|
Skagit, Whatcom firms collaborate on security TruckVault of Sedro-Wooley is helping public safety agencies across the country keep their arms and other equipment secure. The company’s locking drawer storage systems for light trucks and sedans are becoming a popular item with law enforcement and fire/rescue teams. “Public safety professionals are now required to carry more sophisticated weaponry and anti-terrorist equipment that require secure and safe transportation at all times,” according to TruckVault CEO Al Chandler. A new state-of-the-art command-communications vehicle is being developed by TruckVault in partnership with Radio Systems Marketing of Blaine. The vehicle will enable operators to maintain sophisticated communications capabilities should conventional means fail in a disaster. The new vehicle will begin a national demonstration tour of public safety agencies and military bases this summer. Contact TruckVault at 855-1815 or see their website at www.truckvault.com.
Maritime veteran back on the bridge Jerry Thomas, a co-founder of Skagit Marine, has established a new dealership called Tom N Jerry’s at the Twin Bridges Marina near Anacortes. Thomas and Skagit Marine co-founder Tom Bergen sold that business in 1993, but continued to work there part-time. With the closure of Skagit Marine, Thomas decided to open the new business. “At 57,” said Thomas, “I can’t go and get a real job. It’s all I have known for 29 years.” Tom N Jerry’s will sell a variety of fresh and salt water boats ranging from 16-26 feet in length and Honda motors.
New owner on track in Mount Vernon Karttrack Raceway at the Skagit I-5 Business Park is now being driven by lifelong racing fan Mike Walker. Scott Templeton, who founded the business, was considering closing when his lease expired. Instead, Bill Youngsman, managing partner of the business park, negotiated the sale to Walker. “I believe in the business concept,” said Youngsman. A number of improvements are underway, including an expanded arcade room, snack shop and a lower-speed track for younger children. An upstairs viewing room is now open for those who prefer to watch and digital cameras are in place for drivers who want to record their victories. Walker says he wants to create a positive, family-oriented atmosphere at Karttrack. Centerpiece of the business is a 1/5 mile indoor go-kart track. For more information, call Karttrack at 848-1635.
Anacortes refinery wins environmental award Employees of the Shell Puget Sound Refinery have been recognized by Shell Oil Products US for outstanding environmental performance. Nine other refineries and major facilities competed for the award. Shell Products US CEO Rob Routs noted that the Anacortes facility is located in one of the most beautiful areas in the world and that protecting that environment is a very high priority with the company. Refinery workers were cited for achieving a significant reduction in environmental compliance exceedances as well as four years of perfect compliance with waste water discharge permit conditions. New employees are introduced to environmental programs early and their performance is a factor in incentive compensation. This is the second straight year the facility has won the award. Contact the refinery at 671-8708 or see their website at www.pugetsoundrefining.com.
New truck enhances safety An $877,000 state-of-the-art fire truck with a remote-controlled boom will give employees at the Shell Puget Sound Refinery a new tool for fighting potential fires. The 85-foot articulating boom can deliver three to five thousand gallons of water or foam per minute up to 250 feet away. The truck itself carries 850 gallons of foam concentrate which can be delivered through the boom or two 2000 gpm deck guns. Firefighters will be able to stay at a safer distance from conflagrations using the new gear. Other refineries in the area will also benefit from the new truck since Shell has mutual aid agreements with its neighbors. For more information, call 671-8708 or access the website: www.pugetsoundrefining.com.
Tesoro receives industry awards Tesoro Anacortes Refinery has won two safety awards handed out by the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association and the American Petroleum Institute. The trade organizations gave a Gold Award for a 25 percent or greater reduction in the total reportable incidence rate. In addition to achieving a 46 percent reduction in 2001, the refinery had no workplace-related fatalities. Achieving a total recordable incidence rate incidence rate of 1.5 or less during the same calendar year won the refinery the Meritorious Safety Performance Award. Contact the refinery at 293-9126.
Construction company wins environmental award Fisher & Sons, Inc., of Burlington has received an Environmental Excellence Recognition Award from the Associated General Contractors of Washington. The company was cited for its work on the Chuckanut Drive landmark Oyster Creek Inn. Forced to close due to settling and shifting of the structure, the restaurant called on the Burlington contractor to make the building safe again. The well-known inn is situated on a 45 percent slope of road fill and weak serpentine rock within 15 feet of Oyster Creek. Fisher & Sons had to face the challenge of doing construction without harming indigenous salmon species and nearby commercial oyster beds. An elaborate storm water infiltration and silt fence barrier system was utilized on the down slope side of construction. All excavation was removed by using a skip loader, lifted over the building by a crane, and disposed of off-site. For more information, call Fisher & Sons at 757-4094 or access their website: www.fishersons.com.
Secret Harbor gets concrete help Skagit Readymix donated 9-1/2 yards of concrete to the Secret Harbor School and Foster Care Resources of Skagit County. The non-profit school operates two residential treatment programs for troubled youth on Cypress Island. Concrete from the Sedro-Wooley firm was vital in construction of an equipment mounting pad for a new stationary solid waste compactor and refuse baler. Secret Harbor’s waste management project is designed to reduce the agency’s environmental impact. The new equipment will eliminate outdoor burning and reduce the number of trips necessary to move waste containers to the mainland. Improved waste management will also save money which can then be redirected to care programs. Call Skagit Readymix at 856-0422 or see www.skagitreadymix.com. Secret Harbor can be reached at 293-5151 or www.secretharbor.org.
Burlington co-op announces record payout All West/Select Sires will distribute more than $615,000 in patronage checks to its co-op members in September. The money represents 50 percent of the profits from the year 2001. The remaining 50 percent will be sent to qualifying members on a five-year rotation. Total patronage for the year will top $1 million, the largest patronage distribution in the history of the co-op. Founded in 1941 as Skagit County Artificial Breeders, All West/Select Sires provides the livestock industry with genetics, products and services through the cooperative association. The firm moved into a new facility last November. For more information, call All West/Select Sires at 757-6093 or see www.allwestselectsires.com.
Health club celebrates 31 years Mount Vernon’s Riverside Health Club held a party for members and the general public on May 16 to mark 31 years in business. Everyone attending the party received a door prize and raffle ticket and new members who signed up at the celebration were given a travel bag. Grand prizewinner Brendan Rooney won a mountain bike from Art’s Bike Shop along with four months club membership. Riverside Health Club can be reached at 424-4200 or www.riversidehealthclub.com.
Restaurant wins chamber award Downtown Mt. Vernon’s Thai House Restaurant is “Small Business of the Year” as selected by the Chamber of Commerce. Other nominees were Express Personnel, Gretchen’s and Scott’s Bookstore. Denny and Pen Sritong opened their restaurant in 1999 and have tripled their business since that time. The Sritongs employ 11 people in their business and credit their success to a “hands-on” approach. Pen is in charge of the kitchen while Denny runs the restaurant. Call the Thai House at 336-2966.
Skagit-Whatcom projects recommended Seven natural resource improvement projects within the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest valued at more than $190,000 have been recommended for approval by the newly created public resource advisory committee in Skagit and Whatcom Counties. Funding for the projects is available through the new Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. The law provides payments to local counties as compensation for the impact of large federal land acreages within their boundaries. “I would like to congratulate our advisory committee on their excellent work in reviewing these projects,” said Skagit County Commissioner Ted Anderson. “These funds for resource improvement are very important to Skagit County. We’ve had great local participation in this process.” A 15-member advisory committee, comprised of citizens from Whatcom and Skagit County, reviewed the proposed projects. Jerri Krampetz of Sedro-Woolley is the chair. Four of the seven projects recommended and approved in Skagit County for 2002 are: Gee Creek Road erosion control near Finney Creek for an amount of $67,500. Sky Ridge Runners to conduct backcountry/wilderness patrols in the Glacier Peak Wilderness for an amount of $13,500. Skagit River boating map/guide to provide education/information to watercraft recreationists in the Upper Skagit River areas of Skagit and Whatcom Counties for an amount of $8,800. Non-commercial thinning and late-successional timber reserves in the Finney Creek and Deer Creek areas for an amount of $15,000.
Sedro computer store expanding Computersmart of Sedro-Woolley has opened a new branch at 919 Ault Field Rd, Oak Harbor. The business is owned and operated by Pam and Jerry Ross and their son, Ryan. Computersmart builds, repars and upgrades computers. It was voted the Sedro-Woolley Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year in 2001 and also won a People’s Choice Award for best computer store that same year. The store is a dealer for DirecTV and authorized installers of DIRECWAY, which is DirecTV’s new high-speed Internet solution.
Charity golf at Similk course Swinomish Northern Lights Casino is launching its First Annual Charity Golf Classic to benefit the Skagit Hospice Foundation. The tournament will be held at the Similk Golf Course in Anacortes on August 9. Interested parties are invited to enter either as individuals or as a team. The entry fee for individuals is $75 and $275 for a team. Sponsors are also being sought and can purchase a “shared holde” sponsorship for $250, a “full hole” sponsorship for $400 or become a major sponsor with a donation of $1,000. For further information, call 360-299-1610.
Speaking of golf … The Mount Vernon and Burlington Chambers of Commerce are hosting the “Hands Across the River Golf Tournament” on August 23rd at Eaglemont Golf Course. Proceeds from the tournament go to the Chambers’ scholarship funds. The Chambers are seeking sponsors for the event with the option of sponsoring an entire hole for $300 or $150 for half a hole. Entrie fees are $99 for a single player or $396 for an entire team. For further information call the Burlington Chamber office at 360-757-0994, or the Mount Vernon office at 360-428-8547.
SKAT experiments with low-sulfur fuel Air quality in Skagit County will be further enhanced thanks to a joint effort of Skagit Transit, Northwest Air Pollution Authority and Shell Puget Sound Refinery. Skagit Transit is in the process of converting its eighteen fixed route buses to operate on ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel with conversion to be completed by early fall. The project, aimed at removing up to 90 percent of particulate matter from diesel soot, was facilitated by the Northwest Air Pollution Authority and funded by a $250,000 grant from Shell Puget Sound Refinery. Improvements in technology and fuel for passenger autos have resulted in significantly cleaner air in our major cities. More attention is now being paid to pollution from diesel engines. A study released in May, 2002 by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency points to a significant health risk in the greater Seattle area from high levels of diesel soot. The Environmental Protection Agency last year ruled diesel fuel made after mid-2006 must reduce sulfur levels by 97 percent. This “ultra-low sulfur” fuel is expected to improve public health by reducing almost all carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and particulate matter from diesel exhaust. Rather than wait several years for the new ruling to take effect, Skagit Transit (SKAT) sought means to convert fixed route buses to the ultra-low sulfur diesel as soon as possible. Working with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and the Northwest Air Pollution Authority, Skagit Transit searched for funding sources for the conversion to the recently available fuel. Funds were needed to cover the costs of installing soot filters and a fuel storage system. Soot filters in conjunction with the cleaner fuel result in removing approximately 90 percent of the hydrocarbons and particulate matter from diesel exhaust. In March 2001, Equilon and Motiva entered into an agreement with the EPA regarding disputed plant emissions from the eight refineries owned by the two companies. In the settlement, the companies agreed to invest $400 million over the next several years in emission-related plant improvements and also agreed to invest an additional $500,000 in the local community in environment-related projects. In March, 2002, Shell purchased Texaco’s interests in Equilon and became the sole owner of Equilon’s four west coast refineries. Shell contributed $250,000 to the SKAT low-sulfur project. The Skagit Transit board approved the ultra-low sulfur diesel funding project last September 19 and the EPA completed its approval of the proposed project in April, 2002. The first of the soot filters was installed in May, 2002 and the entire fleet is expected to be converted by early fall. The new diesel fuel storage system will also be in service at that time. The installation of the soot filters is being managed by Cummins Northwest, which also provided technical expertise for the project. All eighteen fixed route buses use Cummins diesel engines with made the conversion process easier. Cummins has been involved in early trials of the Johnson Matthey CRT soot filters, also known as catalytically regenerated particulate filters. Installation requires each engine’s exhaust temperatures to be recorded for proper design and installation.
PSE rate rise is one of smallest Electricity rates for Puget Sound Energy’s residential customers would rise a little over 5 percent from last year but the company would agree to sponsor additional energy-conservation programs and provide more financial assistance to low-income families under a proposed settlement agreement filed with state regulators today. The three-member panel of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) must approve the proposed agreement before it can take effect. The parties have requested a July 1 effective date. Under the proposed settlement agreement, PSE’s residential electric customers would see a two-phase increase of 5.03 percent, or $2.70 a month for the typical homeowner beginning July 1. In addition, the proposed settlement would require a surcharge to cover a new low-income assistance program. The surcharge would add approximately 25 cents to the typical monthly homeowner bill. The second-phase would see rates rise by .24 percent for a total of 5.27 percent, starting July 1, 2003. The proposed settlement would allow the utility company to collect $58.3 million a year in new revenues. The new rates would replace a temporary electric-rate hike that began April 1 and ends June 30. The settlement agreement was signed by 28 parties and filed with the commission June 6. The parties include: Sound Transit, Microsoft, Seattle Steam, QFC, the Public Counsel division of the Attorney General’s Office, WUTC staff members, large industrial and commercial customers, low-income and consumer groups, federal and local governments, environmental organizations and the company. “It required give and take on everyone’s part,” said Puget Energy President and CEO Stephen P. Reynolds. “But we met our commitment to collaboratively work through the issues with all interested parties. And in the end, I believe we struck a fair and balanced accord that’s good for our customers, good for the region, and good for the company.” Reynolds said the agreement will help Puget Energy
“put the energy crisis behind us and start rebuilding the company’s
financial integrity. That’s vital not only to the people who invest
their money in Puget Energy, but to the homes and businesses that
expect us to maintain a dependable energy-delivery system.” Bellevue-based Puget Sound Energy, the state’s largest electric utility, provides service to 945,000 customers in eight Western Washington counties: King, Skagit, Island, Kitsap, Pierce, Jefferson, Thurston and Whatcom. PSE also serves Kittitas County in Eastern Washington.
Northwest utilities tell FERC to leave their region alone Consumer-owned utilities in the Pacific Northwest are pressing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to halt proposals for drastically changing the Northwest’s electricity system.” Leaders of a coalition of municipal utilities and public utility districts in the Pacific Northwest met in Portland, Ore., last month to deliver that message to FERC Chairman Pat Wood. The commission’s proposed plans “would result in further rate increases and duplicate California’s failed energy restructuring,” they said. Seattle City Light, Tacoma Power, the Springfield, Ore., Utility Board and the Washington Public Utility Districts Association, which represents 23 public power utilities, formed a coalition called Northwest Power Works. The coalition represents some 1.3 million public power customers. “Deeply flawed energy policies, out-of-control energy markets and poor federal oversight have already resulted in enormous rate increases for Northwest families and our economy,” said Steve Loveland, manager of the Springfield Utility Board. “We are delivering an urgent message to Chairman Wood that we simply can’t take any more pain.” Many consumers in the Northwest already are paying electric rates that are 40-60 percent higher than last year, due in large part to California’s failed experiment and to manipulation of energy markets by power traders such as Enron, the coalition said. “In our view, FERC is doing little to ensure that the rampant abuse of market rules that occurred in California does not occur here,” said Don Berkey, commissioner of Snohomish County PUD in Washington. EPA Awards $1.2 million grant to Swinomish EPA Administrator Christie Whitman has awarded a $1.2 million research grant to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in Washington State. This is EPA’s largest competitive research grant EPA has ever awarded to a tribe. The grant money, awarded last month, will allow tribal researchers to study whether the Swinomish people are exposed to contaminants when they eat shellfish from traditional harvesting areas and if such exposures contribute to the high incidence of health-related problems on their reservation. Scientists will analyze sediments, littleneck clams, Japanese oysters, Butter clams, and Dungeness crabs for several chemicals and heavy metals at 16 shellfish harvest areas. Researchers will also investigate effective and culturally appropriate ways to communicate any identified health risks to the Swinomish community and nearby tribes who also participate in subsistence shellfish harvesting. Results of this project will help to develop measures to reduce health risks from shellfish consumption. During her discussion today, Whitman stressed the importance of working with tribes to address environmental issues on Indian lands. “We have all been entrusted with the stewardship of this shared planet, and it is our responsibility to leave it cleaner for our children and grandchildren. And that is why we are here today. To work together in partnership to develop solutions that work, and that are respectful of Tribal values and traditions,” Whitman told attendees at the 6th National Tribal Conference on Environmental Management in Reno, Nevada, the conference. The research grant to the Swinomish tribe was awarded through Science to Achieve Results, an EPA program that funds research grants in numerous science and engineering disciplines through a competitive solicitation process and independent peer review.
Bids called for East Skagit center The East Skagit County Community Resource Center is one step closer to reality after the Skagit County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to call for bids for the construction of the project. Facilities Manager Roger Howard reported that construction documents are complete. The new 4,400 square foot facility to be built in the town of Concrete will provide space for Skagit County Community Action, Skagit County Public Health, Skagit Upriver Services, Skagit County Commissioners Satellite Office and the Upper Skagit Library District Office. “This new facility will be an incredible asset to the East Skagit County community,” said Commissioner Ted Anderson. The total cost of the project is $1,247,350, with $940,500 of that total being funded by a State of Washington Community Trade and Economic Development Grant and a Community Development Block Grant. The Town of Concrete contributed $15,200, with the balance of $291,600 covered by Skagit County.
Skagit County financial reports praised Skagit County has been recognized for its high quality financial reporting by an organization of government financial officers. The Government Finance Officers of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded the county the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. Daniel Weinberg, chief accountant for the county auditor’s office, was specifically singled out for the Award of Financial Reporting Achievement since he is the individual mostly responsible for the report. Since 1988, Skagit County has received the award several times and will be applying for the 2001 award this month. The panel of judges looks for high standards and looks for a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story. The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 14,000 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, D.C.
Emerald Paint moves to Burlinton Emerald Paint & Coatings has moved from Mount Vernon to 1043 Goldenrod Road, Suite 102, in Burlington. Emerald offers products retail and wholesale markets as well as renting and selling painting equipment. The business is owned by Don and Trish Herzberg. For more information call 360-757-0114. |
||