Today, Representative Jim McDermott announced the House companion bill to the Maritime Goods Movement Act for the 21st Century, which provides a Northwest consensus approach to fixing the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. The Senate version of this bill was introduced in August 2013 by Senators Cantwell and Murray. PNWA is supportive of this legislation and has been working closely with our members and colleagues to garner additional support for the bill. 

To view the Congressman's press release, click here. PNWA will continue to closely monitor the bill and report on its progress. 

Yesterday, the President announced the availability of $600 million in funding for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grants. The application process for these funds will open on April 3rd and all materials must be submitted by April 28th. For more information on the grants and application process, please click here. There will also be a series of webinars on the application process that will be held in March. 

Gerald Druffel served on the commission of the Port of Whitman County for 18 years and was a strong supporter of PNWA. We are so grateful for his service and our thoughts are with his family. 

Gerald (Jerry) Druffel was born in 1922, to Frank B. and Lena (Busch) Druffel in Colton. His siblings were LeRoy, Isabell, Ilean and Thelma, and Juanita (Busch) Kinzer, who also lived with the family. He was raised in the Bald Butte area and attended a one-room schoolhouse known as the Bald Butte School.Jerry enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1942 as a glider pilot and then advanced to the calibration and maintenance section for the Norden Bombsight for the Minneapolis-Honeywell autopilot. In 1945, the final year of World War II, Jerry was in England and returned to the USA on Dec. 20, 1945, on the ship Queen Elizabeth I. He resumed his farming and home construction jobs upon his return. Jerry married Carol Schlee on June 2, 1947, and the couple made their home in the 1876 Schlee Homestead in Uniontown. Along with farming, ranching and general upkeep of the homestead, they also managed to raise four children, Lee, Laurel, Lynn and Lisa.

In addition to serving on the Port Commission, Jerry was passionate about civic affairs, and was involved with the school board, Uniontown Co-Op, St. Boniface Church, Lewiston Tribune Advisory Board, and Whitman County Planning Commission. His family shares that Jerry always kept himself busy with his wood shop projects in which many homes on the Palouse and beyond are furnished with at least one of his creations. He had a marvelous imagination and attention to detail in his works of art. He also enjoyed bowling, golf and traveling. He was always willing to lend a helping hand to improve the environment or architecture in the area.

Jerry passed away Feb. 1, 2014, and is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. The family suggests any memorials be given to the St. Boniface Parish endowment fund for the preservation of the church building or to the American Legion Post No. 128, c/o Wesley Patterson, P.O. Box 9, Colton, WA 99113, for the U.S. flag fund for the Legion Memorial Park in Colton.