TC Board of County Commissioners to hold public hearing on Yelm Joint Plan
Nisqually Valley News Staff
Thurston County Board of County Commissioners will host a public hearing related to the Yelm Joint Plan at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31, at 3000 Pacific Ave. SE, Suite 110, Olympia.
The commissioners will hear public comments on the City of Yelm and Thurston County Joint Plan, which is based on the recent Yelm Comprehensive Plan, and the update revises the plan to read as a document to serve the Urban Growth Area only. The plan also updates maps, data and policies to match current conditions.
The public is invited to attend the hearing and can issue comments, and those who cannot attend can submit written or emailed comments to Amelia.Schwartz@co.thurston.wa.us.
Ballots available, drop boxes open ahead of Nov. 7 election
Nisqually Valley News Staff
As the Nov. 7 general election nears, the Thurston County Auditor’s elections division mailed more than 190,000 ballots to voters in the county.
The Auditor’s Office has 30 secure ballot drop box locations throughout Thurston County, including:
Yelm Community Schools, 110 First St. NE, Yelm
Lacamas Elementary School, 16240 Bald Hill Road SE, Yelm
Rainier City Hall, 102 Rochester St. W., Rainier
Nisqually Tribal Administration Building, 4820 She Nah Num Drive SE, Olympia
Tenino School District Administration building, 301 Old Highway 99 N., Tenino
Bucoda (across from Liberty Market), 103 S. Main St.
From Friday, Nov. 3 through Monday, Nov. 6, voters can also register to vote, update addresses or receive a ballot or election information at local Timberland libraries, including in Tenino, 172 Central Ave. W., and in Yelm, 210 Prairie Park St.
Ballots need to be postmarked by Nov. 7, and voters are advised to check mailboxes during pickup times to ensure ballots will be postmarked by Election Day on Nov. 7. No stamp is needed to mail ballots.
Drop boxes will remain open until 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7. Following the election, meetings to canvass ballots and finalize the election results are open to the public. Meetings will be at 2 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 16, 3:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 20 and 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 28, all at the Thurston County Ballot Processing Center, 2905 29th Ave. SW Suite F, Tumwater.
Recycling of used cooking oil suspended at county waste and recovery center
Nisqually Valley News staff
Thurston County Waste and Recovery Center (WARC) in Lacey announced it has suspended the facilities used-cooking oil collection at HazoHouse, effective immediately.
The suspension is in response to traceability guidelines, or ability to track the oil’s origin, recently set by Mahoney, WARC’s collection and recycling vendor. The new guidelines prevent Mahoney from continuing to collect at WARC.
Thurston County Solid Waste is searching for a new vendor to relaunch the used cooking oil recycling service, according to a press release. Residents are advised to solidify their used cooking oil in a commercial oil solidifier or stearic acid before throwing it away.
For questions, please contact Thurston County Solid Waste at 360-867-2491 or ThurstonSolidWaste@co.thurston.wa.us.
