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Herald THE SUNDAY
An Edition of
Arlington lights up for holiday BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com
Festival: Trees bring
hospital money. Page 2.
INDEX CLASSIFIED ADS 15-18 LEGAL NOTICES
9
OPINION
4
SPORTS WORSHIP
10-11 8
Vol. 124, No. 70
Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo
Maintenance worker Ray Drake uses a bucket to place lights on Christmas tree. lights we got last year, we’re able to string up more lights without blowing the circuit-breaker.” Recreation Manager Sarah Lopez said Arlington chose the energysaving LED strings after consulting with Leavenworth officials. “The lights are also photosensitive, so they only come on after it gets dark.” “Traditionally, we start decorating the city the day before Thanksgiving,” said Lopez, who
credited city workers with rising at 4 a.m. to place 19 12-foot candles at Smokey Point, and Island Crossing, as well as 13 eight-foot candy canes and 35 three-foot snowflakes at Olympic Avenue. Jay Downing, who’s in charge of the city’s maintenance and operations, reported that approximately 3,500 lights have been strung up citywide, including about 2,000 LEDs on the tree alone, which have
SEE LIGHTS, PAGE 7
Street crew stockpiled after mild winter last year
BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com
ARLINGTON — As Arlington prepares for the possible impact of winter weather on its streets, Jay Downing, who’s in charge of the city’s maintenance and operations, sees three reasons to be optimistic: 1. Last year’s winter was so mild that the city only had to put down 40 tons of sand and salt on its streets, leaving 150 tons of salt, 100 tons of dry sand, and 450
tons of mixed sand and salt left over for this year. 2. Downing checks the weather forecasts multiple times daily, and all indications are that this winter will be equally mild. 3. Thanks to last year’s light winter, even if this year’s turns out to be far harsher than expected, the city still has $25,000 budgeted to keep the streets clear. “All we’ve had to do so far is lay down one ton of sand/ salt mix on Tveit Road,” Downing said. “Thanks
to how warm it’s been so far, most of the snow has melted not long after it’s hit the road, thanks to the air pumping up the temperature of the pavement. Even without the sand and salt we’d saved up from last year, we would have had enough money to get us through a tough winter this year.” The city’s arsenal of streetclearing vehicles includes one 5-yard and two 10-yard dump trucks equipped with snow-removal equipment, and three 1-ton trucks
equipped with plows, placed strategically at the airport, the cemetery and the city’s high-priority streets. “Plus, we can chain up the grader to plow the roads if it really gets bad,” he said. Arlington’s primary snow- and ice-removal routes include: • The busiest streets that connect neighborhoods. • Streets that connect neighborhoods to state highways. • The streets used most frequently by public safety
agencies. • Streets that serve public institutions, such as hospitals and schools. • Streets used by transit agencies. “Once we can get those roads open and clear, then we worry about secondary routes, like hills and residential streets,” he said. In Marysville, crews were out last week, but they were done plowing and sanding in four hours. The next day SEE ICE, PAGE 7
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Sports: Arlington wins big. Page 11.
ARLINGTON — Trimming a Christmas tree can be challenging, but it becomes even more so when you need a bucket truck to string lights on its uppermost branches. That’s why Arlington workers set aside at least three days to decorate the towering tree in Legion Park. “We want to get everything to flow right, so there aren’t any big gaps in the lights,” Ray Drake said, as he and fellow senior maintenance worker Eric Hentila wrapped the multiple strings of lights around the tree. “You kind of have to adjust as you go regardless, you’re not always going to have a limb where you need a limb.” People can enjoy their decorations firsthand Saturday, Dec. 6, when the city has its tree-lighting shortly after the Santa parade on Olympic Avenue at noon. Even with the tricks that Drake and Hentila have learned from nearly two decades of trimming the tree for Hometown Holidays, they have to put some thought into it. “One thing we’ve figured out is to string the white lights in one direction and the red lights in the other,” Drake said. “Plus, with the new LED
saved the city up to 80 percent in energy, compared with the old incandescent bulbs. “Each and every decoration is meticulously placed, while braving all types of inclement weather,” said Downing, who estimated that roughly 200 hours are spent annually on prepping and installing Christmas decorations. Arlington’s Hometown Holidays include not only the parade and tree-lighting, but also visits with Santa at the Depot in Legion Park from 1-3 p.m., as well as free wagon rides from 12:30-4:30 p.m. starting at City Hall, drawn by draft horses Sugar and Spice. Meanwhile, the 26th Annual Merrysville for the Holidays winter celebration will take place Saturday, Dec. 6, at Comeford Park. The free event, starting at 5 p.m., features holiday fun, food, music and a parade of lights starting at 6:30 p.m. Layered System will perform the sounds of the season in the Rotary Pavilion from 7-7:30 p.m. A bonfire with free coffee and chowder will be available. Donations of food and unwrapped gifts will be accepted for the food bank.