Ellensburg Community Morning Show, Thursday, October 8th
NEWS
Ellensburg has joined Cle Elum and Kittitas County in putting a temporary stop to data centers. The City Council voted unanimously this week for a six-month emergency moratorium on data center proposals inside city limits. It took about five minutes. Community Development Director Dan Carlson told the council the city's rules don't treat data centers as their own kind of development, even though they can bring big buildings and heavy demand for electricity. The pause gives the city time to write zoning rules and permit standards. It took effect right away and runs through April 5th. Cle Elum passed the first local moratorium in July, after a developer proposed a two-hundred-million-dollar facility near I-90. The county followed in August. Residents have raised concerns about water, noise, and what these projects would mean for the valley.
About four hundred visitors are in downtown Ellensburg through Friday for the PLACES Conference. It's Washington's statewide gathering for people who work on historic preservation and on keeping downtowns healthy, put on by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. The Ellensburg Downtown Association is asking locals to give them a warm welcome.
The city is looking for two Ellensburg residents to serve on the new Kittitas County Public Facilities District board. County commissioners created the district in July to help support and pay for regional recreation and public facilities across the county. Because Ellensburg is the county's largest city, the City Council appoints two of the five board members. The volunteer terms run four years. Applications are due October 30th. You can find them on the city website or by calling the City Manager's Office at five-oh-nine, nine-six-two, seven-two-two-one.
And the city's natural gas utility has earned national recognition. The American Public Gas Association gave Ellensburg its top Gold rating for system safety, upkeep, and worker training. Only sixteen public gas systems in the country are on the current gold list, out of more than seven hundred thirty. City Gas Engineer Darin Yusi said the award was seven years in the making. The utility serves more than five thousand customers through one hundred forty miles of gas main.
ROAD WORK
Starting Monday at 7 a.m., the alley between Third and Fourth Avenues, from Sampson to Anderson Street, will close while city crews replace about two hundred eighty feet of sewer main. The work is expected to take about fifteen days. Questions go to Public Works at five-oh-nine, nine-six-two, seven-two-three-oh.
Also, on weekends through early December, crews will be laying new communication lines in alleys between Fifth Avenue and Capitol Avenue, and between Ruby and Wenas Streets.
LOCAL EVENTS
Toastmasters International meets tonight at 5:30 at the Hal Holmes Community Center. You can also join online.
And looking ahead: Saturday is a Discover Pass free day, so you can visit state parks and other state recreation lands without a pass. It's also Homecoming at Central. And on Monday, Central marks Indigenous Peoples' Day with its first-ever First Peoples' Art Market, featuring Yakama Nation and other Northwest Native artists, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in room 137 of the Student Union building. It's open to the public.
SPORTS
Central Washington women's soccer, 2-6-3, hosts number-23 Simon Fraser Thursday at 5 in Ellensburg. On Saturday they host Northwest Nazarene at 11 a.m.
Wildcat volleyball, 10 and 4, hosts Northwest Nazarene Saturday at 1 in Ellensburg.
Wildcat football comes home 3 and 2, and unbeaten in conference, after a 41-to-14 win at Angelo State. They host Midwestern State Saturday at 6 p.m. in Ellensburg.
And Wildcat cross country runs Saturday morning at the Lewis Crossover in Romeoville, Illinois.
WEATHER
The forecasted high today in Ellensburg is 79 degrees with a low tonight of 48 degrees. It'll be mostly sunny and warm for October, with partly cloudy skies tonight. The sunset is at 6:28 p.m. with calm winds today, turning to a light northwest breeze around 5 miles an hour tonight. No rain in the forecast today, and no weather alerts for our area. A change is coming, though. Tomorrow cools off to the upper 60s with gusty afternoon winds and some blowing dust, and Saturday brings a chance of showers with a high in the upper 50s.
WHAT'S FOR LUNCH AT THE FISH OPEN TABLE?
The FISH Open Table lunch today is sausage and mashed potatoes, with grilled onions, mixed vegetables, a roll, and fruit. The senior lunch is open to all seniors age 60-plus from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ellensburg Open Table at 204 North Main Street. In Cle Elum, senior lunches are now served Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to noon at Dru Bru, 1015 East Second Street. The community lunch for anyone needing a hot meal is from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Ellensburg Open Table.
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