A woman separated from a group floating the Nisqually River on Sunday, July 15, was rescued on Monday morning. 

The woman was found safe, though she was hungry, cold, and tired. 

SE Thurston Fire Authority received assistance in the rescue from the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office and Lacey Fire District #3.

Be safe when you’re out on the water and wear a life jacket at all times. Don’t consume alcohol or drugs while on the water. Remember to take a First Aid kit and don’t forget your cell phone in case of an emergency!

July

Annual ‘Seattle to Portland’ (STP) Bike Ride
Saturday & Sunday, July 14 – 15
Riders travel through Yelm
www.cascade.org

Movie in the Park
Tuesday, July 17; Saturday, July 21
Longmire Community Park
Sponsored by the Yelm Lions Club

2nd Annual UFO Festival & Cosmic Symposium
Friday-Sunday, July 27 – 29
www.yelmufofest.com

Yelm Farmer’s Market
Saturdays, May 26 – October 27
Yelm Community Center
www.yelmfarmersmarket.com

August

Annual Jazz Festival
Saturday, August 4
Yelm City Park

Movie in the Park
Saturday, August 4; Saturday, August 18
Longmire Community Park
Sponsored by the Yelm Lions Club

Prairie Street Rod Association Annual Car Show
Sunday, August 5
Yelm High School Campus

National Night Out
Tuesday, August 7
Yelm Community Center

Rotary Backyard Jamboree
Saturday, August 11
Yelm City Park
www.yelmrotary.com
Sponsored by Yelm Rotary Club

Drive 507 Business After Hours
Thursday, August 30
10501 Creek Street, SE Suite 3
Yelm, WA 98597

Yelm Farmer’s Market
Saturdays, May 26 – October 27
Yelm Community Center
www.yelmfarmersmarket.com

September

Movie in the Park
Saturday, September 1
Longmire Community Park
Sponsored by the Yelm Lions Club

Drive 507 Business After Hours
Thursday, September 27
715 E. Yelm Avenue Suite 1
Yelm, WA 98597

Yelm Farmer’s Market
Saturdays, May 26 – October 27
Yelm Community Center
www.yelmfarmersmarket.com

October

First Annual ‘Octoberfest’
Saturday, October 6
Yelm Community Center and Yelm City Park

Drive 507 Business After Hours
Thursday, September 27

Yelm Farmer’s Market
Saturdays, May 26 – October 27
Yelm Community Center
www.yelmfarmersmarket.com

December

30th Annual “Christmas in the Park” Event
Saturday, December 1
Yelm Community Center and Yelm City Park
Sponsored by the City of Yelm, Yelm Chamber, Yelm Community Schools, and local businesses

Summer is upon us and the days are growing hotter. In the summer days, it’s important to stay hydrated and safe. Here’s a visual to help you know the difference in symptoms between heat exhaustion and heat stroke, as well as how to treat each.

Stay safe out there!

The kitchen is an extremely busy place in the home. It’s where families come together for events, cook their meals, and spend time together. The kitchen is where various prep work begins, a new family recipe takes shape, and where we spend hours connecting with friends and family.

All this traffic, along with the fixtures and appliances inside, means the kitchen can also be a dangerous room, if safety precautions are not in place. More than half of all house fires start in the kitchen. Adapting safe cooking practices, acting quickly during an actual emergency, and learning about general home fire safety can help you to become better prepared and to keep your family safe in the event that tragedy strikes.

Source: https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/preventing-kitchen-fires-in-your-home/#ixzz5FWIaYzzi

CALL IF YOU CAN – TEXT IF YOU CAN’T

TEXT TO 9-1-1 is not a replacement to a voice call to 9-1-1 in an emergency situation, but rather is an enhancement to reach 9-1-1 services in specific situations such as:

• The caller is hearing/voice impaired
• A medical emergency that renders the person incapable of speech
• When speaking out loud would put the caller in danger, such as a home invasion, domestic violence situation or an active shooter scenario
• Any other emergency that makes it impossible to speak out loud

For more information about this service, click here.

Plan now. In an emergency situation, your family may not be together. Make a plan to ensure everyone remains safe and knows how to find each other after an emergency/natural disaster.

Read here about preparing an emergency kit.

State Parks has announced two free days in April, 2018. 

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission invites the public to celebrate Spring and Earth Day with two free days at state parks in April. On free days, visitors don’t need a Discover Pass for day-use visits by vehicle.

The first free day is Saturday, April 14—a springtime free day. The next free day is Sunday, April 22, in honor of Earth Day.

The free days are in keeping with legislation that created the Discover Pass. The pass costs $30 for an annual pass or $10 for a one-day permit and is required for vehicle access to state recreation lands managed by Washington State Parks, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The Discover Pass legislation provided that State Parks could designate up to 12 “free days” when the pass would not be required to visit state parks. The free days apply only at state parks; the Discover Pass is still required on WDFW and DNR lands.

The remaining 2018 State Parks free days are as follows:

• Saturday, June 2 — National Trails Day
• Saturday, June 9 — National Get Outdoors Day
• Sunday, June 10 — Free Fishing Day
• Saturday, Aug. 25 — National Park Service Birthday
• Saturday, Sept. 22 — National Public Lands Day
• Sunday, Nov. 11 — Veterans Day

For more information, visit www.DiscoverPass.wa.gov or parks.state.wa.us

A lockdown at Yelm High School Wednesday has ended. The lockdown was instituted after administrators received a report that a student was planning on bringing a weapon to school.

The school said a few students reported that a student made social media reports about a weapon.

School officials and police met with the student.

The school said there was a thorough search and that no gun was found.

The school and police determined the lockdown could be lifted at 10:20 a.m.

— Credit: KOMO News

OLYMPIA – The Thurston County Board of Commissioners adopted Fire and Emergency Services Growth Management Impact Fees for certain types of new construction permits within S.E. Thurston Fire Authority’s jurisdiction on January 23, 2018. The fees are scheduled to go into effect on March 1, 2018.

The S.E. Thurston Fire Authority’s Board of Fire Commissioners requested the county collect the fees on their behalf. After conducting public meetings to hear from citizens about this request and assessing the impacts, the County adopted amendments to the impact fee code in September 2016, April 2017 and January 2018. The authority to collect impact fees for fire districts and authorities was added with these amendments, and the County will collect the fees on their behalf.

You can view more detailed information about the proposal on the Thurston County Community Development Long Range Planning website.

What are Fire and Emergency Services Impact Fees?

Fire and emergency services impact fees are used to fund new developments’ share of facility and major equipment needs. Impact Fees are not charged for internal remodeling work on existing structures and other selected types of construction, such as:

• Single-family homes with residential fire sprinklers
• Ag-exempt structures up to 775 square feet
• Structures not requiring permits
• Bulkheads
• Retaining Walls
• Stair Towers
• Ground based solar panels
• Structures which are not frequently used such as: docks, walking surfaces such as porches and decks
• Any addition to current structures which is less than 500 square feet

Impact fees are based on the square footage of the proposed building. The fee rate is $0.36 per square foot.  The fee is based on S.E. Thurston Fire Authority’s Impact Fee Rate Study and on their Capital Facilities Plan. 

Impact fees will be assessed at the time a completed building application is submitted to the Thurston County Permit Assistance Center.  Impact Fees will be collected at time of Building Permit issuance. 

Credit: Thurston County Website

The S.E. Thurston Fire Authority will benefit from the Capital Budget. The State Capital Budget is separate from the operating budget. The Capital Budget is used for funding construction. Lawrence Lake Fire Station #22, serving the Vail Road area has been awarded $252,000.

S.E. Thurston Fire Chief Mark King said, “The funding will go toward site land preparation including, permits, Pocket Gopher study, Site Preparation, new septic tank, drill well, and structural design. We know that the money awarded will not cover the whole cost to build the new fire station, but it will be a good start”.

The rebuilding and reopening of the Lawrence Lake Fire Station, which also serves the Vail Road area will create housing for firefighters allowing SETFA to staff this station 24/7. A fire station located in the Southern area of the fire district would provide faster emergency medical service and fire protection.

Presently, the City of Yelm or Rainier is left without emergency medical services and fire protection when personnel and equipment are dispatched to other areas, for example, Lawrence Lake and Vail Road areas. Travel time (round trip) can take up to 40 minutes, plus time on scene. With traffic congestion on Hwy 507 and 510, add more time for response. Anytime I-5 backs up between Tacoma and Lacey, driving through Yelm is a natural alternate route that chokes traffic to a dead stop.

Yelm is one of the faster growing cities in Washington. The population based on the 2010 census was 6,484. In the year 2017, the census estimate is 8,665. This growth makes the need for 24/7 emergency medical services and fire protection. Rebuilding and opening the Lawrence Lake Fire Station will benefit the entire area, Citizens of Yelm, Rainier, Lawrence Lake and the Vail Road areas.

The Lawrence Lake Fire Station, serving the Vail Road area was made possible through the hard work of your legislators from District 2, Senator Randi Becker, Representative J.T. Wilcox and Representative Andrew Barkis and District 20 Senator John Braun, Representative Richard DeBolt and Representative Ed Orcutt.