1712 6TH 1019 Pacific AVE., Avenue, SUITE Suite 3001216 PO Box 1303, TACOMA, WA TACOMA, 98405 WA 98401 PHONE (253) 627-4853 FAX (253) 627-2253
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015
Vol. CXXIV, No. 28
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
Published Published Since Since 1890 1890
Visit our Web site at at www.tacomadailyindex.com
After 'game-changing' injuries, Tacoma's urban forester resigns Article and Photo By Todd Matthews, Editor One Friday morning in October 2013, Ramie Pierce was commuting by bicycle to her office at the Center for Urban Waters. A normally easy, mostly downhill route from her Hilltop neighborhood home, along South 11th Street through downtown Tacoma, and across Thea Foss Waterway by way of the Murray Morgan Bridge had to be re-routed. The century-old bridge was closed for a major rehabilitation project, and Pierce was forced to take a detoured route. As she coasted down South 15th Street near the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, a valet attendant driving a Toyota Prius failed to notice her and pulled out of a side street. Pierce squeezed the brakes, but it was too late to stop. She flew over the handle bars, slid along the pavement, and skidded to a stop pinned beneath the vehicle. The accident broke bones, busted her teeth and split her lips, and covered her body in deep bruises. The immediate aftermath is a patchwork burst of memories: a swift ambulance ride to a nearby hospital; clicking sounds emanating from an X-ray machine; and the terrible taste of dirt and blood as she lay on an emergency room table. Pierce underwent surgery that afternoon, and remained in the hospital overnight. As she returned to work a month later, Pierce noticed she was easily fatigued, plagued by headaches, and had issues related to memory and concentration — the results, she was told, of a mild to moderate concussion. She scaled back her hours, tried working from home, and took extended leaves of absence hoping she could fully recover and resume her career. Late last month, however, Pierce, 34, announced she would step down as the City of Tacoma's Urban Forester. "I recognize that this may come as a shock to many of you," she wrote in an e-mail to colleagues and friends. "[A]fter attempting to heal by working, or working while healing, for the last year, which has not been easy . . . it's best for me to reduce distractions and focus on my recovery. While I am unsure of what the future holds (as all of us are), I know that everything will work out as it should." Pierce agreed to meet with me last week at a downtown Tacoma cafe, just a few days before her last day of work. During an hour-long interview, she was emotional about the trauma she experienced and her decision to leave a job that she loved, but also optimistic about taking time to fully heal her inuries.
INSIDE:
LEGAL NOTICES BANKRUPTCIES LIENS ORDERS FEDERAL COURT AUDITORS OFFICE NEW BUSINESSES editor@tacomadailyindex.com
"I am not the same me that I was before the accident," says former City of Tacoma Urban Forester Ramie Pierce, who was seriously injured in a cycling accident. She resigned from her position last week after nearly eight years at City Hall.
"I just — I am not the same me that I was before the accident," she explained. She pulled back the sleeves of her jacket to reveal post-surgery scars, and smiled to reveal the clear braces that are correcting the damage to her teeth. "Despite all my best efforts of trying for the last year while recovering, I'm still working twenty hours per week and I'm stressed out and I'm tired of struggling. Meanwhile, I still have all this physical therapy that I have been limping along and really haven't been able to address wholeheartedly." "Ramie will be missed at the City," said Lorna Mau-
ren, City of Tacoma Environmental Services Assistant Division Manager and Pierce's former supervisor. "If you know her, you know the care and passion she brought to her work." Tacoma's Urban Forest program received a boost when Pierce arrived at City Hall nearly eight years ago, after earning an associate degree in horticulture from South Seattle Community College, and a bachelor's degree in environmental studies and urban forestry from The Evergreen State College. Between 2007 and 2008, the City partnered with local residents to plant a record 803 trees through the City's TreeStreet NW Program. Since 2008, more than 3,000 street trees were planted throughout Tacoma. In 2011, a University of Washington study showed Tacoma's tree canopy increased from 12.9 per cent to 19 per cent between 2001 and 2009. Ultimately, the City hopes to achieve 30 per cent tree coverage within the next 15 years. Pierce also undertook a complete overhaul and update of the codes and regulations related to Tacoma's Urban Forest program (the revisions still need final approval). Beyond data and regulations, the program became a more visible part of the community. Four years ago, the City's Urban Forest Project invited local artists to create artwork that was turned into banners that lined the streets of downtown Tacoma. The banners credited and promoted individual artists, while advocating the importance of street trees. The banners were later turned into messenger bags and available for purchase. Also, anyone with a green thumb had plenty of opportunities to attend one of Pierce's free workshops at Tacoma's EnviroHouse to get their questions answered and learn more about landscape design, seasonal garden preparations, composting, and the benefits of rain barrels. For some Tacoma residents who care about trees, Pierce was more than just another government bureaucrat. "She hit the ground running and she never stopped," said University Place resident Nan Hogan, who first met Pierce during a community open house shortly after Pierce was hired. Hogan recalled initially feeling awkward in a meeting room full of well-connected forestry representatives with vested interests. "I think I was the only know-nothing ordinary citizen there," she recalled. "I was so impressed because Ramie treated me like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I felt very welcomed. I was just CONTINUED awed that someone like me could ON PAGE 2