10 years ago 1997
The six-year search for a Department of Corrections work-release facility in north Snohomish County is on hold for at least six months, after the murder last month of 12-year-old Ashley Jones of Stanwood by a juvenile offender in a work-release program. Jones confessed killer, 17-year-old David Dodge, was serving a sentence in a home for juveniles which allowed him to work away from the holding facility. The tragedy had a direct impact on siting an adult work-release facility, said Marysville DOC office supervisor Greg Freeman. Although juvenile and adult programs are divided by the state Department of Corrections, in the public eye there is no distinction its a work-release program, Freeman said. The juvenile and adult programs operate very differently, and the adult program learned from its mistakes 15 years ago with the release of Charles Campbell, who murdered three people in Clearview while out on work release, Freeman said. He likened the similarities to the Campbell and Dodges cases, not in the people, but the events surrounding their crimes. Last year the DOC narrowed down five sites for a work-release facility, including two near or in Marysville. If a search starts again in six months, it will be from the beginning, Freeman said, but he hopes it will be a county initiative program, with county officials leading the way. As long as it is a state program, we are always going to fail, Freeman said, because a people think, its state inmates, let the state worry about it. Of the 4,500 prison inmates, about 300 inmates are sentenced to prison from Snohomish County.

25 years ago 1982
On cool fall afternoons, shortly after school lets out, the playing fields of Twin Rivers Park are quickly covered with hordes of young soccer players. To the 327 kids currently enrolled in the Arlington Soccer Club, their participation is just a fun part of growing up. To most of them, soccer is an option that has always been there. In fact, soccer on the scale that it is currently played by children in the United States, let alone Arlington, is a relatively new addition to the American sports pantheon. For decades soccer had been the most popular sport in the world, but not here at home. Football always ruled the roost and fall meant tiny bodies crammed into awkward uniforms and over-sized helmets. But no more. Starting in the early 1970s, soccer began to catch on as a less expensive and more efficient end to good exercise and good fun. There are those who also say soccer is safer for young children than is the more popular alternative. The Arlington Soccer Club started about 10 years ago and steadily grew. Three years ago, when Judy and Brian Case first became involved in the club, there were about 14 teams. Today there are 22 teams and the club will likely continue to grow by about two teams a year. Judy is treasurer and Brian is president of the club. Their involvement came, as might be expected, because their son, Derrick, joined up. The idea came from him, said Judy. All the kids in the first-grade were involved. Ive come to think more of soccer, she said. Its more of a team sport. You have to play and win as a team. Soccer is also less expensive than the alternative. It costs parents about $36 to equip a youngster for soccer shoes and shin guards. The club provides shirts and shorts and the playing equipment. It costs $11 per child per year to belong. Perhaps the best part of the program for adults is the sense of community cooperation necessary for the club to serve its ever-growing number of players. The fine fields at Twin Rivers were all put in by volunteers. The help of parents and friends is essential to keep the teams supplied with coaches and assistant coaches and they are always looking for more people.

50 years ago 1957
Purchase of an additional 40 feet south of the municipal building was authorized by the city council at the Monday night session, when an ordinance to that effect was adopted by councilmen. The property is owned by the Northern Pacific Railway Co. and consists of 40 feet frontage on Olympic Avenue and 60 feet deep. The city now owns an additional 15 feet adjacent to the city building, that with the additional footage, a total of 55 feet will be available for future development of the municipal building. The sale price, it is understood, will be $3,000.