Arlington dentist adds a hitching post

Published 11:01 pm Thursday, June 19, 2008

Giddy up to the dentist, or take the bus.

Just don’t drive a car.

That’s the message Wednesday at Dr. Keith Leonard’s dental office in Arlington. Some of the staff will ride their bikes to work.

Some are arriving on horseback, weather permitting.

Shelli Churchill, who works in the front office, says they will be giving away T-shirts to those who get to their appointments in a creative way.

They call it “Get to the dentist office without your car.”

They will have temporary lodging for their feed-chewing rides Wednesday set up across the street.

“Family members of staff are staying with the horses that day,” Churchill says. “During July, we are not encouraging horses, but more bicycles. Anything but a car.”

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Sasquatch paid a visit to Marysville recently. He’s a Metro bus driver in Seattle who goes by that name.

He loves reptiles.

He recently brought his albino python to visit Scouts and potential Scouts.

Organizer Ginger Olsoy, who lives in Marysville, says the python is named Wheezy.

Her husband, Harold Olsoy, also a Metro driver, met Sasquatch at work.

Olsoy said the boys at the event loved the snake. She knows what boys like, having four sons, ages 6 to 13.

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Members of the Hearing Loss Association of Snohomish County didn’t mind explaining how they enjoy music.

They are gathering Saturday for a Tribute to the ’50s Potluck Party in Everett.

Mildred Koop says members from around the county, including Arlington and Stanwood, will find sounds amplified on the public address system.

“In addition to the PA system, we have neck loops that transmit spoken words through telecoils in the hearing aids people are wearing,” Koop says. “Europe uses a similar ‘looping system’ throughout all government and business locations so anyone walking in the room can turn their telecoil on and hear clearly. Our country is far behind in addressing the needs of the hard of hearing and the deaf.”

The Hearing Loss Association’s members aim to help people with hearing problems maintain life in the mainstream of society, she added.

And they love to line dance.

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Fun Fact: Former teacher Jan Bauer, administrative specialist for the Arlington Planning Department, taught school for 25 years, including 20 in Alaska.

She brought classroom skills with her to Arlington.

“I’m a retired second-grade teacher who had to be organized,” Bauer says, “or I’d have been grading September’s papers in June of the next year. That’s not a pretty picture.”

Bauer needs to be accurate and speedy in her job.

“I’m the one who takes the minutes for all City Council and planning commission meetings, for the park and library boards, and for the hearing examiner.”

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