News Briefs

BY VBJ STAFF

Gregoire announces funding for immunizations

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Each grant aims to increase immunization rates and prevent illness in children.

The first $4.8 million grant provides money to buy vaccines for children and for community activities to boost immunization services. The others will improve immunization billing in public health clinics and develop better ways to monitor school vaccination coverage and exemptions.

"There is nothing more important than protecting our children," said Gov. Chris Gregoire (D-Wash.). "Our state's immunization rates are improving slightly, but there is more work to do."

The funding will help health care providers get information to parents about the benefits of immunizations for their children and to beef up the state immunization registry so that reminders to parents are sent electronically.  

County selects Rotschy, Inc. to improve N.E. 99th Street

Federal stimulus funding will be used to improve a stretch of N.E. 99th Street in Orchards and support more than 40 private-sector construction jobs in 2009 and 2010. The project will be the county's first "Green Street" project, including rain gardens with vegetation to reduce irrigation and maximize filtration.

Clark County commissioners awarded a $4.5 million contract today to Vancouver-based Rotschy, Inc. to widen the street from about a block east of N.E. 17^th Avenue/S.R. 503 to the vicinity of N.E.137^th Avenue.

The project will use low-impact development techniques to manage and treat storm runoff. These techniques include the construction of pervious concrete sidewalks, which allow storm water to soak through the sidewalk. Rain gardens will collect and clean storm water runoff from the roadway.

The project utilizes a $2.5 million economic stimulus grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and $2.6 million in county road funds.

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