New 02-05-10  Thurston County Master Recycler Training  Thurston is seeking residents to help spread the word about the benefits of waste reduction, reuse, and recycling.  The county trains each Master Recycler volunteer on how to become a community educator on solid waste issues such as waste reduction, recycling, and composting within Thurston County. In exchange for 19 hours of free training, participants agree to spend 30 hours during the following year working as community volunteers to educate citizens of Thurston County. Master Recyclers can participate in a wide range of county waste reduction activities and community events, or work in their own neighborhoods, schools, or workplaces on projects encouraging waste reduction and recycling.

The spring course will be held on Tuesdays, March 2 through 30 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The classes will be held at the Thurston County Public Works offices at 2404 Heritage Court in Olympia. The group will also meet on Saturdays, March 13 and March 27 from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., for field trips to a local recycling facility, compost demonstration garden, Silver Springs Organics commercial composting facility, and the Thurston County Waste and Recovery Center. To become a Master Recycler, participants must attend all seven sessions.

Class size is limited to 20. Applications will be accepted until February 22.  For more information, call Colleen Uuereb at 786-5269 or   e-mail uuerebc@co.thurston.wa.us. To apply online, visit https://www.volgistics.com/ex/portal.dll/ap?AP=944816522 

New 02-02-10  Home Buyers Class  The Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC) has made loan funds available of $10,999 and more for a down payment on a home purchase.  To qualify, (1) buyer must not have owned a home in the last three years, (2) household income must be under the maximum allowed, and (3) buyer must take the wshfc home buyer class.  Click here to view the poster.

Updated 02-02-10  PowerPoint Slides Shown at the Rochester School District Community Levy Meeting  The PowerPoint slides shown at the Rochester School District Community meeting on the Levy are available to be viewed.  There are two different slide shows that will open in a new window - please be patient as they are fairly large files and may take some time to load.  The two PowerPoint presentations are: "Community Meeting", (slides describing the reason for the levy) and "Reasons to Be Proud" which points out the many achievements made by the students, teachers and School District.  You may need the Microsoft PowerPoint viewer to see these slides.  The PowerPoint viewer can be downloaded free from the Microsoft website by clicking here

New 12-28-09  Information about the family who suffered loss in yesterday's fire   Information about the fire in Rochester yesterday.  We (Susie Hawes) met with the family today at the clothing closet.  We were able to get an interpreter to help us so we were able to determine their needs at this time.  They have two small children and are staying with a neighbor who has a spare room.  They need a crib for their baby as well as a full or queen bed for them.  They are all currently sleeping on the floor.  They will need other items as soon as they can secure housing.  If you are able to donate a crib or bed please let me or June know asap.  Thanks, Susie Hawes  RUMC  273-5000.

Updated 12-28-09  The Fultz-Valenta family lost their home to a fire   The Fultz-Valenta family lost their home on Prather Road on Christmas night to a fire. It has been reported that Maggie’s parents, two granddaughters and a sophomore age son were living there. There were possibly 8 people there for the holidays when the fire occurred.  There was no insurance. If you would like to donate, funds are being dropped off at Reward Real Estate (the old Weaver & Associates building) in down town Rochester.  If you would like contributions to be tax deductable, checks can be made out to “The RUMC Benevolence Fund” (to specify who the funds are to be distributed to please put the name a sticky note or on the envelope.)  There is a mail drop in the side door if you put “Prather Road Family” on an envelope, it will get to them.  Please call Tony Hawes (or Justin Rotter) for more details at 789-1263.

Updated 09-17-09  Thurston County Ordinance of Prime Importance to Rochester Residents  The Thurston County Commissioners enacted an ordinance on July 28, 2009 without a public hearing!!!  They have only now decided to have the required public hearing on it.  That hearing will be at the county courthouse on September 15 at 5:30 PM.  The ordinance deals with Prairie Lands & Protected species of plants and animals.  It will restrict your ability to make changes to your landscaping or building new structures on your property among many other things.  You can view the ordinance at this webpage: http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/wl-boccpublic/DocView.aspx?id=294793  There are two other webpages that deal with related issues that you may want to view.  Thurston County Development Services and http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/permitting/FAQs/Frequently_Asked_Questions.htm
Donna Weaver-Smith would like to hear your comments about this ordinance the Thurston County Commissioners have enacted.  Click here to e-mail her with your comments.

New 05-28-09  Rochester United Methodist Church Closet   The Rochester United Methodist Church has just started a "Clothing Bank" they are calling the Rochester Community Closet where they are receiving clothing donations to be given to those who are in need.  The Closet is located just north of the church on Corvallis Street.  They are open Wednesday's between 3:00 and 5:00 PM and on Friday's between 10:00 AM and 12:00 Noon.  They can available at others times by calling 273-500 for an appointment.  They are still in need of good used clothing donations, especially children's sizes.

New 03-29-09  Library Volunteers Needed   The Rochester Library needs volunteers!!!  Currently the library is open only two days a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) because so few Rochester residents have volunteered to keep it open.  During the month of April there is a 2 1/2 hour period during the middle of each Tuesday when it must close because no one has volunteered to to be there during that time.  Volunteer shifts are only for 2 1/2 hours with eight to ten shifts per month.  That means there is a need for a minimum of ten people to volunteer 2 1/2 hours of their time each month for the library to remain open.  The Library is a valuable resource for Rochester and it would be a tragedy if you residents of Rochester failed to make such a small sacrifice of volunteering 2 1/2 hours of your time once each month.  The work is not difficult and training is available.  Come on Rochester residents - step up to the plate and make a commitment to your community to keep this valuable resource open.  For more information about volunteering at the library please call Gabrielle at 273-6375 or e-mail gdavis@roofcommunityservices.org

New 03-04-09  http://grandmound-rochester.blogspot.com/  This website is a "blog" about the Rochester Horizons Project which is designed to address poverty and other community issues.  It is a program of local Rochester residents coming together to improve our community.  Click here for more information about the Rochester Horizons Project.

New 12-23-08  Thurston County Solid Waste Recycling Program    Thurston County Solid Waste has additional information on the new, free, statewide electronics recycling program.  Please note that the new E-cycle recycling locations listed will not accept items until after Jan 1, 2009. The materials exchange websites we regularly promote, as well as our new and improved "Where should I take my" database on our Thurston County Solid Waste website, are also listed in the brochure.  Please click here to view the brochure.  t is in PDF  format so you will need the "Adobe Reader" to open the file.  If you do not have "Adobe Reader" on your computer you can download a free copy from this website:  http://www.adobe.com/  Reuse is always better than recycling and there are many local opportunities to donate or sell working electronics.  Many of our residents, especially now, cannot afford a computer or a TV for their family.  While Santa may be bringing a super new model to many of our residents....there are others in our community that would gladly welcome an older working item.  Data removal from computers and the new digital TV conversion are also mentioned in the brochure.

The main website for the statewide program  is http://www.ecyclewashington.org  Please contact me if you have any questions (email is best as I am out of the office until  Dec 29).  Thank You and Happy Holidays  Terri Thomas, Education and Outreach Specialist, Thurston County Solid Waste, mailto:www.co.thurston.wa.us/wwm/
Visit our FREE materials exchange at www.2good2toss.com

New 10-13-08  Electronics Recycling in Thurston County  This year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, consumers will retire 2 million tons in e-waste, or “tech trash” – old or obsolete cellular phones, rechargeable batteries, ink jet cartridges, televisions, computer components, monitors, appliances, etc. The good news is that working items can be reused and that many of the materials in e-waste can be recycled or refurbished.  Please click here to view the poster.  It is in PDF  format so you will need the "Adobe Reader" to open the file.  If you do not have "Adobe Reader" on your computer you can download a free copy from this website:  http://www.adobe.com/

New 10-03-08  Compact fluorescent light disposal in Thurston County  As you know, compact flourescent lights (CFL) contain mercury.  There has been a lot of press lately about proper disposal.  Home Depot is now taking them for free.  http://www6.homedepot.com/ecooptions/stage/pdf/cfl_recycle.pdf

Please see our website for more local locations that accept the bulbs and info on what to do if a bulb breaks in your home.
http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/wwm/Recycling_and_Disposal/Recycle/Hazardous/Fluorescents.htm

New 10-03-08  Free battery recycling at Batteries Plus in Olympia  Many locations accept rechargeable batteries and cellphones through RBRC. Go to http://www.rbrc.org/consumer/index.php to find locations.  Batteries Plus is the only store we are currently aware of in Thurston County that accepts and recycles alkalines as well. They utilize a program called Big Green Box.
http://www.biggreenbox.com The Big Green Box is a program that offers to companies, consumers, municipalities and other generators a low cost and easy way to provide electronics and battery recycling for themselves as well as their customers. Once The Big Green Box is purchased all shipping, handling and disposal fees are included. The Big Green Box includes a United Nations approved transportation container, pre-paid shipping to our recycling facility and all battery recycling fees. With The Big Green Box it is no longer necessary to pay large fees to waste management companies, nor fill out complicated paperwork, just to manage your hazardous materials.

Updated 09-11-08  Rochester Community Library Has New Hours  The Rochester Community Library’s new summer hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 am-6:00 pm.  The Rochester Community Library has a Timberland Regional Library Kiosk where patrons can place holds and pick up materials from any TRL branch; a collection of materials for check out; and a computer lab.

“The Library is really a unique partnership between the community and TRL,” explains Gabrielle Davis, Volunteer Coordinator.  “The Library is completely staffed by volunteers.  It is really up to the residents of Rochester how many hours we are open and what activities we can offer.  The Library has a great group of dedicated volunteers, but we need the community’s help in order to keep the Library open and growing.”

The Rochester Community Library is located in the Rochester Community Center at 10140 Highway 12 SW.  For more information, please contact the Library at (360) 858-7086 or rochestertrl@hotmail.com.  You can also find more information on the website rochester-wa.com.

New 09-11-08  New MOMS Club in Rochester/Chehalis  There is a new Rochester/Chehalis MOMS Club. The MOMS Club is an international support group for mothers. We have everything from play dates to Moms night out. Some of you may not need a mommy support group but you may know someone who does. Please pass this information to anybody you may know who may have an interest.   Click here to view the poster.   It is in PDF format so you will need the "Adobe Reader" to open the file.  If you do not have "Adobe Reader" on your computer you can download a free copy from this website:  http://www.adobe.com/