The student council at Sunnycrest Elementary School in Lake Stevens recently collected more than 75 new stuffed animals to donate to Lake Stevens Fire District 8.
Student council member Tara Mandarino came up with the idea for the project. The council has 30 members in third, fourth and fifth grades.
The fire district uses the stuffed animals to comfort children during stressful situations such as a medical emergency or car accident.
While the fire district doesn’t currently need more toy donations, stuffed animals not used in emergencies will be available to families in need during the holidays.
Habitat Stewards are trained and ready
A new group of Habitat Stewards recently completed training to create, preserve and restore wildlife habitat on Camano Island.
The training included 24 hours of study on topics including the identification of native plants and creation of backyard wildlife sanctuaries.
Volunteer Habitat Stewards will now help others create and restore wildlife habitat in back yards, neighborhoods, schoolyards, demonstration gardens and parks. The training is part of Friends of Camano Island Parks’ backyard wildlife habitat project.
New volunteers include Lael Bradshaw, Shawn Brown, Bobbie Schmidt, Terry Skorheim, Mary Bellue, Sue Hoekstra, Sandy Koffman, Gail Nilsson, Suzanne Livingston, John Andrews, Kevin Brown, Dan Koffman, Jerry Nielsen, Rand Nilsson and Pete Domoto.
Kamiak student to vie for scholarship
Stephen Kirkpatrick, a sophomore at Kamiak High School in Mukilteo, has earned a chance to compete for a $20,000 college scholarship in the AAA Travel High School Challenge, a nationwide competition on travel and geography knowledge.
In May, Kirkpatrick will travel to Orlando, Fla., and represent Washington in the national finals, where he will compete with other state winners from across the country.
Kirkpatrick scored the highest on a 40-question written exam taken by five state finalists. The state exams challenged students’ knowledge of U.S. and world geography, with an emphasis on travel and tourist destinations. Sample questions are available online at www.aaa.com/ travelchallenge.
EdCC’s ArtsNow wins $1,000 grant
Edmonds Community College’s ArtsNow was one of 10 cultural organizations nationwide, and the only organization in the Pacific Northwest, to receive a grant from the New York-based Sam and Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts.
ArtsNow will use the $1,000 Golden award to spread the word about its workshops, exhibits and special arts events and build its program for visual artists.
ArtsNow is enrolling for spring classes. For more information, call 425-640-1243, e-mail artsnow@edcc.edu or go to www.edcc.edu/artsnow.
EdCC student wins $1,000 scholarship
Soroptimist International of Sno-King, an Edmonds-based volunteer service organization for professional women, plans to present a $1,000 Women’s Opportunity Award to Sharonda Myles to help her complete a pharmacy technician certificate at Edmonds Community College.
Myles is a single mother of a 10-year-old daughter and is continuing her education. Supported by friends and family, she works two jobs while attending college. The award will be presented at noon April 19 at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Lynnwood.
Since 1972, the Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity Awards Program has aided women who, as heads of their households, must enter the workforce or upgrade their employment status. Soroptimist International of Sno-King selected Myles because of her commitment to success.
For more information about how Soroptimist makes a difference for women, e-mail recruitment chair Kathleen Anderson at kathleenanderson@marykay.com.
Banquet honors work of volunteer group
The recent Community Aid Coalition volunteer banquet at the Monroe Corrections Complex recognized the work of the coalition and its members’ handcrafted donations to nonprofit organizations in Snohomish County, as well as the organizations’ willingness of to accept the work done by the coalition.
The coalition is a group of correctional facility residents who make quilts, knitted items, crafted wood items and jewelry, which are then sold to raise funds. Organizations that benefit from the work include foster care programs, Boys &Girls clubs and food banks.
Numerous local restaurants donated food for the event.
Donations of wood, yarn and art supplies for the coalition may be made by calling Nancy Underwood Long at 425-268-7145.
Lynnwood student honored for choices
Lynnwood police officer Alan Correa recently honored Meadowdale Elementary School fifth-grader Cierra Wilson, who has been chosen as the Lynnwood Police Department’s DARE Decision-maker of the Month.
Wilson was selected from more than 300 DARE students in Lynnwood schools to be honored for her choices.
“The most important thing to me is to teach these kids to respect themselves and others,” Correa said. “So we spend a lot of time talking about treating others the way you want to be treated.”
Marysville quilter in national contest
Marysville quilter Kathy McNeil is a semifinalist for the 23rd annual American Quilters society show and contest April 25 in Paducah, Ky. McNeil has been chosen to join 412 others in the annual contest.
Snohomish freshmen serve in Legislature
Four Snohomish High School freshmen recently served as pages in Olympia.
Leila Frishak and Madison McAuliffe were pages in the state Senate, where the girls were sponsored by Madison’s grandmother, Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell.
Eleanor First and McKenzie Smith were pages in the state House of Representatives, where they were sponsored by Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip.
Leila, the daughter of Heidi and Ibrahim Frishak, is a freshman class representative to the associated student body at Snohomish High School. Leila said that during her week in Olympia, she enjoyed learning about the legislative process. She aspires to practice law someday.
Madison, the daughter of Mike and Therese McAuliffe, said she would like to have a job working for the government someday. She said the most valuable aspect of her time as a page was “learning how to write bills and seeing how the Senate operates.”
Eleanor is the daughter of Cynthia First and John First of Snohomish. McKenzie is the daughter of Marinda Leber of Snohomish. McKenzie and Eleanor took care of many different duties during in their terms as House pages.
Police earn honor for housing program
The Everett Police Department recently received the Top 25 Webber Seavey Award from the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The award is given annually to agencies and departments that seek to improve the quality of life in their communities.
The Everett department’s contest entry was the development and implementation of its Crime Free Rental Housing Program. Steve Paxton and Toan Nguyen were recognized for their work establishing the crime notification program.
Stillaguamish Tribe donates to nonprofits
The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, as required by state gambling laws, has donated $230,290 to dozens of nonprofit groups in the region. The tribe contributed to the following organizations:
Stillaguamish Senior Center, $10,000; Snohomish Community Food Bank, $5,000; Secret Harbor, $7,500; Senior Services of Snohomish County, $10,000; SPARC (children with disabilities), $7,500; Catholic Community Services, $10,000; Kids First, $7,500; Families and Friends of Missing Persons and Violent Crime Victims, $10,000; Clothes for Kids, $10,000; Snohomish Seniors, $8,000; Sunshine Physically Challenged Foundation, $5,000.
Loyal Heights Community Club, $11,060; EquiFriends, $5,000; South County Senior Center, $7,000; Pacific Northwest Research Institute, $10,000; Mount Baker Council Boy Scouts of America, $5,230; Kent Prairie Elementary School, $2,000; Michael J. Fox Foundation, $500; Operation Homefront, $1,000; Penn Cove Water Festival, $1,000.
Pioneer Museum, $15,000; Sarvey Wildlife, $25,000; Boys &Girls Club of Snohomish County, $10,000; Arts Alive Arlington, $20,000; Arlington Dollars for Scholars, $10,000 for scholarships; Sno-Isle Library Foundation, $2,000 for Arlington library branch; Children’s Hospital, $7,500; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, $7,500.
Residents complete emergency training
A group of residents in Snohomish County Fire District 1 recently graduated from Community Emergency Response Team training.
They are: Gale Burton, Suzanne Campbell, Nadine Carter, Bruce Caruthers, Matt Conner, John DeWolfe, Julie Frazier, Angela Kernan, Kim Kerr, Jenie McGrew, Megan McGrew, Clyde Phillips, Austin Pospisil, Michilline Shomaker, Pat Sickler, Rose Skeels, Don Snow, Ilene Stubbs, Leinani Tavares and Bob Weslander.
The eight-session course taught participants how to help out during a major disaster. Class topics included basic disaster first aid, search-and-rescue operations, extinguishing small fires and the psychological effect of disasters.
Fire District 1’s next CERT class will be offered in the fall. For more information or to register for the class, contact Kristen Thorstenson at 425-551-1250 or kthorstenson@firedistrict1.org.
YMCA recognizes standout volunteers
YMCA of Snohomish County honored its outstanding policy and program volunteers at a recognition dinner March 13 in Everett.
The following individuals were recognized as the 2006 YMCA of Snohomish County Volunteers of the Year.
Big Brothers Big Sisters: John Villesvik and Cindy Gallanger.
Everett YMCA: Eva Standerfer and Kevin Weed.
Marysville YMCA: Peggy Ellis and Jim Lonneker.
Monroe YMCA: Steve Pratt and Nancy Cavassa.
Mukilteo YMCA: Janice Fahning and Helen Kendall.
Southeast: Sean Peters and Robert Wells.
YMCA Trustees: Don Whitfield.
More than 2,600 volunteers involved with the YMCA provide assistance with policies, programs and activities. Policy volunteers lead various boards and committees, while program volunteers work with activities such as youth sports, teen programs, mentoring activities, child care and special events.
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