Nisqually Valley News reporter Megan Hansen published Friday, February 18, 2011 her report titled:
Family devastated by water sale

highlighting the results of a mayor & city council who went after one of their own citizens in seizing water rights, which has left them ‘devastated”.

This story has been covered her several times previously.
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Excerpts from Hansen’s story reveal alot:
“Originally the two parties had battled over price. The McMonigles wanted $5,000 per acre feet. The city was offering $2,500.

When all was said and done it came out to $3,000 per acre foot. If the damages portion is included, the McMonigles will receive the $5,000 they originally requested.
[Ed. Note: However, regardless of damages, there is little left for the owners to work with.]

Both the city and McMonigles were surprised by the outcome.

‘Were devastated,’ said Charlotte (McMonigle) Zinski. ‘They (Ecology) stole from us, but what can you do?’

‘Sometimes you just have to take what they give and say thank you.’

While the decision isnt what both parties expected, they both are ready for it to be over…

Zinksi said the results leave them with less than what they planned.

Their creek rights were relinquished and all that remains is the water left on the water system at 50 gallons per minute.

We cant do anything on 50 gallons a minute, Zinksi said.

The familys plans to change how they use the property are no longer viable and the hay business is lagging due to the economy.

‘Its over for us,’ Zinksi said. ‘We want it to be over so we can pay some bills.’

‘This was just devastating, but we ate it. Maybe someone can learn from us.’

‘It is what it is.'”

Ed. Note:
This is again a sad tale where the City of Yelm continues to passover their number one mission – to protect their welfare, all in the name of getting more water rights to issue more building permits for more growth.
Yes, Mrs. Zinski just did not have the deep pockets or knowledge compared to the city using taxpayer funds of over a quarter of a million dollars in legal fees to gain these water rights.

This just is another ‘black-eye’ on this city as they continue to ‘shove-it’ to their own constituents.
Read more about the city not allowing citizens an occupancy permit to gain entry into their home.

In the NVN City Talk Column by Mayor Ron Harding printed Friday, February 25, 2011, the mayor said,
“With the accomplishments we’ve seen in the last year and the bright outlook fo r he year to come, I see us building the City of Yelm stronger and more viable than ever.”

Ed. Note:
Yes, this is grand and there have been many wonderful things happening here, yet the protection & welfare of his city’s citizens must be paramount.

The last year has seen an embarrassing array of actions by the mayor & city council eroding the public welfare!

Sandra Romero

Commissioner Sandra Romero Hosts Monthly Coffees with Area Residents

Monday, February 28th, 2011.

FROM COMMISSIONER ROMERO’S E-MAILER:
Please join Thurston County Commissioner Sandra Romero, as she hosts her monthly informal coffee hours in Rainier & Yelm on Monday, February 28th.

Join us in welcoming this months special guest Thurston Countys newly elected Sheriff, John Snaza. Come find out his vision for the office and plans for programs around the county such as the citizens online reporting system, community outreach and crime prevention.

Commissioner Romero stated,
Our Sheriffs office is committed to protecting life, property and individual rights while providing professional and ethical service to our community, we are honored to have him join us.

Commissioner Romero provides coffee to participants. She is the representative of District 2, which includes Yelm, Lacey, and Rainier.

What: Citizen meeting with second district County Commissioner Sandra Romero

When: Monday, February 28th, 2011

Where: Rainier: 9:30am 10:30am – Rainier City Hall 102 Rochester St. W.

Yelm: 11:00am Noon Yelm Public Safety Building, 206 McKenzie Ave SE.

Lisa Paribello
Commissioner Staff
paribel@co.thurston.wa.us

Yelm Ave. E., looking east toward 3rd street – Feb. 24, 2011

The Olympian reported:
“The low of 5 degrees Friday morning [Feb. 25] at the Olympia airport broke the record for the date of 13, set in 1962, according to Johnny Burg, meteorologist with the weather service. Saturdays predicted low of 14 degrees will test that days record, also 13 degrees, set in 1962.”

UPDATE: Feb. 27, 2011
“The 8-degree temperature recorded this morning in the Olympia area broke a record of 13 degrees for the date set Feb. 26, 1962,” quoting The Olympian.

Yelm Cinemas will have SPECIAL SCREENINGS for two films beginning today

Click here for Yelm Cinemas showtime information.

Yelm Cinemas at Prairie Park
Photo courtesy of Yelm Cinemas

1.

Former Rainier resident Will Arntz’s celebrated movie
“GHETTO PHYSICS: Will the Real Pimps and Ho’s Please Stand Up!”
is coming to Yelm Cinemas for a week beginning Friday, February 25 through Thursday, March 3rd.
Check theater showtimes daily.
There will be a Filmmaker Q & A with Will Arntz,following the 6:25pm shows on February 25 & 26.

2.

“Race to Nowhere”
“Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students arent developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do whats best for their kids, Race to Nowhere points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace, students have become disengaged, stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant, and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.

Race to Nowhere is a call to mobilize families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.”

Special one-session screening
Yelm Cinemas
Sat., Feb 26th, 9am
all seats $6.25
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Matt Batcheldor reports in The Olympian today:
“Thurston County gained nearly 50,000 residents from 2000 to 2010, according to 2010 census data released Wednesday [Feb. 23]…

Thurston Countys fastest-growing city was Yelm, which saw its population jump 108 percent, to 6,848 from 3,289 in 2000.”

Compare this growth to the State (14% increase) and major cities, reported by KING-5 TV in Seattle.

Ed. Note:
Wow! a 108% population increase in 10 years here. No wonder this place is a traffic nightmare!
The grow, grow, grow philosophy of Yelm Mayor Ron Harding and the Yelm City Council have seen some significant impacts on resources, to be covered here in an upcoming report.

AND, anyone who questions the Mayor on his grow, grow, grow policies is labeled & targeted as “anti-growth”. Time for the city’s residents to wake-up to his folly that impacts their lives with traffic, air/noise pollution, higher water/sewer rates, higher property taxes, reduced business water in summer and more!

Preston Collins wrote a Letter to Editor of the Nisqually Valley News, also submitted to the Yelm Community Blog on Puget Sound Energy’s power line project currently on-going around town. His letter brings up several important points for public review, based on a wealth of experience:

“I wish to call attention to Puget Sound Energys transmission line and substation project currently under construction. You can view a summary of this project at PSEs Web Site for this project.

I am a retired professional electrical engineer with over 40 years of experience in the electric utility industry. My early career was as a project engineer on projects such as this one. My later career was as a system engineer in an Energy Control Center . I also served as a management consultant for 10 years.

I noted this construction in late January and began my research. I offer the following comments and observations.

My first concern is the location through town. It appears that the route chosen may not have been the best and other possible routes not considered according to the project manager at PSE. A more suitable route might have been the old railroad grade through town. If you stand on the Yelm -Tenino Trail behind City Hall, you can see straight through town to North First Avenue where is crosses This route would have eliminated the line being placed on residential streets and a business artery and eliminated four expensive corner structures and about a half mile of line. It could have also followed the trail west toward Rainier to a more convenient transition point near Koeppen Road or 123rd Street .

An inquiry at City Hall revealed that there is the potential for the improvement and extension of Mosman Avenue that will require the relocation of a section of the new line should this plan materialize. The route along the railroad grade would have made this relocation unnecessary. To the citys credit the cost of the relocation will be at PSEs expense, meaning that PSEs customers will bear the cost.

This project also calls for a new 15-17 mile transmission line to be constructed from the St. Clair switching station (9512 Pacific Highway SE in Lacey) to near the intersection of State Route 507 and 123rd Avenue SE . A possible alternative is the construction of a tie to one or two of the four Bonneville Power Administration transmission lines located within 2.5 miles of the Yelm Substation (at the intersection of Railway Road SE and Middle Road SE ). Two of these lines are located north of town and run parallel to the Yelm Canal and the other two are east of town near Wal-Mart. PSE has an interchange agreement with BPA. Did PSE consider this option and perform a cost analysis?”

UPDATE: Feb. 25, 2011
Interesting that the newspaper opted to not publish Mr. Collins’ letter this week.

Chief Arvol Looking Horse

Reprinted from JZ Knight’s website, used with permission:

CHIEF ARVOL LOOKING HORSE CAME TO YELM WITH HIS MESSAGE:
“A Great Urgency: To All World Religious & Spiritual Leaders!”

Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe and the leader of the Lakota Dakota Nakota Oyate, the great Sioux nation, is a man with a vision.

Chief Arvol Looking Horse sees a great danger threatening “Grandmother Earth” and a great hope for restoring her wholeness.

Chief Looking Horse was joined by David Pratt, great-grandson of Chief Sitting Bull and Mark Colson, the hereditary chief of the Chehalis Tribe in Washington State as they each made a presentation on February 14th to Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment (RSE) as the largest annual retreat gathered there with over 1,200 students from around the world, and Live Streamed from Yelm to RSE students worldwide.

Chief Looking Horse was also at Evergreen State College on Feb. 13.

Listen to Chief Looking Horse’s message of the White Buffalo Prophecy shared with RSE students.

Representatives of our local Nisqually Indian Tribe were invited to join on-stage & chose to not participate.

THIS WAS A TRULY MAGICAL AND LANDMARK EVENT FOR RSE & YELM!

Yelm Timberland Regional Library

“Ruth Jacobson, author of “You Never Try, You Never Know: Six Years in Liberia,” will speak and sign books. Jacobson, a nurse, and her husband Harold, a maintenance mechanic, served in the Peace Corps for three years beginning in 1971, then three more years as mission hospital staff. The book is a collection of the letters Mrs. Jacobson wrote each week to her mother. The Jacobsons still keep up with their Liberian, Peace Corps and mission friends. Mrs. Jacobson is also a past president of the Yelm Timberland Library’s Friends group,” quoting the Yelm Timberland Library.

Yelm Timberland Library
210 Prairie Park Street
Yelm, WA 98597-7699
360-458-3374
Library Manager: Nicole Thode

Date: 2/23/2011
Start Time: 6:30 PM
End Time: 7:30 PM

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Yelm students “have been named to the Dean’s List at the University of Washington for the autumn quarter,” quoting The Olympian.

David W Burslem, Shailee Renae Flood, Carolyn Frances Gray, Akel William Hashim, Elaine Colette Huber, Michael Aaron Jelle, Ashley Nicole Jennings, Esther Yeun-Ju Lee, Anna Alaine Niblack, Niguel Alexander Quiroz.

Ed. Note:
Mr. Hashim was co-Valedictorian in the 2008 Yelm High School graduating class, achieving a 4.0 GPA. He gave a moving graduation speech to his fellow classmates challenging them to take the education and experiences they acquired here in Yelm out into the world and soar to new heights. Hashim is spending his Junior year at UW majoring in the school’s Spanish exchange program in Cadiz, Spain.

“Washington’s Birthday is a United States federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States. It is also commonly known as Presidents Day (sometimes spelled Presidents’ Day or President’s Day). As Washington’s Birthday or Presidents Day, it is also the official name of a concurrent state holiday celebrated on the same day in a number of states,” quoting Wikipedia.

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