February 24, 2021 North County Outlook

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Vol. 14 No. 24 n February 24, 2021 - March 2, 2021

MARYSVILLE • ARLINGTON • SMOKEY POINT • LAKEWOOD • TULALIP • QUIL CEDA VILLAGE

Marysville K-1 students return to in-person learning

By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER ANDERSSON

District nurse Kelsey Mitchell, left, swabs the nose of English Crossing Elementary principal Michelle Ricci on Feb. 17. The district has been accepted into a rapid COVID-19 testing program for both staff and students.

Lakewood elementary students return to in-person learning

By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com Lakewood School District has brought all of their elementary students back to in-person hybrid learning beginning of Feb. 15.

Younger students returned earlier on Jan. 25 while grades three to five returned in February.

The planned date for middle school students to return is March 8 while high

school students are scheduled to return March 29.

District officials believe the safety measures approved by the Snohomish Health District and Washington State Department of Health can prevent the spread of COVID-19, even with schools partially open.

“What we’ve seen over the past few months, esSee LAKEWOOD on page 7

Marysville School District began welcoming students back in kindergarten and first grade on Feb. 17 as the schools reopen.

Like most other school districts, Marysville officials were following recommendations of the Snohomish Health District to begin with the youngest students.

“These kindergarten and first grade students really need that in-person learning.

Those years are really foundational to everything we do,” said Jason Thompson, Superintendent for the Marysville School District.

Younger students are also the least likely to be carriers of COVID-19.

“It’s gone extremely well. Everybody is excited to have the students back,” said Thompson. “This is the first time ever I’ve had a first day of school in February."

Families said they were glad to be back.

“It’s fantastic. This school has been absolutely great,” said Denise Keefe, who has a niece returning to Liberty Elementary.

Student Abbey Baker said her first day back was good and that she was “excited, See MSD on page 2

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER ANDERSSON

Student Malia Gredvig, left, and aunt Denise Keefe walk to Liberty Elementary during her second day back to in-person learning on Feb. 18.

Drivers urged to use caution around buses, school zones

By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER ANDERSSON

Arlington School District bus driver Connie Gaston performs a pre-trip check of the mirrors on a district bus on Feb. 18.

As local school districts begin the slow process of reopening, officials hope to remind locals to watch out for school buses and school zones again.

“We want to make sure that the public is aware that the buses are out rolling again,” said Mike Sullivan, executive director of finance and operations at the Marysville School District.

It’s been a long time since drivers have had to watch out for buses and school zones since schools closed last March due to COVID-19.

“We haven’t had a school operating as a school zone in almost a year now,” said Sullivan.

Drivers should exercise extra caution around school buses.

“The biggest thing is to be aware of them

and watch for when the lights come on,” said Charity Prueher, assistant supervisor of transportation at the Arlington School District.

Flashing yellow lights are a warning the bus is about to stop, while red lights mean that students are loading or unloading.

“Drivers should try not to be in a hurry and be patient,” said Prueher.

Bus drivers have a bit more safety protocols to perform this year because of COVID-19, such as trying to keep six feet between students on the bus.

“When the students are getting on the bus, it can take a little longer now because the bus driver is giving reminders about masks,” said Prueher.

Arlington schools are working on getting

See SAFETY on page 3

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MSD Continued from page 1

excited, excited” to come back to inperson learning.

The district plans to return second and third grade students on March 8 and fourth and fifth grade students on March 22.

The plan for middle school and high school students is still being worked out.

“We don’t have a date but we are really starting to plan for that,” said Thompson.

He hopes secondary school students will be able to return before summer.

“If it was my call it will be before the end of the year,” he said, but added he still has to work with teachers, staff and the board of directors.

Elementary students are returning in a hybrid model so they are learning online part-time and learning in-person part-time.

Secondary school students will also be returning under that model.

A number of safety measures have been put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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divided on this. It’s one of those situations that is a no win,” said Thompson.

“You get people who think we should have gone back two months ago and then people who don’t think it’s safe to go back yet.”

That is why the district wanted to be able to continue offer an online learning program, although he said the majority of families are pushing more toward in-person learning currently.

“At this point I would say there are more families who want to be back in school,” he said.

Hybrid-learning is likely to stay for a while, said Thompson.

The biggest obstacle currently is the six feet needed between students, which is a requirement of the Snohomish Health District and Washington State Department of Health.

Thompson said it’s not possible for the district to meet that requirement and have all students back at the same time.

“We just don’t have the room in the classrooms to do that without the hybrid model,” he said. “My hope would be by the fall we can have classes be close to normal."

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“Every student has to have a weekly attestation that they haven’t been around anyone who has tested positive,” and that they don’t have any symptoms, said Thompson.

Staff perform temperature checks once students get off the bus or before they enter school if they took another form of transportation there.

Students stay six feet apart and class sizes are limited to only about seven to nine kids.

There is only one student in the bathroom at a time and lunch and recess are limited to one class so students don’t interact with others outside their group.

A number of safety guidelines are provided by several county and state agencies.

“We follow the guidelines of the State Department of Health, the Snohomish Health District, and Labor and Industries,” said Thompson.

Health District officials say schools that follow the guidelines have limited transmission of COVID-19.

An online option remains available for parents who are still concerned about safety during the pandemic.

“It’s tough because people are very

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Parents concerned about equity in on-line school options

By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com Arlington parents who are keeping their students in online learning spoke up about concerns of unequal learning opportunities during a Feb. 16 Arlington school board meeting.

The school district is providing two online options for families, "Committed Distance Learning" which is learning directed by a teacher and the "Arlington Online Program" which is supported by a teacher but self-directed.

The Committed Distance Learning option is only available for elementary school students.

While most school districts are providing an online option for families who are concerned with their children returning to school, those are most often self-directed learning programs and not led by a teacher like the Committed Distance Learning option in Arlington.

Arlington School District officials said they are the only district they know of providing that option for elementary school students.

Logistically, providing the same teacher-direct-

ed learning at the middle school level and high school level is challenging because teachers are more specialized and more classes are available.

From an equity standpoint though, local parents were concerned about only having self-directed learning at higher levels.

“COVID-19 is a public health crisis and divided our communities more than anything we’ve seen in our lives. I have some concerns with the way the schools are reopening,” said local parent Erica Knapp.

“The options provided, especially with middle and high school, don’t provide equitable opportunities for those with vulnerabilities to COVID-19."

Kanpp’s sixth grader has respiratory health issues.

“He could really be at risk for COVID-19 and that’s why we’re really at an impasse,” said Knapp. “To not consider the groups that have the least amount of representation is a failure of the system."

Local parent Michelle Angulo said her child lives with autism and would have trouble making a transition to in-person learning right now.

“My own child is thriv-

SAFETY Continued from page 1

each child an assigned seat for their buses.

“We are also driving with the windows down,” said Prueher, because the open windows helps air circulate through the bus and therefore is another safety measure against the spread of COVID-19. She recommends students dress warm.

“If it is cold outside, it will cold in the bus,” she said.

Drivers should stop when they see

ing in committed distance learning,” she said.

“He does not deal with change well … a pivot in his learning now is a near impossible outcome for him to overcome,” she said.

Local parent Sandra Matthews said her first grader is in the Committed Distance Learning Program and that online learning has worked for her family.

“The teacher has figured out how to emotionally support these children in addition to educationally support the children,” Matthews said.

Matthews is disappointed with middle school students returning, especially in a hybrid model where students would only see their teacher 26 days for the rest of the school year.

She recognized that inperson learning will help some students though.

“I know some students are not doing so well and it’s great that they are allowed to go back,” she said.

School board president Judy Fay said she wanted the district to look into new possibilities to help students who need a different online learning environment than what is currently provided, but acknowledged there are logistical challenges to

the stop paddle out on school buses.

“When those stop signs are extended, we need people to remember to stop their vehicles,” said Sullivan.

“Unfortunately, it is a little more common than you would think," referring to vehicles which do not stop when the signs are extended.

When drivers are on a two-lane road “then both directions of traffic have to stop,” said Prueher.

If the road has more lanes than that, then only the traffic moving in the same direction as the bus has to come to a stop.

bringing Committed Distance Learning to the middle school and high school levels.

“It’s a challenge to come up with these options that are viable options,” said Arlington School District superintendent Chrys Sweeting. “We would always want to try to make the best learning for students as possible, but it’s hard to picture how that would look."

Because there are so many different classes and specialties for each teacher, it would be difficult to provide the same experience online.

“Think of the high school, the idea of all the different classes you might have, and how do you cluster that,” said Sweeting.

The variety of different classes and needs would make it much more difficult than at the elementary level.

Sweeting said the district is working on another program for families, although the details of that program are not ready to be released yet.

“We are grappling with another concept but we’re not ready to talk about it too much yet,” she said.

“We’re seriously looking at this other option."

“I know some people get confused by that,” said Prueher.

Sullivan recommends drivers pay attention to the bus and children even if they are legally allowed to continue.

“I would definitely still slow down and pay attention,” he said.

The Marysville School District buses can film those who pass their stop paddles.

“Our buses do have stop arm cameras that can take pictures of violators,” said Sullivan. “I’d rather people know about the cameras and stop than have it be a ‘gotcha.'"

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Arlington hopes new signal will improve safety

By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com

The intersection where a planned signal is to be installed at 172nd Street.

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A new traffic signal will be installed on 172nd Street at 40th Avenue as Arlington officials hope to improve safety and pedestrian access along the corridor.

The city is currently working on the design of the new signal.

A webpage for the project is now available at bit. ly/40thAveIntersection and includes information about the project and a survey and comment form for the public to give their input.

As part of the project a solid median will be built from 43rd Avenue to Smokey Point Boulevard.

To help vehicles have accesses to the nearby businesses, U-turns will be allowed at the signal as well.

Although previous development in Smokey Point has focused primarily on car traffic, the area is receiving more pedestrians.

“The Smokey Point area is growing and receiving a lot more pedestrian traffic,” said Jim Kelly, public works director for the city of Arlington. “Our whole society is moving away from purely a drive-and-park style of transportation."

New development has to support people using bicycling, walking or taking the bus, he said.

“We have to make sure that our infrastructure is built to accommodate all

____

“

We want to provide a safe, crossable intersection that will ensure a safe path to walk for those seniors.

____

Jim Kelly

those types of transportation,” he said.

Bus pull-off lanes will also be added to the project in anticipation of future bus routes coming to the area, said Kelly.

The project will include pedestrian improvements and allow another crossing point for locals.

Kelly said a large complex of affordable senior housing is being opened on the north side of 172nd Street in that area, and with two grocery stores on the other side of the street, building more pedestrian access is even more important at that location.

“We want to provide a safe, crossable intersection that will ensure a safe path to walk for those seniors,” he said.

Because of the large amount of traffic on 172nd Street, cars also have trouble making it into the business complex nearby.

On average, the area has 8 to 13 accidents per year, said Kelly.

“Almost all the accident there are from left-hand turns,” he said.

”

“Some of that is from people turning left out of that business complex, and a lot of it is from people turning left into that complex as well,” he said.

A signal will allow car traffic to turn into that business complex without as much risk.

The Transportation Improvement Board is providing a grant of $1.1 million for the project.

The remaining $280,000 is coming from the city of Arlington’s growth impact fees fund. Growth impact fees are paid for by incoming businesses and are meant to help offset the cost of providing infrastructure for increasing traffic.

The city hopes to go out to bid for the project in the spring of 2021 and to perform construction 2021 and 2022.

During construction some lanes are likely to be closed, especially when work is being done to construct the media or install the signal.

“More info will be available once we have a contractor on board,” said Kelly.

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Tulalip Bay Fire begins RFA discussion

By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com Tulalip Bay Fire District is in initial discussions with Everett Fire Department and Fire District 4 about a potential Regional Fire Authority.

A Regional Fire Authority (RFA) is a government organization that would combine the jurisdiction, governance and taxing methods of the three agencies.

Discussions got started when Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin reached out to local fire agencies about interest in forming an RFA. “Our committee received it and decided they would like to discuss the potential RFA,” said David Sherman, fire chair commissioner on the Tulalip Bay Fire District board of commissioners and a full-time firefighter/ EMT with the South Snohomish County Fire and Rescue RFA. Everett officials have begun working with Tulalip

Bay Fire District officials and Snohomish County Fire District 4 officials about the potential merger.

In January the Everett City Council voted to form a committee to officially begin planning.

Snohomish County Fire District 4 covers the town of Snohomish and surrounding areas.

Sherman said the Tulalip Bay Fire District commissioners have recently looked at the benefits and drawbacks of an RFA. “Our board would like multiple options for the District 15 taxpayers,” he said.

The talks going forward are meant to see if the RFA can work for the Tulalip Bay Fire District customers, he said.

“This gives us all a chance to figure out if we can put something together between the three agencies,” he said.

The biggest benefit for

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the district would be access to the resources and scale of the Everett Fire Department.

“We’re a smaller district and this would give us a little more bandwidth,” said Sherman. “You would have the experience of a larger department to help us."

For the budget, a lot of duplicate resources could be eliminated as well, saving the taxpayer money.

Administration such as the fire chief and human resources department could be scaled back, he said.

Savings could be found in equipment and supplies as well.

“You don’t have to have two ladder trucks,” said Sherman.

Some RFAs are formed primarily because of concerns of financial stability, said Sherman, but the district is not currently in financial trouble.

“We’re not doing this because we have a financial

problem,” he said, however if they can improve the efficiency of the budget it is something they want to consider.

He said the Tulalip Bay Fire District's goal is to ultimately improve the service for “the end user, the person who is calling 911.”

The drawbacks of an RFA include being subsumed under a larger entity, he said.

“The downfall can be governance. You lose some of that local control,” said Sherman.

The Tulalip Bay Fire District would want the Tulalip Tribes to have a continued say in how the local fire services are run, he said.

“We’re partnered with the Tulalip Tribes. We want our partners to stay at the table,” said Sherman. “We work really well with them and have for years."

Many local fire departments are moving toward the RFA model to gain ef-

ficiencies of scale for their fire services.

The Marysville Fire District became part of an RFA after voter approval in April 2019. The Arlington Fire Department will be annexed into the North County Fire and EMS RFA this summer after voter approval the merger this February.

Sherman said the Tulalip

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Bay board of commissioners is talking with those local agencies to see how the process has been going.

Discussion with Everett and Snohomish County Fire District 4 are scheduled to take about a year. If the three organizations wanted to move forward, the RFA formation would still have to be approved by a vote of the public.

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February 24, 2021- March 2, 2021 NORTH COUNTY OUTLOOK

Opinion

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Our Best Friends

Our Favorite Quotes

Wanano

"It's interesting how we often can't see the ways in which we are being strong - like, you can't be aware of what you're doing that's tough and brave at the time that you're doing it because if you know that it was brave, then you'd be scared."

Author ­— Lena Dunham Submitted by North County Outlook editor Scott Frank.

&

RAVE RAVE: Thank you to all of the people who voted to support the Arlington Fire Department joining the North County Regional Fire Authority. The move will not only benefit the fire department, but also the citizens they serve.

roads clear during the recent snowstorm.

A thank you also goes out to all of the first responders who also worked during the storm to keep us safe.

RAVE: With more students returning to in-person learning at local schools, drivers need to use extra caution in the mornings and afternoons when the kids are going to and from school.

RAVE: I want to thank all of the city road crews who worked long hours in dangerous conditions to help keep our

This is Wanano, a Toy American Eskimo who is the Best Friend of Karen Townsend of Tulalip.

Send us photos of you and your pet The North County Outlook has a weekly feature titled Our Best Friends. Community members can send us photos of them with their pets and we will elect one to run in that week’s issue. To submit a photo, please send it to editor@northcountyoutlook.com. Please include the names of the people and pets in the photo.

North County Outlook is published every other Wednesday and mailed direct to households and businesses in Marysville, Arlington, Smokey Point, Tulalip and Quil Ceda Village. Letters to the editor, community news and story ideas may be e-mailed to editor@northcountyoutlook.com, or sent to the mailing address below. The Publisher reserves the right to edit material for content, grammar, taste, style or length, and all submitted items are published at the sole discretion of the Publisher.

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Communities

LAKEWOOD Continued from page 1

pecially in the fall and into the winter is that with all the right measures we can bring kids back to in-person learning,” said Lakewood School District Superintendent Scott Peacock. “We have put a tremendous amount of effort into making sure we have all of our protocols, our PPE, our classrooms arranged for corona capacity."

As part of safety measures all classrooms are measured for a new capacity to accommodate six feet of distance between students.

The district has put in protocols throughout the district to minimize contact between students as well, and is also one of 50 in the state that has been accepted into a pilot testing program.

“We are now able to get rapid diagnostic testing for kids and staff that are symptomatic,” said Peacock. “We can get the results back in 48 to 72 hours and can initiate contact tracing right away or we can bring the student back to class right away if they don’t have the virus."

The tests are free for students and staff.

“That just speeds things up so families don’t have to take their kids to the doctor and get the test there,” said Peacock.

As part of the program the district can also do weekly screenings of staff to catch asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19.

“That is voluntary. We can’t require staff to get the testing done,” said Peacock.

Asymptomatic screening of students would likely not be an effective strategy due to the number of parents who would opt out, said Peacock.

The district had paid for screening for staff earlier this year, as well, when not part of the program.

“We’re trying to give people assurance that we’re trying to stay ahead of this,” said Peacock.

Peacock acknowledged that teachers had concerns about safety and returning to class.

“But they also want to see their kids in person.

They love their kids and this is what they do, so there is a lot of excitement about seeing their kids again, but there is also a nervousness about the virus,” he said.

The Stillaguamish Tribe has offered some of their vaccine supply for any Lakewood teachers who want to be vaccinated and they have begun that process.

Many families also had skepticism about the safety the district could provide while learning in-person.

“Our approach in this district has been to be de-

liberate and thoughtful about how we bring students back so we can give those assurances to families that do have concerns,” said Peacock. “We’ve really tried hard to find a sweet spot, where we can give assurances [of safety] and be confident in those, without over-promising."

So far, those safety measures have been effective at the district. Small groups of students have returned since October.

“We haven’t had any transmission on site. We’ve had kids get the virus, of course, as they have parents and their parents are going to get it, but we haven’t had any kids get it on-site yet,” said Peacock.

Lakewood families still have an online option as well.

“We’ve made that available to families since September who anticipated they would not be sending their kids back to in-person,” said Peacock.

About 300 students have been enrolled in the program and that number isn’t changing much with schools reopening, said Peacock.

Most grades are in a hybrid model currently so they are only back in-person for two days a week. Kindergarten through second grade have come back for four days a week however.

“We hired four new teachers to keep the class sizes low enough to socially distance,” said Peacock.

During days students are not attending in-person classes they are still going to be connecting with teachers.

“They are going to be checking in with their teachers and classmates remotely so they can get started, check in with them, make sure they know what they need to do,” said Peacock.

Peacock said he doesn’t know how long the district will be in the hybrid model.

“We all hope we’re going to be back to in-person learning without restrictions as soon as possible.

My view is that it’s unlikely before the end of this year,” he said.

He hopes the district will be closer to a normal structure this fall.

As part of upcoming recovery efforts, Peacock said the district will also have to figure out how to return students back up to the normal standards.

“How do we, over time, close those gaps and get them to a place where developmentally they’re demonstrating competencies they would normally be expected to demonstrate,” he said.

That work will probably look different for each student, he said.

“We have a lot of work to do to provide services to our students and close those gaps that have opened up because of remote learning,” he said.

Legal Notices LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR SNOHOMISH COUNTY IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF BLANCHE HELEN JAMES, Deceased, NO. 21-4-00139-3, PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS, RCW 11.40.030)

SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR SNOHOMISH COUNTY IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF PATRICK LEE DAVIS, Deceased, NO. 21-4-00164-31, PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS, RCW 11.40.030

SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR SNOHOMISH COUNTY IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF SHERYL R. PERCIVAL, Deceased., NO. 21-4-00138-31, PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS, RCW 11.40.030

THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAMED BELOW has been appointed as personal representative of this estate. Any person having a claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the personal representative or the personal representative’s attorney at the address stated below a copy of the claim and filing the original of the claim with the court in which the probate proceedings were commenced. The claim must be presented within the later of: (1) Thirty days after the personal representative served or mailed the notice to the creditor as provided under RCW 11.40.020(1) (c); or (2) four months after the date of first publication of the notice. If the claim is not presented within this time frame, the claim is forever barred, except as otherwise provided in RCW 11.40.051 and RCW 11.40.060. This bar is effective as to claims against both the decedent’s probate and nonprobate assets.

DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION: February 17, 2021.

Personal Representative: Kathleen A. Sargent Attorney for Personal Representative: Breanne W. Martin, WSBA #44519 Address for Mailing or Service: P.O. Box 188, 103 North Street, Arlington, WA 98223

THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAMED BELOW has been appointed as personal representative of this estate. Any person having a claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the personal representative or the personal representative’s attorney at the address stated below a copy of the claim and filing the original of the claim with the court in which the probate proceedings were commenced. The claim must be presented within the later of: (1) Thirty days after the personal representative served or mailed the notice to the creditor as provided under RCW 11.40.020(1) (c); or (2) four months after the date of first publication of the notice. If the claim is not presented within this time frame, the claim is forever barred, except as otherwise provided in RCW 11.40.051 and RCW 11.40.060. This bar is effective as to claims against both the decedent’s probate and nonprobate assets.

DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION: February 17, 2021.

Personal Representative: Jeremy Percival Attorney for Personal Representative: Tanner K. Olson, WSBA #52879 Address for Mailing or Service: P.O. Box 188, 103 North Street, Arlington, WA 98223

THE CO-PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES NAMED BELOW have been ap-pointed as co-personal representatives of this estate. Any person having a claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any other-wise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the co-personal representatives or the co-personal representatives’ attorney at the address stated below a copy of the claim and filing the original of the claim with the court in which the probate proceedings were commenced. The claim must be presented within the later of: (1) Thirty days after the co-personal representatives served or mailed the notice to the creditor as provided under RCW 11.40.020(1)(c); or (2) four months after the date of first publica-tion of the notice. If the claim is not presented within this time frame, the claim is for-ever barred, except as otherwise provided in RCW 11.40.051 and RCW 11.40.060. This bar is effective as to claims against both the decedent’s probate and nonprobate assets.

DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION: February 17, 2021.

Co-Personal Representative: Gayle C. Koppel Co-Personal Representative: Vicki T. Hill Attorney for Personal Representative: Breanne W. Martin, WSBA #44519 Address for Mailing or Service: P.O. Box 188, 103 North Street, Arlington, WA 98223 Court of probate proceedings and cause number: Snohomish County Superior Court, Cause No. 21-4-00139-31.

African and American Folktales

5 R E W A R D N

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by Ashley Bryan, O a bird paints a touch N T A L K I G 8 of his beautiful T

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A West African Tale: by Verna Aardema

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Crossword answers from page 6

editor@northcountyoutlook.com

2 1 3 P U N I S H M E N T X R P L E S S O N S L B

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Court of probate proceedings and cause number: Snohomish County Superior Court, Cause No. 21-4-00164-31.

Court of probate proceedings and cause number: Snohomish County Superior Court, Cause No. 21-4-00138-31.

Submit Legal Notices to:

Many parents tell folktales to their children.

Storytellers spin folktales for groups of listeners.

In a folktale there may be:

4

7

Februay 24, 2021 - March 2, 2021 NORTH COUNTY OUTLOOK

U BM L J O H

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by Robert San Souci

Did you find out the names of the three folktales?

1 W

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T H E O N G

2 3 C H A M E L R 4 M O N K E Y C 6 5 T O R T O I S E P D

8 7 L I O N I D J L E 9 C H E E T A H R C 10

K S N A K E L

Annimills LLC © 2021

facebook.com/TheNorthCountyOutlook Twitter: @ncoutlook

4. It is said that he had this in his hand when he was born:

H __ A __ M __ M __ E __ R __ John Henry: An American Legend

by Ezra Jack Keats

8

February 24, 2021- March 2, 2021 NORTH COUNTY OUTLOOK

Communities

www.northcountyoutlook.com

n WHISTLING GARDENER

Snow can actually be beneficial for your garden As I am writnewly fallen snow ing this column is much like that on a Sunday afterof spun fiberglass noon, I am lookinsulation that ing out my winwe put between dow to a magical our 2’ x 4’s in our sight. Snow has By Steve Smith homes. A six inch now been falling or more coverfor 24 hours and there is ing of snow can add 5 to 10 an accumulation of 8 to 10 degrees to the soil surface inches covering virtually ev- temperatures and be the erything in the yard. Under difference between life and this blanket of white are my death for tender plants. The blooming hellebores, snow only time I remove snow is drops, and budded daffo- when it is weighing down dils. If you are wondering my evergreen shrubs and if these plants will be dam- causing them to splay out. aged, I can assure you that For everything else, I just Mother Nature is a lot more leave it in place and pretend resilient than that and while I have a garden full of snow my perennials may be bent, cones.

Another benefit of snow they are most likely not broken. In fact, they are prob- is the nutritive value. It is ably snug as a bug in a rug actually known as “Poor and once everything thaws Man’s Fertilizer” because of out, they will pop right back the nitrogen it contains. As up again. As it turns out, snow falls, it removes nitrosnow is much more benefi- gen from the atmosphere cial for the garden than it is and over time that nitrogen detrimental. Here are some gets converted into nitrates things to consider… that plants can absorb and Snow is an amazing use for growth. I have perinsulator, as long as you sonally noticed how much don’t disturb it. Rule num- greener my lawn looks after ber one is always to leave a snow fall and it is due to snow alone in the garden. the addition of nitrogen.

The light, fluffy structure of Snow, of course, does

M'ville opens grants for infectious disease response Grant applications are now being accepted to fund public service activities that prepare, prevent and respond to the spread of infectious disease such as COVID-19. The deadline to apply is 4 p.m., Monday, March 1.

The city will award up to a total of $180,443 for eligible activities that: n Support new businesses or business expansion to create jobs and manufacture medical supplies necessary to respond to infectious disease; nCarry out job training to expand the pool of healthcare workers and techs to treat disease within the community; n Provide testing, diagnosis, or other services at a fixed or mobile location; nProvide equipment, supplies, and materials necessary to carry out a public service; n Deliver meals on wheels to quarantined individuals or individuals who need to maintain social distancing due to medical vulnerabilities; or nOne-time emergency rental/mortgage assistance, for a period not exceed three months, to those experiencing loss of income/inability to pay rent or mortgage due to COVID-19.

Find eligibility details and the application form at https:// www.marysvillewa.gov/434/ Community-DevelopmentBlock-Grants.

The recent snow covers trees at Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville. have some drawbacks. If it hangs around too long it will block out too much light, which can cause some rot. Also, in some parts, voles and rabbits will tunnel underneath it and gnaw on the bark of shrubs and trees.

Fortunately, this rarely happens in our climate. In the garden center we have to remove it from the greenhouse roofs, which can be

a huge chore but at least we get a good workout in the process.

Probably one of my favorite benefits of snow is the magical scene it creates. Plants like red twig dogwoods and coral bark maples seem to just come alive - their vibrant colored stems offering a striking contrast to the pure white background of the snow.

Even dormant ornamental grasses can take on a whole new personality in the presence of snow.

It’s a treat to get snow in our area and we should learn to enjoy it. Granted, it makes driving a challenge and there is virtually nothing we can do in the garden while it is on the ground, but it does help to generate a festive feeling about life,

COURTESY PHOTO

a sort of “mood enhancer”.

Instead of cursing it, embrace it. Don’t worry about the garden, it will be fine.

Just make sure you stay off the lawn and out of the beds until it melts.

Steve Smith is the owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville and can be reached at sunnysidenursery@msn.com.