Applause

Snohomish Scouts help wildlife refuge

Members of Girl Scout Troop 1873 recently received bronze and silver awards for completing 22 strenuous projects over the course of two days to help animals.

Their work helped get the Wolf Hollow Wildlife Refuge on San Juan Island ready for its open house. The girls also got to see a poisoned bald eagle that had arrived for care at the refuge. It was returned to Mount Vernon one week later and was last seen flying to the top of a 60-foot tree.

Here are the award winners:

Maegan Nelson, 13, an eighth-grader at Centennial Middle School in Snohomish, received a silver award.

Bronze award winners were Wynter Nelson, 11, a fifth-grade home-schooled student from Snohomish; Kenzie Mahoskey, 11, Larissa Pexton, 11, and Hanna Wells, 11, all fifth-graders at Dutch Hill Elementary School in Snohomish; Makenna Ellinghaus, 10, a fourth-grader at Dutch Hill Elementary in Snohomish; Haley Herrick, 9, a third-grader at Dutch Hill Elementary; and Chelsea Douglass, 10, a fifth-grader at Emerson Elementary in Snohomish.

The scouts, their chaperones and troop leaders spent the weekend at the refuge repairing aviaries, clearing trails, scrubbing seal pools, planting flowers and oiling wood signs. They plan to return to do more work later in the year.

The scouts began collecting yard tools, dog food and Epsom salts for seal baths in January. They received $500 in donations from businesses and community members, including a sizeable gift from Petco, which donated the tools, supplies and cash to the refuge.

Larissa and Hanna completed their bronze awards at Second Chance Wildlife Center in Snohomish.

Wolf Hollow Wildlife Refuge is a nonprofit, 40-acre sanctuary for wild birds and mammals. The refuge is a temporary home for owls, eagles, hawks, song birds, seals, raccoons, otter, deer and deer mice. The refuge provides medical care to injured wildlife, rehabilitates them and returns them to the wild.

Fire District 1 holds bike safety event

The Snohomish County Fire District No. 1 recently held an open house to emphasize bicycle safety.

The free event for kids and their parents was held at fire stations in south Snohomish County, including the Mountlake Terrace Fire Station No. 18, Lake Serene Fire Station No. 23 in Lynnwood and the Silver Firs and Hilton Lake fire stations in Everett.

As part of the open house, the fire stations offered low-cost bicycle helmets and multisport helmets that were custom-­fitted by firefighters. Children who signed up for the bicycle safety pledge and who promised to wear a helmet every time they ride received free bike reflectors. Firefighters also led tours of the fire engine and medic unit and talked about the tools and gear they use.

In addition to offering helmets at all eight of its fire stations year-round, Fire District No. 1 offers a variety of programs aimed at preventing childhood injuries, including free child car seat checks, child passenger safety education programs and fire safety education. To learn more about these programs, go to www.firedistrict1.org and click on “Education.”

Kiwanis club gives $6,000 to food banks

The Lynnwood Kiwanis Club recently presented the Lynn­wood Food Bank with $4,000.

Donations are normally delivered quarterly, $1,000 at a time. This year, through a matching grant from the Feinstein Foundation that is available during March and April, the donation was made in one large chunk.

The club also gave $2,000 to the Concern for Neighbors Food Bank in Mountlake Terrace.

Lynnwood Kiwanians will continue to collect monetary donations and nonperishable food items at monthly meetings in addition to their annual November food drive.

The Kiwanis Club of Lynn­wood’s annual charity auction is May 17 at the Lynn­wood Convention Center. The club meets at 7 a.m. Thursdays in the community room at the fire station on 44th Avenue W. and 188th Street SW.

For more information, call 425-774-3501.

Humane Society offers free dog food

The Humane Society at Happy Paws Farm is offering free dog food 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays at 19933 Old Burn Road, Arlington. The program helps low-income people feed their pets. Documentation of low-income status is required. For more information, call 360-652-5844 or e-mail hmnsoc@aol.com or go to www.saveourdogs.com.

County YMCA hosts health day for kids

The YMCA of Snohomish County recently held its 17th annual YMCA Healthy Kids Day at its five branches. The event introduced programs and activities that help children and their families stay healthy and enjoy doing so. For more information go to www.ymca-snoco.org and click on “Other Programs.”

Marysville volunteers clean up, plant trees

Volunteers from nine Marys­ville churches, the city of Marysville, the Marysville School District and community participated in the first Marysville Community Serve Day on Saturday.

The volunteers worked at Allen Creek Elementary School and along 64th Street NE from Jennings Park to the Thriftway store on 67th Street NE. About 400 volunteers helped remove brush from a retention pond, fill in and seed holes on play fields, weed and clean planting areas, plant trees and shrubs along 64th Street NE and spread a great deal of beauty bark.

The event was organized by churches and pastors who worked together with representatives of the school district maintenance department and the Marysville Parks and Recreation Department. All of the projects were completed on schedule despite snow and rain that day.

Larry Nyland, superintendent of the Marysville School District, described the event as an old-fashioned barn-raising where everyone pitched in and had fun.

Snohomish junior a dairy ambassador

Melissa Cook, a junior at Snohomish High School, recently was named dairy ambassador for 2008-09 at the 53rd annual dairy pageant at the Camano Island Community and Senior Center. Melissa is the daughter of Paul and Kristin Cook of Snohomish.

Retiring ambassador Adrienne Schoenbachler crowned Melissa. Kristi Nickels of Stanwood, Kaylynn Morcom of Arlington and Andrea Neff of Marysville were named equal alternates.

Cook has been involved in 4-H, Junior Holstein Association and Future Farmers of America and has competed in the state and national diary judging and quiz bowl contests. She will compete for the state title in June.

Scholarship winners, dairy shrine honorees and a 4-H trophy recipient were also announced at the pageant.

Soroptimists buy goats for Rwandans

Everett Soroptimists recently purchased 35 pairs of goats for families in Rwanda who have been victimized by war and who are supported by women.

Soroptimist International also provides training in how to run a small business and other survival skills for women who must support themselves and their children or other children orphaned by war.

Collecting money to buy goats to help women become self-sufficient is a continuing project of Soroptimist of Everett. Donations may be sent to Soroptomist International of Everett, P.O. Box 1492, Everett, WA 98206.

Women’s group aids Snohomish Food Bank

Sisters of Snohomish recently donated a cart of food and $700 to the Snohomish Food Bank.

The group also continues its pajama drive for foster kids through April. The group asks for new pajamas to be dropped off at the following sites: Curves, 1407 Ave. D, Snohomish; Jo’s Place, 7912 Skipley Road, Snohomish; Daily Grind Espresso, 12807 Fourth Ave. W., Everett; and Daily Grind Espresso at Bickford Avenue and 52nd Street SE, Snohomish.

Sisters of Snohomish is a group of women supporting each other and their community. They meet once a month.

The group has provided support to organizations such as Children’s Hospital, the Snoho­mish County Center for Battered Women and Cocoon House. Last summer, they organized a garage and bake sale for a family whose daughter is fighting cancer. They have also held several bunco events at El Paraiso in Snoho­mish.

For more information, call 425-508-2842.