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Real People. Real Life.
P.O. BOX 39 n MARYSVILLE, WA 98270
www.northcountyoutlook.com
Vol. 15 No. 42 n July 13, 2022 - July 19, 2022
MARYSVILLE • ARLINGTON • SMOKEY POINT • LAKEWOOD • TULALIP • QUIL CEDA VILLAGE
Community turns out to celebrate Fourth of July By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com Arlington’s Fourth of July Hometown Celebration returned for the first time since 2019 with community activities throughout the day. Multiple groups organize events across the Fourth of July as part of what is typically Arlington’s largest day for community gatherings. Locals took part in events such as the Pancake Breakfast, the Old Fashioned Fourth, the Grand Parade and the Duck Dash. The day begins with multiple events at Haller Park, including the Pancake Breakfast, which is put on by Stilly Valley Youth Dynamics. “We served about 600 people in the morning,” said Jessica Ronhaar, executive See FOURTH on page 2
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER ANDERSSON
Joe Jungles, right, and Kylie Bowman browse some of the items available at Marysville’s Junk in the Trunk on July 9.
Shoppers enjoy return of Junk in the Trunk By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER ANDERSSON
Kids ride down Olympic Avenue as part of Arlington’s Fourth of July parade.
Marysville locals came out to sell their household goods and other items at the annual community garage sale Junk in the Trunk event that returned this year on July 9. The event collects garage sales and small independent businesses into one market near downtown Marysville
for a day in the summer each year. “It’s going really well. Everybody has been happy and has shown up on time to get set up,” said Kristen Rasmussen, recreation supervisor for Marysville’s Parks, Culture and Recreation Department. “Everyone was excited to see the event going." See JUNK on page 4
Larsen visits local manufacturer, food distribution center By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen visited Smokey Point manufacturing and food distribution locations to see how pandemic assistance has helped them and to hear about their concerns for the future. Larsen represents the 2nd Congressional District and on July 5 he stopped by the Volunteers of America of Western Washington food distribution center and Cobalt Enterprises to talk about how pandemic support funds were spent. The Volunteers of America of Western Washington facility distributes food to food banks in the region. The new center opened in 2021 due to increasing demand. “We were in the Everett facility and
shared the cooler/freezer and warehouse space with the food bank and we just outgrew it in 2019,” said Dean Johnson, operations director of hunger prevention at Volunteers of America of Western Washington. In 2018 the organization helped to distribute 2.4 million pounds of food to local food banks, but during the pandemic those numbers increased rapidly. By 2021 Volunteers of America was helping to distribute 6.4 million pounds in a year. “That was a big bottleneck in the first eight months of the pandemic because we had to turn away food because we couldn’t properly store it,” said Johnson. The 2020 federal pandemic relief bill helped give the organizations $500,000 See LARSEN on page 3
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER ANDERSSON
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, left, takes a tour of Volunteers of America Western Washington’s food distribution center with Dean Johnson, operations director of hunger prevention with the organization, on July 5.