“The Emerald City, as well as Washingtons state capital Olympia, and Astoria, Ore., experienced on Saturday their wettest ever September day as a powerful barrage of storms pummeled the area.”

“On Saturday, Seattles 1.71 inches of rain was the most to fall on the city in a single September day, beating the 1.65 inches set on September 22, 1978.

Olympias 2.93 inches smashed the previous record of 1.67 inches on September 17, 2010, and Astorias 3.16 beat the 2.26 inches which fell on September 16, 1997,” quoting Alexander Smith, NBC News contributor.
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“The National Weather Service says a weekend storm has made for the wettest September on record in Olympia and the second-wettest in Seattle.

By 3 a.m. Monday the rainfall total at Olympia was 7.98 inches, breaking the old record of 7.59 set in September of 1978. The normal for the month is 1.71 in Olympia.”
Read more from KING-5 TV News.

– Fish and water have shown signs of Fukushima contamination [in U.S. Northwest]
By Gary Chittum on King-5 News in Seattle.
Read more

– “Feds ignore Hanford tank advice for decades”
By Susannah Frame for KING-5 TV News.
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Ed. Note: Eating “wild caught” Alaska fish is safest.

A train leaves Spokane, Wash., a funnel for rail traffic to the Pacific Coast Energy firms want to move more raw materials through the region.
Photo credit: Rajah Bose for The New York Times.

From Rachael Stoeve, Yes! Magazine:
“The Other Keystone”: Seattle Gears Up for Direct Action Against Coal Export Plan
“Activists are also amping up the fight against coal trains in Washington state, which pits ordinary citizens against multibillion-dollar companies such as Peabody Energy. Since 2010, communities in Washington have mobilized against the development of two large coal terminals: Gateway Pacific Terminal in Cherry Point, near Bellingham, and Millennium Bulk Terminals in Longview. Gateway Pacific is currently under environmental review, and Millennium Bulk has entered the public hearings process.

Organizers with 350 [350.org, an environmental group focused on climate change] Seattle claim that the total emissions from fuel delivered by the coal terminals and several additional planned projects would be three times that of Keystone XL.”
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“From left, Yelm High School teacher Matthew Mounts works during a lunch hour this month with students Sheridan Lantz, Erin Smith and Robert Haney weighing vegetables grown in the schools garden for delivery to a food bank. Mounts was named Community Service Teacher of the Year by the Washington Association for Career and Technical Education.”
Photo Credit: Steve Bloom, The Olympian Staff photographer

Read more from Lisa Pemberton in The Olympian.

MATTHEW MOUNTS, WA-ACTE Community Service Teacher Award at Yelm High School:
“The purpose of the WASHINGTON ACTE OUTSTANDING TEACHER IN COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD is to recognize teachers with significant accomplishments and outstanding leadership in programs and activities that promote community involvement. Recipients of this award have made significant contributions toward training, motivating, and inspiring the ir peers and students to become involved in programs and projects that benefit their communities.”
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BECKY WALLACE, 2013 WA-ACTE Teacher of the Year at Yelm’s Ridgeline Middle School:
“The purpose of the WASHINGTON ACTE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD is to recognize teachers who are providing outstanding Career and Technical Education programs for youth and/or adults in their respective fields and communities. Recipients of this award have made significant contributions toward innovative, unique, and novel programs that are serving to improve and promote Career and Technical Education.”
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The 2.93 inches of rain yesterday officially recorded at Olympia Regional Airport broke a single day rainfall record for any September 28.
Read more

– From the Weather Channel:
At least three cities broke all-time September calendar-day rainfall records on Saturday:

* Seattle-Tacoma Airport: 1.71 inches (previous record 1.65 inches set Sept. 22, 1978 and Sept. 30, 1953)
* Olympia, Wash. Airport: 2.93 inches (previous record 1.67 inches set Sept. 17, 2010)
* Astoria, Ore.: 3.16 inches (previous record 2.67 inches set Sept. 16, 1997)
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– Issued by The National Weather Service
Seattle/Tacoma, WA
Sun, Sep 29, 2013, 4:07 AM PDT

* WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTHWEST INTERIOR… INCLUDING THE TACOMA AREA… AND THE CASCADE FOOTHILLS FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 5 AM PDT MONDAY…

* WIND… INCREASING FROM THE SOUTH AT 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 55 MPH THIS EVENING.
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Photo Credit Wolf Haven International

– “Wolf Haven gains national accreditation”
“The 31-year old sanctuary to conserve and protect wolves, Wolf Haven International has been accredited by American Sanctuary Association. The facility near Tenino is one of only two wolf sanctuaries in the country with that endorsement,” quoting the Pierce County Business Examiner.
Read more

– “Northwest Wolf Sanctuary Wins National Accreditation”
“Any animal organization can call itself a sanctuary, and many do. But only a few of those groups go through the American Sanctuary Associations rigorous certification process.

And now Wolf Haven International, a wolf sanctuary in Western Washington, will no longer organize a popular gathering to celebrate wolf howls. It’s one change the Tenino based-facility made to qualify for the select group of nationally-accredited animal sanctuaries.

It has been a home for wolves born in captivity since 1982, but that didnt mean that its sanctuary application was easy. Diane Gallegos, the groups executive director, points out that now Wolf Haven is one of only two accredited wolf sanctuaries in the country.”

On the Web:

Wolf Haven International – official site

Sanctuary criteria – American Sanctuary Association,”
quoting Miles BryanMiles Bryan on Northwest Public Radio.
Read more

– UPDATE: November 1, 2013
“Wolf Haven International hosted their 10th annual Wildlife Handling and Chemical Immobilization seminar”
From the Tacoma News Tribune.
Read more

Photo credit: Brian Kersey / AP
Zac Vawter, fitted with an experimental “bionic” leg on the Ledge at the Willis Tower in Chicago, climbed the 103 flights to the top on Oct. 25, 2012.

“First mind-controlled bionic leg a ‘groundbreaking’ advance”
“Zac Vawter lost his leg in a motorbike accident. He is now part of a ground breaking research study testing a thought controlled bionic leg.”

“‘It makes a phenomenal difference,’ says Vawter, a software engineer from Yelm, Wash., whose right leg was amputated through the knee in 2009 after he crashed his motorcycle,” quoting Barbara Mantel, NBC News.
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Pfc. Anthony Williamson, from Yelm, Wash., trained the ANA medical team on
field sanitation and personal hygiene.
His class will be used by the CEK medical team to train the soldiers,
leading to a decrease in preventable illnesses.
Photo by U.S. Army Capt. Steffan Meiler, Headquarters and Headquarters Company

By U.S. Army 1st Lt. Anthony Wrench from the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System, known by its acronym DVIDS, the media and public relations arm of the U.S. Third Army:

“Afghan engineer medics learn valuable lifesaving skills”
“KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan Headquarters and Headquarters Company of 4th Engineer Battalion, Task Force Iron Fist, partnered with the 205th Corps Engineer Kandak (CEK) to arm the CEK medics with essential medical skills, empowering them to then teach every Soldier in the CEK.

Capt. Steffan Meiler, TF Iron Fist Physician Assistant, took the lead during the three-week training for the CEK Medical Section.”
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With the Yelm FFA featured in a write-up by Steven Wyble in the Nisqually Valley News, this is an opportunity to share their website and work with our community:

Welcome to the official webpage of the
Yelm FFA
“Number One Chapter in the Nation for Community Development in 2010”
“The Yelm FFA is a thriving youth organization within our school that serves the greater Yelm community, with over 500 members.
Our goal is to promote the importance of agriculture, premier leadership, personal growth and career success. With this, we as a whole organization have been able to better the education and lives of our members throughout Yelm FFA’s rich history.”
Read more

NBC News is reporting this morning:
“A pilot [the Captain] suffered an apparent heart attack in midair aboard a United Airlines flight to Seattle on Thursday evening [UAL 1603], and later died after the plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Boise, Idaho, a hospital spokeswoman told NBC News.”

“Passengers said two army soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord on the flight assisted the doctor in attempting to treat the patient before the arrival of first responders, NBC News Seattle affiliate King 5 reported.”

“The 737 had 161 passengers and six crew members on board. The name of the pilot has not been released.”
Read more