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Herald THE SUNDAY
An Edition of
Bus levy costs lower this time BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com
Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo
Ellis: State of the
City address. Page 11.
Mary Kay’s Cindi Pedersen shares ideas with Juice Plus vendor Judy Bell at the showcase.
Women in biz don’t worry about men BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com
Sports: Girl beat Oak Harbor easily. Page 13.
INDEX BUSINESS
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CLASSIFIED ADS 19-21 OPINION SPORTS WORSHIP
4-5 12-13 14
Vol. 125, No. 24
SMOKEY POINT — There was a time not long ago when women in business used to worry about their male counterparts. But not anymore. “There’s enough pie for everybody, so I don’t worry about competing with men, or with anyone other than my own personal best,” Kim Thompson said. Thompson and other women were part of the second annual WISE Women Business Showcase Jan. 14. Being a woman is harder than being a man in business, she said. “I’ve had to balance my approach,” she said. “My kids were younger when I started out, so I had to grow my business more slowly, planting seeds. Fortunately, I have a supportive husband, so while he was the mainstay breadwinner before, now it’s me.” Thompson and other businesswomen appreciated being able to browse through more than 40 business booths, twice as many as the Medallion Hotel hosted last year, and network with their peers. They also cited the skills and knowledge they’ve picked up from attending meetings of
ARLINGTON — When the Arlington School District ran its $3 million levy proposal in November, to replace 26 of its 53 buses, the measure received 48 percent approval, just shy of the simple majority needed to pass. With the district running the levy again Feb. 10, the question becomes: What’s changed between now and then, that makes the district think the vote will turn out differently this time? For one thing, the cost has gone down. Andrea Conley, public information coordinator for the district, noted that November’s proposal asked for 49 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, whereas the measure this time lowers that to 43 cents in the first year and 41 cents in the second year. For a house valued at $184,300, which is the median home value in Arlington, a homeowner would pay approximately $6.60 per month the first
year and $6.30 per month the second year. “That’s the cost of a cup of coffee,” Conley said. Another change that Conley touted is a more active citizens committee, which won’t be competing with other measures, such as fire district propositions, as they seek to hammer home the district’s degree of need. “About a decade ago, the district went through a great deal of growth, so we had to send bonds out to the community,” Conley said. “We didn’t want to hit them up for a transportation levy at the same time, so we just kind of limped along, so that we wouldn’t take any money out of the classrooms.” Conley blamed the economic downturn and other expenses, such as a maintenance and operations levy, with further delaying the replacement of these buses, 49 percent of which are older than 12 years, and the SEE BUS, PAGE 3
Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo
Kim Thompson talks shop with Lake Stevens businesswoman Claire Olsen. WISE, which stands for “Women Inspiring Successful Entrepreneurs.” Thompson has been a loan originator in Snohomish County for 10 years, most recently for PrimeLending in Marysville. She’s been a member of WISE since its inception two years ago. She touted women as “a formidable force” in business, but conceded that they often have to pace themselves in how they grow their businesses because of their other responsibilities. SEE WOMEN, PAGE 2
Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo
Arlington school bus driver Dana McCollum stands by one of the newest buses, left, and the oldest, from 1987.
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