Table of Contents

C4 — Nooksack Valley moves past pandemic, floods into 2023

C8 — A Strike of Luck: Gregg Hill coaches daughter Emma to 28th in state’s 1A bowling

C12 — Nurse opens mobile hydration business

C15 — Study says Washington workers are owed $3.3 million in unpaid overtime

What is progress? Depends on who you ask.

Ask a roomful of people what progress means, you'll likely get a roomful of answers.

At Ferndale High School, it's their beautiful new campus.

Kristi Dominguez, Ferndale School District superintendent, says that schools are the hub of a community.

"It really represents a common care and collective by the city of Ferndale and the voters of Ferndale toward their students and staff," Dominguez said. "And the kids feel it and the staff feel it when they walk in.”

For the folks in Sumas, it's the reopening of their library just a week ago after the November 2021 floods closed its doors for 14-plus months.

On Feb. 15, the library reopened with a ribbon cutting and celebration. A part of the recent celebration, Carl Crouse read from his book, "The Waters Are Rising.”

For his book, Crouse listened as neighbors and former parishioners were stressed and scared.

Eventually, Crouse took his series of Facebook memory posts, interviews, and research and published his book.

C16 — Harriet ‘Penny’ Nielsen-Howlett a penny worth more than her weight in gold

C17 — New Ferndale High School designed to promote collaboration, utilize all spaces

C24 — Imagination Library comes to Whatcom

C26 — Ferndale offers free t-shirt to encourage ADU construction

For one family, progress is seeing a daughter learn to bowl - and bowl quite well - under her father's guiding hand.

Thanks to a strike of luck, Emma Hill first became interested in bowling. One of Hill's friends signed her up for the bowling team without her knowledge and said it would be fun. What started out as something to do after school later turned into a state-level competitive sport for Emma.

Along the way, Hill's father Gregg became her high school bowling coach. Before he became coach, Gregg did not have much bowling experience. At his first coaches meeting, he admitted "youth groups and birthday parties" were the extent of his background.

Progress is also encouraging the creation of housing for all, and the expansion of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library into Whatcom County.

This is Progress, 2023, in North Whatcom County.

-- Bill Helm, editor