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ACLU takes aim at Everett If the city adopts an anti-panhandling ordinance, it could face a lawsuit, the organization warns in a letter. By Chris Winters Herald Writer
EVERETT — The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington on Wednesday sent a letter to Mayor Ray Stephanson and the Everett City Council,
urging them to not adopt an anti-panhandling ordinance, implying the city could face a lawsuit if it did. “Locally and nationally, the ACLU has successfully challenged ordinances containing provisions similar to, or
even less restrictive than, the anti-solicitation provisions” contained in the proposed ordinance, wrote Jennifer Shaw, the deputy director of the ACLU of Washington. The ordinance is one of three measures the city is considering to combat chronic problems with street nuisances associated with the homeless population. The issue was on the City
Council’s agenda Wednesday night. The council chambers were filled and many people came prepared to address the ordinance. The council did not make a decision by press time, however. The ordinance would prohibit panhandling or otherwise See ACLU, Page A8
The music that unites
Every month in Maltby, a diverse crowd gathers for bluegrass jams
See HORSES, Page A5
com.
Willie Wilson, of Lynnwood, plays in one of the back rooms at the monthly jam.
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VOL. 115, NO. 64 © 2015 THE DAILY HERALD CO.
INSIDE
Business . . . . .A7 Classified . . . . B2
Comics . . . . . .D4 Crossword . . .D4
white collar and blue collar — together on the first Saturday of the month at the Maltby
Clear winner Let’s watch “Top Gun” instead: Despite attempts by the Church of Scientology to divert attention from it, an HBO documentary, “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” has been seen by more than 5.5 million people since its debut two weeks ago (Page D6). Dear Abby. . . .D5 Horoscope . . . B6
And those numbers double when you count the 5.5 million thetans, the ancient alien beings that Scientologists say inhabit human bodies, who also watched the documentary. You choose: Oreo or M&M: Protests that sought a $15-an-hour wage for fastfood workers were staged
Lottery . . . . . .A2 Northwest. . . . B1
Herald Writer
See MUSIC, Page A2
out a gallery with this >> Check story at www.heraldnet.
MALTBY — It’s late in the evening and four musicians are ripping it up on the stage of the old Grange hall. Call it progressive bluegrass, newgrass or jamgrass, their music makes people in the crowd want to dance, clap and holler. Ruben Taylor, of Granite Falls, on mandolin, guitarist Nick Dumas, of Brier, bassist Pete Goodall, of Clearview, and Clayton Hess, of Woodinville, on banjo take turns with intricate, fast solo improvisations. Older folks in the 100-member audience, some who earlier performed traditional three-chord bluegrass tunes and some who are down from Darrington just to listen, sit back to let “the boys”
By Eric Stevick
Community Club is the love of this American art form. “Bluegrass is the most honest music,” said Jan Jones, longtime organizer of the jam sessions. On Saturday, the 21st annual Maltby bluegrass concert will give people another chance to see these bluegrass musicians in action and raise money to benefit the upkeep of the community building. With its roots in Appalachia among people of Irish, Scottish and British ancestry, bluegrass was often gospel-based and tinged with more than a little country twang. In the past century, as
PHOTOS BY MARK MULLIGAN / THE HERALD
Herald Writer
All were safely recovered, however, after the owner — who knows the suspects — checked on them and found an open gate and fresh tire tracks.
ARLINGTON — Eight stolen horses were saved from slaughter Tuesday after they had been hauled to a collection site for a Canadian meat-packing plant. Their owner went to check on them on property where they were being boarded in the 16000 block of Grant Road east of Arlington. When the owner arrived, the gate was open and she found ruts from fresh tire tracks. There were no signs of the horses. The owner knows the suspects — 64, 59 and 56, officials said. No arrests have been made. It will be up to her to decide whether to press charges, Snohomish County Sheriff ’s Office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said. The woman and one of the suspects reportedly had a squabble that somehow involves the horses. The woman reported her horses were missing to the sheriff ’s office Tuesday afternoon. She tracked them to the Florence Packing Co. grounds near Stanwood. It operated as a slaughterhouse until 1992 and now exports horses to Canada. One of the people accused of stealing the horses went through an intermediary to supply the horses to the company, Ireton said. Florence Packing owner Wayne Lindahl said the horses arrived around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Later in the day, the horses’ owner called Lindahl to ask if anyone brought him eight head of horses. She went on to describe them in accurate detail. Lindahl told her he had them and would keep them for her. They made arrangements for their return. “I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I don’t know the whole story.” Deputies are convinced that neither the middleman nor Lindahl were aware the horses had been taken against the woman’s will, Ireton said. The horses reportedly were sold as a group for $2,200, Ireton said. There are no horse slaughter facilities legally operating in the United States. The last were closed in 2007. For now, the federal government is not funding inspectors for such operations. Still, thousands of horses are exported for slaughter each year at plants in Canada and Mexico. The Snohomish County Council two years ago banned killing horses locally as a human food source. The law prohibits slaughtering
Bassist Pete Goodall, guitarist Nick Dumas and banjo player Clayton Hess gather April 4 to perform at the monthly bluegrass jam at the Maltby Community Club. Smaller jams break off as bands form to play in the evening’s show.
By Gale Fiege
Horses stolen, sold for slaughter
Obituaries. . . .A5 Opinion. . . . . .A9
across the country and expanded to include other minimum-wage workers (Page A7). Moved by the demonstrations, McDonald’s, which recently raised its workers’ salaries $1 an hour above the local minimum wage, said it would further sweeten the deal: a free small McFlurry. Short Takes . . .D6 Sports . . . . . . . C1
Couldn’t afford the stamps? A man hoping to deliver letters to Congress on campaign finance corruption landed his small one-person gyrocopter on the White House lawn (Page A6). Alert Secret Service agents grabbed the man and took him with them on their way to the bar.
—Jon Bauer, Herald staff
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