|
Did the pictures at the top of Newsline get your goat?
Find out what goats have to do with TPU in the September issue of Ubits.
It will arrive in your home mailbox soon.
Smoking area outside
Accounts Payable eliminated — two left
Because smoke has been seeping into the C & M Training Room at the north end
of the Power Warehouse Building, the designated smoking area outside the
pedestrian gate south of Accounts Payable has been eliminated. Two smoking
areas remain: one is at the northwest corner of the Power Warehouse
Building, and the other is between the men's and women's locker rooms.
Here’s
your chance to be a real drip — er, Wayne Drop — and help Tacoma Water at
the Puyallup Fair
Tacoma Water is looking for people to portray Wayne Drop at the Puyallup
Fair from Friday, September 7, through Sunday, September 23. Participants
will receive a free ticket to the fair and can park free in a lot that has a
direct shuttle to the fair. The mascot-style costume comes with an ice vest
and a camel-back-style water bottle if it gets too hot. If you want to be
Wayne Drop, contact Megan
Millimaki, Water Quality, 502-8665.
Mind your ’corn, please — smoldering snack set off fire alarm
On
Tuesday, August 28, overcooked microwave popcorn on the third floor set off
the fire alarm.
Burned popcorn is a
common cause of fire alarms in office buildings, and the City of Seattle is
even considering banning the snack because of this.
In TPU's case
— although
fire department response and building evacuation and return went fairly
smoothly
—
we hope that future corn-cookers will mind their munchies more closely.
Employees
should follow cooking instructions and stay near the microwave during the
process.
As the bags
say, "Listen to the pop to know when to stop."
New aerial
photos of the Tacoma area are now available on govME Website
Want to get a high-resolution, birds-eye view of the Tacoma area?
Go to the City’s govME Website, which provides building and construction
drawings, permit information, GIS maps and a whole lot more. New, high
resolution, digital orthographic photos are available at
www.govme.com/Map. Click on GIS/Mapping on the left side of the
screen, then select 2006 (6 inch - Srvc Area). Call the Information Center,
594-7879, for more on this service or to sign up for training on many other
services available from govME. These maps are another Government Made Easy
application, courtesy of Public Works Information Technology. In some cases,
Autodesk Mapguide viewer will need to be installed by your area’s computer
support person.
SAP says Tacoma is doing it right
The Information Technology/SAP section recently received a stamp of approval
from SAP. The software vendor formally recognized IT/SAP as a
Center of Excellence,
one of nearly 900 around the world,
including Northwest
companies such as Weyerhaeuser and Nike. To achieve the certification,
IT/SAP participated in a rigorous audit process. The Center of Excellence
status means that IT/SAP focuses on customer satisfaction, improves user
productivity, maximizes cost-effective use of the system and maintains staff
expertise in SAP software. For more information on the certification,
contact Mark Meyer, IT/SAP
assistant director, 382-2700.
Want to take Weight
Watchers for a test drive?
The existing lunchtime Weight Watchers group is recruiting new members.
Meetings take place onsite once a week during the noon hour. If you’re
interested in attending a free introductory meeting, please contact
Gina Rich,
502-8449; Georgia
Eschenfelder, 502-8980; or Rick Munson,
502-8565. They will gladly sign you up and forward meeting information to
you.
Giving Back
United Way Basket
Raffle $1 tickets on sale through September 24
Here's your chance to win a reserved parking spot for a month, an I-Pod,
cash and many other exciting gifts. Tickets for the 2006 United Way Basket
Raffle are on sale Tuesday, September 4, through Monday, September 24.
Baskets will be on display in the Cafeteria, or go to CityWeb/Employee
Resources/TPU United Way to see online photos and a list of each basket’s
treasures. Tickets are $1. Baskets make the perfect gift for any occasion —
or keep the contents all for yourself! Proceeds from the basket raffle
benefit United Way and our community. You can purchase tickets from any
United Way coordinator or any member of the United Way campaign team. You
can find your nearest ticket seller by checking the list on the TPU United
Way CityWeb site. If you have questions, contact
Patty Gillingham,
502-8651, or Erika Tucci,
502-8225. Watch Newsline each week for a clue about T&D Planning and
Operations' "Mystery Basket" (below).
T&D Planning and
Operations’ “Mystery Basket” clue #1
I bet you never thought a seashell could get you going.
Did you know this about United Way?
Each month,
200 to 300 families in Pierce County seek shelter from domestic violence
situations. Often they leave with little more than the clothes on their
backs. The Safe Choices program at Exodus Housing in Sumner is just one of
the 126 programs funded by your contributions to United Way of Pierce
County. Many of these families receive shelter and support through the Safe
Choices program to help get them back on their feet. A $500 investment
through the United Way of Pierce County, which averages out to $10 a week,
improves the parenting skills of single mothers through programs such as
Safe Choices.
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.
35th Street clean-up is Monday,
September 10
Help Community Connection keep our neighborhood spic and span at the 35th
Street clean-up on Monday, September 10. Employees interested in earning
credit toward their community involvement goal for the Employee Incentive
plan — while catching some sun, we hope — should meet Tony Rector, Water
Distribution, and Erika Tucci, Community & Media Services, between 4:15 and
4:30 p.m. on the east side of the Water Distribution Building near the meter
shop. They’ll have all the supplies you need. For more information and to
let them know to expect you, contact
Tony, 255-7831, or
Erika, 502-8225.
Next
blood donation date is Thursday, September 20
Why not be a hero and give a little of yourself to save another? The next
blood drive is Thursday, September 20, from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the
Auditorium Conference Room. Contact "Countess Vampira"
Vivian Leach, Finance,
591-5539, for an appointment. You can improve your chances of donating by
taking iron with vitamin C. Also skip the caffeine, eat a hearty breakfast
and drink plenty of fluids.
Join
United Way Day of Caring at soldiers home
in Orting on Friday, September 21
This year, TPU employees will assist veteran nursing care residents during a
picnic from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Washington Soldiers Home in Orting. If
you are interested in volunteering and would like additional information,
contact Debbie Bertram,
377-1915, or Liz Larson,
502-8769. For participation to count toward your community involvement goal
for the Employee Incentive Plan, you'll need to take vacation time, a
floating holiday or otherwise not be on the clock. There is a sign-up sheet
on the bulletin board in the Cafeteria.
For
Your Benefit
Lunch
'n Learn about better nutrition on Wednesday, September 12
Tacoma nutritionist Nancy Morrow will be in the Auditorium on Wednesday,
September 12, from noon to 1 p.m. discussing "Better Health Through Better
Nutrition: Five Principles for Optimizing Your Health." Complimentary
organic fruit will be available for all attendees. For more information,
contact Joe Nienalt,
Human Resources, 591-5406.
Mayo
Clinic newsletter coming to your home mailbox — earn $25 gift cards
As part
of the City's Health and Wellness program, employees have begun receiving at
home the Mayo Clinic EmbodyHealth newsletter. The quarterly piece
includes short articles on exercise and fitness, self-care and prevention,
workplace issues, family matters, food and nutrition. The back page of the
newsletter tells how you and one eligible family member can each earn a $25
gift card when you take the online Mayo health risk assessment starting
September 17. You already have access to a private Mayo Clinic Web portal at
www.CityofTacomaWellness.org, where
you can browse health topics. Current employees log on with their employee
number; retirees need to contact
Sandra Frasier, Human Resources,
591-5419, for a number. Your spouse and dependents use the same registration
number you use. For more information about the Health and Wellness program,
contact
Becky Lee, Human Resources benefits
manager, 591-5116.
Flu
shots given at TPU on November 13
The flu
season in the United States is usually from November through April.
Influenza is a serious disease, and people of any age can get it. According
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in an average year in
this country, the flu causes 36,000 deaths (mostly among those aged 65 years
or older) and more than 200,000 hospitalizations. An annual flu vaccine,
either the flu shot or the nasal-spray flu vaccine, is the best way to
reduce the chances that you will get the flu. Free flu shots will be offered
to TPU employees at the health fair on Tuesday, November 13.
What's Happening & When
September 4
The
look begins changing this week for the SAP GUI (graphical user interface) icon on your computer desktop that
allows you to login to SAP. The new icon is a “swooshing” yellow
arrow over a blue triangle. This should not change how SAP works for you. Scripts or hotkeys might need to
be reprogrammed after the upgrade. The citywide rollout of SAP GUI 7.10 will occur over
a period of two weeks beginning September 4. For more 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.
September 6
Cafeteria football contest ballots
due by Thursday at 4 p.m. (a day earlier than usual due to a Thursday night
game this week). The person who picks the most winners each week earns 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.
September 8
Community Connection's annual Titlow Beach clean-up starts at 10 a.m. 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. Contact
Marsha Batie-Hopkins,
502-8982; or Lydia Randolph,
502-8991, for information.
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.
November 1 and 2
Crafters, begin preparing for the Community Connection Holiday Craft Sale. 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.
December 12 and 13
Now upgraded with digital technology, the mammogram vans from Swedish
Medical Center will be at TPU. Watch Newsline this fall for
appointment information. Contact
Shannon Hoffman, 591-5823, with questions.
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.
|
