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Pierce County Gives Congress Heck will occur at 2 PM on Sunday, January 22^nd at the Lakewood Senior Activity Center located at 9112 Lakewood Drive SW Lakewood, WA 98499. Heck will be introduced by State Representative Tami Green and Lyle Quasim, the President of Bates Technical College. The event will be emceed by retired State Representative Dawn Morrell.

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The signature drive to stop High Speed Rail (HSR) through Lakewood continues to March 2. Two 2'x4’ banners have been created for the signature gathering sites (Post Office, Library and Safeway).  Volunteers will be coordinated via communitymattersweb@gmail.com.  All materials will be made available which also can be found here.

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“Late last year I sent an e-mail request to all employees at the department asking for their input on how the state can better streamline its correctional operations,” Carrell said. “I received more than 500 responses, and one of the most intriguing had to do with these last-minute purchases made at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center.”

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Deelyn Cheng worked as a page for Sen. Mike Carrell and other senators last week in Olympia.

Now that Tillicum’s Camp Murray Gate debacle has been voted overwhelmingly the top West Pierce news story (in The News Tribune) for 2011, it’s time to reflect on what this means.

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Dick Muri said, "The proposed map is good news for my campaign for the United States House of Representatives. I am looking forward to challenging an entrenched insider like Denny Heck, in a district that knows me and my record of leadership in local government."

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Just nights before Christmas, the tree, newly decorated, had not only presents beneath but also four little children, all wrapped in blankets, snuggled together for warmth as the fire in the hearth died to embers.

It was the fourth child, our son Matthew, who saved our lives.

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We’ve discovered we have more time to gather signatures in the effort to put an initiative on the ballot for a vote of the people on the most significant transportation issue the City of Lakewood is likely ever to face – as many as 12 high speed trains per day through a portion of the business district and along the neighborhoods of our city. Petitions and instructions are available here.

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As a part of the City of Lakewood’s published Plan for Tillicum, Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity will be developing 30 homes as well as providing critical repair for low income Tillicum homeowners.   Eight new, single family townhomes will be constructed on the Woodlawn site.  Prior to Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat’s purchase of Woodlawn Cottages the blighted structures attracted crime and illegal dumping of garbage.  Vagrant individuals had broken into some units and were using them as shelter.  Habitat for Humanity will officially commence work on the Woodlawn Cottages project as controls of an excavator will be turned over to Mayor Doug Richardson and he begins the demolition of an existing structure.  “Part of Habitat’s mission is to eliminate sub-standard housing.  This demolition today is evidence of our mission in action,” says Maureen Fife, CEO of Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity.  “We are grateful to the City of Lakewood for their faith in our work, and pleased that the Mayor and City Council wanted to take this occasion to celebrate our partnership.”

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Hello Governor,

Thank you for you’re many years of service! For all of the right or wrong decisions that you have made during your tenure, there are always some of us who feel that you have made good decisions and some, possibly, not so popular decisions. In the following case, I really do not know if you made a decision at all or that you are receiving all of your mail. The background to this letter is the following. I wrote to you, First Mike, Representative Kelly and other state representatives about the issue of relocating the Camp Murray Main Gate. (more...)

There will be several RAFFLES for chances to win special prizes. Lunch served I 1 am - 2 pm.

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So let's gamble.

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This is part three – and final - of a series on the subject of High Speed Rail (HSR).

There are three questions this series seeks to address:

1. Separation - How acceptably does HSR alleviate concerns of safety – trains vs. pedestrians, and trains vs. traffic?

2. Motivation - How accurately does HSR present its information? In other words, is there information that HSR makes available for public consumption, while pursuing an under-the-radar purpose reflecting an ulterior motivation?

3. Transportation - How affectively does HSR address the needs of transportation?

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This just in:

Before part two of the train series that follows, a special request to help again with the porch rebuild project at Tillicum Manor, Saturday, Nov.19, 9-3 p.m.   Contact Chelsea Muller, Program Director, Rebuilding Together South Sound, 253-238-0977; cmuller@rebuildingtogetherss.org .

This is part two of a three part series on the subject of High Speed Rail (HSR).

There are three questions this series seeks to address:

1. Separation - How acceptably does HSR alleviate concerns of safety – trains vs. pedestrians, and trains vs. traffic?  Part 1 was posted November 14, 2011 in Lakewood Patch.

2.  Motivation - How accurately does HSR present its information?  In other words, is there information that HSR makes available for public consumption, while pursuing an under-the-radar purpose revealing an ulterior motivation?

3.  Transportation - How affectively does HSR address the needs of transportation? (more...)

One of the first and easiest actions to take is to put together an outage kit that includes the following items: (more...)

This is part one of a three part series on the subject of High Speed Rail (HSR). There are three questions this series seeks to address:

1. Separation - How acceptably does HSR alleviate concerns of safety – trains vs. pedestrians, and trains vs. traffic?

2.  Motivation - How accurately does HSR present its information?  In other words, is there information that HSR makes available for public consumption, while pursuing an under-the-radar purpose reflecting an ulterior motivation?

3.  Transportation - How affectively does HSR address the needs of transportation?

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The event is scheduled for November 18, 2011 from 4:30 - 7 p.m. The main presentation will take place at 5:45 p.m.

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"Building trust in government" – the concern raised in the last paragraph of Lakewood City Manager Andrew Neiditiz's column in the fall "Lakewood Connections" recently delivered to mailboxes throughout the city - is placed here in the first paragraph since the topic of trusting government merits discussion of highest importance given recent local developments.

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"This is an amazing opportunity to ‘get our hands dirty’," says Taj Jensen, principal. Read the complete news release here. Learn more here and upon arriving, type in the zip code ‘98498’ to see Tillicum Elementary’s project.

Tillicum Elementary has several areas that have the potential of being gardens but are currently just beds of mulch, and volunteers will plant shrubs and other perennials, add soil and revitalize and colorize the school grounds.  Beyond being a school, Tillicum Elementary is also a central point for the community where several outside groups utilize the facility.

There is no image available for this post.  Perhaps your picture belongs there?

If you abbreviate the ancient book of Ezekiel to EZ, note that there is nothing E-Z about taking your place in the space about which he wrote.  There was a gap in the wall.  A reformer, restorer, repairer was required – one that “would endeavor by his influence to stop the breaking in.”

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The Point Defiance Bypass proposal for a high speed railway through Lakewood will put between 10 and 20 trains per day through our City, across our streets, through our neighborhoods, past our schools.  There appears to be little or no consideration given for the safety of our citizens and our children.

According to data posted by the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis on their website the safety record of AMTRAK is improving and 2011 could be one of their safest years.  The average total number of accidents from 2001 through 2010 is 105, which is 2.66 accidents per million train miles. The average number of derailments over the same period was 43 or 1.09 per million train miles per year.

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