In a joint service with American Legion Arthur Kincaid Post 58, Boy Scout Troop 53 retired about 50 unusable U.S. flags during a ceremony May 6 at Lake Tye. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Monroe Fire Department, which provided fire-resistant coats and gloves for the Scouts to use during the ceremony.

The proper way to retire a U.S. flag is to burn the flag in a respectful manner. As each flag was prepared, the Scouts kept it from touching the ground, and then did a salute as the final act of respect before laying the flag on a fire.

The public is invited to bring old and tattered U.S. flags to a retired-flag mailbox inside the Monroe Parks and Recreation Office at 769 Village Way.

VFW honors Eagle ScoutVeterans of Foreign Wars Post 1040 presented the VFW Eagle Scout award to Nicholas Birkby of Boy Scout Troop 312 during a National Eagle Scout Court of Honor held May 18 at the Edmonds United Methodist Church. Nick’s Eagle project consisted of assembling 100 first aid kits and donating them to food bank recipients.

Nick was the post’s first recipient of its Scouting Spirit Award in 2007 when he was a member of Cub Scout Pack 331.

Outgoing foundation member honored for bookmobile workChris Loos, who led a campaign to upgrade Sno-Isle Libraries’ bookmobile service, was recently honored by the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation. Loos is retiring from the foundation’s board of directors after two three-year terms. Her latest role as major gifts chair culminated in the capital campaign that raised more than $285,000 to purchase two new vehicles for the Library on Wheels program.

“When I began the campaign, all I had to do was mention bookmobiles and everyone’s eyes lit up or misted over at thoughts from their childhood about bookmobiles,” Loos said. “I had no trouble getting donors wanting to support this cause.”

Major donors funding the two bookmobiles include the Hazel Miller Foundation, the Nysether Family Foundation, the estate of Carol S. Umbreit, Doreen and Ralph Boy, Tulalip Tribes Charitable Funds and Washington Energy Services. Watch a video about the campaign and see the list of more than 100 additional donors at www.sno-isle.org/foundation.

Beds for kids thanks to $5,000 grantSt. Vincent de Paul, North Sound Council, recently announced the donation of $5,000 from the Seattle-based Norman Archibald Charitable Foundation. These funds will go to the purchase beds for children who need them.

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