Here's the consumer alert Niki Horace, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for the Better Business Bureau, posted regarding Couch's Appliance and Furnishings' sudden closure in Fife.

Many customers report that they had paid for appliances that have not been delivered.
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BUSINESS FAILS TO CLOSE OUT TRANSACTIONS BEFORE CLOSING ITS DOORS
Couch's Appliance and Furnishings Shuts Down, Without Notifying Its Customers

DuPont, WA – Oct. 13, 2009 – Tacoma/Fife Couch's Appliance and Furnishings, has gone out of business unannounced, leaving questioning customers in its trail.

Better Business Bureau serving Alaska, Oregon, and Western Washington has received notice that the company is not answering its calls or responding to its messages. Those who visit the Tacoma/Fife storefront at 5306 Pacific Hwy. South, report that the lights are on, the windows are covered in paper and plastic, and the doors are locked. All that is left is a sign that says "Closed as of 9/30/2009."

Your BBB has attempted to contact the Tacoma/Fife location by phone and in person without success. When phoning Couch's Shoreline location at 206-542-8911, they advise consumers to email terryp@vikingbank.com with any questions or comments.

The Web site, www.couchsappliance.com ">http://www.couchsappliance.com/> , now forwards to a 'under construction' message.


BBB offers the following advice on how to verify if a business has closed:
Use all methods of contact. Try calling, e-mailing, faxing, and sending certified mail to reach someone at the business.
Visit the location. Look for signs or instructions. Ask neighboring shops if they know how you could contact the owner. If the business has any affiliated locations, try reaching them. The landlord of the building, retail strip or mall may also have contact information.
Check with the Post Office. See if the company has a forwarding address.
Verify licensing. Check their registration status with the Department of Revenue or the Secretary of State.
Contact your BBB or the state Attorney General's office. They may be able to help you determine if the company has officially gone out of business.
If a business is closed and owes you merchandise or a refund, BBB offers the following suggestions:
§ If you reach someone at the business: Talk with the store's owner to find out if they will be able to provide the merchandise as promised to those who paid deposits or placed orders. Decide on an arrival date and get it in writing. If not, request a refund. If you made a payment by credit card, you may be able to protect your deposit. Contact your bank or credit card issuer to dispute the transaction and initiate a "chargeback," if the business fails to deliver the merchandise.

§ If the business is not acknowledging the issue: File a complaint with Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org and the state Attorney General's office where the business is located.

§ If the store has filed for bankruptcy: Consider filing a claim with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court where the business filed for bankruptcy. If the business is able to repay its creditors, you may be able to retain some of your money back.

§ If the store has not filed for bankruptcy: You can pursue your claim through the courts or through an attorney; however, collecting a judgment can be very expensive, challenging, and time-consuming.

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About your BBB serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington:
Your Better Business Bureau is a not-for-profit organization funded by Better Business Bureau accredited businesses. The BBB’s mission is to be the leader in advancing marketplace trust. For more information about the services and products provided by your BBB, call 206-431-2222 or 253-830-2924 in Washington, 503-212-3022 in Oregon, 907-562-0704 in Alaska, or visit our Web site at www.bbb.org .

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For years, school officials have been lamenting the state's underfunding of transportation.

Without adequate funding from the state, they say, districts must devote more and more of their local levy dollars to get kids to school.

One of their loudest charges: the state doesn't reimburse districts for transporting students whose homes or daycares lie outside a one-mile radius from school. And instead of calculating the actual route mileage, the distance is measured as a direct line from school to home or daycare. Or, in the colloquial, "as the crow flies."

Actually, says Allan Jones with the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state does provide some money to bus kids within the one-mile radius. But not much.

Jones, director of pupil transportation, says the state gives districts some funding based on the total number of kids in kindergarten through through fifth grade within the one-mile radius.

The original intent was to help districts defray the cost of transporting youngsters who faced hazardous walking conditions, even though they lived close to school.

But it's a lower rate than what the state funds for students living outside the one-mile minimum. And the districts don't have to have hazardous walking conditions to get the money. They don't even have to use the money to transport kids within that radius.

Here's how Jones explains it, and the "crow flies" business in an e-mail to The News Tribune.

=> Read more!

Pierce County is looking for help from the public as it prepares to update and expand its flood management plan for its major rivers.

“We really want this to be a good plan that addresses flood issues in a comprehensive and coordinated way,” Lorin Reinelt, project manager for Pierce County Public Works and Utilities, said in a press release Monday.

“We invite people to share their opinions through the online survey, to be part of the advisory committee, or to send us their comments. We have already seen a strong interest in working together on this.”

The plan Web site offers surveys and opportunities for the public's input on such issues as floodplain development regulations, levee maintenance, gravel removal, fish habitat, emergency response and public education.

The existing plan. written in 1991, is out of date and includes only the Puyallup River system. The new plan will include more rivers and reflect current issues, policies and priorities for managing river flooding.

River flooding affects everyone, and all Pierce County households, even those in incorporated cities, will soon receive a postcard with information about the flood plan update and how get involved.

The updated plan, according to the county, will address the range of resource and policy issues facing local jurisdictions, resource managers, tribes, property owners and businesses.

"The goal is to reduce the risk to life and property from river flooding and channel migration," Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy said in the press release announcing the plan update. "It requires striking a balance among cost-effective flood hazard management, available funding, compatible human uses, economic sustainability, and improved fish and wildlife habitat in flood-prone areas."

Residents at the Waverly Farms and Villas and Cherry Creek Apartments are through complaining about the gang-bangers who’ve been messing with what should be a safe and pleasant summer.

With the help of Safe Streets’ Darren Pen, they’ve organized.

Tonight, they’re inaugurating the push with their first National Night Out.
Their complexes are among several east of Interstate 5 and north of South 96th Street, and they have a unique problem. Though most of their neighborhood is in Tacoma, they also have an orphan slice of Lakewood, across the freeway from the rest of the city.

Their management is responsible, responsive and tight with the police, but that’s not the case in all the complexes. Some allow gang members to live and do business in the neighborhood.

Residents have had armed thugs bust into their apartments. They’ve had taggers dueling with spray-paint on their fences. And you don’t want to know what’s been going on in the greenbelt.

Now that they’ve organized, Tacoma Police Community Liaison Officer Dan Hensley is looking into their complaints of slow police response. He’s given them resource lists of all the numbers to call, and coached them on how best to report a crime.

Jim Borah of the Neighborhood Councils is helping them with information on how to get traffic circles and speed bumps.

The core group invited the neighbors, including residents of the Woodmark Apartments, or a Safe Streets meeting two weeks ago.

“This whole neighborhood is so unsavory, it’s just pathetic,” said a Woodmark resident. “We had a shoot-out up here today at 3 p.m.”

They had another last Thursday.

This National Night Out Party is serious business. Lives depend on it.

In a quiet neighborhood in University Place, residents rallied to Laura-Elizabeth Boyle and Kayce Burdge’s cause with blankets for homeless people.
Boyle, who will be a senior at Bellarmine Prep, and Burdge, who will be a senior at Wilson High School are working toward their Gold Awards, the highest honor in the Girl Scouts.

When they read that Catholic Community Services was taking over and refurbishing what is now The Tacoma Avenue Shelter, they had their project. They contacted shelter director Jim Anderson and asked where they could fit into the work.

Anderson had plans to convert an old garage into a space where volunteers could serve dinner to shelter guests.

Perfect, said the girls.

They started gathering donations of materials, notably the paint and primer given by the Center Street Home Depot.

They spent their summer weekends pressure washing the interior, priming, then painting the walls. They pulled weeds in outdoor parking area, and they prettied up the whole site. Together, they spent 130 hours and transformed a grim space into a welcoming one.

But wait, they told each other. There’s more.

As they learned about the people who need the shelter, they began collecting blankets and bedding for them. They saw National Night Out as a prime chance for a blanket drive.

They organized the event for their cul-de-sac, spamming dorways with flyers, buying burgers and dogs for 200, and inviting their neighbors to bring side dishes, salads, drinks - and new and gently-used blankets.
Their goal: 45 blankets and sheet sets, and warmth for that many people.
They aren’t done yet.

Once back at school, they’ll launch drives for toiletries, games and other necessities.

“From this experience we have borth grasped a deeper understanding of what life on the streets is like, and how we can give back to those who are less fortunate,” they said in a note they wrote together,

It's been tough finding crime-fighting activists in the neighborhoods along South Hosmer Street just north of 96th Street.

But it's an area rich in affordable housing and apartments, and community mobilizer Darren Pen has been working to bring residents into the effort to make it more secure.

That work is paying off. Local heroes have started meeting, and turned out by the dozens for the recent march against crime.

Now they're getting down to the real work of setting their priorities and figuring out how to address them. If you'd like to be part of that, ditch your plans for this evening. Instead, show up at Waverly Farms & Villa, 9314 S. Ash St. at 6:30 p.m. Representatives from law enforcement, the Tacoma City Council and code enforcement will all be there.

You may contact Pen at (253) 279-2111.

Flat Stanley may be made of paper, but he’s no ordinary paper doll in the hands of 6-year-old Connor Covel and Connor’s dad.

Connor’s Flat Stanley survived 15 combat missions in Afghanistan. He made bombs for demolition exercises, and rode an Army helicopter and a C-17 transport. He won a Bronze Star – and Connor has the photos to prove it.

Not bad for a piece of paper.

Flat Stanley is the fictional character in the 1964 book by the same name that has inspired thousands of kids to learn about geography and life in other parts of the world.

In the book, Stanley is accidentally flattened when a bulletin board hanging above his bed falls on him. The boy survives, but is so flat he can slide under doors and be mailed to friends.

Grade school teachers often assign students to read the book and make their own Flat Stanley to send to far-off places. The hope is that the acquaintances will snap a photo of Flat Stanley and send it back to the youngster.

Connor crafted his Flat Stanley in Kathryn Cassel's first grade class at Carter Lake Elementary School on McChord Air Force Base in the spring. He sent Stanley to his dad who was deployed to Afghanistan at the time.

Connor’s dad laminated Flat Stanley and brought him along on missions, snapping dozens of photos of the paper boy.

He included the best shots in a scrapbook he assembled for Connor. After he returned from his deployment in May, he visited his son's class to help Connor present Stanley’s adventures.

“I liked the pictures and the words,” Connor said of the scrapbook. “There’s pictures of Flat Stanley doing things in Afghanistan, like riding in a helicopter and driving four-wheelers.”

During the stay, Flat Stanley grew a beard and got combat gear. Check out Flat Stanley's helmet and night vision goggles in this photo of Connor from the Clover Park School District web site.

“Dad drew them,” Conner explained.

“I thought it was a really cool, cool idea (for Stanley) to experience all these different things,” Earl Covel said.

“Connor doesn’t have the opportunity to see a lot of the things I do and see on a daily basis. I wanted to give a him a keepsake that he can show his kids some day. All the guys I work with enjoyed it and thought it was a lot of fun, too.”

This coming weekend is the second of three fee-free weekends for visitors to Mount Rainier National Park.

All park entrance fees, including commercial tour entrance fees, will be waived Saturday and Sunday.

The fee-free weekend applies to all national parks.

In addition to supporting affordable vacations for families, the free weekend is aimed at giving small shot in the arm to businesses in the area. Mount Rainier National Park tourism dollars contributed $50.7 million into the local economy last year, according to park officials.

This summer’s high number of park visitors combined with spectacular weekend weather has led to significant parking problems in the Paradise and Longmire areas, according to Mount Rainier National Park Acting Superintendent Randy King.

The result, he said, is frustration for drivers and safety hazards along the roadway as drivers attempt to park cars on narrow roads.
King said he strongly encourages visitors to use the free shuttle bus that operates between Longmire and Paradise on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Visitors can board the bus at the historic Longmire Gas Station and makes stops at Cougar Rock and Narada Falls on the uphill run, and at Comet Falls and Cougar Rock on the downhill run.

On Saturdays and Sunday only, visitors can board the bus in Ashford at Whittaker Mountaineering and connect with the Paradise Shuttle in Longmire.

Since parking at Paradise is very limited this summer due to
construction work on the lower parking area adjacent to the old Jackson
Visitor Center, an additional shuttle will transport visitors to and from the Paradise Valley Road, where there is overflow parking.

For shuttle schedules and other park information, check the park’s Web page at www.nps.gov/mora.

The Tapps Island Association advised all of its water customers Friday to boil their drinking water after samples showed the presence of coliform bacteria.

Trace amounts of E.coli bacteria were detected in the water system on Tuesday, according to the association’s Web site. Retesting on Friday showed that coliform was present but did not disclose any trace of E.coli.

The association supplies treated well water to about 535 homes on the island and 10 homes off the island, said Don Lisko, interim general manager.

The association’s customers should use treated bottled water, or boil any water that might be consumed. That includes water for drinking, brushing teeth, dishwashing, preparing food, and making ice. Water should be brought to a rolling boil for one minute, and then be allowed to cool before use.

The Tapps Island Association is working closely with the Washington State Department of Health’s Office of Drinking Water to find the source of contamination and fix the problem, according to a Department of Health news release.

The water system at Lake Tapps is separate from but near the Bonney Lake water system.

Disinfecting the Tapps Island water system may be required. The boil-water advisory is in effect until further notice, the health department said Friday.

The association’s Web site warned the bacteria can make people sick and are a particular concern for those with weakened immune systems.

No illnesses related to the Tapps Island drinking water have been reported. The association is inspecting all of its water facilities to find the source of contamination.

Lisko said chlorine is being applied to the entire water system today and will be flushed out Sunday.

“Any time you have a situation like this you take it seriously,” Lisko said. “I’m hoping by Monday or Tuesday we’ll be back to normal.”

Notices of the boil-water advisory were hand-delivered to all of the system’s customers Friday night, Lisko said.

For more information, visit www.tapps-island.org or call Lisko at 253-266-2053.

A memorial service to commemorate the one year anniversary of the death of East Pierce Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Dan Packer while fighting a California wildfire will be July 26 in Bonney Lake.

City of Bonney Lake Mayor Neil Johnson will dedicate a newly constructed pond, water fountain and bench in front of the East Pierce Fire & Rescue headquarters station, 18421 Old Buckley Hwy.

The Chief Dan Packer Walk of Honor also will be dedicated during the 3 p.m. ceremony. The Walk of Honor will pay tribute to firefighters, emergency services personnel and citizens who have volunteered their time and service to the community.

The public is invited to attend the memorial and refreshments will be provided.

Packer died July 26, 2008. He had been deployed to the Panther Fire south of Happy Camp in Siskiyou County in northern California to assume a supervisory position in the firefighting effort. Packer was a member of a Washington State-based incident management team and was deployed to major incidents, most frequently large wildland fires.

Guests are encouraged to park at Pierce Transit’s Park & Ride facility located at 184th Ave East and Sky Island Drive East in Bonney Lake. A free shuttle to and from the fire station will be provided.

The public is welcome to celebrate Chief Packer’s life by contributing stories, memories and photographs at www.mem.com. Insert Packer’s name in the search box.