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Vol. 15 No. 16 n January 5, 2022 - January 11, 2022
MARYSVILLE • ARLINGTON • SMOKEY POINT • LAKEWOOD • TULALIP • QUIL CEDA VILLAGE
Arlington responds to snow, freezing temps By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com Arlington dealt with a good deal of snow and below freezing temperatures for several days during the recent snow storm. “We got quite a bit of snow, but it was at least spread out over a number of days,” said Paul Ellis, Arlington city administrator. “That gave us a little bit of time to catch up." Cold temperatures kept the snow around longer than usual for the area, said Ellis, but in many ways the storm was easier than last winter’s storm. The most challenging part of snow storms for city crews is often trying to clear the snow during the day it comes. “The hardest part for snow removal crews is often removing the snow as it is falling,” said Ellis. During the previous
New cold weather shelter opens in Marysville By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com
COURTESY PHOTO
One of the city of Arlington’s plows out on Dec. 30 helping to move snow off of local roads. winter’s big snow storm there was a lot more snowfall concentrated in one day, which is why it was more difficult to remove. This storm crews had a slightly less challenging time.
“We were able to get most of the snow cleared from the roads this year,” said Ellis. City crews go on standby when snow is in the forecast and go to work in 12-hour
shifts. During the six days of freezing temperatures crews worked in 12-hour shifts for most of those days, but had some relief in the middle. See ARLINGTON on page 2
Marysville has a new emergency cold weather shelter to help provide a warm and safe place for local homeless individuals during freezing nights. Government officials worked with the local Generations Church to set up a new shelter as the temperature dropped well below freezing for multiple days after a Dec. 26 snowfall. The new shelter began operating on Dec. 29 and continued through the recent winter storm. They plan to open for the rest of the season, as well during any nights where the forecast expects the temperature to drop below 34 degrees. “We’ll plan on going forward with the cold weather shelter and continuing to provide it,” said Craig
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER ANDERSSON
Generations Church pastor Craig Laughlin helps to prepare some of the cots at Marysville’s new cold weather shelter on Dec. 31.
Laughlin, pastor at Generations Church. Doors for the shelter open at 7 p.m. and close at 9:30 p.m.
See SHELTER on page 5
Winter storm blankets Marysville in snow City staff and Public Works crews worked for several days after the holiday dealing with the snow and ice By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com Temperatures dropped below freezing the week after Christmas and Marysville crews responded to icy conditions for about a week. “The storm definitely brought colder temperatures than usual,” said Jeff Laycock, the city’s director of engineering and transportation services. The cold caused snow to ice up quicker and stay on the surface of roads longer, he said. “With the sun coming out the last couple
of days it has been a little bit wetter and slushier, which is easier to plow and get out of the way,” said Laycock on Dec. 31. The city began preparing for the snow event before Christmas. “We had a crew assembled to go Christmas night and they began putting some anti-ice measures out then,” said Laycock. They were able to fully staff despite the poor timing. “Because of holiday weekend, we did have some folks who had time off but we still had enough people to staff our crew,” said Laycock. Typically during a snowfall city crews have a 24-hour operation and that was the case during last week’s event as well. See MARYSVILLE on page 2
COURTESY PHOTO
Marysville’s temporary drop-off garbage collection site near City Hall on Dec. 29 which was established after garbage services were canceled for several days.
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Marysville’s temporary drop-off garbage collection site near City Hall on Dec. 30 which was established after garbage services were canceled for several days.
MARYSVILLE Continued from page 1
“We typically scale back once we’ve seen improvement of the road conditions,” said Laycock. The city used approximately 500 tons of sand/salt mix during the recent winter storm. Their mixture is usually 20 percent salt, although there were times the city used a little higher salt mix during this storm in efforts to reduce ice patches. Crews worked on 53 miles of primary snow removal routes and 22 miles of secondary snow removal routes. The city plans for those routes ahead of time and has them posted at marysvillewa. gov/423. “Those are arterials leading in and out of the city, connecting to I-5 or other major routes,” said Laycock. “Also any road that fire and police use to access any of their facilities, those are routes
ARLINGTON Continued from page 1
“We took a little bit of a break last weekend, although they were still doing some overtime, just to let them rest a little,” said Ellis. Approximately 400 tons of sand was used by the city during the recent snow event. The city’s snow removal routes are decided prior to snow events and are available at the city of Arlington’s website by searching for “Snow & Ice Removal Routes.” “We have a plow schedule we put together and crews start with the emergency routes,” said Ellis. Roads that are necessary for police, fire and ambulances receive attention first. “We keep a clear path right up to the hospital,” said Ellis.
that generally have priority,” he added. Garbage services had to be canceled for a number of days across the city during the winter storm, although Marysville came up with a new option this year. “The city has provided a drop-off site at city hall for those who feel a need to get rid of their garbage,” said Laycock. “I think it has been very well received and a good option for the public." Marysville may continue with a drop-off site during future winter storms when necessary. “That is something that the city may continue to support in the future when we have snow or ice events that last multiple days,” said Laycock. Laycock thanked the city staff who worked through late December to help remove snow on Marysville’s roads. “I’m really happy with the service we provided and the dedication of our crew,” he said.
After that, primary driving routes are cleared, and then the majority of residential routes. “Some residential routes can’t be cleared because the plow would not be able to turn around in a particular cul-de-sac,” said Ellis. Arlington has been without a cold weather shelter for a couple of years now, but have put some of their pandemic relief funds to help support people. Those funds are currently being handled by the Volunteers of America of Western Washington. “Although we don’t have a shelter in place, they are distributing some hotel vouchers,” said Ellis. At least 16 families received support through the voucher program during the recent snow storm, said Ellis. “Families get to stay together in their own room, so that works out really well,” he said.
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Drivers kept cautious and safe this year as there were no major collisions. “We were pretty good with accidents, and we certainly didn’t have any serious ones,” said Ellis. Garbage collection had to be canceled for a couple of days during the storm as well. “We contract with Waste Management for garbage service and they had to cancel some days of service,” said Ellis. The bad weather came at a bad time for Waste Management, which already cancels a couple of days every year because of Christmas. “This is tough for them because they’re always playing catch up during the holidays as well,” said Ellis. Services resumed toward the end of the snow storm though. “They’re out there trying to get everyone’s trash picked up,” said Ellis.
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County sets new record for COVID cases By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com With 2,719 case reports in Snohomish County from Dec. 19 to 25 the county has a new one-week record for COVID cases. The previous one-week record for cases was 2,274 which occurred in late August. “This is the biggest week that the county has ever had,” said Kari Bray, communications coordinator with the Snohomish Health District. The increase from the previous week was more than 1,500 cases, which was also by far the largest one-week spike in cases that the county has seen during the pandemic. Snohomish Health District officials point to a number of factors
which likely contributed to the increase. “The first big cause is the Omicron variant,” said Bray. “We know from the Washington State Department of Health sequencing that the majority of cases in the state are of the Omicron variety." Although not every positive COVID case is tested for type, it is likely that the majority of cases in the county are now the Omicron variant, she said. “This is a variant that spreads very rapidly and easily,” said Bray. The primary concern with the Omicron variant is that it’s transmissibility will increase the number of people infected. The full scope of the data still needs to be looked at but the new variant does not appear to have a
higher rate of hospitalization. “We still have more to learn about this variant, but preliminary results make it appear as a milder version of COVID,” said Bray. That doesn’t mean that the variant is safer though. “Even if it is a quarter more mild, if we have four times as many infected that still leads to worse results,” said Bray. “Individually you may be safer but as a society we could still be overwhelmed." Those who are immune-compromised or those living with any of the disabilities that put them more at risk are likely still facing a dangerous virus. The county also hopes to prevent hospital capacity from being overloaded. During previous waves of the
pandemic, hospitalization increases typically lagged behind case identification by a week or two. “It will take some time to see how this plays out,” said Bray. Currently hospitalizations are hovering between 40 to 50 beds being used daily for COVID cases in the county. At the height of previous waves, a little more than 100 beds were being used for COVID patients. Seasonal changes are likely contributing to the increase in cases. “With the cold weather, not just recently but across the month, and it getting dark earlier that really pushes gatherings indoors where people are closer together and there is less ventilation,” said Bray. “We’re around the holiday season so that brings a lot of people to-
gether as well." The decreasing of vaccine effectiveness may also be contributing to the recent spike in COVID cases. “People are starting to have waning immunity,” said Bray. “For people who had their last dose and it’s been a while they will be seeing reduced effectiveness." Bray recommends that people get vaccinated and get their booster if it has been a while since their second dose. “Please get your booster and be patient with scheduling,” she said. Appointments are still in demand and still often only available a week or two in the future. She also recommends that people continue the standard precautions such as masking, distancing and keeping gatherings small.
New guidelines reduce COVID isolation requirement By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com Only five days of isolation are now required for those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 but are asymptomatic because of new state guidelines. The Washington State Department of Health released the new guidelines on Dec. 28 shortly after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released their updated guidelines the day before. The recommendation for those diagnosed with COVID-19 is for five days of isolation if they are asymptomatic on the final day. Those individuals should spend the next five days with strict mask wearing. Individuals who have symptoms should spend the full 10 days in quarantine until a negative test confirms symptoms are not related to COVID-19. “I do want to emphasize that this is grounded in science. The majority of transmission does occur early in the course of illness,” said Lacy Fehrenbach, deputy secretary for COVID response with the Washington State Department of Health during a Dec. 30 press briefing. Fehrenbach said the data shows that most transmission happens one or two days prior to the onset of symptoms or in the few days following that. “[The new guideline] also helps society keeps running and that is also important in a pandemic,” she said. Recommendations for those exposed to a COVID-19 positive person depend on a couple of factors. Unvaccinated individuals and those more than six months away from their original Moderna/Pfizer vaccine or two months away from their Johnson & Johnson vaccine should quaran-
tine for five days, followed by five days of “strict mask use.” Vaccinated individuals who have received a booster shot do not need to quarantine but should wear a mask. Those who experience symptoms should quarantine until a negative test confirms those symptoms are not COVID-19 related. If in doubt after quarantining, individuals should
get a COVID-19 test. Officials acknowledged the high demand for tests currently. “We have heard about overloading of the testing systems in many laboratories,” said Tao Kwan-Gett, chief science officer with the Washington State Department of Health. The freezing conditions in late December also did
not help with the supply chain problems. “We are very impacted by the weather. It’s impacting vaccine and testing access to be honest,” said Fehrenbach. The federal government is also beginning efforts that could provide tests for families across the nation. Washington state officials hope to work on similar local efforts to get more tests in
residents’ hands. State officials also said that although the new guidelines ask for “strict mask use” for those returning after five days in isolation, regular mask use by everyone is still needed. “We do note that mask wearing should continue after and beyond your isolation quarantine period in any indoor public setting,”
said Fehrenbach. This is especially true with the increased transmissibility of the omicron variant, which appears to be the majority of cases now in Washington state. “The omicron variant does have more ability to aerosolize than prior variants, which means it can more regularly escape medical masks,” said Kwan-Gett.
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January 5, 2022 - January 11, 2022 NORTH COUNTY OUTLOOK
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Nowoy, Scallan named Students of the Month By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com Marysville Pilchuck High School students William Nowoy and Carly Scallan were recognized for their involvement in their schools as the December Students of the Month. The Student of the Month award is given to two Marysville students
during each month school is in session and is awarded by the Marysville Soroptimist and Kiwanis clubs. William Nowoy was one of the recipients in December. He is enrolled in a number of AP and Honors classes at his school. For the past four years he has also been a part of the school’s Cross Country team, where he has earned
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four varsity letters and also served as the captain of the team. William has also competed on the school’s track and golf teams and has a varsity letter for the golf team. At Marysville Pilchuck High School William is also a part of the NJROTC program and has done a number of volunteer activities in the community because of his involvement. Elsewhere in the community William has helped out at his local church, including volunteering by providing food, clothes, cold weather necessities and other essential items to individuals in need. After graduating high school William hopes to attend Central Washington
University. The second Student of the Month for December is Carly Scallan. She has taken a number of advanced and AP classes including those for physics composition, U.S. history, statistics, Spanish II and Spanish III and chemistry. At her school she is a four-year varsity athlete with the volleyball team and has been the captain of the team. In 2019 and 2020 she served a volleyball referee for Marysville Middle School. Carly is part of her school’s National Honor Society, a club that focuses on community service and activities. Recently she has been appointed the head of the
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Carly Scallan
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service committee. Another club she is involved in is the Link Crew, a group that open welcomes new students to the school. Carly also serves as part of the ASB leadership at her school. In the community, Carly has spent time serving as a volunteer, including serving
William Nowoy
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as a food drive coordinator and a coordinator for the Miracle on State toy drive in 2020. In 2019 she also served as a fifth-grade camp counselor at Kellogg Marsh Elementary School. After graduating high school Carly hopes to attend a four-year university.
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Marysville community members decorated their homes and businesses with lights, inflatables and homemade yard decor to make the city shine and share the magic this holiday season. Merrysville for the Holidays Community Lights debuted last year. This year’s winners were chosen by public online vote and are: Best Use of Lights 7123 70th Ave. NE., Marysville Fun Family Favorite 7417 72nd Dr. NE.,
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Marysville Griswold Award 10718 52nd Ave. NE., Marysville Most Creative 9515 66th Dr. NE., Marysville Santa is on the Scene 8215 51st Ave. NE., Marysville Business with the Most Holiday Spirit 8810 36th Ave. NE., Marysville Best 12th Man Fan 7906 29th Pl. NE., Marysville Thank you to prize sponsors E&E Lumber, The Creamery Co., Costa Home Team, Chick-Fil-A, Coastal Community Bank, Marysville Tulalip Chamber and Grandview Village.
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January 5, 2022 - January 11, 2022 NORTH COUNTY OUTLOOK
County is one of most charitable in state By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com Snohomish County was ranked as the third most financially charitable county in Washington state according to one recent study on the issue. “We perform studies like this one to get people thinking and talking about their personal finance goals and intentional ways to reach them,” said Alyssa Annunziato, a senior public relations associate with SmartAsset, the finance firm that performed the study. “This study in particular provides a county-by-county look at the places where residents are donating the most money,” she said. Snohomish County ranked third behind King
and San Juan counties and just ahead of Clark and Island counties. A total of 11.97 percent of Snohomish County residents claimed some charitable contribution on their tax return, compared to 14.82 percent from King County and a state average of 5.93 percent. Nationally, all of Washington state’s leading counties compare well to other state’s leading counties, said Annunziato, and Snohomish County ranks 246 nationally. The study used IRS data to come to their conclusions. “To find the most generous places, we compared two factors in each county: the amount of money people donate as a percentage
SHELTER Continued from page 1
Cots, blankets, pillows, snacks and water are provided. The church is located at 8240 64th St. NE in Marysville and Community Transit offers free bus service for riders who tell the driver they are going to or from the shelter. Community Transit routes such as 209 or 222 have stops close to the church. The Marysville shelter came together fairly quickly as city of Marysville and Snohomish County officials reached out to local organizations. “Honestly, it is tough to find a place that is willing to host a cold weather shelter,” said Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring, who added the city and the Marysville Fire District’s Fire Marshal worked together to fast track the approval for this shelter. Laughlin said the Generations Church community hopes to help
of their net income, and the proportion of people who made charitable donations,” said Annunziato. To calculate the amount of money donated, officials looked at the net income of each county and then looked through tax return data, accounting for federal and local taxes paid and also accounting for deductible entries including mortgage interest, mortgage points and mortgage insurance payments. Afterward, they divided the total charitable donations claimed on taxes by net income. They looked through similar data to find the total amount of people who donated. “Next, we measured the
those in need. “Jesus cared profoundly about the powerless and the poor,” he said. “That is a part of who we are and what we want to do.” The shelter project came together very fast, he said. “It was kind of a crazy time,” he said. “We stood the whole thing up in about 48 hours, when usually you take a lot of time to plan these things out.” Marysville hasn’t had a permanent cold weather shelter for a couple of years now due to COVID and the former Marysville Emergency Cold Weather Shelter losing its facility. “I was looking at the weather which was going to be 9 degrees and I thought ‘oh my gosh, they still have nowhere to go here,’” said Laughlin. The city had relied on hotel vouchers to fill the need when a shelter was unavailable, however those vouchers are limited in availability and Nehring said a permanent shelter is a better option.
total number of individual tax returns that show charitable contributions and divided that by the total number of individual tax returns in each county. This gave us the proportion of people in each county who make charitable donations,” said Annunziato. A final score was made by weighting the two factors equally to give a ‘charitable county index.’ Annunziato hopes that the data gives locals an idea of how to plan their own charitable contributions throughout the year. “This study can give residents an apples-to-apples look at how much money people are donating in each county in the state,” she said. “Seeing these statistics
Laughlin said he was glad that the church could help and that they served about four individuals in each of their first two days. “It’s going good for the most part,” he said. “We anticipate it growing as the word gets out more.” Nehring wanted to thank the people who came together to make the new shelter a possibility. “Kudos to Pastor Laughlin and the volunteers which they have for at least tonight,” he said. “These things can only go as far as people will take them and it takes a lot of volunteers." The shelter continues to look for new volunteers. Those interested can email pastorcraig@generationscommunity.org or tyler. verda@co.snohomish.wa.us. Usually cold weather shelters are only open for a day or two at a time. “But every once in a while you get times like now where it is five to six days in a row,” said Laughlin. “When you’re asking for people to stay up all night, they can get
COURTESY IMAGE
The top five most generous counties according to a recent study from SmartAsset. on a localized level can help provide a useful comparison when determining what
percentage of your income you plan to donate in a given year."
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER ANDERSSON
Volunteer Tyler Verda helps prepare some of the cots at Marysville’s new cold weather shelter on Dec. 31. burnt out pretty quickly that way,” he added. A large pool of volunteers can help manage that.
Laughlin also thanked the city and Snohomish County staff for their help and additional resources that helped begin the shelter.
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January 5, 2022 - January 11, 2022 NORTH COUNTY OUTLOOK
Opinion
n GUEST OPINION
Looking to Olympia
With the new year comes a new 60-day state legislative session that begins on Jan. 10. Over the past several years, the City Council and I have been very successful in partnering with our local state legislators to obtain state funding for projects that are important to our community. We are grateful for strong working relationships with our legislators in Olympia who represent Marysville and surrounding areas. In 2015, the state legislature approved the $16 billion Connecting Washington package. This ambitious 16-year transportation program includes two massive infrastructure projects that are very important for our community. n New I-5/SR 529 interchange and a new northbound HOV lane on I-5 between north Everett and south Marysville: Initial bids came in higher than the project budget, due in part to inflation, increased materials costs and labor shortages. WSDOT is refining project details and reviewing options for beginning construction this year. As a companion project, the city built the First Street Bypass that opened in 2020 to directly tie into this new interchange, providing a new south Marysville arterial connection that avoids congestion on 4th Street and the BNSF railroad tracks. n New I-5 interchange at 156th Street N.E.: This project is toward the end of the Connecting Washington timeline with design planned to begin in 2025 and the project constructed by 2031. Again, city leaders planned in advance for this project by building the 156th Street N.E. overcrossing in 2013 to provide east-west
Jon Nehring access between the Lakewood retail area and north Marysville. The new state-funded freeway interchange will serve the growing Cascade Industrial Center and offer an alternative to the congested Smokey Point interchange at 172nd Street NE (SR 531). In our discussions with legislators, city leaders continue to stress the importance of these transportation improvements to Marysville residents, businesses and quality of life. We are fortunate that Sen. Marko Liias, the newly appointed chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, is from Snohomish County and understands our significant transportation needs. Over the next few weeks, City Councilmembers and I will discuss with our state lawmakers in Olympia the city’s priorities for new state funding requests. These include: Grove Street Overcrossing: The city is requesting $24 million to build an elevated roadway over the railroad tracks on Grove Street between State and Cedar avenues. Routing traffic away from the railroad crossing will help ease downtown congestion and increase east-west connectivity. Marysville-Lake Stevens
Trail Connector: The cities of Marysville and Lake Stevens are developing a trail system using the existing transmission power line corridor. Developing this new trail segment will offer residents a southern connection to the regional Centennial Trail. Marysville is requesting $500,000 for property acquisition. 156th Street NE Railroad Overcrossing: The city is requesting $500,000 to design an elevated roadway over the railroad crossing that was closed to public use in the early 2000s. This overcrossing would provide neighborhoods in the Lakewood area west of I-5 with direct access to the state’s planned and funded 156th Street NE freeway interchange coming in the next few years. Comeford Park Redesign: With construction underway on the city’s new Civic Center and an adjoining public plaza adjacent to Comeford Park, the city is requesting $500,000 to build improvements for the park. Park improvements would serve thousands of residents and visitors while helping to revitalize the downtown area as envisioned in our Downtown Master Plan. In addition to these specific project funding requests, the city is asking the Legislature to continue to engage with law enforcement including our Police Department regarding potential amendments to police reform bills enacted in 2021 and evaluation of future police reforms. Jon Nehring has been Mayor of Marysville since 2010. You can reach him at 360-363-8000 or jnehring@marysvillewa.gov.
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Our Favorite Quotes "For eleven months and maybe about twenty days each year, we concentrate upon the shortcomings of others, but for a few days at the turn of the New Year we look at our own. It is a good habit." Author — Arthur Hays Sulzberger Submitted by North County Outlook editor Scott Frank.
&
RAVE RAVE: A big shout out and Thank You to Marysville's Generations Church for stepping up to provide a cold weather shelter for our city's homeless. I also want to thank all of the volunteers who helped staff the shelter.
conditions during the recent winter storm. They worked long hours in very adverse conditions to try to keep our city's main roads as clear as possible. Also, a Thank You to our first responders who worked during the winter storm to keep us safe.
RAVE: I want to send a sincere Thank You to the city road crews who worked in freezing and hazardous
RAVE: I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year and may 2022 be better than 2021.
North County Outlook is published every 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. News Deadline: Friday before publication 5PM editor@northcountyoutlook.com
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January 5, 2022 - January 11, 2022 NORTH COUNTY OUTLOOK
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Teams get in a few games during winter break By Nathan Whalen Nathan@northcountyoutlook.com Despite cancellations due to inclement weather and COVID-19 precautions, several games took place during the holiday break. Marysville Getchell’s girls basketball team took advantage of a break in the weather Dec. 29 to travel to SedroWoolley where they defeated the Cubs 58-50. “We were able to do enough to win the game,” Charger head coach Seth Dodge said. He added the team picked up the intensity on defense that led to some easy baskets. He complimented the efforts of junior Ellie Jackson, who had 11 points. “She’s a leader on the court.” Sophomores Hayden Robinson and Chloe Downing each had nine points and senior Erica Martin had eight points.
Dodge also highlighted the efforts of senior Jay Pittman. “She just controlled the boards.” The win over SedroWoolley brings Marysville Getchell’s record to 4-4. “We’re young and finding our way,” Dodge said. The Chargers are starting three sophomores, one junior and one senior. He added the team found their niche during a Dec. 15, 45-36 win against Marysville Pilchuck. Also playing Christmas and New Year’s was the Lakewood boys basketball team. The Cougars traveled to Yakima to compete in the Wilbur Ellis SunDome Shootout. They played two games, losing to Ephrata 5856 and Brewster 62-50. “It was a good learning experience for the younger guys,” Lakewood head coach Anthony Wiederkehr said. “It helped us realize some of the
things we need to work on to make it to the playoffs.” He said the Shootout helps players get a visual of the host site of the 2A state playoffs. Lakewood had a game scheduled Jan. 31, against Marysville Getchell, but that game was canceled for the second time. A number of games and matches in the area were canceled because of COVID or weather-related issues due to the snow that fell in the region starting Dec. 26. Wrestling programs in Arlington, Lakewood and Marysville were paused for the last several weeks of December due to COVID outbreaks at wrestling tournaments that took place earlier in December. Those tournaments took place in Lacey, Sumner, Puyallup, Yelm, Yakima, Edmonds, Snohomish and Sedro-Woolley, accord-
ing to the Snohomish Health District. Eighty cases of COVID-19 have been tied to those tournaments. Thirteen school districts in Snohomish County were affected by the outbreak. The state Department of Health adjusted guidelines in December. Athletes, coaches, trainers, and support personnel in high-contact sports (basketball, wrestling and competitive cheer) need to be tested three times per week regardless of vaccination status. In addition to games being canceled, several basketball tournaments were canceled including events at Mountlake Terrace and Glacier Peak. Marysville Athletic Director Rocky Verbeck said in an email any non-league games will likely not be rescheduled to make sure league games are played.
Wrestling programs returned to practice after 10 days. Wrestlers and basketball players in Lakewood returned to practice Jan. 3, said Kristina Bowman, communications specialist for the Lakewood School District, in an email. Winter sports returned with a full slate of games and matches scheduled the first week of January. Arlington’s boys basketball hosts Everett Jan. 5 and travels to Stanwood Jan. 7. Girls basketball hosts Everett Jan. 5 and hosts Stanwood Jan. 8. Boys wrestling visits Stanwood Jan. 6 and competes in the Everett Classic Jan. 8 while girls wrestling competes in the Lake Stevens scramble Jan. 5. In Lakewood, boys basketball visits Blaine Jan. 6, girls basketball hosts Blaine Jan. 7, boys wrestling hosts Burlington Edison Jan. 6 and
New members sworn in for Arlington School Board Michael Kingman and Erica Knapp were sworn in as new board members during the Dec. 13, 2021, Arlington Public Schools Board of Directors meeting. Sheri Kelly, who was appointed to the school board last year to fill a board vacancy, was also elected to the school board. Kingman represents district area 3 which is comprised of the area north and west of Arlington, including Bryant and Silvana. Knapp represents district area 5 which
includes parts of Gleneagle and the Sisco Heights area. Kelly represents district area 2 which is comprised of High Clover Park, Cemetery Road, and parts of old town Arlington. Kingman replaces Judy Fay and Knapp replaces Marc Rosson. Kingman and his wife are longtime residents of Snohomish County. They have two children who attend school in the Arlington School District. He retired as a US Naval Officer
in 2005 and has a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in international business. “I look forward to learning from and working with our Arlington School District staff and board, engaging with the parents and citizens of our district, and focusing on the best interests of each of our students,” said Kingman. Knapp has lived in Arlington for 15 years with her husband and three children. She has an asso-
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Arlington is a vibrant community and I will work for more frequent community engagement in the schools.
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Erica Knapp
ciate’s degree in fine arts, owned a small business in Snohomish, and volunteers on the district’s Advisory Council for Education and Community Equity Team. “Arlington is a vibrant
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community and I will work for more frequent community engagement in the schools,” said Knapp. “I am excited for the opportunity to serve the Arlington School District.”
girls wrestling visits SedroWoolley Jan. 5. Marysville Getchell’s boys basketball hosts Lynnwood Jan. 5 and visits Shorecrest Jan. 7. Girls basketball hosts Jackson Jan. 6 and visits Mariner Jan. 8. Boys wrestling visits competes in the Everett Classic Jan. 6. Marysville Pilchuck’s boys basketball visits Mountlake Terrace Jan. 5 and hosts Stanwood Jan. 7. Girls basketball visits Shorewood Jan. 6 and boys wrestling hosts Oak Harbor and Ferndale Jan. 6. Marysville Pilchuck and Getchell’s girls wrestling teams competes in the MP/ MG wrestling scramble Jan. 6 and both swim teams visit Archbishop Murphy Jan. 5.
Legal Notices LEGAL NOTICE SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR SNOHOMISH COUNTY IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF JAMEY TODD OMAN, Deceased, NO. 21-4-02241-31, PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS, RCW 11.40.030) THE CO-PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES NAMED BELOW have been appointed 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 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 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 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: January 5, 2022. Co-Personal Representative: Ada Evans Co-Personal Representative: Jesse Oman Attorney for Personal Representative: Steven J. Peiffle, WSBA #14704 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. 21-4-02241-31.
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January 5, 2022 - January 11, 2022 NORTH COUNTY OUTLOOK
Communities
www.northcountyoutlook.com
n WHISTLING GARDENER
Things to look forward to in your garden ___ “
of fresh mowed I don’t know grass or steaming how you all feel compost or avian about 2021, but antics or a whole for me it was like host of varied circling the airforms of enterport waiting for tainment that our clearance to land By Steve Smith gardens provide. and never getting it. Oh sure, we made a I stepped outside the other couple of approaches and day before the big snow and were really close to touch- made a mental list of what I ing down, but then at the am anticipating in my garlast minute the tower waved den. Here are a few of my us off. There was great an- observations. Flower buds on my Helticipation that maybe this lebores: Hellebores (both was finally it and life would return to normal, or at least Lenten and Christmas roses) something close to normal. are one of the most reliable Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. winter bloomers in my garBut thankfully, despite all of den. As winter approaches these setbacks, we still have and the foliage starts to bend our gardens to fall back on down, their buds start to when it comes to normalcy emerge and extend from the and especially when it comes crown of the plant. It will be to anticipating the next flow- another month before they er or ripening fruit or smell come into full bloom, but al-
ready, I can imagine a bowlful of petals floating on my breakfast table in an array of colors from white to dark red. There is no fragrance, but they are still heavenly as far as I am concerned. Rhododendrons: This is the time of year when Rhodies will be covered with fat, corpulent buds that are just waiting for the days to get longer and a little warmer. The tips of each branch of the few Rhodies I left in my new garden are currently clothed in these buds and it is with great anticipation that I look forward to those days in May when they will burst into flaming pinks and purples. Winter-blooming Camellias: I have a pair of ‘Pink-A-Boo’ sasanqua camellias flanking my garage
door in large ceramic pots that have been slowly (as in forever, or so it seems) forming buds over this past summer. Hardly visible for most of the year, they are finally starting to open and display their cheery single pink blooms with dancing yellow stamens in the center. Each flower is only 2 to 3 inches across, but they are a delight to my eyes each time I go in and out of the garage. Dormant perennials: My anticipation of next year’s perennial growth is no better personified than in the clusters of basal buds on several clumps of Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’. Where I had maybe 6 stems this year, I am now looking at 12 to 18 new shoots per plant come spring. That is indeed worth getting excited about.
Euphorbias: These evergreen perennials come in foliage colors of bluish-green to dark reds, and even green and white variegated forms that are in themselves stand outs in my winter garden. But already I can see their stems starting to elongate, and in a few short months they will be capped with chartreuse-colored bracts that will “bloom” for 2 to 3 months in early spring. Maybe more structural then beautiful, they are neverthe-less an essential component of any garden. When you think about it, the real driving force that pushes us to keep on planting is the anticipation of what we will get in return each successive year. As W.E. Johns states, it can be truly delightful. So for the 2022
One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides.
W.E. Johns
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season, my wish for you is that, like myself, you will find much delight in your garden. Happy New Year and keep on gardening!
Steve Smith represents Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville and can be reached at sunnysidenursery@msn.com.