The Benton Franklin Fair donated $2,484 to 2nd Harvest Tri-Cities to help fight hunger and feed hope in the community. The fair donated $2 for each adult admission ticket sold on opening day before 2 p.m. An additional $412 was raised during the People’s Choice vote at the BBQ Cookoff on Aug. 29. This is the largest donation the fair has made to 2nd Harvest in the eight-year history of the program.

The Mid-Columbia Ballet will present the classic Christmas production of The Nutcracker Dec. 11-13. The ballet will be at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with matinees at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The production will be staged at the Richland High School Auditorium. Tickets are $25 for adults, $18 for students and seniors and $13 for children. For more information or tickets call 509-946-5417 or go to midcolumbiaballet.org.

Paul D. Casey will be the featured speaker at the Jan. 12 dinner meeting of the local American Society for Quality section. Casey’s talk, “You Can Be a Change Agent,” will focus on the change agent’s role and challenges and introduce tools to help gauge what is needed to successfully guide teams through change. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. with networking, followed by a buffet dinner at 6 p.m. and the presentation at 6:45 p.m. The cost is $20 for ASQ members, $25 for non-members, or $5 for those who only want to attend the presentation. RSVP by Jan. 7 by calling 509-371-2221.

The Washington State Department of Revenue will have a free live webinar for new and small business owners from 6 – 7 p.m. Nov. 18. Participants will learn about excise taxes, reporting classifications, deductions, sales tax collection and record-keeping requirements. During the webinar, the facilitator will answer specific questions related to your business. Continuing education credit is also available. Registration deadline is Nov. 13. To register, send an email to NBOWebinar@dor.wa.gov with your name, company name, phone number and email address.

Carol Sams and Kori Thornburg, instructors from Columbia Basin College, will speak at the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce’s November Business Development University from 1 - 3 p.m. Nov. 19.

The program, ‘Build Confidence and Successfully Conquer Public Speaking,’ will focus on easy-to-learn and easy-to-use concepts that will not only introduce a variety of approaches to public speaking, but also useful methods for preparation, practice and connecting with audience.

The cost to attend the program is $25 for Regional Chamber Members and $35 for non-members. RSVP by Nov. 18 to the Regional Chamber at 509-736-0510 or online at www.tricityregionalchamber.com.

The Calvary Chapel Tri-Cities will have its annual Make A Difference Christmas Bazaar from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Calvary Chapel at 10611 W. Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick.

The event will feature 90 vendors offering unique and quality handcrafted items. The event will also feature a silent auction, make and take crafts, homemade baked goods and luncheon items. In addition to finding special gifts for the Christmas holiday, there are plenty of opportunities to help those in need. All proceeds from the bazaar go to New Heritage Ministry, which works with children, families and communities in Uganda to overcome poverty and injustice by nurturing their physical health, providing education empowerment and sharing hope. Admission is $2 or two cans of food. For more information, contact Calvary Chapel Tri-Cities at 509-736-2086 or www.calvary-tricities.org.

Tom Steinert, a financial advisor with Edward Jones will present a free class called ‘Preparing Your Estate Plan’ from 6:30 – 8 a.m. Nov. 18 at the Richland Community Center, 500 Amon Park Dr. in Richland. The seminar will focus on the basics steps of estate planning, including the function of a will and the different types of trusts. An estate-planning attorney will present with Steinert. To register, call 509-546-9500.

Tim Peckinpaugh of K & L Gates in Washington D.C. will be the featured speaker at a Tri-City Development Council networking luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Red Lion Hotel in Richland.

Peckinpaugh is an attorney who focuses on energy, environmental and natural resource legislative and funding issues. He was a professional staff aide to former U.S. Congressman Sid Morrison, R-WA. The cost is $25 for TRIDEC members and $30 for all others. To register, call 509-735-1000 or email kpratt@tridec.org.

About 250 families facing hunger in Pasco were given nutritious food at a Second Harvest Mobile Food Bank in October sponsored by Amerigroup Washington. Second Harvest provides food and support to 21 counties in Eastern Washington, and received a $5,000 gift from Amerigroup Washington to help families in need and support mobile pantry outreach.

Amerigroup recently donated nearly $130,000 to support numerous Feeding America network food banks across the U.S., and Second Harvest is a proud recipient of one of these local contributions of $5,000. At the event, which was held at the Boys and Girls Club, Second Harvest and Amerigroup Washington staff worked alongside local community volunteers to distribute food to families in need.

Community health partners who joined the event included The Salvation Army, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Tri-Cities Community Health Navigators, Inspire Learning Centers, Benton Franklin Domestic Violence Services and Reading Foundation, which distributed 100 books to children who attended the food bank event.

Washington River Protection Solutions, the Hanford tank operations contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of River Protection, is using a portable exhauster to remove excess liquid from Tank T-111. WRPS recently completed a 30-day test run of the exhauster, and initial results show liquid is being evaporated at a rate of 25 to 30 gallons per day.

The exhauster has removed nearly 1,000 gallons of water from T-111 during the test run and another 1,000 gallons have been removed through Sept. 28. In-tank images show visible changes in the waste surface and liquid-level data confirm the decrease.

The volume of surface liquid in the tank is estimated to be between 2,500 and 4,000 gallons. The exhauster will also remove liquid in the top few inches of the sludge waste remaining in the tank.

The liquid in the tank is a combination of intrusion water and residual liquid remaining from interim tank stabilization in the mid-1990s.

Although exhausters have been used in the past to evaporate excess liquid from single-shell tanks, this is the first exhauster system WRPS has used for single-shell tank intrusion mitigation.

If deemed successful, a similar approach may be used in more than two dozen other single-shell tanks with visible liquid.

The Blue Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America has launched its 2016 Trail’s End Gourmet Popcorn sale. More than 250 youth from 25 Cub Scout Packs and Boy Scout Troops will sell popcorn with more than 70 percent of the proceeds of the sales benefitting local scouts. Proceeds from the popcorn sales help scouts attend summer camp and obtain camping gear. The popcorn sales also help teach the scouts about salesmanship and economics. The proceeds also support the local Blue Mountain Boy Scout Council operation, which serves about 5,000 youth and 2,000 adult volunteers annually. Information on where to buy popcorn or how to support scouting can be found at www.bmcbsa.org or by calling 509-735-7306.

The Tri-City Americans, VenuWorks and the City of Kennewick, have signed a five-year lease extension for the Toyota Center. The agreement allows the Americans to continue playing at the Toyota Center through the 2020 season. Bob Tory, the Tri-City American’s general manager, said the continuity is essential for the organization and with the new lease, the ownership group has made a commitment to the Tri-Cities for more than 15 years.

Amerigroup donated $4,000 to Second Harvest to support the hunger-relief organization’s mobile pantry in Pasco and provide food to approximately 250 families. Second Harvest is one of 23 food banks to benefit from Amerigroup’s recent donation of approximately $130,000 to the Feeding America® network. The mobile food pantry in Pasco is the last stop of a tour that Amerigroup sponsored across the nation that began last month during Hunger Action Month™, which was founded by Feeding America to engage the nation in the fight against food insecurity. Second Harvest provides food and resources to more than 55,000 men, women and children each week throughout the Inland Northwest and utilizes mobile pantries to increase access to food supplies by people struggling with hunger in high-need communities.

Northwest Farm Credit Services is seeking to honor Northwest agriculture leaders who impact their industries and rural communities. As part of the Farm Credit System’s centennial celebration, Northwest FCS is participating in the national Farm Credit fresh Perspectives campaign. Leaders can come from a variety of backgrounds: farmers and ranchers, individuals who represent other agribusinesses, cooperatives, academic institutions, government agencies and community organizations. Award categories include: leadership (over 21); youth leadership (21 and younger); rural policy influence; beginning farmer or rancher achievement; entrepreneurship and innovation; sustainability and natural resource conservation; financial stewardship; mentoring and volunteerism; agriculture education and community impact; rural and urban connection. Deadline for contest entries is Dec. 18. Nominations can be submitted online at http://www.farmcredit100.com/fresh.

Alison Colotelo, a research scientist in the ecology group at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will present ‘Fishy Facts about Hydropower’ Nov. 17 at the Richland Public Library.

The presentation is part of PNNL’s Community Science & Technology Seminar Series.

Conventional hydropower is the largest source of renewable energy in the U.S., producing nearly 7 percent of the nation’s electricity in the last decade. In the Pacific Northwest, hydropower facilities have generated nearly 40 percent of this electricity. Presence of these structures in rivers can influence fish populations. This presentation will highlight how researchers at PNNL are working to understand how fish interact with hydropower facilities and how we can reduce the impacts to the fish populations. The free presentation begins at 7 p.m.

PLAYlive Nation, a video game lounge, has opened at Columbia Center. The 2,300-sq.-ft. store has 21 Xbox One consoles for members to play the newest games in a community environment, including leagues, tournaments, events and parties. PLAYlive Nation also retails video games and provides gaming console, phone and tablet repairs. Owner Bruce Frazier said he hopes the gaming lounge concept will become a gathering place for people with a common interest.

The Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo has donated $7,292 to cancer prevention efforts in the community as part of its Tough Enough to Wear Pink program. The money will be shared among area hospital foundations to assist those in need. Over the past nine years, the fair has donated more than $142,000 to local programs to help uninsured women.

Dutch Bros. Kennewick joined forces Oct. 23 with Kennewick to raise $3,414 to help the Kennewick Fire Department purchase Coats for Kids. All three Dutch Bros. locations in Kennewick donated $1 from every drink sold to help the Kennewick Fire Department purchase outerwear for local children in need.

Northwest Farm Credit Services, the Northwest’s largest agricultural lending cooperative, announced earnings for the nine months ended Sept. 30 of $185.8 million, an increase of $12.4 million, or 7.1 percent compared to the same period last year. Increased earnings were primarily the result of continued growth in the loan portfolio.

The state has launched a new website and privacy guide with educational tools to help residents be better informed about cyber privacy, protecting personal information in the digital landscape and state government policies and practices related to data collection. The guide also provides details about personal information state agencies collect and retail and information about public disclosure laws. For more information, go to http://privacy.wa.gov.

AREVA Inc. is celebrating its 45th anniversary of the dedication of the Horn Rapids Road nuclear fuel manufacturing facility in Richland. In 45 years of operation, the facility has produced and advanced world-class nuclear fuel designs and fuel-related products and now serves as AREVA’s Operational Center of Excellence in Fuel Manufacturing. On Oct. 30, 1970, the Jersey Nuclear Company officially dedicated the Richland site after a year of planning and construction. The original facility employed about 60 employees and consisted of three buildings. Today, the fuel manufacturing site hosts more than 600 employees working in 40 buildings to provide fuel and services to both pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors throughout the world. In 2009, the Richland facility qualified for the industry’s first 40-year Nuclear Regulatory Commission site license renewal.

The Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce’s November Networking Tri-Cities Luncheon will focus on Arts & Culture in the Creative Economy.

The luncheon will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Red Lion Hotel in Pasco.

It is being sponsored by Arts Center Task Force, Arts Foundation of Mid-Columbia, Mid-Columbia Symphony, Mid-Columbia Ballet, Mid-Columbia Mastersingers and Mid-Columbia Musical Theatre. The luncheon’s featured speaker will be Karen Hanan, executive director of ArtsWA, Washington State Arts Commission. Hanan will discuss the importance of tracking our region’s creative vitality and why it matters to the Tri-Cities’ business community as we develop our area’s creative districts.

The cost to attend the luncheon is $20 for Regional Chamber members and $30 for all others. RSVP by calling 509-491-3234.