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This is what life is all about...

[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]
I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4B-r8KJhlE

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has…

By the age of 50, noted author, leader, and speaker, John Maxwell maintains the 10 most valuable lessons that must be learned:

1. The Naivety of Youth and Its Potential
2. The Hot Poker Principle: Stay close to the people and things that keep you passionate.
3. Stay With Your Strengths
4. Appreciate the Differences of People
5. The Importance of Leadership
6. The Value of Daily Discipline
7. A True Definition of Success: Knowing my purpose in life, growing to my maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.
8. To Take Time for Myself
9. The Benefits of Adversity
10. God’s Goodness and Grace Over Me

...10 most valuable lessons that must be learned by age 40:

1. Know Yourself
2. Settle Your Family Life
3. Determine Your Priorities Read Full Post

Area job growth and continued positive regional housing market for years to come. DOE OKs new price tag for vitrification plant.

Tri City Washington ~ The Department of Energy has approved the new estimate for Hanford's huge vitrification plant after adding $57 million to the price tag.

That brings the official cost estimate to $12.26 billion, more than double the official estimate in 2003.

The new figure will stand only if Congress approves at least $690 million for the plant each year until it's ready for full operation in late 2019.

The latest estimate is based on an in-depth cost review by the Army Corps of Engineers completed last year that put the plant's cost at $12.203 billion without contractor Bechtel National's fee payment.

That was up…

Pasco Washington welcomes new residents with its Good Neighbor Handbook. It is intended to be a reference resource that is reader friendly and straightforward in summarizing the official Municipal Code. The concise information is presented in a way to aid residents in their community collaborations, and encouraging them to take pride in their property; in this way a resident can truly be a Good Neighbor. The entire Pasco Municipal Code is available at both the city library and on the City’s official website: www.ci.pasco.wa.us

With regard to animals, A Good Neighbor does not let their animal roam from their property unattended. When off premises all dogs must be on a lead. Dogs aged over 7 months must be registered and there is also the requirement that…

Webmaster Guidelines ~ Following these guidelines will help Google find, index, and rank your site. Even if you choose not to implement any of these suggestions, we strongly encourage you to pay very close attention to the "Quality Guidelines," which outline some of the illicit practices that may lead to a site being removed entirely from the Google index or otherwise penalized. If a site has been penalized, it may no longer show up in results on Google.com or on any of Google's partner sites.  Design, content, and technical guidelines.  Quality guidelines for when your site is ready...[more]

Joe and Colleen Lane are Southeast Washington State Realtors® specializing in Real Estate Tri Cities WA buyer/seller services for Kennewick Real Estate, Richland…

Big box stores moving in = area growth.

Long lines of brand-new gray and orange shopping carts are stacked together in the large parking lot occupied by less than two dozen cars at the new Home Depot store off Queensgate Drive in Richland.

Wednesday evening, the parking lot likely will be more full.

That's when the new store, which is replacing The Home Depot on Tapteal Drive, will have its Neighborhood Night, from 6 to 9 p.m. -- offering customers their first look at the new store, which opens its doors for regular business at 8 a.m. Thursday.

David Palanuk, the store's manager, said although the Tapteal store is only seven years old, the new store will have a lot more to offer customers, from the rotational belts at the checkout stands (the…

Serving as a port of call to many barges, the Tri Cities of Pasco, Richland and Kennewick has access to trade from other places through its river superhighway. The damming of the Columbia River has also made it possible for the barren deserts of the Tri Cities Wa to be irrigated, coupled with a cooperative climate, to produce bountiful crops that sustain Tri City and its surrounding areas.

The wonderful irony of Tri City is that while it has traditionally been a farming land, the place is also host to modern industries such as power generation and fuel refinery. The dams that were built along the river have created new sources of livelihood for Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland that even future generations of residents will continue to benefit…

In a land surrounded by deserts and the destitute, Pasco, Kennewick and Richland, collectively known as Tri City WA, is an oasis of progress and promise.

Historically, the Tri City area has depended on agriculture for its economy. Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland make an ideal site for the cultivation of crops because of its relatively milder winters and an abundant supply of clean, fresh water, as provided by the Columbia River. The Tri City produces high quality wheat, potatoes, and fruits, and is slowly gaining on California’s Napa Valley for its excellent wines.
 
For such modest and humble beginnings, the Tri City WA area has managed to fend off the attacks of recession that has plagued most of its neighboring cities, and is even posting consistent…