Mayor Kendall to give State of City speech to city chamber
MARYSVILLE Mayor Dennis Kendall will give the mayors annual State of the City speech before the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce Jan. 25.
According to the chamber, Kendall is expected to speak on several topics, including the upcoming annexation of the citys urban growth area; the possibility of a unified civic campus; downtown and waterfront development plans; and, the restructuring of the city police department.
Kendall will speak at the chambers January Business Before Hours breakfast, 7-9 a.m., in the Canoes Cabaret Room of the Tulalip Casino, 10200 Quil Ceda Blvd. Cost is $20 per person if you pre-register, or $25 at the door the day of the event. To make reservations or for more information, call the chamber at 360-659-7700 or send an e-mail to Billw@marysvilletulalipchamber.com.

Baxter Senior Community
Center offers help with tax filing
MARYSVILLE The Ken Baxter Senior Community Center is offering two programs to help senior citizens with their 2007 taxes.
Trained volunteers from the Snohomish County Assessors Office can help low-income seniors determine if they are eligible for property tax exemptions. They also will help with any needed paperwork.
Further, seniors may have their taxes prepared by volunteers who will be on hand every Tuesday.
Appointments are needed for either service and can be had by calling the center at 360-363-8450. Both programs run Feb. 1 through April 15. The Baxter Center is located at 514 Delta Ave.

Lakewood schools receive small repairs grant
MARYSVILLE The Lakewood School District recently applied for and received a $47,774 state grant to make some smaller scale, but still needed repairs around the district.
Lakewood Executive Director of Operations Fred Owyen identified several projects that will be funded by the grant. The work is to include replacement of controls, monitoring and alarm systems for a waste water pump station; replacement of asphalt paths between Lakewood Elementary and Lakewood Middle School; and, replacement of a similar path near the Science Center.
Also included will be the removal of five trees endangering the portables and threatening nearby asphalt.
The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction offers the Small Repair grants to school districts around the state. In mid-December, officials announced the awarding of a total of $4 million in such grants to 47 school systems. The total amount awarded was increased by $1 million over 2007.
Students must have a safe and healthy place to learn, said Terry Bergeson, state superintendent. Many schools in our state havent been able to secure local funding and dont have the money to address critical repairs that need to be done soon.
The superintendents office received 125 grant requests totaling some $10 million. Grant evaluations led to creation of a prioritized list of the top 47 projects. Grants ranged in amounts from $34,000 to $100,000. Besides Lakewood, no other local districts were chosen for the grants.

Seibert is 2008 Marysville Mayor Pro Tem
MARYSVILLE By a 4-3 margin, City Council last week voted to name Councilman Jeff Seibert as mayor pro tem for the coming year.
Marysville tradition has Council selecting the mayor pro tem at its first regular meeting of every year. Seibert replaces Councilman Jon Nehring in the capacity.
Essentially, Seibert will take over the duties of the mayors office in the absence of Mayor Dennis Kendall. Among many other responsibilities, Marysvilles mayor directs all City Council meetings.
Nehring nominated Seibert for the post, while Councilman Lee Phillips put up Councilman John Soriano. With very little debate or comment, Council nearly split on the issue, with Councilwoman Carmen Rasmussen casting the deciding vote.