RESOURCES FOR SENIORS IN WHATCOM COUNTY
FERNDALE FOOTBALL BEATS STANWOOD, 34-7
Eight senior centers provide activities and programs. — News, A2
Golden Eagles to host Edmonds-Woodway at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27. — Sports, B1
OCTOBER 25, 2023
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Ferndale Chamber looks for new director, board president Board VP Lindsay Rohweder takes over as interim board president, leads search to replace Megan Juenemann By Bill Helm Editor
FERNDALE — On Oct. 16, the Ferndale City Council officially approved a contract for
Ferndale Chamber Executive Director Megan Juenemann to become the city’s new communications and community relations officer. On Oct. 17, the chamber announced that its board of directors is working on a transition plan not only to find Juenemann’s replacement but also to “ensure the remaining programs and events for 2023 are delivered.” The chamber’s transition plan will include a new board president. RB McKeon announced that she will step down as board president at the end of October. “After a lot of careful consideration, I believe that a new board president should
lead the chamber’s search for its next executive director,” McKeon wrote to her hometown chamber. “I have had the privilege of serving as president as the chamber navigated through the transition of its two previous executive directors and a global pandemic. I appreciate the confidence and trust you have had in me these past several years. At this time, however, the chamber has the opportunity to decide what it wants to be and who it wants to lead it and my resignation allows you all to do that with new leadership and fresh perspective.” Lindsay Rohweder, vice presiSee Chamber on A2
RB McKeon, right, has resigned her position as Ferndale Chamber Board President effective the end of October. McKeon is pictured with the chamber’s outgoing Executive Director Megan Juenemann in January at the Ferndale Chamber’s AGM at Silver Reef Casino. (Bill Helm/Ferndale Record)
Rescued from hell, new life in Whatcom Not leaving a fellow rabbit behind: Volunteers dedicated to providing homes for abandoned rabbits By Taras McCurdie Staff Reporter
WHATCOM — Located on State Route 539, the same road used to cross the border into Canada, the Bunanza Rabbit Rescue Ranch and Adoption Center is the only place of its kind north of Pierce County. Bunanza opened eight years ago in 2015 when Elizabeth Olson found an abandoned rabbit dumped on her property. Fastforward to now, Olson and her team of volunteers have found more than 750 homes for rabbits that have been dumped, surrendered or rescued. Just last month on Sept. 4, members of Bunanza travelled to Skagit County where they rescued 33 rabbits, ranging from about 5 weeks to 5 months in age. “These juvenile rabbits were living outdoors in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, sharing a single, wire-bottom 2-foot by 8-foot hutch where they had to compete for food and water,” Olson wrote in a press release. “Unknown generations of these bunnies were separated from their mothers too early and lived in misery above a pile of their own waste before being slaughtered for meat. … Members of the rescue team purchased all 33 rabbits for $223. No bunny was left behind, shutting down this meatbreeding operation.” Because of the cruel and harsh environment the rabbits lived in, several were undernourished and sick when rescued, and 11 of the 33 have since died. Families have adopted two of the rescued rabbits, leaving 20 still needing families and permanent homes. Olson said rabbits are not difficult to care for, but people need to realize they do not enjoy being ignored and stored in a cage
all day, which is why the rabbits at the rescue center are visited several times a day by volunteers working morning and evening shifts. One of the reasons the rabbits are good to adopt once rescued, Olson said, is because they are spayed and neutered, litter trained and accustomed to surroundings, specifically the road noise from people driving across the border. Olson also said house rabbits have a lifespan of about 8 to 10 years, maybe more if they are properly cared for. Meeting some volunteers Monica Armstrong moved from Colorado to Washington. Now a resident of Blaine, she got her bunny fix after meeting Olson, and she has since become Bunanza’s photographer, doing what she can to help promote each rabbit. “Her great photos paired with a good story that I can write about [the rabbits], that’s what helps to get them adopted,” Olson said. “People will see that and usually after I post a bunny, I get a whole bunch of people who are interested in that one. So somebody might see a picture of a particular cute bunny. Then they’ll come out and meet them all. And it might or might not be that one. But it gets them going from here, which is important. So any good photo and story combination helps all of them.” Armstrong said if there is not enough room in the shed in Lynden, the volunteers are happy to be their foster parents in the meantime. “Once you get to know what they need, they’re pretty easy to take care of. They’re really fun,” Armstrong said. “You just got to know that they will chew your stuff. So anything on the ground is fair game. … They are also like cats and dogs. They want to be with their people.” Olson and Armstrong said many rabbits are dumped after Easter. Armstrong said people will just get bored of them, and Olson said people won’t take the time to have their rabbits spayed and neutered, both reasons resulting in rabbits being dumped and abandoned. See Rescued on A3
(Top photo) A rabbit at the rescue center enjoys some time outside. (Middle left) Monica Armstrong, Elizabeth Olson and Nicole Whipple at the Bunanza Rabbit Rescue Ranch and Adoption Center on Sept. 14. Both Monica and Nicole have volunteered for a couple of years. (Above left) A look inside the shed where the rabbits are kept until adoption. (Taras McCurdie/Ferndale Record) (Above right) Bonnie Schultz-Lorentzen is another volunteer who serves as vice president on the board for Bunanza. She is pictured holding Cedar, one of the 33 rabbits recently rescued. (Photo courtesy Bonnie Schultz-Lorentzen)
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