2014 Capital City Marathon, May 18th

Read on to see the Press Release with impact on the Eastside neighborhood.

Call for volunteers: Volunteer Poster 2014

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEMBERS
NOTICE OF
2014 CAPITAL CITY MARATHON
MAY 18, 2014

Please factor the Capital City Marathon into your morning plans on Sunday May 18th. Our event is large enough that it could affect your mobility at times on Sunday morning. Depending on where you live on the race routes, it is conceivable that your ability to get somewhere or to return home that morning might be impacted.

The marathon run begins at 7:00 a.m., the half-marathon begins at 7:45 a.m. and the five-mile run begins at 8:00 a.m. You can go to the Capital City Marathon website to look at the course map to find out where your house is on the course.

The vast majority of marathon runners will finish between 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Most half-marathon runners will finish by 10:45 a.m. The five-mile race will be done by 9:30 a.m. Those attending churches located along the race courses may be delayed due to runners on the road depending on the time your service begins and ends.

We have volunteers and local law enforcement directing traffic to ensure runner safety and to keep vehicles moving safely. We try to minimize the inconvenience but be aware of the event and please be patient.

Thank you in advance for your tolerance and patience on race day.

Jim Lux, President and Course Safety Coordinator, Capital City Marathon Association

(Minutes) Information Night: How a national trend of increased IV drug use is affecting our community

Over 25 people gathered in a meeting room at New Bridge Community Church to take part in a conversation about the national trend of increased IV drug use.  Local service providers helped frame the discussion and shared their experiences.  

Chief Ronnie Roberts from the Olympia Police Department talked about the policing aspect and reminded us that Olympia is one of the few jurisdictions in the area with a true “downtown” so in many ways it serves as the downtown for most of the County.  Joe Avalos from Thurston County Public Health and John Lanning from Providence St. Peter Hospital both talked about the realities of addiction and the current challenge that there is more demand than availability for services, including the County-run needle exchange program and many of the rehab/detox options.  Jeff Doyle, a volunteer with EGYHOP (Emma Goldman Youth and Homeless Outreach Program), shared the realities of needle exchange and that the demographics of those using this service include housed populations.  He also shared how there is a strong sense of pride in Olympia’s street culture, with many individuals initiating their own cleanups of  downtown areas.

Those gathered talked about moving forward from this conversation toward action. Ideas included: speaking up at City Council meetings, organizing with Thurston County Health to do “sweeps” of our neighborhood parks, encouraging the jurisdictions and professionals to collaborate, lobbying for more open hours for the Thurston County needles exchange, installing a permanent needle drop in the urban core somewhere outside, and looking at how other cities and counties are dealing with the problem.

Some individuals who attended the meeting plan to organize a spring sweep of one of our neighborhood parks.

Documents distributed at meeting:

Eastside Neighborhood Presentation 2-5-14 Final
amfAR Fact Sheet on Syringe Exchanges
EGYHOP 2014 fact sheet

Minutes submitted by Eastside resident Joellen Wilhelm

Information Night: How a national trend of increased IV drug use is affecting our community

February 5th 6:30 – 8:00p.m. New Bridge Community Church Meeting Room

This informational meeting will help set the ground work for future neighborhood discussions and is intended as an information night.   There will be time set aside for questions.

Olympia Police Chief Roberts and Lt. Ray Holmes will present about the policing impacts of increased drug use in our community.  Lt. Holmes monitors crime on the east side of Olympia.  Joe Avalos,the Program Manager with Thurston County Public Health Chemical Dependency Program will also present and share information about programs and resources provided by the County.