Bridge Work to Start under Kiewit Pacific

Kiewit Pacific of Vancouver, Wash., will soon start the long-awaited work to build a new, improved and larger Skagit River Bridge between Mount Vernon and Burlington.

The $23 million project must get started early next month because of the five-month “fish window” allowed before the salmon runs begin. Work on the bridge and its piers would disrupt the fish if continued past the November deadline.

Kiewit was the lowest bidder for the project, although the next-lowest bidder, F.E. Ward, also of Vancouver, protested that Kiewit had not met federal guidelines for hiring “disadvantaged subcontractors” to do the work. On federally funded transportation projects, a bidder must assure that 14 percent of the work go to minorities or women.

Ironically, an earlier low bid by Ward was rejected by the City of Mount Vernon because, the city said, it didn’t meet the 14-percent criterion. The city felt Kiewit’s proposal fulfilled this requirement.

Work on the 65-year-old bridge was originally planned to begin in June, but the problems with the bids and the fact they originally came in higher than estimates delayed plans.

Mount Vernon and Burlington are partners in the project, although Mount Vernon has taken the lead. Plans call for replacement of the current two-lane span and addition of another two-lane span next to it, doubling the traffic flow. In addition, bicycle and pedestrian paths will go into the construction and new access routes will be built on both sides of the river.

Hoag and Stewart roads, which now intersect Riverside Drive on the Mount Vernon side, will be connected under the main arterial. Another plan includes punching through Market Place to permit traffic to parallel Riverside Drive from Stewart to College Way.

City engineers had estimated the project at $21.5 million. In the first round of bidding, Kiewit had come in 16 percent over and Ward 9 percent. By state law, the city is required to take the lowest bid; however, neither met the federal requirement for hiring minorities, necessitating the second bid. The low bid was for $23 million, which the city accepted.

 

Business Leaders Given Awards at Annual Fête

The county’s seven chambers of commerce presented their 2001 Business Person of the Year Awards last month during a ceremony hosted by the Skagit Valley College Business Resource Center.

In the 90-minute event at the downtown Mount Vernon center, about 50 people applauded as the winners were announced by a representative from each of the chambers. The winners, in order of presentation, were:

Mount Vernon: Howard and Bonnie Anderson, owners of Colonial Manor and Anderson Electric. Chamber president John Ruhlman of Prime West cited Bonnie’s tireless efforts to help the business community, serving also on the downtown Mount Vernon merchants’ association, and Howard’s strong support as reasons they were chosen. Other nominees this year included: Martin Boer, Meyer Sign; Chuck Nerger, Best Western CottonTree Inn; Rodney and Stan Olson, Valley Farm and Pet Center; Donna Sandvig, Salon Per Dona; Charlie Sullivan, Skagit River Brewing Co.; and Todd Wood, Skagit Valley Food Co-op.

Burlington: Don Gordon Sr., chair of Gordon Nissan Suzuki. Andrea Martin of Bank of America pointed out Gordon’s long-time community and business involvement and especially his work with the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in securing a grant from Suzuki to underwrite this year’s Tulip Transit as reasons for his selection. “He was the one person we felt deserved it overall,” she said, adding that no other nominees were put forward.

Anacortes: Julianne and Andrew Ferguson, owners of Bella Isola Ristorante. Astrid Aamot, interim director of the Business Resource Center, made the presentation. Julianne said they appreciated the honor, adding that sometimes it was difficult being involved in the business community, running a popular restaurant and rearing four children. Others nominated included: Jean Fantini, Donatello Flowers and Gifts; John and Jenny Janda of Janda Construction/Janda’s Backcountry Inn; Sally Knutson and Mary Ann Mach, The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon; Jodi Mettler, World Travel; Dan and Sherrie Meyer, Anacortes Yacht Charters; Forrest Miller, Anacortes Realty; and Chris and Kathy Sherman, Scott Milo at The Framemaker.

La Conner: Darrell Skiles, relatively new owner of Pioneer Market on Morris Street, who was represented by his son, Sean Skiles. Chamber president Chuck Kiser of Cascade Candy Co. made the presentation, stating that while La Conner presented two awards in 2000, it had only one nominee to choose from this year, and a good one at that.

Concrete: Cindy Ovenell and Kris Hansen, who with their families operate Ovenell’s Heritage Inn B&B. The award was presented by Vicki Johnson of the chamber. Ovenell pointed out that Cindy and Kris and three other sisters are instrumental in making the old farmstead bed and breakfast a success since it first open a few years ago. Others nominated included Don Ross Jr. of Concrete State Bank and Sharon Feller of Concrete Dental.

North Cascades: Gary and Sallie Stewart, owners with their 10 children of Marblemount Mercantile and the nearby Marblemount (“Good Food”) Drive-in. Chamber president Dave Pickenpaugh of Pickenpaugh and Associates General Contractors, made the presentation.

Sedro-Woolley: Jerry, Pam and Ryan Ross, owners of ComputerSmart. Chamber president Sandi Sims made the presentation. Other nominees included Kacy and June Johnson of Sedro-Woolley Floral and Gifts, Paul Kelley of Cascade Fabrics and John Norton, president of Snelson Companies, Inc.

Also attending were Julie McFarlane of the Seattle office of the U.S. Small Business Administration, who addressed the group; Skagit Valley College President Lydia Ledesma-Reese; SVC’s business and development coordinator Marijo Olson; WorkSafe Institute of Washington health and safety trainer Dave Ellsworth; mayors Sharon Dillon of Sedro-Woolley and Skye Richendrfer of Mount Vernon; County Commissioner Don Munks; and others.

 

Anacortes Beautification Project Inaugurated

A lineup of county and city elected officials officially opened a reconditioned section of Commercial Avenue in downtown Anacortes last month, replete with town crier, mayoral speech and bright sunshine.

With music by the Lake Erie Bluegrass Band and An-O-Cords warming up a growing crowd of passersby and well-wishers, the section on the west side of the avenue between Seventh and Eighth streets was the first of a major beautification plan to be inaugurated.

Mayor Dean Maxwell pointed out that the sidewalk restoration project was accomplished in 30 days with support from the county, represented by Commissioner Don Munks. City councilpersons Terry Christiansen and Bill Carlisle also were on hand.

Maxwell said downtown has been a major retail area for the 100-year history of the city and will soon find even more people in the area as the new three-screen theater at Fifth Street and O Avenue opens up this month.

The three-hour event May 11 was sponsored by Anacortes Art Framer and Parakeet Tree, located at the site of the ribbon cutting, Ann-Cross Stitch, Eden’s Hats and More, Donatello’s and The Wardrobe.

 

RHC Opens Relocated Eastside Club

Owner Denise Houtsma was all smiles and handshakes last month as she stood behind the giant sheetcake announcing the grand opening of Riverside Health Club’s new Eastside branch in the Sunset Tower Plaza in Sedro-Woolley.

“I told the members that when we reached 500, we would have a new, larger club and this is it,” Houtsma says. “It’s about 6,500 square feet, and we hope soon to add sections for housekeeping and personal training.”

The club, open a little more than one year, was previously located in smaller quarters near Seven Sisters. The new location is in the newly constructed, 22,000-square-foot plaza building owned by John Falavolito of Consolidated Cellular, which is across the parking lot.

The health-club facility occupies two floors, 1,300 square feet upstairs and about 3,000 downstairs. A 750-square-foot room awaits assignment downstairs.

“We came from a warehouse to this,” says Houtsma, who purchased Riverside Health Club about one year ago. “This place has an aerobics room, locker rooms and showers. I wanted people to say it is a classy joint.”

The main club is located on Riverside Drive in Mount Vernon and was started 30 years ago as Athens Health Spa by Louise Eusterman, who with her husband, George, has retired.

Riverside celebrated its anniversary with a party, Thursday, May 24. Call 424-4200 for more information.

 

Parts Store for RVs, Mobiles Opens in MV

Fred and Valerie Hunt have opened Mobile Home Parts Northwest to service mobile and manufactured homes with replacement parts and accessories.

The new business is a subsidiary of Axle Solutions, which the Hunts have operated in the region for 20 years. Axle Solutions provides repairs and set-up supplies, parts and material for the mobile-home industry.

Mobile Home Parts Northwest is located at 3610 Cedardale Road, south Mount Vernon. Call 419-0323.

 

Play It Again Sports Moves ‘Paces away’

Play It Again Sports has moved again, only this time the venerable Burlington business has gone only “paces away” from its previous location near Target in the Cross Court Mall.

Owned by Marlene and Wayne Wegner, Play It Again Sports started in the Kmart mall area and moved to Cross Court about four years ago. The latest move is only seven doors down, between Target and OfficeMax, and doubles the size from 2,500 square feet to 5,000 square feet.

The additional space allowed the company to increase its retail offerings. It has added a full line of treadmills from Horizon, Diamondback and Weslo and more exercise bikes, elliptical trainers and weight-room apparatus. It has also expanded its back room to include a full-service downhill-ski and snowboard shop, as well as golf needs.

Play It Again Sports was the 41st franchise to open nationwide. Today, the company exceeds 600 stores.

The Wegners have been Burlington Small Business Persons of the Year and Volunteers of the Year. They are also highly regarded for their outstanding customer service, which they say “is perhaps our greatest honor to date.”

For more information, call 757-7529.

 

The Dish Takes up New Home in Anacortes

The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon, a housewares and home décor store, has changed locations in Anacortes.

The business, located since its beginning eight years ago next to Gere-a-Deli, has moved up Commercial Avenue from 5th Street to 22nd Street, into the former Country Goose gift store.

The move allows owners Sally Knutson and her sister Marianne Mach to add more merchandise to their retail store. Not only will it sell items for inside the home, it will now offer outdoor furniture, garden accessories and barbecues for sale.

For more information, call 293-1362, visit the Web page at www.thedishranaway.com, or stop by the store at 2216 Commercial Ave.

 

Skagitonians Find Larger Location Next Door

Bob Rose, executive director for Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland (SPF), was quick to respond when a guest to his recent open house asked why he’d moved.

“Let me show you,” he said, ushering the guest outside to peer into the window next door to his office in downtown Mount Vernon. “You can see the difference.” Through the glass one could see the location in the Old Granary behind Scott’s Bookstore was tiny compared to the new one, next to Mrs. G’s Hairstyling, at 110 N. First St., Suite B.

The open house included refreshments from Palmer’s of Mount Vernon and artwork by Northwest artists.

Skagitonians is a nonprofit organization that strives to work with the farming community, businesses and civic leaders in preserving and maintaining the county’s strong agricultural heritage. Most recently, it purchased a parcel of farmland on Memorial Highway to use for research and keep in perpetuity as agricultural land.

For more information about SPF, call 336-3974 or visit the Web site at www.skagitonians.org.

 

Express Personnel Opens New Office

Express Personnel Services, a staffing franchise in Mount Vernon, has moved its offices from the old Carnation Building to 525 E. College Way near Value Village.

Owned by Mark and Sandy Hagen, the award-winning placement service was to hold its open house both June 14 and 15.

For more information, call 336-1980 or visit the Web site at www.expresspersonnel.com. The Hagens also own an EPS franchise in Bellingham.

 

Energy Needs Create Expansion at Solar NW

Gregg Murphy, recognizing an opportunity for more business during the current energy crisis, has expanded Solar Northwest, which installs solar power systems in the area.

Murphy says he has been operating Solar Northwest from his Big Lake home on a part-time basis. The current crisis, however, has increased that to full time.

For more information, call Murphy at 422-0125 or e-mail him at greggmurphy@netscape.net.

 

Coffee and Art at New Anacortes Gallery

John and Anne Olwin, owners of Anacortes Art and Frame, have expanded their business across the street to the former Fidalgo Bay Roasting Co. building, where they now have a coffee house of their own, the Parakeet Tree, with emphasis on their art-and-framing business.

They have been upstairs in the crowded Bayshore Office Products store but saw an opportunity when Gary and Sandra Sawyer moved all of their Fidalgo operations to the Mount Vernon facility last October. The 4,300-square-foot coffee shop at 710 Commercial Ave. suited the Olwins perfectly and they say they hope to purchase the building in time.

“Yes, people who missed Fidalgo Bay were delighted when we opened — we were delighted!” enthuses Anne Olwin. “We missed it, too. We have much the same sort of atmosphere they did, but with the art emphasis.”

Anne, a former elementary-school teacher, teaches art in separate classrooms, along with such artists as Dan Olsen of South Africa and Patricia Raab, lately of Seattle. Artists Joann Ossewarde of La Conner and Clayton Rippey are among area painters represented in the collection.

“It’s a unique situation, combining art with a café,” Anne Olwin states. “People can sit down, enjoy a cup of coffee and enjoy the art as well.”

The Olwins have three daughters — Melanie, Elizabeth and Jennifer — who have other pursuits but work part-time in the shop when they can.

 

One of County’s Oldest Stores to Close

Rich Brandt, owner of Hannaford Drugs in Burlington, is calling it quits after 40 years. “I’m ready,” he says. Perhaps more remarkable is that Hannaford will cease to exist after 103 long years in business.

The history of the venerable business is a little shaky, but Herb Hannaford open the doors of his first store in Mount Vernon in 1898 before moving to Burlington eight years later.

“It was started here by Hannaford in 1906,” Brandt says about the current store. “I didn’t know him. His son, Jack Hannaford, took it over and ran it for about 10 years before I bought it in 1965.”

A dusty old photograph, circa 1920, shows a line of Model T Fords outside what was then a Rexall pharmacy. Comparing that to a modern-day photo shows little change has taken place since then.

Brandt says only one of his four employees will need to find a new position. “Three of four of us are retiring,” he says. Little effort was made to sell the drug store as is, he adds, saying he wouldn’t speculate on what will happen to the store, located at 600 E. Fairhaven Ave.

Coincidentally, another drug store older than Hannaford’s has operated without pause — that being Holland Drug Co. in Sedro-Woolley, which opened in 1885.

 

Woolley Plant Loses Earliest Tenant

Pacific Aerospace and Electronics has closed its manufacturing division at the old Skagit Plant in Sedro-Woolley, putting as many as 80 employees out of work. Negotiations were under way with a new prospective owner, a source says.

The business started as Skagit Engineering shortly after the old Skagit Plant, formerly owned by the McIntyre family and one of the county’s largest employers, was shut down and purchased by an Everett developer, Sea-Land. About three years ago, Wenatchee-based Pacific Aerospace and Electronics bought Skagit Engineering.

Pacific builds technical components and assemblies for the aerospace, defense, electronics, medical, energy and transportation industries. The international firm reported $107 million in revenue in 1999.

 

Skagit Co-op Shows Off Renovations

What made $5 million last year, employs 70 people and is owned by 4,000 local families? It’s the Skagit Valley Food Co-op in downtown Mount Vernon.

What’s more, the nonprofit food store and its Deli Next Door have been expanded to include all of the block’s first floor, according to manager Todd Wood. The building and two floors of business offices above are owned by the Pirkle family. Plans called for adding 3,300 square feet of floor space, with a new mezzanine dining area above the deli and overlooking the larger grocery area.

Wood says the official grand opening of the enlarged store will take place Saturday, June 23.

“The co-op has one of the area’s most unique business structures — a not-for-profit corporation that is community owned by over 4,000 area families,” Wood says. “(It) follows 150-year-old cooperative principles, such as one member one vote and open membership to all. It also has environmental guidelines as part of its mission statement.”

The co-op itself is about 16 years old, while its site goes back to the turn of the century. At various times, it has housed Montgomery Ward and Karl’s Paints, among other stores.

 

Construction of Adult Community Under Way

Construction of phase one of Stonebridge, an “active adult community for residents 55 or better,” has begun in Mount Vernon, according to builder Landed Gentry Development.

“Several presold homes are under construction as well as two model homes, which will display the various floor plans and custom options available to buyers,” says Landed Gentry spokesperson Darrell Estill, adding the models will be ready for viewing this summer.

Stonebridge is a 32-lot, detached condominium community north of Haggen Food and Pharmacy on East Division Street.

For more information or free brochure, call Estill at 755-9021.

 

Anacortes Health Club Breaks Ground on Facility

After months of planning and anticipation, Anacortes Health Club has broken ground on a new facility near the campus of SHS.com off R Avenue.

“The 11,250-square-foot facility has been designed as an upscale adult facility with a comfortable atmosphere and a warmer feel than the average health club,” says owner Marc Youngberg. “The goal is to provide an unmatchable experience for everyone who walks through the door from the de-conditioned individual to the most experienced of athletes.”

Sharing in the design are Carletti Architects of Mount Vernon and the health-club industry’s leading designer Rudy Fabiano. The club will include a day spa, saunas, locker rooms, tanning, aerobics and group training rooms, as well as state-of-the-art juice bar and social lounge.

Under construction by Allen Perkes General Contractor, the building was expected to be completed sometime this summer.

 

Clear Lake Company Completes County Project

Industrial Resources Inc. of Clear Lake recently completed a new county facility for storing and dispensing low-grade oil products used in surfacing and maintaining roads.

The new facility, located at the Skagit County Public Works Department Road Maintenance Division on East Avon Road in Burlington, stores petroleum products the county uses in surfacing many of the 800 miles of road it maintains. The project included installation and construction of two 10,000-gallon tanks a 5,000-gallon tack oil tank and associated truck-loading systems.

Bob Cushen, operations manager for Industrial Resources, says the $438,000 construction project was completed within budget.

Industrial Resources is a general contracting firm that specializes in industrial, marine construction and maintenance projects. For more information, call 755-6416 or visit the Web site at industrial-resources.com.

 

Herald Facing Longer Wait to Build Facility

Skagit Valley Herald officials say it could be another four months before it can start construction on a new, $10 million publishing facility on Anderson Road south of Mount Vernon.

Wrangling with the U.S. Corps of Engineers over wetlands issues and change of design has delayed construction since January 2000 when the corps noticed the newspaper’s contractor had piled 19,000 tons of preload dirt on the site. Herald officials say it had received permission from the corps.

In addition, controversy over whether a change in plans damaged or created wetlands and the long process of obtaining the proper permits have delayed plans.

The Herald wants to build the new plant east of Interstate 5 to replace two facilities on East College Way. Placement of a 112-ton printing press has been a strong consideration in planning where the new building will be sited.

 

Olympic Pipe Line Suffers Water Rupture

High-pressure water testing of the Olympic pipeline is paying off. Last month, during a water test, a section of the 16-inch pipe sprung a leak and spewed 4,200 gallons of diesel-tinted water into a neighborhood near Renton.

“The company detected the pressure loss in their control center and at the field testing facility and immediately shut the test down and responded to the location,” Olympic states.

Water tests have been successfully performed on piping from the Cherry Point refineries near Ferndale to Renton, where BP-Amoco, current owner of Olympic Pipe Line Co., is located. This included a section of pipe that runs from Whatcom County to Allen, north of Mount Vernon, where processed gas, diesel and other petroleum products from the Anacortes refineries come in, and from Allen south.

Most of the pipeline between Ferndale and Renton has been shut since a pipe burst and gasoline exploded in Whatcom Creek Park, Bellingham, June 10, 1999, killing three youths.

After the Renton spill, BP Pipelines released a statement, saying, “To date, BP has successfully tested four of the seven segments of the 16-inch pipeline, which runs from Burlington in Skagit County to Renton in King County. This section of pipeline was voluntarily shutdown in summer 1999 and has been idle for almost two years. BP has conducted extensive repairs and safety improvements to the pipeline since becoming the operator of the Olympic pipeline system on July 1, 2000. The high-pressure water testing of this segment of pipeline began last month and will continue for the next several weeks.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Gary Locke has signed a bill that will make pipeline companies such as Olympic pay the costs for the state’s pipeline-safety program. The program, with a $1.9 million annual budget, includes 10 engineers who monitor the safety of all oil and gas pipelines in the state.

The bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Harriet Spanel, D-Bellingham.

 

Turbine Enlarged, Power Increased at Baker Dam

Puget Sound Energy successfully replaced a 35-year-old turbine with a larger one recently at Lower Baker River Dam near Concrete.

PSE closed the dam March 1 because of low water level and took advantage of the change to repair the dam, replace the turbine and increase power from 72 to 82 megawatts, enough to supply about 82,000 homes with electricity.

Officials say the water behind the dam has risen 65 feet since last March, but the Department of Ecology says rivers are running 46-65 percent below normal.

Environmentalists say closure of the dam could cause danger to migrating salmon. All the current work on the dam, including examination of the penstock and tunnel, should be completed by July 7, officials say.

 

Skagit’s Unemployment Rate Plummets Again

Unemployment in Skagit County fell dramatically for the second consecutive month in April, finishing at 6.6 percent, 1.2 percent lower than in March and a half a percentage point below the mark set in April 2000. The state says better weather appeared to be the cause.

Of the labor force of 50,060, which was down 440 from March, a total of 46,750 was employed and 3,310 unemployed in the preliminary month-end figures released in mid-May. In April of last year, there were 51,000 persons in the workforce.

By comparison in April, Whatcom County’s rate fell nine-tenths of a point, Snohomish’s two-tenths, Island two-tenths and San Juan 1.2 percent. The state rate was half a percentage point down at 5.6 percent.

Meanwhile, nationwide, employment reached a new high in two years when it unexpectedly climbed to 4.5 percent, according to the Labor Department. Officials had believed the economy was turning upward after a short downturn and were unprepared for the higher jobless rate.

 

NWMLS Issues Home Sales Report

The price of homes in Skagit County continued to climb slightly in the month of April, with sales averaging $195,401 compared to $234,539 for 13 counties represented by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

A total of 122 homes were sold in April, bringing the total for the year to 445, which is 34 more than in the same period for 2000. April’s median price was $162,625, compared to $195,000 throughout the Puget Sound area.

NWMLS statistical summary for Skagit County in April showed 254 listings for a total active inventory of 985. Pending sales existed on 129 homes and 122 sales closed after being on the market for an average of 90 days.

NWMLS lists homes and condominiums in the following counties: King, Snohomish, Pierce, Kitsap, Mason, Skagit, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Cowlitz, Grant, Thurston, San Juan and Whidbey.

 

Sedro-Woolley Holds Two Community Events

The City of Sedro-Woolley was busy last month. First it unveiled its Loggerodeo poster for 2001, then it broke ground on a new city park at the corner of Metcalf and Ferry streets.

Artist Dick Sizemore, who has created the Loggerodeo posters over the past several years, was on hand May 15 to unveil it during a Sedro-Woolley Chamber of Commerce after-hours event at May 15. (See page 46.) The event was held at Consolidated Edison in the new Sunset Tower Plaza on Sunset Park Drive and catered by Three Rivers Inn and Restaurant.

Loggerodeo is an independently run event held around the Fourth of July.

The new park, Hammer Heritage Square, will include a 60-foot clock tower, gazebo, waterfall and mural stretching across the Armstrong Appliance building.

City officials and elected officers gathered in the park May 23 to kickoff construction after five years of planning.

 

Cascades Job Corps Receives High Ratings

Cascades Job Corps Center east of Sedro-Woolley recently was rated number one among western-area Job Corps facilities and sixth in the nation.

“Right now we’re ranked number six among 118 Job Corps centers nationwide,” says Brian Hurst, business and community liaison for Cascades. “We’re real proud of that and it says a lot about the students and staff.”

The ratings are based on a variety of criteria, including vocational aptitude and job placement.

 

Express Personnel Pickup International Award

Local Express Personnel Services owners Mark and Sandy Hagen recently became the 2000 Franchisees of the Year, a major award presented by the International Franchise Association (IFA).

The award honors franchisees who have done an excellent job of assisting the company in building brand credibility and a reputation of excellence.

“Mark and Sandy have proven to be assets to our company by pushing Express to be a leader in the staffing industry, not only in Mount Vernon but internationally as well,” says Robert A. Funk, founder of Oklahoma City-based Express Personnel Services.

“We are proud to receive such a prestigious award,” Mark Hagen says. “It’s a true testament to the hard-working professionals on our staff who are able to service customers at such a high level of quality.

The Mount Vernon office is now located at 525 E. College Way near Value Village. The Hagens also own the EPS franchise in Bellingham.

 

MoNA Accorded Major MAP Grant

The Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner recently garnered a Museum Assessment Program III (MAP) award, the second such award MoNA has received from the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS).

The award will be used to evaluate how the museum communicates with its audience and community. It focuses on programming, exhibits, visitor service, public relations and marketing.

“This is another step toward accreditation that the museum has been striving for,” says executive director Susan Parke. “We’re honored to be the recipient of the IMLS award that will help us improve our services to the communities that we serve.”

 

County Anti-tobacco Program Given Gift from Gregoire

State Attorney General Christine Gregoire has presented part of a $5,000 gift she received for her work on tobacco issues to Skagit County’s Tobacco Prevention and Control program.

The amount of the county grant was not disclosed, but it will be used in the development of Skagit HEAT (Helping Educate About Tobacco), an anti-tobacco youth coalition, according to Affiliated Health Services of Mount Vernon.

The attorney general received her gift from the American Legacy Foundation.

 

Gateses Provide Secret Harbor School $75K

Secret Harbor School has received a $75,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for technology to improve the educational resources available to at-risk youth served by its Cypress Island programs.

The grant will be used to fund construction of a microwave-based communications bridge that will provide the school, located on the island off Anacortes, with Internet access and distance learning capabilities.

 

Partnership with Foothills Benefits College Students

Students at Skagit Valley College have received a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about advertising, marketing, public relations, promotional planning and execution and market research, thanks to a $2,500 grant from Foothills Pontiac Buick in cooperation with an educational marketing company, EdVenture Partners.

EdVenture Partners, founded in 1991, established the General Motors Marketing Internship with the automotive company to give students experience in workplace competencies to prepare them for real-world situations.

Under the program, Foothills, owned by Pam Nelson, provides the $2,500 budget to SVC’s business management students to use in their marketing campaign. Wal-Mart of Mount Vernon agreed to host the students’ promotional event last month in its parking lot, while Outback Steakhouse of Burlington donated the initial prize giveaway, dinner for two, following the market research.

 

Safety Issues for Small Businesses

Skagit Valley College’s WorkSafe Institute of Washington will sponsor a three-evening class on safety issues for small businesses.

The nine-hour class will be held on three Wednesdays, June 13, 20 and 27, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Business Resource Center, 204 W. Montgomery St., downtown Mount Vernon. Cost is $162.

The curriculum will include an overview of Washington’s Industrial Safety and Health (WISHA) regulations and include topics on writing and maintaining required health and safety plans, ergonomics, managing Material Safety Data Sheets, handling and disposing of hazardous materials, identifying hazards and preventing accidents.

Call 416-7700 to register, or Dave Ellsworth at 416-7871 for more information.

 

Leads Club Ranks High in Referrals

The Mount Vernon Chapter of Ali Lassen’s Leads Club produced the largest dollar referral business for its members in the fourth quarter of 2000.

The business networking group of 23 members, including several from Whatcom County, exchanged referrals among their colleagues totaling more than $450,000.

The Mount Vernon chapter welcomes membership applications for various categories. Call Mark Ruderman at (360) 707-7464 for more information.