Archive for June, 2012
Editor’s note: If you ever wondered what happened with the Shuksan Middle School mural that was taken down in 2009, here’s an update.
The Shuksan Middle School mural that parents and alumni saved from demolition nearly three years ago will live on at the school as three photos, but the original will go back to the artist who created it.
“It’s nice they’re going to bring it up to me instead of destroy it,” Donna Wheat said. “I just didn’t want them to take it to the dump.”
Wheat, the artist, said she hoped to be able to put the large mural upright on her 20-acre property in the Bellingham area and put a roof over the mural to keep the elements off of it.
The large photos will be framed and mounted above the doors leading into the gym at Shuksan in Bellingham. They will be nearly as large as the original mural, which celebrated diversity and was completed in 2003.
“Our vision for the mural is going to allow it to be part of our school for a long, long time. It’s going to be at the center of our gathering place,” said Shuksan Principal Jay Jordan of the photos and their placement.
Jordan said a display also will be created to tell the story of the mural.
The 10-foot-by-30-foot mural, which had been in the main lobby, was going to be torn down along with the rest of the old Shuksan Middle School building in August 2009 to make way for a new school.
But thanks to the efforts of a group of parents and alumni, the mural was instead cut out of the concrete wall it had been built into.
Made out of mosaic tile, the mural included a quote from President Jimmy Carter, blue beach glass, bits of mirror and clay pieces made by every student at Shuksan as well as pieces made by faculty and staff.
Parent volunteers also helped with the project.
Wheat said she had no idea that district officials planned to tear down the school at the time she was creating the mural. If she had known, she would have made it so it was moveable.
No date has yet been set for moving the mural from Shuksan to Wheat’s property.
Stephanie Twiford, a parent who had worked on the mural and helped save it, thanked Jordan for his effort when he took over as principal beginning in 2011.
“Jay thought this mural was amazing,” Twiford said. “I just appreciate Jay Jordan for recognizing that it was a valuable piece of history, a piece of Shuksan history.”
These Western Washington University students, who come from Bellingham, have been given scholarships for the 2012-13 school year.
- Jordyn Lynnea LeBlonde, daughter of Jim LeBlonde and Donna Janigo of Bellingham, received a $500 Holzman Biology Scholarship and the $6,153 June and Charles Ross Undegraduate and Graduate Scholarship. She is a junior majoring in marine biology.
- Luciana Prada, daughter of Jaime Prada and Ada Nubia Montalvo of Bellingham, received the $1,000 Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Eleanor Rinne Scholarship Endowment and the $2,000 Knapman Chemistry Scholarship. She is a sophomore majoring in biochemistry.
- Stefan Brae Weiss, son of Jack Weiss of Bellingham and Susanne Weiss of Marcola, Ore., received a $2,000 Donald Moon Scholarship. He is a senior in Western’s Plastics Engineering Technology and Vehicle Engineering Technology programs.
- Anna Rosemary Harris, daughter of Timothy and Ellen Harris of Bellingham, received a $2,500 August and Carol Radke Endowment. The endowment is awarded to a graduate of Sehome High School for his or her freshman year at Western.
- Bellingham resident Sally Hansen Herbst was awarded the $500 Bonnie J. Barthold Award.
- Julie Anne Maurer, daughter of Jeffrey and Diane Maurer of Bellingham, received a $466 Facilities Management Scholarship Endowment. She is an incoming freshman hoping to major in biochemistry.
Mount Baker Rotary club gave a total of $32,400 in scholarships to 18 students who graduated from Whatcom County high schools in 2012 and are going on to college.
Each student received a $1,800 scholarship.
- Lynden Christian: Brennan Huleatt, Jami Jo Libolt, John Pawlowski, Chad Heerspink, Kayla Aupperlee and Kaitlyn Brown.
- Lynden: Amber Stokes, Taylor Witman, Fraser Shindruk, Jeremy Korthuis, Cassidy Gunst and Sarrah VanZanten.
- Meridian: Denver VanderYacht and Kelli Terpsma.
- Mount Baker: Rachel Larson and Ben Koehler.
- Nooksack Valley: Charity Caldwell and Courtney Edwards
School superintendents and boards in Whatcom County will meet with Washington state legislators Wednesday, June 27, in Bellingham.
The meeting is 5 to 7 p.m. at the Building Industry Association of Whatcom County office, 1650 Baker Creek Place.
School officials will meet with legislators from the 40th and 42nd legislative districts to touch base on school issues and funding.
The Bellingham School District will offer free meals to children beginning Monday, June 25, at four locations.
The district is providing the meals to children 18 years old and younger as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Simplified Summer Food Program for Children.
Locations and dates are:
- Carl Cozier Elementary, 1330 Lincoln St. Monday to Thursday, June 25 to July 19. Breakfast will be served 8:30 to 9 a.m.
- Roosevelt Elementary, 2900 Yew St. Monday to Friday, June 25 to Aug. 31. Breakfast will be served 8:30 to 9 a.m., lunch noon to 12:30 p.m.
- Shuksan Middle School, 2717 Alderwood Ave. Monday to Thursday, June 25 to Aug. 9. Breakfast will be served 8:30 to 9 a.m., lunch noon to 12:30 p.m.
- Regency Park apartment complex, 2050 Fraser St. Monday to Friday, June 25 to Aug. 31. Lunch will be served noon to 12:30 p.m.
For more information, call Mark Dalton, the district’s food services manager, at 360-676-6574.
Key issues facing Washington state are being explored this month as part of a program put on by Western Washington University’s Ralph Munro Institute.
The panels are free and open to the public. They are on the campus of North Seattle Community College this week, and will be on Western’s campus in Bellingham starting Tuesday, June 26.
Elected officials, public policy experts, political scientists and scholars will be among the panelists.
Below is the list of topics and panelists June 20 and 21 at North Seattle Community College.
All panels will be from 2:15 to 4 p.m. at Room 1520 in the Arts and Sciences Building.
Park in the North Visitors’ parking lot; public parking is free and no parking passes are needed.
- Wednesday, June 20: “Higher Education: Legislative Challenges.” Panel with moderator Kelly Evans, public affairs and political consultant; state Reps. Reuven Carlyle, Hans Zeiger and Larry Seaquist; and state Sens. David Frockt and Steve Litzow.
- Thursday, June 21: “Initiatives and Referenda: Good for Washington State?” Panel with moderator Paul Dunn, senior executive assistant in the President’s Office at Western; Seattle Times journalist Joni Balter; political activist Tim Eyman; state Rep. Chris Reykdal; and Alison Holcomb, campaign director for Yes on I-502, a measure that legalize marijuana.
Below is the list of topics and panelists June 26 to 28 at Western.
All panels will be from 2:15 to 4 p.m. at Old Main 340, the Board of Trustees meeting room.
They are:
- Tuesday, June 26: “Political Influence: Inside the Process.” Panel with moderator Todd Donovan, professor of political science at Western; political strategist Ron Dotzauer; political strategist Terry Thompson; and Alex Hays, executive director of Mainstream Republicans of Washington.
- Wednesday, June 27: “Political Reporting: a Challenging Landscape.” Keynote address by WWU President Bruce Shepard. Panel with moderator David Ammons, former Associated Press capital reporter and current communications director for the Washington Secretary of State; Seattle PI.com columnist Joel Connelly; Austin Jenkins, Olympia reporter for public radio and host for TVW’s weekly public affairs program “Inside Olympia”; and Peter Callaghan, columnist for The News Tribune in Tacoma.
- Thursday, June 28: “Lobbying: Influence and Access.” Panel with moderator Cole Taratoot, visiting assistant professor of sociology at Western; contract lobbyist Charlie Brown; Wendy Rader-Konofalski, with the Washington Education Association; and Amber Carter, with the Association of Washington Business.
Drivers should stop by Parking Services at the Visitor Center and get a pass, or pay at the meters in lot 7G, which is the lot closest to Old Main.
Six Whatcom County high school graduates have received the 2012-13 Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program award, Comcast Foundation has announced.
They were among 90 students named in Western Washington and Spokane.
Comcast asked schools to nominate students who showed leadership abilities in school activities and strong commitment to community service.
The Whatcom County students and their schools are:
- Emily P. Steelquist, Blaine High School
- Patricia M. Castrejon, Ferndale High School
- Fraser J. Shindruk, Lynden High School
- Kaitlyn M. Michaelson, Meridian High School
- Brett T. Copher, Nooksack Valley High
- Janice E. Liang, Sehome High School
The Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program gives $1,000 scholarships to students.
DEMING — The Mount Baker School District will offer free meals to children June 20 to July 6 at the junior and senior high school commons, 4936 Deming Road.
Meals will be served Monday through Friday only. No meals will be served July 4.
Breakfast will be served from 8:45 to 9 a.m. Lunch will be served from 11:20 to 11:50 a.m.
The district is providing the meals to children who are 1 to 18 years old as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Simplified Summer Food Program for Children.
For questions, contact Food Service Director Karla Atwood at 360-383-2076.
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