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Herald THE SUNDAY
An Edition of
Hard to find, count homeless BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com
Sports: Top
player on small team. Page 10.
Teacher:
It’s always a teachable moment at this school. Page 3.
INDEX BUSINESS
14
CLASSIFIED ADS 16-18 LEGALS
9
OPINION
4
SPORTS
10-11
WHAT’S UP?
3
WORSHIP
6
Vol. 125, No. 26
SMOKEY POINT — Maybe you’ve seen her on the street and just not noticed her. She sleeps on the side of Smokey Point Boulevard, near the intersection of 157th Street, covered in a tarp, and surrounded by so many empty bottles and plastic bags that she could be mistaken for a pile of garbage, rather than a human being. She was the only homeless person Tami Krell and Ken Klein encountered during their three-hour shift, as part of the Snohomish County Point In Time Homeless Count Jan. 22. Because she refused to give her name, she couldn’t be officially counted, even though Krell spoke with her and knows she sleeps in that area often. “She didn’t want to participate, because she was sleeping,” said Krell, who was coordinating the volunteers for north county that day. “There are places that people like her can go, but they’re often too intimidated to go there. The sudden structure can be very hard for them.” Klein, a Snohomish County Council member, was on the Arlington City Council back when the city began making a concerted
“We have to get the first two initials of their first and last names, plus their birthdays, or we can’t count them.” Tami Krell, Volunteer coordinator
Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo
Even though she is homeless, the woman found sleeping under this blue tarp was not part of the homeless count recently because she refused to give her name. First in a three-part series effort to deal with homelessness. He guided Krell to several sites in Smokey Point and Arlington where citizens had reported spotting homeless people. However, while they found plenty of evidence of
homeless camps at several sites, there were no other people. “The county’s way of addressing the situation is a different ballgame from the city,” Klein said. “We distribute many of the services that tie into this issue, and determine what funds are available for them, so we need to know what responses are most effective.”
That Krell and Klein only observed one homeless person could be regarded as positive news, except Krell pointed out that many factors make it difficult to count how many really are homeless. “We have to get the first two initials of their first and last names, plus their birthdays, or we can’t count them,” said Krell, who also expressed concerns with conducting the count during one of the coldest months of the year. “If our numbers are lower, are we really SEE HOMELESS, PAGE 2
Arlington students help deliver State of the District BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com
ARLINGTON — In the seven years that she’s delivered the annual State of the District addresses for Arlington’s schools, superintendent Kristine McDuffy has asserted that their students are their primary priority, but on Jan. 29, she made it more official. Haller Middle School seventhgrader Kirahy Meyers, Post Middle School eighth-grader T.J. Roach,
Arlington High School junior Sarai Munoz and senior Connor Ghirardo joined Weston High School senior Jenessa Nissen as the “Panel of Experts” during McDuffy’s address, to answer questions about conditions in the schools. While Munoz and Ghirardo are student members of the Arlington school board, the other students were recommended by their principals. When asked how safe they feel in their schools, Munoz admitted to
initial apprehension after the shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School last fall, but noted that the presence of the school resource officer quelled those fears. “Our school is probably the safest place in Arlington, except for the police station,” Munoz said. Roach cited the number of safety drills his school conducts, while Meyers has never felt intimated by physical violence, or even social pressures. “I’ve never felt put down,” Meyers
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said. “When I’ve asked questions, I’ve never had anyone make me feel stupid for it.” When they discussed their favorite teachers, Ghirardo credited his one of teachers with helping him learn “how not to give up” during tough times, while Munoz praised one of her teachers for encouraging students to ask “deeper questions” from the first day of class forward. As to whether school has prepared SEE SCHOOLS, PAGE 2