City of Roy audit reveals no impropriety
An audit of City of Roy financial records was completed Tuesday and found no evidence of theft or fraud.

Mindy Chambers, director of communications for the Washington State Auditor’s Office, confirmed Wednesday that the audit did not turn up any misappropriated funds.
“What we found were accounting errors,” Chambers said.

Three employees were suspended with pay March 28 after discrepancies were discovered in the city’s financial records.

Mayor Natalie Banks maintained throughout the audit that she believed the discrepancy to be a mistake, but wanted to ensure there was no doubt hanging over the suspended employees.

Only one employee remained on suspension as of Wednesday, and Banks said she wasn’t sure what day that employee would be back to work because she hadn’t called her yet.

It is unclear at this time when an official audit report will be issued, Chambers said.

Great Wolf to host Thurston Chamber event
Great Wolf Lodge will host the Thurston County Chamber’s Business After Hours beginning at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 17.

Great Wolf will be featuring food and beverages from around the world, facility tours and door prizes, including a free night’s stay.

Opened in March, Great Wolf Lodge is the Pacific Northwest’s most unique resort. It offers 398 cabin-style suites; a 30,000 square-foot convention center with an extensive catering menu, state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment and a business center; a gigantic, 56,000 square-foot indoor waterpark exclusively for guests; three restaurants; adult and kids spas; fitness center; arcade; gift shop and more.

Great Wolf Lodge is located off Interstate 5 Exit 88 in Grand Mound.

Business After Hours costs $10 for Thurston County Chamber members and $20 for all others.

Casino honors two employees
Nisqually Red Wind Casino announced that Larry Rogers has been chosen as the manager of the year and Yolanda Estep as associate of the year.

The two were recognized during the casino’s annual dinner.

Rogers, of Rainier, is facilities manager for Red Wind. He has worked for the organization since 2005 and in his present capacity for two years. He oversees maintenance and engineering for the casino property.

Estep, of Lacey, is the benefits specialist in the human resources department. She has worked for Red Wind Casino since 2000 and as the benefits specialist since 2004. She oversees the benefits program for over 600 employees.

The two won trips, travel money and other gifts for their contributions to the casino workplace.

Prairie Days booth space available
Yelm Lions Club is accepting applications for vendors wanting to rent a space at Yelm Prairie Days.

Prairie Days is a summer festival and celebration sponsored by the Yelm Lions Club. This year it runs Thursday, June 26 through Saturday, June 28 at Yelm City Park.

Festivities are anticipated to be bigger and better than ever, with a heavy emphasis on family entertainment, said Yelm Lions President Dave Pratt.

There are approximately 50 booths for vendors, half of which are still available.
But they are going fast, Pratt said.

For more information or an application to become a Prairie Days Vendor, call Lynn Kolilis at 360-458-3492.

School district officials clean illegal dump site
02 May 2008
It was a totally un-P.C. way to dump old PCs.

Yelm man drives wrong way on I-5
02 May 2008
Charges filed after head-on crash injures one

Yelm man enters House race
02 May 2008
Yelm resident Chuck Collins has joined the race for the state Legislature in the Second District.

Rainier mayor takes extended medical leave
02 May 2008
Because of an unspecified illness, Nancy Decker is taking an extended leave from her role as Rainier’s mayor.

Rainier council to explore a possible alternative route
02 May 2008
Rainier residents can voice their opinion this summer about traffic.

Yelm schools losing funds for 21st Century Program
02 May 2008
Yelm Community Schools is losing a valuable program this summer that helps middle school students build social and intellectual skills.

Woman, 36, leaps out of moving car
02 May 2008
After jumping out of a moving car on Bald Hill Road last week, a woman suffered only scrapes and a bump on her head.

Fire district, city learn about RFAs
02 May 2008
Yelm City Council and Southeast Thurston Fire and EMS got a semi-crash course in how to start a Regional Fire Authority last week.

Yelm photographer earns award for portrait
02 May 2008
Abe Clary Creative Portraits received the 2008 trophy for best portrait.

Tacos Gaby to move to new, larger space
02 May 2008
Tacos Gaby will be moving out of the Yelm Shell gas station and into their own space.

AG opposes PSE’s rate hike
02 May 2008
Puget Sound Energy is seeking nearly $6 million more than its original request.

Community gets look at Public Safety Building
25 Apr 2008
Members of the community celebrated the grand opening of the new Yelm Public Safety Building.

Arrests made in Roy graffiti case
25 Apr 2008
Three arrests have been made and two are pending in connection with the hate-filled graffiti scrawled around downtown Roy last week.

Yelm raises water rates
25 Apr 2008
To conserve water, the City of Yelm instituted a seasonal rate increase this week.

Boys accused in Ridgeline vandalism
25 Apr 2008
Two boys are facing felony charges after allegedly vandalizing Ridgeline Middle School early Monday morning.

Vail fire station broken into for the fourth time
25 Apr 2008
For the fourth time in two years, the Southeast Thurston Fire and EMS station on Vail Loop Road was broken into at the expense of the taxpayers.

Three firefighters promoted to Capt. by SE Thurston
25 Apr 2008
Family and friends of Southeast Thurston Fire and EMS celebrated the first ever promotion of three Southeast Thurston Lieutenants Sunday evening.

Hate-filled slurs mar City of Roy’s downtown
21 Apr 2008
Hate-filled racial slurs and violent graffiti cast a dark shadow over Roy last week.

Longmire Park grand opening Saturday
21 Apr 2008
Celebration is one that was years in the making

Roy council scolded for squabbling
21 Apr 2008
Roy City Council got a verbal lashing from community members Monday night in response to the inner turmoil at City Hall.

Old Rainier School getting work done
21 Apr 2008
Karen Creamer and other founders of the Rainier Historical Society know, in detail, the history of the old Rainier school building.

New home show venue a hit
21 Apr 2008
The annual Nisqually Valley Home, Garden and Trade Show went off without a hitch last weekend.

Prairie Hotel breaks ground for expansion
21 Apr 2008
Prairie Hotel held a ground-breaking ceremony this week for their hotel expansion project.

Learn to raise farm pets
21 Apr 2008
Pigs and chickens aren’t just for farmers anymore.

Unemployment rate takes a small jump
21 Apr 2008
Washington’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.9 percent.