Everson-Nooksack News
Lynden Tribune | Ferndale Record | Wednesday, July 6, 2022
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Three days of community fun in Everson and Nooksack EVERSON-NOOKSACK — The 2022 Summer Festival runs Friday through Sunday, July 8-10, bringing fun for the whole family to the two cities’ parks. The parade down Main Street is at 11 a.m. Saturday. Three-onthree basketball is both Friday and Saturday at Miller Courts. Round One is from 5-8 p.m. Fri-
Jim Glass, left, and Rick Holt have been named this year’s Main Street Parade grand marshals. With a combined experience of more than 50 years of public service, Glass and Holt “are worthy recipients of this year’s masters of ceremony,” the City of Everson’s Facebook page stated. (Photos courtesy City of Everson)
Glass, Holt named this year’s Main Street Parade grand marshals Staff Reports
EVERSON — The Everson-Nooksack Summer Festival has named Jim Glass and Rick Holt as this year’s Main Street Parade grand marshals. Glass, a life-long Everson resident, started his public works career with the City of Everson in 1988. He was known as the “walking encyclopedia of knowledge” about Everson’s infrastructure since he installed a large portion of the water and sewer system with a previous employer before joining the city. Glass held multiple certifications in both the water and sewer departments, and he could be seen around town constantly either mowing grass or plowing snow, depending on the season. According
to the City of Everson’s Facebook page, Glass was always available to respond to floods, snowstorms, and other natural disasters at a moment’s notice. Holt began his career in 1992 with the City of Everson and worked his way up to the city’s public works director. Throughout his career, Holt oversaw numerous public works infrastructure projects including the main street relocation of overhead powerlines to underground, the sewer treatment plant expansion and the extension and improvement of numerous streets and the development of multiple housing developments. With a combined experience of more than 50 years of public service, Jim Glass and Rick Holt “are worthy recipients of this year’s masters of ceremony,” the City of Everson’s Facebook page stated.
day, Round Two is 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday. The Everson Auto Parts Napa Car Show and Shine will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday on Lincoln Street between Kirsch and Blair streets. Live music comes to Everson City Park. It’s Still Kickin’ at 6 p.m. Friday and Joe Harkness Hanson at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Schedule of events Friday, July 8 • Noon-8 p.m.: Vendors in the park: food, crafts, local businesses. • 5-7 p.m.: Lions Club BBQ at Everson City Park. • 5-8 p.m.: 3-on-3 basketball (round one) at Miller Courts. • 6-8 p.m.: Live music by Queens Bluegrass at Everson City Park. Saturday, July 9 • 7:30-10 a.m.: Pancake breakfast at Everson Community Center. • 8 a.m.-2 p.m.: Everson Auto Parts Napa Car Show and Shine, on Lincoln Street between Kirsch and Blair streets. • 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.: 3-on-3 basketball (round two) at Miller Courts. • 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Vendors in the park: food, crafts, local businesses. • 11 a.m.-noon: Main Street Parade. • Noon.-2 p.m.: Kids games at Everson City Park/Christ Fellowship. • 2-3 p.m.: Live music by Still Kick'n at Everson City Park. • 3-4 p.m.: Live music by Joe Harkness Hanson at Everson City Park. Sunday, July 10 • 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Softball tournament at Riverside Park.
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, July 6, 2022 | Ferndale Record
EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS
Everson library celebrates remodel, Summer Reading Program On June 27, the Everson McBeath Community Library kicked off this year's Summer Reading Program (SRP) and also invited the public to celebrate and tour its newly remodeled library. The event started with brief comments by various library and community leaders, then the official ribbon cutting and informal touring of the library. The library's young visitors were then able to select a free book for the SRP kickoff. A $144,000 bequest to the Friends of
Everson Library from the estate of Fred D. and Evelyn Nowicke kickstarted the renovation. Over the past five years, Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) staff and Friends of Everson Library members have been steadily planning and implementing updates to the 4,142-square-foot library’s infrastructure and interior spaces. Built in 1977, the library has been expanded twice: in 1983 and then in 1997. The current remodel includes new furniture and fixtures, improved sight lines,
an expanded teen section, an historic photo installation and a redesign of the Nooksack Valley Heritage Center. In addition to the donation, WCLS contributed $75,000 to the project. The City of Everson also replaced the roof on the cityowned building. Also on June 27, library patrons welcomed Paul Fullner, recently named manager of the Everson and Sumas libraries. Fullner took over for Alexa Andrews, who took a job in Pennsylvania. Summer Reading kick-off activities in-
clude free books for all young people in attendance, fun all-ages crafts, and the chance to talk with library staff about inperson summer programs and Summer Reading book recommendations. The Everson McBeath Community Library is located at 104 Kirsch Drive in Everson. The library is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. For more on the Everson McBeath Community Library, visit facebook.com/ WCLS.EversonLibrary or wcls.org.
Alison Kellerstrass helps her 7-year-old daughter Annette select a book (top photo right) at the Everson McBeath Community Library's Summer Reading kickoff on June 27. WCLS Executive Director Christine Perkins (top photo left) addresses the crowd during the event, while Paul Fullner, manager of the Everson and Sumas libraries (far left photo), visits with patrons. Fullner (photo at left) leads the ribbon cutting to celebrate the library's recent remodel. (Bill Helm/ Lynden Tribune)
EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, July 6, 2022 | Ferndale Record
BY THE NUMBERS
Almost 190K people have visited WCLS libraries so far in 2022 By Marv Waschke For the Tribune
I’d like to say a few words about Whatcom County Library System. I’ve been on the library board for close to a decade now and, with term limits, my watch is about over. What I am about to say is my personal opinion as a citizen. I am not representing WCLS or my fellow trustees. There’s no inside information here. It’s all from the public record.
A fourth generation Whatcom County resident, Marv Waschke is on the Whatcom County Library System's board of directors. Waschke is pictured at the June 27 Summer Reading Program kickoff at the Everson McBeath Community Library. (Bill Helm/Lynden Tribune)
Background I am a fourth generation Whatcom County resident. I grew up bucking bales and cleaning barns on the family dairy farm and reading books checked out from the Whatcom County Library. I went off to college and eventually was lucky enough to become a divisional vice president for a Fortune 500 global software vendor, which you’ve probably have never heard of: CA Technologies. For them, I built and sold enterprise management software for big companies like Walmart, Citibank, Allstate, and many others. My job was to figure out how to build computer programs to make these huge enterprises run more efficiently and convince them to buy our services. I learned something about business.
103 West Main Street Everson, WA 98247 (360) 966-3732
www.KELLEYINSURE.com 617 Cherry Street Sumas, WA 98295 (360) 988-2462
Ten years ago, I retired and looked around for an opportunity to give something back to the county that made me. I’ve always liked libraries and reading. When I saw a vacancy on the county library board, I volunteered, and was fortunate enough to be appointed. I look at WCLS in the same way I looked at Walmart, Allstate, or any of dozens of my other customers. I always look at the numbers I have a few basic observations. WCLS serves Whatcom County, but not the City of Bellingham. That means we have roughly 135,000 potential customers. We have roughly a half million items in inventory, mostly physical paper books, a growing number of eBooks, and a few other miscellaneous items like teaching kits, all things that our customers can check out, use for themselves, and return. The library also offers high quality video training, music, movies, and other reference services to our customers. So far this year, WCLS has lent out items 870,000 times. By the end of 2022, I expect we will have executed around 2,000,000 lends. In other words, about 15 items for every person in rural Whatcom County. Of course, this is an average. Many people check
out far more than 15 books a year (me, for example), others never check out a book. However, this is still a valid measure of just how much our system is used and how much we deliver to Whatcom County folks. Another way of looking at this, each book in our inventory will average being read four times this year. WCLS’s book selectors have a knack for choosing books and services that the folks in our county want to read and use. Another measure is how often people come through our doors. With the pandemic, these numbers have dropped, although we’ve seen that folks are eager to redevelop the habit of coming into our branches. So far in 2022, almost 190,000 people have entered our branch libraries, more than our population (135,000). We still are not up to pre-pandemic levels, but traffic has more than doubled over the pandemic lows. If trends continue, we could hit 400,000 visits by the end of the year, almost three times our population. As a businessman and citizen, I am very proud of our library system. If my software had worked as effectively for my customers as WCLS has worked for Whatcom County, I would have been ecstatic.
Local, Independent, Trusted.
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, July 6, 2022 | Ferndale Record
EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS
Assistant Fire Chief Rachel Carlson to lead Fire District No. 1; Mel Blankers resigns as fire chief By Elisa Claassen For the Tribune
EVERSON — Former Whatcom County Fire District 1 Chief Mel Blankers has resigned. His last day was June 21. The fire district’s board of commissioners has appointed WCFD1 Assistant Chief Rachel Carlson as interim chief. On June 28, Carlson said that the board has several upcoming meetings scheduled to discuss the fire district’s leadership moving forward. The next meeting is on July 14. Visit wcfd1.org for more information. Blankers, who had previously been with the Lynden Police Department, had not publicly given his reason for his resignation.
Blankers had been overseeing the department’s plans for expanding and growing into a location purchased near the Everson Auction Barn on Everson Goshen Road. After the purchase, the City of Everson had to annex the property from the urban growth area into city limits. Existing buildings were removed in the past year. Carlson said the process is now in review of utilities and easements. In the past month the department has added two new full-time paid personnel for a total of six career firefighters which will enable them to change to 24-hour shifts of coverage. Volunteers, which comprise a large portion of the staff, are limited on the hours they can serve by federal laws. A new ambulance was added in Janu-
Rachel Carlson has taken over for Mel Blankers as interim fire chief of District No. 1. Carlson had been the district's assistant fire chief. Above, Carlson in the annual Everson-Nooksack Main Street Community Parade. (Courtesy photos)
ary 2022 and approximately $48,000 worth of grant-funding breathing apparatus has been sent to replace faulty and aging out equipment from a FEMA AFG (Assistance to Firefighters) grant. Captain Greg Macy is overseeing this project and some of the items are still arriving. The department will be part of the upcoming Everson Festival and parade and are eager to start training 15 new volun-
teers with EMT and firefighting skills. Carlson said she has seen a number of past volunteers take their Everson training and go on to career positions with other agencies in Burlington, Bellingham, Gig Harbor, and elsewhere. In July the department will present awards to its staff and volunteers comprising achievements from the past three years due to COVID-19 which caused delays.
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EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, July 6, 2022 | Ferndale Record
Nooksack Animal Hospital changes hands, focus NOOKSACK — In 1955, Nooksack Animal Hospital started as the Sumas Veterinary Clinic and predominately served the dairy industry. As time went on, the clinic’s equine and small animal patients increased. In 1996, the Sumas Veterinary Clinic moved to Nooksack and became Nooksack Animal Hospital. With the move the small animal facility added in-house laboratory analysis, radiology, ultrasound, surgery, dental care, boarding and also added two experienced small animal veterinarians. As of April 1, the Nooksack Animal Hospital has had a change of ownership and welcomed new owner Dr. Greg Ingman. Ingman took over for Dr. Karen Kelley and Dr. Greg Iversen, the hospital’s previous owners. “With this change we will be concentrating our care on small animals and will no longer be
serving the equine and bovine communities,” the clinic website said. “We are sad to say goodbye to our farm friends and appreciate the years of trust that has been placed in us.” Iversen is retiring after 40 years of practicing veterinary medicine and plans to spend his time fishing and playing with his grandchildren. Kelley will continue to work on small animals three days a week. Ingman and his wife Barb opened the Chuckanut Valley Veterinary Clinic in 1985 and grew it into a successful 12-doctor practice. In 2017 the Ingmans sold the clinic, and Dr. Ingman continued to work there for five years until he decided to make the move into ownership again. Nooksack Animal Hospital is at 302 W Columbia St. Visit nooksackanimalhospital.com for more information.
Nooksack Animal Hospital Outgoing veterinarians Dr. Greg Iverson and Dr. Karen Kelley are joined in front of the Nooksack Animal Hospital by new owner Dr. Greg Ingman. Kelley will continue to work on small animals three days a week. (Courtesy
photo)
EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS
Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, July 6, 2022 | Ferndale Record
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EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS BRIEFS
WCLS responds to suspected cyberattack on email/phone servers WHATCOM — Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) administrators are investigating a suspected data breach that has compromised the library system’s email and phone servers. Library officials suspect malware, but the investigation is ongoing. Library services are available. However, community members are not currently able to call county library branches, to email staff or to access some digital resources. New appointments for curbside pickup of library materials are also not currently available because email is required to
schedule appointments. WCLS and Bellingham Public Library (BPL) are separate library systems. The data breach does not impact phone or email service at Bellingham’s three branches: Central, Fairhaven and Barkley Village. WCLS and BPL do share online access to some digital resources. That authentication server has been temporarily shut down as part of WCLS’s security review. A list of impacted resources is available at wcls.org and BellinghamPublicLibrary.org. Patrons can access other digital assets as well as the library’s website and social media. Library officials are assessing if the data breach impacted staff information and files. Library patrons will be able to browse and check out books online and in-person at all 10 county branches, the bookmobile and the Library Express location on Northwest Drive. Curbside
pickup is not available because it is scheduled via email. Library events will continue as planned. Because email and phone services are offline, community members who need to talk with library staff should visit a branch location. Find the nearest WCLS branch at wcls.org.
Concerned citizen call to 9-1-1 leads to arrest EVERSON — On June 23, an Everson citizen called 9-1-1 to report a suspicious vehicle that was reported parked at a construction zone near the 7200 block of Everson Goshen Road. According to a report on the Everson Police Department’s Facebook page, the reporting party advised that the vehicle had not moved for more than 30 minutes and that it may have been
occupied. Upon arrival, Everson police officers observed a light green vehicle with no plates parked near a dirt berm. “As officers walked up to the vehicle, they observed two occupants slumped over with drug paraphernalia on them,” the posting stated. “Officers woke them from their slumber and had a chat with them.” The report states that consent was given to search the vehicle and officer’s recovered counterfeit oxycodone pills made from fentanyl, cash, scales, small bags and firearms (one was reported stolen) and other suspected stolen items. Both occupants of the vehicle were also convicted felons which prohibits them owning and possessing firearms, the report states. Drugs and firearms were taken off the street due to a concerned citizen calling 9-1-1. After further investigation, one
of the occupants was booked for possession of a control substance with intent to deliver, unlawful possession of a firearm, and possession of a stolen firearm.
Nooksack Valley High School alumni picnic NOOKSACK — The NVHS Alumni Association announces the return of the annual Alumni Picnic. This year’s picnic is from 11:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday, July 16 at Nooksack Elementary School, 3333 Breckenridge Road, Nooksack. Bring your own picnic lunch. Beverages and dessert will be provided. For more information, call 360-676-2593.
Enjoy the Summer Festival! • 360-966-3271
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, July 6, 2022 | Ferndale Record
EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS
Mass Casualty Incident drill
On June 22, Whatcom County Fire District 1 had the privilege of joining Bellingham Fire Department and multiple other agencies from Whatcom County in an MCI (Mass Casualty Incident) drill. Bellingham Fire Department used this drill to prepare their paramedic students in the event a large incident occurred. The drill was good practice to enhance the skills and work with other agencies in the county. (Courtesy photos)
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, July 6, 2022 | Ferndale Record
Lions club bbq
EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS
live music:
3-ON-3 Queens Basketball Bluegrass tournament 6-8pm
Food & Craft Vendors 3-ON-3
Food & 11am live music: Basketball Craft parade tournament Vendors Still Kick'n 2-3pm main st. SOFTBALL
TOURNAMENT live music: Joe harkness Riverside Kids games Hanson 3-4pm park 12-2pm
Everson rally Car show
pancake breakfast at Everson community center 7:30-10am
SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT riverside park everson
Scan the qr code for information, Entries for the Parade & 3-ON-3 TEAMS or visit our website at CI.EVERSON.WA.US
thank you to This year's sponsors!