Applause
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, October 24, 2006
More than 350 teenagers from churches throughout Snohomish County spent Saturday working on 50 different community service projects in the county.
Brian Muchmore, an organizer of the CityServe ministry of Youth for Christ in Snohomish County, said the work was good for those who served.
“The kids got a great opportunity to see the needs in their communities,” he said. “The members of these youth groups went above and beyond and really bonded with those they were helping.”
Participating in the work day were teens from churches including:
* Arlington Free Methodist
* Central Christian Church, Snohomish
* Canyon Hills Community Church, Bothell
* Cascade Community Church, Monroe
* Elim Lutheran, Lake Stevens
* Faith Fellowship, Mill Creek
* First Baptist Church of Everett
* Gold Creek Community Church, Mill Creek
* Hope Foursquare Church, Snohomish
* Lakeside Community Fellowship, Lake Stevens
* Mill Creek Foursquare
* Monroe Community Chapel
* New Life Foursquare, Everett
* North Creek Presbyterian Church, Mill Creek
* Northlake Community Church, Bothell
* Northview Church
* Pathways Church, Mill Creek
* Seattle Family Church, Lynnwood
* Sonrise Chapel, Everett
* Soteria Church, Everett
* Snohomish First Assembly
* Snohomish Free Methodist Church.
Agencies receiving help during the CityServe event included:
* Boys &Girls Clubs of Snohomish County
* Casino Road Ministries
* Catholic Community Services
* City of Snohomish
* Cocoon House
* Everett School District
* Everett Gospel Mission
* Friends of Youth
* Habitat for Humanity – Snohomish County
* Housing Hope
* Life Changes Ministry
* Northwest Family Life
* Pregnancy Resource Center
* Red Cross
* Salvation Army
* Snohomish School District
* The Farm – Youth Outreach Ministries
* Vision House
* Warm Beach Christian Camp.
Operation School Bell aids thousands of kids
Operation School Bell is in its 41st year of providing clothing for children in need.
Operated by the Assistance League of Everett, the School Bell program serves children from 14 school districts in Snohomish County. Volunteers at the Assistance League’s building serve as the children’s personal shoppers, helping them select three new school outfits of shirts and jeans, a sweat shirt, six pairs of underwear and socks, a winter jacket, a hat, gloves and a toiletry kit. In some school districts, the children also are provided with a voucher to purchase a pair of shoes through Payless Shoes.
Last school year, about 2,640 children received clothes through Operation School Bell. Proceeds from the Assistance League’s thrift shop help purchase new clothing for children and support the organization and its other community outreach programs.
The thrift shop, located at 5107 Evergreen Way in Everett, is operated by volunteers and welcomes quality donations of clothing and household items from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
The Assistance League of Everett is an all-volunteer organization whose community outreach programs have helped children, teens and adults in Snohomish County since 1965.
Marysville Fire District wins safety award
The Marysville Fire District was presented with a 2005 Life Safety Achievement Award by the Residential Fire Safety Institute.
The award recognizes local fire prevention activities that contribute to reducing the number of lives lost in residential fires. The Marysville Fire District qualified for the award in 2005 because it had no fire deaths in structures that year. Although residential fires account for only 20 percent of all fires, they result in 80 percent of all fire deaths, fire district officials said. A total of 769 fire departments in the United States, Canada, Italy, Japan and Greece received the 2005 award.
In other Marysville Fire District news, the department is promoting new reflective address signs, a program sponsored by the Marysville Fire District Foundation. Fire commissioner Katherine Smith recently delivered a new sign to longtime Marysville residents Larry and Alice McDonough on what turned out to be their 65th wedding anniversary. The McDonoughs have been in the same house for 57 years and are longtime volunteers at the Marysville food bank.
The reflective signs cost $10 each and are available in a vertical or horizontal format. For ordering information, stop by one of the four Marysville Fire District stations or call the Marysville Fire District’s public information office at 360-363-8507.
Fire District 1 receives excellence award
Snohomish County Fire District 1 took third place in the 2005 Management Excellence Awards presented at the recent annual conference of the Washington Fire Commissioners Association.
The awards are presented to recognize fire service organizations that have demonstrated achievement, innovative programs and outstanding management techniques and successes during the past year.
In other news from the district, two houses set for demolition in the Hilltop area have served as a drill ground and training opportunity for fire crews this month.
Crews practiced using chain saws to cut ventilation holes in homes’ roofs. Inside the homes, firefighters conducted search-and-rescue drills and practiced forcible-entry techniques. The drills, which concluded Oct. 20, did not include live fire training.
Fire District 1 provides fire and emergency medical services for more than 150,000 residents in the neighborhoods of Silver Firs, Eastmont, Mariner, Lake Serene, Picnic Point, Martha Lake, Lake Stickney, Norma Beach, Hilltop, Hilton Lake and Pioneer Trails, as well as the cities of Mountlake Terrace and Brier.
Students craft cards for soldiers in Iraq
Students at Lockwood Elementary School in Bothell recently made more than 600 holiday cards to send to Fort Lewis soldiers stationed in Iraq.
The children were asked to participate in the Operation Troop Support project by Preston Scheid of the Bothell American Legion Post and Bob Duprie of the Senior Housing Assistance Group. The Lockwood students worked hard to complete the project by Friday, the mailing deadline for the cards.
Teacher Kathy Coyne said the students had no trouble getting into the holiday spirit and that community members have praised the quality of the cards.
