Nov 28, 1995

Voice-Tel

Voice-Tel, an independent voice messaging company with service centers located throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, has made personnel changes in its Bellevue office. David C. Peterson has been promoted to sales manager. Peterson has been with Voice-Tel for over than a year as an account executive responsible for sales in the Greater Puget Sound Area. The customer service department has expanded, adding Stacy Winkler as a customer service representative. Fran Fender, who has been with Voice-Tel for three years, has been promoted to human resource/administrative office manager.

G & G Cigar Co.

G & G Cigar, Seattle's oldest cigar store located in the Smith Tower, at the corner of 2nd and Yesler, is celebrating 100 years in business with the 'Cigar Box Counting Contest' which runs until December 15. Participants must guess how many cigar boxes are exhibited at the front window of the store. At 6 p.m. on December 15, the boxes will be counted, and the person with the closest estimate will receive a free box of handmade, imported cigars. All the boxes will be auctioned and the proceeds will go to Northwest Harvest, to aid in their mission of feeding the region's needy.

The Bullitt Foundation

The Seattle-based Bullitt Foundation, whose mission is to protect and restore the environment of the Pacific Northwest, has awarded a grant of $9,800 to the Mount Rainier, North Cascades & Olympic Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring, enhancing and preserving Washington's national parks. The Mount Rainier, North Cascades & Olympic Fund supports educational and research projects, trail and accessibility improvements, vegetation research and protection, wildlife and fisheries improvements, and protection and visitor enhancements. Included within the projects to be funded by the grant is the implementation of an educational curriculum for Seattle inner-city middle school children on the uniqueness of the Puget Sound ecosystem and its relevance to our daily lives and national parks.

Hale's Ales

Hale's Ales, a microbrewery with facilities in Seattle and Spokane which was founded in 1983 by Mike Hale after he spent a year in England working and learning about the brewing process, has announced the opening of its 125-seat pub on December 4, at 4 p.m. at the Hale's Ales Fremont brewery, located on 4301 Leary Way N.W. in Seattle. The pub will serve nine of Hale's signature ales, including the original Hale's Pale Ale, Special Bitter, and Celebration Porter, as well as its Moss Bay line, Moss Bay Amber, Extra and Stout. The pub will also features Northwest ingredients, a limited wine selection and will serve free Seattle's Best Coffee at all times.

Concrete Technology

Concrete Technology Corp. has promoted Michael Wachter to director of operations. The company also announced the appointment of Joel Kessell as new chief project manager. Wachter joined CTC in 1986 as a project manager and became chief project manager in 1992. He holds a civil engineering degree from Washington State University and is a registered civil engineer in the state of Washington. Kessell joined the firm in 1992 and has served as project manager and design engineer. He holds a civil engineering degree from St. Martin's College and is a registered civil and structural engineer in the state of Washington.

L&I

The Bellevue service location of the state Department of Labor and Industries has changed its telephone numbers effective Nov. 20. The new numbers are: main telephone, (206) 990-1400; general fax line, (206) 990-1445; electrical fax line, (206) 990-1446; and requests for inspections, (206) 990-1430. To determine individual telephone number changes, call L&I's main number.

ASHRAE

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers is seeking members for a committee that will prepare a code-language version of its standard on energy conservation in residential buildings. Specific tasks for members are to write prescriptive and performance requirements in code-compatible language for the following areas of the standard: windows; solar heating; total building energy analysis/life cycle costing; and construction costs. Interested persons should request application forms from the ASHRAE Manager of Standards at ASHRAE headquarters, 1791 Tullie Circle N.E., Atlanta, GA 30329-2305; phone (404) 636-8400; fax (404) 321-5478; e-mail jheldenb@ashrae.org.

NSBA

The National Steel Bridge Alliance, a division of the American Institute of Steel Construction Inc., has announced that Arun Shirole has become its director. NSBA is a newly formed organization of steel bridge fabricators, steel plate producers and related industry interests allied to address the needs of the steel bridge industry. Shirole was previously division director and deputy chief engineer for the state of New York.

Metrication seminar

The Associated General Contractors of Washington is holding a free Dec. 6 seminar on using metrics in construction. The agenda includes representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facilities Engineering Command and Coast Guard Facilities Design & Construction Center. They will discuss the transition of military construction projects into the metric system. The seminar will be held at 1 p.m. in the second floor conference center of the AGC Building (1200 Westlake Ave. N., Seattle). Reservations are required. For further information, contact Kathy Cicero at (206) 284-0061 or (800) 562-2868.

CSI

The Puget Sound and Mt. Rainier chapters of the Construction Specifications Institute are presenting An evening with Frank Lloyd Wright. The Dec. 14 program will feature a first-person impersonation of the famous architect by nationally acclaimed architectural historian Lyman Shepard. Appearing in authentic costume, Shepard will depict Wright's prolific and controversial personal and professional life. The event will be held at the Doubletree Suites Hotel in Southcenter (205 Strander Blvd.). Advance registration is $30, which includes dinner and the presentation. A limited number of seats for the program only are $15 in advance. The evening will kick off with a 5:30 p.m. social hour, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the program at 7:30 p.m. Reservations can be made with the Puget Sound CSI office at (206) 382-3393 or with the Mt. Rainier CSI office at (206) 383-3084. Reservation deadline is Dec. 12.

Building permit process

The King County Department of Development and Environmental Services, in collaboration with the Master Builders of King and Snohomish Counties, is presenting a Dec. 6 introductory class about the single-family residential building permit process in unincorporated King County. Course participants will learn about the permit process, requirements for permits, what activities require permits, costs, and time frames for permit processing. Participants will also learn about environmental regulations and how they affect the permit process. The class will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the second floor conference room, King County DDES, 3600 136th Place S.E., Bellevue. Class fee is $30. Pre-registration is required. Call (206) 451-7920 to register.

Roof consulting

The Roof Consultants Institute is sponsoring Advanced Roof Consulting -- a four-day course looking at issues and problems concerning the roofing industry. Topics will include wind/drainage requirements, thermal and moisture migration and detection, structural decks, flashing details and more. The course will be held Dec. 7-10 at the Red Lion Hotel in Seattle. Cost is $600 for RCI members and $650 for non-members. The course offers 3.0 CEUs and 114 Learning Units to AIA members. For further information, contact Elaine De'Leon at RCI, (800) 828-1902.

Lighting Design Lab

Lighting Design Lab will hold its annual open house and technology fair Dec. 6 at its offices in Suite 100, 400 E. Pine St., Seattle. Keynote speaker for the event will be Gary Lawrence, director of the Center for Sustainable Communities at the University of Washington. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reservations may be made by calling (206) 325-9711.

Recycling experts to speak at luncheon

Bill Rathje and Joe Gargarino, two dynamic speakers who are experts in the recycling field, will uncover the myths of modern garbage and offer some interesting solutions to modern waste management at a Dec. 8 luncheon put together by Skagit County Commissioners, the county Department of Public Works, and the Economic Development Association of Skagit County. Over 100 businesses that are working to reduce waste will be honored at the event being held in the Skagit Valley College cafeteria from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rathje, a "garbologist" who teaches at the University of Arizona, is co-founder and director of The Garbage Project, which conducts archaeological studies on modern refuse. Since 1973, the project has excavated 15 landfills to record the quantities of various types of buried wastes and what happens to the materials over time. He will address what his studies have revealed about our society. Gargarino is co-designer/owner of Marin Resource Recovery Center in Marin County, Calif., an indoor dump the size of three football fields. The facility uses technology from the latest electronic ceramic detection machinery to goats and pigs in order to recycle materials efficiently. He is credited with the recovery of 217 million pounds of recyclables. For tickets to the luncheon or further information, contact Kelly Prime of the Economic Development Association, at (360) 336-6114.

Fisherman reimbursement available

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Northwest fishermen have until Feb. 1 to ask the U.S. government for reimbursement of "transit" fees they were forced to pay Canada to travel Canadian waters during a salmon treaty dispute in 1994, U.S. officials said last week. The U.S. State Department will review each formal claim to be sure it qualifies for the reimbursement allowed under the Fisherman's Protective Act recently approved by Congress and signed by President Clinton, department spokesman Glyn Davies said. Congress authorized the reimbursement for those who paid the $1,100 fee in June and July of 1994 to traverse the Inside Passage between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland. The fee later was rescinded, but Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said more than 200 boats were forced to pay the Canadian fee. Davies said the claimants must state the facts which led to payment of the fee and indicate it was paid under protest. A photocopy of a U.S. passport or other document is required to establish the master of the vessel was a U.S. citizen at the time of seizure. Additional documentation also may be required with the application postmarked by midnight Feb. 1, 1996, sent to: Fishermen's Protective Act, U.S. Department of State, OES/OMC Room 7820, Washington D.C., 20520-7818. Further questions can be directed to the State Department at (202) 647-3941 or to the department's home page on the World Wide Web:http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/dosfan.html

City seeks help on industrial site cleanup

The city of Seattle, through its Office of Economic Development, seeks Statements of Qualifications from individuals or firms interested in providing project management assistance for a cooperative effort between local government, state Department of Ecology, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Duwamish Coalition to create a new regulatory framework for guiding cleanup of petroleum-impacted industrial sites. This solicitation is for "Task 1-Project Management Assistance" only. The services involve assisting the project management team with organizational and technical work, development of detailed scopes of work, and organization of workshops with national experts and other local technical advisors. Consultants must be familiar with the Duwamish industrial area environmental issues, both soil and groundwater, as well as national efforts regarding regulatory standards for petroleum. Site-specific assessments will not be required. The budget for Task 1 is estimated at $24,000, and the total project budget is around $250,000. A complete "Request for Qualifications" can be obtained from Tom Boydell, OED, Room 205 Municipal Building, 600 Fourth Ave., Seattle 98104, (206) 684-8090. Interested consultants must respond to the above address by 5 p.m. on Dec. 11.

Yard/wood waste accepted at Kenmore site

North King County residents, landscapers and contractors now have a new place to drop their fall leaf collection, support composting and possibly save some money. Pacific Topsoil's new Kenmore site, now open to the public at 7500 N.E. 175th St. just off of Lake City Way, will recycle clean yard debris and wood waste at a savings over fees typically charged at King County transfer stations. Brush, leaves, grass, sod, lumber, pallets, crates and unpainted and untreated wood are accepted for a charge of $9.50 to $12.50 per cubic yard, depending on the material. The company also sells landscaping supplies including topsoil blends, mulches, bark, Pacific Garden Mulch compost, rock and sands at the new location.

Carbon monoxide may pose danger to boaters

CHICAGO (AP) -- Recreational boaters face a significant hazard from carbon monoxide poisoning, although many may not realize it, researchers say. One Seattle hospital treated 27 cases of severe carbon monoxide poisoning among boaters during a 10-year period ending in June 1994, the researchers said in Wednesday's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association. None of the patients died, but the victims typically lost consciousness and all received emergency treatment, said the researchers, Scott M. Silvers and Dr. Neil B. Hampson of Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, where the study was conducted. Only one of the 27 boats involved had a carbon monoxide detector on board, and it was a type that did not emit an audible warning, the researchers said. Victims ranged in age from 6 months to 69 years, and most cases occurred in boats older than 10 years, with an enclosable cabin, longer than 22 feet and powered by a gasoline engine, the researchers said. "Most treated individuals stated they had no concern about the risk for CO exposure at the time of their accident," the researchers said. They recommended that boat exhaust systems be maintained and inspected, that carbon monoxide detectors be considered for boats like the ones on which incidents occurred in the study and that education programs be established to make boaters aware of the potential hazard. About 3,500 people in the United States die annually from unintentional or suicidal carbon monoxide poisoning, and many cases occur among people who are unaware that the odorless, colorless gas is dangerous, researchers said.

Grant awarded for hazardous site investigations

The Washington state Department of Ecology has awarded $80,000 to the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health to investigate suspected hazardous waste sites. The department plans to use the grant to collect information about environmental conditions and the types and quantities of wastes at sites throughout the county. The information will be used to evaluate the risks the sites pose to the environment and human health. For more information, contact Steve Loftness at (360) 407-6060 or Denise Clifford at (360) 407-6160.