Barron acquires Veritas Media, emphasizes video BUSINESS, A2
Ski to Sea returns to Whatcom County
Ferndale softball season ends
Race passes through Ferndale, other north county locations.
Golden Eagles finish campaign with 11-8 win.
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Hansen looks at positive impacts Way Station to have on the area By Luke Seymour Staff Reporter
Breaking ground at the future site of The Way Station, September 2023. Ferndale Mayor Greg Hansen, not pictured, said recently that The Way Station will act “as a midpoint for people who are housing insecure. In many cases, if someone were to have a major or even a minor surgery and struggled to find housing, their choices are either to go to the shelter or live in their car. That’s just simply not the way we should allow other humans to heal and recover. ” (Courtesy photo)
FERNDALE — On Aug. 18, 2023, construction began on the medical and social services way station facility meant to provide resources for Whatcom County residents who struggle with addiction, mental health or housing. The $12M project, which sits at 1500 N. State St., Bellingham, is a collaborative effort between the city of Bellingham, Whatcom County officials and Unity Care North Whatcom that
provides Whatcom County’s most vulnerable residents with the amenities they need to help transition to more permanent housing. According to the Unity Care NW website, some of these amenities include hygiene services such as restrooms, showers and laundry facilities, along with a fully-staffed medical center that provides patients with all the care and support they need to recover from a medical emergency. Although the Way Station is being built in Bellingham, the facility
Finding joy in numbers, art
A retired mathematics teacher, Liz Cunningham’s beadwork is on display in the Jansen Art Center’s Spring Juried Exhibit. (Luke Seymour/Ferndale Record)
Ferndale resident Liz Cunningham’s beadwork on display in Jansen Art Center’s Spring Juried Exhibit By Luke Seymour Staff Reporter
WHATCOM — As a retired math teacher, Liz Cunningham can see numbers in just about anything, even in art. However, Cunningham said that to her, art is also about learning to do the opposite: finding the beauty in mathematics and creating a story out of it. “Making something that has both order and symmetry but is also chaotic, that is something that interests me a great deal,” Cunningham said. “So far, I’ve been good at the order and symmetry part, but chaos is hard to get right.” A Ferndale resident, Cunningham has her beadwork on display at the Jansen Art Center in Lynden. The piece is a turquoise necklace Cunningham said was inspired by indigenous jewelry she saw during her time in Arizona. “There’s a geometric influence to this artwork,” Cunningham said. “I find it very interesting and very exciting. We went down to some of the artsier districts in the town and took some pictures and I ended up making a bracelet out of it all.” After retiring from teaching math at Bellingham Technical College in 2014, Cunningham said she got
into beading after watching tutorial videos on YouTube with each video teaching her how to accomplish one stitch. “There’s maybe about a dozen total stitches you can do,” Cunningham said. “Each stitch is very meticulous and requires a lot of attention to detail. Eventually, you make a necklace or eventually you make a bracelet, and then you can learn to blend them together and you just want to make more and more. At first I took a class at the Bellingham Community College and at first I just felt like I would never get it, but after a while I just became addicted and I just loved doing it so much I started doing it on my own and making my own designs.” Cunningham said the skills she acquired quilting and sewing dresses for the flower girls of her friend’s weddings growing up helped prepare her for her bead work. “The bridesmaids would buy dresses for themselves but I would be tasked with making the flower girl dresses, which was a lot of fun to do and made for great practice,” Cunningham said. “Eventually, I got into quilting because I was easing away from sewing and I quilted for quite a while.” See Jansen on A3
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is expected to make a positive impact on Ferndale and the surrounding Whatcom County area. Ferndale Mayor Gregg Hansen recently explained that homelessness “looks different in Ferndale and in many different communities throughout North Whatcom County.” “Ferndale Community Services identified that one of the acute needs of Ferndale are individuals who are dealing with severe medical challenges and living in their cars,” Hansen said. “The Way
Station acts as a midpoint for people who are housing insecure. In many cases, if someone were to have a major or even a minor surgery and struggled to find housing, their choices are either to go to the shelter or live in their car. That’s just simply not the way we should allow other humans to heal and recover. ” Hansen was present during the groundbreaking for the project, which at the time, construction was predicted to be finished by the See Way Station on A3
6 Whatcom teachers named finalists for $5,000 excellence in education award WHATCOM — Six Whatcom County public school teachers have been named finalists for a new award that honors excellence in education. The Brown & Brown Excellence in Education Award Program will honor all six finalists and present $5,000 to the winning teacher during an ice cream social from 4-6 p.m. May 22 at Jansen Art Center, 323 Front St., Lynden. The presentation will start at 5 p.m. and the public is invited. The finalists are Jodi Hammond, Nooksack Elementary School; Bria Henthorn, Lynden High School; Susan Kelley, Kendall Elementary School; Riley Liddle, Squalicum High School; Meagan Shelley, Bernice Vossbeck Elementary School; and Katie Tully, Happy Valley Elementary School. Nominations by the public were accepted for more than three months earlier this year. Hammond has served as a fourth-grade teacher the last six years at Nooksack Elementary in Everson. “If I could have Mrs. Hammond as my son’s teacher for every year of his elementary school career, I would do it in a heartbeat,” a nominating parent said. “She is the most shining example of what a difference a teacher can make in a child’s life, in a family’s life.” Henthorn has taught agriculture the last two years at Lynden High. In addition to teaching classes, she is the school’s FFA advisor for more than 100 students,
coaches four teams for agricultural competitions and is an assistant coach for the school’s trap-shooting team. “Her leadership and collaborative spirit have not only enriched the educational experience for students but have also inspired her colleagues and earned the respect and admiration of the entire faculty,” a fellow staff member said in a nomination. Kelley has been teaching 40 years with the last 10 years at Kendall Elementary in the Mount Baker School District. She is a driving force in behind the Kendall Science Fair, where students do science projects and document them for presentation in the fair. Kelley also has led students in raising salmon eggs, butterfly larvae and a hamster, increasing their interest in science. “Mrs. Kelley is excited about science, and her students catch that excitement,” a nominating parent said. Shelley is a three-year special education teacher finishing her first year with transitional kindergarten students at Vossbeck Elementary in the Lynden School District. “Miss Meagan’s patience and understanding foster a safe and supportive learning environment,” a parent said in one of her nominations. “The dedication to each student’s success is truly inspiring.” More information about the Brown & Brown Excellence in Education Award is at bbrownexcellenceineducation.org.
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