South Sound briefs for Sept. 3

The Olympian | • Published September 03, 2008

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Rochester

House fire displaces family of 5

A fire that started in the kitchen caused $150,000 in damage to a Rochester home Tuesday and displaced a family of five.

Robert Scott, chief of Fire District 1, said the fire started before 9 a.m. when a pan that contained oil was left unattended on the stove. Three-quarters of the 1,800-square-foot wood-frame house was burning when firefighters arrived, Scott said.

About 15 firefighters from districts 1 and 11 responded at the home, at Flemming Street and 184th Way Southwest.

The Red Cross and family members are assisting the parents and their three young children.

Fort Lewis

Brig. Gen. Johnson nominated for promotion

Army Brig. Gen. John Johnson has been nominated for a promotion to major general.

He is serving as the deputy commanding general of operations at I Corps and Fort Lewis.

I Corps and Fort Lewis conducted an honors ceremony last month to officially welcome both Johnson and Brig. Gen. Peter Bayer Jr., chief of staff at I Corps and Fort Lewis.

Johnson's previous assignments included commander, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. While serving in that capacity, he deployed the brigade to Iraq in 2003.

Olympia

Group looks at motorless transportation efforts

An international group of people billed as experts in nonmotorized transportation toured Olympia on Tuesday, looking at improvements made to bicycle, pedestrian and trail facilities.

The tour was conducted by the Olympia Safe Streets Campaign, an advocacy group for safety improvements.

Participants came from the United States, Canada and Australia, according to the campaign. The tour was part of the Pro Walk/Pro Bike conference in Seattle this week, drawing about 1,000 participants from around the world.

The group visited the Olympia Woodland Trail, new pedestrian bulbouts along Legion Way, traffic-calming installations, pedestrian crossing medians, bike-lane retrofits, the Fourth Avenue bridge, Percival Landing, porous sidewalk installations and the Chehalis Western Trail, leaders said.

Thurston County

Land transfer preserves sensitive habitat

The state Board of Natural Resources approved a transfer of state land Tuesday that preserves a 957-acre of sensitive native plant habitat in north Mason County known as the Hamma Hamma Balds.

The newly designated nature area preserve is 13 miles north of Hoodsport and managed by the state Department of Natural Resources. Balds are open areas, generally within a forest, where shallow soils inhibit tree growth.

The land, which has an appraised timber value of $5.258 million, previously was managed for the state's public schools construction fund. The fund will be reimbursed from a state trust land transfer fund created by the Legislature.