10 years ago 1996

Residents in Lakewood and Smokey Point made it clear they dont want to be divided by taking steps to incorporate their 3,000-member community into a city. Resident Doris York filed a notice of intent with the county Nov. 7 on behalf of the community group Save Our Community and Schools. Its just for the community to come together and talk about incorporation and to begin early dialogue with the county, said Mickie Jarvill, representing the group. The Snohomish County Boundary Review Board scheduled a public hearing Dec. 4 at the Lakewood High School. As of Dec. 5, SOCS will have 180 days to gather the signatures of 10 percent of the areas registered voters. SOCS has also hired a consulting firm to determine if the area has a large enough tax base to support a municipality, Jarvill said. The group is paying for the $10,000 study with donations from the community. The intent of SOCS is to study the [incorporation] question and ask the community what it thinks of the plan Marysville and Arlington have for the area and put it to a vote, Jarvill said. The Smokey Point Chamber of Commerce has not taken a position on the proposed incorporation, said president Don Laufenberg. The board will be discussing the incorporation and may survey businesses in the area before establishing a position, he said. We have an obligation to go with the wishes of our members, Laufenberg said. One concern is what will happen to the tax levels, he said, whether they will increase, decrease or remain the same. One of the main questions that is out there for forming a city rests largely on local control and keeping the community together. Is there another way [besides incorporation] to do it? Laufenberg said. The plans for a new city contradict the cities of Marysville and Arlingtons recent division of the Smokey Point area, not yet approved by the Boundary Review Board. The annexation agreement between Marysville and Arlington has been finalized only by the two cities, not the Boundary Review board, said Bonnie Collins, chief clerk of the BRB. The proposed Smokey Point annexation is still an approved annexation in appeal, she said. The two cities agreement must be remanded to the review board and neither city has done that. The incorporation process cant be finalized or appear on the ballot until the annexation is settled, Collins said. SOCS will take the petitions right away to determine whether or not there is support, Jarvill said. The proposed boundaries can be changed until Dec. 5. The proposed incorporation boundaries follow Lakewood School District boundaries on the east side of the freeway and the urban growth boundaries on the west side, Jarvill said.

25 years ago 1981

Sludge from Seattle wastewater treatment plants is being studied for possible use as fertilizer in an Arlington-area tree farm. The Pilchuck Tree Farm, north of Arlington, owned by Pacific Denkmann Company, is exploring the possibility because of the sludges positive effect on tree growth, according to Duane Weston, a tree farm official. Sludge is the solid matter that is a product of wastewater treatment. Properly treated, sludge can be disposed of in a number of ways including burial in a landfill or incineration. Reused through composting or land application on agriculture or forestry lands are other alternatives. Pilchuck Tree Farm is being considered as a disposal site in the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattles (Metro) long-range sludge utilization plan, after requesting Metro for an opportunity to use sludge. Other requests for sludge have come from Burlington Northern for forest land near Enumclaw and Orting; St. Regis Timber Company for its forest land near Orting, and the State Department of Natural Resources for forest land near Belfair. Depositing sludge on the forest land would be better than just burying it into the ground, Weston said. Sludge transported from Metro treatment plants would be sprayed on the trees during wet weather months, when rain would wash the sediment form the branches. Weve found sludge can have a phenomenal effect on tree growth, said Sam Hubbard, Metros sludge-project manager. Its a resource that can increase growth by 100 percent if used properly, he added. To determine if area residents neighboring the tree farm disapprove of sludge use, a steering committee to collect input has been organized. The committee is comprised of persons representing several area groups: tree farm neighbors, the Arlington School District, fisheries department, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and others, Weston said. The committees findings will be presented to the tree farm officials Dec. 2. If enough negative input is reported, Weston said the tree farm will withdraw its request for the use of sludge from Metro. Otherwise, a public meeting will be held on the proposal. Hearings to be scheduled in early 1982 will allow formal testimony from the public. Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is initiating an Environmental Impact Statement to evaluate the impacts of Metros long-range sludge utilization plan. To find out what issues are of concern to other federal, state and local agencies, Indian tribes and citizens, EPA and Metro will conduct a series of meetings in areas where sites are being considered for long-term sludge disposal. Metro is currently disposing sludge at landfills or using it in demonstration projects, primarily for forest land application. Those methods are inadequate to handle future projected loads. In recent years quantities of sludge have risen from about 23-dry tons per day to almost 40-dry tons per day. Volumes are expected to increase to 63-dry tons per day by 1985 and 83-dry tons per day by the year 2000. The volume over the next 20 years will be about 460,000 dry tons. Metro has already conducted some preliminary analysis of various alternative of disposal, including marine disposal, landfill, composting, incineration and land application of forest land for agriculture and for soil improvement. The number of alternatives has been narrowed because of applicable laws or regulations, cost-effectiveness studies or potential public health risks.

50 years ago 1956

Coach Larry Munizza presented 17 letters to Arlington football players for the past seasons efforts. Seven seniors received the award, as well as nine juniors and one sophomore. Three boys were awarded managers letters. The seniors were headed by Captain Denny Duskin along with Mel Borseth, Selvin Stenson, Denny Miller, Bob Rylie, Gary Vance and Alvin Tryon. Juniors receiving the coveted award were Dick Danubio, Ken Sather, Darryl Jensen, Wes Evans, George Huffman, Vernon Kinney, Don Gibbons and Tom Santeford. The sophomore was Bill Rice. Managers earning an award were Ronnie Rod, John Case and Jerry Carlson. The squad voted their captain, center Denny Duskin, as their Inspirational Player of the season. Selvin Stensen won the Best Blocker Award. Mel Borseth was selected as the Best Tackler. Don Gibbons was elected to captain the Eagles in 1957.