Progress 2018

PROGRESS

2018

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

BUSINESS

COMMUNITY

See how the collaboration of three generations of Imperos got young Kyle set up with a basketball facility.

From shared worship experience to being in a challenging global situation, the Lynden YWAM base trains youth.

FAMILY Classical Conversations as a teaching approach is generally an extension of creative homeschooling.

Supplement of the Lynden Tribune and Ferndale Record.

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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2018 PROGRESS

Table of Contents

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YWAM North Cascades base sends young people out to be a blessing Infusion Cuisine is thriving now — but with a back story Former Nooksack Valley basketballer

Kyle Impero brings a new gym to town

Crissy Ford and Rachel Pringle inspire Ferndale kids in their

10th year of directing Ferndale theater

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Brigadoon Service Dogs prepares dogs to help people with all sorts

of needs

Skyler Hamilton becomes an Eagle Scout

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A survivor of cancer, 18-year-old

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Classical Conversations focuses on classic education

fundamentals

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Lynden is growing, and new

Woodsman Drive is one of many

neighborhoods feeling the effects

2018 PROGRESS

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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From Lynden, YWAM quietly reaching out to the world North Cascades base has seen 150 participants through so far, expects 80 more this year

Adventure out in the great Northwest is one of the tracks of Discipleship Training School offered at the YWAM North Cascades base in Lynden. (Courtesy photo)

By Calvin Bratt editor@lyndentribune.com

LYNDEN — ­ Tucked behind the Dutch windmill and on the way to the Claire vg theatre is a ministry that reaches far beyond Lynden’s boundaries.

Youth With a Mission North Cascades has been about two years now in the multi-purpose converted space at 655 Front St. where Elements Hospitality has been the owner and main business tenant.

You won’t see too much to tip you off that this is a training base for sending out young people into the world to exert a transformative influence. Director Jeremy Dorrough says that the ministry has purposely kept a rather low profile.

Perhaps that is because YWAM’s influence is meant to be upon hearts, minds and individual lives in a quiet “plant the seed” kind of way.

The core belief of the youth-mission organization founded in 1960 by Loren Cunningham is “the power of the divine idea of reaching out,” Dorrough summarizes.

Officially, the mission of YWAM North Cascades is to be “a disciple-making community dedicated to mobilizing young people to unreached people groups.”

Through four training cycles now, this base has received and sent out about 150 participants for outreach into 15 countries of the world. Dorrough expects that another 80-100 more will come through in 2018.

Discipleship Training School (DTS) is the five-month foundational program, split between a teaching portion for several weeks and then going out to a place to put that training into action.

The Lynden base came on fairly quickly. From this space being available, local Christian leaders took hold of the vision, leading to an enthusiastic outdoor rally of hundreds with founder Cunningham at the corner of Seventh and Front streets in July 2015. Then followed a fundraising and construction

phase to entirely create living quarters and gathering rooms, about $400,000 worth of work done by both volunteers and the small staff that was starting to assemble.

Jenny Pascher, from Austria, is one

who came in February 2016, at age 19 then, and helped get things ready for the first DTS in September of that year.

She has continued on with North Cascades and is involved in all the preparations and living arrangements for new

groups coming in.

Pascher becomes a traveler when a group goes on outreach. She recently returned from two countries in southeast Asia visiting youth who were in the last See YWAM on C8

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

An infusion of passion Once without a home, Infusion Cuisine business owners are now thriving

By Ashley Hiruko ashley@lyndentribune.com

LYNDEN — Lots of ingredients go into chef Eduardo Diego’s Mexican chicken mole dish. The traditional recipe calls for about 20 components. In the dish, chocolate and chili peppers combine to mute both the sweet and heat flavors of the dark chicken sauce.

It’s one of the Infusion Cuisine owner’s favorite things to cook. “And one of my favorites to eat a lot of as well,” he said.

Every day, he gets to make the dish for hungry customers who stop in at the welcoming fine cuisine eatery on Hannegan Road. The restaurant specializes in recipes from Mexican, Italian and Asian cultures, presented in an elegant and detailed plating style worthy of anyone’s Instagram feed.

Fresh local ingredients are paired harmoniously to satisfy stomachs too.

You wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Eduardo hails from a family that loves to cook. His father and uncles were prominent chefs in Acapulco, Mexico, where Eduardo is from. And large family festivals south of the border provided a foundation for Eduardo’s

2018 PROGRESS

Eduardo Diego

repertoire of cuisine creation.

His learning continued after he relocated to San Diego. There he worked with various food professionals like Chef Mauricio Pineda at the exclusive Red Tracton’s restaurant and with Luis Lopez at The Beach House. It was in his role as sous chef for cookbook author and chef John Beriker that Eduardo learned the finer points of Asian cooking.

Now settled into his own family-run restaurant, Eduardo, his wife Yesenia and their three children have built a stable life of repeat customers and out-of-town diners who visit the Hinote’s Corner spot after hearing positive raves of the food.

But long before these doors opened and they developed a customer following craving culturally infused cuisine, the Diegos found that their true specialty was turning lemons into lemonade.

It was six years ago in 2012 that a new beginning turned sour. The couple had relocated over 1,300 miles to Washington from San Diego after Eduardo learned of a job opportunity in the area. After putting in hours of work, Eduardo was given no pay. And after a month had passed without work and without compensation, things became financially difficult for the family of five.

“We needed a little bit of help,” Yesenia said.

The Interfaith Coalition stepped in and

Infusion's panang curry

gave the family shelter and assistance until they got back on their feet. The congregation-supported organization provides transitional housing for struggling families in Whatcom County. In 2016 more than 60 children and 43 adults were helped.

This program had its start in 1981 after a local pastor began holding a series of meetings pulling together county resources to benefit others. The grassroots effort is a collaboration of some 40 religious and social service leaders who work under the mission of serving neighbors in need.

“We went [to the coalition] frustrated and sad,” Yesenia said. “We were unestablished, with no money or anything.”

After spending three weeks in homeless housing in Fairhaven, the family was able to recharge and renew. Eduardo started working again and landed chef stints at Gi-

useppe’s and Jalapeños and the family was soon able to move into their own apartment.

It was two years later in 2014, after taking enough time to get back on track, that the Diego family was able to start their second restaurant venture south of Lynden — the first being Three Flavors Kitchen in Nooksack, which began in 2013.

“In the beginning we were very limited,” Eduardo said of Infusion. “So we started off simple and then moved into more specialty dishes.”

Eduardo’s food offerings range from penne creamy pistachio pesto to kung pao. A cohort of repeat customers have become like family, they said, visiting to dine in or take out comfort food.

”We want to serve food with an abundance of taste and love and with the same consistency,” Eduardo said of their driving

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 PROGRESS purpose. “We’re doing this with passion.”

But the family never forgets the help they received many moons ago. And every year they work to pay back for the many ways they were assisted. For example, Infusion donates an annual dinner to Interfaith Coalition to aid in its fundraising endeavors. Lynden United Methodist Church helps by providing ingredients for the meal.

“There is nothing we love more than helping this organization that helped us when we needed them,” Yesenia said.

Last year, Infusion Cuisine served 34 people a lavish four-course dinner prepared by the couple. The meal managed to raise $6,800 at Interfaith’s yearly fundraising auction — an event that collected nearly $194,000 overall.

The pair’s donation drew the most funds out of any single item in the auction, making them the biggest contributors.

Next month, the Interfaith Hope Auction happens again (March 24, at Four Points by Sheraton), with the Diegos planning to again be involved in raising money for the organization they say has given them so much.

“We are very grateful for what we were given and now we want to give back,” Yesenia said. “Helping other people is the most gratifying thing.”

Infusion's rack of lamb

2018 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business Timeless

Ferndale School District

134 Years Morse Steel

Education is Timeless! www.ferndalesd.org 360-383-9207

3002 W. Illinois • Bellingham 360-756-6200

129 Years

110 Years

Diehl Ford

133 Years Ferndale Record

2004 Main St. • P.O. Box 38 Ferndale ferndalerecord.com 360-384-1411

108 Years

Greenwood Cemetery

Lincoln Isuzu

Christian School

East Wiser Lake Rd., Lynden 360-647-4001 www.thegreenwoodcemetery.com

1829 James St., Bellingham 360-392-7000 www.diehlford.com

9390 Guide Meridian, Lynden 360-354-2632 www.ebenezerchristianschool.org

93 Years

89 Years

Snapper Shuler Kenner Insurance

501 Front Street, Lynden 2115 Barkley Blvd #201, Bellingham 360-354-4488

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ssc-inc.com • Facebook / sscinc 21 Bellwether Way, Suite 104 360-734-3490

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129 Years

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Lynden Cemetery

113 6th St. • Lynden 360-354-4444

South Side of Front St., Lynden 360-647-4001 www.lyndencemetery.com

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Lynden Tribune

Mills Electric

Overhead Door

4430 Pacific Hwy, Bellingham 360-734-0730

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89 Years

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307 19th St., Lynden 360-354-2171

Van’s Plumbing Louis Auto & Residential Glass & Electric 4th Generation

Whatcom Veterinary Hospital 5610 Pacific Hwy., Ferndale 360-384-0212

2018 PROGRESS

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Elevate your game with the help of a local star Former Nooksack Valley standout Kyle Impero is opening a new basketball training facility in Bellingham

By Nick Elges sports@lyndentribune.com

BELLINGHAM — Former Nooksack Valley standout Kyle Impero, the Class 1A State Player of the Year in 2011, knows basketball as well as anyone you’ll run into in Whatcom County.

Now graduated from Western Washington University, Impero is ready to share his knowledge and passion for the game with the same community that supported him for so many years.

Impero finished his college playing days for the WWU Vikings in the 2015-16 season, and after his stellar senior campaign he began searching for opportunities to continue to stay involved in the sport.

He played for the Bellingham Slam, a minor-league team, in the summers of 2016 and 2017, and it appeared the next step for Impero was to play overseas in Europe.

In anticipation of the move, Impero didn’t commit to a full-time job out of college and served as a substitute teacher in the Nooksack Valley School District.

The move to Europe ended up falling through, however, and Kyle started thinking of a way to make money while still being involved in basketball. So, with the help of his dad and grandpa, both named

Mike, Kyle decided to open his own basketball training facility in Bellingham.

On March 12, the doors to his new gym will open to the public. Owned by his grandpa’s company, Impero Properties, the facility had already been used as a gym by the prior owner, so it was the perfect setup for Kyle to keep basketball in his life.

“I definitely want to have basketball in my life forever,” Kyle said, adding that the name of his north Bellingham business is Kyle Impero Hoops Elite Training, or KI Hoops for short.

Kyle’s plan is to offer eight-week training sessions for kids ages 11 and up, and he will give the option of group training for up to eight kids at a time and elite training for smaller groups that will allow him to work more closely with each athlete.

In each session, Kyle will not only work on skill training, but also improve the participant’s basketball intelligence, something he says has helped him excel as a player.

He also hopes to offer a rookie hoops class on the weekends for kids under 11 years old, and he will make the gym available for rental for anyone looking for a spot to practice. Kyle says he plans to host 3-on-3 tournaments and camps over schools' spring and summer breaks as well.

Impero hopes the facility can help build the basketball scene in Whatcom, which can often be overlooked by the Seattle area despite having its own abundance of talent.

“I felt like there was a need for the gym,” Kyle said. “When I was in high school, it was hard for me to get into a gym until my dad and I worked our way into the Nooksack gym. I just want to give kids an opportunity to come play basketball

Kyle Impero, pictured playing for Western Washington University, was an All-State standout at Nooksack Valley High School before that. (File photo)

whenever they want.

“For me, I was up north (when I played) and the guys down south always got all the recognition, but I was always like ‘I can play with those guys too.’”

Kyle also plans to work closely with players’ school coaches to help these

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young trainees develop as many skills as possible.

The facility also includes a small weight room that will be available for individuals to rent.

Kyle said that as his basketball career developed and he learned different drills

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 PROGRESS from different coaches, he discovered an interest in training and coaching. He also helped train a friend’s younger sister after he graduated from Nooksack.

“It’s satisfying for me to see the work pay off (in people I train),” Impero said, adding that he has also helped trained the likes of Lynden Christian alum and current Western Washington player Daulton Hommes.

With connections throughout the county, as well as name recognition, Kyle said his grandpa believed in his vision for the facility, so he secured the vacant site for his grandson. After calling people in the community and contacting local high school coaches to ask what they thought about the gym, Kyle decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

While the basketball stuff comes more naturally for Kyle, he said starting his own business has been an overall learning process. As the owner, he won’t have any employees initially, but as his client base grows he may look to bring on independent contractors as additional trainers.

Kyle hasn’t determined rates for courses just yet, but his website (www. kyleimperohoops.com) will include all the relevant information about fees before opening day. You can also contact Kyle at 360-393-9849 for more information.

The name of the new facility will be Kyle Impero Hoops Elite Training, or KI Hoops for short. (Nick Elges/ Lynden Tribune)

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2018 PROGRESS

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

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Jennifer Dorrough is a leader in each program’s training phase of several weeks.

(Courtesy photo)

YWAM Continued from C3 session of Lynden training. In that role, usually with another staff person, she is a coach, listener, adviser, possibly a problem solver. She is helping them through situations they will encounter, from being out in remote villages to hosting a coffee shop in a city.

“People’s hearts are really open,” Pascher says of even former Communist countries.

The motivation of YWAM is to “make God known among the nations,” connecting with people in powerful transformation for good, Pascher said. “We need to go out there and share the gospel.”

The YWAM experience — giving valuable teaching about life in general — can help young people sort out a direction and best use of their abilities in future work or education, and Pascher sees her last four years as an example of that.

It’s a relatively quiet time right now at YWAM North Cascades, with only about 16 working in the Dutch Village Mall headquarters, with some of them traveling. The next two DTS programs will begin in June, bringing an emphasis on outdoor adventure and music & worship.

Four options start in September, adding barista and justice & mercy as themes.

Lynden has been a pioneer in adding a July Tentmakers program, Jeremy Dorrough said. It’s geared more to those already in a profession, but to stir up passion and “ignite a love for others who are hopeless and needy.”

Advance Leadership School takes a DTS graduate through 12 weeks of teaching on social justice issues, youth culture, mobilization, event planning and “the innner journey of a leader.” It’s meant for “anyone who knows they are called to a lifetime of serving God, whether it’s over-

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 PROGRESS seas or in your own backyard.”

Jen Dorrough takes the lead on training for the Lynden base.

In addition to converting the back corner and basement of this old former auto dealership building, YWAM rents a few houses nearby that can take in the big groups when they come. The office working area is right next to the entrance of the Claire vg Thomas Theatre.

YWAM aims to be a blessing on the surrounding community, which could show as bringing around batches of fresh-baked cookies or praying for a particular local need or business or ministry, Jeremy Dorrough said.

North Cascades has had to essentially build its identity and appeal from scratch, very quickly, with much of it being how it presents online. The profile speaks of “an iconic location” near ocean and mountains and between two metro centers (Seattle and Vancouver), but of Lynden being as delightful town of coffee shops, bakeries and churches, surrounded by farms.

Dorrough said that any YWAM participant who has been in Lynden spreads the word that it is great.

Being in YWAM does require raising one’s own support. The cost for a 22week DTS is listed as $5,500 plus airfare.

Jenny Pasher grew up in Austria and has traveled extensively with YWAM in four years. She has been on Lynden staff almost two years. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)

Staff member Jason Kelly is based in Lynden using skills in cartooning and animation for YWAM. "We’ve lived here a year,” he said of his family, “and we love it.” (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)

2018 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business 86 Years

86 Years

85 Years

81 Years

Willand’s Tech-Auto

80 Years

Oltman Insurance

S&H Auto Parts

8850 Bender Rd. Ste 101, Lynden www.oltmaninsurance.com 360-354-5988

Maple Leaf Auto Body

8123 Guide Meridian, Lynden 360-354-4468

210 Main St, Lynden 360-354-2104

2040 Vista Drive • Ferndale www.willands.com 360-384-1584

3705 Irongate Rd. • Bellingham www.westernroof.com 360-734-1830

80 Years

78 Years

77 Years

73 Years

80 Years

Vander Giessen Nursery Family Owned for Four Generations.

401 E. Grover St., Lynden 360-354-3097

72 Years

Western Roofing

Price & Visser Millworks Inc.

Lynden Sheet Metal Inc.

Proudly working in Agriculture Since 1941

Rader Farms

Ferndale Ready Mix & Gravel Inc.

2536 Valencia St., Bellingham 360-734-7700

837 Evergreen St. • Lynden 360-354-3991

1270 E. Badger Rd., Lynden 360-354-6574

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71 Years

70 Years

68 Years

Everson Auction Market LLC

Northwest Propane LLC

7291 Everson Goshen Rd. Everson • 360-966-3271

8450 Depot Rd. • Lynden 5494 Barrett Rd. • Ferndale www.nwpropane.net • 360-354-4471

Meridian Equipment 5946 Guide Meridian, Bellingham 360-398-2141

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66 Years Whatcom Electric & Plumbing 1388 H Street Rd., Blaine 360-354-2835

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 PROGRESS

Reflecting on 10 years of theater Crissy Ford and Rachel Pringle look back on a decade of co-directing Ferndale youth theater

By Brent Lindquist brent@lyndentribune.com

FERNDALE — For Crissy Ford and Rachel Pringle, recognition always feels a little strange.

Ford and Pringle, who recently received the Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Citizenship from Ferndale Mayor Jon Mutchler, are celebrating 10 years of directing theater productions in Ferndale together.

“For me, it’s so much about the kids that being recognized feels a little bit awkward,” Pringle said.

Ford first started directing shows at Skyline Elementary School when her son attended there. No theater program existed at Skyline at that time, so she asked the school if she could direct one. The administration was initially hesitant, but the first show, “Peter Pan,” was a success, and the school found a way to fund it. Her second show, “The Wizard of Oz,” went over well too.

“Crissy had directed two shows at Skyline before I joined her when my second child was in fourth grade,” Pringle said.

Ford and Pringle teamed up for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Ford directing and Pringle handling choreography.

When Pringle showed up to help, she had her newborn baby, Collin, in her arms.

Ford said Collin’s age helps them remember how long they have been doing shows together.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” was a success, and gradually the spring program grew. Initially, it included only older students, so Ford and Pringle began doing a show in the fall for the younger kids of Skyline. These first few younger shows included “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and “Pinnochio,” and they continued with “Alice in Wonderland” for the older kids.

“It was a really busy time,” Ford said.

Eventually, as their own children grew older, Ford and Pringle moved up with them, directing middle-school shows in the Ferndale School District. These included “Into the Woods,” “The Music Man,” “Once Upon a Mattress,” “Oklahoma,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Bye Bye Birdie.”

They eventually moved on to the Ferndale High School level when drama director

Rachel Pringle (left) and Crissy Ford are directing yet another show this year, marking a decade of shows throughout Ferndale's elementary, middle and high schools. (Courtesy photo)

Anne Goodwin retired, directing “Guys and Dolls” in 2016 and “Cinderella” just last year.

Ford said it helps that they can work with kids for much of their school careers, some from elementary all the way up through middle and high school.

“It helps a lot to start the kids young,” Ford said. “They develop a love for it. They get used to how it works, the pace of it. They get the basic theater knowledge younger.

They have more to build on as they get older.”

Ford and Pringle expanded their theater role in the community recently when they added Ferndale’s Summer Youth Theater in 2015. The program was funded via a grant through the Ferndale Arts Commission obtained from the Whatcom Community Foundation. Ticket sales and community support have allowed the summer theater

camp to become self-supporting.

Ferndale City Council member Cathy Watson worked with Ford and Pringle to get the grant that first year.

Watson said it just so happened that the Ferndale Arts Commission was trying to find a way to do more activities for kids in the summer, and Ford and Pringle then approached them with a similar idea. The Whatcom Community Foundation was offering grants at the time for seed money for projects like the one Ford and Pringle envisioned, and Watson applied for the grant and got it.

“We basically got them the grant and then they did all the work,” Watson said.

She said the program is important to Ferndale because, while Bellingham has some high-quality and popular theater programs, they are often expensive and difficult

for kids to get to during the summer. Ferndale’s Summer Youth Theater gives them that opportunity much closer to home.

“Crissy and Rachel have just expanded it. They have done so much with it,” Watson said. “They bring the high schoolers in to mentor the younger students. They have turned it into so much more than we would have ever imagined it to be.”

There was a great turnout of kids that first year, Ford said, and their first Summer Theater musical, “Honk!” was a success. The next summer shows, “The Wizard of Oz” and “The Music Man,” were also successful.

Pringle said her favorite part of co-directing shows is seeing them come together on stage.

“I’m a visual person, so being able to see those pictures on stage, and then, of course, with the choreography, you see it all come

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 PROGRESS

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From "Guys and Dolls" (above) to "Honk!" (below), Rachel Pringle and Crissy Ford have spent time directing kids of all ages in Ferndale. (File photos) together,” Pringle said.

Both Ford and Pringle said working with the kids is what makes it all worth it.

“Sometimes the planning of it can be re-

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

Brigadoon trains dogs for variety of services Mission Road dog training school breeds, raises and prepares helpmates for veterans, children, others

By Nick Elges sports@lyndentribune.com

WHATCOM — For anyone who owns and appreciates dogs, it’s obvious what our furry four-legged friends can provide.

Always happy and ready to greet you when you walk in the door after a long day at work, a dog has the ability to bring a certain level of happiness to your life that can have positive effects in many ways.

When it comes to service dogs, however, the assistance that a professionally trained helpmate can provide to those who need it is nothing short of incredible — even magical.

Brigadoon Service Dogs on Mis-

Denise Costanten opened her own local dog training school, Brigadoon Service Dogs, in 2004. (Nick Elges/Lynden Tribune)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 PROGRESS sion Road, was opened in 2004 by Denise Costanten. It is a local dog training school that prepares dogs for people with a wide variety of conditions, be it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, autism, mobility and balance impairments, or a number of other issues that require assistance.

Costanten, who has been training and breeding dogs for over 40 years, used to take her own collies to dog shows and, as she got more involved in the hobby, eventually ended up with about eight dogs in her house at one point.

Since she was already training pet dogs at the time, it was then that Costanten realized what she could do with her dogs that were already past their prime show years.

“I thought to myself ‘what if I take my dogs after they get their championship and train them as service dogs and put them out in the community?’” Costanten said.

So Denise learned how to run a service dog school, and as soon as she created Brigadoon’s website, she learned that the demand for service dogs in Whatcom County far surpasses the supply.

“I didn’t realize how many people were looking for service dogs,” Constanten said.

She added that while many schools only train dogs for certain disabilities, Brigadoon was created to help as wide a variety of people as possible.

“Pretty soon I found out I was creating a niche for clients who were looking for dogs that other schools wouldn’t help,” she said. “That didn’t make sense to me (that schools only train dogs for certain people) because I opened this up to help people.

It wasn’t to make any money. All it was for was to put a couple of dogs out a year.”

In 2006, Costanten graduated her first class of three dogs from the training program. Since opening, now a total of 80 dogs have been matched up with citizens in the community in need of a helper.

The school’s dogs are either bred on site, donated by a local breeder or sometimes they come as rescues from a local shelter. Typically, Brigadoon has about 25 dogs on site.

Also unlike other schools, Denise trains a variety of breeds. “I don’t think there’s another school that does what we do in terms of diversity,” she added.

Brigadoon’s process of matching the right dog to the right person takes some time. Denise explains that clients first fill out a three-part application at www.brigadoondogs.org before they come in for an interview. Denise will then go for a home visit to get an idea of the family’s lifestyle and to learn more about the client’s per-

Since opening Brigadoon, Denise has released 80 service dogs into the community. (Nick Elges/ Lynden Tribune)

See Brigadoon on C19

2018 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business 66 Years

65 Years

Hytech Roofing

Vanderpol & Maas Inc.

7381 Guide Meridian, Lynden 360-354-4335 hytech@hytechroofing.com

Truck & Automotive Service 228 Bay Lyn Dr., Lynden 360-354-3000

59 Years

58 Years

Westside Building Supply 8353 Guide Meridian, Lynden 360-354-5617

52 Years

Van Loo’s Auto Service 205 Liberty St., Lynden 360-354-4277

64 Years Littau Harvester

64 Years

61 Years

Jensen’s Ferndale Floral

6881 E. 5th Place • Lynden 360-398-9845 Cell: 360-410-0064 daves@littauharvester.com

Wagter’s Automotive Service

8747 Northwood Rd. • Lynden 360-354-2500

2071 Vista Drive, Ferndale 360-384-1616

56 Years

56 Years

55 Years

Fairway Cafe

Mt. Baker Fireplace Shop

Vavra Auto Body

517 Liberty St., Lynden 360-354-4433

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 PROGRESS

Cancer survivor now an Eagle Scout Skyler Hamilton becomes an Eagle Scout through Lynden Troop 4028. (Courtesy photo)

Skyler Hamilton, living by the motto ‘meet life head-on,’ completes all 21 merit badges

By Elisa Claassen for the Lynden Tribune

WHATCOM — Skyler Hamilton, an 18-year-old Meridian High School senior, received his Eagle Scout ranking from the Court of Honor for Lynden Troop 4028 in mid-January at Whatcom New Life Assembly church of Ferndale.

According to the Boy Scouts of America, only 4 percent of Boy Scouts achieve this rank. In Skyler’s case, it is the more unusual since he is a survivor of childhood cancer who attracted the attention and prayers of much of the Lynden community about 12 years ago.

At age 7, Skyler, who had enjoyed typical good health for a boy until then,

was having leg aches, sleep disturbances and daily sickness, and he lost 12 pounds. Doctors weren’t sure of the reason. In summer 2006 after he had completed first grade, a mass was found on Skyler’s brain during a CT scan. He was diagnosed with metastic (cancerous) medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children.

Medical sites say it originates in the back part of the brain, the cerebellum, and in Skyler’s case it spread to his spinal cord.

“You don’t expect a tumor in the brain,” said Skyler’s mother, Margaret Hamilton. “From then on, our world turned upside down.” The diagnosis was “very grim,” mom said.

Suddenly Skyler went through surgery for the tumor, followed by radiation five days later to attack this aggressive form of cancer. After surgery came a new diagnosis: posterior fossa syndrome.

While this can mean speech disturbances, difficulty swallowing, decreased motor movement, cranial nerve palsy and changes in emotions, for Skyler it meant

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 PROGRESS losing the use of his right side, double vision and muteness.

All of it also brought intense pain, Margaret emphasized. For 10 months Skyler was in treatments at Children’s Hospital in Seattle, with a few breaks to go home.

“We had lots of community support,” Margaret said. Between ongoing prayer and fundraising for the family, they saw God interceding for them, she said. By June 2007, Skyler was wheeled out of the hospital. Eventually, he returned to walking, but his legs literally had to straighten out. His feet, after radiation treatments, required reconstructive surgery. Since the cancer hit in his childhood, his endocrine system and growth plates were impacted and Skyler now stands at 5 foot 1 inch. The one-time right-hander learned to use his left hand as well.

With that as a base, Skyler was back to school — and his goals. He is naturally a “joyful and happy” person, and “he lives life to the fullest” and meets life head-on, his mother said. He encourages those around him by his own outlook on life.

Eagle rank, the end goal of a highachieving Boy Scout, now requires a

total of 21 merit badges that cover first aid, citizenship in one’s community, citizenship in the nation, citizenship in the world, communication, cooking, personal fitness, emergency preparedness or lifesaving, environmental science or sustainability, personal management, swimming or hiking or cycling, camping and family life.

Each badge represents an experience. For hiking, for instance, part of Troop 4028 and three mothers hiked to Oyster Dome with Skyler. They started at 9 a.m., taking turns being in front of and behind him to enable him to go up and then down the steep climb off Chuckanut Drive. At the slower pace, they managed to help him complete it. They finished at 6 p.m.

“I was proud of all of them,” Margaret said. Scouting is about the troop and not just the individual. The others chose to slow down and patiently help Skyler and were “ecstatic” when they together completed the goal.

Skyler’s troop leader has been Jeff Nevins, but Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputy Jason Karb has also been a mentor to him. While the family attended North County Christ the King Church, Skyler was involved in a missions pro-

gram making 100 “Puppet Patient Kits” with decorated sock puppets and videos to help children living in hospital environments. Characteristics such as bravery and being special were emphasized.

For the service component, he and Karb revisited the puppet project. Skyler, Margaret said, wanted to take the fear out of being in the hospital — something Skyler remembered first-hand so well.

Child patients can name their puppet friend, give it a diagnosis and customize it with their own hospital stays.

In spring 2017, Skyler brought 100 more of these revised kits to children at Seattle Children’s Hospital, which earned some notice by Seattle media.

While Skyler still has disabilities as a result of his tumor and treatment, including impacts to his speech and memory, after high school graduation this spring, he hopes to work at Seattle Children’s Hospital helping other children and their families in medical crisis, Margaret said. One way may involve using his interest in technology, such as 3-D printing to create gadgets and parts to improve wheelchair use or prosthetics. He also continues to promote and advocate for medical advances and fundraising for pediatric cancers.

He was recognized by then-President Obama as a runner-up for the National Prudential Community Service Award. Whatcom County state representatives Luanne Van Werven and Vincent Buys also sponsored a House floor resolution in Skyler’s honor that was presented to him locally in front of the Meridian School District board of directors.

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Boice Raplee & Ross Accounting & Tax Service

Salmonson Construction General Contractor Since 1976 Lynden • 360-354-4395

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304 Front St. • Lynden 360-354-4565

Telgenhoff & Oetgen, PS. Certified Public Accountants 400 5th St. • Lynden 360-354-5545

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47 Years

D&R Construction Inc.

47 Years

Nooksack Valley Disposal

44 Years

Whatcom County

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Greenwood Cemetery

141 Wood Creek Dr. • Lynden 360-354-3374

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A ‘classical’ approach to education C16

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

Students are quizzed on well-known artists throughout history during one of the Tuesday meetings of the Classical Conversations local group. (Ashley Hiruko/Lynden Tribune)

2018 PROGRESS

Classical Conversations reveres the great thinkers of history who formed us

By Ashley Hiruko ashley@lyndentribune.com

LYNDEN — The education world changes every day, and while some education models focus on what’s in vogue at the moment, Lynden’s Classical Conversations takes quite a different approach.

Based on a classical model of learning, this home-schooling program centers on instructing on the “trivium” education model.

This style calls for an emphasis on the liberal arts divided into three parts: grammar, dialectic and rhetoric.

Even the terms may sound strange now, but they were once the foundation of a proper education.

“Who were the great thinkers of our day?” said Danielle Dow, director of one of two Classical Conversations programs in Lynden. “Who were the ones that gave us the best of what we know, and how were they educated? That’s how classical curriculum is developed.”

The type of instruction used in Classical Conversations is that “which has proven effective over time,” according to a shared definition.“The model has cultivated great leaders in the arts of freedom. Aristotle, Newton, Thomas Jefferson and C.S. Lewis are just a few examples of great thinkers who were educated classically.”

This classical style of education saw a revival in the early 1980s when private

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 PROGRESS schools and home educators embraced it with a new spin based on Dorothy Sayers’ argument that children learn best by mimicking adults through songs, chants and other copywork.

“At a young age students are good at grasping language and without language it’s hard to learn other things,” Dow said. “We fill their minds with a lot of facts and lots of language that will allow them to put that language into context.”

The end goal, Dow said, is for the student to be able to beautifully articulate, communicate or teach whatever subject they’re in.

Once a week on Tuesdays, the two groups Dow directs — Foundations and Essentials — meet at Victory Christian Fellowship on South British Columbia Avenue. The rooms of the church are filled with small groups of students recapping the material they’ve been focusing on at home with parents.

Dow’s Lynden-branch program can host up to 48 students under sixth grade.

Another Lynden offering named Challenge hosts students from seventh grade through high school.

Every week, the kids memorize new grammar from seven subject areas includ-

Small groups of home-schooled students are broken up by grade and shown examples of artwork. (Ashley Hiruko/Lynden Tribune)

See Classical on C18

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32 Years

Lynden Service Center

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28 Years DariTech 8540 Benson Rd. Lynden 360-354-6900 www.daritech.com

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

Classical

ent from most teaching today.

In Lynden and Whatcom County, numerous groups of parent instructors in this mode have cropped up. There are about five communities of 200 Classical Conversations students in the county.

“The whole program has multiple people who realized ‘oh, I can do this and want to do this,’” Dow said. “I was homeschooled and some of my education and experience fit who I was, so I gave it a try.”

Participants are typically families that want to homeschool but seek additional support in home educating, Dow said.

Rachel Vos, a parent of two twin daughters in the program, said homeschooling offered her more flexibility than a traditional education, enabling the family to travel more.

“We always knew we were going to homeschool and had heard about this program,” Vos said. “It fit so well and we’re fortunate we found it.”

A bit of structure was gained in the Classical Conversations group. “But not too much. We don’t want to reproduce school at home with our homeschooling,” she said.

And with parents heavily involved in educating their students, what often ends up to be true is not only are students learning but parents being taught a lot of information they potentially weren’t exposed to in school.

Continued from C17 ing “the timeline,” history, Latin, science, English grammar, geography and math. Students are drilled on facts and tidbits, pegs of information “important for students to know,” Dow said.

Students learn hands-on science (primarily using the scientific method), art, music theory, drawing, orchestra and about the great artists.

They’re also required to give up to a three-minute presentation of their material once a week. For younger students, this presents itself much like a show-and-tell activity. The idea is to promote communication skills, as well as cementing facts.

“We find that communicators are often leaders,” Dow said. “Part of the value of the program is that we develop the next leaders in our program.”

And in addition to directing, Dow teaches her own children at home and has them involved in the cohort. “I know what they’re learning and am involved in that and don’t feel so separated from their life,” Dow said.

She isn’t alone. Others are turning to the classical style, which feels decidedly differ-

2018 PROGRESS

A science experiment is conducted on the chemistry of air. (Ashley Hiruko/Lynden Tribune)

“I see parents and myself lighting up all the time because we’re learning things we never knew and are able to share in the excitement,” Dow said. “We all find the infor-

mation we’re learning referenced in movies, in songs and in books. And then our kids gets excited about it too.

“And this stuff matters.”

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2018 PROGRESS

Brigadoon Continued from C13 sonality.

As dogs go into their final stages of training, clients come in for a meet-andgreet and a dog will be matched with the client. Before dogs go off with their new owner, Brigadoon will teach the client everything the dog has been taught.

Also, there is the first of three public access tests, teaching owners how their dogs should behave in public.

After two more public tests at the six- and 18-month points of the pairing, owners are required to check in with Brigadoon annually with veterinarian reports to make sure everything is going smoothly.

At the end of a dog’s working life, which varies from dog to dog, clients are put on the top of the list for another service canine.

The expense of putting a dog through service school is surprisingly high — as Denise cites upwards of $30,000 per dog.

Brigadoon, a nonprofit, doesn’t require military veterans to absorb any of that cost, but other clients are asked to raise

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record $10,000 over two years for a dog, a fee that isn’t due until the dog is ready to be taken home.

Also, because of those costs, Denise said, “we absolutely depend on donations from the community. People have no idea what it costs to put these dogs through school.”

The main fundraising event for Brigadoon is an annual auction dinner, which this year occurs on Sept. 8 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Bellingham. The school is planning on asking for support from the Whatcom County Business Association this year, and Brigadoon’s ambassador club plans to get out in the community to let people know about the school.

Other than training service dogs, Brigadoon offers educational pieces in the community and holds youth and volunteer programs, including one for volunteer puppy raisers. Denise also started a prison program in 2011 that places dogs with incarcerated veterans, who are responsible for all aspects of the dog’s care.

When asked what dogs provide clients, Denise said, “Our dogs give 24/7 unconditional love and they offer our clients a more independent lifestyle.” With the help of Brigadoon dogs, clients have overcome public anxiety, sleepwalking disorders and many other issues.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 PROGRESS

On Lynden’s booming east side, new neighbors learn to assimilate A ‘negative note’ incident of a year ago led to better bonding

By Calvin Bratt editor@lyndentribune.com

LYNDEN — ­ The Reyes family was just getting settled into their new home on Woodsman Drive in February 2017 when an upsetting thing happened. Kristin Reyes found an unsigned note with racist overtones attached to her front door. “We don’t do things that way here” was the gist of it. She decided to post the message on Facebook, which set off the typical frenzy of social media reaction.

A year later, Kristin and Walter Reyes are still in their east Lynden cul-de-sac home. They like it here and they can say that the whole incident resulted positively in a rallying of support for them.

The couple, who both work for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, say they appreciate how many people reached out to them to make them feel welcome, countering the note’s bad vibes.

“It also brought everyone (in the neighborhood) outside” instead of being behind closed doors, Walter Reyes said.

That’s the way they like it — and maybe it is a cultural thing — the couple said as they recently had their garage door open and were assembling a new portable basketball rim for their sons to use in the driveway.

Later in the summer, there was also a big block party in the Woodsman neighborhood that unfortunately the Reyeses could not attend, due to their vacations, they said.

Married for 13 years, Walter and Kristin had been living in the Maple Falls area,

It’s been just one house and one plat after another on the east side of Lynden for the past several years, some of the growth taking over what once was Arneson berry farm and also horse pasture. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune) from which they often had to drive all the way to Blaine. “I needed a shorter commute, and this is a safer neighborhood,” she said.

Their two boys, ages 11 and 7, feel more challenged in the Lynden School District as well, a good thing, they said.

The Reyeses understand that the housing growth of Lynden — many new people adding to the mix of neighborboods and schools — might feel a little disturbing to the established residents.

“There is a lot of racial diversity in this neighborhood,” Kristin said. “It’s not all white Dutch people anymore.”

The eastside explosion Over recent years the North Prairie LLC company of Bob Libolt has moved through six successive phases of developing eastward from Line Road toward Northwood Road, and now Phase 7 is beyond.

“We have developed 181 single-family lots,” Libolt said in an email. “We have also developed 11 duplex lots and 10 fourplex lots, which now have 62 rental units constructed on them.”

Many of the home lots have been in the range of 7,500 to 8,000 square feet, plus also some smaller and cottage-type ones as well, Libolt said. That’s denser than Lynden has traditionally been, in pursuit of

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C21

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 PROGRESS higher density goals.

“The buyers of these homes are a mix of local longtime residents, some new to the community with ties to family in the lower B.C. mainland, Border Patrol/Customs workers, etc.,” the developer said.

The construction and sales pace has stayed consistently strong for several years now, growth building upon growth. Lynden is obviously a desired place to live.

Entirely new neighborhoods carry creative new street names such as Brome, Bluestem and Fescue, highlighting native field grasses. In the center of this whole area the new Lynden Middle School is taking shape toward opening for the 2018-19 school year.

The City of Lynden reports that from Jan. 1, 2015, to the present — about three years across all of town — it has issued building permits for 164 new single-family homes plus 90 multi-unit dwellings.

It’s important to note, says city planner Dave Timmer, that the whole East Lynden Sub-area has been intended to be absorbing Lynden’s growth for some years now. A first 194-acre annexation of mostly open land occurred in 2002 and a second addition of 271 acres followed in 2007.

“The East Lynden Sub-area plan included a significant amount of research and community outreach as to what East Lynden should look like (zoning, streets, etc.) as development occurred,” Timmer wrote. “Much of that has now been built out. We are now looking back at nearly 20 years of growth in East Lynden. Not surprisingly, people have varied reactions to the growth that has occurred.”

Many parts of the North Prairie development bump up against the property of the new Lynden Middle School campus being built.

(Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)

See Woodsman on C22

2018 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business 19 Years

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7 Years

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13 Years

Sorensen Truck Repair & Equipment 8195 Hannegan Rd. • Lynden 360-318-1000

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Congratulations to these businesses on their years of service to the community!

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2018 PROGRESS

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

Woodsman

The Woodsman Drive cul-de-sac area is stylish and quiet, a mix of families and retirees, older and younger, and with local roots or moving into the area for the first time. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune) Continued from C21 Becoming neighbors What is the mood in these new neighborhoods? Who are the people moving into the exploding east side of Lynden? Why did they choose to live here?

The Tribune went door to door in the cul-de-sac area of Woodsman Drive this month, a year after the negative note incident, and let residents have their say.

All of six households contacted said they consider this to be a good neighborhood, meeting the hopes they had for it when they bought houses here in 2016 and

2017.

“It’s a very good neighborhood. We enjoy living here,” said Karen Blanken for herself and husband Cor. “This is a good fit for us,” said Bob Kohlman for himself and wife Irma. “We don’t have any complaints about this neighborhood.”

“We enjoy it. It’s quiet,” said Lois Heppner. For her and husband Howard, it is the downsize to a smaller lot they were seeking.

Matt and Jaimee Haugness were looking to get out of a Bellingham condo and found their housing options to be better in Lynden. With a 1-year-old daughter now,

they wanted a neighborhood good for families.

“All of the neighbors, we love them. Everyone is friendly,” said Matthew.

That’s why they found the nasty note incident, when they heard of it afterwards, to be “crazy” and not matching what they experienced. They themselves would like children to be able to play in the safety of a dead-end street.

The neighborhood somehow attracted many who have a connection to U.S.-Canada border jobs, whether still in them or retired from them.

A woman who didn’t want to give her

name said she finds the Woodsman neighborhood very friendly, kind, hard-working, patriotic, family-oriented and ethical, reflecting values she grew up with.

When her husband decided to retire from the Border Patrol, Lynden is where they chose to stay, she said.

Her parents, who were in Orlando, Florida, also wanted to come to Lynden to be near two daughters and four grandchildren, and they like the pace of life here, they said.

Another resident who didn’t want his name used said he likes to think the person who wrote the racist note was “just having a bad day” and it should be put behind.

2018 PROGRESS

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

The proudly celebrates 130 years of service to Lynden and the surrounding Whatcom County communities!

treet S t n o r F n o g n s buildi s e r P r e e n io P 1892:

1888

2018

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Ferndale Record

2018 PROGRESS

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