Dennis Murphy had never sold tobacco before this summer, but he has a lifetime of experience in knowing what makes for a satisfying smoke. After a shoulder surgery ended his career in ship repair, Dennis and his wife Jill found a new calling as the owners of the Arlington Tobacco Express, a “filling station” that allows the buyer to customize their own cigarettes.
Arlington Library patron Kaitlyn Bevens got to “go ape” as part of the children’s summer reading program this year. For the past three years, the Arlington Library has conducted a “Name the Critter” contest as part of its summer reading program for kids, who get to enter names for that year’s Folkmanis animal puppet. Bevens won both the contest and a new furry friend when she chose “Coco” as the name for this year’s orangutan puppet, which she got to take home.
Mike Simpson had already known that he wanted to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but when he heard that Arlington firefighters would be bringing back an artifact from the World Trade Center, it gave him an opportunity to memorialize 9/11 and support his local community at the same time.
The Arlington Airport will once again be revving with hot rod and classic car engines this fall, as the Arlington Drag Strip Reunion returns for its eighth year on the blacktop. Visitors will be able to get an eyeful of vintage vehicles and souped-up rigs on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for $3 apiece, while entrants in the show will be charged $25 each at the gate. Those who arrive at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9 will be treated to events of their own.
“We left last Sunday and came back today,” Brian Price said on Saturday, Aug. 20, of the round trip he and three of his fellow Arlington firefighters took to New York City, “but we’ll never forget what we saw.”
MARYSVILLE — Steve Baker and Barb Tolbert appear to be headed for the general election as candidates for the Arlington mayor’s race this fall.
In the wake of the Aug. 16 primary election, the results as of 4:17 p.m. on Aug. 19 show Arlington City Council member Baker, the mayor pro-tem of Arlington, with 815 votes, or 29.58 percent of the votes counted, and Tolbert with 781 votes, or 28.35 percent of the vote. Of their fellow candidates, Debora Nelson received 480 votes, or 17.42 percent of the votes counted, while Craig Christianson received 385 votes, or 13.97 percent of the votes counted, and Carsten Mullin received 186 votes, or 6.75 percent of the votes counted. Kari Ilonummi received 86 votes, or 3.12 percent of the vote, and write-ins received 22 votes, or 0.8 percent of the votes counted.
Adding a third day to its events calendar delivered a record attendance for the Stillaguamish Festival of the River in its 22nd year at the River Meadows County Park. Stillaguamish Tribal Chair Shawn Yanity estimated that the Aug. 12-14 event drew 18,000 visitors over the weekend, thanks in part to an expanded music lineup that started one day early on Friday, Aug. 12.
It was a whirlwind weekend for Debbie Tremko, and she wouldn’t have had it any other way. Before Aug. 12, she was still Debbie Anderson, and she was not only planning the return to downtown Arlington of the “Country Chainsaw Carvers” event that she’d started last year, but she was also preparing for a visit from film crews for the Discovery Channel who were going to tape video segments of her fellow chainsaw carvers at her now-annual event.
One month after the Marysville City Council voted unanimously to impose a six-month moratorium on the establishment, licensing or permitting of medical marijuana dispensaries or collective gardens, the Arlington City Council did the same.
ARLINGTON — While the “Freedom Festival” in downtown Arlington won’t take place until Sept. 11, “Operation Homefront” is already asking members of the community to show their support for service members and their families.
Operation Homefront is sponsoring the festival, which will take place in Legion Park, and is soliciting donations to help support the families of deployed military members.
The deadline to donate is Aug. 12, and 95 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to the families.
For more information, call Whitis at 425-508-0435, or email Christina Vasquez at christina.bowles@navy.mil.
ARLINGTON — Legion Park will be the site for chainsaw carving, a wedding and the taping of a Discovery Channel show on Aug. 12, and Arlington chainsaw carver Debbie Anderson is part of all three.
The Discovery Channel got in touch with Anderson after reading about her in The Arlington Times, and Anderson expressed pride in the fact that a number of the chainsaw carvers taking part in the Aug. 12-13 event in Legion Park have already been taped for the channel’s upcoming nine-part “Sawdogs” series.
ARLINGTON — All six candidates for the Arlington mayor’s race answered questions about their qualifications and plans for the office they sought, during a public forum that had begun as a function for a more specific audience.
The Arlington Firefighters IAFF Local 3728 and Arlington Police Officer’s Association conducted the forum at Olympic Place Retirement and Assisted Living on Aug. 4, asking the candidates questions not only from the members of their own groups, but also from those who attended that evening’s event.
ARLINGTON — With the deadline to mail in primary ballots on Aug. 16, The Arlington Times asked the six candidates for the Arlington mayor’s race a set of four questions. The following are their answers.
