Congratulations to Valley View Health Center, the first community-owned center of its kind in Lewis County, on occasion of its opening last week in Chehalis.
The center is off to a shaky start financially, pending approval of a $650,000 federal grant the center's board had hoped to receive by now, but now isn't expected until year's end upon approval of another application for it. Meantime, Valley View is operating almost entirely on donations for an initial budget of $300,000, including for start-up costs. More community financial help is needed to help tide the center by in its critical initial phase.
The center is located on the second floor of the old St. Helen Hospital building, now known as Providence Centralia Hospital's Chehalis campus, on Washington Avenue in Chehalis. The non-profit center has taken over Providence Health and Education Center, which was a clinic at Centralia for uninsured or underinsured patients owned by Providence Hospital. The center will meet the needs of these patients and plans to eventually provide service to those with full insurance coverage but who seek high-quality care.
Switching ownership of the clinic to Valley View lightens the hospital's load, said Donna Karvia, local volunteer and vice president of Valley View's board. The change in ownership was essential to ease the burden on the financially hard-pressed Providence Centralia Hospital and still be able to continue the much-needed service the center provides for Lewis County residents.
We commend all those who have donated time, effort and money to make continuation of this vital community service possible. With a little extra financial help, the center will be well on its way to success.
BEWARE WILDFIRES: Overall, June rainfall was considerably below normal, but timely rain early in the month and especially in late May was a God-send in quelling what otherwise could be extreme fire danger by now.
After an unusually dry spring, outdoor fuels which can trigger wildfires were much drier than normal by mid-May, portending a very bad fire year if the trend continued without interruption.
But then the rains came the last week of May and into the first two weeks of June. It wasn't just a few showers — the clouds opened up with torrential downpours at times, swelling May rainfall to nearly three inches at the Centralia Fire Department, for example, far above the normal 1.83 inches. At other locations in our area, rainfall was double normal or higher.
In the last half of June, however, the dry trend returned with a vengeance, with hot temperatures for almost a week, then a rainless cool down followed by warmer weather last week, still with no rain.
Had we not had the significant rains earlier, however, we'd be bone dry by now, going into the driest two months of the year in July and August.
Despite all of the concern after our dry spring, as things have turned out the fire danger isn't as high now as it was this time last year. That gave a welcome break to Fourth of July weekend campers, with no permit required for campground fires.
But even with the cloudy, cooler weather recently, without significant rain now, we'll dry out fast with the next hot spell causing a sharp increase in fire danger.
As Lewis County Fire Marshal Fred Chapman pointed out last week, heat with dry wind "really wicks the moisture out" of burnable materials. A countywide ban on all outdoor burning would undoubtedly quickly ensue.
In the meantime, as he says, keep your guard up and use common sense with any outdoor burning, including having at least a shovel and garden hose available in case a fire gets out of hand.
Without a ban yet, no permit is needed for small backyard burn piles under 4 feet square, or for fires in approved masonry fire devices. For larger backyard-type fires, two permits are needed, one from Lewis County, which regulates for fire danger, and the other from the state Southwest Clean Air Agency, which regulates for air quality. Both are free.
Be responsible and enjoy our summer and outdoors safely.
