The Mill Creek Business Association has proudly produced the Mill Creek Festival for the past 12 years. The festival committee, formed entirely of volunteers from local businesses, devotes countless hours and resources to create an enjoyable event for our patrons and an opportunity for local companies to showcase their services.

The Festival would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Once again, Dan and Sue McNeely of North Creek Roofing are the title sponsors of the event. Please stop by their booth in the middle of Mill Creek Blvd and 161st, as well the booths of all our sponsors for that matter, and thank them for their support. In years that we are able to cover all the festival’s expenses, proceeds are invested back into the community. For example, just this year the Mill Creek Business Association has supported the Mill Creek Santa Parade, the Mill Creek Police Guild, the South Snohomish Honor Guard, the YMCA’s Invest in Youth Campaign, the Mill Creek Food Bank, Jackson High Football and the Mill Creek Forum Summer Concert Series.

Do you ever have a sneaky feeling that you should get your cholesterol checked, or maybe have your glucose level measured, but you just don’t want to take the time to do it?

A visitor to Walgreens Way to Well Health tour bus in Yuba City, California, was too busy to worry about preventative health. He didn’t have insurance to cover it, either. But he took the time to come to the bus to get free health screening tests, and he’s really glad he did.

“He didn’t know what his levels were and didn’t have insurance to go to the doctor, so he was surprised to find that his cholesterol was over 300,” said Karen Mulch, a technician with the health bus. “We like those numbers to be under 200, so we gave him tips on how to decrease it, and literature on how important diet and exercise is. We didn’t expect him to come back, but three days later we had another event and he came back and asked to get checked again. He had changed his diet, so we checked his cholesterol and it was 50 points lower than just three days before! It just shows how changing your diet and doing a bit of exercise can change your levels rather quickly.”

New to the Mill Creek Festival this year, Sarvey Wildlife Care Center will put on three demonstrations in the Pet Plaza: Saturday at 2:30 p.m. And 5:15 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

The 45-minute presentations will feature a bald eagle, redtailed hawk, golden eagle, great horned owl and Peregrine falcon.

The City of Mill Creek is seeking two volunteers to fill vacancies on the Design Review Board, with a term that expires on August 31, 2016.

Because of the technical qualifications required by this position, it can be difficult to find qualified volunteers. It is not necessary for the volunteer to live in Mill Creek.

A letter of interest is due no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 18, 2013.

Design Review Board meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 5:15 PM.

The Design Review Board was created to review and make urban design decisions that will promote visual quality throughout the City. The Design Review Board reviews all site plans, building elevations, landscaping and monument signs for attached single-family residential, multifamily residential, industrial, and commercial developments.

The Mill Creek Town Center Business Association along with the City of Mill Creek’s Art & Beautification Board is pleased to announce the artists for the July 11th Mill Creek Town Center Second Thursday Art Walk.

The event will run from 5 to 8 pm on Thursday, July 11, 2013.

Donna Michelson, Mill Creek City Councilmember liaison to the Art & Beautification Board, has been involved in the planning, “The Art & Beautification Board are very excited about the upcoming Art Walk.  This is the second year for this new event and we have added an extra month (June) to make it four months total.”

“The Board members have been working extremely hard to make this very successful and have tried to match up artists with appropriate businesses.”

“We learned what worked and what needed to be addressed for this year's upcoming Art Walk. It was well-received last year and we had many positive comments. This is just another way to bring Mill Creek to the spotlight as a destination city.”

From June 16-30, 2013 Snohomish County Fire District 7 responded to 236 calls, 78 of which were in Mill Creek.

• Fires: 28
• Medical Aid: 166
• Motor Vehicle Collisions: 19
• Service Calls: 23
• Total = 236

Highway 99 Encore: The other day as I stomped on the gas to “get through” a light turning red (I swear Judge, it was still yellow when I went through) I looked up and saw another of those horrible traffic cameras.

See, this is another example of bureaucracy run amok. The poor schmuck doesn’t stand a chance. The lights are timed so if you are dumb enough to attempt to run the light, the yellow signal is timed to be so short that unless you’re traveling at Mach 1 – you cannot make it through before red. Then that ticket shows up with your dumb face looking directly up at the camera – with your license plate displayed below (ask me how I know this).

If you are traveling at Mach 1 or above, you also get a camera ticket for speeding (again, ask me how I know this).

The only good thing here is that a camera ticket is not classified as a moving violation, so it does not go on your insurance and doesn’t increase your premium about 20% for three years (again, ask me how I know this).

Bill Iffrig of Lake Stevens, local Boston Marathon hero who was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, will be running in the Run of the Mill 5K and will be the 2013 Honorary Starter.

The Run of the Mill 5K is Saturday, July 6, 2013 in the Mill Creek Town Center.