ARLINGTON — Haller Park was the final stop on many city officials’ tour through Arlington’s neighborhoods at the Aug. 4 National Night Out Against Crime, and the citizens they met came ready to share their concerns.
Annette Patterson of West Gilman and Jeri Rugtvedt of Portage Green jointly coordinated their leg of the event, which drew belly dancers and a live band, as well as police and fire personnel, plus a crowd of about 150.
Patterson remains concerned about “the drug issue,” although she conceded that “it seems to be down in my end of town, in terms of finding needles and such.” She also worries about the numbers of homeless in the city, reporting that she’s seen a few new faces among that population within the past three weeks.
“We’ve got to bring the community together to deal with these issues,” Patterson said. “We can’t be on separate pages.”
As for Rugtvedt, she rated her own neighborhood as “pretty good,” but also emphasized that she wanted to make sure “it stays that way.” She hopes to get even more of the community involved in Neighborhood Watch programs.
“There are too many people who say, ‘Oh, those problems are never going to happen where I live,'” Rugtvedt said.
One problem that Lana Lasley and Roland Kirby are well aware can happen in Arlington is theft. The two are veteran volunteers of Helping Hands, which moved from Haller Park to the Arlington Airport business park in 2012, but has remained a target of thieves in both locations. Both would welcome more patrols by police.
While Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert stopped by later, mayoral candidate Craig Christianson arrived earlier, taking in the music and food while he spoke with Seanna Herring-Jensen, program manager of the Arlington Community Resource Center.
“I know the homeless are a problem, because there’s a whole beach camp on the river by my house,” Christianson said. “They’re harmless, but it shows that a lot of people need help that they can’t get.”
Christianson called for more support for the Arlington Community Resource Center, which has asked the community for more volunteers.
“We’ve already had two listening sessions with the community, in which they’ve identified substance abuse and homelessness as their big concerns,” Herring-Jensen said. “We’re trying to provide resources to respond to those issues. We want to increase people’s awareness of the culture of homelessness. People are often surprised by how many professional and educated families can wind up on the street. Many who have homes now are only one paycheck away from losing them.”
When it came to more immediate emergencies, Wayne Mitchell and his fellow Arlington firefighter/paramedics offered practical advice to the event’s attendees.
“When someone goes down, it’s good to make the call to 911, but you should also check on them,” Mitchell said. “A lot of people are making those calls without checking the individual’s medical condition.”
Members of the unincorporated neighborhoods in north Arlington — including Bryant, Kackman, Stillaguamish and Grandview — will be following up on the National Night Out with a Neighborhood Watch meeting of their own on Thursday, Aug. 13, at 6 p.m. at the Bryant Community Church, 26830 53rd Ave. NE. Guests are set to include members of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department and the Stillaguamish Tribal Police. For details, call 425-471-0887.
