Once a month, on his own time, part-time Metro Transit operator David Waggoner (East Base) takes friends from the Issaquah Senior Center on bus trips that, he feels, profoundly improve their lives. “Just because you belong to a senior center doesn’t mean that the next thing is that you’re in a coffin and next you’re in the ground,” he said recently. “The best thing for seniors is travel.”

He has taken friends on bus rides from Issaquah to downtown Seattle, Northgate, the North Bend outlet stores, and Sea-Tac Airport. “It’s amazing to see them learn how to take the Route 554 and Link light rail to the airport. When they realize they don’t need a family member to take them to the airport, they’re so proud that they can get there on their own.”

When Waggoner started driving buses, for Metropolitan Transit in 1967, he could let riders off in Seattle but couldn’t pick up new ones because Metropolitan drivers weren’t allowed to steal fares from Seattle Transit as they drove into the city. The fares he collected went into a pouch, because the “Silversides” buses he drove, with giant shift levers on the steering columns, had no room for fareboxes.

King County’s Human Resources Division (HRD) has launched a new and improved website to help visitors to the site get quick and easy access to the content they are looking for.

The new site will make it easier for King County employees, human resources professionals, residents and job seekers to navigate the site and find what they are looking for, quickly and easily.

“We wanted to make sure that all visitors to our website, whether they are current employees or possible future employees, have a good experience with our website and leave with a good impression of King County government and the Human Resources Division,” said Nancy Buonanno Grennan, HRD Director. “Building a new website that is both easy to navigate and attractive to look at is just one way we can improve the service experience for our customers, both internal and external.”

As we begin Healthy Incentives(SM) this year we invite you to think about your reason for being healthy and celebrate the reasons of your fellow employees. You’re our reason for offering this program -- to help you live a long, full life doing the things you love.

There is information and support available as you do this year’s program.

• By now you should have received a welcome letter at your home with your Healthy Incentives ID and instructions on how to earn gold this year. You can also find your Healthy Incentives ID online in your PeopleSoft account under MyBenefits.
• Starting February 3 you will be able to take a wellness assessment and choose an individual action plan at www.kchealthyincentives.com. If you are a first time participant, you’ll have to create an account. If you created an account last year, use your old username and password. You may be prompted to reset your password. If you forgot your username and password, use the ‘Forgot Username’ or ‘Forgot Password’ links to reset them. If that doesn’t work, call StayWell.
• For more information on program deadlines, individual action plans and who to call for help visit www.kingcounty.gov/ HealthyIncentives.
• StayWell and King County Benefits, Payroll and Retirement Operations are standing by to help you with any questions you have.

Find out more.

Nearly a thousand volunteers fanned out to walk down streets, across parks and greenbelts and under overpasses to complete the annual One Night Count of homeless persons in King County in the very early morning hours of January 23, 2015. The results were stunning: 3,772 persons were counted, a 21 percent increase over last year.

Volunteers covered parts of Auburn, Bellevue, Bothell, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, Kenmore, Kirkland, Redmond, Renton, Seattle, Shoreline, Skyway, Vashon Island, White Center and Woodinville. Timed to coincide with the street count is a survey of shelters and transitional housing across the county. The combined effort will yield the estimated number of homeless people in King County.

King County was well represented among this year’s volunteers, including a contingent of employees from the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS). A team from DCHS’ Mental Health, Chemical Abuse and Dependency Services Division that counted on Capitol Hill included Cindy Bergh, Dan Floyd (team lead) and Council staff Cliff Curry. Three teams counting in Ballard made up of Community Services Division, Committee to End Homelessness  and Director’s Office staff included Janice Hougen (team lead), Gretchen Bruce, Scott Mingus, Anna Strahan, Cheryl Markham, Debbi Knowles (team lead), Marquis Frank, Triina Tennelo, Michelle Valdez, Mark Ellerbrook, Jon Hoskins (team lead), Pat Lemus, and Sherry Hamilton. DCHS Director Adrienne Quinn hiked through a green belt with a White Center team and Committee to End Homelessness Director Mark Putnam counted with a team in Bellevue. As always, Kate Speltz was busy behind the scenes helping to organize the count and tally the reports returned by team leaders.

Photo: Team leads Jon Hoskins, Janice Hougen and Debbi Knowles confer before the count begins. Seattle City Councilmember Mike O’Brien stands far right.

(Originally appeared in DCHS In Touch newsletter, February 2015)

Tickets are on sale now for Cirque du Soleil’s KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities at King County’s Marymoor Park. King County employees can receive a 15% discount on tickets by purchasing online through this link: http://bit.ly/KCempDiscount  (works best using Internet Explorer).

Set in the latter half of the 19th century, KURIOS follows the story of an inventor whose gadget-filled dreams come to life on stage, transporting audiences to a realm of discovery. Cirque has come to Marymoor Park five times since 2005, and their shows are a critical source of revenue supporting King County’s 200 parks, 175 miles of trails, and 28,000 acres of open space. For more information about the show, visit http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/kurios.

See all available discounts on the Employee Discount Program website.

Metro Transit and Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 587 participated jointly in the 2014 U. S. Marine Reserve Toys for Tots program. Forty collection boxes at Metro facilities (Bus bases, Vehicle Maintenance shops, and the King Street Center) netted donations of 740 new, unwrapped toys for needy kids. ATU 587 Financial Secretary/Treasurer Paul Neil and South Base Acting Chief Jeff Garland coordinated the effort. ATU 587 members Chuck Miller, Michael Moore, and Cory Rigtrup distributed and collected the donation boxes.

First-line Communications Coordinator Frank Lowe (lower right) hands over Metro’s donated toys – including a large bear – to the U.S. Marine Corps on Dec. 12.

Photo: First-line Communications Coordinator Frank Lowe (lower right) hands over Metro’s donated toys – including a large bear – to the U.S. Marine Corps on Dec. 12.

(Adapted from article in Metro Transit In Transit newsletter, Jan-Feb 2015).