Megan Dunn's eNewsletter
Snohomish County Council 3000 Rockefeller Ave., M/S 609 Everett, Washington 98201 8th floor, Robert J. Drewel Building Phone: 425-388-3494 E-Mail: Megan.Dunn@snoco.org
Paula Rhyne, Legislative Aide
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Dear Friends:
As we ring in 2022, there certainly seems to be a déjà vu from 2020 with the rising case counts and uncertainty of what remains ahead for this pandemic. Our hospitals are overloaded and school absences are also at record levels. Our Snohomish Health District has been working hard to keep up with all of the new information and provide programs and services that protect and promote the public health. I’m grateful for the marathon work that they have done during the whole of this pandemic.
More than ever, we have been seeing rampant misinformation and exploitation about the pandemic, vaccines and testing. Please continue to rely on credible sources from credible messengers for information. We’re not out of the woods yet and we all need to band together to get through this together.
As always, our office is here as a resource to you. You can also find me online on Facebook and Twitter. My office is committed to being responsive and helpful. If you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at Megan.Dunn@snoco.org. You can also call my office at 425-388-3494.
I am honored to have been selected by my fellow councilmembers as Chair of the Snohomish County Council for 2022. In just the third year of my first term in office, it’s an honor to move into this role. I am grateful to have been entrusted with this leadership role and look forward to working with my colleagues as we continue to respond and recover from the pandemic, address climate change, and work to provide better opportunities for the people of Snohomish County.
I’m excited that Councilmember Jared Mead has been selected as Vice Chair and I look forward to working with him this next year.
With the emergence of the highly contagious variant, Omicron, our situation with COVID has been evolving quickly. Updates from our Health District and local hospitals are showing that our hospital and care system are maxed out and have again put non-emergency procedures on hold to make space for COVID patients. Of the patients who are currently in our ICUs due to COVID, 80-90% are unvaccinated. The vaccine continues to show that it not just protects people from getting COVID, but for those who do contract it as a break through case, the severity is low.
Our Health District and Department of Emergency Management have responded to the increased need for home testing, mass testing and increased access to boosters and vaccines. Here are some ways that you can either get the vaccine, or get tested:
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For those wanting to receive at-home COVID-19 tests, the federal website is now live: https://www.covidtests.gov/.
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Testing is available in Everett at the Longfellow Building near Memorial Stadium (3715 Oakes Avenue). This location is open Monday through Friday from 9-4p. Appointments are required.
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The Ashway Park & Ride vaccination and testing site has testing available on Saturdays and Sundays from 9-4p. Appointments are required.
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The county has plans to open another mass testing site later this week. Please watch my Facebook or Twitter page for an announcement.
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Caution: Only visit testing sites from reliable and licensed providers. A list of those places which have been vetted and verified can be found on the Snohomish Health District website here.
We are all in this together (but 6’ apart!) and can each do our small part to get this pandemic behind us. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
On January 25 from noon-1 I will be hosting a Housing in Snohomish County Panel Discussion. The panel will be addressing the current status of housing needs, barriers to access housing, and solutions to this crisis. I hope you can join! Here’s the link to attend: https://zoom.us/j/91358108084
Panelists joining include:
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Chris Collier – Affordable Housing Alliance Program Manager with Housing Authority of Snohomish County.
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Beth Doglio – Former Washington State Representative
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jacque julien, Executive Director of Communities of Color Coalition (C3)
- Mindy Woods – Washington Low Income Housing Alliance and National Low Income Housing Coalition board member
Following the volcanic eruption in Tonga over the weekend, a Tsunami advisory was issued across our area. The state has a tsunami siren warning system across our coastlines, but these sirens are only activated if a tsunami of 3 feet or greater is expected, and the prediction for this tsunami showed a maximum of 2.5 feet along the shores of Puget Sound. Additionally, there is no modeling for volcanic-triggered tsunamis, just earthquake-triggered tsunamis. Because of the proximity of Snohomish County, a tsunami like this one which originated from so far away would have greatly dissipated by the time it got to our coastline, and San Juan Islands would tamper any waves that did make it through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I'm glad to know that we have the sirens up and running, and I'm sharing this information to help answer questions about why our siren system was not activated.
My thoughts are with the Tongan people, their devastated islands, and their families still trying to reach them.
After the snow event that we just experienced, the cold and then warmth can lead to potholes in our roads. The County’s Public Works Team has a crew that can repair potholes and other road defects in unincorporated Snohomish County. If you spot a pothole on an unincorporated Snohomish County Roadway, please email the crew at contact.PWRM@snoco.org, or call 425-388-7500 and be ready to share:
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Location of the pothole or road defect
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Description of the problem
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Nearest cross street
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Which side of the road it’s on
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If possible, a picture of the pothole (only if safe to do so!)
Many thanks to the hard work of our roads team for keeping us safe!
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Click the pic to learn more about reporting a pothole on an Unincorporated Snohomish County Road |
The Snohomish Health District has been presenting Health Champion awards to recipients throughout the county who did tremendous work in 2020 to help keep our community healthy. Among the awards presented so far:
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The Everett Clinic was recognized as a 2020 Immunization Promotion Champion.
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Western Washington Medical Group was recognized as a 2020 Maternal and Child Health Champion.
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MercyWatch was recognized as a 2020 Champion for Change.
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Gourmet Latte #10 in Mukilteo was recognized with the 2020 Food Safety Award for Limited Menu Establishments.
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Congressman Rick Larsen was recognized with a 2020 Donna Wright Champion for Public Health award.
I was honored to have presented these awards and grateful for all of the hard work these folks have done to further our community’s health especially during a pandemic. Congrats to all the winners!
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The Everett Clinic - 2020 Immunization Promotion Champion |
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Western Washington Medical Group - 2020 Maternal and Child Health Champion |
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MercyWatch - 2020 Champion for Change |
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Gourmet Latte #1 - 2020 Food Safety Award for Limited Menu Establishments |
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The county’s Surface Water Management team put together this great video as an introduction to septic care, providing an overview of how these systems work, information on the basics of septic care, and additional resources for residents to find assistance and learn more. As evidenced by the many logos at the end of the video, this project was a true collaboration, with grant funding through the Snohomish-Stillaguamish LIO, video production from Transect Films, and staff contributions from Surface Water Management, Office of Energy and Sustainability, and the Snohomish Health District.
The Washington Family Engagement organization is again offering a free 12-week program called the Parent Leadership Training Institutes (PLTI) which teach civic and community leadership in a supportive environment. The Children Leadership Training Institutes, for the children of parents taking the PLTI, is a 12-week course that helps 6 to 12 years old students increase their reading abilities and develop leadership and public speaking skills. The PLTI is offered in English and Spanish. Registration is now open -- space is limited!
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The WSU Snohomish County Extension Beach Watchers program is hosting their annual Starlight Beach walk at Edmonds Olympic Beach Park on Friday, January 28 at 6:30pm. It’s a free event with masks required for all, and vaccines required for volunteers. Bring your family and friends for a beach walk under the stars to discover the amazing creatures that live on the beach and come out at night. Here’s the Facebook invitation page, and if you have any more questions, please contact Jonathan Robinson at jonathan.w.robinson@wsu.edu.
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On Wednesday, January 12, Council adopted Resolution 22-002 Recognizing January 17, 2022, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in Snohomish County. Though a number of events in the area were postponed or moved virtual, I was glad to join volunteers hosted by Snohomish County YMCA for a litter clean up near the Everett YMCA location and along the Interurban Trail. In light of Dr. King’s message of servant leadership, I was grateful to join so many dedicated community members to answer the question he posed, “What are you doing for others?”
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. statue in Washington DC. |
Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter. It’s important to me to keep you updated on my work at the County and updates from my district. If you are in need of any assistance or if there is any county information that I can help to provide, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at Megan.Dunn@snoco.org, or with my aide at Paula.Rhyne@snoco.org. You can call our office as well at 425-388-3494 to leave a message and we’ll return your call.
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