Arlington Times, May 17, 2014

Page 1

 THE NEWSPAPER AT THE HEART & SOUL OF OUR COMMUNITY 

SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014  WWW.ARLINGTONTIMES.COM  75¢

Letter carriers collect for food bank BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com

SPORTS: Snohomish knocks Arlington out of playoffs. Page 10

ARLINGTON — The Arlington Community Food Bank collected 8,859.5 pounds of food during its first Letter Carriers’ Food Drive at its new location, but even as volunteers thanked the community for its generosity, they noted that more is always needed. The food bank opened its doors at 19118 63rd. Ave. NE in Arlington at the start of April, and during that month alone, it collected 30,280 pounds of food donations, which food bank volunteer Amy Butchart pointed out is up from their previous year’s monthly average of 23,000 pounds. “We started the year with more food thanks to the Northwest Harvest Safeway Food Drive,” said Butchart, who added that it brought in more than 12,000 pounds of food. “But our biggest need is funding. Donations from the community are what keep our doors open.” As a 100 percent volunteer-run organization, Butchart explained that all donated funds cover either food purchases or the operating costs of the food bank. SEE FOOD, PAGE 2

SPORTS: Arlington girls 1st, boys 3rd at league championship. Page 10

Sen. Bailey reflects on legislative session BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com

INDEX CLASSIFIED ADS 15-18 LEGAL NOTICES

9

OPINION

4

SPORTS

10

WORSHIP

6

Vol. 124, No. 43 Courtesy Photo

Sen. Barbara Bailey

1041916

Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo

Arlington Community Food Bank volunteer Kortney Todd weighs 124 pounds of donated food during the May 10 Letter Carriers’ Food Drive.

ARLINGTON — State Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-10th District, stopped by the offices of The Arlington Times to share with her constituents the accomplishments of the recently completed session. “For the past two years, we haven’t had any increases in state tuition,” said Bailey, who chairs the Higher Education Committee. She added that the prior 26 years had seen tuition increases. “This helps families make decisions about college.” Two education reform bills from this session that Gov. Jay Inslee signed were Senate Bill 5318, which removes the one-year waiting period

for veterans and active-duty military to be eligible for resident tuition, and SB 6523, which expands access to state need grants to vets, active-duty military and the children of undocumented immigrants. “I wanted to make sure we were taking care of our veterans,” said Bailey, whose husband and two sons have all served in the military. “A lot of young people are coming back from serving their country, not knowing what they want to do, and college is a good place for them to get centered. They can convert their vocations into college credits and give themselves better opportunities for the future.” Bailey likewise cited the advan-

tages of the state’s fully balanced four-year budget, and absence of any new taxes in the biennium. “I can’t emphasize enough how much pressure it takes off of the budget planning process,” said Bailey, who’s served in the state legislature for 13 years, and for the past 10 has not been in a deficit going into a session. “We’ve worked within the resources we had available, even when we thought we couldn’t.” As a member of the Health Care and Wellness Committee, Bailey expressed concerns about the “Silver Tsunami” of impending retirees potentially swamping the system. SEE BAILEY, PAGE 2


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.