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Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com

Marysville neighbors come to rescue after house fire

By Kristi O'Harran, Herald Columnist

Carolyn Barkley in Marysville has endured a tumultuous year. Her home burned down on July 4. She aimed to move away from the ashes.

She did temporarily, but restoration work was done so well that she's back, happy as can be, with her dog, Bailey.

Barkley thanks the men who pried her fried car from the garage, the dry cleaners who successfully salvaged her mother's wedding dress, the insurance company that was there for her from day one, and the construction crew who met her every request with a smile.

She couldn't say enough about her neighbors who put up with hammering, a portable potty in her yard for five months and the dumpster.

"When I moved home, someone even left an expensive bottle of Scotch to wish me well," she says.

Wear your cammies

The Sweet on Sarvey fundraiser is planned for Saturday and Sunday outside the Granite Falls Red Apple, the Albertsons at 11401 State Ave. in Marysville and the Safeway in Arlington.

Donate to help the Sarvey Wildlife Center in Arlington with expenses. As I wrote March 14, founder Kaye Baxter is terminally ill with cancer. The center's aim is to treat animals and release them back into the wild. It's spring, the busy baby animal season. The center also has permanent residents that include several types of birds.

Fundraiser organizer Dorthy Ottaway asks that folks also wear camouflage gear to show support for Baxter and her wildlife center.

"I choose camouflage because it represents the wilderness," Ottaway says. "Or Army green or khaki. Just natural-looking colors."

Volunteers get sweet treat

Volunteering is something folks do from their hearts. Giving back and all that.

But in this case, volunteering can be done for your tummy.

They need helpers for the sixth annual Taste of Decadence fundraiser May 2 in Arlington. Michelle Dietz-Date, resource development manager with Village Community Services, says the organization needs workers for two- to five-hour shifts to be a host, decorate, set up the auction or clean up.

Proceeds from the event will help north Snohomish County adults who have disabilities. To volunteer, call 360-653-7752, ext. 14.

What does it have to do with your appetite?

Dietz-Date says there will be a very decadent dessert bar and all volunteers are invited to enjoy the goodies.

I'm checking my calendar.



Fun fact: Debra Loughrey-Johnson credits her later-in-life college degree with giving her credentials to land the perfect job as executive director for Grandview Village senior living community in Marysville.

She graduated from Seattle University at age 41.

"I never quite knew why I got a degree, except that I got it for me," she says. "I love my job, so I am thrilled that it took me 23 years to get that paper."

She has three children, who all graduated from college before the age of 22.



Columnist Kristi O'Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.