City contracts for GIS data

The City of Olympia has selected GTG to implement a UML/Geodatabase Design and Development project for the Water Resources Division of the Public Works Department. The project will enable field personnel to manage and maintain storm water site data in both the office and the field.

New director for Red Cross in Thurston/Mason counties.

Keriann Cockrell has joined the American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter as director of the Thurston-Mason counties office. Cockrell’s knowledge of the greater Olympia community will help the local Red Cross chapter increase services, raise visibility and create a greater understanding of the vital services provided by the Red Cross, the agency said. She worked for 16 years in rehabilitation counseling, serving as Washington state manager and director of marketing for a national rehabilitation counseling firm in Olympia.

No more mold

OLYMPIA - Olympia school officials say they expect to meet an Aug. 31 deadline for finishing a mold removal project at Capital High School. All the mold has been cleared and the bottom few feet of all contaminated walls have also been removed. Workers now are wrapping up the project's second stage, which involves replacing the wall sections with mold-resistant sheet rock.

OLYMPIA -- A consultant has found trace amounts of mold inside two more hallway walls at Capital High School, Olympia School District officials announced Wednesday.

Jane Kirkemo, the city's finance director, described the plan as "one of the most aggressive," thanks in large part to the parks and sidewalks funding measure that voters passed last September.

As expected, City Council members voted 5 to 2 Tuesday to adopt an ordinance barring anything related to nuclear weapons within town.

The ordinance, which takes effect in 30 days, also specifies that companies doing business with the city will be asked to affirm in writing that they are not involved in nuclear weapons production. Officials will then try to avoid doing business with those that don't provide such an affidavit unless there is no reasonable alternative.

A late change to the ordinance -- the result of an executive session held earlier that night -- will protect Olympia from the most significant legal threat, said Bob Sterbank, city attorney.

Under that change, the federal government and use of national roadways -- which locally means Interstate 5 and U.S. Highway 101 -- for transporting nuclear weapons or their components is exempt from the law. That same exemption also might cover Plum Street, which officials say might be considered part of the national highway system. City staff was asked to check on the Plum Street's status.