2012 progress edition

PROGRESSE D I T I O N 2 0 1 2

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

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FUTURE: Bellingham International Airport keeps growing in 2012.PAST: A Lynden couple made a canoe trek of 1,100 miles in 2011.

PRESENT: TriVan Truck Body of Ferndale celebrated the manufacture of its 2,000th unit in February.

1526 Slater Road, FerndaleCommercial Drop Boxes Available

We buy cars, farm scrap, heavy equipment, steel,

aluminum, copper, brass, & batteries.

Brian Parberry 360-734-1112www.scrapitwa.com

ALL TYPES OF METAL RECYCLING

Members of ISRI | Supporters of American Redcross | Follow us on Facebook

PROGRESSE D I T I O N 2 0 1 2

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

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FUTURE: Bellingham International Airport keeps growing in 2012.PAST: A Lynden couple made a canoe trek of 1,100 miles in 2011.

PRESENT: TriVan Truck Body of Ferndale celebrated the manufacture of its 2,000th unit in February.

C12012 PROGRESS EDITION Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2012 | Ferndale Record

Composting: Recycling together with Mother Nature

Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:30pmSaturday 8am-1pm (April-Oct.)

774 Meadowlark Rd., Lynden 354-4936Let us help you with soil, mulch or gravel material needs

when you drop off your yard waste. www.greenearthtechnology.com

Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:30pmSaturday 8am-1pm (April-Oct.)

774 Meadowlark Rd., Lynden 354-4936Let us help you with soil, mulch or gravel material needs

when you drop off your yard waste. www.greenearthtechnology.com N

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Did you know...You can even

drop offWEEDS to be composted!

Compost your yard waste,leaves and branches!Now open Saturdays, beginning March 24.

Compost your yard waste,leaves and branches!Now open Saturdays, beginning March 24.

Spring Cleaningyour yard and garden?

We all have our reasons for choosing to live, work and play in this corner of God’s creation called the Pacific Northwest and particularly in this distinct place called Whatcom County. It may be the ideal communities in which to raise a family and even grow old. It may be the daily view of Mount Baker afforded from our front porch. It may be a workplace that allows us to use our abilities with satisfaction. It may be because our roots are deep here and we’ve just never thought about leaving. In a way, it’s those reasons for planting ourselves here and staying here that we celebrate with a Progress Edition each year. This time, it’s a combined product of the Lynden Tribune and Ferndale Record. This edition contains stories that are a slice of our lives together now in 2012, and we try to find the silver thread that weaves through even challenging situations. We hope you will enjoy this extra section.

Celebrating our Whatcom County

Calvin BrattTribune editor

2: Jansen Art Center taking shape

4: East Whatcom Regional Center serving foothills area

6: Nooksack quilt provides insight into local history

8: Truck builder TriVan celebrates 2,000th unit

10: Ferndale works toward ‘food security’

12: Bellingham airport seeing record growth

14: Local surveyor canoes into the past

16: The Woods Coffee celebrates 10 years

18: Adult Family Home has personal touch

20: Disney Institute coming to Whatcom County

22: Toastmasters marks 60th year in Lynden

24: Meridian High School on pace with makeover

Table of contents

2012 PROGRESS EDITIONC2 Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2012 | Ferndale Record

Lynden furniture maker Greg Klassen is building the large “chamber table” that will be used in the Jansen Art Center. — Lynden Tribune | TIIM NEWCOMB

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Roger Roosendaal, co-ownerResidential Specialist

Tim NewcombLynden Tribune

LYNDEN — If the Eleanor & Henry Jansen Foundation immediately stopped all work (don’t worry, they certainly won’t) involved in turning the old City Hall into the Jansen Art Center, the city would still have progress. Plenty of progress, that is. In a process that started in mid-2011, the foundation is nearing the final stages of converting the 1928 City Hall build-ing on Front Street and the adjacent 1912 Steinhauer building into a unified facility, an overhaul of at least 20,000 square feet across three stories. While the renovation, upgrade and beautification alone of the structures cer-tainly give life to the downtown site, plenty of art will liven up that part of town as well when the center opens, hopefully some-time in April. Laurie Riskin, a Deming resident who took over as the center’s executive director

in January, said she is busily organizing the center’s opening events and classes and has helped create the program structure for the center. The Jansen Art Center will ultimately be a one-stop place for art classes and rental of art studio space. “It won’t be where you just walk in,” Riskin said. “We have it designed and structured with an array of class opportunities all day in all the different art disciplines.” Programs in music, painting, weav-ing, pottery, glass arts, children’s crafts, jewelry making, dance and much more (yoga, for example) will happen from the early morning to during the day for home-school students and seniors, and after school and in the evening. “There will be opportunities for everybody,” Riskin said. Classes may take the form of several-day workshops or recurring weekly class-es. It is Riskin’s job to bring in qualified teachers and ensure a variety of options for the public at differing times through-

New structure will provide new opportunities for central Lynden, surrounding area

Jansen Art Center: An artistic interpretation


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out the day. The center also plans on host-ing or allowing rental for performances in its newly redesigned “Chamber Hall” and will have family events on special evenings and Saturdays. Classes will cost, but Riskin said she aims to keep “everything afford-able,” with scholarships made available to those who can’t pay. Along with the classes, individuals and groups can rent out space in any of the art studios, the music rooms or even the Chamber Hall for events. Riskin said she plans an open house-style event for when the building does open this spring and will have summer programs for students to complement the many classes. Heidi Doornenbal, the foundation’s

president, a daughter of Eleanor and Henry and the visionary behind the cen-ter, said she hopes a large arts festival the first weekend in August (dates are tenta-tive) will serve as the grand opening of the center. Doornenbal said that she has been forming an arts council that will help steer the direction of the center and has been amazed by the number of artists and teachers clamoring to assist in the proj-ect. From a massive “gallery table” largely donated by Lynden furniture maker Greg Klassen and a tile mural largely donated by local artist Debbie Dickinson to a Mt. Baker Rotary Club donation of $30,000 for a glass kiln, the local arts community has wowed her.

The main floor will feature two dance studios, a painting studio, a coffee shop, a gallery and a gallery gift shop. A large outdoor deck is being constructed on the south side of this floor. The upper floor will contain a large performing arts venue, Chamber Hall (complete with a kitchen to support rental events), music practice rooms, a weaving studio and a library/workshop. The basement will feature a pottery studio, jewelry and glass studios, a children’s workshop area and other work-shops. Lower floor workshops will open to an outdoor patio and garden area. Based on a design by Andrew Krzysiek of Bellingham’s Zervas Group and the con-sruction work of Exxel Pacific Inc., the ren-ovations have included touches of modern

art and riffs on the historic nature of the buildings. Exciting features include the return of the original openings onto Front Street of the fire hall doors, which lead to a piano bar and coffee shop on the main floor; the refinishing of both original tex-tured concrete floors and original Douglas fir floors throughout much of the struc-ture; a new outdoor deck with views to-ward Mount Baker; the upstairs Chamber Hall that will serve as a 130-person concert and reception hall complete with theater lighting and triple-pane glass; large open areas for dance; and a basement full of unique (pottery, jewelry, a glass kiln, etc.) art-creating tools. Email Tim Newcomb at [email protected].

The upstairs Chamber Room will function as a 130-person concert and reception hall. — Lynden Tribune | TIIM NEWCOMB


The design of the foothills resource center allows for lots of natural light to shine in through skylights and upper windows. — Lynden Tribune | MARK REIMERS

2012 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business

TimelessFerndale School District

Education is Timeless!ferndale.wed.met.edu • 383-9207

128 YearsMorse

Steel ServiceBellingham

756-6200

128 YearsChicago Title

Co.1616 Cornwall, Ste. 115

Bellingham507 Front Ste.115 Lynden

734-7000

128 YearsLivermore &

Sons, LLC5355 Homesteader Rd. • Deming

398-2211

127 YearsFerndale Record

2004 Main St. • P.O. Box 38Ferndale

ferndalerecord.com384-1411

125 YearsJerns FuneralChapel & Cremation

464 8th St. • Blaine5206 4th Ave. • Ferndale

6512 Guide Meridian • Lynden800 E. Sunset Dr. • Bellingham

734-0070

124 YearsLynden Tribune“We believe in community news.”

113 6th St. • Lynden354-4444

122 YearsBanner Bank

1815 Main St.Ferndale

bannerbank.com384-3300

121 YearsPeace Health

St. Joseph Medical Center

Bellingham734-5400

120 YearsWhatcom

Family YMCA1256 N. State St.

Bellingham • 733-8630

106 YearsLTI Inc./

Milky WayLynden

354-2101

104 YearsDiehl Ford

Lincoln MercuryBellingham

734-2640

102 YearsEbenezer

Christian SchoolLynden

354-2632

101 YearsMills

Electric4430 Pacific Hwy

Bellingham734-0730

96 YearsDarigold

Lynden354-2151

Mark ReimersLynden Tribune

KENDALL — Bringing the foothills com-munity together can be a moving target, es-pecially since the area to think about is so huge. The challenge is best illustrated by the Mount Baker School District’s effort to serve the largest land area of any school district in Washington State. While the district plays a big role in providing services to the area, many Mount Baker foothills residents often need to drive to Bellingham for other things, whether it be finding a healthcare professional, or renting space for a family gathering. But Whatcom County, with help and leadership from the Opportunity Council, has finished what the community hopes is just the beginning of a major foothills com-munity hub in Kendall. The first incarnation of the East What-com Regional Resource Center opened its doors in September 2011, after several years of planning. The new facility of 13,000 square feet, located at 8251 Kendall Rd., is the first of its type for Whatcom County, as far as a struc-

ture being built to fill a specific rural com-munity need, said interim center coordina-tor Rebecca Boonstra. Since opening, the center has had one wing completely taken over by the Opportu-nity Council’s Head Start preschool program, formerly housed on the Mount Baker High School campus. The $4.6 million building was built using a combination of county funds earmarked for economic development as well as a state community development grant and funds from Washington State Capital Programs. In recent weeks, the building has also added its first business tenant in Hi-Country Massage, which is run by partners Laurel Al-son and Laura Mackie. Mackie said she and Alson have high hopes for the location’s business potential, since both of them are foothills residents and want to serve locally. The quality of the facility is just an add-ed bonus, Mackie said, noting that they had their eye on the location as soon as they real-ized it would have usable business space. Boonstra, who is also the Foothills Chamber of Commerce director, said the building’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and

Plans include expansion on Kendall Road nine-acre parcel

East Whatcom Regional Center serving Head Start, local businesses



89 YearsParberry’s

NW RecyclingOldtown-1419 C St.

1515 Kentucky St. • Bellingham www.nwrecycling.com

733-0100

87 YearsLynden Meat

Co. LLCLynden

354-2449

87 YearsMuljat Group North Realtors

Lynden354-4242

83 YearsLouis Auto &

Residential Glass4th Generation

Family Owned & Operated BusinessLynden - 354-3232

Bellingham - 734-3840

81 YearsWhatcom Veterinary Hospital

Ferndale384-0212

79 YearsMaple Leaf Auto Body

Lynden354-2104

77 YearsAndgar Corp.

Whatcom County366-9900

www.andgar.com

76 YearsCargill

Ferndale Grain5744 3rd St. • Ferndale

384-1101

75 YearsWilland’s Tech-Auto

2040 Vista Drive • Ferndalewww.willands.com

384-1584

74 YearsWestern Roofing

3705 Irongate Rd. • Bellingham734-1830

74 YearsPrice & Visser Millworks Inc.

Bellingham734-7700

92 YearsSnapper

Shuler Kenner Insuance

Lynden354-4488

91 YearsWM T. FollisLLC, Realtors

108 Prospect St.Bellingham

734-5850

91 YearsAmerican

Legion Post 1545537 2nd Ave, Ferndale

385-7474

91 YearsYeager’s

Sporting GoodsBellingham

733-1080

Environmental Design) certification is ap-parent in the amount of natural light that filters in through the many skylights and up-per windows, reducing the need for artificial lights in the daytime. The building’s clever design is also ap-parent in the way rainwater gets collected from the roof and directed down a waterfall near the Head Start outdoor activity area. Wendy Wasisco, the location’s Head Start supervisor, said the building is a teacher’s dream, especially when you take into ac-count the big scope of the Head Start mis-sion, which focuses on whole child develop-ment and kindergarten readiness. According to Wasisco and Boonstra, the wide-ranging free services offered through Head Start for low-income households — such as dental checks, child transportation, and individualized child development plans — are an ideal complement to the building’s original mission, which is to be tailored spe-cifically to local needs. A board of local community members tasked with helping direct the mission of the center, met on Thursday, Feb. 2, for a public meeting in order to answer questions and collect and prioritize ideas from potential users. Boonstra said the process was extremely successful, not only because of the useful feedback from attendees, but also because of the sense of satisfaction that some expressed to her at seeing their ideas and desires being explicitly included in the building’s future. However, given that the building sits on a nine-acre parcel of picturesque donated land, the center, which has already played host to many local gatherings and parties,

may, if funding allows, benefit from several additional adjacent buildings. That possibil-ity has county officials and Boonstra refer-ring to the current facility as “Phase 1.” Mackie, who is already scheduling mas-sage clients in her new space, said the cur-rent building is good start. “The building is beautiful,” she said. “It’s more than I hoped it would be.” In previous years, Kendall Elementary School down the road has served as a hub for many community gatherings. However, Boonstra said, for some parents, that facil-ity, although in good condition, isn’t as pref-erable since, with kids in that school, it can make it seem like they are living their entire lives at that building. Even on a practical level, the resource center, with its dividable activity rooms and full commercial kitchen, is much more in tune with the many demands of a diverse community, she said.

A Head Start preschool program of the Opportunity Council occupies one wing of the new building. — Lynden Tribune | MARK REIMERS

1. church community2. fitness and recreation3. senior4. medical5. adult education6. food-related activities7. youth sports playground8. wifi/internet9. after school programs10. farmers market/barter fair

Top 10 community use priorities compiled Feb. 2


Continued from C4

In 2009 Linda Bylsma, center, and Jeannie Cyr look over the Nooksack mystery quilt, which dates to 1931, in order to get clues as to its origin. — Lynden Tribune | FILE PHOTO

Quilt’s origin finally uncovered after several years of research


66 YearsDutch Cleaners

Front St. • Lynden354-3841

66 YearsAmeriCold

Lynden354-2138

65 YearsNorthwest

Propane LLCLynden

354-4471

64 YearsMeridian

EquipmentGuide Meridian

398-2141

63 YearsLarson Gross

CPAs & Consultants

Lynden • BellinghamBlaine • Burlington

734-4280

62 YearsKulshan

VeterinaryLynden

354-5095

60 YearsWhatcom Electric & Plumbing

Lynden354-2835

60 YearsLes Schwab

Ferndale1731 LaBounty Dr. • Ferndale

380-4660

59 YearsVanderPol

& Maas Inc.Lynden

354-3000

58 YearsCrawford Auto

Upholstery1977 Somerset St. • Ferndale

383-0747

58 YearsWagter’s

Automotive Service

Lynden354-2500

74 YearsVander Giessen

NurseryLynden

354-3097

72 YearsLynden Sheet

Metal Inc.837 Evergreen St. • Lynden

354-3991

69 YearsMt. Baker Silo

Lynden354-4940

66 YearsEverson

Auction Market LLCEverson966-3271

Brent LindquistTribune staff

NOOKSACK — Linda Bylsma enjoys both history and quilting, so researching a decades-old quilt discovered in an old stor-age cupboard at the Nooksack City Hall was the best of both worlds to her. Bylsma, a Nooksack City Council mem-ber, came into possession of the quilt about four years ago when visiting the city hall. “Since I was interested in it, they asked me if I wanted to take it and do research,” she said. The large quilt itself consists of many squares with a signature embroidered on each one. The date “1931” is written on mul-tiple squares as well, giving an idea of when the quilt was put together. Bylsma quickly found that the best way to get a handle on the quilt’s origin was sim-ply to get the word out and ask around. “A reporter went with me to the senior

Friendship quilt provides insight into Nooksack’s history


Bylsma received a phone call from a man named Glenn McGuire, who happened to live in Lynden. He explained that his great-grandmother Etta Aldrich was the quilt’s original recipient. The details began to fall into place from there.


52 YearsStrengholt

Construction Inc.

Kok Rd. • Lynden354-2210

52 YearsBromley’s

MarketSumas

988-4721

52 YearsNew York Life

InsuranceLynden

354-4433

51 YearsWalkers

Carpet One Floor & Home

Bellingham733-6390

51 YearsBoxx Berry

Farm6211 Northwest Dr. • Ferndale

www.boxxberryfarm.com380-2699

50 YearsMt. Baker

Fireplace Shop1273 Sunset Ave. • Bellingham

676-1383

50 YearsFairway Cafe

Lynden318-1302

49 YearsBob Wallin Insurance

1844 Iron St. • Bellingham734-5204

49 YearsVavra

Auto BodyNooksack966-4444

49 YearsWholesale

Travel SalesLynden

354-4477

48 YearsZ Recyclers

Inc.Guide Meridian • Lynden

734-5986

56 YearsDutch Treat Restaurant

Lynden354-2003

56 YearsOverhead

Door202 Ohio St. • Bellingham

Est. 1921 Hartford, IN734-5960

55 YearsJensen’s

Ferndale Floral2071 Vista Dr. • Ferndale

384-1616

54 YearsCharlie’s Auto Body

Lynden354-2172

center in Everson,” Bylsma said. “Some of the people knew some of the people on the quilt, but they didn’t have anything to tell about them, so I exhibited the quilt at the Lynden Craft & Antique Show show that year.” Those efforts, along with stories in the Lynden Tribune, Bellingham Herald and Foothills Gazette, began to draw people to see the quilt. After the show, Bylsma received a phone call from a man named Glenn McGuire, who happened to live in Lynden. He explained that his great-grandmother Etta Aldrich was the quilt’s original recipient. The details be-gan to fall into place from there. Bylsma had long speculated that the quilt was connected in some way to Nook-sack Advent Christian Church due to some details provided by people who had seen the quilt and its many signatures. As it turned

The quilt was in the possession of Etta's daughter-in-law, Lenora Aldrich, and when she died, her daughter gave the quilt to Ma-guire. “I had it for quite a number of years, and I offered it to Nooksack to see if they could display it,” Maguire said. The quilt is what’s known as a friend-ship or signature quilt, hence the names that cover its squares. Bylsma gave a presentation to the Everson Library in 2008, and the quilt has bounced between her place and the library numerous times since then. Currently, she has the quilt at her house, but will return it to the library soon for public display. It won’t stop there, however. Evidence suggests that many of the women who worked on the quilt attended Nooksack Advent Christian Church at the

time of the quilt’s creation. “They were affiliated with the camp more than with the church,” Bylsma said. “We don’t have any rock-solid informa-tion yet that says everybody attended the church.” For example, some locals say that their relatives whose signatures are on the quilt actually attended a Presbyterian church in Nooksack years ago. Still, that doesn’t neces-sarily mean they didn’t attend church in the same building. “The building the Advent church is in used to be the Presbyterian church,” Bylsma said. “We don’t have a Presbyterian church in Nooksack anymore.” Bylsma’s research is ongoing, and she has enlisted the help of several people to as-sist in that research. When the city’s centen-nial celebration of its incorporation takes place in September, she plans to give the quilt to the church to hang in its lobby. “I’m going to make a presentation at the church,” Bylsma said. “I’m going to present the quilt to them and explain the history and the pertinence to the centennial. They’re willing to put it on display in that fellowship hall. It is a really big quilt, so they’re going to hang it on the wall, and it’s going to be a hanging history that people can always go look at.” A history of the Nooksack Advent Chris-tian Church, written by Alma Germain, states that construction of the present build-ing on Jackson Street was started in 1909 and the first meeting in it was in August 2010. A parsonage was built starting in 1912. Email Brent Lindquist at [email protected].

out, the quilt actually originated from the old Nooksack church camp, which was a promi-nent site on the western side of Nooksack dating back to 1898. “(Aldrich) and her husband had moved here from Montana,” Bylsma said. “They had come out to a camp meeting at the camp-grounds all the way from Montana, and they loved it here. They went home, packed up, (came to Nooksack) and settled down.” Aldrich and her family moved to Nook-sack in 1918, but she was eventually forced to move again due to circumstances beyond her control. “She had 12 children,” Bylsma said. “When her husband died, she was no longer able to carry on the farm. She moved to Lyn-den and then to Port Angeles with her daugh-ter, Doris. This group of 48 people made this quilt for her as a goodbye gift.”



46 YearsEdwards

DraperiesLynden

966-4142

45 YearsTellefsen Trucking

Everson966-2779

45 YearsRalph’s Floors

Front St. • Lynden354-4804

45 YearsZylstra

TireLynden

354-4493

45 YearsHuizenga Brothers Construction Inc.

Lynden354-2196

45 YearsNorWest

HydraulicLynden

354-3239

44 YearsPrism

Painting2425 Mill Ave. • Bellingham

733-4122

44 YearsSchouten

Construction LLCLynden

354-2595

43 YearsPete’s

Auto Repair

6209 Portal Way Bld.2 • Ferndalepetesautorepair.net

380-2277

43 YearsLee’s Appliance

Service9471 Axlund Rd. • Lynden

354-5500

42 YearsAl’s Electric & Plumbing302 Hawley St. • Lynden

354-2187

47 YearsMarr’s

Heating & Air Conditioning

1677 Mt. Baker Hwy • Bellinghamwww.marrsheating.com • 734-4455

47 YearsValley

Plumbing& Electric

Sumas988-9631

47 YearsAlvord Richardson

Construction Co. Inc.

Bellingham734-3480

46 YearsVan Loo’s

Auto ServiceLynden

354-4277

Calvin BrattLynden Tribune

FERNDALE — Back in 2003, when brothers Cason and Marty VanDriel start-ed TriVan Truck Body on West Smith Road, they had one big building — and dreams for a business there. On Feb. 10 this year, they could cel-ebrate how dreams become reality. “With 40,000 square feet, we had no idea as to how we would fill it all,” Cason recalled. “And now we have 40,000 square feet and we don’t know how we can fit any-thing more into it.” TriVan has gone all the way from proudly producing its first truck body with a staff of 12 to now rolling out its 2,000th unit with a crew of 95 employees. Two weeks ago, the milestone earned everyone a big barbecue lunch and an all-compa-ny photo in front of the almost-finished product. Cason VanDriel, as company presi-dent, stood on the rear hoist of the 26-foot truck that was destined for Albert Lee Ap-

End destinations of customized rigs range from oil fields to the movie industry

Truck builder TriVan celebrates 2,000th unit

Company president Cason VanDriel speaks to his TriVan Truck Body employees Feb. 10 at completion of the 2,000th unit. — Lynden Tribune | CALVIN BRATT



40 YearsTyas & Tyas Backhoe &

Sewer ServiceSumas

988-6895

39 YearsM & W Carpet

Cleaning360-671-2729

39 YearsVan’s Plumbing

& ElectricLynden

354-2171

38 YearsTiger

Construction Ltd.Everson966-7252

37 YearsBas Construction & Development

Services-Project management services

-Condominium reserve analysis-Building and closure design

2627 Harbor Loop, Suite 7 •Bellingham752-9099

37 YearsBoice Raplee &

Ross Accounting & Tax Service

Lynden354-4565

36 YearsWhatcom Gutter Co.

of Whatcom & Skagit Counties354-5810

36 YearsCanyon

IndustriesDeming

592-5552

36 YearsSalmonson

ConstructionGeneral Contractor

Since 1976Lynden

354-4395

36 YearsMultop

FinancialBellingham

671-7891

36 YearsNorthwest

Auto & ElectricBellingham

616-8352

41 YearsDeYoung &

Roosma Construction Inc.

Lynden354-3374

41 YearsNooksack

Valley DisposalLynden

354-3400

41 YearsWindsor Plywood

Bellingham676-1025

40 YearsBay Trophies & Engraving Inc.

Bellingham676-0868

pliances of Seattle, and addressed his em-ployees. If all 2,000 of the units made so far were parked end to end, they would stretch from Smith Road down Interstate 5 to the Blaine border crossing, he said. He called the achievement for a What-com County vehicle manufacturer “hard to believe.” In turn, Gerry Wheaton of Albert Lee praised TriVan as having the finest crafts-manship in truck box construction in all of Washington State. This was the first purchase from Tri-Van for the five-store retailer, but it will certainly not be the last, Wheaton said. The delivery truck was built from the chas-sis bar and axles on up to completion in just a little over two weeks, with “a fit and finish second to none,” he said. “It really is phenomenal the work they do.” 2011, in particular, was a banner year for TriVan. New workers were hired to meet demand. “Our output was double what it was in 2010 and that year was good for us as well,” VanDriel said. All of TriVan’s work is customized to the precise needs of the end user, but that also means workers must be adaptable and open to changes that may occur dur-ing the construction process, said Jan Kot-telenberg, engineering manager. “Our guys are asked to solve problems every day,” he said. "They need to accept wrinkles in the process.” A couple of trucks being built right now for Enerflow Industries will be spe-cialized rigs to handle engineering equip-ment on oil fields in Alberta and Texas,

Kottelenberg said. One unit must contain a kitchen and a lab room and be air-con-ditioned too, he noted. “This is like the nerve center (of an oil drilling operation),” he said. “We build the box. Our customers put the stuff in-side.” Another strong buyer has been Ul-traShred, which needs trucks for mobile large-scale document shredding. TriVan has done well over 100 trucks of various sizes for this customer. Usually the floor of the truck must be built for bottom un-loading. King Kong Productions needs a 53-foot trailer prepped for all the needs of high-end TV, movie and commercials production. One rig will have to contain rooms for wardrobing, makeup, and movie splicing, as well as a lounge and restrooms. Metal fabrication, especially with aluminum, into unique Snap-Lock pan-els, like Legos, is a key feature of the Tri-Van system. But skills in welding, com-puters, electronics and woodworking are also needed, Kottelenberg said. TriVan wouldn’t be what it is with-out such a great group of individuals functioning together as a team,” Cason VanDriel said. “Over the past 15 months, we have begun to implement lean man-ufacturing and have seen tremendous leaders being forged here.” The four partners in the company, Cason, Marty and Ryan VanDriel, as well as Kottelenberg, all reside in Lynden. Email Calvin Bratt at [email protected].

Customer Gerry Wheaton of Albert Lee Appliances points to the chassis base on which TriVan built the truck box. — Lynden Tribune | CALVIN BRATT


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Jenny Rose Lara for the Ferndale Record

FERNDALE — At last count, 12 per-cent of Ferndale’s population, or about 1,400 people, lived below the federal pov-erty guideline, and unemployment in Whatcom County’s third-largest city hov-ered at around 10 percent. Last year, one in seven Americans were enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Pro-gram (formerly known as food stamps), including more than 25,000 Whatcom County residents. More were eligible. These numbers are not far from the rising national average and as need grows, food programs rising to meet that chal-lenge are becoming increasingly acces-sible and dynamic. In Ferndale, many of these groups rank their concern for food quality and community-building as top priorities, and they are partnering with farmers, garden education programs and each other to create a more stable, perma-nent solution to food insecurity. “Our mission, essentially, is to provide a safe and supportive environment for people to grow food and have fresh and organic vegetables for their tables,” said Gloria Perez, a Master Gardener and coor-dinator of the Ferndale Friendship Com-munity Garden. “Everyone is welcome.” Now entering its fourth year, the Friendship Garden includes 24 individual garden plots on city land behind Pioneer Park. For a sliding scale fee of $10 to $20, an individual or family can lease a plot, share the greenhouse and access the communal corn and pumpkin fields for one year. Also located on the grounds, the Giving Garden is used to cultivate produce that is then donated to the Ferndale Food Bank. Vol-untarily tended by plot holders, the Giving Garden donated more than 740 pounds of

... to achieve food security for Ferndalefresh produce in 2011 alone. In addition, many member gardeners choose to indi-vidually donate organic vegetables during the peak season when gardens are pro-ducing in abundance, said Perez. Whatcom County food banks have seen a steady rise in client visits over the last five years, beginning with a massive 39 percent jump between 2007 and 2009 as the economy went into a nosedive. In 2011, the Ferndale Food Bank recorded an 18 percent rise in new clients. Almost without exception, said Ferndale Food Bank director Suzanne Nevan, these new clients are trying to make up for reduced income, and many are senior citizens or families with multiple school-aged chil-dren. “Nearly half of our clients have jobs,” said Nevan. “Experiencing cutbacks at work is another huge voice coming out of the masses.” In May 2011, the food bank received $25,000 from the Wal-Mart Foundation’s Washington State Giving Council as part of a series of grants awarded to basic needs-based nonprofits throughout the state. The food bank invested most of the grant into developing a long-term part-nership with local farmers. The Farm to Food Bank Program objective, said Nevan, is to provide a consistent supply of locally grown, nutrient-dense food to the com-munity. In the year ahead, Perez said, she hopes to help create a second commu-nity garden in Ferndale. “It doesn’t need to take a lot,” she said, “if we have some space and some water.” A goal for the food bank in 2012 is to work more closely with the Ferndale schools, Nevan said. This could include increasing access to the summer lunch program, which serves brown bag lunches

Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association volunteers helped out in 2011 at the Ferndale Friendship Community Garden. — Courtesy photo

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to Ferndale students when schools are out of session. Currently, the Ferndale Boys & Girls Club is the only venue serving sum-mertime meals, and Nevan said she is ne-gotiating with several other organizations to enhance that effort. The food bank is one possibility. “It seems like natural fit,” she said. During the school year, the Free and Reduced Price Meal Program available through the Ferndale School District from the U.S. Department of Agriculture offers discounted school lunches to stu-dents who qualify. In Ferndale, enroll-ment in the program has increased 8.5 percent percent since 2007. In October 2011, 2,368 Ferndale students — nearly half the student body — were enrolled, and numbers are expected to grow in the coming year. “Not only has the number of eligible students increased,” said Alex Singer, Ferndale schools’ food service program director. “But we’ve also stepped up our promotion of benefits and services, so we’ve seen a steady rise.” State and federal agencies use dif-ferent guidelines to determine eligibil-ity, but all are income-based. Because of these differences, a family may receive increased benefits by applying for state services. “When we have families who qual-ify under federal guidelines for reduced lunches, we encourage them to apply for state benefits,” said Singer. If a fam-ily qualifies for state programs like Basic Food, they are automatically eligible for free lunches. They might also find they

qualify for other services, such as medi-cal or utilities assistance, said Singer. Application forms are sent home with students each year and are widely available throughout the schools and online at www.ferndale.wednet.edu. To apply, families can use either an income report or proof of state benefit enroll-ment. Food programs in Ferndale are also about community. On two Saturdays each month be-tween 10 a.m. and noon, a homemade hot lunch known since 2003 as the Fern-dale Community Meal is open to all. The program, held at the United Church of Ferndale, is a nondenomina-tional nonprofit organization operating, like the Friendship Garden, under the Ferndale Service Co-op. More than 20 volunteers, includ-ing a professional chef, plan, coordinate and execute each meal from prepara-tion to cleanup. The organization has a roster of hundreds to draw from and a core group of volunteers who serve on the steering committee. Meals are en-tirely supported by private donations and volunteers. For meal schedules and menus, call 714-9029. To donate or volunteer, call 384-1422. For more information on the Ferndale Friendship Garden and to sign up for a plot, contact Gloria Perez at 223-3836. For more information on food bank hours or to volunteer, contact the Ferndale Food Bank at 384-1506. Email Jenny Rose Lara at [email protected].

Volunteers are essential for the operation of the Ferndale Food Bank. — Courtesy photo


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BELLINGHAM — If you look at the fig-ures, plenty more folks in north Whatcom County are now using Bellingham Interna-tional Airport (BLI), a wing of the county-wide Port of Bellingham, than in the past. Of course, those same statistics tell us quite a few more people in general are using the airport, which has seen annual growth of 25 percent over the past six years. A traditional airport experiences about 3 percent growth each year, so six straight years of Bellingham-sized growth? Well, that’s “phenomenal,” according to new air-port director Daniel Zenk, who says the sta-tistic places BLI as one of the fastest growing airports in the nation. The growth isn’t completely due to Ca-nadians, as many people think, since the airport’s customer base runs only about 60 percent from the land to the north. To accommodate all the people, the air-port completed Phase 1 of its construction plan last year and will start Phase 2 in mid-March. The new four-gate boarding area, de-

Bellingham airport one of fastest growing in nationConstruction of a new terminal will begin in March

signed in a modern Northwest style, opened June 28, 2011. The 20,000-square-foot space was constructed by Everson-based Tiger Construction at a cost of $9 million. With 733 seats and a building capac-ity of much more, the upgrade gets BLI to an adequate level of gates, Zenk said. But if growth like this continues, then the airport will need more gates within three years. Phase 2 will bring one more gate. The $16.1 million contract is going to Belling-ham’s Dawson Construction, announced as the apparent low bidder this month; fi-nal contract details are being worked out. That project, which starts in mid-March, will run for two years and turn the existing 27,000-square-foot terminal building into a 90,000-square-foot terminal built in a Northwest style to match the new gates. The new terminal completely renovates the old one and then extends to the north for a new ticket counter and baggage make-up area. A new baggage claim area will get added to the south. The construction will certainly cause some disturbance within airport operations, but construction walls and corridors will aim to get passengers and airlines through

Bellingham International Airport is rapidly getting more area for traveler process-ing. — Courtesy photo


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• EVERYDAY Fitness• Barb’s Pies and Pastries• Ferndale Unity Group• AwesomeDrinks.com• Pel Meni LLC• Telegraph Engineering LLC• Rene’s Music & Art• Donna Davis LMHC

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the two-year period as minimally disturbed as possible, Zenk said. The new fifth gate will certainly come in handy, since BLI will also add a third airline to its mix in March and its current carriers continue to add flights and destinations. Alaska Airlines currently flies to Seattle, Las Vegas and Honolulu, all daily offerings. It plans to add a second flight to Las Vegas, starting on March 11, and will bring back sea-sonal flights to Portland for the summer. Allegiant, when it joined BLI in June 2004, created a new demographic of travelers out of Bellingham. Currently, eight destinations to the south are offered, in California, Arizona and Nevada. But what BLI misses ever since Delta pulled out and stopped flying to Salt Lake City, a practice it ran from 2006 through 2008, is connections to the east. Such service returns on March 24, when Frontier Air-lines will test out flights to Denver through Sept. 16. “We are very excited about Frontier and hopefully they start year-round flights,” Zenk said. “It is nice to have a car-rier come in and provide (east-connecting) service.” All the airline and building growth has also required parking additions — four new parking expansions in five years, actually. Now BLI has 2,800 stalls, but Zenk said even more may be needed soon. As airlines get added and buildings expand, more jobs are being created at BLI. Already, the airlines employ nearly 250 and TSA employs about 50. The new full-service Scotty Brown’s restaurant, set to open in the new gate building in June, will hire about 30 and another vendor, Halibut Hen-ry’s, employs 15. The Port of Bellingham has 20 employees in its aviation division, an enterprise fund that doesn’t take a penny from taxpayers, Zenk said, and operates fully on user fees. The money needed to fund the new projects comes from revenue bonds, which get paid back through passen-ger-paid facility fees. So, if BLI needs to expand again and add a third phase, it can. It may very well just do that. Email Tim Newcomb at [email protected].

A fifth passenger boarding gate will be built in 2012, and Frontier Airlines will begin testing flights to Denver on March 24. — Courtesy photo


Even children took part in portions of the summer 2011 North American Land Surveyors canoe trip down four rivers, including the Columbia, retracing explorer David Thompson’s route. — Courtesy photo

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Brent LindquistTribune staff

LYNDEN — Denny DeMeyer founded Northwest Surveying & GPS in 1984, inspired by his passion for surveying and his status as a self-proclaimed history buff. “The survey history is my passion,” De-Meyer said. “It kind of comes with the terri-tory when you’re surveying. You have to do so much research. That’s the part of the job that attracted me to surveying. Before you can lay out logging roads and logging units, you have to figure out ownership.” Denny worked as a forest technician, as-sistant logging engineer, land surveyor and senior logging engineer for Georgia-Pacific from 1969 to 1988, before going on his own. His wife, Dolores, is a local Windermere Real Estate agent. Last year, like he often does, DeMeyer joined together his intertwined passions for history and surveying by participating, along with Dolores, in the 2011 David Thompson Columbia Brigade.

Denny and Dolores DeMeyer made 1,100-mile canoe trek last year through multiple rivers

Local surveyor combines passions for surveying, history


Nineteenth Century explorer David Thompson was charged with finding a trade route to the Pacific Ocean for the British in Canada. — Courtesy Illustration

2012 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business35 YearsMt. Baker

Roofing Inc.Bellingham

733-0191

35 YearsMeyer’s

Construction & Cabinets

Lynden354-5297

35 YearsKeith A. Bode

Attorney at LawLynden

354-5021

34 YearsMarlin’s

76 ServiceLynden

354-4976

33 YearsFerndale

True Value2000 Main St. • Ferndale

384-1804

33 YearsRoosendaal

Honcoop ConstructionGuide Meridian • Bellingham

398-2800

32 YearsFerndale Mini

Storage5480 Nielsen Ave. • Ferndale

384-3022

32 YearsKid’s

Country School170 E. Pole Rd. • Lynden

398-2834

32 YearsRiverside

Cabinet Co.Lynden

354-3070

32 YearsLynden Paint & Decorating

Lynden354-5858

31 YearsPRAISE

106.5 FMLynden

354-5596

31 YearsStevenson, McCulloch

CPA’s, Inc., P.S.1951 Main St. • Ferndale

www.a1cpa.com • 384-0088

30 YearsNelson

Driving SchoolFerndale • BellinghamMeridian High School

Lynden 354-8777

30 YearsNooksack

Valley Building Center

Everson966-5181

30 YearsTelgenhoff & Oetgen

Lynden354-5545

The brigade

David Thompson was born in England in 1770 and was apprenticed at age 14 to the Hud-son's Bay Company. He landed at Hudson Bay in 1784, beginning a prestigious career of sur-veying and mapmaking of North America. In the West, Thompson became the first to com-pletely traverse the Columbia River. That was in 1811. Denny, Dolores and their colleagues planned to arrive in Astoria. Ore., exactly 200 years to the day from when Thompson did, be-ginning in Invermere, B.C. The trip would take them via the Kootenai, Clark Fork, Pend Oreille and Columbia rivers. The Lynden pair were appointed co-chairs of the committees for community contact, logistics and recruitment. They tackled the daunting task of figuring out where the group would stay each night. They also needed to de-termine the details of portage around the 14 dams they would encounter in Montana, Ida-ho, Oregon and Washington. The trip itself began on June 3, 2011, and was set to run until July 15. The group took ten 25-foot Voyageur canoes out of Invermere to begin the 1,100-mile trip to Astoria. Denny and Dolores were responsible for two of the 10 ca-noes. The journey was broken up into six one-week segments, which added up to six different crews on the canoes. Denny and Dolores were two of the nine participants who stayed with the group the entire trip. The paddling crews consisted of people from Hawaii, Wisconsin, California, Ontario, British Columbia and Al-berta, 55 between their two canoes alone. “We made 50 strokes a minute, and you do

that all day,” DeMeyer said. “You do 50 strokes on one side (of the canoe), and then you switch. Roughly every minute you’re switching sides.” All the planning that went into the trip seemed to pay off, as the group didn’t run into any major mishaps on the entire voyage. Only one canoe capsized, and that wasn’t even dur-ing the main leg of the trip. “It was an answer to prayer in that respect,” DeMeyer said. “One of the canoes did capsize in a training session, but it was a couple days before the formal start of the brigade. It was up in the headwaters of the Kootenai, so it was pretty shallow.” Denny DeMeyer said there were a few scary moments, including ones when canoe crews had to bail water out of the canoes while keeping pace. “There were a couple situations there that were a little bit nervous for sure,” he said. “You get dead in the water. That’s not good at all. The number-three seat guy just stopped paddling and bailed it the entire time.” Aside from those few instances, the trip went off without a hitch, thanks in large part to the support of the many communities along the route. “The communities were just outstanding,” DeMeyer said. “Most of them fed us and provid-ed us with garbage services and food and wa-ter and camping facilitites. Sometimes the city parks bent the rules. National and state parks bent the rules for us as well.” The brigade arrived successfully on sched-ule in Astoria, capping off the 1,100-mile jour-ney 200 years to the day that Thompson fin-ished his own trek. Email Brent Lindquist at [email protected].


2012 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business30 Years

Kamps Painting Co.

Lynden354-5513

30 YearsNorthwest

Surveying & GPSLynden

354-1950

28 YearsKelly’s O’Deli

CateringWe cater for you.

kellysodelicatering.com384-1702

28 YearsVanderpol

Realty289 H St. • Blaine

[email protected]

28 YearsStremler Gravel

Lynden354-8585

28 YearsRaspberry Ridge Golf Community

Lynden354-3029

28 YearsWalls &

WindowsBellingham

676-5223

28 YearsThe Mailbox

1770 Front St. • Lynden354-5766

28 YearsLynden

Service CenterLynden

354-2611

27 YearsBaker

Plumbing & Septic Inc.

Ferndale383-0013

26 YearsMotor Weld

Inc.Bellingham

671-8770

26 YearsRoger Jobs

Motors2200 Iowa St. • Bellingham

734-5230

26 YearsPacific

PumpingLynden

354-4409

26 YearsRose

Construction Inc.

Bellingham398-7000

26 YearsJohn J. Kamrar Attorney at Law P.S.

Lynden354-3568


LYNDEN — The Woods Coffee has made more money in the last 10 years than large companies such as Tully’s by turning one lone Lynden store opened on Feb. 4, 2002, into three in Lynden and then a to-tal of a dozen stores throughout Whatcom County. Now, with the goal of 12 stores in Whatcom County in 10 years met, owner Wes Herman, 53, isn’t ready to stop looking into those details, aiming for the next wave of Woods openings, including planned ex-pansions into Skagit County and possible exploration into British Columbia. Already, The Woods employs 130, not counting the local vendors, contractors and maintenance people supported by their operations, at the 12 retail locations, Lynden bakery and Lynden administrative headquarters.

When the first Woods store opened in Bender Plaza, Herman had plenty more planned. From day one, his internal pass-word was “12in10” (12 stores in 10 years) and the second store opened next to the Lynden Safeway just six months after the first. Soon thereafter he added a drive-through-only spot at the Fairway Center (it later moved into its own location) and then he made a foray into Bellingham with the King Street location. “Anybody can do a one off take (store) in free form, but where we shine is we have developed systems that work and that we can duplicate,” Herman said. “They are not perfect, but they are our systems.” Those systems, and the employees’ atten-tion to every detail and customer, Herman said, have made The Woods a powerful force locally.

A defining moment The single event in Woods’ history

Wes Herman, The Woods Coffee owner, celebrates 10 years of business, but it wasn't without adversity. — Courtesy of CHAD DE ROSA

The Woods Coffee celebrates 10 years and 12 storesLocally grown business faced adversity early on, then a defining moment


The Woods Coffee's Boulevard Park location proved to be a key part of the com-pany's growth progress. — Courtesy photo


24 YearsF.J. Darby

O’Neil, CPA2080 Alder St. • Belingham

384-1421

24 YearsFairway

DrugLynden

354-1226

23 YearsSturtz

FinishesBellingham

961-1347

23 YearsBellingham

Asthma/Allergy3015 Squalicum Pkwy, Suite 180

Bellingham733-5733

22 YearsCustom Closets

& Bedrooms4073 Hannegan Rd. • Bellingham

738-9121

22 YearsCozy Corner

Books & Coffee5772 2nd Ave. • Ferndale

380-16423094 N.W. Ave, Bellingham

647-1747

22 YearsSmith

Mechanical Inc.6146 Portal Way • Ferndale

384-3203

21 YearsClean Water

ServicesLynden

354-2121

21 YearsCity HairLynden

354-0538

20 YearsBoss

Construction4945 Guide Meridan • Bellingham

398-2300

20 YearsDun Rite

Pressure WashBellingham

398-7072

20 YearsMoncrieff

Construction Inc.Lynden

354-7602

20 YearsWhatcom

WindshieldsBellingham

738-9795

20 YearsExcel

ElectricLynden

354-6873

19 YearsCedarwood

Canine School6497 Woodlyn Rd. • Ferndale

Most recommended dog trainer384-6955

cant (challenge). It was left to my wife, family and other guidance. At that junc-ture, we hadn’t been in the black, always red, and both stores went into the black in the first month and never looked back.” The Canadian citizen faced likely de-portation after serving a full year for insur-ance fraud, but a judge “miraculously” al-lowed him to stay. Herman said that as a local business

owner, that situation left him “fully ex-posed,” but it allowed him to focus his life and understand God’s grace. “That time was fraught with all kinds of potential failures for family, life and business and it was pretty interesting to see how God worked in every step,” he said. “It has become a part of our story.” Email Tim Newcomb at [email protected].

that defined the company came when it tackled the renovation of a 100-year-old building in Boulevard Park, not exactly the norm for shops seeking a steady stream of traffic and drive-through options. “Boulevard Park set the tone for tak-ing care of a 100-year-old building with no character and spending a lot of mon-ey and putting in a lot of effort to create real value,” he said. “We bit off way more than we could chew with Boulevard. We were warned it was a money pit and it was, but we knew what our ultimate goal there was.” That goal was to show community stewardship and also interact with the community in a new way, something Boulevard has proven works as one of the company’s most successful shops, even as a walk-up location tucked inside a city park. At the time, The Woods was strug-gling to find enough cash to finish the Boulevard store, its sixth location, until a generous loan (one that didn’t require him selling part ownership) came through. The loan allowed him to continue the family-owned business (the families of all four children are involved in management in some way) and fulfill his goal of creating a business that could provide income for his family for multiple generations. Once Boulevard cemented The Woods Coffee in Bellingham’s mind, King Street (store four) and Bakerview (number five) took off and the company then added Railroad, Ferndale, Birch Bay, Flatiron, Meridian and Sehome, in that order. If Whatcom County residents love to sup-

port local businesses, Herman has given them plenty of opportunity. During that stretch, The Woods built six stores in a two-year period.

Continued growth And it doesn’t stop there, with at least two or three more Woods locations likely remaining in Whatcom County, Herman said, although the only concrete spot is as the centerpiece of the new theater complex in Barkley Village, opening by late 2012. Future growth would still likely center in Bellingham, although Herman hasn’t yet ruled out Everson, Blaine or Sudden Valley. Herman, though, expects the next opening to come in Skagit County, with possibly three stores there in quick suc-cession. “We have to be cautious and in-tentional about that growth,” he said. And since the Lynden bakery, opened in 2011, supports all stores, distance becomes a factor too when considering new stores. As The Woods looks for expansion op-portunities, the company will look where others won’t, as evidenced by Boulevard or the fact that six of the 12 locations were either previously used or planned by Star-bucks or Tully’s, including the Lynden Safe-way location, which was originally going to be the first store in the chain.

The biggest challenge The other biggest hurdle in the 10 years (apart from Boulevard) was year number two, which Herman spent in fed-eral prison. “That is what could put you under,” Herman said. “That was the most signifi-


Continued from C4

Elderly find comfort at Russian immigrant’s Lynden Adult Family Home

2012 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business19 YearsEverson

Service Pro Inc.Nooksack966-4664

19 YearsNorthwest

ElectricLynden

354-7021

19 YearsEastside

HairLynden

354-8295

17 YearsCommunication

2000Lynden

398-9357

17 YearsRCI

Construction Inc.Sumas

988-6101

16 YearsNatural Way Chiropractic

1943 Main St., Ferndale2000 N. State St., B’ham102 Grover St., Lynden

naturalwaychiro.org384-1396

16 YearsTaylor’s

Backyard Center

Bellingham756-0909

15 YearsLaser Point Awards &

Promotions205 Kelly Rd. • Bellingham

laserpointawards.com398-8714

15 YearsRouse

Chiropractic2068 Vista Dr. • Ferndale

312-8822

15 YearsBarbie’s Berries

7655 Melody Ln. • FerndaleFresh in summer,

frozen available all year.www.barbiesberries.com

384-1260

15 YearsLynden

Lube & AutoLynden

354-7698

15 YearsP & P

Excavating2499 Smith Rd. • Bellingham

592-5374

15 YearsCurb Shots Espresso

6018 Portal Way • Ferndale Support your local

Ferndale Family. Serving whole bean and gourmet coffee.

13 YearsEastside

Market & DeliLynden

354-2246

13 YearsInternational Graphics &

Designwww.intlgraphicsdesign.com

Lynden • 318-1125

Kate Ver Ploegfor the Lynden Tribune

LYNDEN — “Be Nice to Your Kids, They’ll Choose Your Nursing Home.” That’s the bumper sticker posted just inside the Lynden Adult Family Home out on East-wood Way, and many folks would likely hope they’ve been nice enough to be cared for here by its owner, Lana Butayeva. Lana opened the small assisted-living home as an affordable alternative to the standard choice: home care or nursing home. With just five bedrooms and an open kitchen, Lynden Adult Family Home feels more like a grandmother’s home than an el-derly care facility. Lace curtains hang in the windows, a glass curio cabinet stands in the living room, and fruit trees edge the large backyard.

A small woman with a soft accent, Lana originally worked as an electrical engineer in her native Russia. When asked how elder-ly care in Russia differs from American care, Lana says that there at least one child is ex-pected to live with the parents. When her parents left for the United States, her uncle’s family moved in to live with her grandpar-ents. Here in Whatcom County, her parents live with her sister. In contrast to the dilem-ma many American families face, Lana says the Russian way is “not so stressful.” Upon arriving in Washington, Lana started work as a caregiver for Dorothy Haggen (of the Haggen food stores family) — and Lana found her calling. She opened Lynden Adult Family Home seven years ago. “I feel like I’m in the right shoe,” she smiles. Lana arrives every day to help care for

Welcome to Lana’s home

Lana Butayeva, proprietor of Lynden Adult Family Home, interacts with Martha, one of the residents. — Lynden Tribune | KATE VER PLOEG


2012 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business13 Years

Lynden Family Chiropractic

Lynden318-0123

12 YearsKeith Cox Autobahn

1118 Iowa St. • Bellingham733-2721

12 YearsRusty

WagonLynden

354-5236

12 YearsWindmill Inn &

Trailer ParkGuide Meridian • Lynden

354-3424

11 YearsMt. Baker

Auto & GlassBellingham

527-8774

11 YearsNoisy Neighbor

Music Inc.Fairway Center • Lynden

318-1441

10 YearsNuthouse

Grill

Lynden318-0588

9 YearsTangled Threads

Lynden318-1567

7 YearsQuizno’s

1873 Main St. #2 • Ferndalequiznos.com

384-3090

7 YearsSorenson

Truck Repair & Equipment

Lynden318-1000

7 Years2nd Avenue

Sports2026 Main St. • Ferndale

312-9698

6 YearsHeston

Hauling Service6397 Portal Way • FerndaleTowing service available.

312-8697

6 YearsJon’s

Truck Repair8471 Guide Meridian - Shop

Lynden318-1648

6 YearsGlen Echo Botanical Gardens

Bellingham592-5380

6 YearsSiper

QuarryEverson592-3500

4 YearsFerndale

Events Center5715 Barrett Rd. • Ferndaleferndaleeventscenter.com

734-7832

2 YearsHolland Heating

Over 20 Years HVAC experience

Cont. #HOLLAH*9130W3998 Brown Rd. • Ferndale

325-3165

2.5 YearsBlack Market

Boutique2010 N. State St. • Bellingham

756-9440

2 YearsFinal Touch

Auto Spa1916 Iowa St. • Bellingham

734-3840

1 YearImhof

Automotive2869 W. 63rd Ln. • Ferndale

Over 30 years in automotive experience

393-8938

8 MonthsCheeks

Designer Jeans & Undies

105 3rd St. • Lynden778-1849

The Lynden Tribune and Ferndale Record congratulate these businesses and

wish them many successful years to come!

With just five bedrooms and an open kitchen, Lynden Adult Family

Home feels more like a grandmother’s home than

an elderly care facility.

People with all sorts of different medical needs are able to subscribe to the Lifeline quick-alert service. — Courtesy photo

the residents, aided by four other caregivers. She often finds that what they want most is conversation, and sometimes she talks to them about God. She is a Christian, and one of her sons preaches on the streets of Vancouver, Lana said. She does her best to minister through the adult family home. Though not specifically a Christian home, Lana hopes that each resident will talk to God before he or she passes, and she claims that even those who initially resist eventually experi-ence some kind of conversion. She tells the story of one resi-dent whom she cared for free of charge after his son ran out of money. A nonbeliever, the man told her, “I see Him through you,” two hours before he died. Believing she’ll work at Lynden Adult Family Home forev-er, Lana says, “I think this is what God wants me to do.” For more information, visit www.lyndenafh.com or call 393-9222. Email Kate Ver Ploeg at [email protected].


Steve Alexander, MD

Margaret Burden, MDRobin Caldwell, MD

Larry Hartwell, MDJohn Hiemstra, DOBruce Pederson, MD

Oliver Bujak, MD

Karen Goodman, ARNP

Teresa Reiger, ARNP

Your Medical HomeLynden Family Medicine and Birch Bay Family Medicine are dedicated to meeting the medical needs of the north Whatcom County community. The Physicians are all Diplomats of the American Board of Family Practice, and our Nurse Practitioners are nationally certified in the specialty of family medicine. As family practitioners, they serve people in several areas of exper-tise, including obstetrics, women’s health care, pediatrics, adult medicine, care of the elderly and minor surgery.

John Gunningham, MD*

Sarah Stewart, ARNP

Hannah Bujak, MD

Lynden Family Medicine1610 Grover Street, Suite D-1, Lynden • (360) 354-1333

Birch Bay Family Medicine8097 Harborview Rd., Blaine • (360) 371-5855

*Dr. Cunningham is now offering OB care at Everson Family Medicine.

Megan ClaflinFerndale Record

WHATCOM — It goes without saying that owning and operating a small, inde-pendent business is a challenge. In order to maintain a high level of customer ser-vice, create a quality competitive product and achieve efficiency in today’s economic climate, even the most innovative of entre-preneurs can adopt the “soldier on” men-tality. But this March, the Ferndale Cham-ber of Commerce and its partners are encouraging members and all businesses to remember why they chose to join the marketplace in the first place — that is, to make their dreams come true. Coming for the first time to North-west Washington, the Disney Institute Leadership Excellence program will bring experts from the world-leading entertain-ment company to Bellingham for a one-day seminar on the art of leadership and its effects on employee performance and company-wide success. Since announcing the event last fall, Ferndale Chamber of Commerce Guy Occhiogrosso has seen more than 160 in-dividuals from at least 55 organizations

Business should be ‘where dreams become reality’Disney Institute program, coming to Whatcom County in March, can renew the spark

throughout the Puget Sound and British Columbia jump at the opportunity. Beside educating, the seminar will benefit the lo-cal economy by drawing in out-of-town visitors and creating avenues for network-ing and business-to-business collabora-tion. “This in an affordable, one-day com-mitment for our small business owners who would otherwise be unable to spare the time and expense of traveling to see this kind of workshop,” he said. “It also ties into tourism, in that an event like this brings a lot of positive exposure to What-com County as a business travel destina-tion for conferences and meetings.” Peter Lockhart, of Western Washing-ton University’s Campus Recreation Ser-vices, was one of the first to sign up. He said that the cost of travel usually prevents members of his department from partici-pating in such professional development opportunities. So when he saw a Facebook post announcing this high-caliber pro-gram just up the road, he jumped at the chance to sign up more than half of his ten professional recreation staffers. “Currently, we have our professional administration team, a dedicated group

Disney Institute Leadership Excellence will bring experts to Whatcom County for a one-day workshop on March 22. — Courtesy photo


L-R: Tyler Huartson, Tress Hill, Vince HillL-R: Tyler Huartson, Tress Hill, Vince HillL-R: Tyler Huartson, Tress Hill, Vince Hill

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of custodians and more than 200 student employees. That is a lot of different back-grounds and a lot of different personali-ties,” Lockhart said. “What we learn at the class we will take back to our organization and use it to improve communication, boost motivation and increase our ability to serve our members.” The workshop will be held on March 22 at the Bellwether Hotel in Bellingham. It will feature lessons gleaned from the

movie and entertainment company’s ac-complishments in management and in-novative brand creation and marketing. The seminar will share how top-down im-provements begin with a strong, motivat-ing and creative leader in the mode of the company’s great founder, Walt Disney. “Disney is internationally known and respected,” said Occhiogrosso. “Lead-ership skills are good for everybody, no matter what you’re trying to accomplish.

What works in leadership works across the board.” Kathy Cross and her husband, Randy, are co-owners of LaserPoint Awards in Bell-ingham. Despite being just a two-person operation, they have experienced modest business growth the past few years and they credit that to consistent outstanding customer service that results in repeat cli-entele. Offering a great product is key, but customer service will truly make or break

a business relationship, as just one bad experience can lose a customer for good, she said. Ready to “to take a big leap” forward, Cross has expanded on lean manufac-turing methods to develop new goals for LaserPoint in 2012. However, she said, because even the best plans for improve-ment can grow stale after a period, she values connections with trusted third parties who can ask “the questions you don’t think of.” Both Kathy and Randy are looking forward to attending the work-shop to benefit from Disney’s teachings and also to network with other profes-sionals they would not regularly cross paths with, Cross said. Doug Richards is a battalion chief for the South Kitsap Fire Department respon-sible for employee training and organiza-tion. Richards, who learned about Disney Institute Leadership through connections on LinkedIn, said customer service plays a role both within the department and out in the field where firefighters interact with the community. “Ninety-nine percent of our time is spend addressing the community, so (our job) is also about building that relation-ship with Mrs. Jones so that she feels cared for and served in a professional and out-standing manner,” he said. In an industry linking new technology with a consistently younger workforce, Richardson said he and other administra-tors see the importance of finding com-mon ground on staffing and communi-cation. At the Disney Institute, Richards hopes to “glean some nuggets” from lead-ers in other areas. “If you think about it, no one you talk to who has returned from a Disney theme park says they had a bad experience. Peo-ple are touched by the organization and always come back with positive feedback. We’d like to take a little bit of that,” he said. The Bellwether can accommodate a maximum of 200 people for the one-day event, so a few spots remain. Fees are $399 for individuals and $389 for chamber members. The fee includes a complimentary pre-program breakfast, lunch and two refreshment breaks. Reser-vations can be made by calling the Fern-dale Chamber of Commerce at 384-3042 or going online to the website at http://www.ferndale-chamber.com/registration. Email Megan Claflin at [email protected].

Any organization that values a higher level of performance will benefit from experts in the world-leading Disney entertainment company during the workshop in Whatcom County March 22. — Courtesy photo


After 45 years in business, Gilbert Silva and Tyler Zylstra will

take the reinsat Zylstra Tires.

Jerry Zylstra would like to thank his Lynden customers for their

support over the years!

Gilbert Silva Tyler Zylstra Jerry Zylstra

501 Grover Street, Lynden354-4493

50¢ off any 16 oz. Latte or

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366-7379coupon expires 03/31/12

On Portal Way in Ferndale,

Lynden Towne Plaza in Lynden, and throughout Whatcom County

On Portal Way in Ferndale, Lynden Towne Plaza in Lynden, and throughout Whatcom County

Toastmasters marks 60th year in LyndenMission continues to be creating confident public speakers

Helen Solem andJohanna Nefffor the Lynden Tribune

LYNDEN — Since 1952 Lynden’s Toast-masters Club has remained true to its mission “to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every individ-ual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and per-sonal growth.” Every Friday morning, a mixture of long-term members, new members and guests gather to share an early morning breakfast and a meeting. The club meeting format pro-vides training opportunities which help un-fold a person’s natural talent surrounded by a friendly ambiance. “People come here with so much exper-tise in many areas of their life. We give them tools to develop and share what they already have,” said Eldon DeJong, current president. Guided by manuals which lay out proj-ects in an easy-to-handle format, members

Ron Hendricks takes his turn at the podium during a meeting of the Lynden Toastmasters Club. Meetings involve main speeches, extemporaneous “table topics” and emceeing. — Lynden Tribune | CALVIN BRATT


Proudly ...

Supporting the Dairy Industryof Whatcom County since 1947.

8631 Depot Road, Lynden WA 360-354-2101

Doug Chadwick offers his evaluation of others’ speaking, noting the use of “um” and “ah” filler words. — Lynden Tribune | CALVIN BRATT

practice leadership abilities by taking turns to prepare for and fulfill assignments such as grammarian, “ah” counter, evaluator, timer, Table Topics master and, of course, toastmaster, the meeting’s leader. Listening dexterity, as well as speaking proficiency, accrues week by week upon fulfilling these roles. Participating in table topics and de-livering prepared speeches focuses on im-provement in speaking proficiency. During Table Topics one member asks the others to extemporize for a minute and a half on a given subject. Recently, Jo Byma, a seven-year member, challenged speakers with topics about obscure British celebrations. Another week the topic “mas-ter” chose Elvis Pres-ley hits. The timer, a colleague armed with green, yellow, and red signals, helps each speaker achieve suc-cinctness. “Table Topics, my favorite part of the meeting,” intones Paul Holtzheimer, a Bellingham businessman. Manual speeches “allow me to do things I wouldn’t do otherwise. It puts me out of my comfort zone,” explains Ron Hendricks, experienced toastmaster. Nancy Kuelz, a member inducted in July 2011, also likes the challenge. She mentions speech six in the first project manual titled “Your Body Speaks, Gestur-ing and Using Body Language to Enhance

the Subject,” a five-minute talk. “It was a challenge. I like that.” In terms of entertainment value, “you get to be the audience,” notes Johanna Neff, past president. She cites the story passion-ately told by memberChris Alpsteg about William Tell, his homeland’s national hero. “I learn something at each meeting.” Verbal crutches, the "ahs" and "ums," can be eliminated. Marlin Hendricks, Lyn-den business owner, notes that counting “ahs” made him “compulsively aware of them in other speakers.”

Inspired by his brother Cason, also a member, Ryan Van Driel seeks more of a personal goal. “I want to fill in the gaps of my speaking by finding the missing words.” To a s t m a s t e r s training touches many parts of one’s life. “It has made me a better husband and

father,” testifies Ron DeBoer, a Lynden pro-fessional. “Effective communication is essen-tial in the family, in the community and at work,” confirms Doug Chadwick, the club’s newest member. It’s the people themselves who bring pizzazz and sizzle to the meetings, return-ing every Friday morning for a cupful of in-spiration, practice, and achievement. Sixty years and counting, we give you opportuni-ties to grow and flourish.

During Table Topics one member asks the others to extemporize for a minute

and a half on a given subject. Recently, Jo Byma challenged

speakers with topics about obscure British celebrations.


Since 1967

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Meridian High School's first new structure, the Career and Technical Education build-ing, has rapidly taken shape since it was begun by Tiger Construction last fall. For more progress photos, see the Meridian schools' website. — Courtesy photos | CRAIG CALKINS

Meridian High a-building

These Community Minded Businesses Proudly Welcome the

Thank Youto the Jansen Family for turning their vision of the Art Center into a reality!

Nicole L. Terpstra, Attorney at Law, PLLC360.318.9300 • terpstralaw.com

709 Grover St., Lynden

Welcome to Lynden.We appreciate your commitment

to our community.Sincerely,

Jim Hale & Washington Tractor

CongratulationsJansen Art Center!

Thanks for preserving a part ofLynden’s history so beautifully!

423 Front St., Lynden • 354-3687 • www.recivil.com

Wallgren Tire Center210 Birch Bay-Lynden Road • 354-1446

Welcome to Lynden!�e Jansen Art Center is a wonderful

addition to our community.

354-3030 • 210 3rd Street, Lynden371-3888 • 8097-B Harborview Rd., Birch Bay

Welcome to Lynden!We are pleased to have this exciting

new venue in town.

Thank You!We’re excited about the creative opportunities you are bringing to our community. - Doug Broersma

191 Birch Bay-Lynden Rd., Lynden • 354-4145

360 • 354 • 41492017 Front St., Lynden360 • 788 • 3105

4071 Hannegan Rd., Suite K, Bellingham

“More than just floors”

Welcome to Lynden!We were glad to be part of the

transformation of this historic building into the wonderful new Art Center.

360.354.8320523 Front Street, Lynden

www.compasspointsurvey.com

We welcome the Jansen Art Center

to downtown Lynden!

360-354-2155 Lynden, WA

Vander Griend Lumber would like to thank the Jansen family for turning their vision for an art center in Lynden into a reality!

Thank you for

choosing Ralph’s Floors.

360-354-4804 • 1843 Front St., LyndenCarpet • Vinyl • Tile • Laminate • Wood • Blinds • Wallpaper

410 19th St., Lynden, WA • 360-354-4451www.farmersequipment.com

We celebrate the addition ofThe Jansen Art Center

to our community!

Jansen Art Centerto downtown Lynden!

Geoffrey T. Tupper, D.D.S.104 Sixth Street, Suite H

Lynden, WA 98264Phone: 360.354.0206

Dr. Geoffrey Tupper

welcomes the Jansen Art Center

to Historic Downtown Lynden.

Proudly Serving Whatcom County Since 1947“Traditional Service Meeting Modern Needs.”

Family owned and operatedFamily owned and operated

354-4471 or Toll Free 800-254-4471

Lynden8450 Depot Rd.

Mount Vernon219 Suzanne Lane

Ferndale5494 Barrett Rd.

2012 progress edition

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