Progress 2017

PROGRESS

2017

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

BUSINESS

COMMUNITY

FAMILY

Pam Langstraat, right, has had many colleagues in 47 years with Peoples Bank ..................... C2

Luke Ridnour, after a pro basketball career, now channels his pursuits locally. ..................... C8

Jon Criss can enjoy family life now, 10 years after a lifethreatening crash. ..................... C4

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS

Table of Contents

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Pam Langstraat wraps up a 47-year legacy career with Peoples Bank Jon Criss reflects back on a 2007 crash from which he amazingly recovered Basketball legend Luke Ridnour is outfitting a new gym in Lynden Karen Timmer is community engaged as well as being an award-winning

Realtor

C12 Teacher Rebecca Van Slyke will soon see a fourth children’s book

published

C14 The Slagle family has found that the painful loss of a son and brother is a

‘call to action’

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Friends of the Lynden Library won the county service award

for 2016

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At 50 years,

Whatcom Community College keeps evolving to

the local needs in education

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Holly Bumford’s idea of

Good to Go Meat Pies finds new markets

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS

More than 47 years in local banking Pam Langstraat is wrapping up a legacy career with Peoples Bank this week

By Calvin Bratt editor@lyndentribune.com

LYNDEN ­ — When Pam Langstraat started working with Peoples State Bank in June 1969, its one location was on Front Street downtown. Pam had just graduated from Lynden High School. She knew she didn’t want to go to college, but she liked math, and Irwin LeCocq Sr. was hiring at the bank.

Staying in her home community and working with numbers seemed like a good idea to her.

It still does.

Langstraat is retiring this week from a legacy career of more than 47 years with Peoples. She could not have imagined how much banking would change over that time, but Pam chose to stay with it, through all the changes — and to stay with Peoples — and now she can look back and say it has been a most satisfying run.

Good with people, Pam also rose beyond the number crunching into key responsibilities with the bank. She leaves as a vice president and the main Lynden branch manager in a Peoples Bank network that now numbers 25 locations in the state.

“This is my family here. I have really loved what I do,” Langstraat said in an interview in her Grover Street office. “That is going to be the toughest thing, walking out the door.”

She credits the LeCocq family across three generations — Irwin Sr., Irwin Jr. and Charles — with consistently supporting her.

At times, she will admit, it was necessary to take a deep breath and commit herself to learning the next stage of technology or procedure that kept coming in waves of change to her profession.

After all, that 1969 first job was before computers of any sort. Putting out end-of-month bank statement involved a lot of manual paper work, keeping track of checks, balancing accounts on an oldfashioned adding machine, posting internally and sending out the results to cus-

Pam Gunst, left, and Jennifer Dykstra have been associates of Pam Langstraat at the Lynden branch through the years. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune) tomers in the mail.

“We thought the fax was something,” she can say now, looking back.

She had a front-row seat on the volley of change: from posting accounts by hand (or on a typewriter) to a world where a PC now sits on every desk, through the introduction of ATMs and debit cards, to ACH direct deposit of Social Security and employee payroll, not to mention online and mobile banking and bill payment.

“Through it all, Pam has embraced the changes in the business and industry with grace and sophistication, bringing deep knowledge and insights about the Lynden community as well,” the bank says of her.

Pam was part of Peoples’ move into its then-new building at Fifth and Grover streets in 1970. Branches at the Fairway Center and in Everson soon followed, and for 10 years Pam worked part-time at Fairway as she and husband Jed started their family of three.

She returned downtown as a note

teller and was promoted to be the main Lynden branch manager in 1992. Three years later, Peoples State Bank dropped its middle name and became Peoples Bank.

Along with managing the 22-employee branch, Pam also specializes as head of its retail department, handling business accounts. She has become the person hundreds of retail businesses rely upon for their banking needs. She had grown up with an awareness of what’s involved in business through her father Harold Visser’s Visser Oil company.

Peoples identifies as a community full-service bank. That puts a premium on knowing and serving your community and offering friendly customer service, Pam believes. “It’s just being able to assist anyone who comes in the door,” she said.

Those customers can range from older folks who are wary of computers to a younger generation comfortable using the latest mobile banking apps.

Pam credits Peoples with very good

training of its employees — a room at the Bellingham Barkeley center is entirely dedicated to training — so that as a team they are able to get questions answered and challenges resolved even if that could mean a phone call to a co-worker or walking a few steps at a branch office.

“Everything is all computerized, and it’s just taking that and being available to the customer wherever they are at. If I can’t do it, then I can’t help them — or I can get the answer from someone else. But we will have the resources available.”

The LeCocqs wanted their employees to be able to address customers on a firstname basis, and Pam took that seriously, drawing upon her lifelong acquaintance within the Lynden community. She figures she knows “thousands” of people that way.

Charles LeCocq, today’s chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the family-run bank, acknowledges how valuable she has been over the years.

“We salute Pam for her legacy career

2017 PROGRESS in Lynden and her countless contributions to Peoples Bank and the community,” LeCocq said. “Pam has been a part of some of the most important changes in banking over the past 50 years — the move to computerized systems, the advent of ATMs, debit cards, and increasingly sophisticated mobile banking options. Through it all, Pam has remained steadfastly committed to improving her customers’ banking experiences and supporting their financial needs.”

A community event Pam Langstraat wraps up her employment with Peoples Bank on Friday, Feb. 24.

A retirement reception for her will be from 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at the Lynden Financial Center, 418 Grover St. The community is invited to come by and thank Langstraat and wish her well.

Replacing Pam as Lynden branch manager is Mary Compton, also a Peoples vice president and manager of the Everson branch for many years.

A graduate of Nooksack Valley High School, Mary was named a 2005 Graduate of Distinction for her contributions to the community. She has been president and a board member with the Mt. Baker Scholarship Foundation and a treasurer for the Everson-Nooksack Chamber of Commerce.

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

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From left are downtown employees Daelynn Brown, Pam Langstraat, Jamie Saulsbury and Acesha Erdmann.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

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A new lease on life

Jon Criss is often passing by the spot where he had his traumatic crash 10 years ago. (Ashley Hiruko/Lynden Tribune)

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2017 PROGRESS

Jon Criss looks back at his life-threatening accident on a Lynden street 10 years ago

By Ashley Hiruko ashley@lyndentribune.com

LYNDEN — Jon Criss can mark the exact spot where his life was changed. It’s off the corner of First and Grover streets.

There stands a tall, wooden electric pole and Jon can still see evidence of what took place ten years ago.

April 25, 2007 unfolded as a fairly normal busy day in the large Criss household of 10 children. Work schedules had to be kept, and at 7 p.m. it was time for Jon to drive his younger sister Laura to the Van Cleves for a piano lesson.

Criss was 19 at the time and a 1988 red-and-white Ford F-150 truck was his means of getting around Lynden and to two jobs. “[It had] big tires and performance headers and exhaust making it one of the burliest and loudest trucks in Lynden,” Laura recounts of Jon’s truck of the day.

After a quick drive to the Van Cleve’s,

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS Jon Criss spent time lifting weights with his brother Philip and friend Adam Van Cleve. Then they decided to go on a quick drive for some mocha shakes.

Soon after, Van Cleve’s mother received a phone call.

“Mrs. Van Cleve had her hand over her mouth, her eyes were closed and she was crying,” Laura wrote of the moments of receiving the news.

It’s still difficult for Jon to say exactly what happened, and people can only speculate. The details remain a blur. The one thing he remembers is the “eerie” sirens of the ambulance he was riding in.

“Looking at the accident, it’s like ‘wow, how did you survive that?'” Jon Criss now says as he scrolls through digital photos from the wreck of 10 years ago.

He interviews on a cloudy January morning at The Woods Coffee. The weather that fateful morning had been similar — roads slick and skies grey.

What is surmised is that Criss was making a turn from Grover Street onto First when his vehicle began spinning out. When he overcorrected the turn, Criss, along with his companions in the truck, went crashing into the big wooden pole on the side of the street. The driver’s side took the brunt of the impact and the truck caught fire.

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Brian Englert lived close to the accident scene. When he heard the crash, he ran toward it barefoot. When Englert arrived, Jon Criss and Van Cleve were unconscious while Philip Criss was in and out of consciousness.

“Here we are, locked in the car, and the three of us are passed out and the car’s on fire,” Criss said. The flames reached toward the top of the electric pole.

Englert was eventually able to alert Philip and get a door unlocked. After the others were pulled out, Jon was dragged from the vehicle with “flames coming up over his head.”

Amazingly, Criss sustained no permanent burn injuries from the accident.

However, he did fracture his pelvis in three places, broke his breastbone and had a concussion, broken teeth and multiple lacerations. But he kept his life.

“If there’s anything I really want to say, it’s that God was really merciful to me,” Criss said.

After a week in the hospital, Criss remained bound to a recliner and needed help moving with a walker for two more weeks. He then switched to crutches and was able to walk without them in late June. It took a little over two months for See Criss on C6

Jon Criss with his wife Kelsie and their four kids. (Courtesy photo/Jon Criss)

2017 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business Timeless

Ferndale School District

133 Years Morse Steel

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128 Years

109 Years Diehl Ford

132 Years Ferndale Record

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107 Years

128 Years

“We believe in community news.”

Lynden Cemetery

113 6th St. • Lynden 354-4444

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

106 Years

96 Years

Lynden Tribune

Greenwood Cemetery

Lincoln Isuzu

Christian School

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

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

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92 Years

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS

Criss: Still drives truck down same Lynden street

In the April 2007 crash Jon Criss's truck spun into a power pole and then caught fire. The three occupants were knocked unconscious.

Continued from C5 him to recover, although he still feels minor pains he attributes to the crash and he continues to see a chiropractor.

“There was a lot of trauma mentally and emotionally that I’ve worked through,” Criss said. “I still get choked up thinking about it sometimes. But most of it has passed.”

Not surprisingly, Criss struggled to be a passenger in a vehicle for a while after the accident.

“I would see things coming up and I would think, ‘you got to slow down, you got to slow down,’” he said. “And I never

had this problem before. The accident magnified it so much more after that.

Riding in the car and not being in control of it was a little scary.”

But the accident impacted more than just Jon. His family had never experienced an accident before, making this one even more traumatic for them, he said.

“It was hard. We were all really close,” Criss said, “especially that first night.”

His mother ran to the scene when she heard what had happened. “She could see Jon lying still on the ground,” Laura relates. “All she could think of was

that he was paralyzed.”

What followed were long nights and lost appetites. Laura wrote that her appetite didn’t return until two weeks after the crash.

Later in the hospital, Criss was shown photos from the collision. “It was pretty hard for me, being a young guy,” he said. “I wasn’t real emotional about much, but that really hit me. Like ‘wow, I could be gone.’”

Today, the 28-year-old drives a different kind of truck. It’s a white 2008 Ford F550 with the words Stremler on the side. He works as the concrete company’s lead foreman. And every night in

(Courtesy photo/Jon Criss)

Sumas he comes home to a full household of his own — his wife Kelsie and four children ranging in age from 5 years to 6 months old.

“Lots happened. I’ve had a lot of good experiences in the last ten years and I could have missed all of that,” he reflects.

But some things never change.

Criss said he still drives his truck down the same Lynden street where the tall wooden pole stands — its black markings remaining from the day his fire fire engulfed it. Sometimes he’ll drive by and not think twice. Other times, he’s reminded just how precious life can be.

2017 PROGRESS

Lynden Library Friends group earns service award Group works to keep secondhand bookstore up and running WHATCOM — Each year, the Whatcom County Library System honors one local Friends of the Library group or individual for outstanding service. For 2016 the award went to the Friends of the Lynden Library for their work supporting the library at 216 Fourth St. Dianne Marrs-Smith, branch manager, said the Friends group works hard to keep the 2nd Hand Prose Book Store fully stocked and looking attractive for patrons. In 2016 about $15,000 was raised between the in-library book store

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record and book sale events.

In her nomination, Marrs-Smith praised Friends president June Hahn and members Leslie Williams, Connie Orfanos and Nancy Rourke for their dedication, generous support and hard work.

The money raised was used for special library programs and landscaping around the building. “We will also make a few upgrades to our workspace this year with the Friends’ assistance,” said Marrs-Smith.

The Lynden Friends bought and installed an outdoor Little Free Library in honor of Serena and Bob Haugen. The couple won the first WCLS Outstanding Friends Award in 2007 for their longtime volunteer service as the Friends’ book sale caretakers.

WCLS deputy director Michael Cox presented the “traveling plaque” to be displayed during 2017 at the Lynden Library. “Our Friends groups are our biggest advocates,” he said.

WCLS congratulates all the nominees for the award: Friends of the Deming Library, Friends of the North Fork Community Library member Susan Lafferty, and Friends of the Point Roberts Library.

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Friends of the Lynden Library received the Whatcom County Library System’s Friends Outstanding Service Award for 2016. From left are: Joan Van Wyckhouse, Connie Orfanos, WCLS deputy director Michael Cox, Nancy Rourke (holding blue sign), Arlene Carlson, Alice Dusenberry, Judy Gauer (holding wooden plaque), and WCLS executive director Christine Perkins.

(Courtesy photo/ Whatcom County Library System)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS

Luke Ridnour converting City Bible building to Ridnour Athletic Courts

Former Blaine standout creates facility for athletes of all skill levels

By Nick Elges sports@lyndentribune.com

Formerly of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Seattle SuperSonics, Blaine native Luke Ridnour is taking over a Lynden City Bible Church building and has converted it into basketball courts. Next page: Ridnour interacts with kids at one of his summer basketball camps. (File photo)

LYNDEN — Luke Ridnour is one of the finest athletes ever to come out of Whatcom County. Over the course of a 13-year career in the NBA, the 6-2 point guard out of Blaine High School averaged 9.3 points and 4.5 assists per game while playing for five teams, including spending five seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics.

Now retired from professional basketball, Ridnour has returned to Whatcom and lives with his family — a fifth son was born recently — in Lynden. Since moving back to the county, he has kept himself busy with a project he and his wife, Katherine, have long dreamed of pursuing.

“My wife and I have always wanted to start a gym,” Ridnour said. “Even before I retired, I’ve always wanted to start a gym and run basketball (programs) out of it.”

Upon returning to the area in August, Ridnour started looking for space to pursue this goal. He and Katherine saw the need for another gym in the area and thought about starting from scratch by building their own facility. However, it didn’t take long before an unused space popped up on the property of the City Bible Church on Main Street.

With much of the building empty and unused, Ridnour saw the perfect opportunity to build his gym. Part of the church site is still used for religious services, but this selfstanding building, which included a stage, was simply sitting there calling Ridnour’s name.

It already is roughly in the dimensions of a gym.

“I met with pastor Andrew Orlando and I kind of told him where my heart was and what I wanted to get started,” Ridnour explained. “The building fit perfectly and it went along with what their visions were too — doing some youth ministry and that kind of stuff as well. It worked out for both sides.

It’s like the Lord just kind of placed it in our hands. It’s worked out great.”

Recently, the reconstructed Ridnour

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS Athletic Courts (RAC for short), as it will be named, started hosting practices and games for various youth activities. The facility includes a wood court with six hoops, four of which are adjustable, with two courts going sideways and one main court.

The Ridnours plan on running programs, tournaments and camps for youth basketball, volleyball and special-needs athletes out of the gym, along with other community events. Ultimately, it provides another place to play for such a basketball-crazed area as Lynden.

“It gives people another place to play and practice,” Ridnour said. “We’re excited to give people a chance to play somewhere so they don’t have to go to Bellingham (or somewhere else). Whether you have special needs or not, we’re just trying to give everyone an opportunity to (participate) in sports and to get that chance. Having another gym in this area, as big as basketball is, doesn’t hurt, that’s for sure.”

As it relates to special-needs athletes, the impact is even more substantial.

“We’re just excited to give Special Olympics (athletes) a place to play,” Ridnour said.

“Gym space (for them) has been really limited. It’s just something that we’ve wanted to do. It’s a great way to give back to the community and also benefit kids that maybe

aren’t as fortunate and usually don’t get to play.”

The logistics of renting out the gym, figuring the cost of camps and the other finepoint details are still being figured out, but very soon the RAC will be a fully functioning

facility ready to provide service to the area, Ridnour says.

Aside from this time-consuming project, Ridnour has also been hosting youth camps and coaching youth sports since he returned to his home area. A July camp for

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ages 6-12 has been held in Blaine the last three years. The family isn’t likely to stop giving back anytime soon.

“We’ll slowly do more stuff, but we’re excited about giving back to the community,” Ridnour said.

2017 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business 86 Years

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

79 Years Western Roofing

85 Years

85 Years

84 Years

80 Years

Willand’s Tech-Auto

Oltman Insurance

S&H Auto Parts

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

Maple Leaf Auto Body

8123 Guide Meridian, Lynden 354-4468

210 Main St, Lynden 354-2104

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

79 Years

77 Years

76 Years

79 Years

Vander Giessen Nursery

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

Family Owned for Four Generations.

401 E. Grover St., Lynden 354-3097

72 Years

71 Years

144 River Rd., Lynden 354-1410

7291 Everson Goshen Rd. Everson • 966-3271

Ferndale Ready Everson Auction Market LLC Mix & Gravel Inc.

Price & Visser Millworks Inc.

Lynden Sheet Metal Inc.

Proudly working in Agriculture Since 1941

2536 Valencia St., Bellingham 734-7700

837 Evergreen St. • Lynden 354-3991

1270 E. Badger Rd., Lynden 354-6574

70 Years

69 Years

67 Years

Northwest Propane LLC 8450 Depot Rd. • Lynden 5494 Barrett Rd. • Ferndale www.nwpropane.net • 354-4471

Meridian Equipment 5946 Guide Meridian, Bellingham 398-2141

Rader Farms

Kulshan Veterinary Hospital PLLC 8880 Benson Rd. • Lynden 354-5095

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

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2017 PROGRESS

Karen Timmer receives Lifetime Achievement Award Longtime Whatcom real estate agent is also an ambassador of Lynden

By Nick Elges sports@lyndentribune.com

LYNDEN — Windemere real estate broker Karen Timmer has been helping people find the perfect home for more than 25 years. As one of the top agents in Whatcom County since she entered the field in 1990, Timmer ranked No. 1 in the Lynden area and No. 4 in Whatcom in 2016 home sales. Joining Windemere in 2000, she has been involved in the sale of more than 300 properties over the past five years.

For that level of success in her profession, Timmer received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Whatcom County Association of Realtors at the group’s awards banquet on Jan. 13.

“At first (when I learned I was receiving the award), I was like, ‘does that mean I’m retiring?’” Timmer said with a chuckle.

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“It was a big surprise. To be rewarded by your peers for the work that you do meant a lot.”

The award is given to an individual who has been involved in the industry for at least 25 years and is still giving back to the association and the community. Timmer served as president and on the board of directors for WCAR and was the association’s Realtor of the Year in 2002.

Timmer got started in the real estate business in 1990. When she was working as a receptionist in a medical office and staying at home with kids, her husband convinced her to jump into the profession.

“My husband said ‘why don’t you try to get your real estate license?’” Timmer explained. “So I started the class and got my license and it just worked out well. My kids were still living at home and I could kind of gear my schedule around them.”

Growing up in Lynden, Timmer can remember admiring the historic and stunning houses around town. She believes that appreciation sparked what has turned into a remarkable career.

“I love houses and still remember the

houses as a little girl on Front Street that I really liked,” Timmer said. “There was one in particular that I remember always being fascinated by because of the architecture.

When I got in to sell that house, it was like ‘wow, I remember looking at this house when I was younger.’”

When it comes to the city of Lynden, Timmer is a great ambassador for the lifestyle the town has to offer.

“I just think it’s a great place to live and a great place to raise kids,” Timmer said. “I also think it’s a great place to retire and a great place to be that person who is in between (phases in life). There are a lot of good things about Lynden.”

Outside of her work in real estate, Timmer has been active in the community as well. Among her many roles, she has served as president of the Lynden Chamber of Commerce, been on the board of the Lynden Boys & Girls Club, was a member of the Lynden Rodeo Advisory Board and is currently a member of the Mt. Baker Rotary Club.

Timmer’s involvement as chair of the Lynden PRCA Rodeo’s Tough Enough to

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS Wear Pink Committee, which raises funds for the PeaceHealth St. Joseph Cancer Center in Bellingham, has been at the top of her docket of late.

“We’ve been really successful with (Tough Enough to Wear Pink),” Timmer said. “All the money that’s raised goes directly to wherever we choose, so it can stay right here locally. Last year we raised about $46,000. The money we raise can help patients pay for a taxi (to and from the Bellingham Cancer Care Center) or other things like that. That’s why I like the program; it actually pays for patient services.

You feel good about what you’re doing.”

As to giving back to the community, Timmer believes the importance can’t be overstated.

“I think you have to be involved in order to be a part of a community,” Timmer said. “You have to get involved and you have to give back. If you give back, you receive. You have to.”

While receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award was something to be proud of, the job itself has provided plenty of rewards on a day-to-day basis for Timmer.

The most rewarding part of working in real estate is “meeting people and seeing people being able to buy a home or sell a home,” Timmer said. “The problem solving of real estate, especially residential (is also

rewarding). No deal is ever the same. The most rewarding is when they actually get the keys to their house.”

Being successful in the industry takes a certain mindset.

“(You have to be) a self-starter,” Timmer said. “You have to be determined. You need to be very disciplined because no one makes you come to work.”

Timmer also has some advice for anyone hoping to make a career in real estate.

“Get a very good mentor,” Timmer said. “Get lots of education in the field. You do need to have thick skin because everybody knows a Realtor, so (clients) might know five Realtors. If you’re not the one they choose, you have to be OK with that and be OK with the other agent that closed the deal. Getting along with people (is also important).”

Through all of her accomplishments and involvement in the community over the years, one would think that Timmer could choose a favorite memory or two.

That isn’t the case for someone who is still committed to her craft.

“I still enjoy what I do, so I can’t say there’s been one favorite (memory or moment),” Timmer said. “I love what I do.”

She is still going strong before deciding to tie a bow on her career, still building lifetime achievements in the process.

C11

Karen Timmer helps another Whatcom County client make a home sale or purchase. (Courtesy photo/Randy Fleming)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

C12

2017 PROGRESS

Bringing a fourth book to print Lynden second-grade teacher continues to write for children

By Elisa Claassen for the Lynden Tribune

In her Lynden second-grade classroom, Rebecca Van Syke holds copies of her four children’s books published so far. “Lexie the Word Wrangler” comes out in April. (Elisa Claassen/Lynden Tribune)

“Thirty years is some special kind of ‘stupid’ to keep going …or you can say persistent.”

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS LYNDEN — Rebecca Van Slyke at Bernice Vossbeck Elementary School has been teaching second grade since 1985.

She is also becoming a proven children’s book author. Her fourth book is available for purchase in April.

Growing up as a proverbial Army brat, Van Slyke called Washington State home. She went to three high schools at Bainbridge Island and Poulsbo, graduating in 1980 from North Kitsap. In college she at first studied marine biology before transferring into education. That move made her the third generation in her family to become a teacher — and now as her own daughter Morgan starts a teaching assistant program this spring, there will be a fourth.

Her instructor in a college Children’s Literature class encouraged Rebecca to publish her writing after an assignment to write and illustrate a book. While this placed the idea in her head, it took a while for it to germinate.

Many “overnight” success stories truly aren’t overnight, or even over a year. Van Slyke joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators over 20 years ago and started going to classes and conferences. Manuscripts were sent.

Rejections were received.

About 15 years ago, she picked up one of her magazines and saw an ad for a program at Vermont College: Masters in Fine Arts in Writing for Children & Young Adults. “That’s what I want,” she thought at the time. The problem is that her only child was a baby at the time.

The dream was put on the back burner — for a time.

She took more classes, continued to ask questions and found more encouragement on the way. By the time her daughter was in the sixth grade, she looked at the MFA program again. It was time. The family talked it over and this was one plus about the two-year Vermont College program: It only involved short stints of 10 days on campus every July and January. Much of the work could be done from home in Lynden. The professor-to-student ratio was unbelievable: one per three to five students.

Once a month, as she continued to teach at school, Van Slyke would prepare a packet to mail to Vermont. It contained 20 pages of new work, revisions on prior work, essays and reading assignments.

“The Lynden Library helped me get my master’s degree,” Van Slyke said, as

she made lengthy lists of more and more books in her genre to carry home to read.

Prior to graduating in 2008, Van Slyke had actually illustrated several children’s art instruction books for Bellingham author MaryAnn Kohl, who had her own publishing company, as well as also working with an established publisher. Kohl, a client of husband Rollo Van Slyke’s insurance agency, was shown Rebecca’s portfolio of images produced using the pen-and-ink stippling approach.

By 2013, Rebecca had her first contract to publish as a writer and not an illustrator. After having the same agent for two years and not getting her work seen, she moved to another, Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Boston area’s Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

In quick order on a Monday, she received contracts for “Mom School” and “Dad School,” related books appreciating moms and dads. Several days later, she got another call: “Are you sitting down?” She was told that “Lexie the Word Wrangler” had been purchased as well as “Where Do Pants Go?” That made four books.

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C13 or Barnes & Noble. It is officially being released on April 4.

Help for Those Wanting to Write Books for Children Rebecca Van Slyke leads a local subgroup of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators at 7 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month in the Bellingham’s Barnes & Noble coffee shop. It is open to the public. Anyone interested can email to Rebecca_vanslyke@hotmail.com to ask questions.

On writing: 1. Write it down. Get your idea out of your head. It’s okay to have a sloppy first draft. You can always revise it.

2. Read widely and deeply in the genre you want to eventually write. Ask yourself why you do or don’t like what you are reading.

3. Join with other writers and illustrators such as SCBWI groups or critique groups to improve your craft. Ask them what does, and doesn’t, work in your writing.

4. Not everyone needs an agent, but a good agent can help the process along.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

C14

2017 PROGRESS

Grieving a son, growing through loss Slagle family of Lynden tries to live out, in past seven months, ‘loss as a call to action’

By Elisa Claassen for the Lynden Tribune

In the early morning hours of Thursday, July 7, 2016, Jordan Ross Garcia Slagle, 26, a 2008 Lynden High School graduate and a student at Trinity Western University in Bellingham, passed unexpectedly during his sleep to heaven. He had worked diligently for more than six years in the Boundary Bay Brewery family. Jordan was active in state and local politics and took great joy in fervently supporting his choice of candidates and causes. He was a lover of family, friends and football. “He possessed a rare combination of intelligence, wit, charm and compassion. His smile lit every room and his heart held enough room for all. He was lavish in his kindness toward others and was always eager to lend a helping hand or word of encouragement,” his obituary stated.

Jordan was the treasured son of Lynden residents John Mark and Mona Garcia Slagle, beloved brother of John Roland and Heidi Slagle, also a well-loved grandson and just recently a new uncle. He shared many aunts, uncles, cousins and valued friends and co-workers who deeply felt his loss.

A celebration of Jordan’s life was July 13 in Market Depot Square. The Slagle family established a college scholarship fund for Boundary Bay employees in Jordan’s memory.

The blow of loss “After a loss like ours, when your wife starts the process of baking Christmas cookies, that moment when the fact that the gingerbread boy cookie-cutter is nowhere to be found becomes a symbol for a pain more immense than you can quantify.”

Throughout the recent holidays and now into a new year, John Mark Slagle has found that many people can suffer in the community in silence and alone. John Mark and his family believe that by sharing their story, the pain of others may also be shared, and eased. They think loss is a call to action.

Jordan had picked what his father calls “a grit-driven and circuitous route” with his schooling. Since graduating from Lynden High School, he had worked constantly and gone to school in bits and spurts. From Whatcom to Western Washington University, he had transferred to study leadership at the local Trinity Western campus.

Finally, it was his senior year and Jordan’s hope of completing university was within reach. However, it was not to be attained.

Instead, a July morning brought the awful visit of a Bellingham police officer, a volunteer grief advocate, and a friend of Jordan’s to Mona at her office at Brigid Collins Family Support Center. They were the “we regret to inform you” kind of contacts that no parent ever wants to experience.

Jordan had passed away.

That morning, the many who loved Jordan started on an uncharted path of grief.

They joined the ranks of people who live on in the face of seemingly insurmountable loss.

Jordan Slagle was generous in his kindness to others, his family says. (Photo credit/John Roland Slagle)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS Who was Jordan “He was the best of us, of both Mona and I, and of his beloved older brother, John Roland. Jordan was an incredible human being.”

His was a compelling life lived in a brief form. Born in 1990 in Victorville, California, he spent his early years in San Diego before the family moved to Lynden in 2000. Jordan went through Fisher Elementary and Lynden Middle schools to Lynden High ... and into the world.

John Mark speaks fluidly of Jordan in a jumble of adjectives and adverbs to craft a description of his departed son.

• “Extremely generous. Loved. A connector. Humble. Gentle. Strong.”

• “He asked how you were and not just as a formality. He was interested to know.”

• “He was known and loved by his community. He was revered by his extended family and friends.”

• “He told, and showed, his loved ones that they were loved.”

• “Jordan was often the one looking out for others. Even as a youth, he would be seen raiding the family fridge. The food wasn’t for himself. He had found a family in need.”

Serving food became a major aspect of Jordan’s life. At his passing, he was enjoy-

ing his job at the much-loved place he grew to call home, Boundary Bay Brewery. From starting there as a self-proclaimed “hydroceramic technician,” he built deep and sustaining friendships. Jordan moved up from the “dish pit” to being a busser, then a host, and finally a busy waiter in demand. Those in the vast Boundary Bay community spoke of Jordan as an encouraging, welcoming and connecting member. Today, a lovingly crafted memorial portrait of Jordan hangs above the piano in the restaurant’s tap room.

The sun-filled atrium of nearby Market Square, home to the summertime Bellingham Farmers Market, held hundreds of people, from all walks of life, to celebrate Jordan’s life on July 13.

John Mark remembers that a family friend, prominent in political and community affairs, gave comfort by aptly stating that the size of the assembly — and the beauty and diversity of the gathering — truly resembled a service for a Whatcom dignitary.

Older brother John eloquently guided the celebration, inviting all gathered to live in ways that would honor and extend the impact of Jordan’s strong and gentle heart.

The service and reception following were See Slagle on C16

C15

A beautification project was done at the Brigid Collins Family Support Center in Jordan Slagle's memory. (Photo credit/John Mark Slagle)

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C16

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS

Slagle: Family remembers legacy of generosity Continued from C15 filled with countless stories of Jordan’s help and service to others.

The stories came from Lynden, from the core of Bellingham, from family, friends and co-workers, from classmates, and from fellow Seahawks and Chargers fans.

State government leaders extolled Jordan’s contributions — he had been named 2013 Young Republican of the Year. The homeless, the prominent, the liberal, the conservative, the young, the old, the lost and the found all spoke of one thing: In every arena of life, Jordan had lived generously.

What took Jordan “Jordan did not choose to leave us, but his struggle took him from us.”

When one as young and vital as Jordan passes, the curious and even the caring can make assumptions about the cause of death. John Mark and Mona are now ready to speak frankly about what took Jordan.

The death was not a suicide. Rather, as attested in a medical examiner’s report, it was the result of an alcohol-related accident, a sort that is often shrouded in silence.

Young adulthood is rife with challenge.

Jordan so badly wanted to do well, to succeed. College, along with work, wasn’t always easy. In what turned out to be the last week of his life, he was feeling the stress of upcoming papers and speeches — he felt pressured. While the family saw someone “incredible” and “charming” and “capable,” Jordan had voiced to his loved ones feelings of inadequacy.

“While Jordan was gifted in loving those around him, he also struggled — like so many of us,” his father shares haltingly.

“Jordan was a Christian, but not a churchgoer. If being kind, being for “the other” and reaching to those in need is what we are to be, then Jordan was the most Christlike among us. Yet Jordan struggled at times to accept the love of others and to fully appropriate the vast love God has for all of us.

Like so many others, he was trying to ‘be enough,’ which may have given him even more empathy for those who also struggle.

But this struggle — his struggle, a crucible of sorts — also opened the door for our beautiful, brilliant, hard-working son to wrestle over time with intermittent binge drinking. He, like so many in our community, used alcohol to manage the pressures of life.”

Faced with stress and due dates, on the night of his passing, Jordan joined with friends and “finally and unknowingly”

Those in food service at Boundary Bay Brewery were like a second family to Jordan. (Photo credit/John drank more than his body could handle.

Learning through the loss “Grief is a very effective and brutal teacher.”

The Slagle family is confident, through their abiding faith, that Jordan has come to peace with God and is in a place without struggle. They are certain that an earthly life is not defined by what takes us, but rather by the patterns of character forged over time. John Mark and Mona maintain that our lives are shaped by the ways we love God by loving others. For those blessed to have shared life with Jordan, there is a resolute conviction that he remains a vital representation of the best of us.

“Jordan was working through, seeking counsel for a challenge that was bigger than himself, bigger than us,” John Mark says. “Even in the face of this, through the generosity of God and the love and encouragement of so many family and friends,

people he had recently invited into his own journey by the candid sharing of his struggle, he was getting better. We must learn the hard lessons that God uses grief and loss to teach us. Even as we love others, we must believe that we are loved — whether we attain or miss, linger or graduate. No matter what takes us or makes us, we are loved.”

John Mark and Mona have chosen to be involved in multiple grief support groups, as well as to participate in individual and paired counseling.

Through these experiences, they are learning that: • Grief teaches us to be in the present — by sharing, by noticing, by not being fearful, and by serving others.

• Grief teaches us the importance of not languishing alone in the loss. The Slagles speak of Jordan, say his name, laugh at memories, and talk through the struggles.

They have learned that “it is too easy to isolate.”

Mark Slagle)

• Grief can lead us into rich opportunities for outreach and service.

Early in their journey of loss, an expert told John Mark and Mona of a difference between grief and mourning. Grief is seen as private, while mourning is more public.

Though Jordan himself was an intensely private person — one who might have been uncomfortable with public sharing of feelings or emotion — John Mark and Mona have purposed to “go public” with their grief. At first, this urge to mourn, to “share their loss out loud,” was because of a fear.

They did not want Jordan to be erased or forgotten.

As time has passed and after much prayer, however, John Mark and Mona have seen wonderful things happen because of their early decision to openly share the story of Jordan’s passing — to mourn instead of simply to grieve, to serve others rather See Slagle on C18

2017 PROGRESS

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

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C18

2017 PROGRESS

Slagle: Family trying to establish community-building foundation Continued from C16 than to suffer alone.

John Mark and Mona have learned that grief and mourning, openly inviting others to share in the story of losing Jordan, has, in unanticipated and even miraculous ways, shown how God can take one family’s loss and use it to bring comfort to others.

The legacy of Jordan “Generous people inspire generosity in others.”

Reflecting on the Gospel account of Lazarus, John Mark speaks of how Christ himself, when confronted by the passing of a dear friend, wept, and then used his supernatural gifts to make a real difference in the lives of those involved. “While only Christ can raise the dead, through His strength we can mirror the more human element of his actions,” says John Mark, “to bring his healing and hope to those walking through a whole range of losses – albeit in much smaller ways.” The idea of “living generously” as a part of Jordan’s legacy first came to older brother John Roland. It started on the day Jordan died.

Without the family knowing, on the day of his passing Jordan’s friends set up a fundraising event online for donations, thinking they could somehow use the funds to help through the loss. Although the Slagles had not requested this, John Mark shares that they immediately saw all kinds of donations coming forth, thousands of dollars.

It was as if Jordan’s generosity in life had served to sow seeds of generosity after his passing.

After being encouraged by John Roland to “live generously” in Jordan’s memory, the family’s immediate action was to

take legal steps to ensure that absolutely all of the donated funds would be used to endow a scholarship in Jordan’s name. The Jordan Slagle Boundary Bay Scholarship, managed through the Bank of America Lynden branch at 700 Front St., will benefit members of the Boundary Bay community who reflect his generosity and dedication to completing college.

Already at the end of August 2016, the first $3,000 scholarship recipient was named in a tear- and laughter-filled ceremony in the people-packed beer garden at Boundary Bay. Brian Skywalker, Jordan’s deeply generous mentor, manager and friend, was the selected beneficiary. “Brian both mirrored and mentored the best in and for Jordan,” said a member of the scholarship board. “He has chosen a slower route toward his degree while working and raising a family.”

Scholarships will continue to be given annually.

Jordan’s family and friends are also trying to establish The Jordan Ross Garcia Slagle Foundation, which can be explored at www.rootedgenerosity.org. The goal is to identify, communicate, shape and execute monthly community-building generosity projects or ventures. While these may differ, they all must encompass community, beautification or relationship building, all in Jordan’s name and memory.

In the seven months since Jordan’s passing, a burgeoning group of family and friends has already begun the process of generously giving on Jordan’s behalf.

Projects have included: • Teaming up to complete a landscape beautification project at the Brigid Collins Family Support Center.

• Donating and distributing holiday gifts through the area’s Community Toy Store.

Open Daily

Jordan is surroundeded by his family after being honored as Whatcom County's Young Republican of the Year in 2013. (Photo credit/John Mark Slagle) • Volunteering with the NAMI-Whatcom STOMP, a fundraiser to help families across Whatcom who may be struggling with mental illness.

• Joining with friends at Grace Baptist Church in Lynden to assemble and deliver multiple robust Thanksgiving Dinner Totes for families in need.

In addition to these “rooted generosity” opportunities open to all, John Mark and Mona have worked to practice generosity on a smaller scale by reaching out to the friends within Jordan’s sphere for dinners and lunches just to get to know each other better one-on-one.

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“Jordan had amazing taste in people.

These are all opportunities to come to love one another and, at least in some sense, to honor Jordan and be the body of Christ in a richly diverse countywide community, It is our hope that by sharing the fullness of Jordan’s story, both the beauty and the struggle of it, we will help others. Loss is a call to action,” said Mona.

Visit www.rootedgenerosity.org to find out more about Jordan and becoming a part of the generous actions taking place in his memory, and to connect to community resources for anyone who may be struggling to “be enough.”

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS

C19

‘A college without walls’ at its start 50 years ago Whatcom Community College is celebrating its evolving story

By Ashley Hiruko ashley@lyndentribune.com

WHATCOM — It was in 1967 that the Community College Act established 22 community college districts in Washington, including Whatcom. But what today has become a multiple-building Bellingham campus was once a “college without walls.”

“We began as a community college district without a community college in it,” said Bob Winters, chair of the arts and humanities division and faculty member for over 30 years. “So instead of building buildings … we began by renting and leasing spaces wherever we could find them and offering classes in Blaine, Lynden and Ferndale.”

See WCC on C20

Bob Winters, left, teaches students in 1985. Winters is the current arts and humanities division chair. (Courtesy photo)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

C20

2017 PROGRESS

WCC: First-ever course offered was in Lynden Continued from C19

This year marks the 50th anniversary for Whatcom Community College.

The college first began as a means for education that was easily accessible and affordable, falling in line with the words outlined in the Community College Act.

“To offer an open door to citizens who wanted a college education and to bring that education close to where they live at a price that was affordable,” Winters said.

Classes were held at places like Bellingham High School, the former Air Force base at Birch Bay and the senior center in Lynden. “Anywhere we could find a space to rent,” he said. It was the idea of making the entire county the college campus.

The very first course offered through WCC was in farm management, taught

by Floyd Sandell in Lynden.

Keri Parriera, former Lynden resident and WCC retiree, said the the farm management course provided a way for farmers to keep their books simple and organized so that when they went to do taxes at the end of the year everything was organized.

“Early trustees really looked around and said ‘what does our community need?’” said Mary Vermillion, communications and marketing director for the college. “‘What are community members looking for in terms of education that they aren’t currently receiving?’”

Dairy farmers from Lynden and Ferndale made up the first student population of WCC, along with those interested in cabinet making, refinery workers from Ferndale and potential ambulance drivers for what was then St. Luke’s Hospital and is now part of Peace-

Whatcom Community College's Ferndale office, the college's first, opened in 1977 on Third Street. (Courtesy photo) Health.

“We’ve been responding to the needs of the community, to the entire county community, in whatever way we could,” Winters said.

Parriera first began working for the college in 1984, after moving to the county, offering support services for students and faculty.

“We had so many students who were sometimes intimidated to go to the main campus,” she said. For a majority of those coming to the building in Lynden (today’s Lynden Tribune plant), this was their first college experience, she

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said. But the smaller campus offered a way for students to dip their toes before moving on to the main campus on the north side of Bellingham, which began taking shape in the 1980s.

“In those days (Lynden) was a starting point in reaching people who didn’t spend a lot of time in Bellingham,” Parriera said. “For those who didn’t think about college, it kind of just expanded the opportunity for people.”

The Kellogg Road campus today, now 12 buildings on 70 acres, is vastly different from what once was. But not only the landscaping has changed. The

student body has been transformed as well.

“When Whatcom started, most of the students were not your typical aged college students,” Vermillion said. “They were older and we had one of the oldest student bodies in the state among community and technical colleges.

“Today we’re one of the youngest.”

What was a population of homemakers looking to gain additional skills and a working-class demographic has changed to a student body primarily of transfer students, approximately 80 percent, according to Vermillion. And

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2017 PROGRESS around 1,000 WCC students annually are enrolled in the Running Start program, which enables high school students to earn college credits concurrently.

“I was very blessed to be able to work with wonderful people and see miracles happen with our students,” Parriera said. “I’m amazed at how far Whatcom has come.”

Whatcom has also shifted from offering courses for dairy farmers to being on the cutting edge in cyber-security, health care, law enforcement and early childhood education, still targeting the needed areas of training in the community. The college intends to begin offering its first four-year-degree, a Bachelor of Applied Science in IT Networking, in fall 2017.

But 50 years after the college district was approved, the spirit of the college still remains the same.

“One thing we would like to say is there are some things that have not changed,” Vermillion said. “Whatcom is very much focused on access to higher education for any student who desires that education regardless of age and any other status. This college exists to provide access to education to anyone.”

In celebration of 50 years of transformation, the college will be holding a student art show until April 14. Also, a WCC History exhibit will open March 18 in the Whatcom Museum old city hall building downtown and run through May. Look for the large timeline showing the past and future of the college.

“We had such a vision, such a purpose — the dedication to serving students that I think was home at a time when we had very little else to point to,” Winters said. “We had no campus … we had very little to identify us as unique, but what we did have was this very powerful sense of mission and I think that’s the one thread we pull through from our past and are taking into the future.”

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

WCC student Sean Jones, 18, walks to class on campus. (Ashley Hiruko/Lynden Tribune)

Glad to be part of the Lynden Community!

604 Curt Maberry Rd., Lynden, WA 98264

Providing excellent service and over 8 million cubic feet of storage to serve Whatcom County.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS

Pasties catching on in Whatcom and beyond Now in Lynden and at farmers markets, Good to Go Meat Pies business is growing

By Brent Lindquist brent@lyndentribune

Holly Bumford serves up one of her classic Cornish pasties at Good to Go Meat Pies. (Ashley Hiruko/Lynden Tribune)

EVERSON — When Holly Bumford founded Good to Go Meat Pies with her husband, Bo, in 2012, expansion wasn’t part of the plan.

Bumford opened Good to Go because she loves bringing people together with food, while taking great care to consider where this food comes from.

Good to Go serves up pasties, which are meat pies originally crafted by Cornish wives for their husband and sons to take to work in the copper mines of upper Michigan. The miners’ hands would become covered in arsenic from mining copper, so they would hold the pasties by the crust edge and then discard the crusts when finished eating.

Bumford’s family hails from Michigan, and a close friend shared the art of making pasties with her. A passion was born, and it didn’t take long after she founded Good to Go for the rest of Whatcom County to share in her enjoyment.

“Expansion wasn’t really the plan,” Bumford said. “It has kind of evolved.

It has been more about listening to my base.”

Good to Go now boasts two locations in Whatcom County, with a Lynden spot in addition to the original Everson one.

The road to a second location began with Good to Go’s presence at local farmers

Proudly Serving Whatcom County for 70 Years.

“Traditional Service Meeting Modern Needs.”

Lynden

8450 Depot Rd. Family owned and operated

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219 Suzanne Lane

Ferndale

5494 Barrett Rd.

354-4471 or Toll Free 800-254-4471

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

2017 PROGRESS

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markets.

“I think the biggest thing was to have started being a part of the farmers markets, because that seemed like just a natural thing for us to do because we’re so much about using local farmers’ ingredients in my pasties,” Bumford said. “And we have a lot of people coming in the door who really care about that.”

Bumford first brought Good to Go to the Bellingham Farmers Market in April 2014, and followed with the Lynden Farmers Market that summer. The popularity was evident, Bumford said, and there was obviously a clientele in Lynden for pasties.

The Lynden outdoor market didn’t offer much in the way of hot food, and Bumford said she was happy to fill that niche.

“So many people came to the Lynden Farmers Market,” she said. “I had to call and get more food brought over. It was crazy. I had so many people say, ‘We just don’t go to Everson. We really wish you’d be here in Lynden.’ I really was kind of overwhelmed by the response.”

That was about the same time that Teri Treat was recruiting businesses to fill the renewed Waples Mercantile Building downtown. Bumford said she had discussions about opening a location there, but See Good to Go on C24

Pasties are a type of meat pie featuring a thick crust and a variety of fillings. (Ashley Hiruko/Lynden Tribune)

2017 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business 24 Years Northwest Electric

1518 Abbott Rd., Lynden 354-7021

Celebrating 15 Years

Woods Coffee

“Serve Others, Make a Difference, Have Fun” 191 18th St • Lynden 360-933-1855

6 Years

EPL Feed

411 West Front Street Sumas, WA 98295 (800) 821-6288 2098 W. McManamon Rd. Othello, WA 99344 (800) 572-6454 www.eplfeed.com

24 Years

Cedarwoods K-9 School 6497 Woodlyn Rd. • Ferndale Most recommended dog trainer 384-6955

12 Years

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

22 Years

RCI Construction Inc. 617 Cherry St. • Sumas 988-6101

11 Years

20 Years

Lynden Lube & Auto 8181 Guide Meridian St. Lynden 354-7698

8 Years

Heston Hauling Service/Hertz Rentals

Final Touch Auto Spa

6397 Portal Way • Ferndale Towing Service Available 312-8697

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18 Years

International Graphics & Design www.intlgraphicsdesign.com Lynden • 318-1125

7 Years

Imhof Automotive

2869 W. 63rd Ln. • Ferndale Over 30 years in automotive experience 393-8938

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

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record

Corion Landscape Management names Burrous partner, VP

Good to Go: Chilled, frozen meat pies now also available for pickup

2017 PROGRESS

New VP is three-year Corion employee FERNDALE — Isaac Burrous, a three-year employee at Corion Landscape Management, has become a partner and vice president at the Ferndalebased company.

Burrous, who has 15 years of management experience, joined Corion Landscape Management in 2014 as an account manager and moved into business development in 2016. He also earned the Landscape Industry Certification in Exterior Management through the National Association of Landscape Professionals.

“My decision to join in ownership was based on Corion’s core group of employees as well as the company’s dedication to excellence, accountability and a great culture,” said Burrous, a 15-year Whatcom County resident. “I am proud of where Corion is today and look forward to achieving our mission of becoming a destination company for employees and customers alike. I hope to not only have a positive impact on Corion’s clients and employees, but also our community at large.”

David Arnold, president and principal owner, said Burrous was a major contributor to the best year for Corion Landscape Management since it was founded in 2001. “He has been a key factor in our customer and team member retention rates and is helping us raise the level of professionalism in our community,” Arnold said.

With up to 30 employees during the year, Corion Landscape Management provides landscape design/build services for commercial and residential properties in addition to landscape management services for commercial, multifamily, condominium association and mixed-used properties in Whatcom and Skagit counties. For more information, call 312-8052 or visit www.CorionLandscape.com.

Good to Go Meat Pies offers a variety of pasties, including also a breakfast option.

Continued from C23 it didn’t come to pass because the business was still a bit too small to be part of such a venture.

“I wasn’t ready for that big of a step,” she said.

A location on Grover Street did open up, however, and following a planning period with owner Duane Bode, Good to Go moved into its Lynden space in late 2014.

It opened for business in February 2015.

Even with new locations opening and a widening market, Bumford has kept her

focus on knowing where her ingredients come from.

“People want comfort food,” Bumford said. “It’s homemade, and also convenient. And I really believe that when you use good ingredients and you don’t cut corners, you make a superior product.”

Bumford said she can taste the difference between carrots locally grown and those grown and shipped in from elsewhere. She said paying a dollar more per pound of a better-made pork product, for instance, is worth it because of the differ-

ence it makes in all aspects of the food.

“When you source food for the kitchen, it ends up being the right decision for several reasons,” Bumford said. “It ends up creating a better product. I do really believe that.”

She is now up to 10 different types of pasty encompassing beef, pot roast, chicken, lamb, pork and veggie.

Good to Go also provides chilled and frozen pasties for people who can’t pick them up fresh when they want them. Delivery is also available on Saturdays if orders are placed by Wednesday.

Celebrating 50 years of excellence

Join the celebration!

and a future of new opportunities

From the beginning, Whatcom Community College has been

WCC History Exhibition

an innovator, helping Whatcom County students to discover

Whatcom Museum, Old City Hall March 18—May 31

and achieve their dreams. What started as a college without

Experience the story of Whatcom through photos, recorded memories and mementos.

Magic of Whatcom WCC Foundation Gala April 22

Campus Open House May 18

See other 50th anniversary events at whatcom.edu/50

walls has grown into a college without limits.

Yet, we are still driven by the original vision that founded WCC. We still put the individual student at the heart of everything we do.

ENROLL FOR CLASSES! Spring quarter general registration begins March 15.

Contact us at 360.383.3080 or whatcom.edu/beginhere

Lynden, WA (360) 354-4451 www.FarmersEquip.com

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At Farmers Equipment Company, we are committed to fulfilling your equipment needs. For the past 80 years we have worked hard to provide quality machinery, parts and service solutions. As a company our priority is to supply you, our customer, with the tools you need to succeed!

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