Progress Edition 2013

PROGRESSE D I T I O N 2 0 1 3

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

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Tyler Zylstra and Gilbert Saenz represent a new generation of ownershipat Zylstra Tire Company.A new milk receiving tank is installed at the Lynden Darigold plant,

one of many upgrades made this winter.

People stream into the new PeaceHealth St. Joseph Cancer Center at its public grand opening on Jan. 12.

360-734-1112 | 1526 Slater Rd

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C12013 PROGRESS EDITION Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 27, 2013 | Ferndale Record

Slowly and steadily we make our way back from the long recession that feels like it stretched a few years beyond its official duration. Locally, we see signs of rebound and recovery in the economy although plenty more challenges certainly remain. Our schools push forward yearly in the education task, also giving students extracurricular opportunity. The medical, retail and industrial sectors must make big decisions about investment in an uncertain future. Our annual Progress Edition aims to give a glimpse into this picture of positive advance by people who are both skilled and visionary and are making the best of their opportunities while benefiting the larger community. These are evidence: a tall new milk drying tower for the Lynden Darigold plant; the creation of a unified Cancer Center at the Bellingham hospital; needed new buildings for Meridian schools; a family business positioning for another generation (correction: Gilbert Silva on cover with Tyler Zylstra); upgrades to the 30-year-old Bender Fields via a Rotary club donation. Enjoy reading.

— Calvin Bratt, Tribune editor

2: Lynden milk drying tower ties into growing exports

4: Zylstra Tire ownership now includes longtime employee

6: Pair motorcycles to Prudhoe Bay and back in 13 days

8: Former LC teacher starting Bellingham-based green laundry

9: Janelle Bruland puts business in regional expansion mode

10: New facility unifies PeaceHealth St. Joseph cancer services

12: 2010 Meridian grad helped spark current construction blitz

14: Nooksack schools win awards despite tough demographics

16: Bender Fields getting facelift, thanks to Rotary Club donation

20: Western Refinery Services diversifies

23: Jordan Vanderveen reflects on big career change that led to teaching

Table of contents

We’re Proud to Celebrate 31 Years of Providing Quality Tax, Estate and

Accounting Services to our Business and Individual Clients!

“Professional Services with Personal Care.”

400 Fifth Street, Lynden, WA 98264Members WSCPA, Member AICPA

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2013 PROGRESS EDITIONC2 Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 27, 2013 | Ferndale Record

Steve Alexander, MD

Margaret Burden, MD

Robin Caldwell, MD

Larry Hartwell, MD

John Gunningham, MD

John Hiemstra, DO

Bruce Pederson, MD

Oliver Bujak, MD

Karen Goodman, ARNP

Teresa Reiger, ARNP

Sarah Stewart, ARNP

Hannah Bujak, MD

Lynden Family Medicine1610 Grover Street, Suite D-1, Lynden • (360) 354-1333

Birch Bay Family Medicine8097 Harborview Rd., Blaine • (360) 371-5855

Family Care NetworkWe Take Care

Lynden Family Medicine and Birch Bay Family Medicine are dedicated to meeting the medical needs of the north Whatcom County community. The Physicians are all Diplomats of the American Board of Family Medicine, and our Nurse Practitioners are nationally certified in the specialty of family medicine. As family physicians and practitioners, they serve people in several areas of expertise, including pregnancy care, women’s health care, health care for children, adult medicine, care of the elderly and minor surgery.Local clinics, community connections for compassionate and coordinated care. For more information about Family Care Network clinics and locations visit familycarenetwork.com.

Dairy exports on upswing in Washington StateLynden plant is a key component in Darigold network; half of its milk powder goes overseasBy Mark Leaderand Calvin [email protected]

SEATTLE — The new Darigold mik dry-ing tower in Lynden offers evidence that the dairy industry is investing — to the tune of $22 million in this case — in a future that looks bright. In Washington State, the pros-pect definitely focuses on dairy product ex-ports. The Lynden processing plant is a key player in the picture, since milk powder is the United States’ chief dairy export product and Washington is one of the nation’s larg-est producers of milk powder. The state also exports significant volumes of cheese, whey and butterfat, according to the U.S. Dairy Ex-

Ironworkers do finishing touches at the top edge of the new Lynden Darigold milk drying tower last week. The quickly built facility will go into operation by spring. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune) See DAIRY on C17


2013 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business

TimelessFerndale School District

Education is Timeless!ferndale.wednet.edu • 383-9207

129 YearsMorse Steel

3002 W. Illinois • Bellingham756-6200

129 YearsChicago Title

Co.1616 Cornwall, Ste. 115

Bellingham507 Front Ste.115 Lynden

734-7000

128 YearsFerndale Record

2004 Main St. • P.O. Box 38Ferndale

ferndalerecord.com384-1411

125 YearsLynden Tribune“We believe in community news.”

113 6th St. • Lynden354-4444

123 YearsBanner Bank

1815 Main St.Ferndale

bannerbank.com384-3300

122 YearsPeace Health

St. Joseph Medical Center

Bellingham734-5400

121 YearsWhatcom

Family YMCA1256 N. State St.

Bellingham • 733-8630

107 YearsLTI Inc./

Milky WayLynden

354-2101

105 YearsDiehl Ford

Lincoln MercuryBellingham

734-2640

103 YearsEbenezer

Christian SchoolLynden

354-2632

102 YearsMills

Electric4430 Pacific Hwy

Bellingham734-0730

95 YearsDarigold

Lynden354-2151

93 YearsSnapper

Shuler Kenner Insurance

Lynden354-4488

92 YearsWM T. FollisLLC, Realtors

108 Prospect St.Bellingham

734-5850

Also at the Lynden Darigold plant last week, a new milk receiving silo was lifted into place. It replaced an older one. An additional tank re-placement will be made by summer. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)



84 YearsLouis Auto &

Residential Glass4th Generation

Family Owned & Operated BusinessLynden - 354-3232

Bellingham - 734-3840

84 YearsSanitary Service

Company, IncRecycling & Garbage Collection • FoodPlus!

Shredding • Jobsite & Event Servicesssc-inc.com • Facebook / sscinc

Twitter @sscinctweets

84 YearsVan’s Plumbing

& ElectricLynden

354-2171

83 YearsLehmann’sAppliance

2001 James St. • Lynden733-7722

82 YearsWhatcom Veterinary Hospital

Ferndale384-0212

80 YearsMaple Leaf Auto Body

Lynden354-2104

78 YearsAndgar Corp.

Whatcom County366-9900

www.andgar.com

77 YearsCargill

Ferndale Grain5744 3rd St. • Ferndale

384-1101

77 YearsWhatcom Educational

Credit Union5659 Barrett Rd. • Ferndale

676-1168

75 YearsWilland’s Tech-Auto

2040 Vista Drive • Ferndalewww.willands.com

384-1584

75 YearsWestern Roofing

3705 Irongate Rd. • Bellinghamwww.westernroof.com

734-1830

92 YearsYeager’s

Sporting GoodsBellingham

733-1080

90 YearsParberry’s

NW RecyclingOldtown-1419 C St.

1515 Kentucky St. • Bellingham www.nwrecycling.com

733-0100

88 YearsLynden Meat

Co. LLCLynden

354-2449

88 YearsMuljat Group North Realtors

Lynden354-4242

Grafted into the familyLongtime employee joins with son of owner to purchase Zylstra Tire and plan expansionBy Tim [email protected]

LYNDEN — In a way, Tyler Zylstra and Gilbert Silva always knew they would someday co-own Zylstra Tire together. “As long as I can remember, Gilbert has been part of the family anyway,” Zyl-stra said. So, it doesn’t seem at all unusual to the 32-year-old son of the former owner and the 28-year veteran employee that they joined up in 2012, each purchasing exactly half of the business. “We had always talked about it and figured on it,” Zylstra said. “There is so much to do, we wanted to share the load.”

And now the co-owners are plan-ning changes for Zylstra Tire, located downtown at 501 Grover St. They have already started executing plans to add another bay on the west side of the shop, allowing them to hire another technician and expand the already six-days-a-week business with more customers.

A family business Zylstra Tire hasn’t always been in the Zylstra family. In fact, Tyler’s father, Jerry Zylstra, worked into ownership much the same way Gilbert did. The business has roots in the Kredit & DeWaard hardware store of the mid-1900s which then changed to DeWaard & Bode, even before appliances entered the mix for that Lynden-originated com-pany. Jerry joined during that era and ran the tire side of the business, hiring Gil-bert to help him. “I had three bosses at one point,” Gilbert said about the early days. That was all until Jerry bought the business,

Tyler Zylstra and Gilbert Silva teamed up to take over Zylstra Tire, putting a twist on the family-owned business. (Tim Newcomb/Lynden Tribune)



68 YearsFerndale Ready

Mix & Gravel Inc.Lynden

354-1000

67 YearsEverson

Auction Market LLCEverson966-3271

67 YearsAmeriCold

Lynden354-2138

67 YearsChevrolet -

Cadillac of Bellingham

3891 Northwest Ave. •Bellinghamwww.BellinghamChevy.com

733-7997

66 YearsNorthwest

Propane LLC8450 Depot Rd. • Lynden

5494 Barrett Rd. • Ferndalewww.nwpropane.net

354-4471

65 YearsMeridian

EquipmentGuide Meridian

398-2141

64 YearsFerndale

Dental ClinicDr. Richard V. Tucker, Dr. Ronald D. Dahl,

Dr. Anthony A. Gardiner, Dr. Braden G. Miller100+ years of Experience

384-1271

64 YearsLarson Gross

CPAs & Consultants

Lynden • BellinghamBurlington734-4280

63 YearsKulshan

VeterinaryLynden

354-5095

61 YearsWhatcom Electric & Plumbing

Lynden354-2835

61 YearsLes Schwab

Ferndale1731 LaBounty Dr. • Ferndale

380-4660

75 YearsPrice & Visser Millworks Inc.

Bellingham734-7700

75 YearsVander Giessen

NurseryLynden

354-3097

73 YearsLynden Sheet

Metal Inc.837 Evergreen St. • Lynden

354-3991

70 YearsMt. Baker Silo

Lynden354-4940

briefly adding his name to the letterhead before changing it in the mid-1980s to read simply Zylstra. Tyler jokes that three names was simply too many for the sponsorship area on the back of a Little League jersey. Gilbert has been a part of the chang-es, past and present. But Tyler wasn’t far behind, growing up around the shop — Gilbert remem-bers Tyler not wanting to go to school — and starting to work for his dad deliver-ing tires at age 16. Tyler’s first big responsibilities at Zylstra included the farm service truck, a portion of the job he still gets to do at least a little bit of every week. “It is dirty, hard work, but I have al-ways enjoyed doing it,” he said.

The shift Tyler has known Gilbert for as long as he can remember, noting it is “unusu-al (for an employee) to stay that long.” Now the two split the duties, but are both active in nearly every aspect of the business. They both run the scheduling and front counter and both still enjoy work-ing in the shop. Tyler, though, handles the farm tires — the division he spent many years learning — and Gilbert takes care of the paperwork.

A little of Zylstra Tire's history is on display on the company's walls. (Tim

Newcomb/Lynden Tribune)

Gilbert, who is also fluent in Span-ish, has brought in a Hispanic clientele, as they can be comfortable knowing that even if their English isn’t perfect, they can explain their needs and issues to Gil-bert. The weight of the business didn’t all fall on their laps suddenly, though, when they bought it last year. It has been a steady process. “We really worked into it as my dad was gone more and giving us more re-sponsibility,” Tyler said. “We had a feel for what our roles would be.” Gilbert said he thinks the Zylstra family wanted to reward him for his ser-vice, having run the shop for so many years. “My loyalty paid off,” he said.

The future For years both Tyler and Gilbert have operated under and overseen Zylstra Tire the way it was set up. Now the two can go about making any changes they want to see. That will really take shape in 2013 as they plan to open up another bay, ex-panding from three main bays to four. Already Zylstra employs five full-time technicians beyond the two co-owners and will add another when the new bay opens, simply to keep up with the demand.

The shop, which now carries count-less varieties of tires, specializes in ev-erything under the car — brakes, tires, suspensions, shocks, alignments and more. But the Zylstra calling card, accord-ing to Gilbert, is in the lack of pressure applied on the customer. “We don’t force them to buy anything,” he said. “It

is a relaxed atmosphere and people are always stunned that we aren’t high pres-sure. It has never been our style.” Tyler joked that the pair would nev-er make it in the used-car business. For-tunately for the two unlikely co-owners, they don’t have to. They just work to-gether to own a tire shop.



56 YearsJensen’s

Ferndale Floral2071 Vista Dr. • Ferndale

384-1616

55 YearsCharlie’s Auto Body

Lynden354-2172

54 YearsWestside

Building Supply8353 Guide Meridian • Lynden

354-5617

53 YearsBromley’s

MarketSumas

988-4721

53 YearsNew York Life

InsuranceLynden

354-4433

51 YearsMt. Baker

Fireplace Shop1273 Sunset Ave. • Bellingham

676-1383

51 YearsFairway Cafe

Lynden318-1302

51 YearsHardware Sales Inc.

2034 James St. • Bellingham734-6140

50 YearsVavra

Auto BodyNooksack966-4444

50 YearsWestern Travel

(formerly Wholesale Travel)Lynden

354-4477

49 YearsZ Recyclers

Inc.Guide Meridian • Lynden

734-5986

60 YearsVanderPol

& Maas Inc.Lynden

354-3000

59 YearsWagter’s

Automotive Service

Lynden354-2500

57 YearsDutch Treat Restaurant

Lynden354-2003

57 YearsOverhead

Door202 Ohio St. • Bellingham

Est. 1921 Hartford, IN734-5960

A trip of a lifetimeLynden residents Rod Visser and Dave Longstreth recall experience of seeing the Arctic OceanBy Braulio Perez [email protected]

LYNDEN — It was a moment they won’t be forgetting anytime soon. After traveling for five straight days and rack-ing up over 2,750 miles on their dual-sport motorcycles, Lynden residents Dave Long-streth and Rod Visser saw something they never in their lives thought they’d see. The Arctic Ocean. Last summer on a sunny June day, the two longtime friends hopped on their mo-torcycles and set off on a road trip to Prud-hoe Bay, Alaska, located on the northern Alaska coast of the Arctic Ocean and home Rod Visser and Dave Longstreth stand on a piece of snow upon their arrival at the edge of the Arctic Ocean. (Courtesy photo/Rod

Visser)



47 YearsEdwards

DraperiesLynden

966-4142

47 YearsReinke’s

Fabrication5825 Aldrich Rd. • Bellingham

398-2011

46 YearsTellefsen Trucking

Everson966-2799

46 YearsRalph’s Floors

Front St. • Lynden354-4804

46 YearsZylstra

TireLynden

354-4493

46 YearsNorWest

HydraulicLynden

354-3239

45 YearsSchouten

Construction LLCLynden

354-2595

44 YearsPete’s

Auto Repair

6209 Portal Way, Bldg. 2 • Ferndalewww.petesautorepair.net

380-2277

43 YearsAl’s Electric & Plumbing302 Hawley St. • Lynden

354-2187

43 YearsEverybody’s

Store9 Van Zandt Hwy • Deming

592-2396

42 YearsDeYoung &

Roosma Construction Inc.

Lynden354-3374

48 YearsMarr’s

Heating & Air Conditioning

1677 Mt. Baker Hwy • Bellinghamwww.marrsheating.com • 734-4455

48 YearsValley

Plumbing& Electric

Sumas988-9631

48 YearsDodsen’s IGA Market Inc.

3705 Mt. Baker Hwy • Everson592-5351

47 YearsVan Loo’s

Auto ServiceLynden

354-4277

The friends traveled the full 1,422 miles of the Alaska Highway. (Courtesy photo/Rod Visser)

to the largest oilfield in North America. “It’s a trip I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time,” Longstreth said. “Rod and I both like motorcycles and I thought why not go for it.” They both work at the Ferndale-based Andgar Corporation. “I remember I walked in and proposed the idea to Rod and it took about two sec-onds for him to agree.” Visser acknowledged that as soon as Longstreth mentioned the trip, he was all in. “He asked the question and it sound-ed like a good idea to me,” Visser said with a laugh. “We did it and it was a trip of a life-time for us.” That would be an understatement. In traveling from Lynden to Prudhoe Bay and back, Longstreth and Visser cov-ered 5,500 miles in 13 days, averaging 10-12 hours and 450 miles of riding per day. They stayed overnight in campgrounds and random fields throughout their trip, but they both agreed it was worth it all to take in Prudhoe Bay’s beauty. At their destination, Longstreth and Visser arrived to a dorm-style hotel where they were able to refuel and get their bod-ies back to neutral. The resting at the Prudhoe Bay Hotel was short-lived, however, because they had a tour of the oil field arranged shortly after their arrival and Visser said there was

no way they would miss that. “The only way you’re able to see the Arctic Ocean is by going on that tour,” Visser said. “We got on a tour bus and off we were. We got to see the facilities of the oil fields and then the end of the road is the ocean.” “It was a surreal feeling to have trav-eled that far and then finally get to see it,” Longstreth said of the Arctic Ocean. “I’ve only looked at it on a map and I never thought I’d actually be there. To go all that way, push ourselves and see it in person was fantastic.” Adding to the excitement of the oil fields tour, was meeting several other trav-elers who had followed plans similar to their own. This included one young man who had ridden in on a bicycle and he stripped down to his biker shorts to jump into the ocean. Did Longstreth and Visser follow suit? “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding,” Visser said. “We touched it, but we didn’t jump in. Just touching it was a good enough plunge for us.” As exciting as the experience was to take in the sights of Prudhoe Bay, Long-streth and Visser were there for less than 12 hours before hitting the open road to return home. “It was more about the ride and that was our destination,” Visser said. “We did our thing and then it was time to go.”

There were still plenty memorable ex-periences on the ride home, though. While traveling through the Yukon Territory, they took the “Top of the World Highway” before traveling on the Klondike and Cassiar highways on their way back to Whatcom County. During that period of travel, Longstreth and Visser said, they saw countless different kinds of animals including moose, caribou, grizzlies and wood bison.

“Amazing people, scenery and wildlife are the reasons why this trip of a lifetime is one I wouldn’t mind doing again,” Long-streth said. So do the two have any more journeys ahead of them? “I’ve already got about a half-dozen trips planned,” Longstreth said with a smile.



40 YearsM & W Carpet

Cleaning360-671-2729

39 YearsTiger

Construction Ltd.Everson966-7252

38 YearsBoice Raplee &

Ross Accounting & Tax Service

Lynden354-4565

38 YearsNorthwest

Professional Services

191 Birch Bay-Lynden Rd. Lynden • 354-4145

37 YearsCanyon

IndustriesDeming

592-5552

37 YearsSalmonson

ConstructionGeneral Contractor

Since 1976Lynden

354-4395

37 YearsMultop

FinancialBellingham

671-7891

37 Years

Edaleen DairyLynden

354-5342

37 YearsTrue

Log Homes4208 Mt. Baker Hwy • Everson

592-2322

36 YearsMeyer’s

Construction & Cabinets

Lynden354-5297

36 YearsKeith A. Bode

Attorney at LawLynden

354-5021

42 YearsNooksack

Valley DisposalLynden

354-3400

42 YearsWindsor Plywood

Bellingham676-1025

41 YearsBay Trophies & Engraving Inc.

Bellingham676-0868

41 YearsTyas & Tyas Backhoe &

Sewer ServiceSumas

988-6895

Washing green

Colleen Unema stands in front of her Lynden home before heading out to Bellingham to continue preparations to open Q Laundry. (Brent Lindquist/Lynden Tribune) See Q LAUNDRY on C19

Former LCHS teacher starting unique laundromat in BellinghamBy Brent Lindquist [email protected]

BELLINGHAM — Smart, fast and convenient. Those three words are running through Colleen Unema’s mind con-stantly these days as she tackles her life’s next big adventure: a Bellingham green laundromat called Q Laundry. Set to open in June at the corner of James and Alabama streets, Q Laundry will put on display a concept that has been in the back of Unema’s mind for a number of years now. “It’s kind of crazy, but we moved to Washington in 1997, and I took a few


2013 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business36 YearsFerndale

Mini Market2085 Main St. (downtown)

Ferndale384-0497

36 YearsColony House

Furniture411 Front St. • Lynden

354-5554

35 YearsMarlin’s

76 ServiceLynden

354-4976

35 YearsLyndenDoor

2077 Main St. • Lynden354-5676

34 YearsRoosendaal

Honcoop ConstructionGuide Meridian • Bellingham

398-2800

33 YearsFerndale

Mini Storage5480 Nielsen Ave. • Ferndale

384-3022

33 YearsKid’s

Country School170 E. Pole Rd. • Lynden

398-2834

33 YearsRiverside

Cabinet Co.Lynden

354-3070

33 YearsLynden Paint & Decorating

Lynden354-5858

32 YearsStevenson, McCulloch

CPA’s, Inc., P.S.1951 Main St. • Ferndale

www.a1cpa.com • 384-0088

32 YearsMaid For You

of Whatcom County

354-2529

31 YearsNelson

Driving SchoolFerndale • BellinghamMeridian High School

Lynden 354-8777

31 YearsTelgenhoff & Oetgen

Lynden354-5545

29 YearsNorthwest

Surveying & GPSLynden

354-1950

29 YearsStremler Gravel

Lynden354-8585

Truly a home-grown business

In winter Management Services Northwest is clearing roadways of snow for clients. (Courtesy photo)

Janelle Bruland and team have built a Ferndale-based regional powerhouse

By Calvin [email protected]

FERNDALE — It continues to be a rise toward excellence and success for the Management Services Northwest com-pany. Consider these milestone achieve-ments: • Janelle Bruland started this busi-ness in her Ferndale-area home 18 years ago. Today, she is the CEO and president of one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the state. • The numbers are striking. Revenue jumped 84 percent between 2009 and 2011, from $4.9 million to $9 million, and

See MANAGEMENT on C18


Beach Basket

Mon - Sat. 10 to 5Sun 11 to 4

Yarns & Gifts Yarn, needles, books & patterns.PLUS! Knit and crochet classes.

360-371-03327620 Birch Bay Drive, Birch Bay

Tues NightSit and Knit 5 to 7

New PeaceHealth Cancer Center consolidates quality careCare previously scattered is now unified and also has ‘nurse navigators’

By Calvin [email protected]

WHATCOM — From Henry Kuiper’s perspective, a high quality of cancer care already existed in Whatcom County be-fore the shiny new PeaceHealth St. Jo-seph Cancer Center opened this winter. The Lynden retiree said both he and his late wife, Trudy, experienced that high level of care in their battles with cancer, even at the prior facilities. They had to go to the oncology cen-ter located on PeaceHealth’s Cordata campus for their consultations and treat-ment — which to them was no problem. “We should be thankful for what we have just 10 miles from our doorstep,” Kuiper said. “I have high regard for the physicians we have here and the person-nel associated with them. We don’t take second to anyone, including Seattle.” After his 30-40 radiation treatments for prostate cancer, Henry continues in follow-up visits with his doctor. Trudy passed away in 2011 after a six-year fight with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow. So, in view of those cancer journeys, it was a joy for Kuiper to be able to at-tend, with hundreds of others, the Jan. 12 public opening of the new center on the main PeaceHealth campus off Squa-licum Parkway in Bellingham. Representatives of government, medicine, hospital administration and communities of faith praised completion of the $23 million full-service integrated facility occupying 35,000 square feet in one building. Visitors could explore the wings leading to a library, quiet room, infusion treatment, radiation therapy and medical offices, as well as healing gardens. “For the first time, patients are able to see their cancer specialists and re-ceive chemotherapy, radiation therapy and support services in a single facility. The centralized care also provides doc-

The entrance of the new Cancer Center was being completed in December. (Courtesy photo/PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center)

Winner of the

Bellingham

Chamber of

Commerce Large

Business of

the Year Award!

Louis Auto & Residential Glass

LYNDEN 354-3232 • BELLINGHAM 734-3840

Over 84 Yearsof continuous ownership and operationby the Adelstein family.

• Best Price• Free Estimates• Best Service

Please support the glass company

that proudly gives back to our local community

in so many ways!


NOW OPENSATURDAYS!8am-1pmStarting March 23

Composting: Recycling together with Mother Nature

Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:30pmSaturday 8am-1pm (March 23-Oct.)

774 Meadowlark Rd., Lynden 354-4936

Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:30pmSaturday 8am-1pm (March 23-Oct.)

774 Meadowlark Rd., Lynden 354-4936

Compost your yard waste, leaves and branches!Compost your yard waste, leaves and branches!

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Meadowlark Rd.

Pole Rd.

Did you know...

You can even

drop off

WEEDS to be

composted!

Spring Cleaningyour yard and garden?

Let us help you with soil, mulch or gravel material needs when you drop off your yard waste.

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Let us help you with soil, mulch or gravel material needs when you drop off your yard waste.

www.greenearthtechnology.com

See PEACEHEALTH on C20

tors and other caregivers a common space to collaborate,” said marketing coordinator Amy Cloud. Nearly $10 million of the capital construction cost was raised by philan-thropy within the Whatcom community. The center’s medical director is Jennie Crews. Someone who was able to return to Whatcom County to practice her spe-cialty in the new facility is Kim Kredit Moses, in the role of nurse navigator for patients. Nurse navigators coordinate and connect aspects of care, helping patients and families understand the options and steps along their cancer journey. Originally of Lynden, Moses became a nurse navigator in Orange, Calif., in 2006 and came to Bellingham in 2011. She has now been a cancer nurse for 17 years. The work has a very personal human element to it, figuratively and sometime literally of “hand holding,” Moses said, as people deal with a cancer diagnosis. She appreciates a description of nurse naviga-tor that says it is “part consultant, part con-fessor, part friend, part guide, part expert and part rock.” PeaceHealth St. Joseph has two nurse navigators in the Cancer Center and is on course toward a third.

At the Jan. 12 Opening Celebration of the new Cancer Center, medical director Jenny Crews, second from right, showed around the facility, from left, County Executive Jack Louws, Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville and Congressman Rick Larsen. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)


Celebrating 25 Years!

“Best” Pharmacy

1758 Front St. #106 • 354-1226Drive-thru Prescription Pick-up

Fairway DrugFairway Drug

Celebrating 25 Years!Thank you for 25 years!

We’re very thankful for our loyal customers...

...and honored to be voted Best of Lynden.

Proudly Serving Whatcom County Since 1947“Traditional Service Meeting Modern Needs.”

Family owned and operatedFamily owned and operated 354-4471 or Toll Free 800-254-4471

Lynden8450 Depot Rd.

Mount Vernon219 Suzanne Lane

Ferndale5494 Barrett Rd.

A return visit to a transformed school

Joel Wiebe, student behind Meridian’s big 2010 construction bond, is still highly activeBy Calvin [email protected]

LAUREL — During a recent break in his busy life as a Seattle Pacific University se-nior, Joel Wiebe paid a visit back to a former

existence — Meridian High School student. With principal James Everett, he toured the scene of massive construction going on on campus. It was a weird and exciting feeling to see his alma mater being so thoroughly transformed, Wiebe said. Especially since he had a hand in caus-ing it. “It was kind of surreal, I guess, know-ing I helped make that happen,” he said last week. Three years ago as a Meridian senior, Wiebe was deep into helping promote a

Joel Wiebe was on hand for the September 2011 groundbreaking for new construc-tion at Meridian High School. — (File photo/Lynden Tribune)


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$17 million bond to Meridian district voters. He had been recruited by then-Superintendent Tim Yeomans, who was already familiar with the 18-year-old as a student represen-tative to the school board. Yeomans asked Wiebe to help him build a new high school. “I kind of looked at him like he was crazy. Then I said, ‘Sure, let’s go for it.”’ So began a flurry of activity for Wiebe in that winter of 2009-10. With Yeomans and school board member Charlie Crabtree, the energetic youth did newspaper interviews, made TV and radio commercials, created a video, helped organize doorbelling and a Facebook page, and explained the high school’s dire needs at public meetings. “I don’t know how many hundreds of people I called and talked to,” he said. It all succeeded. On Feb. 9, 2010, the bond, which also envisioned major upgrades to Irene Reither Primary School, passed with over two-thirds voter support. With state matching funds added in, Meridian was able to plan a basic rebuild of two school campuses — two projects that are now going strong with Tiger Construction as the general contractor for both. At Meridian High, the move into a new two-story edu-cation building will happen during spring break, two and half months ahead of schedule, says Everett in his online principal’s message. The stage-by-stage construction pro-cess means Old Main, built in 1922, and the old gymnasium will be torn down next to make way for more new buildings. And what’s going on with Wiebe these days? Answer: He seems as energetic as ever. Taking classes in summer, he has pushed four years of college into three. Along the way, he has juggled three jobs.

See WIEBE on C24

Everyone got into the enthusiasm of Meridian High School construction groundbreaking in 2011. — (File photo/Lynden Tribune)


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Marked up: NVHS at the top of its classSchool district’s emphasis on instruction has done wonders for student achievementBy Tim [email protected]

EVERSON — The Nooksack Valley School District doesn’t need awards to be assured of achieving success. But that isn’t to say district leaders won’t take awards when they come along. Nooksack Valley High School has received the Pathways to Excellence award, presented by public television station KCTS, as recognition of a school that is closing the achievement gap. Case in point: About eight years ago, Hispanic students at the high school had reading scores hovering in the 15 percent range. Now they run about 80 percent.

Students at Nooksack Valley High School have shown continued improvement schoolwide. (Tim Newcomb/Lynden Tribune)


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See NOOKSACK on C18

That’s improvement. “They were looking for schools that have done a better job than most in closing the opportunity gap and hav-ing more kids who don’t normally fare well on state evaluations improve,” high school principal Matt Galley said about the award. “In our case, we’ve done a re-ally good job of closing that gap.” Historically, state scores, when broken into demographics, show two groups not performing as well as others: minorities and those with more chal-lenging socioeconomic backgrounds. “Overall, our numbers, we can put them next to just about anybody,” Gal-ley says. And Nooksack’s success comes on the back of some gritty determination. Whereas a school district such as Mer-cer Island shows well on state assess-ments, the razor-thin percentage of students in at-risk demographic groups doesn’t impress too many people. “We have gone from overall scores in the upper 60s to the low 90s,” Galley said. “That is all our students. It is tough to talk about in demographics because it basically means that we are doing a good job meeting the needs of all kids.” But still, to talk success you do need to talk demographics. Nooksack has

As part of the "Golden Apple" award, television crews spent an entire day filming within Nooksack Valley High School for a special show. (Tim Newcomb/Lynden Tribune)



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Rotary Club's gift saves the day

Workers have plenty of fencing to work with as they install new backstops and dugouts at Lynden's Bender Fields as part of a major overhaul to the property. (Braulio Perez/Lynden Tribune)

A $50,000 donation will help pay for needed improvements to Lynden’s Bender FieldsBy Braulio Perez [email protected]

LYNDEN — For several years now, City of Lynden Parks Director Vern Meenderinck has driven through Bend-er Fields and hoped for change. The backstops of the ballfields were horrendous, the dugouts were old and the fences needed mending. He received negative feedback and comments from players, coaches and parents. Change was definitely needed. However, with meager funds, the opportunity to make improvements to Lynden’s heavily used fields was not

See ROTARY on C19


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port Council. “Foreign markets are becoming critical to the survival of a domestic dairy industry,” said Janet Leister, general manager of the Washington Dairy Products Commission. Prior to joining the commission, Leister was the international marketing director for the Washington State Department of Agricul-ture. “U.S. dairy recognizes that its foreign customers are as crucial as its domestic ones and has made a permanent commitment to competing in the world market,” she said. The state department lists milk produc-tion as Washington’s second largest agri-cultural commodity (behind apples), with a 2011 value of $1.28 billion, 34 percent above 2010. Seattle-based Darigold processes and sells over 8 billion pounds of milk annually and is among the top dairy processors in the world. In the region, 550 dairy farms, includ-ing about 100 in Whatcom County, supply milk to 12 processing plants. The vast major-ity of Washington dairies ship their milk to Darigold. While Darigold is the largest exporter of

Dairy: Milk production ranks 2nd among Wash. ag commoditiesContinued from C2

See DAIRY on C21 A 300-ton crane drops into place a piece of the new milk drying equipment in December. (Courtesy photo / Darigold)


Continued from C15

Nooksack: Improving instruction a primary focus

Continued from C9

Management: Company won 2012 safety award

performed well across the board, even with a higher-than-average percentage of students in those traditionally tough-to-teach categories, as measured by the number of students on free or reduced-price lunches. With challenges surrounding learn-ing, the district has focused almost pri-marily on one thing for nearly a decade: improving instruction. “Our teachers throughout the Nook-sack Valley School District have com-mitted themselves to the belief that the quality of instruction is the key variable in student learning,” said Mark Johnson, Nooksack Valley superintendent. “Our collective focus on the improvement of instructional practice and instructional leadership, through collaborative and continuous adult learning, has been at

the center of our work for a number of years.” But the success isn’t just at the high school. “Our high school staff and adminis-trators were quick to defer the credit to their K-8 colleagues throughout the sys-tem and their dedication to continuous improvement of the instructional core,” Johnson said. Call the high school award a culmination of sorts. Along with the recognition that comes with winning the award, the school received a “pretty cool Golden Apple trophy” and a check for $2,000. Galley said the money will be used to recognize the entire school and pro-vide a reminder to the students of what their hard work has accomplished. For more information, visit KCTS.org/education.

the company added 77 employees — in a recession. The workforce now is between 250 and 280, depending on season. • Three years ago, Bruland was cho-sen the Washington Small Business Per-son of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Bruland had used an SBA loan to buy property and double opera-tional space. She was praised for her com-pany’s work ethic and integrity in carrying out the motto “We’ll Take Care of It.” • In 2011, Bruland was named the Nellie Cashman Woman Business Owner of the Year by a Puget Sound organization for women entrepreneurs. • Last year, Management Services Northwest Inc. won the safety award among medium-sized companies in Building Services Contractors Association International. • And now the Ferndale-based com-pany is one of only 12 employers invited to take part in the Blueprint for Safety pilot program of the Washington State Depart-ment of Labor & Industries. It’s a chance to model advanced workplace safety prac-tices. Bruland would be the first to say that she has a great team helping her make de-cisions. “It’s certainly not just my venture. As our company has grown, I’ve surrounded myself with people complementing my style. I have an amazing team right now that takes care of clients’ facilities as if they were our own,” she said. Bruland praised all these on her team: Terell Weg, Wayne Galloway, Kar-en Turner, Meg Greenfield, Byron Cooper, Buzz Tie-man, Chris Holeman and Shanan Hoekstra. Management Services Northwest does its thing for hundreds of clients in the medical, financial, commercial and grocery sectors, offering complete facilities management, janitorial, landscaping, maintenance and specialty services — right down to snow removal in winter. The home address is 2257 Northgate Spur, Ferndale, and even through all the growth Bruland expects to remain What-com County-based. Branches in Portland

and Spokane position MSNW to reach into the five states in which it is licensed to operate. “We want to be the primary fa-cility management company in the North-west region,” she said.

The growth curve can be very challenging, the CEO said. She often finds herself learning from what happens and then devising new strategies. In spite of inevitable ups and downs, she said, it’s necessary “to have a vision for what you can do and have a tenacity to carry on.” The whole area of safety is one in which Bru-land wants her company to continue to improve until there’s “a culture of safety.” She gives back to her industry by serving on the

board of directors of Building Services Contractors Association at the national level. She gives back to her community by being on the board of directors of Peace-Health St. Joseph Medical Center of Bell-ingham and the founding board of the Whatcom Business Alliance.

Students collaborate on an assignment at Nooksack Valley High School.

(Tim Newcomb/Lynden Tribune)

Janelle Bruland


Continued from C8

Q Laundry: Billed as 'the

laundromat for busy people'

Rotary: Club has put $50,000 toward renovating ballfields

likely. That all changed in early January. The Lynden Mt. Baker Rotary Club has committed a mind-boggling $50,000 to allow the Parks Department to move forward with the renovation of the base-ball/softball fields. Meenderinck was left speechless. “It’s the only way possible that we could have moved forward with this project,” Meenderinck said. “To have them donate that much was incredible. In the past, they’ve made donations of $25,000 or even $30,000, but $50,000 was a whole lot more than what we ex-pected. I was thankful more than any-thing.” With the promised donation the Parks Department was able to go for bids on the Bender Field project. After receiving five bids from local companies, Meenderinck decided to go with Up-Rite Fence & Construction out of Deming, which came in with an offer right around $100,000. “They’ve done other work for us in the past and they’ve done a good job,” Meenderinck said. “They do good work and they get it done on time. I wasn’t concerned about them coming in at all.” The Lynden Regional Park and Rec-reation District is providing $22,000, while the City of Lynden is paying the balance, with money coming from a parks reserve fund. Up-Rite Fence began work two weeks ago and has been logging in long hours to get the project done as soon as possible, Meenderinck said. “They have to have two of the fields finished by the second week of March because of girls fastpitch,” Meender-inck said with a laugh. “We think that by the first week of April, everything else

Continued from C16

years off of teaching and sold ValPak coupons. That’s where I first learned about the industry,” she said. “I don’t know if it stuck or what, but it always looked intriguing to me for a couple of reasons. It’s an old industry, so there are lots of stats and data, so you can build your business smart.” Unema graduated from Lynden C h r i s -tian High S c h o o l in 1979, and went on to graduate from Cal-vin Col-lege. She earned a m a s t e r ’s d e g r e e at Grand V a l l e y State Uni-versity, and did postgraduate work at Michigan State University. She taught both high school and college-level class-es before moving to Lynden in 1997. After her break from teaching, Un-ema went to work as a biology teacher at Lynden Christian High School. She has taught the importance of resource conservation and environmen-tal safety in her classes for a long time. Eventually, her passion for conservation and her knowledge of the green laundry industry met in the middle. “I don’t know how to say it, but they merged,” she said. “I turned 50, and I thought, ‘There’s not that many work-ing years left, and it’d be kind of fun to try something different.’ I want to get out there and be in that world where I have to be in that world and use these resources.” Unema and her husband, Barry, spent much of 2012 conceptualizing the laundry. “We said, ‘Let’s push until there’s a no-go,” she said. “I was just going to keep pushing and looking and talking and asking until I had enough no-gos, and I just kept coming up with gos.” Unema envisions a laundromat built with a sensitivity to and a mind-fulness of the resources available while putting the needs of customers at the

forefront as well. That’s where the “smart, fast and convenient” tenets come into play. In the “smart” category, Q Laundry will use washing machines that lock securely and send texts to users 10 minutes before their cycles complete, allowing custom-ers to safely leave the laundromat dur-ing the wash cycle. All the machines take credit, debit and QCards (prepaid laun-

dry cards). The ma-chines have the “faster” part in the bag already, with some able to finish their wash cycles in 40 minutes, and with such fast spin cycles that clothes are dry in just 15 minutes. Q Laun-

dry will be conveniently located at the corner of James and Alabama, near Trad-er Joe’s, Sportsman’s Chalet and the new Labels store. She’s gotten help from these people: SCORE adviser Jack Kimmes (former owner of Kulshan Cycle), mentors Lau-ra Bostrom and Diane Kamionka of the Northwest Innovation Resource Center and Wade Springfield of the Small Busi-ness Development Center. With their aid Unema has Q Laundry on track for a planned June grand opening. She has some big plans for the building’s aes-thetic, too. “Most laundries don’t employ an architect and an interior designer,” she said. “It’s beautiful, and it’s going to be very well thought out for the customer. We’re still in the bidding process, so I can’t even tell you who’s going to do the building yet. We don’t know. Because there’s so much infrastructure inside the tenant space, it’ll take us a good four months. We don’t anticipate opening until June. It’s a long haul to get every-thing done right.” And why the name? “In Scrabble, (Q is) worth 10 points,” Unema said. “And in almost every word that comes up with q, it’s a good, posi-tive word.”

should be finished as well.” After hoping to see the improve-ments for the past four years, Meender-inck is excited to finally see the process coming to fruition. “I’m very excited for this,” he said. “Those backstops were in pretty bad shape. We’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and the fact that Rotary came in to help with the project was just great. They really saved the day for us.” Meenderinck added that the feed-back from community members has been nothing short of positive. “They’re really excited about it,” Meenderinck said. “We’ve also gotten a lot of comments from different teams who are excited about everything com-ing together as well.” Nate Kleindel is president of Mt. Baker Rotary for 2013, and the Bender improve-ments were definitely on his “wish list” of projects presented to the club to take on. First the board of directors and then the full club bought into this idea. Kleindel played baseball and soccer in earlier years at Bender Fields and he is now in a men’s softball league, so he has seen the heavy use of the Lynden complex and its accumulated wear and tear. A gap in a fence, for instance, can be both a foul-ball and a safety issue, he not-ed. “It’s just something that needs to be done,” Kleindel said. Nearly 200,000 people use Bender each year, not counting practices, and that includes lots of school kids. “There’s not a lot of places for the young people in the community to go,” he said. As for the 50 percent expansion and covering of the dugouts, that will be ap-preciated especially in the Northwest’s fre-quent rainy weather, he said. The dugouts will get concrete floors and new benches, and the backstops will be taller.


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Continued from C11

PeaceHealth: First three Relays for Life raised $500,000 in Lynden

For Kuiper, the family’s encoun-ter with cancer has another dimension. In 2005 daughter Chris Kenner helped launch the annual Relay For Life event in Lynden, tying into the now worldwide fundraising effort for cancer research through the American Cancer Society. In the first three years in Lynden, about $500,000 was raised. As Trudy and then Henry received

their cancer diagnoses, a team broadly encompassing their family of nine chil-dren and many grandchildren got the name Marching for Mom and Dad. The team continues to make a strong show-ing among the top entrants each year, and it will be in the Lynden relay again in 2013. This is money for “the guys behind the microscopes,” as Henry likes to put it, who are working each day to try to stop this difficult disease.

Adapting skills, not standards

WRS has grown into key refinery labor forceBy Mark [email protected]

FERNDALE — Western Refinery Ser-vices isn’t exactly a misnomer — after all, the majority of the company work is done be-hind the fences of four Northwest Washing-ton refineries. Still, it’s easy to forget that the company that began as a dairy service com-pany in Lynden could retool at any point and enter still another market. Back when the company started as Western Services two decades ago, its refin-ery division wasn’t even thought of. It was only later that the Western Refinery Services

division became the primary name of the company. The changes to the company since Ryan Likkel started working there in 1990 demon-strate what a good business philosophy and work ethic can do. By Likkel’s first year, the Mobil Refinery (now Phillips 66) was already a major client. However, that job was always just a product of the refinery needing a job accomplished outside of its regular work force capability. Most of the time, WRS was able to adapt quickly and fill the need. Likkel, who now works as WRS’s Chief Operations Officer, said each of those re-quests precipitated a small bit of growth. Slowly, the company that was five or six peo-ple in 1990 grew to its current 100-plus labor force of today.

See WRS on C22

Even a street sweeper is in the WRS arsenal. (Courtesy photo)

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Henry Kuiper, of Lynden, chats with Kim Moses, patient navigator in the Cancer Center. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)


U.S. cheese to Japan, China prefers to make its own cheese and yogurt but wants U.S. milk powder. On American soil strawberry yogurt is a favorite, while in China green aloe yogurt is preferred. At the same time, South Korea has be-come the fastest growing cheese market in the world, thanks largely to the popularity of pizza. Southeast Asia countries are building new dairy plants but don’t have enough milk to fill them, so they import U.S. dairy prod-ucts. Also, cheese for the Southeast Asian market is repackaged into smaller portions to be more affordable. “Meeting the global demand for dairy products is far more than just shipping milk powder, whey, cheese and butter overseas,” said Kima Simonson, a U.S. Dairy Export Council board member. “Our global custom-ers want a consistent product, consistent suppliers and products that are designed for their specific market and culture.” Simonson is a second-generation dairy farmer in Deer Park, north of Spokane. “The challenge is developing products other countries want and can afford,” added Dermot Carey, senior vice president of Dari-gold’s ingredients division. “Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East and Northern Africa are growth areas and each has their own re-quirements.” Carey noted that continued export growth for Darigold is largely dependent on two factors. First, there’s the possibility of taking additional market share from New Zealand and Europe. One distinct advantage is geography. Seattle is ideally located for ac-cess to Asia. Another factor driving increased exports is population growth in emerging countries, especially those that can’t produce dairy products for themselves due to climate or infrastructure weakness. The good news is the market for dairy products worldwide is growing.

Dairy: Wide array of improvements being made at Lynden DarigoldContinued from C17 Exports have allowed the U.S. dairy in-

dustry to grow. The Dairy Export Council reports that U.S. milk production is up 17 percent — nearly 30 billion pounds — since 2003. More than 60 percent of the increased milk production has gone to export. “In Washington, milk production ex-ceeds our state’s consumption,” said Simon-son, who has been a dairy farmer for 30 years. Darigold reports that half of its milk powder production and three-quarters of its whey products are exported. That is reflective of the national average for milk powder and whey exports. According to recent USDEC figures, 13.6 percent of all U.S. dairy produc-tion is exported. “With sustained dairy exports, Washing-ton’s dairy producers have a buffer from the roller-coaster ride that is domestic demand for dairy,” observed Leister. “The weather, the dollar, trade agree-ments, tariffs and taxes are some of the vari-ables in dairy exports,” explained Simonson. “Darigold gets it. We understand the impor-tance of customer service. We have spent years developing relationships and listening to global customers.”

New Lynden dryer will produce 46% more milk powder than before

LYNDEN — The 130-foot-tall enclosed milk drying tower nearing completion will produce 46 percent more milk powder per year than the unit it replaces, said Michelle Carter, Darigold spokesperson. The new dryer will be able to dry 33,704 pounds per hour of 48 percent skim con-densed milk to produce 16,800 pounds of powder at 4.0 percent moisture, she said. One of the additional benefits of the new dryer design is that it will be able to produce whole milk powder for some of Darigold’s

customers as well as for export markets in Asia and China. A fire in February 2012 destroyed the previous main drying tower at Lynden, al-though an older one has continued in opera-tion through the transition. Darigold wants the new dryer in operation this spring.

Milk tanks being replaced, truck bay being enclosed

LYNDEN — Across Depot Road from the main construction, a different type of tower, a milk storage tank, was elevated skyward on Feb. 20. The 60,000-gallon silo is replacement for one removed earlier, so this is really a routine upgrade and not expansion, said plant man-ager Ethan Buckmier. The process will be repeated by July, as another milk receiving tank at least 30 years old is retired for a new one. In all, there are nine such 100-foot-tall vessels on the premises, allowing the Lynden Darigold plant to hold all the raw milk it can process in a day, about 4.2 million pounds. “We can process all the milk that What-com County can produce in a day, and then some,” Buckmier said. He said that, upon completion of the new dryer, the plant will be constrained more by how much milk can be condensed before being dried. Currently, Lynden makes condensed milk powder. But it will become able to make some whole milk powder, entering a market that is emerging. “We’ll see how the world’s demand is,” Buckmier said. Decisions will hinge on what’s needed in the Darigold prod-uct mix, such as higher seasonal demand for butter. Also Pearson Construction is covering one of two milk truck unloading bays that has been open to the weather. Both concrete floors and some drainage will also be redone.

Steel framing and concrete panels start to enclose the new Darigold tower at a midpoint of construction. (Calvin Bratt/Lyn-den Tribune)

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WRS: Company serves four separate refineries;

employee training helps outside of work, tooContinued from C20

The company’s current visibility is also augmented by its extensive fleet of vehicles and equipment that reflect its diverse capa-bilities. Still, Likkel said, far and away, the com-pany’s most important assets are its em-ployees, and while WRS prides itself on the excellent representation provided by its em-ployees, the real trick is ensuring they stay through a caring culture that treats everyone like family. “The more of a family atmosphere that you maintain — as you foster that within the company — it takes care of itself. (We) take care of each other in challenging times,” Lik-kel said. It’s not uncommon, Likkel said, for em-ployees to reach out and help each other when tough times come. In the process, the company tries to come alongside and match

donations. The four refineries currently served by WRS are Phillips 66 Ferndale Refinery, BP Cherry Point, the Anacortes Tesoro Refinery and the Shell Puget Sound Refinery, also in Anacortes. Services provided for the petroleum in-dustry, Likkel said, are dependent on WRS employees gaining many hours of safety and orientation training — most of which mir-rors the training given to full-time refinery workers. That level of investment makes the need for employee retention that much more im-portant. Since beginning work at the Ferndale Refinery, the percentage of work directly related to refining has risen and fallen. It’s been important over the years, as a result, to diversify the type of jobs the company is able to do. Back in 1990, that was one of the con-cerns Likkel first encountered with the com-

pany. As a result, expanding the base of jobs and clients within the refining world became a priority. Then over time, the company be-gan to leverage the accumulated skills and equipment to sign on to jobs that existed outside the refinery compounds. One of the biggest parts of that work, Likkel said, has been paving. Last year alone, WRS did 300 asphalt paving jobs outside of the refineries. Since the recession, the company has tempered its pursuit of outside work, partly because of the increased competition for it, Likkel said. It didn’t always make sense to ex-pand in to those kinds of projects when oth-ers were so desperate for that work. However, the possibilities still remain, Likkel said, even though the entire bulk of refinery work currently takes up 70 percent of the company workload. No matter what they are doing, Likkel said, employees of WRS take with them the refinery culture of safety.

“Quality with Integrity — It’s not just a slogan on a business card. It’s something we want to practice from top to bottom,” Likkel said. Likkel said that what separates the refin-ing safety culture from many other indus-tries is its permanent effect. He’s been told, he said, by employees that the training they get here is so different and intense, it chang-es the way they live their lives at home. A big part of safety is the personal com-mitment each employee makes. “They are expected to live up to that,” Likkel said. "It helps them think about it more. Once you write something down and sign your name to it, it means more.” Whatcom Refinery Services is located at 2380 Grandview Rd., where the company has been since moving from Lynden in 2003. For more information, visit www.wrsweb.com.

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See VANDERVEEN on C24

LHS teacher Jordan Vanderveen reflects on his big career changeBy Brent Lindquist [email protected]

LYNDEN — It’s a question asked to so many students by so many guidance counselors: “If money wasn’t in the equa-tion, what would you want to do with your life?” That’s exactly the question Jordan Vanderveen asked himself right before deciding to become a high school teach-er. “I was working as a lawyer, and I thought to myself, ‘If I took money out of the equation, and just thought about what I actually want to do with my life, then if money didn’t matter, I would want to be working in schools,” he said. “So that’s what I did, and it really became that simple in terms of a career path.” Vanderveen grew up on the outskirts of Lynden, living on Assink Road until he was 9 years old and his family moved to Pole Road. He attended school in the Lynden School District, graduating from Lynden High School in 2002. He had al-ready started on higher education during high school, however, taking classes at Whatcom Community College as a fresh-

man and sophomore. He started school at Western Washington University as a junior at Lynden, and graduated from WWU just a year after graduating high school in 2003 with degrees in math and computer science. He took off for Cornell Law School in New York after WWU, and graduated in 2006 from Cornell with a law degree. Vanderveen got a job as a corporate law-yer in Manhattan, and that occupied his time for about two years, until he decided that law was not his cup of tea. “It wasn’t fun. It’s not my thing. I’m not a mercenary,” he said. There was a little more to his career change, however. “I wanted to come back and be near family and friends around here, and be back in Lynden. There’s a cultural dif-ference that’s insane. Just a huge cul-tural difference. I appreciate the culture around here a lot better and the com-munity, and the fact that we see other people as actually existing, which wasn’t something I experienced in Manhattan,” Vanderveen said. He now enjoys working for people rather than corporations. Vanderveen said that, prior to the career change, his primary job was shifting money between large corporations. “I just don’t really care about that. It

Jordan Vanderveen didn’t expect to be back teaching at his alma mater. (Brent Lindquist/Lynden Tribune)


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now a world travelerHe plans to graduate from SPU in June with a major in finance and international busi-ness. Last fall quarter, he was living in Chengdu, China and taking classes that are good for credit at SPU. His learning includ-ed basic Mandarin, contemporary Chinese culture, and multi-national enterprises. “I realized what I didn’t know about China,” he said, trying to summarize the experi-ence. During spring break in March, Wiebe will travel with a church group from Ballard to the Philippines on a mission trip. Eight guys will help build the foundations of two orphanage buildings outside Manila. But if you want to know where his real passion lies right now, it’s on the ski slopes. “I am a huge skier, so I’m always traveling around to find the snow,” he said. (He was contacted for this interview heading back to SPU for an exam after getting in a few quick

Continued from C11 ski runs on fresh snow at Stevens Pass in the morning.) He has a job as a custom boot fitter with Evo, the Seattle-based ski and snowboard retailer. Weibe would love to “pair my pas-sion with work” and stay in Evo’s employ-ment past graduation, perferably in a finan-cial role. He is applying for several jobs. Meanwhile, back in Whatcom County, Joel’s parents have moved into Bellingham although younger brother Marcus is still enrolled at Meridian and in Running Start, as Joel himself also was. Wiebe was on hand for the ceremonial ground-breaking to start the Meridian High School construction in September 2011. And as he looks back on the push to make it all happen back in 2010, he knows “it wasn’t just me. “It’s amazing what can happen with a little bit of conviction and perseverance and the support of the community behind it,” he said.

doesn’t really affect me too much wheth-er one corporation has more money than another, but whether a student learns and whether a student has a better expe-rience and finds themselves challenged and enjoys themselves in school, that actually matters to me, and I want to do what matters to me, not what makes money or shifts money around,” he said. Another two years at WWU, and Vanderveen had earned his teaching degree and certificate. His primary en-dorsement is in social studies, though he is certified in mathematics, qualified in English and intends to be qualified in science by the end of the year. He spent last year splitting his time between LHS social studies and math classes last year, and this year is about a 60/40 split between the roundabout pro-gram and Calculus classes. His work with the roundabout pro-

Vanderveen: Has helped champion

LHS tutoring programContinued from C23 gram, for kids with adverse childhood

experiences, ties in heavily with one of Vanderveen’s favorite parts of teaching: the helping aspect. He strives to help students analyze and think about the big picture, broadening their minds past rote memorization. Vanderveen offers tutor-ing for an hour and a half each day, and has helped to champion the after-school tutoring program, making it more consis-tent as a program for students to utilize. He has also helped to put in place an al-gebra lab program, featuring one-to-one computing and curriculum designed with fellow teacher Jeff Seely. Vanderveen said none of this curric-ulum would be possible without the flex-ibility offered by the Lynden School Dis-trict. He said he never expected to end up back at the school from which he gradu-ated, but he appreciates the full-circle na-ture of his career change. “I find this much more fulfilling,” he said.

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