Mar 19, 1996

Metropolitan Catering

Rick Prosser has been appointed director of sales for Metropolitan Catering. Prosser will manage a sales team of six event planners whose primary focus will be corporate entertaining and special events.

The Portola Group, Inc.

The Portola Group, Inc., a California-based investment counseling firm serving families and individual investors, is opening a new office at Carillon Point in Kirkland. As part of its expansion Portola has hired John Parkey as vice president and portfolio manager. Joining Parkey are John Christianson as vice president and portfolio manager, and Kevin Fitzwilson as a third portfolio manager in the new office.

Primus Communications

Seattle-based Primus Communications Corporation has hired James Robb as senior vice president of worldwide sales. Robb will manage Primus' worldwide sales efforts and expand its direct sales organization to meet high demands for the company's products. Previously Robb served as senior vice president of sales and marketing for FourGen Software, Inc. Primus develops problem-resolution and knowledge-sharing software that helps technology companies implement Solution-Centered Support, a new support strategy developed in conjunction with the Customer Support Consortium.

McCann-Erickson Seattle

Samie Barr has been promoted to vice president at McCann-Erickson Seattle. Barr joined McCann in 1990 as an account coordinator and most recently acted as account supervisor. Prior to McCann she worked at Cole & Weber.

PacifiCare of Washington

PacifiCare of Washington, a managed healthcare organization, has promoted Suzanne Daly to provider relations manager and Kevin Brown to sales manager. Daly will be responsible for provider contract administration, provider services and credentialing for the state of Washington. Brown will oversee commercial sales and marketing functions for the state of Washington.

Olympic Assoc.

Olympic Associates Co. recently announced Dan Chandler has been hired as manager of construction services. He has over 15 years of experience in the Northwest and Alaska building industries.

Dally Homes

Scott Brewer has joined Dally Homes Inc. as director of construction. He has over 18 years of experience in the industry, most recently as president/construction manager of Savant Construction Services in Bellevue. Brewer majored in civil engineering at the University of Utah.

AGC

Peter D. Wick, Jr., vice chairman of the board of Seattle-based Wick Constructors/JV, has been elected to serve as the 1996 treasurer of the Associated General Contractors of America. Wick's firm has been a member of the AGC since 1942.

NUCA

Seattle contractor Deeny Construction Co. was presented with the 1995 William H. Feather Safety Award at the recent National Utility Contractors Association annual convention in San Diego. Deeny won in the category, "Less than 50,000 Manhours." NUCA also installed its new officers and directors at the convention. Included was Rick Egge of Nordic Constructors of Woodinville. He was elected vice president of Region 10.

Railroad may threaten steelhead run

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Repair crews got to work quickly rebuilding the Port of Tillamook railroad after it fell into the Salmonberry River during the Flood of 1996 -- too quickly for those who care about the river's unique run of wild steelhead. Bulldozers running through the riverbed just as the steelhead are starting their spawning run have the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as well as salmon and steelhead advocates seeing red. "The governor's making a big deal out of creating some great salmon recovery initiative and having his agencies speak with one voice, but that doesn't seem to be working here," said Dave Moskowitz, lawyer for the Native Fish Society. Repairing the railroad was the first big project in Oregon to receive federal disaster funds following the storms that ravaged the northern half of the state last month. The Port of Tillamook received $4 million to do initial repairs. The whole job is estimated to cost $14 million. Jack Crider, manager of the Port of Tillamook, said repairing the railroad is critical to Tillamook County's economy. The port also plans to do habitat repairs on the river during the project. The Division of State Lands, which controls the bed and banks of navigable rivers, issued the permit for work to begin on the railroad without notifying the Department of Fish and Wildlife or the Department of Environmental Quality, officials confirmed. State biologist Walt Weber said he didn't learn about the project until the last minute. "They said they didn't have to call us," he said. "I would bet they will ask us in the future." At Weber's insistence, repair crews have agreed to be out of the river by April 1, at the peak of the spawning run. The wild steelhead in the Salmonberry are the biggest in the state and the river has been the site of intense conservation work by volunteers. The repair work comes despite Gov. John Kitzhaber's effort to prevent a listing of coastal runs of coho salmon as a threatened or endangered species by building cooperation between various interests, including state agencies. Roy Hemming, the governor's salmon advisor, said the conflict is being reviewed and will be referred to Kitzhaber in the next few days. "It's possible we're getting the (disaster) money out the door too fast without asking the necessary questions," Hemingway said.

Tank farm: `Clean' enough for street clothes

RICHLAND (AP) -- Hanford officials on Friday celebrated that the first group of high-level nuclear waste tanks has been cleaned up enough that people no longer need protective clothing to enter the fenced area. The underground tanks at the Hanford nuclear reservation pose one of the most dangerous and complicated problems facing the U.S. Department of Energy as it cleans up radioactive waste left over from decades of weapon production. The 177 buried tanks contain 240,000 metric tons of radioactive waste from plutonium processing. The contents of some of the tanks are not known and several tanks have had heat build up, requiring complicated venting of flammable gases. A barbed wire fence surrounded the area where six tanks are buried in TY Tank Farm, one of 12 tank farms at Hanford. The tanks, 75 feet in diameter, are buried 10 feet below the gravel-covered surface. Only devices to monitor the temperature, pressure and depth of the waste in the tanks is visible. "This is truly a very exciting day in the cleanup of Hanford ... a real major step forward," said LaMar Trego, president of Westinghouse Hanford, a contractor that manages the 560-square-mile nuclear reservation for the Energy Department. He later said more than 4 million square feet of surface contamination has been cleaned up at Hanford. That's about the size of 70 football fields. "This not only means progress, but it also frees up resources so we can get on with the actual disposal," Trego said. "If all the money is spent on the daily churn of maintenance, where do you get the money to dispose of it? That's been the problem up until now -- there wasn't any left over after all the maintenance." Hanford officials estimate they would save $50 million a year when all 12 tank farms are at this stage, which is expected to take five years. The newer equipment is computerized and can be monitored from a central location, requiring fewer workers.

Marketing strategy workshop planned

BELLEVUE -- "How to Develop a Comprehensive and Integrated Marketing Strategy" will be the theme of a workshop March 21 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. The workshop, which is part of the 1996 Clean Washington Center marketing workshop series, will focus on elements that must be researched, planned and implemented in order to launch and sustain sales for a recycled-content product, process or service. Different sales methods will be discussed, as will distribution channels and promotional activities. The fee for attending the workshop is $50. To register or obtain more information, call Elizabeth Burger at (206) 389-2530.

First-ever regional trails map available

King County and REI have joined forces to produce the first-ever regional trails access map for King County. The map guides bicyclists, hikers, skaters, runners and horseback-riders through 200 miles of interconnected trails that form one of the largest regional trail systems in the United States. The trails have been provided by King County and other federal, state and local agencies. The passage of the 1989 Open Space and Trails Bond was a major step in the development of the trail system. The maps cost $1. For information on where to pick up copies of the map, call the King County Parks and Cultural Resources Department at (206) 296-4232.

Free air quality help for small businesses

OLYMPIA -- The state Department of Ecology's air quality program and local clean air agencies offer free help to small businesses. The Air Quality Business Assistance Program provides answers on air pollution control issues and referrals to other assistance. Under state and federal clean air laws, technical assistance staff do not have enforcement authority. Air quality laws affect firms such as dry cleaners, auto repair and body shops, printers, furniture makers or refinishers, appliance and climate control services and fiberglass molders. To receive free help, ask to speak with the air quality business assistance staff at one of these agencies: King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties -- Puget Sound Air Pollution Control Agency, (206) 343-8800 or 1-800-552-3565; Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Mason, Pacific and Thurston counties -- Olympic Air Pollution Control Authority, (360) 438-8786 or 1-800-422-5623; Island, Skagit and Whatcom counties -- Northwest Air Pollution Authority, (360) 428-1617. To learn about agencies that provide free help to other counties in Washington state, call Bernard Brady at the Department of Ecology at (360) 407-6803.