News briefs

New firetruck goes through a dousing tonight

  LYNDEN Citizens are welcome to come watch the wetdown of a new truck in the Lynden Fire Department fleet at 6 p.m. tonight at 215 Fourth St., chief Gary Baar said.
  The city has acquired a 95-foot ladder bucket truck that is of 1991 vintage but looks new, Baar said. It boasts a new pump and rebuilt engine and has been completely repainted. It put on its 17,000 miles serving an Ohio town. The good part is that the E-One truck cost less than $200,000 compared to the price of a truly new such unit around $1 million, Baar said.
  City officials had limited what they would pay.
  Hopefully, it will last us 10 or 15 years, Baar said.
  For the wetdown ceremony, the two 102-foot ladder trucks of North Whatcom Fire Rescue and Fire District 7 (Ferndale area) will be borrowed. Their arms will be formed into an A arch through which the Lynden truck will pass receiving a downspray of water.

Chamber board adds 3 members

  LYNDEN Three new members have joined the board of directors of the Lynden Chamber of Commerce.
  Serving three-year terms will be Jerry Blankers of Muljat Group North, Calvin Den Hartog of Nooksack Valley Disposal and Dave Dodson of Edaleen Dairy.
  Den Hartog and Dodson return to the group after a few years away. Blankers, a first-timer on the board, was instrumental in establishing and growing the Curt Maberry Memorial Classic 3-on-3 basketball tournament as a centerpiece of the Northwest Raspberry Festival.
  Continuing board members are Duane Bode of Lynden Paint Decorating, Windermere real estate agent Ron DeBoer, Kelly Ellis of Sole Obsession Footwear, Patti Rowlson of PR Consulting Services, Blake Starkenburg of Oldride.com and Pete Wolkin of Pioneer Ford.

Ballot drop boxes can be used for Feb. 14 election

  WHATCOM Ballot drop boxes located throughout the county can be used for voted ballots in the Feb. 14 special election, states Whatcom County Auditor Debbie Adelstein.
  The drop boxes are located at or near the libraries in Blaine, Deming and Lynden; at the Everson WECU, at Ferndale City Hall and at Meridian Middle School.The boxes may be used up to 8 p.m. on election night.
  Otherwise, ballots must be postmarked no later than Feb. 14 and sent by mail.

EIS bid deadline extended a week

  BELLINGHAM Environmental consultants have an additional week to submit bids for preparing an Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed bulk cargo marine terminal at Cherry Point.  
  Bid proposals will be due by 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 at the Whatcom County Courthouse. The countys public competitive bidding process is being used to select a contractor to prepare the environmental analysis for the three public agencies involved, the county plus the Washington Department of Ecology and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  Details on the bid request are available on the Whatcom County website (www.co.whatcom.wa.us/as/finance/purchasing/current_bids/index.jsp). The county bid number is 12-08.

Feb. 29 birthday celebrators sought

  WHATCOM For feature coverage, the Lynden Tribune is interested in knowing about local individuals who have Feb. 29 (Leap Year) birthdays. Please direct names and suggestions to editor@lyndentribune.com or 354-4444 ext. 22.

Lyndenite
leading the opening of new finanical office

  LYNDEN Sound Financial Group recently opened a Whatcom County office with Lyndenite Ron Doerksen as the financial representative.
  Doerksen has five years of experience as a Lynden independent insurance broker and 22 years in the nonprofit sector. Doerksen said he joined Sound Financial Group because of its emphasis on educating and empowering clients.
  Sound Financial Group is a general agency of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, which offers life insurance, disability income insurance, group, dental insurance products and funding vehicles for 401(k) plans, annuities and other financial products.

Lynden museum to take antiques and collectible for March sale

  LYNDEN Your antiques may be someone elses collectibles. Find out March 22-24 at the Collectibles and Antiques Sale of the Lynden Pioneer Museum Endowment Foundation.
  Clean out your garages and closets full of special treasures you dont know what to do with, and donate by March 7. The museum will add in some unique objects from its own collections.
  We will accept donations of all types and sizes. We will accept cars, boats, planes and trains, as well as the more mundane. We will accept new and old collectibles, vintage and not so vintage items, states a museum press release.
  All donations are tax-deductible, and a receipt will be provided upon request.
  Proceeds will be invested in the endowment for the benefit of the museum.
  For more information, call 354-3675.   Lynden Tribune