Kiss The Sky Books
By Ella Pettyjohn
Kiss The Sky Books is a cozy bookstore and cultural center in town. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming. They are open 7 days a week. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday are open from 9am-6pm. Saturday and Sunday from 11am-7pm. On Wednesday nights there is an open mic from 6pm-9pm. Get the opportunity to listen to some local, underground artists in this small town. There are shelves upon shelves of quality books, records and cd’s, new and used, to choose from. Grab a cup of coffee, your new purchase and have a seat in the lounge area. You can also donate your used books and you’ll earn store credit to buy more things you love!
A quote from satisfied customer, Clarissa Sells “A true gem in the area. Love the fact that they had books from a local author, it was even signed.” There are many kind words on Facebook about the shop. Having interviewed a few peers, I’ve found that everyone loves having something like this in town. It’s a great spot to gather with friends or go on a date. “I think it’s cute. I also think it’s cool that they kept the original bear mural. It really adds to the vibe.” Is what Connor Talik told me when I asked his opinion on Kiss the Sky Books. Regina Jimenez says, “I’ve never been, but I’ve heard lots of good things about it and would like to stop in sometime. If more people knew about it, it would be more popular.” Asking Kevin Valera about the bookstore, he says, “I love it. They have a lot of cool books and stuff to buy and sometimes bands play there.”
Everyone who’s been has something good to say about Kiss The Sky. When you have the time, stop in and take a look around, find a great book. It’ll be worth it.
(Photo cred to Kiss The Sky Books themselves)
Sultan Crime Falls Far Below the National Average
By Billy Vue
(Image Courtesy of Sultan Police Department Facebook) A Sultan Police car is parked outside of Sultan High School. Most likely belonging to the school SRO, Mr. Lynch.
(Photo Courtesy of the City of Sultan Website) The iconic “Welcome to Sultan” sign sits right at the entrance of town. The sign encompasses the long history of Sultan, which dates all the way back to the 1800’s.
The residents of Sultan, Washington have had the privilege to live in an area where major crime isn’t prevalent, with the last major headline dating back 3 months.
Data from 4 different websites, best places, AreaVibes, City-Data.com, and the FBI’s own Crime Data Explorer, all point towards Sultan being a much safer place when compared to other towns and cities around the country.
According to one of the articles, Sultan has 22% less total crime than the national average (AreaVibes 2022).
The last major crime or headline that occurred in our area was 3 months ago, on July 9th. “Snohomish County deputies were called to the intersection of 2nd Street and Cedar Avenue in Sultan for reports of a man armed with a knife. Deputies said there was an altercation between the suspect and another man when they arrived in the area. The suspect did not comply with verbal commands and was shot by deputies” (King5 2023).
More recently, a man residing in Sultan was sentenced to prison, less than 2 months ago, for his crimes in the Everett and Marysville areas. “Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Jacqueline Lawrence has since charged Tevaga with four counts of first-degree robbery and a hate crime — because Tevaga reported he ‘targeted the businesses run by members of the Asian community, believing they would be hesitant to report the crimes.’” (Dennis 2022).
Our small, tightly knit community isn’t perfect by any means, but we collectively strive towards a safer place for our people to live in. Members of the community are positive and have good things to say about the City of Sultan.
An anonymous resident on the website, Niche.com, wrote, “Sultan is a growing and changing town. It is the closest, safest nicest, most affordable place in the Seattle area . . . People are nice, schools are great. We have lived here for a long time and welcome our new neighbors!” (Niche 2023).
As you can probably tell by driving around town, we are growing. New houses, new residents, and new students. Only time will tell how the expansion of Sultan as a city will affect crime, but as a resident of Sultan for the last 9 years myself, I can assure you that we, as a community, have nothing to worry about.
Works Cited:
Areavibes. “Sultan, WA Crime.” Sultan, WA Crime Rates & Map, www.areavibes.com/sultan-wa/crime/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.
Cde.Ucr.Cjis.Gov, cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/explorer/crime/crime-trend. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.
Crime in Sultan, Washington, www.bestplaces.net/crime/city/washington/sultan. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.
“Crime Rate in Sultan, Washington (WA): Murders, Rapes, Robberies, Assaults, Burglaries, Thefts, Auto Thefts, Arson, Law Enforcement Employees, Police Officers, Crime Map.” Crime in Sultan, Washington (WA): Murders, Rapes, Robberies, Assaults, Burglaries, Thefts, Auto Thefts, Arson, Law Enforcement Employees, Police Officers, Crime Map, www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Sultan-Washington.html. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.
Dennis, Ellen. “Sultan Man Charged with Hate Crime for Robberies of Asian-Owned Spas.” HeraldNet.Com, 20 July 2022, www.heraldnet.com/news/sultan-man-charged-with-hate-crime-for-robberies-of-asian-owned-spas/.
Resident, Current, et al. “Sultan, WA Reviews.” Niche, 1 Apr. 2023, www.niche.com/places-to-live/sultan-snohomish-wa/reviews/.
Staff, Author: KING 5. “Man Shot, Dog Killed by Deputies in Sultan.” King5.Com, 10 July 2023, www.king5.com/article/news/crime/man-shot-dog-killed-sultan/281-008042a1-6c14-46fe-aec3-4dea0ec0d163.
The Maui Fire
By Brayden Armstrong
Early in the month of August a giant wildfire struck the island of Maui, part of the Hawaiian Islands. The fire quickly grew and covered the island, many were lost and injured. The fires killed 97 people and leaving 31 missing, almost 2,200 buildings were destroyed during the fire. More extreme winds blew the fire more across the island, most of the people had to be evacuated immediately. The destruction from the fire estimated in $6 billion dollars in damage and left most. Much of the wildlife on the island was destroyed and only a little remains of Maui; some wildlife survived the fires on the far side of Maui.
The cause of the fire was from a downed power line on the edge of town, sparking on some very dry grass. The grass immediately caught fire and spread towards Lahaina, the town quickly grew into flames and soon became ashes. According to recent reports you still can travel to Maui but only on the east side. The west side is currently still being worked on and cleaning up remains of buildings. According to the workers, west Maui won’t be accessible by the public until 0ctober 17, 2023.
The other Hawaiian Islands are still available for people to visit and stay. Many residents of Maui are extremely furious with how the government responded and didn’t send them the proper help to deal with the issue and lack of serious communication with the residents and representatives. “Troubling questions and anger have emerged as well about the role of Hawaii’s biggest power utility, the response by local and state government, and a lack of critical communication when residents most needed it.” Geoff Bennet. The residents of Maui are very upset with Joe Biden not taking proper response to the fires and of how the people who were injured and lost their homes and not eligible for IHP to help with losing their homes.
Many people were devasted to see this event happen and lost so much from this fire. “I think that they should go out and talk to every elected official, from the mayors to the governors to the United States Senators to the congresspersons. I welcome and once they go out and see it, then I’m sure they’ll provide the money.” Joe Biden. Troubling questions and anger have emerged as well about the role of Hawaii’s biggest power utility, the response by local and state government, and a lack of critical communication when residents most needed it. “It would be easy enough to speak of our pain and grief. The hands I’ve held, and the stories I’ve heard.” Jill Toduka. “The Lahaina that everybody remembers is now gone. It won’t have all those historical sights, you know, it’s irreplaceable.” Joe Balaz
Sources: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/west-maui-reopen-tourists-thousands-displaced-hawaii-wildfires/
https://www.nytimes.com/article/maui-wildfires-hawaii.html