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Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Snohomish County's homeless population drops for second straight year
This story was originally published on County leaders revealed the number of unhoused people in Snohomish dropped to just more than 1,100 this year. That's equivalent to a 1.8% decrease compared to last year, and an 11% decrease from 2023. The numbers came from the county's annual point-in-time count. 'The Point in Time Count is important to help us better understand homelessness in our county and the impact of local programs working to reduce homelessness,' Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers said in a press release. 'While there is still a lot of work to do, it is good news that this year's count is slightly lower than last year, marking a decrease for the second year in a row.' Point-in-time counts have been deemed a controversial method for measuring the amount of homelessness due to the methodology of the process — relying on volunteers to hand-count the number of people they observe living unsheltered on a single night, then calculating a rough estimate of people they believe they might have missed living in abandoned buildings. According to Snohomish County, the latest point-in-time count had 340 volunteers tallying the homeless population. Additional findings were that the number of people who were reportedly chronically homeless (homeless for at least 12 months over the past three years) decreased by 19%, while the number of homeless people in the age groups of 25–34 and 45–54 decreased by an average of 13%, The Everett Herald confirmed with the county. Despite the positive decrease in overall homeless populations across the county, local leaders are worried about losing key federal funding. The federal government awarded Snohomish County $16.7 million in grant funding for homelessness assistance, but only if the county complies with federal executive orders, including those related to immigration status, healthcare, and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Without it, the county estimated that approximately 500 people could lose permanent housing and end up back on the streets. In May, Snohomish County decided to join several other local governments, including both King and Pierce County, across the country in suing the Trump administration.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Mary Jane Green: Former slave's unique connection to 1910 Wellington, WA avalanche
The Brief Mary Jane Green, one of the oldest residents of Washington, created an unexpected bridge to the most pivotal moments in the nation's founding years. The Everett Herald's story about Green was a happenstance, but it's still being remembered 112 years later. EVERETT, Wash. - March 1 marks 115 years since the deadliest avalanche in United States history, which happened in Washington. The Wellington Avalanche devastated a small railroad town near Stevens Pass in east King County in 1910. Timeline In the last days of February 1910, relentless blizzards pummeled the Cascade Mountains. Two trains, carrying passengers and mail workers, were trapped on the tracks near the town of Wellington. As the trains tried to wait and weather the storm, lightning and thunder rumbled the mountain, causing the avalanche to sweep the trains away. In total, 96 people were killed. "There are pictures of people bringing down wrapped bodies on sleds," said Lisa Labovitch, a history specialist for the Everett Public Library. One of the people killed was a Black man named Lewis George Walker. His body was one of the many wrapped and brought down the mountain by sled. His remains were pictured in a 1910 Everett Herald article about the victims. "He was, I think, the personal steward to the Superintendent [O'Neill] that was on the train. So, he was an important staff member to him. He personally assisted him. He was on his personal car. He was somebody who had a pretty high-status job," said Labovitch. Walker's status likely allowed him to be buried at the Evergreen Cemetery, among some of the most prestigious in the region. People like the brothers Wyatt and Bethel Rucker, pioneers of the City of Everett, whose mausoleum towers above the cemetery. Walker's granite headstone is engraved forever as a "man of God. Killed at Wellington, Washington." The tragedy of the avalanche and the loss of Walker's life created an unexpected bridge to the most pivotal moments in the nation's founding years. That bridge was Mary Jane Green. She is buried next to Walker. "The reason she came to light was because her granddaughter's husband had been killed in the avalanche," said Marilyn Quincy, with the Snohomish County Black Heritage Committee. Mary Jane Green's name is engraved on a crumbling, fragile piece of concrete. Though her grave marker is modest, her story is cemented in history. Dig deeper Quincy learned of Mary Jane in the Northwest Room of the Everett Public Library. "What I did was, I'd go over to the newspapers and I just started going through. And when I saw her picture, I went, oh! And then I read the article, and it was just fascinating!" said Quincy. Mary Jane was 109 years old when the Everett Herald published an article about her on May 5, 1911, a time when the average life expectancy for a woman was just 53 years. Her age alone was worthy of making the headline, but it was her recollection of her long life and profile picture that pulled the reader in. Her appearance was described as never losing a tooth, and her hair was only slightly streaked with gray. "She reminds you of a strong woman. She's got strong features," said Quincy. The article is the only known record of Mary Jane sharing her personal story. She was born in Tennessee in 1802. The article said she would smile as she talked about her devotion to the Christian faith. She also reflected on the deepest wounds of her past being sold as a slave three times. The article read, "She recollects that her first master was Charles Burton, that owned her mother. Her family were divided on the auction block in those dark days of slavery. Where her father went, she is not able to tell." "She talked about her slave owners and one of them, don't think he was very good, because she said he was 'born for Hell,' and that's where he was," said Quincy. In her story, it was mentioned she had children while in old Virginia. The U.S. Census from April 15, 1910, showed Mary Jane had three children, but she was unsure if they were still living. The census revealed she could not read or write. But before data collection, she somehow managed to find her granddaughter, Sarah Walker, who lived in Everett with her husband Lewis. Mary Jane moved from Kansas City, Missouri to live with them in 1907. "You think about the extraordinary distance that she traveled, too. There's the time and the distance. And I think we don't think of people as being as mobile as they were that far back. But people were really going through huge journeys," said Labovitch. The article explained how Mary Jane walked seven blocks unassisted every Sunday from their home at 3105 Everett Avenue to Second Baptist Church, which was located on Rainier Avenue at the time. She made the walk up until three weeks before the article was published, after falling downstairs. "And right up to the end, that was when they were talking to her, and she was in bed. She was talking about the Lord," said Quincy. The opportunity to hear Mary Jane's story was a happenstance. A reporter for the local newspaper was actually meeting with Sarah Waker at her home to talk about the community's "kindness" and "assistance" after the loss of her husband, Lewis, in the avalanche. It was there, at Walker's home, the reporter stepped into a room where a bedridden Mary Jane was found sitting, and willing to share what she remembered in her 109 years. "And you wish that you had more of her words talking about these things. It's a miracle that we have what we have though, because it really is written in her voice, and it talks about her experience in a way that seems to be pretty unbiased," said Labovitch. Though there was only little told in the small, two-column story, Mary Jane's long life expanded across several founding moments in American history. In 1802, Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States, and the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Historians said Jefferson owned more than 600 slaves in his lifetime. Mary Jane was alive during the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, when the U.S. paid France for 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River. She predates the Lewis and Clark Expedition beginning in 1804, before the land that would later become Washington state was established. She was a senior citizen when the American Civil War ended in 1865, and when the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was ratified. "She was in her 60s when slavery ended," said Quincy. "This is American history. I mean, her life intersects with so many different things," said Labovitch. Mary Jane died at 110 years old in May 1912. Even in her passing, she still made headlines and history as the oldest resident in Washington. She held that record until the year 2015. "She cemented her own by giving that interview and having all her wonderful words and having that picture taken of her and I feel like it's nice to honor that. She took her place," said Labovitch. What's next Her place in 2025 is growing frail, just like the fragile cement marker above her grave. Modest as her legacy may be, historians share her story so her history, this American history, isn't buried away. "Because there are people out there right now trying to erase history. They're saying, 'oh, slavery wasn't bad. Or it really didn't happen,'" said Quincy. "I think it's really, really important that these things are noted, memorized, and passed on." For many years, the Snohomish County Black Heritage Committee has been researching Mary Jane Green and trying to find her relatives. They said the challenge is her only known granddaughter, Sarah Walker, possibly moved out of Everett after a house fire in 1916. Back then, Walker also may have remarried and changed her last name. Committee members said they will keep trying to find relatives. If they do, they will ask for permission to give Mary Jane a proper headstone. The Source Information in this story is from the Everett Herald, the Snohomish County Black Heritage Committee, the Everett Public Library and FOX 13 Seattle reporting. Gov. Ferguson details $4 billion in spending cuts to address WA deficit Parents petition to remove WA substitute principal after past admissions of drug use 'Oops I did a crime': WA high school teacher charged with child porn First WA measles case of 2025 confirmed in King County infant 3.2 magnitude earthquake rocks east King County, WA To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter. Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national coverage, plus 24/7 streaming coverage from across the nation.
