FREE • Friday, June 23, 2017
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RAINIERS DIG DEEP
BE C A U S E CO M M U N I T Y MAT T E R S .
FREEDOM FAIR 2017
WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT RENOVATIONS ADDS CAPACITY
Tacoma’s 4th of July celebration returns to thrill the masses SEE WWW.FREEDOMFAIR.COM FOR COMPLETE ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE
PHOTO BY STEVE DUNKELBERGER
TOUR. Pierce County Civil Engineer Amanda Summers
gave a tour of the newly renovated Chambers Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant last week, following four years of design and renovation work. By Steve Dunkelberger stevedunkel@tacomaweekly.com
T
acoma’s 4th of July extravaganza will be back to thrill the masses again this year. The volunteers who are part of the non-profit organization that presents the annual Freedom Fair, its air show and fireworks over Commencement Bay, will not be stopped. They are not letting slow-to-materialize sponsorships and donations prevent the aircraft and fireworks from flying
high into the sky. “It is a decades-old tradition for thousands of people to stroll along the Ruston Way Waterfront among 200 options that create two miles of smiles on Independence Day,” said Gary Grape, who has been an organizer of this event for more than 15 years. “They enjoy stopping at the restaurants, food and beverage booths, beer gardens, arts and crafts vendors, car show, pole vault event, kids’ fun zone, commercial
exhibits, and six live entertainment areas that complement the air show and fireworks. It’s the wide variety of entertainment options and the beautiful setting that helped get the Tacoma Freedom Fair named one of the 10 “World’s Best” fireworks events by the Travel Channel.” Once again it’s that time of year for the Tacoma Freedom Fair’s 4th of July Air Show. For decades an annual aerial ballet has played out u See FAIR / page A11
ALL HAIL FESTIVAL OF SAIL
Renovations of Pierce County’s Chambers Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant have increased sewer capacity that should keep up with the county’s population growth until 2040. The project was the largest capital improvement project in Pierce County history. The $342 million project lasted four years and increased the plant’s capacity by 15 million gallons a day, to 44 million gallons per day, and nearly doubled the plant’s footprint from 49 acres to 89 acres. The Pierce County sewer system collects wastewater from a 117-square-mile area with a population of 294,000 people in University Place, Lakewood, DuPont, Steilacoom and a portion of Tacoma. It also serves the unincorporated communities of Parkland, Spanaway, Midland, South Hill and Frederickson. “Our treatment plant is vitally important to future economic growth throughout Pierce County,” said Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier. “Well maintained infrastructure supports our communities and ensures our ability to live, work and play.” u See WASTEWATER / page A11
Discovery kindergartener holds helping birthday
PHOTOS BY BILL BUNGARD
Thea Foss Waterway was buzzing with activity all weekend, June 15-18, as people from far and near came to see the world’s largest rubber ducky and all the tall ships that floated majestically on the water. With the festival centered on the waterways of Tacoma, those opposed to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant slated for the Tideflats took the opportunity to make their voices heard about the need to protect clean water and our area’s natural beauty. See more photos in City Life, pg. B2.
PHOTO COURTESY OF JACQUELYN CARSON
HELPING. A Discovery Primary School kindergar-
tener wanted her sixth birthday to be special and set out to help the homeless. By Steve Dunkelberger stevedunkel@tacomaweekly.com
Jacquelyn Carson can be proud of her daughter Jayelle, a kindergartener at Discovery Primary School. She had asked Jayelle a few months ago about ideas for her sixth birthday. Carson expected a party with her friends that would likely include a bouncy house or a few rounds of bowling. Nope, not for Jayelle. After a day or so of thinking and pondering and reflecting, she said she wanted to get her friends together to spend an afternoon making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to then hand out at the homeless encampment known as the u See DISCOVERY / page A11 FACEBOOK: facebook.com/tacomaweekly TWITTER: @TacomaWeekly
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We can all do something to survive the “care-free summer” until school starts in the fall. PAGE A6
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