Country Life A9 • lyndentribune.com • Wednesday, August 9, 2017
2017 raspberry crop won’t match last year’s record Growers contend with variables of weather, price and tonnage By Calvin Bratt editor@lyndentribune.com
WHATCOM — This season’s commercial red raspberry harvest is wrapping up on a mixed note. First, it follows up on a 2016 bumper crop of 75 million pounds in the county, setting a record hard to beat. Then this year there were some fairly high temperatures to contend with, many days into the 80s, when ideal for berries is around 70 degrees with a breeze. Harvesting got off to a good start right around the beginning of July, growers said then. As usual, the first
By Ashley Hiruko ashley@lyndentribune.com
FERNDALE — Ferndale dairy farmer Seth Snook has filed a lawsuit
Whatcom farmers demand ‘commensurate action after Seattle spill Eyes are on Department of Ecology as investigation continues By Ashley Hiruko ashley@lyndentribune.com
tion as “the result of at least six months of neglect,” court documents stated. The investigators believed at least 28 animals were starved. Specifically, the five counts of first-degree animal cruelty were in regard to five animals including a Guernsey calf, two Jersey cows, a Holstein heifer and a pig, all of which were euthanized. In May during his initial appearance, Snook, represented by Beschen, said his wife had under-
WHATCOM — Local residents have much to say about a Seattle mishap that caused millions of gallons of untreated wastewater to run into the surrounding waters and have questioned whether King County will receive “anything more than “a slap on the wrist” for the incident. Larry Helm, chair of the Whatcom Conservation District board of supervisors, sent a letter dated July 13 to the Washington Department of Ecology urging action “commensurate” with the environmental damage done by the West Point Treatment Plant earlier this year. The plant, located at Discovery Park Boulevard in Seattle, treats wastewater from businesses and homes in Seattle, north King County and parts of Snohomish County. Stormwater also flows into the plant. West Point treats around 90 million gallons of wastewater a day during the dry months and
See Snook on A10
See Spill on A11
The 2017 red raspberry harvest using mechanical pickers in Whatcom County is wrapping up this week. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune) high-quality berries of the season were going to IQF (individual quick frozen) processing at his Berry
Acres operation, grower Frank DeVries said. In regard to price, the strength of the Ameri-
can dollar may be a factor working against a good price globally, he noted. Halverstick Road
grower Darrell Ehlers said on July 27 that the harvest was going well, although See Berries on A11
Ferndale farmer sues for defamation in animal-cruelty case Seth Snook got back six cattle of dozens; he claims Humane Society action wasn’t properly authorized
Dairy • A10 Gardening • A10 FFA/4-H • A10
against Whatcom County and the Whatcom Humane Society for defamation and numerous other offenses that are alleged — including conducting an investigation on his property without a legal warrant and destroying the living evidence, his cows. His lawyer, Emily Beschen, argues that animal control officers with the Humane Society worked without legal authority due to an expired Superior Court authorization to act as control officers. State law RCW 16.52.015 states that “Au-
thorizations shall not exceed three years or trustee termination, whichever occurs first.” To qualify for reappointment when a term expires, an officer must “obtain training or satisfy the court that the officer has sufficient experience to exercise the powers granted to animal control officers.” In his lawsuit, Snook is seeking reimbursement for attorney’s fees and damages and three times the value of his cows. Snook, owner of Snook Brook Farms, entered into a court agreement on July
11 to have three counts of animal cruelty dismissed. The remaining two felony charges were amended to a lesser charge of seconddegree animal cruelty and will be revisited in a year. Some cows were returned to the farmer months after he was charged with five counts of first-degree animal cruelty. The charges stem from a home visit paid by a Humane Society animal control sergeant and a state veterinarian in April. Their investigation found animals that had been starving to death and in a condi-
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