Paul Duffau

The last time I checked with the fire marshal, it was acceptable to abandon old unused oil tanks in place. A permit was required and there are some other considerations:

• The owner may be required, by the lender and buyer, to have the soil beneath the tank tested. Because getting soil samples from underneath an underground tank is difficult, this may cost more than removing the tank.

• The tank must be pumped out and cleaned before it is decommissioned in place. All oil, rinse water, and sludge must be disposed of properly.

• A tank that has been fi lled in place will be difficult to remove at a later date.

Once you have made the decision to abandon in place and have the necessary permits, it's time the tank was filled with an inert, solid material to prevent the tank from:

Shifting in high ground water.

Caving in as it deteriorates.

Filling with vapors.

Inert materials such as sand, gravel, or a weak cement slurry are used to fill tanks.

Each type of fill has advantages and disadvantages. Check them out before deciding which is right for your situation. Semifluid materials, like foam or cement slurry, that are injected into the tank do a better job of filling than sand or gravel. Gravel is usually avoided as the voids provide space for future liquids but is capable of anchoring the tank.

For more info, contact the Whitman County Fire Marshall.

The inspector shall "Report any evidence that indicates the possible presence of an underground storage tank. "

Part of the process with having the inspectors go through a licensing process is that we now have more consistency in the reports that get generated. That quote above right from the new Washington State Standards of Practice for licensed home inspectors.

Tracking these down can be tough though. Underground tanks were often placed by the side of the home and, in the forty or fifty years since they were used, those areas were converted to flower beds or shrubbery.

Normally, I'll look for a vent for the tank or the fill tube - though I had one newer house in Pullman that had a fill tube (it was even marked "Heating Oil" on the cap) with a house that never had an oil furnace.

The other place that needs to be checked is the area around the furnace. Is there an old copper line, probably crimped? If so, where does it go? Through the foundation wall? If it's there, I need to trace it as far as I can. Having an old oil tank isn't a disaster for the transaction (though it doesn't help). Most can be safely de-commissioned.

The University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction (ReCHAI) finds dogs do a better job of getting older adults out for exercise. ReCHAI sponsors several projects that attempt to further the understanding and value of the relationship between humans and animals. In 2008, ReCHAI sponsored the “Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound and Stay Fit for Seniors.” In the preliminary program, a group of older adults were matched with shelter dogs, while another group of older adults were partnered with a human walk buddy. For 12 weeks, participants were encouraged to walk on an outdoor trail for one hour, five times a week. At the end of the program, researchers measured how much the older adults’ activity levels improved. “The older people who walked their dogs improved their walking capabilities by 28 percent,” Johnson said. “They had more confidence walking on the trail, and they increased their speed. The older people who walked with humans only had a 4 percent increase in their walking capabilities. The human walking buddies tended to discourage each other and used excuses such as the weather being too hot.” This bit about humans discouraging each other contrasts with my own experience with dog walking. They are not interested in excuses. They want to go galloping up the road. They think exercise is just plain great. A good dog is a great professional trainer.

Below is an email to my running friends with a race report about the Inaugural Sandpoint Half-marathon in Sandpoint Idaho. It was a pretty course, well-organized and the people were just wonderful. Very nice race and a nice addition to the running schedule.

Howdy everybody!

Numbers first, I guess. I turned a 1:47:31 for the half which placed 4^th in my age group, 52^nd overall at the Sandpoint Half. While it's a minute per mile slower than I ran 5 years ago, it's still really nice to be able to step to the line and race. I didn't realize how much I missed racing.

So the course - it's advertised as the scenic half and it lives up to that name. The course takes off from the beach in the city center and, after a couple of left turns takes you out the long bridge across the lake. It was a little tight before you get to the bridge because they were doing some construction on the trail that connected to the bridge. It's not paved at the moment but was relatively flat with decent footing - no worse than running a good gravel road.

Once you pick up the bridge, it's a straight flat shot for a couple of miles. If you want to know where you stand, this is your chance to find out. Personally, I was sightseeing and looking for someone to draft behind. Fat chance though I had a crowd right behind me.

Across the bridge and up the trail next to Hwy 95, the route follows the trail generally uphill (though not very steeply). One thing I hadn't thought about was that the lake is naturally at the bottom of a bowl. To run an out and back means that you will have an uphill. It just didn't occur to me until mile 3 when we started our baby climb. It's small rollers with one decent hill at mile 4.5, a left turn at Sagle Rd, another half mile to the turnaround - which was really well done - the race organizers used a parking lot to run us around a parking lot so we didn't have to do a screaming U-turn (I hate those).

6.5 miles back the way you came and, voila, it's time to kick. Unfortunately, I had to kick. Someone was catching me from behind on the finish. Terribly rude of them but as I've told the kids, kicking won't kill you. It just hurts like heck.

16 roadkill on the final 5 miles without getting passed, so pacing was good. It was windy on the way out so I ran fairly conservatively to the turnaround. I was sub-8 on the way back and felt in control until about Mile 11. Then it was time to be stubborn and hang on. Gratifying.