Dwayne Lane is going to get his freeway location for a car lot after all.
A new sign facing I-5 at the south end of Smokey Point near Arlington’s border with Marysville announces plans for “Dwayne Lane’s North Sound Autoplex.”
Lane’s plans are to build a used car lot on 5 acres.
“We hope to be open by Memorial Day,” said Sheila Countryman-Bean, marketing and public relations director for Lane.
But Lane is still pursuing his plan for a dealership at the next exit north on I-5 at Island Crossing. He wants to move his new-car lot from downtown Arlington to Island Crossing, but agricultural zoning and flood-plain rules stand in the way.
The Smokey Point lot is “not an alternative site to the Island Crossing location,” Countryman-Bean said. “It’s an additional location.”
In a phone message, Lane said he is planning to carry late-model used cars, especially trucks and sport utility vehicles.
Leads prove scant in fire investigations
* Contractors hire security guards after fliers warn that more arsons are possible at home construction sites in Snohomish County.
By Diana Hefley
Herald Writer
SNOHOMISH – Firefighters handed out fliers to builders and contractors Thursday to warn them about the possible danger of more arsons at home construction sites.
The warning came after three new developments in east Snohomish County were targeted earlier this week by arsonists with a possible link to the Earth Liberation Front, which includes environmental extremists who have claimed responsibility for torching new homes in other parts of the country.
“These are really simple, but we wanted to get them out right away because of what happened this week,” said Ron Simmons, Snohomish County Fire District 4 deputy chief.
The fliers advise contractors to watch for unknown cars and people in the area. Officials also suggest that developers consider hiring security officers to patrol the sites.
Pat Garrison didn’t take any chances Wednesday night at Highland Crest, a development near three new homes where plastic bottles filled with flammable liquid were found. He was on the site until 4 a.m. Thursday, sitting around a campfire and keeping watch on the houses he is building.
“I could lie in bed at night and wonder what I’d find in the morning. I’d rather be sitting there watching them,” he said, adding that a security guard stayed last night.
A neighbor is keeping an eye on the Hidden Greens development after arson attempts were discovered at a development a few miles away, according to builder Vance Vosler. The development is already gated and monitored by a security camera.
“We’re closely watching it out here,” he said. “I just hope they catch whoever did it.”
Federal agents visited Hidden Greens on Wednesday and advised Vosler to inspect crawl spaces and other hiding places for any explosives.
“It’s terrible what happened, and the reality is it’s counterproductive,” the longtime builder said. “Those houses they burned down will get rebuilt, and more trees will be cut down to build them.”
Peter Orser, president of Quadrant Homes, said he has added security at two developments in Snohomish County, Shaunessy in Mill Creek and the Farm at Woods Creek in Monroe.
Guards are driving through both developments 24 hours a day, he said.
“It’s the prudent thing to do. Better safe than sorry,” Orser said.
Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies also increased patrols for a third night.
“We are trying to keep an eye on the areas of new construction,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen said. “You can’t lock up a lot of these homes that are under construction, so people can easily have access to them.”
No one has claimed responsibility for destroying two homes and attempting to burn two others Tuesday in the Lobo Ridge development, but a note found at Cedars Crossing, another upscale development 13 miles away, mentioned ELF, according to investigators.
The note was scribbled inside the business section of the Sept. 4, 2003, issue of The Herald, and found near a circle of bottles of gasoline, cardboard tubes and makeshift fuses.
Officials won’t disclose the exact wording of the note, but a witness said it was threatening and carried an anti-growth message.
The materials found at Cedars Crossing and Lobo Ridge are similar to those found at Storm Lake Heights the following day. No homes there were damaged. Officials will not say if the three incidents are connected.
Interim Snohomish County Fire Marshal Ed Hardesty said investigators don’t have any solid leads.
“We really would be interested from hearing from anyone with information about these,” he said.
Reporter Katherine Schiffner contributed to this report.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
Reward offered
The Washington Insurance Council and Arson Alarm Foundation are offering a $10,000 reward for information that helps lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for arsons that destroyed two homes in the Lobo Ridge development. If you have information, call the Arson Hotline at 800-55-ARSON (800-552-7766).
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