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Scott Kelly, a respected and knowledgeable engineer, is joining forces with their Eureka team, and they have added a new location and new staff in Ukiah.
“We are enthusiastic about having Mr. Kelly and his depth of accomplishments on our team. It is a big win for our community to have him available as a resource again,” said John Bergenske, LACO’s general manager. Mr. Kelly will be working from his Oregon home and locally on occasion.
Kelly has more than 23 years of experience in the field of civil and sanitary engineering. Throughout his career, he has been responsible for a number of significant infrastructure and private development projects for the North Coast.
Kelly specializes in project and construction management, water and wastewater system analysis and design, hydraulic and site design, traffic analysis, and communication. He formerly worked for SHN Consulting Engineers and Geologists in Eureka, and was the owner of Spencer Engineering and Construction Management Inc.
LACO was originally a part of Kelly’s plan when he transitioned from Spencer Engineering to his current home in Portland, Ore., in 2009.
The firm hired two of his employees, Jon Baker and Netra Khatri, PE, who are still important members of LACO’s team. Kelly and LACO have remained in contact since the transition.
After three years serving clients in Mendocino and Lake counties, LACO’s Ukiah operation outgrew their small office on Perkins/State street.
According to Christopher Watt, CEG, LACO’s Geo-Environmental Services Director, “The new office, located at 311 South Main Street, provides for our continued growth and supports space for us to operate a soils/aggregate testing laboratory.”
LACO’s new office will serve the Ukiah area community by providing a valuable resource for professional services related to geo-environmental, development, and infrastructure projects in the Ukiah area.
The new office will also enable LACO to provide expanded Materials Testing and Special Inspection services for construction projects in the area, minimize project costs, and reduce project schedules.
In addition to their new office location, LACO has hired two new employees to join their Ukiah team, Tony Shaw and Jason Wise, EIT.
Tony Shaw has joined the team as LACO’s Ukiah community development manager. Shaw has more than 13 years of combined public and private sector project development and coordination experience, which includes affordable housing projects, community infrastructure and economic development project management.
Shaw earned his bachelor of arts with distinction in environmental studies (urban planning) from Sonoma State University.
Jason Wise, EIT has joined the LACO Ukiah team as a Junior Engineer and will support geotechnical, environmental and engineering projects. Wise earned his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from California State University, Chico with a minor in mathematics.
For more information, visit www.lacoassociates.com or call 707-462-0222.
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The grant is among $19 million being issued nationally by the USDA for organic research and marketing.
The UC Santa Cruz project will facilitate a series of seminars, workshops, newsletters and online resources to share research that will help organic growers improve environmental sustainability and economic viability.
“With California’s place as the leading agricultural state in the country, including organic farming, this is an excellent investment of federal resources,” said Secretary Ross. “UC Santa Cruz is well positioned to put this grant to good use by providing targeted research information to our rapidly growing organic sector.”
The most recent survey of national organic production by the USDA showed California with 36 percent of all sales of organic commodities, on 470,000 acres of farmland.
Since the late 1990s, U.S. organic production has seen significant growth. U.S. producers are increasingly turning to certified organic farming systems as a potential way to decrease reliance on nonrenewable resources and compete in high-value markets.
Today more than two-thirds of U.S. consumers buy organic products at least occasionally, and 28 percent buy organic products weekly.
For more information about the USDA national grant program, visit http://www.nifa.usda.gov/newsroom/news/2011news/organic_awards.html.
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