The Arlington Kiwanis Club added an early silent auction to their annual Arlington Festival auction, helping to bring in $8,500 for scholarships benefitting Arlington and Lakewood high school graduates.

“Basically, there are a lot of people who come early to the pancake breakfast and we wanted to give them an opportunity to have items available to them too,” said auction coordinator Sue Weiss. The early auction had items intended to target these early birds, who often have plenty of plans on July 4 — pizza and restaurant gift certificates and Arlington sports paraphernalia.

At the live auction, several items got bidders excited, but nothing seemed to compare to the competition for a U.S. flag honoring Arlington resident Kay Duskin.

“Every year that I’ve attended, there’s a flag that upon the request of (Rep.) Rick Larsen is flown over the Capitol in honor of a local citizen,” Weiss said. “It’s been flown over the U.S. Capitol. That’s a really cool thing and it’s in honor of someone who has done a lot and been a big part of the community.”

The flag alone raised $500.

“Her husband won it after a heated bidding process,” said board member Jan Bauer. “It was a kick.”

Raising another $500 was the 50-50 raffle, in which organizers sell tickets and split the pot with the winner.

After raising $10,000 last year and $8,000 two years ago, Weiss said the community’s support in the tough economic times impressed her.

“This year we raised over $8,500, which I am ecstatic over considering the economy,” she said.

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