Out and about: Roadtripping to Everett
WWU hires Jim Sterk as new athletic director
There’s plenty to do in the formerly industrial city an hour south. — Travel, A2
Former player returns after guiding Missouri sports teams. — Sports, B1
JUNE 21, 2023
SINCE 1885
FERNDALE, WASHINGTON • $1.50
Scout initiates Gulf War monument in Ferndale Son of Gulf War vet, Jayden Gill planned memorial
On June 13, Whatcom County Council members said they preferred a new jail be built on the same LaBounty Road spot of south Ferndale that was identified several years ago. Pictured, the jail portion of the Whatcom County Courthouse that was built in 1984. (Cal Bratt/Ferndale Record)
County prefers Ferndale site yet for new jail Whatcom council is ready to put a .2% sale tax measure on Nov. 7 ballot By Cal Bratt For the Record
WHATCOM — The stage was set last week for the County Council to approve a funding measure on the Nov. 7 ballot providing for a new county jail and related services. The council was due to vote Tuesday, June 20, on a .2% sales tax (20 cents per $100) proposition designated for “behavioral health, supportive housing, public safety, and criminal justice facilities and services,” in words of the proposed ballot measure. Exact language of an ordinance was still being hashed out in a three-hour meeting of county leaders on June 13, at which council members also declared their preferred site to be the same LaBounty Road spot of south Ferndale that was identified several years ago. A jail with supporting services can be built there for the least cost, and with more room for ground-level expansion in the future, than two other options that were presented to the county by a task force, councilors concluded. The June 13 vote was council members Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Todd Donovan, Ben Elenbaas, Carol Frazey and Kathy Kershner in favor, with Kaylee Galloway abstaining. The initial number of beds, and cells, of a new jail has been cited in the range of 430 to 470. The estimated cost of a LaBounty facility was pegged by the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force as about $137 million. As to the size of a new jail to start with, Lynden Mayor Scott Korthuis, present June 13 and representing Whatcom city mayors, said data has been collected on jail usage and he believes a formula for size can be developed based on those past needs plus factoring in any success of incarceration prevention or diversion efforts. A jail should be built large enough to suffice for at least five years, and upon reaching 85% of capacity for sure, expansion planning should begin, Korthuis added. The ordinance passed by council speaks of a sharing of the first four to six years of the sales tax revenue between the county (60%) and its cities (40%, on a per-capita basis). After that, at least half of the countywide revenue will be used for other priorities such as behavioral health facilities, increasing access to substance abuse treatment, re-entry programs and supportive housing. The county also commits to using a .1% sales tax approved by county voters in 2004 for construction and operation of a new jail and behavior health center, as intended in the first place. Bond funding to build facilities may not go past year 2055.
Jayden Gill spoke at the 2023 Memorial Day service in Ferndale about his father’s military service. For the Ferndale High School student’s scouting merit badge, the 16-year-old Gill proposed, planned and helped raise funds for a Gulf War monument, pictured at bottom, at Greenacres Memorial Park. (Photo supplied Gill family) By Elisa Claassen For the Tribune
FERNDALE — One of the speakers during Ferndale’s recent Memorial Day program is involved in Scouts BSA and the Civil Air Patrol. He also attends Ferndale High School. Jayden Gill, who just finished his sophomore year, joined former members of the military onstage to remember those who gave their lives. After all of the speeches, members of the Civil Air Patrol and the scouts joined Gill to unveil the newest memorial in the walled Veterans Memorial area. A covering was lifted and they all smiled and posed for pictures alongside the memorial to remember the Global War on Terrorism. Gill proposed, planned, and helped raise funds for the memorial. On Memorial Day 2018, Gill’s father Ravi, who served in Iraq in the U.S. Marines, flew a helicopter into Greenacres. Jayden met him there to march with him and to deliver an American flag to a Korean War vet as a Korean War memorial was unveiled. Since his dad had served in the Gulf, and the 20th anniversary of that experience was in 2023, Jayden felt something was missing. He didn’t forget and by September of 2022, Jayden said, he started by talking to veterans’ groups locally to both get support for his idea and the funds – approximately $13,000. On May 23, Jayden was present when the monument arrived from the manufacturer back east. Since his merit badge required a display of leadership, Jayden also organized members of the Civil Air Patrol to assist with the ceremony with flags and cleaned the area around the memorials before the presentation. Selected for glider training in July by the Civil Air Patrol in New Mexico, Jayden plans to complete his merit badge requirements for Eagle Scout next year, attend college after high school, and join the Marines. Ravi, a single father, also takes 11-year-old daughter Allison to gymnastics and to her Scout troop No. 4005, but is the assistant scout leader for Jayden’s troop, No. 4026. Ravi grew up in Canada and was a scout for one year. He said he regrets not continuing as a scout. His grandfather moved from India to Victoria, B.C. in 1920. Ravi eventually moved to the United States and became a Marine. He left the military, relocated from Dallas to Whatcom County 18 years ago. Ravi has worked for the federal government out of Bellingham as a pilot for 16 years.
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14 pages • Volume LII • Number 18
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