The project, which will widen the one-mile stretch to two lanes in each direction with a turn lane at the major intersections, was launched this year with plans to close the road to through traffic for a portion of the project. The original timeline called for the road to be reopened starting Friday.
But the construction crew is working at a hectic pace and says if the road can be closed through the end of January, they can actually finish the project eight months early, saving the City of Lacey a lot of money.
Nearby merchants and homeowners have objected, saying they can’t withstand an additional 21/2 months of road closure. While we empathize with them, it seems to us that completing this project eight months early and saving tax dollars is the right plan. It’s best to get the work done early, save construction dollars and get traffic flowing again on the brand new road project.
Thumbs Down:We sometimes forget how quickly violence can visit our workplace.
It was distressing last week when a 58-year-old former Washington Lottery employee was accused of threatening to bomb the lottery headquarters in Olympia.
Mary Ellen Skube, who worked as a fiscal analyst at Lottery from 1998 until July of this year, has been charged with a felony count of making a bomb threat.
Court papers say the phone threats to other lottery employees were made Oct. 11.
That evening, Skube was pulled over and arrested for investigation of DUI. Prosecutors say Skube said she wanted to kill Lottery Director William Hanson and had put a bomb in his office that would go off after working hours. Threats of this nature must be taken seriously.
Thumbs Up:The United Way of Thurston County has an important community assessment survey that seeks to gauge perspectives, concerns and solicit feedback about the state of Thurston County in regard to issues and conditions affecting South Sound.
United Way executive director Paul Knox said the nonprofit organization is trying to minimize costs and get as much community feedback as possible.
Once the survey findings are recorded, United Way officials will conduct a series of focus group discussions to delve more deeply into community opinions. Once again, professor Larry Geri from The Evergreen State College’s masters in public administration program, is leading the assessment with a team of MPA students. “As you will see from the survey, we are particularly looking for input on how United Way and other local private and public funders can best target our investments with regard to meeting basic needs as well as supporting long-term solutions,” Knox said. “We plan on hosting a Dec. 13 afternoon community meeting to review what we have learned and lay out key elements of the assessment report.”
We strongly encourage South Sound residents to go online and take the survey. It only takes a couple of minutes and will provide the United Way with key information that will be used to address community needs. The survey is at: surveymonkey.com/ s/UWayThurston. For additional information contact Stephanie Blumhagen at 360-943-2773 Ext. 11 or sblumhagen@unitedway -thurston.org.
Thumbs Up:One week ago volunteers from the Department of Ecology, Saint Martin’s University, The Evergreen State College, the Olympia Kiwanis Club and Washington Conservation Corps harvested the first crops from the community garden on the grounds of Ecology’s Lacey building.
The produce was destined for the Thurston County Food Bank. Thanks to a large turnout of volunteers, the crops were out of the ground and in crates before noon.
At the end of day, 1,650 pounds of potatoes and 40 pounds of winter squash were donated to the Food Bank for distribution to families in need. The harvest capped the end of the garden’s first growing season.
More than 60 volunteers have donated 400 hours of personal time to prepare the beds, plant, weed and harvest the crops. It’s one of multiple community gardens spread across the community. Ecology employees donated their personal time as well as garden tools, food for volunteer events, the use of their own rototillers, and a garden sign. What a great community effort. The real beneficiaries, of course, are the low-income families who turn to the Food Bank for assistance. Fresh fruits and vegetables are always wildly popular with Food Bank patrons.
