Baltimore Street Open

After years and years, Baltimore Street is open, connecting traffic to Ruston Way and both Ruston's south side and Tacoma. The town just completed repaving the western side of the street and replacing the sidewalks that were in bad shape this month. Even though the new Ruston Way has been open over a year, this final link is shiny, new and now open for traffic.

Baby Alice

The previous post about Baby Alice, Ruston's favorite cat, has been removed at the request of Alice's owners. Alice will be missed by many.

Brilliant Color

Yes, the color in my rose bush really is that bright and vivid. All around town gardens are bursting with unmatched color and brilliance this summer.  My favorite rose bush was rescued from Myrtle Johnson's old yard next to town hall. The fire department now uses Myrtle's home as a bunk house to give us even greater coverage with fire fighters close by. When the yard was simplified as part of that transition, this rose bush was pulled out and set in the trash pile. I had always admired this bush and forced my hubby and the fire chief to bring it to my yard rather than throw it out.

Each summer, these roses remind me of Myrtle, visits to town hall over the last 30 years and the beauty we share with each other in our gardens...

Remodel Details

Ruston planner Rob White has provided this initial plan for the remodel planned for the former Coles building at the alley of N. 51st and Pearl....

Party Next Door This Weekend

Learn More Link

Ferry Home Safe

The Point Ruston sales ferry  made its way home yesterday after maintenance work had it in dry dock for a month. Along with the sales office at the Copperline building and Stack Hill, the ferry will continue to serve a sales center. The News Tribune has more details here...  

One Less Empty

Plans are coming together to bring life back to the former Coles Tavern on N. 51st Street. Designs have been approved and the building permit was scheduled to be issued last week on a new family-friendly pub. The owner of Park Way Tavern and Hanks will remodel the burned out building; which will feature a brick first floor and stucco second floor exterior. The front will have fire station doors that open in warm weather, awnings and outdoor seating. The residential units upstairs will be redone as well. Copies of the plans should be posted soon. Welcome to town!

Ruston Family Fair Recap

Between the busyness of the day, I managed to capture a few images of our annual Ruston Family Fair. We had a great turn out, three times as many vendors, lots of food, horse-drawn wagon rides, great games for the kids, face painting, a mouth-watering baking contest, strong support from our fire and police departments, a history stroll thru town, beautiful Cadillacs, delicious cupcake walk donated by Hello Cupcake and even a couple of surprises. Miss Wheelchair USA Jenny Adams came to visit and Jesse Fontenot provided excellent music for us. Thank you to Ruston-Point Defiance Business District for bringing us the event, the Commencement for sponsoring the wagon rides and to Beth Torbet, LILT, Holland Cohen and so many more for all the work to make this happen.

The day kicked off with a history walk thru Ruston by the Tacoma Historical Society.

Holland Cohen put in many hours preparing old-fashioned kids games for the day.

Every participant even won a won a prize!

Ms. Schoneker won first prize with her delicious apple pie.

Spectacular face painting was provided by JuJu Designs, and it was a great day to show off your pets!

Jenny Adams brought an extra ray of sunshine and class to the afternoon.

Jesse Fontenot won many new fans and melted a few young hearts with his skilled singing.

You know you have arrived as a festival if the Sonic guy comes. We have arrived!

Ruston Family Fair & Cadillac LaSalle Car Show This Saturday

The best way to get you excited about the fun we will be having on Saturday is to share this press release from our local business district:

Ruston-Point Defiance Business District’s

Contact:               Beth Torbet, District President, (253) 381-1858, bethtorbet@gmail.com

                              Karen Pickett, Event Chair, (253) 228-8529, karen.pickett.mba@gmail.com

District’s Second Annual Family Fair & Cadillac LaSalle Car Show This Saturday

The Ruston-Point Defiance Business District combines good old-fashioned rag-tag family fun with car lovers strolling past beautiful vehicles of yesteryear. The day promises excitement for everyone from grandpa to the kids. In addition to the Cadillac LaSalle car show, the event includes:

·         Special history tour of Ruston with Tacoma Historical Society at 10am

·         Horse-drawn wagon rides from noon until 3pm

·         Face painting by JuJu Designs all day

·         Old-fashioned kids games from noon until 2pm

·         Baking contest ($100 first prize) at 2:30pm

·         Cupcake walk with Hello Cupcakes at 1pm

·         Cascade Bloodmobile Blood Drive all day

·         Kids crafts by Home Depot all day

·         Free fingerprint ID cards by Ruston Police all day

·         Music, food, crafts, vendors and fun!

When:   Saturday, August 10^th from 11am until 4pm

Where:  North Winnifred from North 51^st to North 54^th (two blocks east of Pearl Street)

The Ruston-Point Defiance Business District organized in 2006 and is the only local district that includes two different municipalities with Ruston and Tacoma working cooperatively to support local businesses on both sides of the street. Recent District projects include new historical plaques on several businesses, a new web site, two grand murals in 2012 and the Ruston Family Fair. The District just won a grant for new sculpture benches to be installed in the District later this year.

Located between Point Defiance Park and the new Point Ruston development, the area offers a great mix of shops and strong local support. New businesses are slated to open soon and additional commercial space is available. For more details please visit www.ExploreNorthPearl.com.

Spay Station In Ruston Thursday

Secondhand Hound is bringing in a "spay station" for one day only, this Thursday, August 8th at their store on North 51st and Winnifred. Pasado's Spay Stations offers free or low cost spay and neutering services for low income pet owners. More details on Secondhand Hound's Facebook page here...

Unthinkable Horror In Our Backyard

As the mother of a young girl at the time, the 1986 sexual assault and murder of Jennifer Bastain and Michella Welch forever stole my sense of safety, even in a small town like Ruston. I believe we are safer here with police close by and neighbors who care. But there is no guaranteed protection from monsters who kill children.

Michella was killed at Puget Park - just a few blocks from here. Jennifer was killed at Point Defiance - in our backyard. Both murders are unsolved and likely committed by the same person. Tacoma Police recently created a cold case unit that has developed new clues about the killer and they are asking for help from everyone, especially those of us in this area. The News Tribune has outlined the new information (here). Please read it and contact Tacoma Police with any input, no matter how small or trivial. And let's pray that justice for Jenny and Michella can finally be served.

Another Reason To Attend The Family Fair

As if you need another reason to stop by what promises to be another fun-filled Ruston Family Fair and Cadillac LaSalle Car Show this Saturday - but just in case you need persuading... The fire department is bringing in the local Bloodmobile so you can donate to a great cause, then grab a snow cone, ride the wagon, let the kids play and listen to some music. Hope you can join the party!

Shoreline Plan Approved

Ruston's plan for its tiny section of state shoreline (1,500 feet) has received approval from the Department of Ecology. It was years in the making, but it's finally done. An article in the Business Examiner (here) explains that the new regulations are now part of the state's shoreline rules, which means the state will defend them against any legal action. The full text of the 53-page plan is available here...

Almost But Not Quite

This week marked another big step forward for our local streets. Tacoma Water completed their line repairs and repaved the roads they worked under. Along with the repaving needed for last year's sewer project, all of 49th is now new pavement from Pearl to Baltimore, and the new pavement continues north on Baltimore to Commercial Street.

But don't expect to see the link between Baltimore and Ruston Way open quite yet. Ruston has hired a contractor to replace the old sidewalk and curb on the west side of Baltimore from the train tunnel to Commercial, and repave this section of roadway. When this final section is complete by the end of August, the road will reopen with brand-new everything.