Fall festivities: Harvest events, pumpkins and more

by the Foothills Gazette
COUNTY – Fall is officially here, and the month of October features a number of seasonal activities in the east county. Following are some of the events taking place.
Cloud Mountain Farm’s Annual Fall Fruit Festival and Benefit Dinner: Visitors can discover close to 200 varieties of common and uncommon fruits, cider and [...]

Local groups hold candidate forums

by the Foothills Gazette
COUNTY – Local residents will have several chances to attend candidate forums being organized by local and county organizations. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Ballots will be in the mail Friday, Oct. 21, according to the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office.
South Fork Heritage Association
The South Fork Heritage Association is holding a [...]

Maple Falls residents build community cob oven

by EMILY HEWITT
MAPLE FALLS – Several Maple Falls residents gathered on a recent Saturday to construct a community cob oven using donated materials.
The oven, built near the Maple Falls Community Garden site on property owned by local resident and business owner Dave Halliday, will be open to the public for use on select dates. Those [...]

News Briefs

Sumas American Legion post turns 65
SUMAS – The American Legion Memorial Post 212 of Sumas invites the public to help celebrate its 65th birthday during two weekend events. On Friday evening, Sept. 30, the post will host a hamburger dinner, followed by a spaghetti dinner with garlic toast on Saturday, Oct. 1. Both dinners are [...]

Winter coat drive under way

COUNTY – Coats, jackets, mittens, gloves, scarves and other new or gently used outerwear are being collected through the end of October and the first days of November for distribution to adults and children in need throughout Whatcom County.
The drive is organized each year by the Interfaith Coalition of Whatcom County, which collects and distributes [...]

Work of local residents on display at Sumas art show

by MARNIE JONES
SUMAS – An upcoming art show at the Sumas Library, featuring the works of professional and amateur artists, will showcase local talent from Oct. 1 through 15.
The art show evolved out of library manager Karin Schulhauser’s passing comment to a patron. “I knew one of our patrons was an artist who had [...]

COMMUNITY CALENDAR: Local events

FRIDAY, SEPT. 30
FFA Salmon BBQ: Chinook salmon has been donated by Hannegan Seafoods, with baked beans, potato salad, corn on the cob, and juice. Plates are $10 per adult and $7 per child (ages 5-11). 5 to 7 p.m. at Mount Baker High School, outside the main gate of the varsity  football game (Mount Baker [...]

SPEEDWAY RECAP: Lemley, O’Brien, Moss and Abenroth crowned Champions

by Kaleb Hart
DEMING – Week in and week out, the drivers of Deming Speedway fought, scratched, and clawed to get their race cars to the track to put on the best Mini Sprint show in the Northwest on a weekly basis. When the dust settled on the 2011 season on Saturday night, Sept. 24, four [...]

Mellema Farm featured during National Solar Tour

by MARNIE JONES
SUMAS – The Mellema family will open their solar-powered farm to visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1. The event is part of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) National Solar Tour, now in its sixteenth year, and part of a nationwide effort to educate the public about [...]

Everyday Life: Return to Ross Lake

by John McKnight
This was the sixth year that five friends and I would be taking our annual hiking, fishing and tomfoolery trip. This year to Ross Lake where we would rent boats and motor about 15 miles north to Little Beaver Creek camp and spend several days. Boats and tomfoolery don’t always mix well, but [...]