News in Brief is published online every Friday, and updated throughout the week with bite-sized news from across Whatcom and Skagit counties. Read a roundup of the week’s news in print the following Friday.
Monday, Jan. 22
Sanitary Service Company resumes service following weather delays
Sanitary Service Company (SSC) has informed customers it will take additional waste the company was unable to pick up last week due to ice or snow at no charge.
Extra waste will be picked up on the next scheduled service day.
This includes customers who are on a every-other-week or monthly schedule. Customers are reminded to use plastic bags for extra garbage.
Recycling or FoodPlus! Yardwaste will be picked up on customers’ next regularly scheduled day. Recyling must be next to recycling bins in an open cardboard box or plastic container no larger than a curbside recycling bin. Yard waste and compost should be packaged in a compostable or paper bag.
The Sudden Valley Community Association told residents to put their garbage in the dumpster in the parking lot between the South Whatcom Library and barns when services were canceled on Jan. 19 due to unsafe road conditions. They informed residents that SSC will pick up extra garbage on the next scheduled day.
Service outage scheduled for Lummi Island ferry next month
The Whatcom Chief ferry will be out of service from 10:10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28. During that time, the Lummi Island and Gooseberry Point terminal facilities will be inspected and maintenance.
The ferry will ride from Gooseberry Point at 9:50 a.m. and from Lummi Island at 10 a.m. No additional runs for the rest of that day.
Inspections and maintenance by Public Works will now be done approximately every two months. These inspections are weather-dependent, and changes may occur.
Updates can be found at www.whatcomcounty.us/ferry.
Friday, Jan. 19
Police searching for girl, 14, missing from Mount Vernon
Authorities are searching for a 14-year-old girl after she was reported missing from her Mount Vernon home on Jan. 6.
Sarah Merrill reported her daughter, Ella Jones, missing from their home on the 2200 block of North 20th Place in Mount Vernon, telling police Jones voluntarily left the house either late Jan. 5 or early Jan. 6.
Jones is described as a 5-foot-5 caucasian female weighing about 135 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. She was believed to be wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt, multi-colored plaid pajama pants, and black Nike Air Force shoes. It is believed she also took additional clothing in a large green backpack when she left.
Jones has not made contact with family members or friends since she left.
Mount Vernon police say to immediately call 911 if Ella is sighted. If anyone has information about her whereabouts, call Skagit County Dispatch at 360-428-3211.
Fire crews respond to blaze at Woburn Street house
No one was injured in a house fire on Woburn Street in Bellingham Friday afternoon, Jan. 19, fire officials said.
The fire at 1721 Woburn St. was reported shortly before 3:30 p.m. and was doused within an hour. No one was in the house during the fire, Battalion Chief Ryan Provencher said on the scene.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
8 flooded classrooms at Bellingham High School won’t be ready for return to school next week
Workers with Bellingham Public Schools will continue to clean and dry out eight Bellingham High School (BHS) classrooms flooded by a burst pipe, and the rooms won’t be ready when students return to school next week after three snow days.
Parents of BHS students received a message Friday, Jan. 19 that listed new, temporary locations for the classes that use the eight rooms on the northwest corner of the school. This part of the school was flooded when a hose faucet on an exterior wall of the building burst during the past week’s severe cold weather.
Crews have been cleaning and replacing carpet in the classrooms. They also pulled the bottom 2 feet of drywall to allow dehumidifiers to dry the space behind the walls, to prevent mold from growing, Director of Facilities and Sustainability Mark Peterson said.
The work has continued while the school has been closed since Wednesday, Jan. 17, due to snow and unsafe driving conditions. The school offered no immediate word on when the classrooms would be ready.
“We will need a bit more time than we initially thought, before students and staff can return to their usual classroom spaces,” the message to parents said.
