Stilly Tribe reopens smoke shop
Published 10:52 pm Tuesday, March 17, 2009
ARLINGTON — The Stillaguamish Indian Tribe opened Stilly Smoke Signals, a shop offering tobacco products, early this month.
The store is taking the place of the Blue Stilly Smoke Shop, which was owned by Ed and Linda Goodridge and their son, Eddie Jr., and cousin, Sara Schroedl. All four pleaded guilty late last year to trafficking in untaxed cigarettes and money laundering and were sentenced to federal prison on Monday.
The Blue Stilly was on Stillaguamish tribal trust land, which was leased by the store owners. The lease ended in March, and Stillaguamish tribal leaders took over the store and reopened it under a new name.
The new store is currently in the modular building that housed the Blue Stilly, but a move to a permanent building is planned, tribal Chairman Shawn Yanity said in a prepared statement.
The change signals that the tribe is “leaving the past behind and moving forward into a new and exciting future,” he said.
The tribe is working with the Squaxin Island Tribe to start the new smoke shop.
Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422, kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
