> Read more!

Following the Black Water Cafe's seemingly abrupt closure last week, I finally got around to wandering off my beat a bit and seeing if there were any court filings that might shed some light on the death of the beloved caffeinating hole.

I found a law suit filed in December that starts to explicate a dispute in which Black Water was embroiled one side with its landlord and on the other side with its investors.

Investors Douglas Knudson and his wife Marilyn Ryan are suing Black Water and proprietor Rachel Moreshead for $44,000.

According to their complaint: they had previously invested money, then had a dispute, then settled their dispute with written agreement.

Under the agreement, Black Water had to make timely payments to the investors and to its landlord, keep business assets fully insured and keep the business solvent.

"Black Water Cafe, Inc. and Ms. Moreshead have had a history of missed or late payments, failure to keep insurance in effect and other failures to comply with the agreement," the complaint states. (Moreshead disputes many of the claims made against her in her answer to the complaint.)

=> Read more!

For millennia camels have ferried people across the Sahara Desert, carried goods between the oasis towns of Arabia and been the lifeline of nomads living in the Sahel.

But after Brandyn Fouts climbed off the back of Mojave, a 6-year-old dromedary, he echoed one of the reasons the camel hasn’t caught on as North America’s choice beast of burden.

"The hump is not a comfortable seat," he said Saturday.

The 11-year-old Port Orchard boy was one of the first customers to ride Mojave on the first day of Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium camel exhibit. He climbed aboard the sand-colored animal and giggled as a zoo employee led the camel across a patch of woodchips.

Mojave is one of three camels on which zoo customers can ride; Point Defiance is the first zoo in the Northwest to offer such an attraction. The rides will be offered throughout the summer and likely on weekends through September, said Derek Chapin, a visitor services supervisor with the zoo.

Each ride lasts a few minutes and costs $5; three people can ride at once.

"I didn’t know what riding a camel would be like," said 10-year-old Oliver Corcoran of Mercer Island, who rode with two of his friends, Mitchell Meade of Mercer Island and Aksel Hansen of Issaquah. "It was a lot of fun. Camels are cool."

=> Read more!

A proposal to end school-versus-school sports competition among Puyallup junior high schools appears dead, at least for next school year.

A news item on the Puyallup School District Web site says the district found $80,000 in savings elsewhere in the 2009-10 district budget, which will allow seventh- and eighth-grade interscholastic competition to remain.

The plan is subject to approval by the coaches' association and the School Board.

Meanwhile, the district will launch a comprehensive review of all the district's secondary athletic programs next year.

Earlier this year, the district proposed making junior high sports "intramural," meaning schools would have athletics but students would compete against teams within their own school.

The proposal drew loud complaints from parents and community members, who said competing against other schools was a big part of athletics.

To read the Puyallup District Web news item, click here.

The future of Tacoma’s Freedom Fair Independence Day celebration will depend on whether a public accustomed to free admission is willing to chip in to cover its expenses, organizers say.

The Tacoma Events Commission, a nonprofit group that has organized the July 4 celebration for 30 years, announced today it will charge admission of $5 per adult, $1 per child and $10 per family for the event on Ruston Way.

Doug Miller, the group’s executive director, said the fee is voluntary and no one will be turned away.

But Miller said the group needs to raise $75,000 from admission charges to break even. If it doesn’t, this could be the last year for one of the nation’s premiere Fourth of July celebrations.

“If the public doesn’t realize the urgency and respect the value of this event (and) contribute at the level we’re asking for, I don’t see how we’re going to be able to continue beyond this Fourth of July,” Miller said.

Freedom Fair typically draws 100,000 people to Ruston Way for an air show, car show, musical acts, fireworks and other festivities The event has been called one of the best events of its kind in the nation by numerous publications.

Miller said Freedom Fair costs about $1 million annually, though about $800,000 of the cost is covered by time, equipment and other resources donated by organizations like the U.S. military and local medial outlets, plus hundreds of individual volunteers.

Business sponsorships and vendor fees cover most of the remaining expenses, which include everything from fireworks to rent and insurance. This year those cash costs will be about $250,000, Miller said.

=> Read more!

Another sign of the times: For the first time, Tacoma's beloved Fourth of July event, The Freedom Fair, will ask fairgoers for voluntary admission donations this year. In a press release, event organizers blamed rising costs and lower revenues for the move. "A troubled economy has resulted in fewer sponsorships, donations, and volunteers for local events in 2009," the release says.

The festival is asking families for a $10 donation or $5 per adult and $1 per child. Tacoma Events Commission Executive Director Doug Miller notes that's an excellent value for an event that includes live music, an air show and a fireworks display, among other things.

"Survival and growth of the event will come down to the willingness of the public to contribute a voluntary admission fee at the event entrances," the press release states.

More details in the full press release below:

The Tacoma Events Commission, a nonprofit organization of community volunteers that for 30 years has presented the 4th of July celebration on Ruston Way, is seeking help. Rising costs and lower revenues are making admission changes necessary.

=> Read more!

UPDATE: Postal Service spokesman Ernie Swanson left a message on my voicemail today confirming what Loveless said. Steilacoom's four mail carriers are moving to Lakewood, but post office boxes and the retail window are staying.

We received an e-mail last week from a Steilacoom resident who said she spoke with her mail carrier. The e-mailer learned that the carrier would now be working out of Lakewood, and she thought that Washington's oldest town would lose its only U.S. Postal Service branch as well.

I haven't been able to touch base with the postal service, however Steilacoom Town Administrator Paul Loveless said the Post Office isn't leaving.

Loveless said he spoke with Tacoma Postmaster Robert Galtrude, who assured him the Post Office's retail presence on Lafayette Street will not change.

The only change is carriers will no longer work out of the Steilacoom branch. They'll be based out of Lakewood. The move is a cost-savings measure for the Postal Service, which may face a deficit of more than $6 billion this year.

Residents won't notice a change in service, Loveless said.

University Place won't demolish the aging but historic house at the Curran Apple Orchard after all.

Instead, a volunteer group of history and architecture enthusiasts will work to raise money to convert the 1950s-era building into a museum.

After almost a year of discussions, the University Place City Council voted last week not to demolish the house, which was designed by award-winning Tacoma architect Robert B. Price.

(To the right is a News Tribune photo of the house taken last year by Chris Anderson.)

Now, the Curran House Investigating and Planning Study group - CHIPS for short - will determine the cost of making the house museum-ready. They say it will be tens of thousands of dollars less than the $125,000 estimate from city staff last year.

=> Read more!

The University of Washington, Tacoma graduation Friday was overflowing with compelling stories of interesting graduates.

Back in March, for instance, 25-year-old Ben Warner began his quest to ride his long board – a long version of a skateboard – from San Diego to Savannah, Ga. Along the way, he planned to publicize the importance of after-school programs and raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound.

At commencement, a speaker announced Warner worried that he might not complete the journey in time for his UWT graduation at the Tacoma Dome. But he finished the trip and made it to graduation.

Another newly minted graduate started life in Africa. Here's his description from the UWT:

Wemba-Koy Okonda, Spanaway, and his wife fled a bloody revolution in the Democratic Republic of Congo 12 years ago to give their children a better life. Okonda worked overtime to support his eight children while attending classes at the University of Washington Tacoma. At this year’s Commencement, he graduates with a bachelor’s degree in computing and software systems.

A commencement speaker said Okonda's father and niece obtained special visas to attend the graduation.

I went to the graduation, but missed the joyous scene afterward with his family.
Jill Carnell Danseco, the UWT public information specialist, tells me that Okonda and his family danced and sang through the crowd for a good 10 minutes or so. The family also observed a custom from their homeland: sprinkling baby powder on the new graduate.

Here are great photos by Jill capturing the celebratory moments.

Photo by Jill Carnell Danseco, UWT

=> Read more!

Need help with the transition to digital TV?
Today was the deadline for television stations to switch from analog to digital TV. For those antennas to grab a free TV signal, a digital converter box and UHF/VHF antenna are needed.
Cable users were not particularly bothered by the switch, according to Comcast and CLICK TV.
In Pierce County, help to make sure your TV works is available at Centro Latino, 1208 S. 19th St., in Tacoma. They have set up a table outside their office for people to fill out the application for a $40 coupon for the converter box and demonstrated how to hook up the converter box and antenna.
Their phone number is 253-572-7717 and help will be available there through June 30.
In South King County, residents should visit or call the Leadership Academy, 425 SW 144th St., Burien, 206-988-3760.

Rosa Morgan died Monday. She had been frail for the last several years of her life but had been able to remain at home with the help of caregivers until shortly before she died.

Rosa was part of a partnership with her husband Murray – one of those teams where the names were rarely mentioned alone. It was nearly always Murray and Rosa.

According to daughter Lane Morgan, she was born two days before the end of World War I and first saw her future husband while she was playing the violin at age 14 in the Universalist Church in Tacoma. Murray was the young son of the minister and they married six years later in 1939. For a honeymoon, they went to Europe and kayaked down the Danube River.

It was her first time east of the Cascade Mountains and must have been a magical journey – until they were detained briefly in Romania after Germany invaded Poland. The authorities thought they were spies.

Rosa helped Murray research his books on history and culture and was his essential editor. She sometimes sat in on his graduate courses at Columbia so he could work three jobs. She studied photography under Man Ray in New York and once photographed Diego Rivera from his scaffold while she and Murray lived in Mexico.

Their homes on Trout Lake and Harstene Island were centers of conversation and debate for many dinner guests over many years.

Murray died in 2000.

Rosa later received a degree in English from the University of Washington and was a reference librarian at Pacific Lutheran University. She was active in Democratic politics, the peace movement and the League of Women Voters. She insisted on voting for Barack Obama – in person at the polls – last November.

Lane encourages those who want to share stories about Rosa to visit the website of the funeral home.

Metro Parks Tacoma is inviting neighbors and fans of McKinley Park to a grand-reopening party this Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m.

The park has been a mainstay of the neighborhood for more than a century and recently got a shot in the arm with $1.7 million in bond improvement funds.

Projects included a sidewalk promenade, a new plaza and restrooms and skateboard features. The district had to remove some of the park's older trees, but planted nearly 100 new ones.

Here's more on the park features, from Anne Winters at the Park District:

Friends of McKinley Park, led by neighbors Patrick O'Neil and Darryl Scroggins, were a key group in that important early design work. During that process, residents identified safety improvements and preservation of the park's naturalized areas among their highest priorities.

To enhance safety by increasing visibility and accessibility of the park’s walkway, the community selected the design plan which included raising the sidewalk to create a street grade promenade. This work required significant regrading work and removal of some of the park's mature trees. Several of them had been previously identified by our urban forester on a watch list as needing replacement. Nearly 90 specimen trees were replanted as part of the of the improvement project, providing future generations with a rich biodiversity of healthy trees to enjoy. The vast naturalized area of the park remains forested and was untouched by the work done in the formal area of the park.

The promenade includes a small new plaza and restroom facilities located near the expanded playground, creating really nice gathering spaces for the community, overlooking the Tacoma Dome and downtown.

Sunday's event will include live music from the Joe Baque Trio, community booths and facepainting for the kids. The park is at 907 Upper Park St.

The Puyallup Tribe won't participate in policy discussions organized by the newly formed Pierce County River Revitalization Task Force, tribal officials said in a letter Thursday.

The task force of one citizen and three city council members -- one each from Sumner, Orting and Puyallup -- invited tribal officials to participate in a policy summit July 8 to discuss flooding issues throughout Pierce County.

But tribal officials wrote the group June 4 and said they don't want to undermine the work of the Lower Puyallup River Executive Task Force by taking part in the new task force.

The letter also criticized the Pierce County River Revitalization Task Force's apparent focus on sediment removal -- or dredging -- as a solution to flooding problems.

"While dredging may, arguably, provide for a short term temporary solution in select areas, as we have discussed in the larger task force, dredging will not provide a long term solution due to the sediment loads naturally occurring within the watershed," wrote Puyallup Tribe Vice Chairman Henry John.

John also asked the group to stop what it's doing, saying the presence of too many flooding task forces in Pierce County could deter federal funding for solutions.

"The Tribe would like to ask the 'Revitalization Task Force' to reconsider attempting to forge ahead alone on a short sighted path that may limit the chance that a true comprehensive solution be reached," John wrote. "The Tribe is concerned that the true solution can never be realistically reached without federal funding support, and such support will not be forthcoming if we are divided among ourselves."

Puyallup officials are still considering a November ballot measure that would ask citizens how they want to elect their city council members in the future.

The Puyallup City Council is moving forward with a proposed ballot item asking whether city council members should represent certain geographic districts of town, or be elected by all Puyallup residents and and represent the entire city.

The council now consists of six members elected by three distinct council districts, and one at-large member who is elected citywide. The proposed ballot measure would make all seven council positions at-large.

Council members directed staff Tuesday to prepare a resolution to put the at-large measure on the ballot. Council members will still have to approve the resolution at an upcoming meeting for it for it to move forward.

Officials must submit the ballot measure to the Pierce County Auditor's Office by August 11 for it to make appear on the ballot Nov. 3.

Also in Puyallup news Tuesday, Standard and Poor's Rating Agency upgraded the city's credit rating from A+ to AA-.

City officials said the rating reflects their efforts to maintain a reserve fund of 12 percent and save money throughout 2008.

The result: the city will get lower interest rates on future councilmatic bonds, saving taxpayer money, City Manager Gary McLean said.

I spent the day at the Puyallup Fair Grounds yesterday meeting people and watching the dog show. I put this together to try and convey a better feel for what it was like there. About 3,500 dogs and their owners packed the building for the two-day event to show off and catch up with the organizers and competition.

You can read Brian Everstine's story here.

After a week of unseasonably hot weather, this morning was cool and overcast in University Place, with just enough drizzle to remind you this is the Northwest, not South Florida.

In other words, it was perfect weather for ducks.

And ducks were everywhere today in University Place, which celebrated its 10th annual Duck Daze with a parade, a fire department open house and other festivities.

There were duck hats and duck visors. There were stuffed toy ducks and duck umbrellas. There were even duck mittens.

“I’ve got a bag of these things,” said Ray Dotson as he entertained children along the parade route with his mittens. “They go on sale after Easter.”

The parade along Bridgeport Way had all the usual elements: Boy Scouts, classic cars, horses and politicians scattering candy along the road for tots to scoop up.

At the city’s public safety building, firefighters showed off their shiny red engines to eager youngsters. Four-year-old Jessiah Jameson brought a book about fire trucks and leafed through it with firefighter Mark Oster. Jessiah, accompanied by mom Erin Jameson, couldn’t contain his enthusiasm for all things fire truck.

“Another fire truck!” he exclaimed as he surveyed his surroundings.

Nearby, dozens of vendors sold crafts, jewelry and other assorted wares. And families munched on hot dogs, potato chips and cake at the fire station.

But it was the ducks that set this festival apart.

Dixie Harris – sporting assorted duck paraphernalia today – helped found the first Duck Daze a decade ago. She saw a chance to bring University Place residents together to celebrate the end of the rainy season.

So why ducks?

“We just decided on ducks,” Harris said. “Everybody likes ducks.”

Safe Street's Darren Pen has sent out the alert on a tagging emergency.

Last week, he led a team of cops and residents to the retaining wall along the stretch of State Route 7 between Interstate 5 and McKinley Avenue.

They painted over the gang tagging that had accumulated over the last layer of community paint-over applied a month earlier. The gangs had gotten wise. Instead of using spray paint, they used rollers to super-size their vandalism.

They were back at it again this week. The whole shebang needs another coat of legal paint.

Darren invites anyone to grab a paint roller, take the SR 7 exit eastbound and catch the group at 7 p.m.
They

Mount Rainier National Park sent out the following press release on summer job opportunities this summer for teacher.

Mount Rainier National Park is still accepting applications for both full-time and part-time Teacher-Ranger-Teacher (TRT) employment opportunities this summer in two different operations, in Interpretation and with the Education Program.

We still have spaces in this summer’s program due to receiving increased funding support.

TRTs earn $60/day, free clock hours, and get to wear the National Park Service uniform! This year, TRTs will also have the opportunity to make a podcast of their summer experience to share with their students next school year.

Interpretation TRT positions include opportunities to work in the park’s visitor centers and conduct programs such as guided walks, Junior Ranger Programs, evening programs, and others to facilitate opportunities for park visitors to learn about and make connections with park resources.

Education TRT positions for middle and high school humanities and social sciences teachers include working with science TRTs and park Education Staff, developing and reviewing interdisciplinary curriculum materials for the Mount Rainier-Mount Fuji Sister Mountain Curriculum Project and assisting with summer teacher workshops.

Spaces are still available in the June 27-30th Sister Mountain Curriculum Review Workshop for middle and high school teachers. The purpose of this workshop is to solicit teacher input and feedback on current and future lesson plans being developed for the interdisciplinary Mount Rainier-Mount Fuji Sister Mountain Curriculum Project. Participating teachers will receive copies of the draft curriculum materials to pilot test with their students. This workshop has met minimum enrollment requirements and will definitely be held. There will be a two quarter graduate level credit option available for this workshop for $80.

Free Washington State Clock Hours are available for all of the above teacher workshops and TRT Program. There are no additional registration fees for workshops. Free tent camping is available in the meadow behind the Education Center for workshop participants.

Teacher-Ranger-Teacher Applications, Workshop Registration Forms, and additional information are available on the park’s Education Program website at www.nps.gov/mora/forteachers/profdevelopment.htm. For questions, please contact Education Program Manager Anne Doherty-Stephan at 360-569-6039 or via email Anne_Doherty@nps.gov.

The City of Puyallup is one of nine Washington jurisdictions to be honored this year with a "Smart Communities" award.

The awards, announced today by Gov. Chris Gregoire's office, celebrate cities and counties that succeed at creating "livable communities" and complying with the state Growth Management Act (the anti-sprawl law).

Puyallup is the only Pierce County city to receive an award. The award specifically celebrates Puyallup's Civic Center project.

Puyallup completed a new city hall building in August 2008, the latest in a series of building projects surrounding Pioneer Park in the heart of downtown.

Read on to see the full press release from the governor's office.

=> Read more!

Tacoma residents are encouraged to join one of several neighborhood clean-up efforts this Saturday as part of the first annual Tacoma Clean Sweep. Here is the city's press release:

Tacoma Clean Sweep hits the streets, June 6

In an effort to make Tacoma more clean, safe and attractive, the City is sponsoring its first ever Tacoma Clean Sweep event on June 6, 2009. The clean sweep event is an opportunity for r community to come together and take pride in Tacoma’s neighborhoods through cleanups, graffiti removal and open space cleanups.

Five locations were selected for the cleanup event by using City crime, nuisance, overgrowth, and graffiti data, together with information on community and open space cleanups that have occurred since January 2009. All events, with the exception of the PAK/YAK neighborhood cleanup, will take place from 9 a.m. to noon:

• Central District Neighborhood Cleanup (6th Avenue to South 12th Street, Sprague Street to Orchard Street)
• PAC/YAK Neighborhood Cleanup (Pacific Avenue to Yakima Avenue, South 64th to South 72nd streets) 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Open Space Cleanup at Garfield Gulch and Julia’s Gulch
• Graffiti Removal in Northeast Tacoma
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Property Security Evaluations (near 6th Avenue – South 8th to North 8th streets, from Steele to Alder streets)

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She stands 6 feet high, school bell in hand and keeping a watchful eye on her students.

But the bronze statue of pioneering schoolteacher Chloe Clark doesn’t overlook an untouched prairie or a backdrop of Evergreen trees, scenes she might have seen when she first started teaching at Fort Nisqually (now DuPont) in 1840 at a mission school. She was the first school teacher to arrive in the South Sound, historians say.

(To the right is a picture of Chloe Clark. It isn't the bronze statue, but it gives an idea of what it looks like. Key Peninsula sculptor John Jewell produced the real one)

Instead, Clark's statue overlooks buildings and asphalt near the Bronze Works foundry in Tacoma. The group of history enthusiasts who raised $86,000 for the statue's creation is ecstatic that it's complete.

But they'll have to wait until 2010 for the statue's installation at Chloe Clark Elementary School in DuPont. The Steilacoom Historical School District must perform about $100,000 worth of landscape improvements, including clearing trees and readying the area for a pedestal for the statue.

"Are we disappointed? I think so," said Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Hemphill, chairman of the Chloe Clark Memorial Committee. "But it is a lot of work."

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