Ferndale Record November 22 2023

Page 1

Framework signed for cross-border flood response

8 Ferndale football players earn all-conference honors

Initiative involves state, province, Whatcom, Abbotsford and five tribes. — News, A2

Three Golden Eagles named to first team, three to second team. — Sports, B2

Happy Thanksgiving!

NOVEMBER 22, 2023

SINCE 1885

FERNDALE, WASHINGTON • $1.50

Improving student outcomes General

Election 2023

The following are Whatcom County’s contested races. These are the unofficial results as of 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17 Name/votes/percentage Ferndale Mayor Greg Hansen/2,542/54.2% Jon Mutchler/2,137/45.57% Write-In/11 Ferndale City Council Pos. 1 Matthew Durkee/1,438/32.94% Herb Porter/2,913/66.72% Write-In/15 Student representative Gabby Lenssen at the Ferndale School Board’s Aug. 29 meeting. During the board’s Oct. 30 meeting, Lenssen gave her stance on students being successful in the classroom when they have teachers who share a similar backstory. (Taras McCurdie/Ferndale Record)

Ferndale School board says it is in compliance with treatment of administration personnel By Taras McCurdie Staff Reporter

FERNDALE — On Oct. 30, the Ferndale School Board approved its 2023 monitoring report for operations expectations policy 4 (OE-4) Personnel Administration as being in compliance. In a document to the district governing board, Superintendent Kristi Dominguez wrote that policy OE-4 establishes the school board’s “expectations for how we care for our human resources, an essential focus towards improving student out-

comes.” “As such, it is a subset of Strategic Commitment Three, which calls out the importance of managing all our resources responsibly and productively,” Dominguez wrote. “This policy covers the superintendent’s and human resources’ vital role in recruiting, developing, evaluating and compensating district employees; along with fostering a work environment that promotes professional growth and upholds ethical standards. The district’s commitment to excellence in personnel management is exemplified through OE-4. By adhering to the principles outlined within this policy, the district aims to not only attract and retain top-tier talent but also to create an environment where every employee’s contributions are valued and their potential is maximized.” All the following sections were surveyed as being in compliance: • Assure that no person is employed by the district without first clearing thorough background in-

quires and checks. • Assure that no volunteer has unsupervised contact with students without first clearing reasonable background inquires and checks. • Select only highly qualified and the best-suited candidates for all positions. • Administer clear personnel rules and procedures for employees. • Effectively handle complaints and concerns. • Maintain adequate job descriptions for all staff positions. • Protect confidential information. • Assure that compensation and benefit plans attract and retain the highest quality employees by compensating employees, within available resources, in a manner consistent with the applicable marketplace, including but not limited to organizations of comparable size and type. • Consistent with the superintendent’s own evaluation, evaluate all employee performance according to See Compliance on A5

Hansen to retain Ferndale mayor’s seat 2 new faces on school board, several other races not close Staff reports

FERNDALE — Greg Hansen is about 400 votes of Jon Mutchler in his quest to continue as Ferndale’s mayor. As of 4:30 p.m. Nov. 17, Mayor Hansen has 54.2% of the vote, Mutchler has 45.57%, and 11 unnamed people have received write-in votes. For Ferndale City Council Position No. 1, incumbent Herb

Porter, who has been a member since January 2019, has a 2-to1 lead over Matthew Durkee. The race for Position No. 4 includes McKenna PintoGonzalez and Wyatt Shedd Stewart, and this is relatively closer race with Pinto-Gonzalez leading by roughly 5% of the vote. Position No. 2 and Position No. 3 are uncontested with Ali Hawkinson and Erin Gunter retaining their roles. Going to the Ferndale School Board, incumbent board President Kevin Erickson is about 2,300 votes ahead of Beth Perry for Director District No. 1. With Melinda Cool leaving her seat, the race between

Brent Bode and Antonio Machado for Director District No. 2 is close, with a 169vote lead in Machado’s favor. For Director District No. 3, it looks like incumbent Toni Jefferson will be ousted as she trails newcomer Nancy Button by more than 2,200 votes. In the race for county executive, Satpal Sidhu is about 15% ahead of the challenger, Dan Purdy, while the race for county sheriff is closer. With Sheriff Bill Elfo not running to keep his seat, his undersheriff, Doug Chadwick, is behind Donnell Tanksley, 40,937 votes to 37,638. By a roughly 2-to1 margin, Whatcom

County voters have supported sales and use tax of two-tenths of one percent (20 cents per $100) to pay for a new county jail, as well as behavioral health, supportive housing, public safety and other criminal justice facilities and services. With results not official until Nov. 28, the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office’s election division still has approximately 12 estimated ballots to count. According to the county auditor’s office website, the term estimated ballots left to count “only includes ballots currently in our office. It does not estimate ballots that have not yet been received. Ballot signature cures and over-

seas ballots are not included and can be received up until the day before certification.” The election division has counted 1,734 votes, which is 51.17% of the county’s 159,737 registered voters. The election division will release the results of its next ballot count at 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 27. Certification date is Nov. 28. To the right are the results of the area’s contested races. For more information on uncontested races, visit results.vote.wa.gov/ results/20231107/ whatcom. -- Taras McCurdie contributed to this report

Weather

62 pages • Volume LII • Number 39

Thursday 49°/33° Friday 47°/33° Saturday 48°/31° Sunday 47°/31°

Calendar • A3 Classifieds • B5 Forum • A4

Legal Notices • B4 News • A2 Obituaries • A5

Puzzles • B6 Sports • B1

Ferndale City Council Pos. 4 M. Pinto-Gonzalez/2,312/52.27% W. Shedd Stewart/2,091/47.28% Write-In/20 Ferndale School Board Dir. 1 Kevin Erickson/6,778/60.13% Beth Perry/4,470/39.66% Write-In/24 Ferndale School Board Dir. 2 Brent Bode/5,501/49.13% Antonio Machado/5,670/50.64% Write-In/25 Ferndale School Board Dir. 3 Nancy Button/6,758/60.07% Toni Jefferson/4,478/39.8% Write-In/15 Whatcom County Executive Dan Purdy/33,607/42.22% Satpal Sidhu/45,236/57.62% Write-In/129 Whatcom County Sheriff Doug Chadwick/37,638/47.82% Donnell Tanksley/40,937/52.01% Write-In/132 Whatcom County Council District 4 Kathy Kershner/7,929/47.03% Mark Stremler/8,841/52.43% Write-In/91 Whatcom County Council District 5 Jackie Dexter/5,790/38.8% Ben Elenbaas/9,105/61.01% Write-In/29 Whatcom County Council At-Large B Hannah Ordos/33,207/42.88% Jon Scanlon/44,124/56.97% Write-In/117 Whatcom County - Proposition 2023-04 - Public Health, Safety, and Justice Sales and Use Tax Yes/49,486/63.2% No/28,811/36.8%

*Official results will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 28

Whatcom County Coupon & Savings Book: Insert www.ferndalerecord.com


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