Puget Sound Engineering Council names King County employee 2018 Government Engineer of the Year
Pictured: Wastewater Mechanical Engineer Lead Jeff Lundt
On Feb. 3, the Puget Sound Engineering Council honored Wastewater Mechanical Engineer Lead, Jeff Lundt as the 2018 Government Engineer of the Year. Jeff is in the Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Wastewater Treatment Division.
Jeff was recognized for his many contributions to improving the region’s wastewater infrastructure. His dedication and tireless efforts in providing training for professionals in all areas of water and wastewater treatment have benefited thousands, ensuring operators and engineers understand and are informed of best practices, current trend in the industry, fundamental concepts and new technologies so utilities can – now and in the future – have the staff and knowledge to keep our waterways clean and our drinking water safe. Jeff’s contributions toward advancing Wastewater Treatment Division’s mission are much appreciated. Congratulations Jeff on this wonderful achievement!
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United Way’s 2018 free tax prep campaign for King County employees
Tax season is upon us and King County would like to highlight United Way of King County’s free tax preparation services as a convenient option available to you, your family members, and your community! Tax time can be stressful and expensive, but it doesn’t have to be; consider taking advantage of this free service so you can avoid costly tax preparation fees and maximize your refund.
United Way offers free tax preparation services at over 30 locations throughout King County and online from now through April.Households making under $66,000 can have their taxes prepared by a certified tax preparer, plus they can get connected to other community resources and public benefits.
There are two easy ways to file:
- Online – File your taxes online for free with United Way’s My Free Taxes tool if your household makes under $66,000 at www.MyFreeTaxes.com.
- In-person – Thirty locations can be found throughout King County with convenient hours to meet your schedule. No appointments are needed. To find a location near you, languages available, a list of what to bring, and other details, visit www.FreeTaxExperts.org or call 2-1-1.
More information is also available within this informational flyer.
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Our youth are speaking, and we need to listen
Crossposted from the Best Starts for Kids Blog
Building a community where young people are valued, respected, and engaged as leaders of today is fundamental to our collective vision for Best Starts for Kids. Next month on this blog, we’ll begin a series of posts about how we can support the young people in our lives and communities. We’ll discuss concrete actions you can take, resources and tips for adults, and reflections on what it means to build this community together. If you have a question, want to suggest a topic for this series, or just want to give a shout-out to a young person doing great things in your community, let us know.
In the aftermath of such tragic loss in Parkland last week, we are witnessing our youth teach us how to be leaders—we need to watch and learn. We are witnessing our youth organize—we need to join them. We are witnessing our youth raise their voices to be heard over the politics of adults—we need to amplify it. We need to be with them in any manner they want us to be. This week, one young man said, “We need to scream until they listen.” They shouldn’t have to scream. We should be listening.
Read more at the Best Starts for Kids Blog
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It’s Washington Invasive Species Awareness Week!
Crossposted from the Noxious Weeds Blog
As spring approaches, it’s a good time to reflect on what we can do this year to help the natural world here at home. Learning about and taking action to help stop the spread of invasive species is one great way to give Washington’s natural world a hand.
In honor of Washington Invasive Species Awareness Week (Feb 25-Mar 3), the Washington Invasive Species Council has given us an excellent list of ways we can help fight invasive species. Below is a short excerpt of their ideas (with some King County links added by me). Read the whole list here.
Clean your hiking boots, bikes, waders, boats and trailers, off-road vehicles, and other gear before you venture outdoors to stop invasive species from hitching a ride to a new location. Visit the council’s Washington Invasive Species Education (WISE) Web site to learn more about preventing spread.
Read more at Noxious Weeds Blog
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Read across America
Crossposted from Go, Green Team!
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
On March 2, students across the United States will celebrate and encourage reading. March 2 also happens to be Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Let’s all celebrate learning and reading together. What’s your school doing for Read Across America?
Read more at Go, Green Team!
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We must act now to end gun violence
King County Executive Dow Constantine
Dear fellow King County employee,
On February 14 – Valentine’s Day – 14 children and three adults in Parkland, Florida, lost their lives in a manner that has become all too familiar in America: a senseless school shooting.
This horrifying event is another tragic reminder that we must act to end the epidemic of gun violence that has engulfed our nation, to stand up for those who have had their lives brutally taken, and to fight to keep our children and public places safe.
Last month I testified in Olympia for two bills: promoting safe storage of firearms, and allowing local governments to pass common sense safeguards, such as requiring reporting of stolen firearms and restricting children’s access to firearms. At the time, I noted that gun violence is a public health crisis, and it is preventable. We can attack it the same way we have reduced deaths from smoking and auto collisions.
That’s why I directed Public Health – Seattle & King County to develop innovative, data-driven local strategies for preventing gun violence in King County. This has led to programs like Lok-it-up, which can help prevent firearm theft and keep guns from getting into the hands of kids and being used in crimes and for self-harm.
State and federal law pre-empt our ability to regulate firearms, but that should not stop us from thinking innovatively about what we can do within our own authority to fight this scourge.
When we witness tragedies like the massacre in Florida, we need to support one another. If you would like to speak with someone, King County provides two free services to employees that offer professional support and advice: the Employee Assistance Program and Making Life Easier. Both resources are free and confidential.
As we mourn so many young lives cut short, we must take a stand, continue to work collectively, and redouble our efforts to end gun violence here in King County and across our nation.
Sincerely,
Dow Constantine
King County Executive
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Reminder: Tell us what you love about public service!
Our team is looking for County employees to share their stories via our social media to promote King County as a great place to work, live and play. To participate as a King County ambassador, email the following to KCEmployees@kingcounty.gov:
- Selfie (photo of yourself)
- Your workplace role
- One to three sentence blurb explaining why you love working for King County.
Our team will share your testimonials on our social media accounts.
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Featured Job: Electro-Mechanic
Closing Date/Time: Sat. 03/31/18 11:59 PM Pacific Time
Salary: $34.07 – $37.86 Hourly
Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week
Location: Multiple locations in King County, Washington
Department: Department of Transportation – Transit Division
Description: Electro-Mechanics perform journey-level electrical, electronic and mechanical work on either light rail vehicles or streetcars and associated equipment.
Link Light Rail, operated by King County Metro Transit, is a 20.4 mile light rail line from University of Washington Station to Angle Lake Station. Current system expansion will add an additional 50 miles of track by 2023. Currently Link Light Rail has 62 vehicles and will be adding an additional 122 vehicles to their fleet in 2019.
Seattle Streetcar, operated by King County Metro Transit, is responsible for providing streetcar service for both the South Lake Union (2.6 track miles) and First Hill (4.9 track miles) Streetcar lines. Construction on the Center City Connector began last fall 2017 to join the existing lines to create new north-south connections that will allow for easy transit connections throughout the core of downtown Seattle.
King County Metro Transit is a regional leader in helping people move quickly throughout the region, reducing commuter stress, greening the environment and radically improving urban air quality, by providing comfortable, effective transit services for the thousands of commuters and other residents of King County, Washington. Working for Metro means working for a leader in this public transportation industry.
Contact: For more information contact Jen Montoya at 206-477-5997 or Jen.Montoya@kingcounty.gov.
Learn more about this position, or view all available jobs.
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Social Media Spotlight: King County Medic One Facebook
King County Medic One is a publicly-funded Emergency Medical Service that provides world class Advanced Life Support (ALS) for the southern region of King County in Washington State. We serve a population of over 750,000 people.
Follow KCMedic1 on Facebook today.
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
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Tech Tip: New work tools for employees
KCIT is rolling out new work tools like Microsoft OneNote, OneDrive, and Power BI. These applications help us all work better, smarter and faster. To help employees adapt, the IT Training team has put together a robust training toolbox, to complement the in-person trainings, and it is filled with short, PDF or video explanations. Emphasis on short videos!
If you are a video learner, check out OneDrive this week: 12 videos, none longer than two minutes! The videos can be accessed on SharePoint here.
KCIT also wants to say thank you to employees for remaining vigilant about the phishing attacks we have had. Thanks to our employees who report suspicious looking emails quickly! We have been able to get ahead of these attacks and limit the number of employees exposed to these emails.
Employee News 