August
27,
2007
News You Can Use
Peter Thein joins Public Utility Board
Tacoma
resident Peter Thein became the newest member of the Public Utility
Board when he was sworn in at the Board’s
3 p.m. study session on Wednesday, August 22. The City Council appointed him
to a five-year term. He replaces Bill LaBorde, who resigned his post in
June. Peter has worked for the Washington State Transit Association since
2001, serving as the executive director since 2003. He works with transit
managers, lobbyists, people with disabilities and others concerned about
public transportation to promote the need for a viable public transportation
system in Washington state.
Public Utility
Board gave thumbs up to all items August 22
All agenda items passed during the August 22 Public Utility Board meeting.
Classification and total compensation
study under way
The City of Tacoma
is in the process of conducting a
classification and total compensation study. By July 2008, our job duties
should be aligned with job titles and descriptions, and we should understand
how the compensation for a given classification compares with its
counterparts in the market. The City hired Milliman, an international
consultant, to assist with this process. The steering committee, which includes representatives from Public Utilities and
General Government, has begun working with Milliman to
identify work
groups made up of employees and managers who will help determine appropriate job
classifications. Watch for updates in Newsline, Ubits and
Take 5, as well as on CityWeb and at
www.cityoftacoma.org/classandcomp. If you have
questions about the study, contact Chris Gleason, Community & Media
Services, 502-8222, or Rob McNair-Huff, Community Relations, 591-5054.
Look at the
full message from Utilities Director Mark
Crisson and City Manager Eric Anderson, or contact Community & Media
Services, 502-8759, for a hard copy.
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What's Cookin'
the Week of Aug. 27
Cup of Soup & Sandwich — $2.63
Cup of Chili or Chowder & Sandwich —
$2.81
Salad — $2.76
Hot Special — $3.03
Share the news
The deadline to submit items for Newsline is
10
a.m. Fridays. E-mail Newsline, or call editor Laurel Willoughby,
502-8754, if you don't have e-mail access.
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Free September 10 Mariners tickets for
National Guard, Reservists
If you're a member of the National Guard or in the Reserves for the Army,
Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard, you
—
and your boss — are invited for an evening of free food, fun and Mariners
baseball versus the Oakland Athletics on Monday, September 10. Supervisors
of military currently serving in Iraq also are eligible. The deal includes a
picnic-style meal at Safeco Field starting at
5 p.m. To reserve tickets, e-mail
Kenneth Schwarm. Include
your name, phone number, branch of service, unit, employer's name, company,
phone number and position. Seats are limited; more instructions will be
provided with the ticket confirmation e-mail. Sponsored by the Employer
Support of the Guard and Reserve.
Cafeteria football contest is back
— first ballots due Thursday, September 6
The NFL
returns! Why mess with college ball when you can deal with the pros? Entries
are now in the Cafeteria for the first week of NFL games. Ballots are due by
Thursday, September 6, at 4 p.m. (a day earlier than usual due to a Thursday
night game that week). The person who picks the most winners each week will
snag a $10 Cafeteria food card and an entry in the Super Bowl contest at the
end of the year. The winner of the Super Bowl contest takes home a $50
gift card to the Outback Steakhouse. One entry per person per week.
Giving Back
Bake sale on Wednesday, August 29,
benefits United Way
If you pass by the Auditorium Conference Room this Wednesday between 2 and 4
p.m., you will be
—
as
Winnie the Pooh said
—
"just in time for a little smackerel of something"
at the United Way campaign team's bake sale. If you'd like to contribute a
tasty morsel, contact Michele
Nelson, 396-3121; Debbie
Bertram, 502-8384; or
Patty Gillingham, 502-8651.
Contributing a dessert counts toward your community involvement goal for the
Employee Incentive Plan. More on Pooh . . . beware, the sage bear
also said, "When having a smackerel
of something with a friend, don't eat so much that you get stuck in the
doorway trying to get out.”
United Way Basket Raffle deadline extended to Friday, August 31
— don't miss out!
All sizes of baskets are encouraged, from the small and cute to the big and
overflowing. Remember, it's all for the benefit of United Way, so don't
hesitate to jump in and contribute whatever you and your group can!
Contributing
items
to a basket counts toward your community involvement goal for
the Employee Incentive Plan.
1)
Select a theme
for your basket and let Patty Gillingham, 502-8651, know
what it is.
2) Create your basket with new items donated by your colleagues.
3) Attach a list to the basket containing the name/theme of the basket; name
of the donating section, work group or individuals; itemized content list;
and approximate retail dollar value.
4) Deliver completed baskets to Patty by Friday, August 31.
Two employees eligible for donated PTO or sick leave
Simon Torres,
Click! Network; and
Cinda Johnson, Cushman Project,
are
eligible to receive donated PTO or sick leave. To donate, contact your
timekeeper or Public Utilities Human Resources, 502‑8158, for a PTO/sick
leave donation form. You also can download the form from the Human Resources
section of CityWeb.
Clear
the beach! Help clean up Titlow on Saturday, September 8
Community Connection is holding its annual Titlow Beach clean-up on
Saturday, September 8, starting at 10 a.m. If you'd like to join, register
on the sheet in the Cafeteria. Participating counts
toward your community involvement goal for the Employee Incentive Plan. Bags and gloves will be provided, with pizza
and pop following the event. If you have questions, contact
Marsha Batie-Hopkins,
502-8982; or Lydia Randolph, 502-8991.
Start planning now for
Holiday Craft Sale November 1 and 2
It might not feel like winter or the holidays, but it is time to
start thinking about what you’re going to make for this year’s Community
Connection Holiday Craft Sale. It is scheduled for Thursday and Friday,
November 1 and 2. There is a $5 per day business license charge for each
vendor, and 10 percent of each vendor’s sales will help Community Connection
purchase grocery cards for low-income seniors. If you have questions,
contact Julie Arnestad,
Energy Services, 502-8538.
Get
Smart
SAP will feature new desktop icons beginning week of September 4
Beginning the
week of September 4, SAP users might notice a new icon on their desktop. The
SAP GUI (graphical user interface) is the icon on your computer desktop that
allows you to login to SAP. Periodically IT/SAP updates the SAP GUI as part
of standard maintenance procedures. The new icon is a “swooshing” yellow
arrow over a blue triangle (the old one looked like a yellow peg-person
figure with a silver head, standing near a blue triangle/black arrow). Also,
there will be a slight difference in the appearance of the “stoplight”
status buttons on some screens — the “red light” is round and has small
lines radiating from the corners; the “green light” will now be square
instead of round. These differences should not change how SAP works for you.
If you are using
SAP GUI scripts or hotkeys as part of your work processes, you might need to
reprogram these after the SAP GUI upgrade takes place.
The citywide rollout of SAP GUI 7.10 will occur over
a period of two weeks beginning September 4. To find out when your
department is scheduled to receive the new SAP GUI, or for additional
information, read the
SAP GUI upgrade fact sheet on the IT/SAP intranet site, talk to your
area’s computer support representative or call Network Support, 591-2057.
Rotary Club
opportunity involves Mexico or Norway travel — Q&A session on Wednesday,
August 29
Rotary District 5020 is seeking applicants for its 2008 Group Study Exchange
program. Successful applicants will be part of a four-member team lead by a
Rotarian, spend four weeks in Mexico or Norway, live with host
district Rotarians and meet with members of their professions in the host
communities. The travel start dates are April 6 for Mexico and April 22 for
Norway. To apply, you must be between the ages of 25 and 40, at least two
years into your professional career, not related to a Rotarian and open to
the experiences of foreign travel. Personable, articulate, enthusiastic team
members will find this an amazing professional and personal opportunity. If
you’re interested, Virginia Ferguson will hold an informal Q&A session in
the Cafeteria on Wednesday, August 29, from 11:30 a.m. to
1 p.m. Additional
information is available at
www.rotary5020.org/foundation/exchange/index.php. You also
may contact Virginia at
756-2133.
Tacoma Fire Department
to give free emergency training course in September and October
People who live or work within Tacoma city limits are
invited to enroll in a free, 19-hour emergency training course. The Tacoma
Fire Department’s Community Emergency Response Teams course teaches
citizens how to prepare for and respond to disasters or extreme emergencies.
The classes will follow a model developed by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency that is offered in many communities across the United
States. In the classes, students gain hands-on skills such as how to
put out small fires, render first aid in a disaster situation, be safe
around utilities and perform light search and rescue. Classes are held on
Tuesday and Thursday evenings for three weeks from 6:30 to 9 p.m.,
culminating in a practical exercise held on a Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. Classes run Tuesday, September 11, through Saturday, October 6, and
will be held at either the Fire Prevention Classroom, 3471 S. 35th Street,
or at the Fire Training Center, 2124 Marshall Avenue. The course is limited
to 25 students, and there are no prerequisites other than a desire to learn
and help others. Attendance is required at all of the sessions. For
more information or to register, contact Larry Steiner, 253-973-0063, or
visit
www.tacomafiredepartment.org.
For
Your Benefit
Mammogram vans coming
in December
The mammogram vans from Swedish Medical Center are being upgraded from
analog to digital technology, so City of Tacoma employees will see them next
in December. Later this fall, those at Tacoma Municipal Building will be
able to schedule appointments for December 3, 4 and 5, and those at TPU will
have December 12 and 13. Watch Newsline for more information. In the
meantime, contact Shannon
Hoffman, 591-5823, if you have questions.
August is Immunization Awareness
Month
—
meningitis and human
papillomavirus vaccinations available
Meningitis
can lead to loss of a limb, neurological impairment and even death; human
papillomavirus
can cause cervical cancer and other diseases in females. Learn more about
these diseases and the associated vaccines by checking out the Centers for
Disease Control Web site (meningitis
link;
HPV link) and the
Tacoma Pierce County Health Department Web site.
Your City of Tacoma immunization
benefits are as follows:
Regence PPO plan pays at 100%, subject to a $20 co-pay;
Regence
Selections plan pays at 100%, subject to a $15
co-pay; and Group Health pays at 100%, subject to
a $5 co-pay.
For more information about immunization benefits, contact
Shannon Hoffman,
591-5823; or Regene Halfmoon, 591-5411, Human
Resources.
What's Happening & When
August 30
Trouble with SAP issues? Drop in to the SAP urgent care center from 1 to
3 p.m. in the Computer Training Room on the ground floor.
For best results, complete the online SAP
symptom questionnaire
before your consultation. For further information, contact
IT/SAP Training, or call Dayna Barkley, 502-2602.
Throughout August
TV Tacoma's CityScape program features the Spirit of Washington Dinner
Train's move to Tacoma, in partnership with Tacoma Rail.
CityScape airs all month on TV Tacoma several times each
day of the week. Check local
listings for replay times both within and outside Tacoma.
Through the end of October
2008 Entertainment Book sales benefit Utilities People.
Travel, dine, dance, bowl, go to movies, all for half price when you buy the
2008 Entertainment Book for just $20 from Utilities People. The 2008 book is valid now through November 1, 2008; the 2007 book is
still valid until November 1 this year. To purchase your Entertainment Book,
contact Rick Herrmann, Generation, 502-8226;
Liz Larson, Director's Office,
502-8769; or Jan Pieper, Customer Service, 502-8452.
Bargain Shopping
Submit
your ad to Newsline
Ads run in two issues of Newsline.
The deadline to submit ads is 10 a.m. Fridays. E-mail
Newsline, or call editor Laurel Willoughby, 502-8754,
if you don't have e-mail access.
Please include at least your first name,
and phone number or e-mail in your ad. Ads
for business activities, online auction ads and calls for charity
sponsorship are not allowed. About once a month, ads
will be borrowed from the Cafeteria bulletin board and included in
Newsline.
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For rent: mobile
home in Yelm, approximately 1700 s.f., 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths
— the one attached to the master bedroom
has a garden tub and separate shower; full utility room w/sink and w/d
hookups; family room; dining room; large open kitchen with large sunroom
breakfast area; and large screened-in porch. Master bedroom has new
carpeting, living room and dining room recently had new carpeting
installed. There is a decorative propane fireplace in the living for
optional heating. Water heater and kitchen stove are also gas. Water and
sewer are included. Large storage shed available as well. The house sits
on a secluded five-acre lot that is shared with another house that is
currently rented. No pets. Visit
http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z14/18436Yelm/
to view pictures. Call Wendy at 253-330-3735 to
arrange a viewing with the property managers.
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Julius Keilwerth
ST90 tenor sax purchased new for $1,600, asking $1,100 obo. Has been
played only once or twice, and then stored carefully in its hard case in a
closet, so it is still virtually new. 100% lacquer, no wear on pads,
mouthpiece still new. Call Wendy, 253-330-3735.
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2002 Road
King Classic, fairing, lowers, big trunk, 16,000 miles,
$16,000. Rollie, 253-380-3503.
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