“Bill’s Towing & Recovery is offering Tipsy Tow service on New Years to provide a safe alternative to drinking and driving on Yelm area roads.

The service will be available in the greater Yelm, Rainier, and McKenna area from 9:00 p.m. on New Years Eve, December 31st to 3:00 a.m. New Years Day, January 1st.

Motorists, bartenders, restaurant managers, party hosts or passengers of a drinking driver can call 360-458-5963 between the hours above and request a free tow home of up to ten miles. Callers simply tell the dispatcher, ‘I need a tipsy tow,’ to receive the free tow and ride home.

Callers need to keep in mind that the service excludes rides for passengers, is restricted to a one-way, one-time ride for the driver, and the destination is limited to the drivers residence. Reservations are not accepted, and tows over ten miles are subject to normal rates,” quoting Bill’s Towing & Recovery.
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States economic ranking fell in 2014

“A new report this week from Washington states Revenue Forecast Council chief economist notes that 40 of 45 categories that comprise the Economic Climate Study were largely improved, yet there is a drop in the comparative ranking to the other states.

In this 2014 report, Washington ranked 19th in the nation, ending a five year string of 18th ranked performance. The rank is the worst since the states 2006 rank of 20th,” quoting the Business Examiner.
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From Thurston County Public Works:

Free Christmas Tree Curbside and Drop-Off Locations
(Dec. 2014/Jan. 2015)

Curbside pickup information
LeMay compost collection/yard waste customers
Put trees in or near your compost cart (in sections of 3 feet or less).
Call 360-923-0111 for information.

Drop-off locations
Open to all Thurston County residents
Take trees to the Waste and Recovery Center at 2420 Hogum Bay Road NE in Lacey. through Jan. 11. Open Mon. through Fri. from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat. and Sun. from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Jan. 1)

Rainier residents
Take trees to the drop box at 13010 Rainier Acres Road through Jan. 11.
Open Fri., Sat., and Sun. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Other creative ideas –
– 10 Ways to Recycle Christmas Trees
By Care2, Shelley Stonebrook.
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Thurston County Auditor Mary Mall
Photo courtesy: Re-elect Mary Hall

“Auditor Mary Hall will swear in new elected officials at a free public ceremony where Congressman Denny Heck will deliver the keynote address.
The elected officials being sworn in include the Thurston County clerk, commissioner, coroner, prosecuting attorney, sheriff, treasurer, district court judges and Public Utility District commissioners who were elected in the November General Election. The Thurston County assessor and auditor will be sworn in at a different time.”
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– Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall certified the results for the November 4 General Election for these elected officials:
Thurston County Assessor: Steven J. Drew
Thurston County Auditor: Mary Hall
Thurston County Clerk: Linda Enlow
Thurston County Commissioner District No. 3: Bud Blake
Thurston County Coroner: Gary Warnock
Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney: Jon Tunheim
Thurston County Sheriff: John Snaza
Thurston County Treasurer: Shawn D. Myers
Thurston County District Court Judge Position No. 1: Kalo Wilcox
Thurston County District Court Judge Position No. 2: Sam Meyer
Thurston County District Court Judge Position No. 3: Brett Buckley
Thurston County Public Utility Commissioner District No. 2: Russ Olsen
Thurston County Public Utility Commissioner District No. 3: Chris Stearns
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WHAT: Swearing in Ceremony of Elected Officials in Thurston County

WHERE: Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts
South Puget Sound Community College
2011 Mottman Rd. SW
Olympia, WA 98512

WHEN: Tuesday, December 30, 2014
2:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m.

Cascadia Subduction Zone affecting our region
Credit: USGS

– Study: Offshore Fault Where The Big One Originates Eerily Quiet
The evidence pointing to the colliding tectonic plates being completely stuck has serious implications for earthquake risk on land in the Pacific Northwest.

[University of Oregon geophysics professor Doug] Toomey described himself as ‘very concerned’ and said it is ‘imperative’ people in the Northwest continue to prepare for a big earthquake.”
By Tom Banse, KUOW, Seattle, December 3, 2014.
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– Pacific Northwest earthquake tracker
From Earthquake Track, data courtesy USGS.
Click here

– About the Cascadia Subduction Zone on which Yelm is nears
From the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN)
Click here

“Demonstrators call for higher wages at one of 1,500 Black Friday protests planned at Walmarts across the country, in Los Angeles, Nov. 29, 2013. The retailer filed trespassing injunctions in California and four other states to bar protesters from Walmart property.” (J. Emilio Flores/The New York Times)

– “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price”
“he film exposes Wal-Mart’s unscrupulous business practices through interviews with former employees, small business owners, and footage of Walmart executives.”
Click here for the full documentary video.

– “9 Things You Didn’t Know About the Food at Walmart”
“Walmart has become a major player in the grocery game, but we’ll bet you didn’t know these facts about their food”
By Dan Myers, Editor, The Daily Meal.
Read more

Read more from MSN.

“Every Day A Miracle” – Photograph by Rory Sagner
Rory Sagner Photography & Fine Art, Yelm
Taken in Yelm October 30, 2013, at sunrise

“Christmas in the Northwest – Brenda Kutz White”
“Post production opening clip taken from The Christmas in the Northwest Christmas special that aired on KOMO TV in Seattle back in December of 1987 featuring Brenda Kutz White’s song “Christmas in the Northwest.”

All proceeds from the Christmas in the Northwest project go to Children’s Hospital in Seattle, Washington.”
Copyright 1987 Fisher Broadcasting, Inc.
Click here for the video.

– “Merry Christmas From The Obamas 2014”
“President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama offer greetings for the holidays,” from YouTube.
Click here

WARMEST WISHES THIS HOLIDAY SEASON FROM THE YELM COMMUNITY BLOG TO YOU & YOUR FAMILIES!

Editor’s note:
This is an excellent Op-Ed well worth the read on this Christmas 2014 –
“Merry Iconoclastic Christmas”
“It never ceases to amaze me how the loudest practitioners of Christianity in the United States are so consistently able to sidestep and ignore the core teachings of their religion with apparently no shame whatsoever.”

“Conclusion: The majority of “Christians” in these United States of “Christian” America don’t give a single solitary damn about the lives of people who resemble their “savior” a whole hell of a lot more than they do.”
By William Rivers Pitt, Truthout.
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From KING-5 TV in Seattle:
“NORAD’S Santa Tracker is up and running for Christmas 2014.

The big man has taken off for his yearly journey around the globe, and NORAD plans to follow his journey throughout Christmas Eve.

You ll also be able to track the Christmas flight on Twitter and Facebook.”
Read more

“Yelm Police Officer Don Moody, after pulling over driver Elaine Kirkwood for not using a turn signal, gives her $100 instead of a ticket. It was part of a local “Secret Santa” giveaway of $5,000″
Photo credit: Steven Wyble, Nisqually Valley News

“Yelm Police Pass Out Money Thanks to ‘Secret Santas'”
“Secret Santas Donate $5,000 to Give to Unsuspecting Motorists”

“A Yelm couple acting as Secret Santas donated $5,000 to the Yelm Police Department to hand out in $100 increments to unsuspecting motorists,” by Steven Wyble in the Nisqually Valley News.
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Click here to read the full text of the story.

Click here for the NVN video on YouTube: “Yelm Police Pass Out Cash Thanks to Secret Santa”

Copyright 2014 Lafromboise Communications, Inc.
Used with permission can not be republished for commercial use/advertising.

Yelm Cinemas at Prairie Park
Logo courtesy: Yelm Cinemas

By Richard Verrier and Steven Zeitchik, the Los Angeles Times:
“Sony will give The Interview a limited theatrical release beginning Christmas Day, the company said Tuesday, releasing the movie in a handful of independent theaters across the country.

[In the South Sound, Tacomas independent Grand Cinema scrambled will screen the film daily at 9:20 p.m., starting on Christmas Day. Yelm Cinemas at Prairie Park will show the movie beginning Christmas Day at 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, and 9:40 p.m. through January 1st]

“Sony said it was pressing forward with a modified release plan for the Seth Rogen-Evan Goldberg North Korea comedy, after a withering cyberattack and subsequent threats prompted major theater chains and the studio to pull the movie last week.”
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