Our Towns

Edmonds

Unocal cleanup comment sought

The state Department of Ecology is taking public comments on the cleanup project at the former Unocal tank farm in Edmonds.

This comment period ends Saturday and pertains to the cleanup of the upper-yard portion of the property near Point Edwards, which was completed in March.

The contamination consisted of petroleum and sandblast grit that contained heavy metals. The cleanup consisted of removing the contaminated soil.

Documents on the cleanup can be viewed at the Edmonds Public Library, 650 Main St.

Cleanup of the lower yard is to begin in 2005.

Everett

County museum awarded grant

The Children’s Museum in Snohomish County has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.

The trust awarded the museum a “top-off” grant. When the museum reaches its $4.5 million capital campaign goal, it will receive the grant.

To date, more than $4.3 million of the $4.5 million capital campaign goal has been raised. The campaign’s progress has allowed the museum to begin renovations to its future home at 1502 Wall St. in Everett.

The project’s $4.5 million budget was recently increased to $4.75 million. The revised amount reflects the cost of meeting code requirements and improving floor plans, executive director Nancy Johnson said.

The museum serves 32,000 visitors annually. Its new quarters, which museum staff hope to move into in late 2004 or early 2005, will more than triple the amount of classroom and exhibit space.

For more information on the Children’s Museum in Snohomish County, call 425-258-1006. The museum is at 3013 Colby Ave.

Lake Stevens

Drainage district team to meet

Drainage Improvement District 8’s lake management team will meet at 9 a.m. Friday at the district office, 1911 Vernon Road.

The meeting is open to the public.

Lynnwood

Trolley Days band gets going

The Trolley Days Band begins its fall and winter rehearsals at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Edmonds Church of God, 8224 220th St. SW in Edmonds.

New members are welcome. There are no auditions or dues. The band members are all volunteers, and the band is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to providing the community with live music.

Marysville

Donation to buy walkie-talkies

Wal-Mart has donated $1,500 to the Marysville Fire District. The fire district will use the Safe Neighbor Heroes grant to purchase two-way walkie-talkies for its medics.

The Lynnwood Police Department also received a $1,500 grant from the company. The police department will buy a bulletproof vest for a police dog.

False alarms

may draw fine

Police will begin counting false alarms from homes and businesses today. Those who have more than one false alarm in a six-month period will face a $100 fine. If there are no subsequent false alarms for six months, the counting period starts over.

The department already has seen a substantial drop in false alarms since the city sent out letters notifying owners of the new system, and officers responding to false alarms began leaving information at the locations in August, police office manager Marla Ringen said. There were 92 false alarms in July, 87 in August, and 67 in September.

Owners also must register their alarm systems with police, she said. Alarms can be registered at the Public Safety Center, 1635 Grove St.

Mill Creek

New bus routes serving the city

Two new Community Transit bus routes are serving the Mill Creek area.

Route 102 connects the Silver Firs area, 132nd Street SE, McCollum Park and the Mariner Park and Ride. Service is scheduled so users can transfer to all-day buses serving downtown Seattle and the University District.

Route 114 links Silver Firs to Mill Creek, 164th Street SE, Alderwood Mall, the Lynnwood Park and Ride and Edmonds. Along with that new route, a revised Route 116 provides Mill Creek residents service to Edmonds Community College as well.

The new service, which includes DART paratransit services, began Sunday. For more information, call 425-353-RIDE.

Monroe

City budget gets state thumbs up

The sate Auditor’s Office analyzed the city of Monroe’s $40.5 million budget for 2002 and found no “conditions significant enough to report as findings.”

The state’s audits of city budgets are a regular practice to make sure cities abide by state and federal laws. The state, according to the report, also focuses on “specific areas that have potential for abuse and misuse of public resources.”

Some of the areas evaluated include cash receipts, petty cash, payroll, purchasing, revenues, expenditures and long-term debt.

Mukilteo

Fire department volunteers needed

The Mukilteo Fire Department is looking for volunteer firefighters. Applications are available in the lobby of Fire Station No. 3, 10400 47th Place W.

You must be a city resident, 18 or older, pass a physical ability test and have a valid driver’s license.

Call 425-348-3591 for more information.