Month: June 2019

Our Sheriff’s deputies have some pretty amazing places to do their work.  Given the miles and miles of shoreline surrounding us, as well as the many rivers and lakes in our county, rescuing folks in the water is a critical tactic. Our crack Swift Water Rescue Team trains several times a year to keep their technical skills sharp and their teamwork well coordinated. I was fortunate to be invited to join them on their training session last week on the Puyallup River above Orting. Even with my Navy background, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into!  Basically, I had two goals: first, to not die; and second, to not lose my dignity. I know I aced the first goal. As for the second goal, I’ll let…

Every day, I have challenging conversations with our colleagues and those outside the County about our work to build a brighter future for the people of Pierce County.  Many of those conversations revolve around more and better jobs, safeguarding and enhancing our natural environment, strengthening our educational options – improving the quality of life for our residents.  When I have these future-focused discussions, I am comforted knowing that the people in our Human Services Department are clearly focused on helping those in our community who need assistance today. If you have never had the chance to visit our Human Services team, the amazing staff of compassionate professionals would impress you.  They are an extremely diverse group – coming from multiple countries and speaking many languages – all united by a…

Counting everyone once, only once, and in the right place. It’s easy to see the parallels between election administration and the decennial census. That’s one reason I’m so passionate about the 2020 Census. The April 1, 2020 event is just around the corner and I’m happy to share that Pierce County has gotten a head start to ensure that every county resident is accurately counted. Pierce County’s GIS team (Brandy Riche and Chuck Buzzard) kicked off the process in March with a review of census block and dwelling unit data for all incorporated and unincorporated areas within Pierce County. Thanks to their hard work and expertise, the entire county now has 362,445 address records verified and geo-located in the GIS spatial layer. This advance work (within a 120-day window!) means…

Whether serving our country, our community or our county, we have many reasons to pause this week and express our gratitude to our public servants. Much will be written this week in memory of the thousands of men and women involved in World War II’s Operation Overlord – better known as D-Day.  In marking the 75th anniversary of the invasion of the Normandy beaches in France, we are remembering all those who served, including those supporting from England and in the 1,200 planes and 5,000 vessels.  But mostly, we are honoring the sacrifice and bravery of the 160,000 troops who crossed the English Channel to confront Hitler’s vaunted “Atlantic Wall."  Many young men faced likely death as they parachuted in or waded ashore. The battle would rage for months, with…