The Northern Light Classifieds: January 29-February 4, 2026

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF WHATCOM In re the Matter and Estate of: BRUNO A. MORAS Deceased. No. PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS. RCW 11.40.030

The Personal Representative named below has been appointed as Personal Representative of this estate. Any person having a claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the Personal Representative or the Personal Representative’s attorney at the address stated below a copy of the claim and filing the original of the claim with the court in which the probate proceedings were commenced. The claim must be presented within the later of: (1) Thirty days after the Personal Representative served or mailed the notice to the creditor as provided under RCW 11.40.020(1)(c); or (2) four months after the date of first publication of the notice. If notice was not provided under RCW Chapters 11.40 or 11.42, the creditor must present the claim within twenty-four months after the decedent’s date of death. If the claim is not presented within this time frame, the claim is forever barred, except as otherwise provided in RCW 11.40.051 and 11.40.060. This bar is effective as to claims against both the decedent’s probate and non probate assets.

Notice of First Publication: Jan. 22, 2026

Personal Representative Cindy Maxwell, of Inslee, Maxwell & Associates

Presented by: Whatcom Law Group, P.S. Casie Rodenberger, WSBA #54348 Attorney for Personal Representative PO Box 1258 / 289 H Street Blaine, WA 98231-1258 (360) 332-7000; Fax: (360) 332-6677

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHING-

TON IN AND FOR WHATCOM COUNTY

IN Re: THE ESTATE OF BRUCE STUART PFEIFFER AND DONNA PATRICIA PFEIFFER, Deceased. NO. 25-4-0094737. PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS (RCW 11.40.070)

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON IN AND FOR WHATCOM COUNTY In re the Estate of: RONALD EVERETT WATTAM, JR., Deceased. No. 25-4-00830-37. AMENDED NOTICE TO CREDITORS. Judge Evan P. Jones

The Administrator named below has been appointed and has qualified as Administrator of this estate. Any person having a claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the Administrator or the Administrator’s attorney at the address stated below a copy of the claim and filing the original of the claim with the court in which the probated proceedings were commenced. The claim must be presented within the later of: (1) thirty days after the Administrator served or mailed the notice to the creditor as provided under RCW 11.40.020(1)(c); or (2) four months after the date of first publication of the notice. If the claim is not presented within this time frame, the claim is forever barred, except as otherwise provided in RCW 11.40.051 and 11.40.060. This bar is effective as to claims against both the decedent’s probate and nonprobate assets.

Date of Filing of Notice to Creditors:

January 20, 2026 with Clerk of Court:

Date of First Publication: January 22, 2026

Name of Administrator: MARK HOVER

Attorney for Administrators: Steven D. Avery, WSBA #35262

Address for Mailing or Service: Avery Elder Law, P.S. 801 Samish Way, Ste. 202 Bellingham WA 98229

Telephone: (360) 325-2550

Email: steve@averyelderlaw.com

DATED: January 20, 2026

AVERY ELDER LAW, P.S. STEVEN D. AVERY, WSBA #35262

Attorney for Administrator MARK HOVER

11.40.020(1)(c); or (2) four months after the date of first publication of the notice. If the claim is not presented within this time frame, the claim is forever barred, except as otherwise provided in RCW 11.40.051 and 11.40.060. This bar is effective as to claims against both the decedent’s probate and nonprobate assets.

Date of First Publication: January 29, 2026

Personal Representative: Richard Jansen 2273 Gardiner Drive Ferndale, WA 98248

Attorney for the Personal Representative: Katti Esp 301 Prospect Street Bellingham, WA 98225

Address for Mailing or Service: Katti Esp 301 Prospect Street Bellingham, WA 98225

Court of Probate Proceedings Superior Court of Whatcom County and Cause Number: Cause No. 26-4-00051-37.

The co-Personal Representatives named below have been appointed and have qualified as co-Personal Representatives of this estate. Any person having a claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by (a) serving on or mailing to the co-Personal Representatives or the co-Personal Representatives’ attorney at the address stated below, a copy of the claim, and (b) filing of the original of the claim with the court in which the probate proceedings were commenced.

The claim must be presented with in the later of: (1) thirty (30) days after the co-Personal Representatives have served or mailed the notice to the creditor as provided under RCW 11.40.020(1)(c); or (2) four (4) months after the date of the first publication of the notice. If the claim is not presented with in this time frame, the claim is forever barred, except as otherwise provided in RCW 11.40.051 and 11.40.060.

This bar is effective as to claims against both the decedent’s probate and non-probate assets.

DATE OF FILING WITH CLERK OF COURT: 01/21/2026

DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION: 01/29/2026

co-Personal Representatives: Katherine E. Pfeiffer and Jeffrey B. Pfeiffer

Address for Service: 113 W. Chestnut St. Bellingham, WA 98225

Attorney For Katherine E. Pfeiffer as co-Personal Representative: Mark D. Nusz, WSBA #50905

COURT OF PROBATE PROCEEDING AND CAUSE NUMBER: WHATCOM COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT No. 25-4-00947-37

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF WHATCOM In re the Matter and Estate of: NICOLE-HELENE JONES, Deceased. No. 25-4-0126337. PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS. RCW 11.40.030

The Personal Representative named below has been appointed as Personal Representative of this estate. Any person having a claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the Personal Representative or the Personal Representative’s attorney at the address stated below a copy of the claim and filing the original of the claim with the court in which the probate proceedings were commenced. The claim must be presented within the later of: (1) Thirty days after the Personal Representative served or mailed the notice to the creditor as provided under RCW 11.40.020(1)(c); or (2) four months after the date of first publication of the notice. If notice was not provided under RCW Chapters 11.40 or 11.42, the creditor must present the claim within twenty-four months after the decedent’s date of death. If the claim is not presented within this time frame, the claim is forever barred, except as otherwise provided in RCW 11.40.051 and 11.40.060. This bar is effective as to claims against both the decedent’s probate and non probate assets.

Notice of First Publication: Jan. 29, 2026

Personal Representative: Jacqueline Flaget, Presented by: Whatcom Law Group, P.S. Casie Rodenberger, WSBA #54348 Attorney for Personal Representative PO Box 1258 / 289 H Street Blaine, WA 98231-1258 (360) 332-7000; Fax: (360) 332-6677

WA leaders prepare for possibility of immigration crackdown

B y J ake

G oldstein - s treet , W a s tate s tandard

Washington’s governor on January 26 painted a dire outlook of how clashes between federal immigration authorities and the state could unfold if a crackdown similar to the one in Minnesota hit here.

Governor Bob Ferguson said he could envision members of the National Guard acting as a buffer between immigration officers and protesters. Attorney General Nick Brown didn’t rule out the possibility of state or local authorities stepping in to enforce state law against federal agents.

And both Ferguson and Brown urged residents to monitor and record questionable immigration enforcement conduct.

After immigration agents in Minnesota shot and killed a man over the weekend, Ferguson issued a statement saying that the nation’s “descent into authoritarian rule continues” and calling on people to “defend your democracy while you still can.”

On January 26, he hosted a press conference alongside Brown at the Capitol to lay out the state’s preparations for the possibility of a ramped-up deployment of immigration agents in the state. It came two days after federal agents killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on January 24, escalating already high tensions over intensifying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations across the country under the Trump administration.

“Our job, my job, attorney general’s job, all of our jobs here, is to make sure that we are doing everything we can to prepare for a worstcase scenario,” Ferguson said.

The first-term Democrat said ICE was “completely and totally out of control.”

The governor said he met January 25 with adjutant general Gent Welsh, who leads the state’s National Guard, to discuss related issues, but didn’t offer details. As of January 26, Ferguson said he had “no specific information” that an immigration crackdown in Washington is forthcoming.

Brown called the Trump administration a “little cabal of cruelty.”

“America is weaker because of the operations in Minnesota, and real people all across this country

if federal

are now traumatized, injured and dead because of this president’s fascist tendencies,” said Brown, also a Democrat and former federal prosecutor.

He acknowledged the state was on the cusp of messy territory when it comes to issues like state or local officers intervening in federal immigration operations.

“It’s obviously incredibly complicated when you’re talking about the division of authority between state law enforcement, local and the federal government,” Brown said. “As a general matter, state and local law enforcement do not have to simply watch or look away if the law is being violated.”

‘Everybody has a role’ Democrats around the country are slamming ICE over its conduct. And, following Pretti’s death, there’s a possibility that Senate Democrats will withhold needed votes on federal funding legislation, a move that could trigger a partial government shutdown. In the Washington state legislature, Democratic lawmakers are considering a slew of measures in response to the heightened immigration enforcement campaign. These include a ban on police face coverings, as many ICE agents have covered their

faces during operations, protections for immigrant workers from federal raids and guardrails for the use of automated license plate readers that authorities have used to track down immigrants.

Even some Republicans, who are generally wary of criticizing the president, are raising concerns.

A group of governors on January 25, including the Republican chief executive of Oklahoma who chairs the National Governors Association, called for a “reset” from the federal government on its immigration enforcement campaign.

U.S. representative Michael Baumgartner, a Republican from eastern Washington, called for congressional hearings into immigration enforcement after Pretti’s shooting, which he called “disturbing.”

Ferguson and Brown also emphasized the role the public has in “defending our democracy.”

“We have certain powers as attorney general or governors to do our part, but everybody has a role in our state right now,” Ferguson said. “And we’re going to need that to get through this.”

They said if Washington were faced with a broad ICE incursion, they would pursue legal avenues to stop it, as officials in Minnesota have. But state leaders here

can’t keep ICE out of the state, Ferguson noted. He and Brown encouraged residents to record interactions with federal agents.

Videos of the shootings of Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota have captured the circumstances leading up to their deaths.

King County and the cities of Seattle and Shoreline, along with local elected officials in Bellingham and Tacoma, signed onto a legal brief last week arguing the Minneapolis crackdown is unconstitutional.

A federal judge is considering halting the 3,000-agent deployment in Minnesota.

Letter to Noem Ferguson and Brown on January 26 sent a letter to U.S. Homeland Security Kristi Noem, whose agency oversees ICE, urging her to withdraw federal agents from Minnesota: “Now is the time to deescalate.”

They also took issue with an internal memo arguing ICE agents can enter people’s homes without a judicial warrant, despite vast legal precedent to the contrary.

“If ICE agents attempt any such unconstitutional measures in the state of Washington, we will do everything in our power to oppose it,” Ferguson and Brown wrote in their letter. “Our state will consider all legal options to

hold the U.S. Government and individual ICE agents accountable for violating Washingtonians’ constitutional rights.”

As of mid-October, federal immigration authorities had arrested nearly 2,000 people in Washington since Trump retook office, compared to about 800 over the same period under the Biden administration in 2024, according to figures from the Deportation Data Project. The data, which is the most recent available, showed the crackdown had intensified in late summer and early fall. Ferguson said he was set to meet with Washington’s other statewide elected officials “to ensure we are all coordinated and using our respective tools to protect Washingtonians.”

The governor also noted he recently hired a new senior adviser, David Kim, focused on immigrant and refugee issues. Sarah Peterson, the head of the state’s Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, will now join the governor’s cabinet meetings.

Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@ washingtonstatestandard.com.