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Residents and volunteers urge continued support for Ukrainian refugees, submit petition and suggest sister-city ties
Summary
Local volunteers told the council that about 25 Ukrainian refugees (7 families) have settled in East Wenatchee since February 2022 and asked elected officials to support refugees’ legal protections. A petition with 99 signatures was submitted, and a resident proposed a sister-city relationship with Zolochiv, Ukraine.
Speakers at the East Wenatchee City Council public comment period urged continued local and federal support for Ukrainian refugees and presented a petition calling for sustained protections and aid.
Rebecca Britt, a volunteer with Friends of Ukraine Refugees who lives near Grant Elementary School in East Wenatchee, told the council the city has 25 Ukrainian refugees from seven families who arrived since February 2022. Britt said all seven families are working; she noted some work night shifts and cited two who are auto mechanics and six who work at a local “crunch pack” employer. She described the volunteer group’s role in helping families stabilize and integrate.
Suzanne Pitts, a Friends of Ukraine Refugees board member who said she lives in Wenatchee, told council members the organization collected 99 signatures on a petition it submitted to the clerk. Pitts clarified that the refugees are not U.S. citizens but are in the United States under Temporary Protected Status or have applied for asylum; she said the group helps with work authorizations and asylum paperwork. Pitts read the petition, which asks elected officials at local, state and federal levels to continue support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and to maintain protections and employment authorization for Ukrainian refugees.
Keith Madsen, a retired Baptist pastor and hospital chaplain, spoke about the philosophical and moral importance of welcoming immigrants and described teaching English as a second language to local Ukrainian refugees at the Slavic Baptist Church in East Wenatchee.
Jerry Lisowich, who identified himself as of Ukrainian heritage and a board member of Friends of Ukraine Refugees, presented a letter from the city of Zolochiv, Ukraine, proposing a sister-city relationship with East Wenatchee. Lisowich asked the mayor and council to review and respond to the city’s request; he said such recognition would be meaningful to residents affected by the war.
The petition submitted by Pitts asks officials to continue steadfast local, state and national support of Ukraine; to expedite asylum and family petitions and preserve Temporary Protected Status and employment authorization for refugees; and to continue economic sanctions and other measures aimed at supporting Ukraine. Council members accepted the petition for the record and said staff would receive copies.
Ending Speakers asked for continued assistance and legal protections for refugees and requested a formal response to the sister-city proposal from Zolochiv. The clerk accepted the petition and related letters for the council record; no formal council action on the petition or sister-city request was taken that evening.
