Memories of 2003

Movement was key in a year that saw Everett and Snohomish County on the world, national and statewide stage.

The promise of jobs from a new Boeing plane soared into town, a long-missed aircraft carrier sailed into port, a new commuter train left the station and striking teachers walked the line.

Everett scored an arena and a new hockey team, and the Tulalip Tribes rolled the dice on a new casino.

The year’s weather rewrote records in the "driest" and "wettest" categories, a tanker truck exploded on I-5 and King County angered southeast Snohomish County residents with plans for a new sewage treatment that some think stinks.

From the county lines to a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet, here’s a look at the headlines we’ll most remember from 2003:

After a tough year of news about layoffs and a controversial tanker deal with the U.S. Air Force that resulted in CEO Phil Condit’s resignation, Boeing announced on Dec. 16 that its newest commercial plane, the 7E7 Dreamliner, would be assembled in Everett.

The decision keeps as many as 1,200 Boeing jobs in the area, but Snohomish County officials see it as a building block for the future — for Boeing projects to come, and for luring other businesses.

Washington state legislators saw the 7E7 as so crucial that they gave Boeing a $3.2 billion tax incentive package.

But the year wasn’t all smiles for Boeing.

On top of 7,300 layoffs in the state this year, an agreement to build 100 Boeing 767 tankers to be bought or leased by the Air Force was called into question and put on hold this month while the Pentagon reviews the deal.

The investigation came after two Boeing executives were fired for violating company policies on hiring and for trying to cover up the misconduct. Condit later resigned because of the controversy.

Deployed for its aircraft to help patrol the skies near Afghanistan, the USS Abraham Lincoln and its crew of 2,661 soon were in the thick of the war in Iraq, and on the Navy’s longest deployment since the 1960s, spending 290 days at sea.

The Lincoln returned on the 291st day, May 6, with 20,000 watching live and national news coverage documenting the homecoming to Everett. A week earlier, President Bush used the Lincoln’s deck to announce that major combat in the Iraq war was over.

The town of Silvana was stunned by the news that Army Spc. Justin Hebert, was killed in Iraq. The 19-year-old Arlington High School graduate was the first soldier from the state to be killed in combat in Iraq.

A month before the Lincoln’s arrival, dozens of Snohomish County Iraqis danced, cheered and waved U.S. and Iraqi flags on Colby Avenue after Baghdad fell to U.S. troops on April 9. About two dozen Iraqis returned to Colby Dec. 14 when Saddam Hussein was captured.

There are more than 1,000 Iraqis in Snohomish County, mostly refugees who were persecuted during Hussein’s reign.

In mid-November, more than 4,000 Washington National Guard soldiers were called to active duty to help in Iraq. It was the state’s largest National Guard mobilization since World War II.

The $71.5 million Everett Events Center at Hewitt and Oakes Avenues opened its doors this fall. About 4,000 people swamped the center’s open house on Sept. 27 and a sell-out crowd of about 8,300 attended the first Everett Silvertips game Oct. 4

Center officials say the multi-use events center is doing well. The grand ballroom is booked almost every Saturday night until summer and the Silvertips are averaging 5,000 fans at each game. Downtown restaurants and bars have seen big jumps in business when the arena hosts an event.

A 49-day teachers’ strike — the longest in state history — kept Marysville School District students out of the classroom until Oct. 22.

The fallout led to three incumbent school board members being swept out of office in November, a recall election against the other two and declining enrollment, which contributed to a $2 million budget shortfall. To get their 180 days of school, students won’t finish classes until July 16.

Lake Stevens teachers also hit the picket lines on Sept. 8, but agreed on a contract with the school district after two weeks. It was the district’s second teachers strike in five years.

Residents of the Tulalip Indian Reservation celebrated the opening of the new Tulalip Casino at Quil Ceda Village and a $6.5 million health clinic on Tulalip Bay. And the tribes hosted thousands of visitors from throughout the region during its annual Canoe Journey.

The $78 million, 227-square-foot casino is the focal point of the tribe’s business plans in and around the Quil Ceda Village shopping and business Park, generating money for many tribal programs.

After years of reviews and deliberations, King County Executive Ron Sims announced in December that a site on Highway 9, just about a mile north of the King-Snohomish County line, will house the new $1.35 billion Brightwater sewage treatment plant.

Sims’ announcement and King County’s handling of various environmental reviews angered residents near the proposed site, as well as in Edmonds, which was considered to be an alternate site for more than a year.

Snohomish County and various advocacy groups have announced that they plan to appeal King County’s final environmental impact statement that outlines the affect the new plant will have on the area.

Harold McCord Jr. was fatally shot during a police raid at the Monroe apartment where he was hiding on June 24.

McCord, 36, who faced life in prison under the state’s three-strikes law, escaped from the Pierce County Courthouse the day before by flashing a fake gun made of cardboard, toilet paper and pens.

During the raid Monroe Police Sgt. Eduardo Jany’s arm and hand were accidentally hit by gunfire from a rifle carried by another Monroe officer. Jany recovered from his injuries and returned to work in August.

Prosecutors have not determined yet whether McCord’s death was a lawful but unfortunate act, or a crime. McCord’s family filed a $40 million claim against the city of Monroe and Snohomish County, saying McCord wanted to surrender but wasn’t given the chance.

After one of the driest, warmest summers in the region in almost a century, the rain caught up with Snohomish County in October.

The state record-keepers declared June, July and August of this year as having the lowest rainfall numbers since 1895 — as much as 85 percent below normal.

Snohomish County was then hit with early fall floods after record rainfall drenched the Puget Sound area, causing more than $10 million in damage over the course of one week. It was the region’s most serious flooding on record for October, according to the National Weather Service.

Sound Transit delivered on its promise to have commuter rail service between Everett and Seattle start by 2003’s end.

The regular Sounder service started Dec. 22 with one roundtrip per day on weekdays, leaving Everett Station at 6:55 a.m. and returning from Seattle at 5:15 p.m. By 2007, the Sounder train will add second, third and fourth roundtrip routes.

The service is more than three years late and $200 million over budget, mainly because negotiations with Burlington Northern Santa Fe were more difficult than expected.

Gary M. Brammer, 33, of Puyallup allegedly fell asleep July 12 and crashed a tanker truck on northbound I-5 into an overpass guardrail at 44th Avenue W., igniting 11,300 gallons of gasoline.

The accident, which sent up plumes of dark smoke visible for miles, closed I-5 for about 18 hours and caused more than $1 million in damage, making it the most expensive highway accident in state history. Brammer was charged this month with reckless driving.