New 02-22-11  The Hooved Animal Rescue of Thurston County   The Hooved Animal Rescue of Thurston County (HAROTC) still has vendors spaces available for our Spring Market at the Thurston County Fairgrounds, April 29th & 30th.  This is the weekend before Mother's Day so it will be a great time for everyone to come and get Mom that special gift.  HAROTC will be selling plants, garden art, homemade birdhouses, used tack and other household goods.  Vendors will be there with soy candles, jewelry, food products, dog and cat items, and much more.  Vendor spaces are still available, 10' x 10' - $65, electrical access available, 8' table space $40, no electrical available.  There is another event that same weekend at the Fairgrounds, a children's re-use it fair, that should bring in some good traffic also.  Come join us for some fun and help support the animals.  For more information please email me at harotc@live.com or call (360) 402-0702.

New 02-17-11  The Freedom Foundation   The Freedom Foundation is looking for property owners who have stories to tell about their experience with Thurston County. If you have a story to tell, call Scott Roberts at 360-956-3482

New 12-07-10  Gate City Globe - Issue 10  Issue 10 of the Gate City Globe can be viewed and/or printed by clicking here.  The Gate City Globe is a publication about the Historic Gate area of Rochester.  This is a PDF file and you will need the Adobe Reader on your computer to open this document.  If you don't have Adobe Reader you can download a free copy from the Adobe.com website at:  http://get.adobe.com/reader/?promoid=BUIGO

New 03-11-10  "Swede Hall" Calendar  The Grand Mound Rochester Citizens Group's facility known as "Swede Hall" can be rented for special occasions such as meetings, wedding receptions, memorial services, etc. A calendar of the events happening at Swede Hall can be viewed by going to: http://calender.yahoo.com/swedehall to see if the building is available for the date you might wish to rent it.  For more information phone 360-273-7974 and leave a message or e-mail SwedeHall@yahoo.com

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 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 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.