Category: Newsletters

Where are you from?
Elaine – Born and raised in Altadena, CA; I lived in Tacoma for 10 years before moving to Olympia.
Chad – Grew up in Pierce County. I’ve lived in Tacoma and in other parts of Olympia over the years.

Describe yourselves
We live with our three cats in a 1970s house that is our ongoing project. We both enjoy cycling; Elaine gets in 10 miles most weekdays. We’re also both very interested in the social uses of computers, Chad with wifi and Elaine with blogging. We’ve lived in the eastside for about 4 1/2 years.

Favorite things about the eastside:
The mix of houses, beautiful and creative gardens, and all the different kinds of people. It’s close to downtown, so there are plenty of amenities in cycling distance.
Why are you involved with the ENA?
We are both interested in getting to know more neighbors and in improving the place we love.  This year, Chad wants to work on making the Madison Scenic Park better, and Elaine wants to make the newsletter more engaging and interesting.  (Suggestions welcome!)

The trees on Legion Way are beginning to leaf out for spring; another wonderful summer of traveling the lush greenery along Legion Way is on its way! Here’s a quick State-of-the-Trees review:

Seven trees were removed because of the December 14 windstorm. Six were replaced with new young oaks; the last location, at 1114 Legion Way, will require investigation into the conditions that allowed the tree to rotate completely out of the soil. This failure was totally unanticipated and appears to be connected to a drainage problem that interfered with the ability of the tree’s roots to hold fast.

Wood from the removed trees has been funneled into a variety of recycling programs including the new City Hall; an organization that will carve wooden toys for Toys for Tots; local artisans; Left Foot Organics; firewood to low-income families; and as mulch for Legion Way replacement trees.

The City’s Urban Foresters are pursuing alternatives for managing the replacement trees along Legion Way where utility transmission lines are still a concern. Discussions have begun with Puget Sound Energy to research options that will avert the need for severe pruning along Legion Way. Stay tuned for developments along these lines…in the meantime, Asplundh, contractors to PSE, will be active this summer in the Eastside Neighborhood trimming trees under utility lines. This activity is mandated by Washington law, which requires that utility companies provide for the safe and uninterrupted delivery of service.
Micki McNaughton, City of Olympia Urban Forestry Program – All three of the City’s Urban Foresters inspect Legion Way at least once a week; however, those of you who live and travel on Legion Way are our best eyes: you are the most familiar with our green giants in all their seasons. Please contact any one of us if you notice any changes in a tree, or have questions about the trees.

If a tree emergency develops after business hours or on the weekend, please contact Public Works Gateway Services at (360) 753-8333.

Mark Bergeson, Treasurer – So far, 2007 is off to a good start, with first quarter dues & donations of $345 and expenditures of $430 ($119 of which will be reimbursed by Thurston County). In other words, we are about breaking even, which is not bad. But in order to keep on breaking even, we need more households to pay their dues.

Thank you to the 25 households who’ve paid their dues so far. Special thanks to the following people, who’ve made first quarter 2007 donations above and beyond their dues:

Brad & Leigh Archbold, Julia Bagley, Barbara Blubaugh, Jerrod Davis, Janet Charles Foutch and Mark Foutch, Beverly Kooi, Alvin and Patricia Sauer, Brian and Katie Stoll.

Cash donations aren’t the only kind we get. In-kind donations played an important role in our activities last year. We didn’t have enough space to properly thank 2006 in-kind donors in our last newsletter, so we’d like to do that now. Our heartfelt thanks to the following 2006 in-kind donors:

• South Sound Running 8 pairs of shoes @ $65.00 each and 1 pair of socks @ $5.00
• Community Build-A-Bike 5 refurbished bicycles for children @ $75.00 each
• Thurston County 100 pedometers @ $2.00 each
• Olympia Supply Company $250.00 in materials for neighborhood signs
• San Francisco Street Bakery $25.00 in gift certificates
• Big Tom’s $24.00 in materials for neighborhood signs
• Olympia Food Co-op $22.50 in gift certificates and $39.20 in Cliff Bars
• Eventco/Eddy Willingham DJ & PA services and games for 2006 picnic – Priceless

Coming to your door soon, or read it online (PDF).