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Page 2 Selah Sound Friday, February 24, 2012

The Selah Sound is afree of charge newspaperpublished by Jackrabbit

Publishing.

How toreach us:

Phone:509-314-1739

Email:news@

theselahsound.com

ads@

theselahsound.com

Mailing Address:P.O. Box 1301

Selah, WA 98942

Jack H. SmithOwner/Publisher

Robbie BustosSales/Design

State of the City: Mayor Gawlikdiscusses 2011, future of Selah

EDITORIALThe Learning

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BOND:From Page 1

they continue to improve theacademic achievements of stu-dents.

We will not have to spendas much of our operating bud-get on high utility costs andmaintaining two old facilities,Chestnut said.

He estimated the new juniorhigh would be completed by2014 and students will be ableto stay at the current junior highduring construction because the

new school is going to be ori-ented around the gym, behindthe current building.

Another large part of thebond will be to expand Se-lah High School to a four-yeargrade conguration. is willinclude the addition of anothersix classrooms and an auxiliarygymnasium.

Our goal is to move to a four-year high school, he said.

PRIOR PROPOSALSAer two no votes last year,

Chestnut said the bond wasscaled back from prior propos-als. Unlike the proposals from

2011, the biggest change in thebond passed Feb. 14th is the rateper assessed property value.

Last year voters declined toapprove the rate at $1.98 per1,000 of assessed property value.

e approved bond has a rateof $1.23, the same as a bond vot-ers approved by Selah District

voters in 1998, which Chestnutsaid will be paid o in 2013.

According to Chestnut, therewill be an overlap in the twobonds, but there will not be adouble payment.

Chestnut said for a while thetwo bonds will be concurrent,

with .69 cents going to pay othe bond passed in 1998 and theother .54 cents going towardsthe bond passed Feb. 14.

CENTER:From Page 1

the center on a daily basis.Youth Center sta member

Mara Gomez believes students

benet from using the center ona regular basis and it is impor-tant to work together to ensure apositive future for them.

e fact is many of our youthare poor, disadvantaged anddisposed. Many fall throughthe cracks for want of choices,Gomez said. Our role as adultsand leaders is to extend toolsfor them to choose a life sepa-rate from the allure of gangsand easy money. Our role is toprovide alternatives, which thiscenter does. I believe that at-tending the youth center andmeeting new friends has keptour members out of the streetsand out of trouble. I believe theyouth center is a great and safeplace for all the youth studentsto engage with others and learnabout others and stay out oftrouble.

Among those taking the stageSunday will be Leviticuss whosaid he feels like its his respon-sibility to help save the center.

e local rapper has spent nu-merous hours at the center vol-unteering by talking, counselingand helping children with theirhomework.

Leviticuss said that the centeris a safe place for kids to hangout and get their homeworkdone.

e youth center providesknowledge, it provides disci-pline and it provides food andshelter, he said. Its importantthe kids have somewhere elsethey can hang out.

I can do my part to make a

dierence to help the kids main-tain a safe environment, he said.

Having moved to Selah in thesixth-grade, he noticed that alot of kids were listening to rapmusic, but it was what he calleddark and evil rap.

Wanting to change their idea

of rap, Leviticuss craed a stylethat he says goes hard, fast andis on time, but has a good mes-sage.

I rap about the daily strug-gles in life that we see, he said.I try to have Christ in the back-

ground of my rhymes to help

me prove to people that theycan run away from their messand get straight. Its not alwaystrying to shove God down theirthroat.

It is up to them to knowthere is good music without

talking about doing bad things.

I am very happy and relievedto say the second issue is done.With any new business, there

is always some sort of learningcurve and I have denitely facedthis trying to get the rst two is-sues completed. e good newsis that Ive learned quite a bitfrom putting these editions to-gether and cant wait to use thisknowledge forthe next paper.

Ive tried re-ally hard to giveSelah residentsa great mix oflocal news andI hope they en-

joy the paper. I will do my bestevery edition to make it betterand make it a paper Selah can beproud of.

Id personally like to thank allof those who have given me sto-ry ideas and taken their time forinterviews and to obtain infor-mation. Without you there is noSelah Sound, so Im very grate-ful for all your help. Im askingSelah residents to contact me ifthey have any ideas for a storyor section in the paper. We willwork together to truly make thisYOUR paper.

Id also like to thank all the lo-cal businesses who have adver-tised in our rst two editions.Without these ads, it would

have been impossible to pub-lish the rst two editions andget them out for distribution. Inthe future, I hope to work withmany more advertisers. Gettinga few more ads each edition willallow us to grow and prosper. Ifyou are interested in advertis-ing please give me a call at 509-314-1739 or email me at ads@

theselahsound.com. We havesome awesomespecials for thenext issue andId love to workwith you to ndan ad size that

works with your budget.e next few months will be

an exciting time for the SelahSound. We are hoping to bemoved into our o ce as soonas possible and we will also belooking at hiring some Selahresidents to help with storiesand photos.

If you are looking for a copy ofthe Selah Sound, we have papersavailable at Selah Save on Foods,e Selah Chamber of Com-merce, Selah Red Apple and theSelah Les Schwab Tire Center.If you would like to have pa-pers available for distribution atyour business, please feel free toemail or call me. e next paperis set to be distributed in March.

Without you thereis no Selah Sound, soIm very grateful for all

your help.

My name is Robbieaka Ruby or RubyVe- gas (business name). Itgets confusing, so I pret-ty much answer to anyname that starts with anR these days.

I moved to Selahtwo years ago byway of Las Vegas.One day I was sur-rounded by a popu-lation of 2 million,slot machines and

sunshine and twodays later I was justo of North Wenas.

Ill never forget my rst nightin Selah. I looked out the backdoor and saw absolutely noth-ing. I was terried. ere was asea of blackness- no city lights,no sirens , no tra c. I could seenothing, but I did hear whatsounded like chickens and therustling of .Llamas? is was

my new home.A solid month went by be-

fore I could sleep comfortablywithout the humming of a he-licopter hovering nearby. Onthe positive side, driving intown was a dream. I could evenmake dreaded le hand turnssafely and without squealing.

Soon, sitting on theback porch at nightbecame a treat Ilooked forward to.

Nothing beatsswinging in a coolevening breeze,

taking in the smellsof a fresh cut lawn.Watching the dogs

run back and forth and seeingtheir utter joy. I got that feelingthat maybe Id found my specialplace in the world.

is little column will be the ram-blings of a former city girl; randomthoughts, experiences & curiositiessince being in the Selah area.)

RUBY

RAMBLESBy Robbie Bustos

But I did hearwhat soundedlike chickensand the rustling

of...Llamas?

City Council changes meeting timesBy JACK H. SMITHSelah Sound

Beginning in March, the Selah City Council is moving theirsecond meeting of the month to 6:30 p.m.

e Council voted unanimously Feb. 14 to move their secondmeeting to a later time for a four-month trial period. e rstmeeting of the month will still be conducted at 4 p.m.

Selah Mayor John Gawlik said he had been approached by anumber of residents who said they would participate and attendthe meetings if they were conducted at a later time.

While the motion passed 6-0, Councilman Dave Smebacksaid his concern about moving the meeting times was for elderlyresidents and night shi workers who would not be able to at-tend the later meeting. e Selah City Council meets the sec ondand fourth Tuesday of the month.

By JACK H. SMITHSelah Sound

Selah Mayor John Gawlik feels theachievements the city made in 2011 andprojects planned for 2012 promote a

higher quality of life for every resident ofSelah.

In his 2012 State of the City Reportpresented Feb. 14 at the Selah City Coun-cil meeting, Gawlik discussed last yearsbudget and projects, and also looked tothe future which includes what he calls afavorable nancial condition.

We will begin the 2012 budget with$582,504 in additional cash in our begin-ning balance in 20 of our 32 funds, hesaid.

According to Gawlik, the city nishedthe 2011 scal year with approximately$5,947,710 spread out over 32 dierentcity funds.

Our expenditures were either at bud-get or below budget, while sales tax ex-ceeded the budget by 7.4 percent andproperty tax revenue exceeds the bud-get by 1.2 percent, Gawlik said. We are

pleased at our scal performance, espe-cially in the light of the less than brighteconomy in 2011, and view this as a posi-tive usage of taxpayers money.

In 2012, the city of Selah will receive$2.53 per thousand dollars of assessed

value for each property located withinthe city limits.

Gawlik said the Council had approvedto distribute 69 percent of the propertytax money to the current expense, 20percent to re protection, 10 percent tostreets and one percent to library funds.

Promoting Selah as a tourist destina-tion was also discussed by the new mayor.

Our city continues to evolve into atourism destination for visitors, partner-ing with local businesses and organiza-

tions in this endeavor, he said.In 2011, Gawlik said the city created

the www.discoverselah.com web site topromote tourism in the city.

We worked with North Park Lodge,our new hotel, to establish a visitor cen-

ter and with the Washing-ton State Department ofTransportation to put uphighway signs letting trav-elers know of the city andlodging facilities, he said.

In addition, Gawlik saidthe city partnered with theagricultural communityfor the formation of anAg Loop Tour that will becomplete in 2012.

Other tourism highlights listed byGawlik were the rst annual fall festivaland partnering with the Yakima TrainingCenter on a half marathon.

We increased the number of girls fastpitch soball tournaments held at CarlonPark in 2011 and were successful in bid-ding for tournaments in 2012, he said.e tourism department will continue

to increase the number of tournamentsheld each year, thereby bringing morevisitors to our city.

PUBLIC WORKSGawlik said the City of Selah Public

Works Department completed severalprojects in 2011, including road preser-

vation projects, South Rushmore Roadimprovements, the storm water programand a sewer comprehensive plan.

He added construction on the newpublic works maintenance facility wasundertaken in 2011, and in early 2012,the department will be moving into theirnew facility.

Gawlik said that in 201 2 road improve-ments will be completed on Wenas,

Bartlett and Railroad Avenues and grindand overlay work will be completed intwo areas.

e rst will be on West Fremont Ave.from N. 1st St. to N. 4th St. and on WestNaches Ave. from North 1st St. to South

2nd St.We will also complete the South Selah

Transportation Study, enabling the city tochart a path for improvements needed tohandle the increased tra c from futuredevelopment in the South Selah area, hesaid.

Gawlik said a 2012 project at the Waste-water Treatment Plant will involve the in-stallation a new clarier mechanisms inthe two existing secondary clariers.

e current mechanisms have reachedthe end of their service lives aer hav-ing been in operation for more than 20years, he said. ese two clariers arecritical to the performance of the treat-ment process because they separate thesolids from the wastewater aer it hasbeen aerated.

e bid on the clarier project wasawarded to Williams Charles Con-

struction Company of Kennewick for$617,822.

PARKS AND RECREATIONGawlik said among the highlights in

2011 for the Parks and Recreation De-partment were the completion of Vet-erans Park, improvements to VolunteerPark, the installation of new high-techplayground equipment at Wixon Parkand a monument to honor Coach Carlonat Carlon Park.

Gawlik said the Selah Parks and Recre-ation Service Area Board will be meetingthis year to discuss the future of the Se-lah Swimming Pool and taking a mainte-nance and operation levy to the voters ofthe service area.

GAWLIK

Find UsOn...........

@ e SelahSound

Sound Photo courtesy of Ginger Tyler

Leveticuss will be one of three performers at a fundr aiser Sunday for the Selah Youth Center. e event is set tostart at 6 p.m. at the Pastime in Selah.