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October 2, 2019 - October 8, 2019 NORTH COUNTY OUTLOOK
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Donation provides weight cages for AHS By Christopher Andersson christopher@northcountyoutlook.com Arlington High School students will be able to weight train better now that all weight cages for the school have been replaced thanks to a donation from the Stillaguamish and Tulalip tribes. Weight cages are weight training equipment that allow students to safely lift free weights. The school had 14 weight cages that have been replaced slowly over the last four years thanks to $18,000 from the Stillaguamish Tribe and $5,000 from the Tulalip Tribes. The final donation of $8,000 was sent this year from the Stillaguamish Tribe. A little more than four years ago Judd Hunter, who runs the Arlington High School P.E. Department, realized that the weight cages were bulky and old and would likely need to be replaced. “The old weight cages really took up a lot of space in our weight room,” said Hunter. “The new cages open up a lot more space and the students really like the versatility of the new equipment. We’re very thankful for the donations.” “They were pretty large and they were limited in what they could do,” said Gary Sabol, director of communications for the Arlington School District. The weight training room for the school has limited space so the larger weight cages from previous
years also took up a lot of the room. “It was pretty tight in there,” said Sabol. “These donations allowed us to get cages that were more versatile and could do a lot more.” The initiative was started by Arlington High School teacher Kimberly Meno who worked with a grant writer to fill out funding requests that she sent to local tribes for the project. “The local tribes put an emphasis on education and school facilities through generous funding for projects and materials for students and staff,” said Meno. “We appreciate their continued support of our students and staff.” After the first two years of grants she began to write the proposals herself, said Sabol. “We started replacing the cages four years ago,” said Sabol. “It’s a long process but we were able to replace the final four this year.” The reaction to the weight cages has been good, said Sabol. “The students have really been happy,” he said. The staff have also had positive reaction to having more room in the weight training room, which is used by more than the sports teams for the school, said Sabol. “There are five different classes that use this room as well, so it’s not just for the sports teams,” he said. The local tribes are very supportive of local schools and Sabol said that their
Arlington receives clean audits for 2018 The city of Arlington received notification from the Washington State Auditor’s Office on Sept. 16 that the city has received clean financial and accountability audits for 2018. Stated Mayor Tolbert, “We are pleased to hear that for the fourth year in a row the SAO issued a clean audit after reviewing the city’s finances, financial reporting, and accountability.” The SAO reviewed the city’s financial condition and processes, as well as areas representing the highest risk of fraud, loss, abuse, or noncompliance. The auditors paid special attention to employee wages, leave balances and accruals; the city’s payroll and cash receipting system conversion; the use of re-
stricted building and land use permit fees; water and sewer billings, collections, and adjustments; travel expenditures; and the city’s general financial condition and fiscal sustainability. The audit reports highlighted the hard work by city staff to ensure compliance with all state financial reporting requirements and safeguarding of public resources from fraud, loss, or abuse. The report states in part, “In those selected areas, city operations complied with applicable state laws, regulations, and its own policies, and provided adequate controls over the safeguarding of public resources.” The audit reports are available by visiting the city’s website at www.arlingtonwa.gov.
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The Arlington High School weight training room which recently finished replaced their weight cages thanks to local donations. funding is appreciated by local students and teachers. “We’re very thankful
for the donation from the tribes,” he said. “The Stillaguamish Tribe has been
very supportive of various projects of ours throughout the years. Certainly in this
area the $18,000 is very appreciated, and the Tulalip Tribes helped a lot as well.”