Has The Time Come?

Tim Johannes is an experienced farmer. He's also done his share of farmer's markets. And he thinks Ruston is primed for a farmers market of our own. He said he wants to not only support our local farmers, but create a living, breathing social space for the community.

Tim attended the last business district meeting and gained their support for a venture. His handout from the meeting is below. This is a preliminary outline that has already undergone some changes. Tim wants to put together a board to set the policy and make the basic decisions like which day to hold the market, the location and such.

If you want to lend your support, share ideas or shout a big hurray, please contact Tim at 253-495-2552. The more folks who provide input, the better chance we have of pulling this off ~ so take a moment and give Tim a call.

Spiffy

Ruston is getting a coat of red paint just in time for the annual Taste of Tacoma parking challenge. We have a crew from Remann Hall who started the fun two weeks ago.

Last weekend, some of the neighbors decided to join in. Mayor Bruce Hopkins and his wife, Lyle and Patti Hardin, Edie Tallman, Council Member Bradley Huson spent part of their Saturday and Sunday scraping and painting. The goal is to have all the curbs painted by the end of the summer.

The fun continues next Saturday. Things should get underway about 10 am on the corner of 52nd and Highland. Meet some neighbors, get grubby and beautify the town if you have some spare time!

You Can Help

After some struggles, a fund has been established at the Tacoma Narrows Federal Credit Union to help the Bergman family recover from the fire that claimed their home last week. It turns out its not easy to set up an account for someone else. So there is an account under my membership at our local credit union. That means I'll be in charge of the money until we hand it over to Joanne, but anyone is welcome to examine the books at anytime.

You can drop off your donation to the Bergman Family Fire Fund at the credit union (at the bottom of 51st Street) or in the donation jar at Town Hall (5117 N. Winnifred) or Don's Market (51st and Winnifred).

Karen

Final Slate

Here is the final slate of candidates running for election this fall in Ruston:

• Mayor: Bruce Hopkins, running unopposed
• Council Position 1: Lyle Hardin, running unopposed
• Council Position 2: Deb Kristovich and Kim B. Wheeler
• Council Position 4: Bryan Ficiala, Jane Krock Hunt and Michael Wendell

The primary election will be held on Tuesday, August 18th for Council Position 4. The top two candidates will move on to the general election with the rest of the positions on November 3rd. Here's hoping for a spirited, civil election season in Ruston.

More Details on the Fire

The fire last night was one of Ruston's bigger in recent years. The call was dispatched as fire with possible entrapment, meaning people might be trapped in the burning house. As the fire engine was on the way to the house, a second dispatch updated the fire fighters that entrapment of two people was confirmed on the upper floor with only one way out the building. For rescuers, that spells a real challenge.

Ruston Fire put in a call for mutual aid from Tacoma Fire immediately upon arrival due to the nature of the call.

Firefighters initiated a primary search of structure immediately upon their arrival. Fortunately, the family had already made it out of the building and were safe.

There were reports of tires, a propane tank and other flammable containers exploding in the midst of the blaze. One Ruston and two Tacoma firefighters went inside the burning building for an interior attack on the fire. The Ruston firefighter was sent to the hospital as a precaution when he had trouble catching his breath. He checked out fine.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Ruston Fire Chief Don Torbet reports that the call was received at Fire Com at 1:39:52. Fire Com dispatched the call to Ruston at 1:40:57. Ruston's engine was on scene 2 minutes, 43 seconds later at 1:43:40.

The family has been asked to let us know how we can help. We'll keep you posted on some concrete ways we as a community can help when/if we hear anything from them.

Fire Aftermath

At first appearance, it looks like the family has lost everything. I'll let you all know as soon as I hear about a way we can help. For now, our prayers go out for the family.

Fire In Ruston

Ruston Fire Department responded to a fully involved house fire in the early morning hours today. I have not been able to speak to the fire chief yet, but neighbors report that the house in the 53rd and Shirley neighborhood had flames coming out windows and extensive smoke.

The good news is that everyone made it out safe; the owner, her son and all the cats. The family is staying with other family in the Tacoma area for now.

Ruston Fire was first on the scene and Tacoma Fire responded under the mutual aid agreement. This photo was from our front deck with a camera, which is clearly not set up for pictures in the dark, but you can get a sense of the level of response and effort to save this home a block away from our house.

There will be an effort to help the family. I'll post more details on the fire (response times, technical details, etc.) and ways we can help as the day progresses.

Ruston Candidates

UPDATE: Wednesday, 9:04 pm: The only addition for Ruston's slate of candidates today was Bruce Hopkins filing for the mayoral election. Today's list is available here...

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There does not appear to be any new candidates filing for election in Ruston today (Tuesday), according to the county elections report filed at 4:28:58 pm this afternoon.

Monday Candidate Filings

A list of the candidates running for election will be available each day via the county elections web page. Ruston candidates filing for office today (Monday, June 1st) are:

• Position 1: Lyle Hardin
• Position 4: Jane Krock Hunt

Council Meeting: June 1, 2009

Here is the agenda for the meeting that started a few minutes ago... the same few issues are in their placeholder spots again, and there will be a first reading for updates to traffic and parking codes and a move to keep town officials from being personally sued as new items of business. Swing by Town Hall if you can (5117 N. Winnifred).