With two other judges, Gov. Jay Inslee (left) listens to Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert (center) as she, Darrington Mayor Dan Rankin and Bob Drewel (right), practice their pitch for the America’s Best Communities competition Thursday at the Arlington Airport.

With two other judges, Gov. Jay Inslee (left) listens to Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert (center) as she, Darrington Mayor Dan Rankin and Bob Drewel (right), practice their pitch for the America’s Best Communities competition Thursday at the Arlington Airport.

Stilly Valley a finalist in national Best Communities contest

DURHAM, N.C. — A plan to turn tragedy into a brighter future for people in the Stillaguamish Valley has been selected as a finalist in a national competition to identify the best communities in the country.

The partnership between Arlington and Darrington was judged as one of eight finalists picked from 15 semifinalists in the America’s Best Communities contest. The three-year competition drew 138 applicants when it started in 2014, representing nearly 350 communities in 27 states. Competitors were tasked with creating plans and launching projects to boost their local economies.

A focal point of the plan is the ongoing recovery after the deadly Oso mudslide in March 2014.

The win means the Stilly Valley communities will receive $100,000 to use over the next 11 months.

In April 2017, the finalists will be judged on their progress and could win a top prize of $3 million.

Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert, Darrington Mayor Dan Rankin and former Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel traveled to North Carolina to pitch the Arlington and Darrington Community Revitalization Plan to a panel of judges.

“The landslide was not the cause of our economic struggles, but it became a catalyst for a solution,” Drewel said.

After the slide, local leaders had the attention of state and federal lawmakers, nonprofit organizations and businesses. They used that momentum to start planning for a future with more jobs and better quality of life in the Stillaguamish Valley.

The timber industry once was the lifeblood of the valley, Drewel said.

“But by the 1980s, conservation efforts and changes in land management had dealt a blow to the industry,” he said. “Timber mills closed down, workers were laid off and the local economy crumbled.”

Leaders have wanted to diversify business in the area for years. Planning already was under way when they entered America’s Best Communities.

The plan is based around six goals: infrastructure, industry, community development, resilience, placemaking and innovation. Under each category are specific projects.

Officials plan to set up two new wireless internet hotspots, one each in Arlington and Darrington. Equal access to internet is vital for business and education, Drewel said.

The plan also calls for a tool library in Arlington where business owners could borrow what they need for specific projects. The hope is to eventually set up a lab with advanced technology for businesses and schools to use.

The document highlights the Glacier Peak Institute, a Darrington program where students learn about habitat restoration, forestry, water quality and early warning for natural disasters.

“With the funds available, we will buy higher quality monitoring equipment,” Drewel said.

Another piece of the plan is a memorial bike ride in March 2017, three years after the mudslide, to honor the past and celebrate the future, Drewel said.

As for bringing in jobs, Arlington is focused on advanced manufacturing, Tolbert said.

“Our proximity to Boeing and the aerospace resurgence that is happening in the Puget Sound area has been a natural transition for us,” she said.

Arlington has 170 manufacturing businesses. A developer recently bought land that previously housed the area’s last hardwood mill and wants to put in a million square feet of industrial space.

“In between (Arlington and Darrington), it’s some of the most beautiful country God has created,” Tolbert said. “It is such a natural for outdoor recreation and tourism.”

Recreation is one key for Darrington, Rankin said. The other is sustainable forestry. A group of experts from timber and conservation organizations formed the Darrington Collaborative to focus on replacing lost timber jobs with other forest-based careers, Rankin said.

A panel of five judges picked the finalists. There was a representative from the Weather Channel, the CEO of a North Carolina foundation, an urban developer, the founder of an entrepreneurs’ network and a researcher from a nonprofit policy center.

The contest started two years ago and there still is work to do, said Kathleen Abernathy, executive vice president of Frontier Communications, which sponsored the contest along with DISH Network, CoBank and The Weather Channel. This is the first America’s Best Communities competition and the entries have been impressive, she said.

“There are a lot of political campaigns out there that are talking about what’s wrong with America, what’s not working,” Abernathy told competitors. “Clearly they haven’t met you.”

The Arlington-Darrington team weren’t the only semifinalists from Washington. Wenatchee-East Wenatchee competed but was not chosen as a finalist. They received $25,000 to continue their work.

In the finals, Arlington-Darrington is going up against: Chicago Lakes area, Minnesota; Huntington, West Virginia; Lake Havasu City, Arizona; Madison, Indiana; Statesboro, Georgia; Tualatin, Oregon; and Valley County-Meadows Valley, Idaho.

“Few communities have endured the challenges that have faced Arlington and Darrington, and fewer still have emerged with the same unity and determination as this remarkable and resilient community,” Drewel told judges on Wednesday. “Our community endured a tragedy, but we are not about to let it define us. We are building a new future and, like so many others in the room, we believe that we are America’s best community.”

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.