June 2019
Volume 7 • Issue 4
Kennewick school being torn down as new one being built
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Motorcycle, auto events merge for joint festival West Richland chamber sets Cool Desert Nights, Hogs & Dogs schedule BY JEFF MORROW for Senior Times
A third of the workforce connected to Hanford eligible to retire in five years
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Our Forever Friends allows pet owners to plan for animals’ care in their estate Page 9
MONTHLY QUIZ
What unusual animal remains have been found near Ringold and Kennewick’s Coyote Canyon? Answer, Page 13
The community is about to find out what happens when you combine the Tri-Cities’ most popular classic car, street rod and motorcycle shows. The West Richland Area Chamber of Commerce jumped in to take on organizing Cool Desert Nights car and uFestival street festival, schedule. along with its wildPage 5 ly popular West Richland Hogs & Dogs Regional Family Festival, now in its 19th year. The action-packed, four-day festival runs June 20-23 in West Richland and Richland. It only made sense to combine the two events into the same week, said May Hays, executive director of the West Richland chamber. “We feel the two events will complement each other and become the most amazing regional event ever,” Hays said. The Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce announced in October 2017 that it was stepping away from running the annual Cool Desert Nights after 2018, saying the event no longer aligned with its mission of supporting businesses. uFESTIVAL, Page 5
Courtesy city of Richland The new 44,000-square-foot Richland City Hall that replaced the city’s 60-year-old building opened for business at the end of May at 625 Swift Blvd.
Richland City Hall opens in new space
BY KEVIN ANTHONY for Senior Times
T
he numbers aren’t all that far apart — from 505 Swift Blvd. to 625 Swift. And the physical move into Richland’s new City Hall from the old building amounts to several hundred feet across Jadwin Avenue. But after $18.4 million and 20 months of construction — plus some 14 years of planning and negotiations before the first shovel broke ground — the move into the new City Hall is the culmination of an almost Herculean
effort when it opened to the public in May. “It’s so rewarding on behalf of the community to see the final product,” said Joe Schiessl, Richland’s director of parks and public facilities. “I think everybody will be really pleased when they see it.” The nuts and bolts of the new building are straightforward: It’s 44,000 square feet with three stories above ground and a partial basement for storage, built on 1.8 acres purchased from the federal government in the oversized uCITY HALL, Page 14
WSU grad completes education by degrees
PNNL worker earns degree after 40 years of classes BY MAEGAN MURRAY for Senior Times
A lifelong learner earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration by taking one class at a time over 40 years. Vanessa Moore received her degree during Washington State University TriCities’ graduation ceremony in May. She said earning the degree has given her a sense of professional security and knowledge she can use throughout the
remainder of her career — especially at her job at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. “Getting my degree was important to me, and I Vanessa Moore wanted to finish it without accruing any student loans. The feeling of completion and accomplishment and uEDUCATION, Page 14
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