Oct - Sudden Valley Community Association

Transcription

Oct - Sudden Valley Community Association
Periodicals Postage
P A I D
at Bellingham, WA
and additional offices
USPS 079-490
Sudden Valley Views
October 2004
Sudden Valley Community Association
Vol. 30 No. 10
D’Onofrio remembered
by Deb Lambert
Whatcom
Water/Sewer District
___________________
Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer
District Board WD10 President Todd
Citron placed a vase of flowers at the
vacant desk of Vince D’Onofrio at the
last board meeting in honor of Vince’s
spirit and all of his efforts on behalf
of others during his life. Vince will
be missed.
Later this fall, the WD10 Board
of Commissioners will post a formal
announcement to fill the vacancy
for Position #1. After posting the announcement, the board will review
letters of interest and resumes, and
then interview potential candidates.
It is anticipated that the position will
be filled by January of 2005.
Candidates for Position #1 must
live in Sudden Valley in one of the following divisions: 4, 5, 6,10, 11, 13, 16,
and 34. A small portion of Divisions 1,
2, 3, and 22 are also included in Position
#1’s District. A map is available at the
district office at 1010 Lakeview Street
in Geneva. All candidates are encouraged to check the map to insure they
live within the appropriate area.
All interested parties may call
any of the district commissioners or
the district office to inquire about the
position. Commissioners are: Thomas
L. Hadd – 738-4849, Deb Lambert –
733-2408, Todd Citron – 734-3453,
and Blair Ford – 738-2534. The District
Office – 734-9224.
Impact fee rescinded
The Sudden Valley board has acted to rescind the $1,500 impact
fee on new construction. For further information, turn to page 5
and read about all the action that the board took in its monthly
meeting.
Teen Center opens, more hirings
Sudden Valley’s new Teen Center
has been under construction through
the summer with hours of volunteer
labor to put in walls, paint, and furnish
an area specifically for teens. A tentative opening is set for Monday, Oct. 4.
Upcoming Teen Council meetings are
being planned and will be announced
in upcoming issues of the Views.
Rosemary Tate of Administration
has announced several new part-time
hires in the maintenance department:
Cheryl Workman, Jonathan Haglund
and Andrew Richardson. Calvin Murphy went to full-time status in maintenance in August, Tate said.
SV Question of the Month:
How do you feel about the Whatcom Transportation Authority
(WTA) bus services proposed changes for Sudden Valley -- does it
affect you and how? Please send your replies to <communications@
suddenvalley.com> for the November issue of the Views.
Bulletin
Board
-- like you!
‘A Penny for Education’ discussed at Rotunda on Saturday, Oct. 9
“A Penny for Education” is the
slogan for Initiative 884, a state-wide
proposal on the November ballot for
funding all levels of education, from
pre-school to higher education. The
“penny” is a one-cent increase in
the state sales tax. Supporters of
the initiative say the Education Trust
Fund Initiative will create 10,000
new high-quality preschool spaces,
reduce class sizes, raise base pay for
teachers, provide additional classes
in high school, and fund 25,000 additional enrollment slots in colleges
and universities in Washington.
Sudden Valley residents have an
opportunity to learn more about the
initiative from one of the founders of
the state-wide grassroots network.
On Saturday, Oct. 9 from 3 to 5 p.m.
at the Rotunda, Roger Erskine will
hold a seminar to answers questions.
Erskine is a former educator and the
former Seattle Education Association’s executive director.
SV Haunters needs spooks
SV Haunters is looking for 30
adults, 18 and older, who would like
to have fun at this year’s 5,000-squarefoot Castle Shadowbane Haunted
House in the Valley Recreation Center.
The next casting meeting is Thursday,
Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Recreation
Center. This is patterned along an
authentic Haunted House with rooms
of spooks, organizer Kalene Drummond said. In contrast to last year’s
event which was open for one night,
this year will be three times the size
and open for three nights: Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday, Oct. 28, 29, and
30. Volunteers need to be available for
the three nights. Contact Drummond
at 360-733-9868 to volunteer or for
more information.
Free courtesy car light inspections
The Automotive Service Association of Whatcom County (ASA) will
perform a courtesy lighting inspection
at the Bellingham High School and
Everson Elementary School parking
lots on Saturday, Oct. 9 from 9 a.m.
to 1 p.m. A quick check could take as
little as five minutes and any malfunc-
Views/ELISA CLAASSEN
Mae Schatz, right, receives recognition for being the first SV property owner on her 90th birth-
First lady of Sudden Valley honored
by Elisa Claassen
Views editor
___________________
Happy 90th birthday to Mae
Schatz, the first property owner in
Sudden Valley. Schatz celebrated her
milestone birthday on Sept. 6 with a
gathering of friends and family at Bob’s
Burger and Brew at the Clubhouse. She
was awarded with a plaque recognizing her as the “First lady of Sudden
Valley” from friends Don and Maxine
Parker. Don Parker was a Sun-Mark
employee for 32 years, a company
formerly owned by Schatz’s son, Roger
Ufkes until he sold it nearly three years
ago to Nader.
She bought her lot, Div. 1, Lot 112
on May 19, 1969 through a special arrangement sale, Ufkes said. “It was the
toughest close I ever had,” he joked.
Schatz’s only child was born at
Mayo Hospital and was six months
old when the family moved by train
to Puyallup, Wash. in 1937.
tioning bulbs will be replaced
free of charge from donated
inventory from participating
ASA members.
Golf announces
October events
• Fall Wind-up Tournament will
be followed by an Awards dinner
on Saturday, Oct. 16. A 6 p.m. nohost bar will precede the dinner
at Bob’s Burger and Brew.
• Sudden Valley Eclectic Tournament is scheduled for Saturday,
Oct. 23.
Fall Pancake Feed slated
for Oct. 23
Whatcom County Fire District 2 is hosting its fall Pancake
Feed on Saturday, Oct. 23 from
7 a.m. to noon. at the Geneva
Station, 4518 Cable St.
_________________
See Bulletin, page 5
“After him, I decided that was it,”
she said with a laugh.
Schatz graduated from the South
Dakota Teacher’s College which is
now South Dakota State University.
When Schatz was teaching school at a
one-room schoolhouse she met John
Ufkes whose younger siblings were
in her classroom. They moved out
since he needed an job and another
family member had already paid for
welding school.
After having a varied career
--working in a cannery, butcher shop,
beauty salon, drycleaners, and selling
door-to-door hospital insurance -Schatz worked for Sun-Mark cleaning
condos for nearly 15 years. Her late
husband, Matthew Schatz, would help
her, she said. Matthew passed away
six years ago.
Although she owned her lot, she
decided to move to the Lakeridge
Condos which were built in 1975. At
age 90, she continues to live in her
own condo with the assistance of a few
friends who stop and check on her to
make sure she is well and taking her
medication. These days she rides her
stationary bike and does some of her
own cleaning, though not for others
anymore. She also has three cats as
companions. Although she en-
Views from
the Inside
2
Point of Views
Letters 2-3
5
Board Report
8
Candidates
4-15
Committee Reports
15
Classifieds
Special Thank you:
The Sudden Valley Views
would like to extend a special
thank you to all who participated in the annual Candidate
Forum this past month.
joys watching TV, she can no longer
read even the TV Guide due to macular
degeneration. Family members call to
chat and to tell her what shows are on
at what times.
Schatz’s grandchildren include:
Dana More, Jaimie Donnelly, Mark
Ufkes and Tim Ufkes. She has six greatgrandchildren. All of the grandchildren
have worked in real estate at one time
or another, Roger said.
Selling the Valley as the Undevelopment
Chris Weitzel, long-time Realtor
from RE Max South office, started with
Sun-Mark. He accredited Ufkes’ perseverence for getting the Valley through
the difficult 80’s when the Canadian
economy headed on a downward spin
and those north of the border went
flocking to the Valley.
While many of the Ufkes family
have gone into real estate or related
positions, Ufkes also trained many in
the Bellingham real estate com-
_________________
See History, page 4
Page 2
October 2004
Sudden Valley Views
Point of Views
A good-bye to Vince
In the September Views, I mentioned wishing Vincent D’Onofrio well as he was attempting
to recover from failing health resulting from
liver cancer. Unfortunately, he did not recover
but passed away while the Views was going to
press.
Vince was not only a water district commissioner during some difficult years but a friend in
the community to many. He was one to me. He
wasn’t afraid to say what he thought, nor did he
use his poor health to get out of long-standing
obligations. He had a deep faith in his creator
and was ready and willing to live, but ready to
die as well. In his honor and memory, the Views
has established the “Vincent D’Onofrio Award”
which reads: “Sudden Valley Views honors residents‘doing the right thing’in Sudden Valley. This
award is presented annually in memory of Vincent
D’Onofrio, noted for his long-time work with the
Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District.”
The award was presented to Vince’s widow,
Marian D’Onofrio, at the Sept. 12 Candidate Forum.
A location is being sought to display this award.
This editor hopes that future editors will continue
to seek and to find other good people deserving of
this type of recognition. Some traditions are worth
creating and continuing.
Another group worthy of ongoing recognition in the community is the Kiwanis Club which
has picked up litter, organized food drives, sought
to organize its membership on community issues,
urged its members to take safety training classes,
offered to sponsor a Boy Scout troop in the Valley,
helped with the Teen Center, and much more.
Thank you to those who attended the
Candidates’ Forum. I think it is wise for those in
the Valley to attend such events and find out
who these people are who think they can represent you. (For that matter, the Valley used to
host candidate forums for candidates from the
“outside” world, which may be a good thing to
reconsider as well.)
Question
This is something I have tried before and that
the Communication Committee would like to try
again to get your input. A question will be posed
each month in the Views. This month’s question
regards the WTA. Please send your replies to
<commu nications@ suddenvalley.com>. I know
at the Candidate Forum, I asked for a show of
Letters to the Editor
hands for the number
of people who had
riden the WTA buses
once and then multiple times. Very few
hands came up.
My own pet peeve
W h e n
I
drive into Gate 2,
I
see a collection of
sandwich board signs
announcing various
events. I mentioned
this to the last Communication Committee meeting in September. Wouldn’t it be much
nicer to have one sign which could announce
several events as well as assist the community
during emergencies? Just a suggestion.
Thank you -- very much!
I had my 40th birthday in September and
was given a lovely surprise party by Cathy Roose
and her crew at the Day Spa and Salon. Thank
you very much. They tried to ask what my goals
were for this monumental year. I think I have too
many to voice, especially when editing several
publications which seem to be in production at
the same time. I have to admit it is nice to hear
how young I look. My mom is in her 80’s and still
going strong!
I thought over the years of my favorite
of gifts and came up with a partial list: a close
friend made me a special cake with Cinderella’s
carriage on the top (I was in grade school), a
former boyfriend found special art prints for me
at the National Gallery of Art (I am a painter),
and a few years ago my older brother Roy and
his family took me on a special day in Ashville,
North Carolina to the Biltmore Estate (they live
in Atlanta, Georgia).
This year, my Aunt Marilyn made me a quilt, a
specialty of hers, to resemble a well-known painting by Klimt. My brother Roy called to sing to me.
Scott and Suzie Thiele donated Gideon Bibles on
my behalf which was also special to me.
Jail overcrowding a real problem
Dear Editor and fellow members of the
Sudden Valley community,
As you know there have been many problems with overcrowding in the Whatcom County
jail that have caused safety problems throughout
the county. Our goal is to inform the public of the
need to construct a permanent jail of adequate
size and an interim jail facility to serve immediate
needs. A 1/10th of 1 percent sales tax, amounting to 10 cents on a $100 purchase, will fund
both programs. For the average family, that is
$20 per year, a small price to pay for increased
public safety. We should note that about onefourth of sales are to people who do not live in
the county.
It is important that facts about the jail problems are made known to the entire community
before they vote in the November election, and
with the rapid growth in Sudden Valley it is
necessary to support the passing of Whatcom
County Proposition Number 1. Some important
facts about the jail
are listed below:
• The jail, designed for 110 inmates, modified
to hold 148 inmates, routinely houes as many
as 264 inmates.
• The staff levels based on 110 inmates are insufficent for either staff or inmate safety.
• There is almost no space to segregate inmates
who cause interruptions while in jail.
• Officers arresting persons for crimes such as car
prowl, theft, drunk driving, disorderly conduct
and similar offenses have only one option: issue
a citation on the street and hope the offender
shows up in court.
• It is only a matter of time before some innocent
person is seriously injured or killed by a drunk
driver who has been released by
_________________
See Jail on page 4
Sudden Valley Views
Sudden Valley Community Association
4 Clubhouse Circle, Bellingham, WA 98229
<http://www.suddenvalley.com>
OFFICE 360-734-6430 Administration Offices
FAX: 734-1915
Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday
Pro Shop
734-6435
Golf Maintenance
734-6430, x333
Maintenance
734-6430, x232
Recreation
734-6430, x243
Security Cell Phone
319-8200
Dispatcher (after 5 p.m.)
715-2490
MANAGEMENT STAFF
General Manager
Steve Grieser
Administrative Staff
Kitty French, Kira LaRock
Rosemary Tate
Recreation Coordinator
Bob Barker
Director of Architectural & Land Development
Craig Ostrom
Maintenance Director
Virgil Reed
Golf Superintendent
Bryan Newman
Accounting Manager
Susan Frantz
Security Chief
Lynn Fallis
Golf Professional
Greg Paul
Golf knowledge
found here
received by the majority of Association members
and who do not use the golf course.
The use of proxies by members of the Association, in our opinion, should be used only when
an Association Member is unable to attend the
Association’s General Meeting or does not wish to
vote by absentee ballot. The use of a proxy is also
appropriate when a member is not aware of the
general business of the Association, or believes
a third party has more knowledge of the affairs
of the Association than they do.
It is our strong desire that all Association
Members be knowledgeable of the affairs of the
Association. Or, if they have any questions related
thereto, that they contact our administrative staff
or members of the Board of Directors to seek
answers to their questions or to express their
opinions on issues.
We hope that all members of the Golf Club
are aware of the Association’s affairs, and are in a
position to cast their own votes either by attending the Association’s Annual General Meeting or
by electing to vote by absentee ballot, rather than
utilizing the proxy process.
Sincerely,
Lance Hillengass
Dan Marantette
Denise Spreitzer
Note: This letter was originally sent to Orest M.
Kruhlak, president, SVCA Golf Club
Dear Editor,
We are three continuing members of the
SVCA’s Board of Directors and all of us have also
served on the Finance Committee the past two
years.
In reviewing your cover letter with the materials sent for the Golf Club’s AGM (Annual General
Meeting), we were very disturbed by your statement: “With the departure of Leslie McRoberts
and Jon Wolfe, the SVCA Board has no members
who are knowledgeable about the importance
of the golf course to this community.”
As you well know, Lance Hillengass and Dan
Marantette are full members of the Golf Club and
Denise Spreitzer is an associate member. During
our tenure on the Finance Committee and the
Board, we are unaware of any position or vote
we have taken which has not been in the best
interest of the golf course. We also believe that
our golf pro, Greg Paul, would attest to our support of the golf course and our understanding
of its importance to Sudden Valley. To the best of
our knowledge, none of the candidates who are
running for the SVCA Board are active members
of the Golf Club.
The undertaking of a “proxy campaign,” by
the Golf Club seems ill-considered. How are they
more qualified to represent the best interests
of the golf course than the afore mentioned
directors?
The attempt to obtain a “voting block” defines the Golf Club as a special interest group.
It divides the community and may not be well-
_________________
More letters on page 3
Letters Policy
The Views welcomes letters to the editor. The deadline for submittal is the 20th of each
month. Letters should not exceed 250 words. All letters must be signed and carry a Sudden
Valley address or Division and Lot number, as well as a daytime phone number. Any property
owner in good standing may submit up to three letters in each 12-month period. Letters
must reflect the viewpoint of the author and should not contain personal attacks. Writers
are requested to focus on the issue and not the individuals involved. Letters are subject to
editing only for libelous material or statements.
Classifieds and News Deadlines
guidelines and deadlines.
The deadline for classified advertising and
news items for the November 2004 issue of the
Views is Thursday, Oct. 21, at 12 noon.
DISPLAY ADS: For display advertising
contact Mitze Kester at 360-510-6464. The
deadline for display advertising for the November 2004 issue of the Views is Thursday,
Oct. 21, at 5 p.m.
Classified ads cannot be published without
evidence of payment. See the Classified Ads
page for size and payment information. Submit
classified ads and payment at the Clubhouse
Front Desk, 2145 Lake Whatcom Blvd., Bellingham, WA.
Property owners are always encouraged to
submit news articles and items of interest, but
please submit materials in compliance with the
Editorial Guidelines
Any item submitted for use in the Views should be an original hard copy which is typewritten
or laser printer output on white paper, faxed, or emailed (svviews@ lyndentrib.com) and single
spaced. Photos are encouraged — either black-and-white or color prints — preferably with a
glossy finish. Photos can also be e-mailed as an attacthment with a medium-high resolution. Guest
columnists should include a head-and-shoulders photo, if possible. Photos will be returned only
upon request, and will be available at the front desk the week after publication. Editorial cartoons
are also accepted. Items not in compliance with the guidelines or submitted after the deadlines
cannot be guaranteed placement. Placement is based on space availability and timeliness.
Board of Directors: President Charles Rendina,; Vice-President, Scott Thiele; Treasurer,
Lance Hillengass; Secretary, Denise Spreitzer; Members, Bob Cooper, Leslie McRoberts,
Paul Nuchims, Jon Wolfe and Dan Marantette; N& E Representative: Gary Gallant. ACC
Representative: Ginny Hadd.
-- The Sudden Valley Views is the official publication of the Sudden Valley Community
Association. Published monthly, it has a circulation of 4,000.
Publisher: Sudden Valley Community Association
Editor: Lynden Tribune Print & Publishing Company
Managing Editor: Elisa Claassen, 360-354-4444, <[email protected]>
Advertising Manager: Mitze Kester, 360-510-6464 (cell)
The Sudden Valley Views (U.S.P.S. 079-490) is published monthly for a subscription
price of $12 per year by the Sudden Valley Community Association, 4 Clubhouse Circle
Bellingham, WA 98229. Periodicals postage paid at Bellingham, WA and at additional
mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Please send address changes (Form No. 3579) to Sudden Valley Community Association, 4 Clubhouse Circle, Bellingham, WA 98229.
The acceptance of an ad in the Sudden Valley Views does not constitute approval of
the Sudden Valley Community Association. Comments expressed in the Sudden Valley
Views are not necessarily the opinions of the SVCA or its officers or board of directors,
but are solely those of the writers. No non-advertising portion of the Sudden Valley
Views is subject to pre-publication review by anyone but the editor.
October 2004
Letters to the Editor
Golf club
changes?
NOTE: This was sent to the Golf Club
Membership.
Dear Members,
Enclosed in your AGM packages is
information concerning recommended
changes to the By-laws of our golf club.
Please study them carefully as they
change the nature of who is eligible
to vote and hold office in our club. I
believe the changes are long overdue
and present no great problems for the
golf club.
You will also find in your packages
a proxy form. If you are unable to attend the AGM, schedulded for Oct. 17,
2004 at 3:30 p.m.in the Adult Center,
please fill out the proxy form and pass
it on to whomever you wish to vote on
your behalf. At last years’ AGM we had
to struggle to find a quorum, so please
fill out a proxy form if you are unable to
attend in person.
On another matter that is of
great importance to the Golf Club,
the election of members of the Board
of the Sudden Valley Community Association, Mike Morrow has agreed
to chair and Ad Hoc Committee to
generate support for candidates to
the SVCA Board who are supportive
of the golf course. With departure of
Leslie McRoberts and Jon Wolfe, the
SVCA Board has no members who are
knowledgeable about the importance
Page 3
Sudden Valley Views
of the golf course to this community.
We need knowledgeable and supportive members so please assist Mike
and his committee in raising money to
support a proxy campaign!
It has been a pleasure to serve you
as president the last two years, and I
would like to take this opportunity to
thank all the members of the Golf Club
Board who served with me for their
dedication, hard-work, and unselfish
commitment to improving our golf
club. I would like to thank Greg Paul and
his staff for their extensive assistance
to our club and members.
It has been two years and I wish
the new Board best wishes and great
success in the future.
Sincerely,
Orest M. Kruhlak
President
Sudden Valley Golf Club
Community
has spirit
Dear Editor,
At times of dissention in the Valley
(board members pitted against each
other, golfers vs. non-golfers, disagreement over money use, “tree-huggers”
vs. “non-tree-huggers”), it’s nice to be
reminded of what a truly wonderful
community spirit and great people
make up this area. We were recently
reminded with something as simple,
and as complex, as a lost bird. Simple
because it’s only a bird; complex because she was our new “baby.”
Our six-month-old African Gray
parrot got loose at 9 a.m on Aug. 26
on North Point Drive. As we walked
the streets calling and whistling, we
created a lot of curiosity. Neighbors
whom we hadn’t even officially met in
the two years we’ve lived here came out
and expressed concern. Most joined in
the search, at the very least carefully
examining their own yards and bushes
for the terrified little “girl.”
Not one person complained
about our “trespassing” onto their
property, nosing into their bushes and
pushing aside flowers from their prized
plants. In fact, they encouraged us to
do what we needed to find Sigmund.
As word spread, even those who live
far from us and in other gates, let us
know of their concern by calling friends
who did live near us, telling them to
keep an eye out.
After 24 hours of searching and
one very miserable night, we received a
call from a woman whose son had seen
a “tropical” bird on Marina Court. She
didn’t even leave her name, but did
suggest we expand our search further
from North Point Drive. We did and believe it or not, one hour later we found
Sigmund unhappily resting about 30
feet up in a tree on the lake.
She’s now home, safe and happy.
I don’t think that the response
would have happened in the Seattle
area. I know it wouldn’t have happened in our hometown in Florida. I
don’t even think it would have happened in Bellingham proper. The only
place I know of where there can be
disagreement, downright anger at
one another, and yet a community
spirit and concern for one another is
Sudden Valley. We always knew it was
special, but now know how very special
its people are.
Thanks to everyone who took
the time to look, call, and even just
say “good luck.”
Gerald and Sheila King
31 North Point Dr.
Kudos to
Bob Barker
Dear Editor,
There are many talented and dedicated people who work for us, usually
without much fanfare. One is our director of recreation, Bob Barker.
After 27 years as a physical education teacher and coach in numerous
sports, our general manager, Steve
Grieser, recognized what a prize he
had and hired Barker when he applied
in June 2002.
Since then, many changes and
improvements have been made to
the recreation program. The Marina
has been cleaned up, the boat dry
parking nicely arranged and boat
stall numbers added, our beautiful
pool has been well maintained and
is now decked out in new furniture.
There have been numerous additions
in the Adult Center including a new
pool table and a ping pong table. The
first flea market this summer was a
big success and money- maker for the
recreation program.
Barker hired excellent life- guards
for the summer pool program, and a
former PAC 10 athlete did a bang-up
job in organizing and running the
swimming competition involving
children from around the Bellingham
area as well as from Sudden Valley.
Then there was the July 4 event and
last year’s Halloween affair in the
Dance Barn, both drawing enthusiastic
crowds. The Halloween event will be
repeated this month. Other improvements include: the Barn tennis wind
screens and improvements to the
horseshoe pits.
Bob would be the first to say he
didn’t do it all. It was an effort which
in large measure was carried out by
some wonderful volunteers. As an
example, the new Teen Council that
Bob enthusiastically endorsed was a
suggestion of a volunteer who largely
helped make it work. Without more
to say, we just wanted our members
to know that this is a department we
can be proud of -- run and operated
by Bob Barker.
Margaret Jewell
Div. 32/Lot 18
_________________
More letters on page 4
Page 4
History: Food enticed SV visitors
Continued from page 1
munity who went on to broker their
own offices: Mike Sofie of Aerie
Properties, Douglas Gray of Gray Real
Estate (which later became John L.
Scott), Dean Reece of RE Max, and
Terry Neske who is with Windermere
at Port Angeles.
Ufkes had a good job with Carnation Milk of Tacoma, supervising
retail and wholesale milk routes from
Tacoma to the ocean in the 1960s. With
30 employees under him, it seemed
like a good job but he needed to support his family of four children. When
a friend in real estate was doing well
financially, Ufkes decided to get his
own real estate license but was disappointed not to be hired by his friend’s
office as planned. He looked through
the newspaper, saw an ad for “closer”
-- someone to get people to sign on
the bottom line -- in the real estate
employment section.
He took it.
Ufkes started to work seven days
a week: five days with the milk routes
and two days with the real estate. He
would see his family in the evenings as
the kids were going to bed. Meanwhile,
Ken Sanwick had bought an old dairy
farm/ranch near Lake Whatcom from
the Corning family. The Cornings relocated to eastern Washington and developed Rim Rock. Glen Corning went
on to develop Ocean Shores along the
coast with celebrity help from actor Pat
Boone and Ginny Sims.
Developer Sanwick, of Sanwick
Corporation had Lake Arrowhead
development by Shelton, Wash., when
he teamed up with Harold Spankman
to put together Sudden Valley in 1967
-- recreational lots by a lake which had
floating logs drifting by, Ufkes said.
Eventually, Ufkes had to make a
decision and and give up the stability
of the milk job to go into real estate
with Sanwick full-time which offered
more financial potential. When he
had arrived at the newly-developing
Sudden Valley in April 1969, he saw
barns, cows and a few horses on a field
which was to become Hole 1 of the golf
course. Nearby, small planes sat on a
landing strip on the field. By May 1, he
had the responsibility of hiring his own
sales crew, and those he chose became
long-time leaders within the real estate
world of Whatcom County.
Since sales couldn’t be completed
until the plat approval came with the
HUD approval, the team took deposits
for the future transfers.
Letters were sent out announcing
October 2004
Sudden Valley Views
that camp kits would be given away to
those coming to view lots with the use
of a coupon attached. Word-of-mouth
also was a tool. The loggers, road pavers, surveyors and others who were
working on the plat were talking in the
town. Advertising dollars were spent in
both the U.S. and Canada geared with
a “snob appeal,” Ufkes said.
Those interested in having the
opportunity to tour needed to call or
write for a “guest pass” for entrance
through the 24-hour guarded gate,
now Security’s office at Gate 2. As
many as 100 cars would line up and
wait to be transported to the sales office which had space near the current
Rotunda.
To keep them not only looking,
but buying before they would return
home, food in the form of hot dogs
and hamburgers were cooked nearby
so they didn’t feel they had to return
to the city when they became hungry.
Tim Ufkes, one of Roger’s sons, was the
first to man the booth.
Once the prospective buyers
came, they received a hard sell along
with the camp kit, Ufkes said. The crew,
equipped with four-wheel drive jeeps
drove through the rough terrain with
only the natural beauty as the amenity
to offer. Morning Beach was one of the
top places on the drive.
Since it was swampy, a walk
ramp was built which would allow
two people at a time to pass over the
muddy, watery area. On occasion, the
narrow walk would pose a problem
and some of the prospects actually fell
off into the mud. Developer Sanwick
talked of building his own lavish dream
home in the vicinity for the view of The
Fir’s Revellie Island and the white sand
-- which Glen Corning had actually
relocated to the site from the Marina
to make it more saleable.
The sales staff kept the pressure
on. When the prospect would waver,
the sales manager would be called in to
help get the close. Division 1 was sold
in two weeks. Two to three divisions of
the later 39 total divisions were worked
on at a time. The developer from the
start did not have a total eagle’s eye
view of Sudden Valley.
The Adult Center, used for Board
meetings and other community
events, was the center of it all: sales
and construction staff shared space
and tempers were known to rise there,
Ufkes said.
Visitors were asked to come out
and “see the undevelopment.” They
were told that they would never see
houses on the neighboring hills. Sales
staff would point across Lake Whatcom
Boulevard to Gate 3 to the site of the
development , since nothing was developed on the north side of the road
until Division 7 was platted.
Ufkes himself walked across the
lots as they were platted and priced
them. The average price was $4,500
per lot in Division 1. A new concept was
tried of clustering lots, four to six, with
a parking area. The goal was to keep
down the prices and for small homes,
primarily second homes or cabins, to
be built. The minimum size was 800
square feet. The ACC (Architectural
Control Committee) was controlled
by the developer; there was no association.
Talk was in the air of having a teen
center, areas for children to play in the
barns, turning a barn into a theatre. The
same “theatre” barn would replace the
hot dog booth as a place to feed prospects breakfast, lunch and dinner with
the presentation. As Ufkes would talk, a
beautiful slide presentation was given.
A dream was sold, and a vision came
with it. Much was built on the future
dream since they had to wait until 1972
for the sewer to be put in place and the
initial homes to be built.
Part 2 - Next Issue: A tie-in to the
Cornings came as both the Valley and
Ocean Shores received funding from
Continental Mortgage Investment
(CMI). Eventually, both developments
faced financial hardships and CMI
became the owner. Management and
ownership changes.
Jail: Criminals know the limits
Continued from page 1
law enforcement because of“booking restrictions.”
• Bench warrants are court orders
instructing an officer take a suspect
into custody. Being forced to ignore
these orders, officers are in essence
in breach of their duty.
• Criminals know about “booking
restrictions” and taunt officers with
“there is nothing that you can do.”
• The booking restrictions are in
a large part, responsible for the
highly-publicized crime problems
on Railroad Avenue and in Paradise
Valley.
• Persons are moving into Bellingham and the county from other
areas because they know they will
not be held accountable by the
criminal justice system.
• Offenders not booked on criminal
charges are not fingerprinted and
are not checked through state and
national wanted person data banks.
How many wanted unbooked fugitives are evading capture?
• Defendents charged or sentenced
on felony and/or domestic violence
crimes are booked into the jail. As
each new defendent comes in the
front door, it is necessary to“early release” another out the back door.
• Every week, jail officials have been
forced to release 40-50 serious
offenders who have committed
acts of burglary, animal cruelty,
domestic violence, drug dealing,
and manufacturing methamphetamine.
• Offenders who are not held accountable for small crimes are
emboldened to commit new more
serious crimes.
You can help by informing
friends and neighbors, writing letters to the newspapers, volunteering to help, and by making other
contributions.
Please feel free to contact us
to answer any questions or to assist with getting Whatcom County
Proposition #1 passed this coming
November. Your continued interest
in making Whatcom County and
Sudden Valley a safer place by which
to live is appreciated.
John Geehan - 733-0383
Perry Sikes - 714-8676
John Geehan and Perry Sikes are
members of the Whatcom County
Sheriff’s Citizen Advisory Committee and are both residents of
Sudden Valley.
Letters to the Editor
Gate 13 not
so lucky
Dear Editor,
This is a resposne to the letter by
Robert I. Vance of 211 Polo Park Dr.
I moved to Sudden Valley earlier
this year. I also live on Polo Park Drive,
near Gate 13. While I agree with many
of his concerns and solutions, I do not
agree with his first “needed” solution
for Gate 9 (“Close the gate -- first choice.
Gate 13 is sufficient and safe.”).
Passing a problem onto another
gate is not a neighborly solution to a
problem. Gate 13 has blind corners
and causes cars to pull out quickly.
Diverting all traffic to Gate 13 would
increase traffic on Western and would
only anger more neighbors.
I am willing to work with Mr. Vance
to try to find an optimal solution.
Marie A. Wacht
153 Polo Park Dr.
October 2004
Sudden Valley Views
Page 5
Impact fee reconsidered and rescinded at meeting
by Elisa Claassen
Views editor
___________________
SVCA Board of Directors president
Charles Rendina opened the Monday,
Sept. 27 meeting with a remembrance
of Vincent D’Onofrio, a Water District
10 commissioner who passed away of
liver cancer on Aug. 31. Rendina noted
the contribution D’Onofrio made to
the community during his tenure in
the Valley.
Board member Paul Nuchims
abstained from both votes regarding
the reconsideration and the second to
rescind the impact fee. The remainder
of the Board members present voted
to reconsider and then to rescind the
$1,500 fee passed at the July 26 meeting. Monies collected will be returned.
Attorney Phil Sharpe advised the Board
that use fees can be passed without the
vote of the membership but that the
impact fee fell into another category.
The members said they would go back
to the Finance Committee to discuss
other financing options which would
abide by the by-laws.
Secretary Dee Spreitzer, who had
been an affirmative voting member
during the original July vote and had
given notice of reconsideration, stated
she had wanted the Board to re-address
the impact fee issues that were to go
into effect on Sept. 1 at the August
Board meeting. After discussion then,
the members decided that the Finance
Committee would further discuss the
fee and in the interim payments would
be collected and put into an escrow
account until another decision was
made.
Tom Solen was one member who
spoke in favor of the impact fee during
public comments, and thought $1,500
was too low. Solen, an Architectural
Control Committee member, said that
with construction activity on the
increase in the Valley, two full-time
ACC staff may not be enough. He said
approximately 185
plans have been submitted to the ACC
and are in construction or in the approval process. An impact fee, he said,
could fund staffing as well as postal
box needs.
Resident Chris Weitzel, who had
spoken with fervor against the impact
fee at the August meeting, thanked the
Board for the reconsideration. He said
that they should not underestimate the
SVCA members who are generally willing to finance much-needed projects
if they are educated about where the
funds will specifically be used.
DNR proposal regarding Department
of Corrections work crew
Two members of the Department
of Natural Resources (DNR) gave a
presentation to the Board regarding
utilizing Department of Corrections
-- trained work crew members in the
Valley to assist with the firewise program and FAWS (Forest and Wildlife
Stewardship plan), an internal forestry
management program. Marc Titus, fire
prevention coordinator, and Joe Paroe,
offender program coordinator, took
turns explaining how a team of 3540 offenders from minimum security
prisons have been specially trained
and used in similar settings for nearly
10,000 crew hours regionally in the
last year.
The Board and several members of
the crowd questioned Titus and Paroe
regarding the inmates. They said that
these offenders are nearing release,
have been carefully screened, have not
committed sexual offending crimes,
have no history of escape, and are not
assigned to work in the region of their
offense. The crew work in a ratio of one
unarmed supervisor to 10 inmates who
are wearing red hats and shirts which
are easily identifiable, Paroe said.
Much of the expense, Titus said,
could be covered by federal grants to
defray any cost to Sudden Valley. Future
projects could include work on Valleyarea trails, if the Board would wish to
consider that at a later time.
Titus said that fire problems could
be mitigated in the Valley in several
ways, including removing any potential
Bulletin: Theatre has auditions
Continued from page 1
Cost is $4 per individual or $10 per family. Proceeds will go to the Northwest
Burn Foundation.
In other district news: Kristen
Nelson started as the newest resident
firefighter at the Geneva Station on
Aug. 15. Nelson has been a volunteer
for two years with FD10, is an EMT,
and has completed her firefighter
training. She is a graduate of Western
Washington University. Scott Salmon
has resigned from District 2 to live in
Camas, Wash.
Barn Theatre offers 10 performances of musical ‘Camelot’
from Oct. 8 - 24
Sudden Valley’s Barn Theatre is offering 10 performances of the musical,
“Camelot” by Lerner and Loewe opening at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 7 and
running three weekends from Oct. 8
through 24 at the Dance Barn. Curtain is
7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and
2:00 p.m. on Sunday matinees. Tickets
are available at the door one-half hour
prior to curtain or at Piper Music and
Village Books in Bellingham. Prices are
$10, $8, or $6.
Auditions for ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ on Oct. 9
The Barn Theatre will hold auditions for “The Best Christmas Ever”
by Barbara Robinson on Saturday,
Oct. 9 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First
Presbyterian Church, 1031 N. Garden
St., Bellingham. Roles are available
for children five and older, teens and
adults. Eight Monday rehearsals are
planned from Oct. 11 through Nov.
29 at 6: 30 p.m. Five performances
are scheduled for Dec. 3, 4 and 5. For
more information, call 360-756-9916,
360-738-0666 or 360-671-5970.
Editor’s Note: Committees, clubs
or other organizations that wish to be
included in this listing, need to send a
press release to <svviews@lyndentrib.
com> by Thursday, Oct. 21 for the
November issue.
fuels, light thinning of forest areas, creating defensible space around homes
which would involve the Valley’s FAWS
program aimed at good forestry stewardship and tree health, he said.
Titus said that his work crews
could specifically prune limbs and
remove brush.
A letter of recommendation for the
inmate program was presented from
the Chuckanut Ridge Property Owners
Association. It explained that its community is comprised of eight residences
on 21 properties on the southern end of
Chuckanut Mountain and that the crew
did extensive cutting and removal of
ladder fuels, limbed trees, and chipped
all of the wood to create a shaded fire
break along the common Larrabee
State Park-CRPOA border.
Roger H. Mitchell, Ph.D. and
president of the CRPOA, addressed
concerns of having inmates working in
a residential community: “Initially, we
had to resolve that in our minds, too.
..the crew members work incredibly
hard. We have not had one adverse
incident of any kind. I have heard only
high praise for the work crew from
CRPOA property owners...”
Later in the meeting, under new
business, Scott Thiele brought a motion
that the Board approve the use of the
Department of Corrections Offender
Crews as administered through the
DNR. These work crews will be used
to further the goals of DNR’s Firewise
Fuel Reduction program and Sudden
Valley’s FAWS.
After Rendina requested Board
and public comments, the motion
passed. GM Grieser agreed to write an
article for the Views explaining the Firewise program and the specific work the
inmates will be doing in the Valley. The
Board expressed concern that both the
safety of the community be addressed
from the vantage of potential fires and
from utilizing an inmate population on
the work crews.
Treasurer’s Motions passed:
• Authorization to purchase 10 Yamaha
Golf Carts in an amount not to exceed
$30,000 from the Major Repair and
Replacement Reserves (These carts
will replace existing carts which will be
traded in, Treasurer Lance Hillengass
said. This item was not in the 2004
Capital Plan. Since the extension of
the putting green did not take place
in 2004, funds were available. )
• The General Manager was authorized
by the Board to enter into a contract
with Reserve Consultants, in an
amount not to exceed $5,000 for the
preparation of a five-year Capital Asset
Reserve Study. (The funding will come
from general operating funds but all
contracts are approved by the Board.
This was not in the Capital Plan but is
recommended by Best Management
Practices, Hillengass said.)
In other matters:
• Meeting packets will be available at
the Pro Shop after 5 p.m. on the Friday
preceding the meeting. Several Board
members asked that packets also be
available at the Security office while the
bridge work is being completed.
• No representative of the Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District was
available to report.
• Secretary Dee Spreitzer announced
the final Planning Committee meeting
for Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. at the
Adult Center.
• The Board unanimously voted to
approve the use of the Sudden Valley
name and SVCA facilities for a Sudden
Valley-located troop for official Boy
Scouts of America-sanctioned events,
following a motion by member Dan Marantette. This use will be administered
by SVCA staff and sponsored by the
Lake Whatcom Kiwanis chapter.
• The Communications Committee
had considered an informal Town Hall
for residents to have another chance
to meet the SVCA Board of Director’s
candidates, Rendina said. Several were
unable to attend the Views’ Candidate
Forum on Sept. 12.
• N & E Chair Gary Gallant said he had
24 volunteers to assist the Nominations
and Elections Committee with the
mailing to the membership. He had
received two applications to serve on
the N & E: Lydia Sherwood and Naomi
Dunus. Five members will be needed
and he hoped more applications would
be forthcoming.
• Board members Dan Marantette and
Paul Nuchims have attended several
of the WTA meetings regarding bus
service to the Valley. The WTA will
have another board meeting in midOctober, they said. Marantette said a smaller bus has been discussed as
the most recent option which would
travel on an hourly-basis along Lake
Whatcom Boulevard to Gate 13, “flex” for 10 minutes to pick up passengers
before returning along Lake Louise
Road to Electric to meet larger buses
to make downtown connections for those wishing to go to Bellis Fair Mall
or the colleges. He said he understood
this would be implemented within the
year. The current bus schedule will
continue until then.
• Board member Leslie McRoberts,
whose term ends in November, said
she would like to see the new Board, to
be elected November 2004, prioritize
having a diverse group of community
members meet to assess growth-related issues and concerns, so that they
could identify problems and present
possible solutions to the Board.
GM Report:
• The Teen Center is nearing completion and has had many volunteers
painting this week. “It will be a real
asset to the community,” GM Steve
Grieser said. He publicly thanked Dee
Spreitzer, Dan Marantette, Scott Thiele
and Kalene Drummond as a few of
those volunteers. He said that since the
Recreation Department has operated
below its budget, he hoped to increase
the Recreation Center hours by the
fourth quarter of this year.
• At last month’s meeting, WD10 Commissioner Tom Hadd had commented
on the need for additional testing of
water quality in the streams above the
Valley. Grieser contacted county staff
to discuss placement for monitoring
devices on streams.
• Due to the questions regarding the
impact fee, Grieser had proceeded
slowly on the postal box update, he
said. He said he would seek the approval from the U.S.P.S. regarding
selected sites for additional boxes.
• The long-awaited FAWS program
should begin soon within Division
16.
• The Department of Natural Resources
has decided to film a Firewise program
video in the Valley to advise other
Northwest communities of fire safety
practices.
• The Building Industry of America (BIA)
office in Bellingham has approved the
plans for a “green” or environmentallyfriendly home in the Valley using the
latest technologies. A BIA member has
sold their lot to the BIA for a reasonable sum to encourage the project,
he said.
• Project 300 funds are being put to
use from the $300,000 allocated to
the GM several months ago, including
hiring seasonal employees, adding
lights to the Dance Barn, signage at
gates, adding bridge guardrails, trail
work, and cleaning several building’s
carpets. Grieser is still seeking community input for the use of remaining
funds. During residents’ comments,
Penny Carter said she would like to
see major funding allocated for an
overhaul of the Clubhouse as a larger
capital investment. Other funding, she
suggested, could be utilized for a nice
Sudden Valley sign at Gate 2 where
many people enter the Valley.
Bob Cooper and Ginny Hadd were
excused by Rendina. The meeting
started just after 7 p.m. following a
closed session to meet with its SVCA
attorney, Phil Sharpe, and adjourned
at 8:35 p.m., ahead of the 8:50 p.m.
scheduled ending. The next scheduled
meeting is Monday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.
Note: The Board meeting story in
the Views is written by the Views editor and is not considered the “official”
record which is maintained by the SVCA
Board secretary.
Page 6
October 2004
Sudden Valley Views
Board reviews inmate work force
by Steve Grieser
General
Manager
___________________
One of the main goals of the Sudden Valley Forest and Wildlife Stewardship (FAWS) plan is fire protection.
This is very important because the
Department of Natural Resources has
identified Sudden Valley as having a
high risk for wildfire.
In an attempt to address this issue,
Sudden Valley has sponsored a Firewise
workshop, conducted a free chipping
weekend for property owners, instituted
tighter open burning regulations and
provided educational material to the
community. While these efforts have
been helpful, they do not directly reduce fire risk.
Fuel reduction in the form of removing wood debris, limbing trees and
brush removal is the most direct way to
reduce the risk from wildfire. However
this is labor-intensive work and it can
be very expensive, most likely beyond
this financial reach of the Association
on any significant scale.
The Department of Corrections
(DOC) has inmate work crews which
are supervised by the Department
of Natural Resources (DNR) that are
trained to do this exact type of work
in conjunction with their normal fire
fighting work. DNR currently has grant
funding available that would pay 100
percent of the cost of using the DOC
work crews.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing inmate crews
from the Department of Corrections for
work within Sudden Valley? Is it safe?
What are the risks? How will Sudden Valley property owners feel about inmates
working within the community? These
are just some of the questions that the
Board of Directors and the Department
of Natural Resources have been discussing over the last few months.
Inmates in this program are initially
screened by the DOC. Only inmates
with less than two years remaining to
serve on their sentence are used on the
work crews. This helps ensure a positive
attitude by the participants. No inmate
convicted of a violent crime, sexual offense crime or with any history of escape
attempts are eligible for the work crew
program. While in the field, inmates are
identified by a specific work uniform,
are supervised with one supervisor for
every 10 inmates and there are hourly
head counts of the inmates. Local law
enforcement is notified every time the
work crews are in the field.
While this program has been running successfully for many years without
any significant incidents, we felt it was
important to get the perspective from
another association which had used the
inmate work crews. For example, the
Chuckanut Ridge Property Owners Association has used the DOC inmate work
crews several times over the last two
years to perform the same kind of fire
prevention work we need to have done.
The president of this association spoke
very favorably about their experience
and highly recommended the program.
They plan to continue using the inmate
work crews in the future.
After carefully examination, the
Board of Directors decided on Sept.
27 to approve the use of the DOC
work crews in Sudden Valley. It was
felt that using these work crews will
go a long way toward furthering our
goal of reducing the risk of wildfire in
the Valley. They will initially be used
on a limited basis in conjunction with
the FAWS work that recently began in
Division 16. Notice of when the work
crews will be working in the Valley will
be posted on SV Channel 10 and on
the SV website. We feel very confident
that this arrangement will provide a
safe and effective way to meet our fire
protection needs.
Valley chosen as filming location
by Steve Grieser
General
Manager
___________________
In the coming weeks, Sudden
Valley will be the backdrop for a video
campaign designed to inform people
living in the Northwest on how to create
defensible space in community green
spaces, using easy, affordable landscaping techniques.
Increased numbers of wildfires in
recent years, along with a considerable
number of people moving into wildland
urban interface communities, have increased the need to reduce fire hazards
in these areas. This video demonstrates a
landscaped fuel break using native plants
and vegetation while maintaining the
natural, forested look that is so desirable
in Sudden Valley.
Well known garden expert Ciscoe
Morris will narrate the video being filmed
in one of Division 16’s greenbelts.
For urban-interface communities
such as Sudden Valley, forested greenbelts not only enhance the beauty of the
community and protect existing wildlife
habitat, they are the first line of defense
in a wildfire event. This project will demonstrate such fuel breaks do not have to
look like a clear-cut.
This video project provides an opportunity to showcase Sudden Valley
and the extraordinary scenery the area
has to offer. It will highlight the beauty of
the surrounding forest and provide great
exposure to the lifestyle and culture of
the Northwest.
This video continues a series of
events on fire prevention in Sudden Valley.
The first event was a fire prevention forum
Wright at SV
Garden Club
by Trish Robertson
SV Garden Club
___________________
The Sudden Valley Garden Club
is looking forward to having Rick
Wright as its guest speaker on Monday, Oct. 25.
Wright has been the owner of
Sunbreak Nursery for nearly 26 years
and will be speaking on ground covers.
If you have a bare area in your yard or a
difficult area to grow plants in, or you
want to reduce the amount of work you
have to do in your yard, you will want
to hear what Wright has to say.
The club meets in the Rotunda at
9:30 a.m. for coffee or tea. The business
meeting starts at 10:00 a.m. followed
by our guest speaker. You do not have
to be a member of the club to attend.
For further information, call Trish Robertson at 360-752-1634.
in April. In May, there was a communitywide, clean-up weekend, which allowed
residents to dispose of vegetation cleared
from properties to help create defensible space around individual homes.
In conjunction with the Washington
Department of Natural Resources (DNR),
Whatcom County Fire Marshal’s Office,
Whatcom County Fire District No. 2 the
community partners in Sudden Valley
have conducted several activities to provide guidance for homeowners in how to
prepare for a wildfire.
Continued community and individual participation is essential for successful
fire prevention.
For additional information, please
contact Marc Titus at the DNR’s Northwest
Region office, 360-856-3500 or Steve
Grieser at SVCA Administration office, 360734-6430, or visit <www.firewise.org>.
Views/JOE REID
Sonja Wingard showed how farm animals can serve as natural
therapy at a Sept. 10 dicussion.
Caring for animals
I received this from community
member Joe Reid, who moved to the
Valley from Alexandria, Virginia:
At the Sept. 10 Adult Center Coffee
House discussion, coordinated by Paul
Nuchims, Sudden Valley residents were
treated to an informational presentation
by Sonia Wingard, director of Animals
for Natural Therapy (ANT) at 721 Van
Wyck Road. Begun six years ago, ANT is
a non-profit organization that provides
programs for preschool through high
school youth, youth in substance abuse
recovery, seniors, and families living in
shelters.
ANT’s staff of more than 50 volunteers, including several Valley teenagers,
help care for the Van Wyck Road farm
and its horses, dogs, goats, rabbits,
chickens, and a llama. Wingard brings
30 years experience working with youth
as a nurse, mother, 4-H leader, nursing
instructor, and mentor.
During her presentation, Wingard
explained how the farm’s animals teach
essential life skills, especially those of
respect, communication, and trust:
“Animals as Natural Therapy teaches
each being’s need to feel physically
and emotionally safe. From this starting point, participants learn to identify
what they need to know and how to ask
for this from each other and from the
animals. Respect goes both ways.”
Anyone interested in volunteering
with ANT can contact Sonja Wingard at
360-671-3509.
October 2004
Sudden Valley Views
Blood -- everyone needs it
by Marian Yunghans
Blood Drive Chairman
___________________
When you give blood, you give
another birthday, another anniversary,
another talk with a friend and another
laugh, another hug, another chance.
Accolades to Sudden Valley Day
Spa, Tino’s, Valley Market, and Bob’s
Burger and Brew for their support in
our Sudden Valley blood drives. Double
accolades to the following volunteer
blood donors who gave during our
August blood drive: Scott and Suzanne
Thiel, Gene and Audrey Hendren, Harry
and Mary Pardue, Eric and Paty Weeth,
Susan Fulmer, Charles McGroddy, Bud
Fasset, Kyle Koenig, Sharon Herrin,
Angus McKinnon, Dale Rings, Robert
Neff, Kenneth White, Michael Morrow,
Catherine Brennan, Warren Wilson,
Jeremy Dierst, James Atwood, Corinn
McCulloch, Kenneth Obeso, Stanford
Goto, Rosalind Anderson, Ann Renee
Mann, Robert Anderson, Jon Picolet,
Pall Grondal, Jeremy Hendren and
Perry Adkison.
Beginning January 2005, blood
drives will be held on the last Monday
of every other month, offering donors
Views/MARIAN YUNGHANS
Beginning January 2005, blood drives will be held on the last
Monday of every other month at the SV Fire Station.
the 56 days needed between donations. All blood drives will be held at
the Sudden Valley Fire Station. The next
scheduled Sudden Valley Blood Drive
will be held on Monday, Dec. 13.
There is no substitute for blood.
If people lose blood from surgery or
injury, or if their bodies can’t produce
enough, there is only one place to turn
-- volunteer blood donors. For more
information, contact The Puget Sound
Blood Center at 1-800-DONATE-1 ext.
2543.
Living with deer as neighbors is a
pleasure for Sudden Valley residents
by Communications
Committee
___________________
One challenge of living in a wildlife refuge is how to coexist with the
wildlife. Many of us are gardeners. The
deer commonly move into our gardens
to forage. They love roses and many
other flowering plants. They eat the
foliage and fruits of most food grown
for the table. What can be done?
Deer fencing is imperfect for a
number of reasons: on flat ground, a
mesh fence of 7-to-8 feet tall in recommended. On slopes, 10-to-11 feet is
needed to prevent deer jumping from
the higher ground. Some gardeners
use two parallel fences 4-to-5 feet high
separated by about 5 feet. All of these
options run contrary to current ACC
fencing guidelines (copies available
at the office).
Another option is to fence individual plants. While this approach
works, it is usually less than desirable
from an aesthetic point of view.
Commercial nurseries are using a
new gadget that combines a sprinkler
head and a motion detector. When it
senses motion, the sprinkler activates,
swivels and sends a directed stream
of water at the intruder. These are
endorsed by and available at Bakerview Nursery, 945 E. Bakerview Rd.,
Bellingham.
Browsing deer don’t dine indiscriminately. Some plants are particular
favorites; others are left more or less
alone. They are known to develop
feeding patterns. These patterns vary
by region, season and deer population.
Here in the valley, deer regularly visit
appetizing gardens and most often in
the evening.
While deer will eat just about
anything, they do tend to avoid certain
plants. It is often simpler to construct
a landscape from plants that are less
favored then to try to protect choicer
varieties. Lists of plants that deer tend
to avoid are available from local nurseries and in publications such as Sunset
Magazine’s “Western Garden Book.”
The chart on page 10 is an abbreviated list of some trees and shrubs that
deer tend to avoid.
Page 7
SVCA docs face changes
by Scott Thiele
Document
Review Committee
___________________
The Document Review Committee, which was formed in 1997,
presented recommendation changes
for the SVCA Documents to the Board
of Directors. Their unanimous approval was received at the May 24,
2004 Board of Directors meeting and
now the recommended changes are
being presented for the required two
thirds (2/3) of the voting membership
approval at the 2004 Annual Meeting
on Nov. 6, 2004.
The last membership approval
of the SVCA Documents was at the
2000 Annual Meeting and the documents were reprinted in early 2001.
Since that time, the Document Review
Committee has been hard at work in
meetings open to the membership
reviewing the Articles of Incorporation;
Restrictive Covenants and Bylaws to
bring them current to Federal Law;
Revised Code of Washington (RCW);
correcting typos; making the Finance
Committee a permanent committee;
and adding an index and appendix for
referencing.
The index and appendix will be
supplements to the documents and are
not part of the official documents. In
addition, the ACC Guidelines and the
Rules and Regulations are currently
being reviewed by the ACC Committee and staff.
The Document Review Committee made a presentation of the
Board-approved recommendations
at the Town Hall Meeting held on July
18, 2004, in the Barns. Copies of the
recommendations can be picked up
at the Sudden Valley Administration
Office and will be mailed as part of the
upcoming ballot for the Annual Meeting. The Document Review Committee
and the Board of Directors recommend
approval of these changes.
The following is a summary of
the 11 changes as presented at the
Town Hall:
1. The Sudden Valley Community
Club, Inc., was renamed Sudden Valley
Community Association, November
20, 1975.
2. Note that the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 overrides
our restrictive covenants on outside
antennas.
3. Correct typos.
4. Correct typos.
5. Changes Board composition from
not allowing spouses to be members
of the Board at the same time, to
not allowing persons from the same
household or persons who jointly own
property to be members of the Board
at the same time.
6. Removed the example of exceptional
circumstances since there are too many
examples.
7. Changed the open meetings definition since it violated state law. The new
text is word for word the same as the
state law. State law does not permit
closed sessions for contracts. The state
law still permits member participation
if authorized by the Board.
8. Changed action by the Board without a formal meeting to add that action
will be made after a good faith effort
of notification has been made.
9. Limits the Board on transferring
its powers to those powers that have
a clear and specific definition of accountability, authority, performance,
expectations, and the means by which
performance will be measured.
10. Allows the Nomination and Elections Committee (N & E) to solicit for
applicants to serve on the Architectural Control Committee (ACC) and
the Finance Committee. Allows the
Nomination and Elections Committee
to supervise all elections in Article III.
11. Makes the Finance Committee a
permanent committee with its members approved by the Board each year.
Sets the members as a minimum of
two selected from the membership,
plus a minimum of one Board member, in addition to the Treasurer. The
total committee will be five to seven
members.
Page 8
Sudden Valley Views
October 2004
Meet the candidates for the SV Board of Directors
J.D. Sinclair
672 Sudden Valley
Bellingham, WA 98229
Employer: United Communications, Inc., telecommunications
(design, support and sales)
Wife: Kelly Sinclair
Children: Ryley and Mac Sinclair
SV Property owned: Div. 9/Lot
120
Community Involvement: Kiwanis
and Burlington Chamber of Commerce
SV Involvement: Teen Council
advisor, Revenue Team, Parks and
Recreation Committee
Education: not available
Biography: From application: J.D.
has more than 25 years experience in
technology, including software development, network design, telephony,
software and hardware integration.
J.D. Sinclair
He also has more than 20 years in
management and is an expert in
organizational analysis.
I have been Sudden Valley
resident for the past nine years and a
Bellingham resident for 22 years. I am
married to Kelly with two sons, ages
10 and eight. I have managed telecommunications and organizational
analysis for Western Washington University. I am activie in Kiwanis, Teen
Council and have provided volunteer
services on other community activities. I believe that long-term planning
for the community requires removing
your personal agenda and acting in
the best interest of the community.
Essay:Long-term planning for the
community requires removing personal agendas and acting in the
best interest of the community, and
enforcing all of CC&R’s requirements.
Being connected in our community
by participating in a
number of
local volunteer activities allows
integration.
I would like
to see quarterly Town
Hall meetings. I would
like to see
enhanced
recreational
facilities and
time available. I would like to see more
attention and money go towards the
Marina. I want to see the aesthetics
of the Valley improved!
I am a champion of alternatives.
Many times, organizations live by
established practices because “it’s
always been done this way.”We can do
better and be more fiscally efficient by
looking into alternatives in purchasing, implementing and maintaining a
variety of resources.
Plan:
• Stewardship - long-term planning
for the community requires removing
a personal agenda and acting in the
best interest for the community.
• Integration - being connected in
our community by participating in a
number of local volunteer activities
(member of Sudden Valley Kiwanisfor
children, advisor to the Sudden Valley
Teen Center).
• Representation - it is absolutely
paramount that Sudden Valley be
represented by thoughtful, open and
creative people with Sudden Valley’s
best interest at heart.
• Technology - Over 25 years in
technology to see Sudden Valley
move appropriately into the future
(software development, network design, telephony, software/hardware
integration).
• Family - Father and husband, with
focus on providing access to Sudden
Valley recreation and education for
children of all ages.
• Longevity - Sudden Valley resident
for nine years and Bellingham resident for 22 years.
I am very much in favor of
ongoing efforts by the communtiy
planning groups and the efforts by
all volunteers who have shown a
keen interest and phenomenal work
ethic.
Roger Bull
Roger Bull
1941 Lake Whatcom Blvd
PMB 219
Bellingham, WA 98229
Employer: Self-employed as
consultant, advice on trade and
economic development with
particular reference to the U.S./
Canada border. Retired after 40
years as a diplomat.
Wife: Therese Rickman-Bull
SV Property Owned: Div. 23, Lots
4&5
Education: not available
Sudden Valley activities: served
as SVCA director from November
2000 to November 2003
Community involvement: not
available
Biography: Bull lists: 40 years as a dip-
lomat, specializing in multi-national
negotiation, trade and economic
development and foreign aid with
significant experience in managing
large numbers of people and complex programs, consistantly meeting
the criteria of my professional and
political masters, fits me for the position. In addition, I acquired a profound
knowledge of the details of SVCA
Editor’s note:
Six candidates have announced their candidacies for
the SVCA Board of Directors.
Four of the candidates were
profiled in the September SV
Views. Two are profiled in this
issue. Sudden Valley residents
will vote on these candidates
at the annual General Meeting of members on Saturday,
Nov. 6.
circumstances and problems as a director from 2000-2003. During this time,
we reestablished the solvency of the
SVCA, passing the first dues increase
in over a decade. We also brought
density reduction close to completion
at 1,400 units, negotiated a downzone
and cleaned up the zoning of the Valley, and working with the County, won
the designation of Sudden Valley as a
Provisional Urban Growth Area.
Essay: I am a candidate for the SVCA
Board of Directors because I care passionately for Sudden Valley and believe
I can contribute to making it an even
better place for all of us to live.
When we arrived in 1991, my wife
Therese and I understood that we were
not merely buying a home, we were
joining a community, with shared
responsibilities to respect and protect
our own and our neighbors’ lifestyles
and property, as well as the assets we
all hold in common.
Believing that my experience in diplomacy and administration had given
me useful skills in planning, problemsolving, negotiation, conflict resolution,
communication and management, I
ran for and was elected to a three-year
term on the
SVCA Board
of Directors
in November 2000.
A s a
member of
the Board,
I wor ked
harmoniously with
my fellow
directors
to solve
the Assoc i a t i o n ’s
financial
problems, eventually demonstrating
to members that a dues increase was
fair and to everyone’s benefit. The
Board managed significant improvements in the environment of the Valley
and initiated the long-range planning
process. We also made density reduction
a successful priority, negotiating with
Water District 10, Whatcom County,
and eventually, the City of Bellingham, to share the cost of acquiring
and retiring vacant lots at the annual
county tax sale.
Believing that the often critical
tone of articles and editorials about
Sudden Valley in The Bellingham Herald might change if the newspaper
knew us better, we invited the editor
and his colleagues to visit and to see
us as we are.
Personally, I took a lead in negotiating with the County the downzoning of property in the Valley and the
redesignation of our community as a
Provisional Urban Growth Area (PUGA).
It was necessary to tidy up the existing zoning, which differed in several
divisions from what had actually been
built on the lots. This also gave us an
opportunity to establish the future
zoning of Sudden Valley and prevent
any additional platting of lots while
preserving our options for future
projects: such as an elementary school,
retirement home, redevelopment of
the recreational corridor, etc.
The County Council not only accepted our planned zoning, but made
it a condition for its December 2001
approval of the PUGA for five years.
Unfortunately, a series of legal
challenges to the County Council’s de-
cision have kept the PUGA in question
over the past three years. A favorable
outcome to this litigation is anticipated
soon. This would allow me, should I be
elected, to join the Board in exploring
with the membership of the SVCA the
pros and cons of Sudden Valley becoming a city and whether or not they
would support such an initiative.
Many of you are friends who
already know me well enough to
know whether I deserve your support. I assure you and every property
owner, developed and undeveloped, in
Sudden Valley that I will represent you
fairly and equitably. I am not a single
constituency candidate. Nor will I be
a single constituency director. My one
allegiance will be to our community.
October 2004
Page 9
Sudden Valley Views
Fourth quarter dues allocation changed
by Lance Hillengass
SV Treasurer
___________________
The month of August continued
to show very positive trends in all
aspects of the financial position of the
Valley. Net income was $28,000 versus
a budgeted loss of $70,000 for the
month. On a year-to-date basis, earnings are $1,061,000 versus a budgeted
profit of $239,000. The year-to-date
earnings are approximately $265,000
over actual estimates, as invoices of
only $35,000 relative to the $300,000
allocated for deferred maintenance
have been paid to date.
As noted in your fourth quarter
dues statement, the Board of Directors
has changed the allocation of dues for
the fourth quarter only. This will result
in earnings from Operations being
reduced by approximately $100,000,
while the Reserve for Major Repairs and
Replacements will increase by a like
amount. This accounting change has
no impact on members’ equity, which
continues to exceed $8 million.
I hope you have noticed the
gradual improvements which are being made to the buildings and grounds
as a result of utilizing the $300,000 in
funds which have been set aside for deferred maintenance. To date, $138,000
of these funds have not been allocated;
therefore, if you notice any areas which
you believe require enhanced maintenance, please notify Steve Grieser, our
general manager.
A number of members have inquired about the amount of net funds
the golfing activities have contributed
to the Association. As of the end of
August, the amount is approximately
$60,000. This amount will most likely
decrease as we head into the fall and
winter months. It should also be noted.
that while depreciation is included in
this number, no charge has been made
for the actual real estate of the Association that the golf course utilizes, which
is consistent with the methodology
used by all activities and facilities of
the Association.
The number of dues payers
continues to exceed the budget, with
2,970 current and 286 delinquent, or a
delinquency factor of approximately
8 percent which is one percent below
2003’s delinquencies. More stringent
collection approaches will be applied
on the delinquent accounts beginning
in the fourth quarter.
Five-year fixed asset and road
studies are currently underway and
are anticipated to be completed during the fourth quarter. Due to the
increase in large vehicles, utilizing
Sudden Valley roads, load limits have
been requested for the first time. These
limits will be utilized in determining
the gross weight of vehicles which
may be used on our road system. The
results of these studies will assist us in
determining the appropriate amount
of reserves which are required for these
two major areas.
_________________
See the Balance Sheet on 10
Proper preparation is essential in planning for emergencies
by Lisa Brown
American Red Cross
___________________
A massive flood hit your town last
night. The flood waters knocked out
the power and likely contaminated the
city’s water supply. Remembering your
Family Disaster Plan, you gather your
family, find your Disaster Supplies Kit
and listen to your battery-powered
radio to find out what to do next. Word comes that the worst of
the flooding is over, but the storm is
keeping rescue crews away from your
neighborhood. You decide your family
will be safer waiting out the rest of the
storm at home. Planning for the worst,
you start inventorying your supplies of
food and water. There are many sources of water
and food around most homes that
can supplement the emergency supplies you have stored in your Disaster
Supplies Kit. Water Sources Hidden Water Sources: Should you
be forced to shut off the water valve
to your home, you can often use the
water left in your pipes by turning the
lowest faucet completely on. _________________
See Red Cross on 10
Page 10
Plants deer avoid
Sudden Valley Views
October 2004
Continued from page 7
Red Cross: Food preparation will help in emergency
Continued from page 9
Long-awaited Teen Center opens
by Bob Barker
Recreation
Coordinator
___________________
A newly-constructed section of
the Recreation Center is almost in
place after hours of volunteer help
and community donations and will
be the new long-awaited Teen Center.
The grand opening and newly-revised
Recreation Center hours are being
worked on now and will be available
the when the revision is complete on
Channel 10 and our website <www.
sudden valley.com>.
CASTLE SHADOWBANE - EXPANDED
HAUNTED HOUSE EXPANDS HOURS
The “story” is that the castle was
built in 1765 by a Romanian emigrant,
Count Alexandru Shadowbane. It is
said to be dark and dreary with many
rooms and catacombs dug far beneath
the castle floors. It most likely will be,
“haunted” for its visitors during Halloween!
Castle Shadowbane will be open
for viewing on three days this year:
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Oct.
28, 29 and 30 from 6-10 p.m. with
a special showing for kids 11 and
under on Saturday, Oct. 30 from 1-3
p.m. The evening shows will allow
children 12 years and older to attend
without parents. Karlene Drummond is
organizing nearly 30 volunteers in the
expanded, 5,000-square foot space in
the Recreation Center.
The Castle is being heavily promoted in Whatcom and Skagit counties
and may be the premier haunted house
for the region.
A Halloween Kiddy Carnival will
be held for all the children of the Valley on Saturday, Oct. 30 from 6-10 p.m.
Admission is a package of individually
wrapped candies or $2.00 per child.
Last year’s event was well attended by
children and their families.
_________________
See REC, page 11
You can also use the water in your
water heater and toilet reserve (not
the bowl). Purifying Water: If you have water
that is not pure, or you are unsure
about its purity, you can purify it using
boiling, disinfection, and distillation
techniques. Boiling water for three
to five minutes is the safest and often
easiest way of treating water. Regular
household liquid bleach with 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite can be used
to disinfect water by killing bacteria. Use 16 drops of bleach to a gallon
of water and wait 30 minutes. If the
water has a slight smell of bleach it is
safe to drink. Through distillation, you
can remove bacteria and heavy metals
that the other two methods cannot
remove. Tie a cup inside the top to a
pot of water (so when the top is closed
the cup stands upright), and boil the
water for 20min. The water in the cup
is distilled and safe to drink. Food Sources
Refrigerator and Freezer: When the
power goes out, start eating the food
in the refrigerator and then the freezer. Juice and milk can also supplement
your reserve water supplies. Limit
the number of times you open the
refrigerator or freezer to preserve the
cold air for as long as possible.
Cupboards: After you’ve eaten the
refrigerator and freezer food supplies,
prioritize the consumption of perish-
able dry foods and, lastly, any canned
foods. Items with the shortest shelf life,
such as bread, should be consumed
first. If you are unable to cook because
of power outages, take care to eat only
foods that do not require cooking to
make them safe for consumption.
After you have exhausted all these
supplies, then start rationing and using
your Disaster Supplies Kit stores. For more information on disaster
preparedness or supporting the Mt.
Baker Chapter of the American Red
Cross, call 360-733-3290.
October 2004
Page 11
Sudden Valley Views
Women’s club in new season
by Lee Langdon
Women’s Club
___________________
Views/ELISA CLAASSEN
Craig Ostrom, left, and J.D. Sinclair, right, donned the festive summer attire to accompany the
annual Kiwanis Barbecue in August.
Barbecue fundraiser was a
major Kiwanis success
by Roger Waldman
Lake
Whatcom Kiwanis
___________________
Lake Whatcom Kiwanis would
like to express its sincere thanks to
the Sudden Valley community for
supporting the Third annual Salmon
Barbeque fundraiser held on Saturday,
Aug. 14. Net proceeds from this event
totaled $1,752.00, approximately $400
more than last year. The club’s board
of directors decided to donate $500 of
the proceeds to the Sudden Valley Teen
Council project and $300 to the City of
Bellingham Opportunity Council in aid
of school supplies for needy children in
the community. Both of these projects
qualify as worthy causes, in accordance
with the club’s mandate.
As well, we are indebted to the
many local businesses and individuals
who provided door prizes and donated
supplies for the event. Our thanks go
to Doug and Sue Murphy for donating
two nights at their condo in Whistler,
Lesli Brewster for two tickets to opening night at the Whatcom Symphony,
artist Betty Barnhart for her framed
watercolor painting, artist Laurie Potter for two prints of her work, Tino’s
Restaurant for a $25 gift certificate,
the Sudden Valley Day Spa for a $60
gift certificate, the Spreitzers and the
Chambers for four rounds of golf at
the Sudden Valley golf course and
Landlubber Mercantile for a $20 gift
certificate.
We would also like to express our
thanks to the Sudden Valley Market
for donating the needed 20 bags of
The Sudden Valley Women’s Club
opened its new season of innovative
activities with a tea at Bob’s Burger and
Brew on Wednesday, Sept. 15. Those
attending visited with interest group
chairs, chatting and deciding which
groups sponsored by the Women’s
Club to join. Old friends renewed
acquaintances while new members
were introduced to women with similar
interests.
Brenda Sample, Steering Committe chair, introduced the new
steering committee to the more than
50 women who attended. She also
introduced more than eight new members to the club. Sample announced
that two groups will receive donations
from The Women’s Club: Blue Skies for
Children in December and the SVWC
Scholarship for a female Sudden Valley resident to be awarded in May.
A beautiful quilt, hand-made by Kaz
Barker, was displayed and received
much admiration. Raffle tickets will be
sold at each meeting, with a winner being selected at the May meeting. Initial
tickets were only $1 but are likely to go
up in price during the year.
Steve Grieser, general manager,
was available for questions from the
floor. Additional comments should
be sent to him by e-mail: <[email protected]>.
The tea was a departure from the
usual luncheon and interest fair for the
first meeting. It was deemed a successful change, based on comments
as “What a great idea,”“I really enjoyed
this,” and “Thank you for making me
feel so welcome.” Barbara Swiackey
reminded us all that the Club’s goal has
always been to have fun. This event sets
the tone for the whole year.
Next month’s meeting will return
to the more usual format, in that there
will be a luncheon and a speaker taking place on the regularly-scheduled
second Wednesday of the month. Plan
to arrive at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday,
Oct. 13 for registration at Bob’s. Lunch
will begin at noon, followed by a
presentation by Corie Hodge from
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Services. Since October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, Hodge
will address the question, “What can
you do if you suspect domestic violence at a neighbor’s or friend’s home?”
The Steering Committee selected this
speaker as a way of helping women
learn of services that are available,
if needed. Wendy Hewitt, executive
director of Blue Skies for Children,
will introduce her agency to the club.
Finally, Johnny Lee Whiteside of Service
Alternatives will describe some of the
services her agency provides to those
who become foster parents.
The calling committee will call
all paid members. You can also place
a reservation by calling Yvonne Bryant
at 360-676-4544 by Monday, Oct. 11.
Remember that if a reservation is not
cancelled, and you do not attend, you
will still be responsible for the $13.50
cost of the luncheon.
ice for that warm evening, and to
J.D. Sinclair and Craig Ostrom who
provided the musical entertainment
through the night.
On Sept. 19, the club held its
annual Installation dinner which officially appointed the club’s new slate
of officers for the coming year, starting
Oct. 1. Outgoing President Clayton
“Bud” Fassett officially welcomed the
new officers: Doug Murphy, president;
Bill Audley, vice president; Marie Marantette, secretary, and Dee Spreitzer,
president-elect.
Rec: Frozen turkey up for grabs in
November pool shoot
Continued from page 10
OCTOBER
The Recreation Department is
sponsoring a Pool tournament on
Friday, Oct. 15 with a start time of 7:15
p.m. sharp. Pre-register for this one or
the November one to qualify for the
December championship tournament
to be held on Friday and Saturday,
Dec. 17 and 18 at the Adult Center and
Recreation Center pool tables.
NOVEMBER
• TEEN DANCE IN THE TEEN CENTER
{date TBA}
• BY POPULAR DEMAND THE GARDEN
MARIONETTES RETURN!
Saturday, Nov. 20-The Garden Marionettes will return to Sudden Valley
with a show at 6:30 p.m. and a second
show at 8 p.m., by demand. Tickets will
be sold in advance at the Recreation
Center’s front desk or by phone with
credit card (AM Exp, MasterCard, or
Visa only). Tickets are limited to 100
per show.
Parents must accompany children
under 15. Cost is $5.00 per adult and
$3.00 per child. Concessions for the
show will be available. Two $10.00
Regal Cinema tickets will be given
as door prize drawings at the conclusion of each show. Doors will close at
the conclusion of the first show for
30 minutes to prepare for the second
showing.
Proceeds will benefit recreational
programs.
• POOL TOURNAMENT TURKEY
SHOOT
The winner of this tournament on Friday, Nov. 19 will receive, as a bonus, a
certificate good for one frozen thanksgiving Turkey! Happy thanksgiving!
Views/WOMEN’S CLUB
A hand-made quilt was donated by Kaz Barker to the SV Women’s
Club in order to be raffled.
Page 12
Sudden Valley Views
October 2004
WTA asked for service options at Valley forum
by Elisa Claassen
Views editor
___________________
At a Tuesday, Sept. 7 Town Hall-style
meeting, the Whatcom Transportation
Authority (WTA) presented five initial
options to the audience at the Adult
Center. By the end of the several-hour
long presentation with maps, several
additional options were presented by
those in the audience.
Lake Whatcom Kiwanis members
decided to attend the special meeting
rather than their own weekly meeting
at the Clubhouse.
The WTA options all originated
from Geneva, contained a stop at the
mini mall and returned to Geneva on
Lake Whatcom Boulevard with various looping patterns within the Gate
3 area.
While some WTA meetings have
drawn only a handful of interested
people, Rick Nicholson of the WTA
said, 45 came to a Spring 2000 open
house and more than 50 came to this
meeting. Nicholson is a transportation
service specialist.
Prior to the meeting, Nicholson
said, the WTA sent staff to drive through
the Valley to suggest possible routes
for coverage. A resident asked him if
he had seen any geography like that
in the Valley before. He answered, that
he had not.
“I’ve never seen anything like Sudden Valley,” he said. Since local streets
are narrow, do not connect with each
other, it is problematic for his agency,
he said.
The Town Hall meeting was suggested when a Herald article appeared
several months ago stating the WTA
had suggested eliminating bus service
to the Valley, based on “frequency” or
low-usuage patterns. After a sizeable
response from residents, the WTA
proposed the meeting to find types of
appropriate coverage that residents
would want and use.
Until 1996, the WTA sent a fixed
route bus to the Valley on an hourly
basis and noticed good ridership at the
beginning and end of the day with commuters, but sparsely used in the middle.
The route went into Gate 3, out Gate 13
and back around until 2000.
In 1999, the WTA determined that
with ridership down, options had to
come to the table. It seemed the Valley
riders wanted a more direct route at
that time and not a long loop through
the community. Nicholson said he
acknowledged that it was a trade-off
for those, including some who found
walking difficult, not to have the bus
stopping close to their homes. The bus
kept to the perimeter, with the exception of specialized transportation for
disabled users.
Transit systems throughout the
state were hard-hit by state-wide Initiative 695, a Tim Eyeman-sponsored
measure, and cuts were made until a
local sales tax measure was passed in
March 2002 by voters to give 3/10th
of 1 percent boost for transportation.
In that time period, the WTA delayed
its strategic planning process until the
last year.
The entire county-wide transit service is being examined, and not just in
the Valley.The WTA Board, consisting of
elected officials, and staff have compiled
demographic information, looked at
traffic flow changes and areas of population. Debate has continued between
plans structured for “frequency” and
“coverage,” based on greatest need due
to heavier ridership and making sure that
each neighborhood or community has
access to transit in some manner.
Sudden Valley falls under coverage, not frequency, plans. Under frequency, it would have no bus service.
Under coverage, it would have hourly
service. A hybrid plan was sought to
meet in the middle. This would mean
a smaller bus which could still have
room to carry two bicycles
Presently, the WTA provides
regular service to the Valley seven
times each weekday and four times
on Saturday. There is no service on
Sunday. Proposed service routes must
not only attempt to meet the needs of
the residents, but also aim to be costeffective, Nicholson said.
The crowd told Nicholson they
were concerned about waiting time
at layover points, and being able to
connect with other buses at the downtown station to get to class or to work.
Several wanted a focus on early and late
service, both for commuting to work
and for those who wish to go to movies
or night-time entertainment which all
start and end well after 6 p.m.
Nicholson responded that every
effort was being made to connect to
the other buses, but that night-time
routes were not as likely and that WTA
staff needed to be able to see larger
gains than losses.
Dan Pike, a Valley resident and the
transportation director for the Skagit
Council of Governments in Mount
Vernon, questioned Nicholson about
the use of new technologies to go
after a “demand” response, which can
pinpoint more accurately riders’needs.
The Automatic Vehicle Locating (AVL)
system operates in“real time”within 50
feet where the bus is located, he said.
Both transit staff and riders can access
its coordinates from the internet and
reduce potential wait time.
The Dial-A-Ride program was
discussed. It is presently used in Blaine
and requires the rider to call WTA a day
ahead. Flex routes are used in the outer
county areas to Maple Falls, Sumas,
Nooksack, Lynden and Everson. These
routes have regular buses which have
a few minutes of additional time built
into the schedule for stops closer to
rider’s homes. This service also requires
a prior phone call. The Para-Transit small
buses operate under the American
Disabilities Act to provide transportation within three-quarters of a mile
from fixed routes when in service.
Nicholson added that an additional
three-quarter mile is added to that in
Whatcom County.
Many county commuters have
used a ride share or van pool option for
cheaper commuting. None are used in
the Valley at present.
As people started to leave the
meeting closer to 8 p.m., Nicholson
asked for a show of hands for the presented options. Many present favored
Option 2, which went out on Lake
Whatcom Boulevard, stopped at the
gates, “flexed” into areas outside the
loop, turned north onto Lake Louise
Road and stopped at all gates enroute
to Gate 13, then looped through the
area on Western Lane, Polo Park Drive,
Sudden Valley Drive, Lost Fork Lane,
Sudden Valley Drive, Beaver Ridge
Drive, back to Polo Park and Western
Lane. It allowed for a layover at the
mini-mall.
Other recommendations from
the crowd included a requested stop
at the Stimpson Natural Reserve with
walking trails on Lake Louise Road and
a small bus used for quick pick-ups on
a inner-Valley loop between the Recreation Center, mini mall, Clubhouse,
and residences.
Board member Jon Wolfe told
Nicholson that frequency will improve
when a good service approach is presented,“If the bus service meets needs,
then they will come.”
Editor’s note: Rick Nicholson sent
the following information to the Views
after the open house: The WTA board
approved release of the most recent
version of the service plan for a public
hearing on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m.
at the Whatcom County Council Chambers at the Courthouse, 311 Grand Ave.
The proposal for Sudden Valley will be
as follows:
• The Sudden Valley bus (Route 42)
would have a once an hour connection with Route 11 on Electric Avenue
near Lakeway Drive (not in Geneva as
originally envisioned).
• The bus would go out Lake Whatcom
Boulevard to Lake Louise Road, turn
right on Lake Louise and go to Gate 13
before turning around and returning to
Electric Avenue by the same routing.
The bus would stop at all regular WTA
bus stops. Ten minutes of every hour
would be set aside for the bus to “flex”
to pick up both para-transit riders and
general public riders who call ahead (on
a first come first-served basis).
The exact schedule has not been
set, but it seems likely that Route 42
would leave Electric Avenue around
:22 after the hour,and return to Electric around :17 after the following
hour. Riders who transfer to Route 11
would arrive downtown at :35 after
the hour.
It is likely that the first bus would
leave Sudden Valley for Bellingham
around 7:00 am on weekdays, and the
last bus would leave Bellingham for
Sudden Valley at 6:10 pm on weekdays.
The Saturday span of service is likely
to be 9:00 a.m. - 5:10 p.m. No Sunday
service is planned.
October 2004
Page 13
Sudden Valley Views
Three candidates speak at annual Views Forum
by Elisa Claassen
Views editor
___________________
The Views editor conducted the
2004 Candidate Forum on Sunday,
Sept. 12 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Dance
Barn. SVCA Board of Director’s Candidates Arthur “Mac” Carter , Margaret
Thoreson and John Glenn were in
attendance. Due to work and prior
commitments, other Board candidates
J.D. Sinclair, Roger Bull, and Warren
Johnson were not able to attend.
Leslie McRoberts read a statement on behalf of Roger Bull who
had served on the Board from 2000 to
2003 . Kelly Sinclair brought handouts
on behalf of her husband, J.D. Sinclair.
The editor read a statement from Warren Johnson.
The Views editor presented a
plaque at the beginning of the forum
to Marian D’Onofrio in memory of her
late husband Vincent D’Onofrio, who
died on Aug. 31, as a tribute to his
involvement in the community. It will
be presented annually in recognition of
residents “doing the right thing.”
Candidates were asked to briefly
introduce themselves, state which gate
they lived in, and why they chose to
live in Sudden Valley. The editor preceded to ask several questions to be
answered by each candidate, before
opening the floor to questions from
the audience.
Background
Carter-Moved to Gate 2 from San Francisco one year ago after searching for
several years. They wanted to be near
salt and fresh water for recreational
pursuits. He and his wife, Penny, are
getting involved in the community
after extensive traveling for work in a
past job. He was asked to run but hadn’t
felt prepared initially. He has found his
background with the Finance Committee and the Long-Range Planning
project to be helpful.
Thoreson - Moved this April from
Louisiana “via” Alaska to Gate 3. She
enjoys Sudden Valley’s beauty which
is similar to Alaska. She is employed
by Visiting Angels which helps clients
in their homes. She lost her mother to
Leukemia. Her background taught her
hospitality and honesty.
Glenn - He lives in Gate 5 logging
road and has several lots. He has
consolidated two and is considered
joining it to the third lot. He loves
being near trees and vegetation. The
11-year teacher claims he is “fairly
direct and assertive at times.” He is
concerned with growth and quality of
life as he sees more houses being built
closer together and more vegetation
removed citing the “undevelopment”
claims of the early developers for the
Valley. Although “visions” are good for
the future, he wants to look back at the
original intent of the founders. He said
he does not own any lots to sell and
has no “ulterior motives.” He believes
that internal communication needs to
be enhanced such as making residents
more aware of the rules and bylaws.
Concept of Board/GM’s roles
Carter- Has gone to Board meetings
and other meetings as well. He envisions the GM’s role as a partnership
with the Board, yet the GM has a lot of
responsibility and pressure between
the community and the Board. The
Board should trust the GM’s wisdom
and experience and build on two-way
dialogues. Being a Board member
involves listening and being able to
work with people you “know and
don’t know.”
Thoresen - Being on a board involves
communicating and listening to
members and to work as a team and
to work with the general manager as
part of the team. It takes time and
commitment.
Glenn - He thinks he is a good listener
and communicator. He sees changes
demographics in the Valley of young
families and retirees which gives a
dichotomy. He said this won’t always
lead to agreement. The manager takes
direction from the Board.
Priorities in Valley
Glenn - Finances, safety and transportation and making provision for
educational facilities within the Valley. Recreation is also a priority but is
bottom on the list, in terms of what
involves members in the most ways.
Thoreson - She has issues of concern,
including how the Valley’s finances are
being used and where the funding is
going. Many in the community live on
limited means. Community issues are
also important within the Valley: EMS,
WTA, and making an effective disaster
preparedness plan. Gate 3, where she
lives, needs more forms of egress or
exits during disasters. Channel 10 cannot be used to convey information over
weekends and another communication form needs to be in place.
Carter - The long-range plan is not
complete and needs to be completed.
He is concerned that needed changes
may not be made in the Valley from
the plan. The plan should be “held
as a work in progress.” He agrees that
much needs to be comunicated to
the membership since there has been
much misinformation.
Living in the watershed
Glenn - Creeks, wildlife and bird sanctuaries need to be watched and to be
encouraged. He doesn’t believe in
killing geese but knows they can cause
problems. He would prefer no growth
but knows it is inevitable and would
prefer no boats on the lake.
Thoreson - She is not well acquainted
on the watershed. She thinks growth
should be watched. The area’s natural
attributes prompted her to move
here.
Carter - “Vince (D’Onofrio) had it right,”
he said. “Sudden Valley is the most
beautiful place on the plant.” He said
it was an enormous responsibility to
take care of the watershed although
there is an enormous amount of rules
and regulations in place. The SV staff,
GM, ACC work well with the city, county
and water district regarding this.
On working together as a team
Carter - Has worked with differing
Views/ELISA CLAASSEN
Arthur “Mac” Carter, Margaret Thoreson and John Glenn answered question posed by the Views
Editor and residents at the annual candidate forum on Sept. 12 at the Dance Barn.
points of view and attempted to
bring out the best. To do this requires
respect and trust of others. Although
individual’s politics may differ, you can
still learn something.
Thoreson - Everyone’s issues are important. You need to listen and respect
each other and work as a team.
Glenn - Listening. Hopefully the good
of the membership will be the goal
of decisions.
During questions and answers,
one member expressed concern about
fire safety in a community with so many
wooded areas. Another was concerned
with the county collecting property
tax funds and little being redistributed
back to the Valley. One noticed that due
to growth the wildlife population has
been diminishing and suggested the
Board recommend teaming with Fish
and Wildlife to track the species.
Owen Ward asked if any of the
candidates would be interested in running for N & E, if they were not elected.
None said they were.
Editor’s note: The forum was
taped. For those wishing to see
more complete responses from the
candidates, request a tape from the
SV offices.
Candidate Forum addition
This was read in Johnson’s absence at
the Sunday, Sept. 12 Candidate Forum
at the Dance Barn.
I am very sorry that I am not able
to be here today to meet you and to
answer any questions that you might
have of me. I plan to try to arrange a
“Meet Warren Johnson” gathering at
the Adult Center in early October which
will give everyone an opportunity to
meet me and ask questions.
I hope everyone has read my es-
say that was printed in the September
issue of the Sudden Valley Views. If you
haven’t, I would like to encourage you
to do so. A current item of concern not
addressed in that essay is the recently
passed Impact Fee. I understand that
the Finance Committee has upheld the
Board vote and that it will not be
_________________
See Forum, page 14
Page 14
Investing for a
good cause
by Charles Rendina
Views contributor
___________________
Investing is all about making
money – or is it?
When considering your investment options, the first thing that comes
to mind is usually how much of a return
will you receive on your original assets.
But did you ever think that you could
use your investment dollars to truly
make a difference?
Whether you’re a friend of the
environment, or have deep religious
convictions, you can actually match
your social and ethical concerns with
investments that are in harmony
with your personal beliefs. When
you decide to put your money into
investments that correspond with your
own set of values,
you are engaging
in what’s known as
socially responsible
investing. It may
sound a little odd at
first, but this practice
is a legitimate—and
widely accepted—
investment strategy.
Most socially
responsible investors look for companies that reflect their
beliefs by sharing
certain characteristics, whether it’s strong community
involvement, extraordinary environmental practices, safe products or
even impressive employee relations.
Searching out these companies may
seem like an overwhelming task,
considering the vast number of firms
in business today. However, you can
always enlist the help of a qualified
financial consultant, and you may even
feel a sense of personal satisfaction
once you discover those companies
you deem worthy of your investment
money.
In addition to specific stocks, you
can also select from a wide variety of
mutual funds that fall under the category of socially responsible. Many
mutual funds—including stock funds,
bond funds and even international
funds*—select securities based not
only on sound fundamentals, but also
according to the social values of the
fund and its shareholders. These give
you even more investment options to
tie in with your own principles.
Another opportunity for socially
responsible investing lies in private
money management. Financial service firms typically offer the option of
having some of your investment funds
supervised by portfolio managers outside the firm, giving you access to many
different managers. These managers
can be selected on the basis of very
specific guidelines to meet individual
client needs. You can usually place
both social restrictions and company
restrictions in your individual portfolio.
Finding a private money manager
whose investment criteria match your
social concerns is another opportunity
for you to really feel a sense of personal
responsibility with your money.
By now you may be thinking this
sounds like a good idea. Sure, you’d like
to know that your investment decisions
are actually making a difference. But
at the same time, you may be wondering how these types of investments
compare with
others that don’t
take into consideration a social or
ethical component. To give you
an idea, take the
example of the
Domini 400 SRI,
a market index
of 400 securities
screened according to social and
environmental
criteria.
Measuring
this socially responsible index
against the bellwether S&P 500 index,
you’ll find that returns for the Domini
exceeded those for the S&P for five
straight years, beginning in 1992.
While both indexes have suffered annual losses each year since 1997, the
Domini still came out ahead of the S&P
in every year except 1999. Keep in mind
past performance is no guarantee of
future results, and you cannot invest
directly in an index.
If you think socially responsible investing might be the right path for you,
get in touch with a financial consultant
to discuss your options.
Note: *Investments outside the
United States—especially those in
developing countries—involve special
risks such as currency fluctuations,
political instability, and periods of
liquidity.
This article was provided by
Charles Rendina, LL.B. Financial Consultant with A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.,
Member SIPC.
Forum: Statement read
Continued from page 13
reconsidered by the Board but will
stand as passed.
In my opinion, this is wrong.
Based on my reading of the Sudden
Valley Community Association Bylaws,
Sections 19 & 20, I believe that this is
an Assessment and, therefore, requires
the approval by a vote of not less than
sixty percent of the members present
in person or by proxy at an annual or
special meeting. If this were a “fee,”
it would only benefit those paying
the Fee according to the Sudden Valley Bylaws Section 20. This “fee” will
benefit all Sudden Valley Community
Association members and not just
those paying it.
If elected, I will fight to have this
“Fee” repealed and either call it an Assessment which will require a vote or
work with the Finance Committee to
develop another plan to raise required
capital.
I want to thank each and every one
of you here today for your interest and
participation in this Candidates Forum.
I ask for your vote and I thank you in
advance for your support.
Editor’s Note: Warren Johnson will
Sudden Valley Views
not be holding his own “Meet Warren
Johnson”gathering due to a joint“Meet
the Candidates” gathering sponsored
by the Communications Committee
of the SVCA Board of Directors to
take place Friday, Oct. 15 from 4:00 to
6:00 p.m. at the Rotunda. The impact
fee referenced was rescinded at the
Monday, Sept. 27 meeting of the SVCA
Board of Directors.
October 2004
Sudden Valley Board Members
President:
Charles Rendina
1164 Sudden Valley
Bellingham, WA 98229
360-676-4257
Vice President:
Scott Thiele
700 Sudden Valley
Bellingham, WA 98229
360-734-0554
Treasurer:
Lance Hillengass
472 Sudden Valley
Bellingham, WA 98229
360-527-2929
Secretary:
Denise ‘Dee’ Spreitzer
1534 Sudden Valley
Bellingham, WA 98229
360-647-7131
• Paul Nuchims
210 Sudden Valley
Bellingham, WA 98229
360-671-8088
Members:
• Bob Cooper
629 Sudden Valley
Belllingham, WA 98229
360-738-0954
• Jon Wolfe
518 Sudden Valley
Bellingham, WA 98229
360-676-4424
• Dan Marantette
1423 Sudden Valley
Bellingham, WA 98229
360-734-8379
N& E Representative:
Gary Gallant
1253 Sudden Valley
Bellingham, WA 98229
360-647-5050
• Leslie McRoberts
553 Sudden Valley
Bellingham, WA 98229
360-752-0605
ACC Representative:
Ginny Hadd
1364 Sudden Valley
Bellingham, WA 98229
360-738-4849
Two businesses open doors in SV
Brandon Nelson Launches Home
Inspection Business
Epitomizing a new generation of
home inspectors, Brandon Nelson has
combined technical expertise with the
ability to clearly communicate findings, leading to the launch of Brandon
Nelson Home Inspection LLC.
After four years as a carpenter and
six years as a general contractor, Nelson completed Bellingham Technical
College’s 160-hour Residential Home
Inspection program. He also became
licensed as a structural pest inspector
by the Washington State Department
of Agriculture before opening for business Spring 2004.
Nelson primarily conducts inspections for clients who have reached
tentative agreements to purchase
homes. Inspections cover a house’s
structural, electrical, plumbing, heating, and cooling systems, including
checks for wood-destroying organisms, mold, and defective siding.
By having a professional inspect
their prospective new home, Nelson
says buyers benefit in one of three
ways: 1) They learn of problems that
can be resolved by the seller or may
require a lowering of the price; 2)
They discover major flaws that spark
reconsideration of the purchase; or 3)
They receive the peace of mind that
comes from knowing they’re moving
into a safe and sound residence.
For more information about home
inspections, call Nelson at 360-3190696 or visit his Web site at <www.
KnowYourHouse.net>.
Veteran publicity moves base to
Sudden Valley
Veteran publicist Lydia Sherwood,
whose clients include legendary record
producer Arif Mardin and top U.S. indie
distributor Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA), has moved her company,
Presto Public Relations, Inc., to Sudden
Valley from Tucson, Arizona.
During her 20-year career, Sherwood has worked with an eclectic array
of artists, including David Cassidy, seminal folk singer Arlo Guthrie, Christian
rock group Jars Of Clay, pop sensations
New Kids On The Block, cult favorite
Mojo Nixon, soul singer Roberta Flack
and folk rock giants the Band. She has
also worked for a variety of top labels,
including Atlantic and Elektra.
Her current client list includes
acclaimed producer Arif Mardin, who
helmed career-defining hits for Aretha
Franklin, the Rascals, Dusty Springfield,
the Bee Gees and most recently Norah
Jones. On the business side, Sherwood
handles press relations for the Time
Warner company Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA), one of the top U.S.
distributors of independent music, and
its president Andy Allen.
“Over the years, I’ve been very
fortunate to work with a lot of great
artists and executives,”says Sherwood,
who cut her professional teeth in New
York City, working for public relations
companies Susan Blond and Shock Ink,
before opening Presto, which she has
run for the last 10 years.
October 2004
Page 15
Sudden Valley Views
TIPS
Security summary
Make sure the
physical number to your
house is visible
for security
and/or emergency vehicles.
August 2004
Agency Assist.........................................................71
Alarms........................................................................ 3
Animal Calls............................................................51
Arrests........................................................................ 6
Assaults..................................................................... 1
Burglaries................................................................. 1
House/Welfare Checks........................................ 87
Citations...................................................................30
Citizen Assist.........................................................314
Domestic Violence................................................ 9
Classifieds
SERVICES
EXPRESS WOOD CHIPPING
Residential tree thinning, shaping and
pruning. Complete clean-up, chipping and hauling. No job too small.
Licensed/Insured. Free estimates. Call
Bruce at 360-441-1838.
BOOKKEEPING SERVICES
Quickbooks certified. Over 20 years
experience. Will set up Quickbooks
and/or maintain financial records. Call
Michelle at 360-820-0933.
COMPUTER SOLUTIONS FOR YOU
Are you tired of your old cheap computer constantly giving you problems
and wasting your time? If so, All-Ways
Reliable Computers has a solution for
you. We specialize in the repair and
design of mid-to-upper-end computers. We use the latest technologies
and high-quality parts to keep you
trouble- free for years to come. In
addition to design and repair, we provide many other services, so see our
website for details. <All-WaysReliable.
com.> Always reliable in every way.
Call Justin or Joe at 360-224-0695 or
360-223-8810.
HOME CHORES FOR HIRE
Housekeeper, Gardener for hire.
Windows, Laundry, Weeding, Personal Shopper. I do it all! Call Jan at
360-738-3446.
TOM CARILLO’S PAINTING AND WALL
COVERING
Winter repairs and handyman work.
Painting and wallcovering. Call 360756-1461.
PET SERVICES
PETSITTING
Sudden Valley Pet Sitters. Going on
vacation or at work all day? I can
provide all the care your companion
will need in your absence, including
feeding, walking, and all-around TLC.
Licensed, bonded and insured. Please
call for free consultation at 360-7561487. Marlinda Beduhn.
ADVENTURE DOG PET SERVICES
Your dog needs exercise! Call Heather
at 360-756-1174 to start your dog’s
trail-running adventures today! See
<www.adventure-dog.com>.
DOG TRAINING
Does your dog pay attention to you?
Come when you call? Walk without
pulling? Learn how to train your
dog in a positive, fun way. Private
and group obedience classes in
Bellingham and Sudden Valley area.
Call Linda at Ridgeview Dog Training,
360-595-2131.
PETSITTING
I know how important it is to be sure
your pets are safe and well cared for
while you are away. I have been successfully providing loving, mature,
responsible home pet care in the
Valley for years. Let me feed, walk,
and play with your companions
while you are away. I have 25 years
animal care experience, including
pets with special medical needs. Call
Linda Larkin at Ridgeview Petsitting,
360-595-2131. Free consultation visit.
Excellent SV references.
COZY CORNER UNIT CONDO CENTRE
CONDOS
Nicely-maintained studio condo for
rent, nestled next to Sudden Valley
Golf Course. Fully furnished and
equipped. Corner unit with new
windows and carpet. Cozy, quiet
and comfortable! Available October
through May. Will consider shorter
rental time. Call for details: 360-7390525 or 907-780-5163 evenings. $500
per month, plus utilities.
RENTALS
CONDO RENTAL WITH LAKE LOUISE
VIEW
3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bathroom condo
in Lakeridge Condos. Faetures large
master bedroom, one-car garage,
private back deck with views to Lake
Louise. Recently updated with new
appliances, including washer/dryer,
new flooring, Wedgewood gas fireplace, kitchen cabinets and counters.
Extra storage on site. Swimming pool
and tennis courts. Quiet setting. $875
per month. Call Tyrel at Landmark Real
Estate at 360-738-1022 ext. 104 or email <[email protected]>.
NEED A TEMPORARY HOME?
Are you looking for a temporary home
in the next few months due to the
construction of your new home? Or
are you relocating to the area and
need a temporary place to stay? We
have a fully furnished and stocked
studio condo overlooking the 18th
green in Sudden Valley available from
October through April. Conveniently
located in Gate 2, this comfortable
home away from home may be just
the place you’re looking for. $550 per
month includes all utilities and cable.
Call 360-647-8102 or <mkharlan@
msn.com>
FABULOUS LAKE, MOUNTAIN AND
GOLF COURSE VIEW
Ridgefield Condo. Updated and
immaculate. Ground floor condo. 2
bedroom and 1 bathroom. Fireplace,
Evictions..................................................................15
Fire & Aid.................................................................18
ID Checks.................................................................80
Noise Complaints.................................................57
Prowlers.................................................................... 5
Shots Fired............................................................... 6
Thefts......................................................................... 0
Vandalism................................................................. 6
Traffic Stops............................................................41
Miles Driven......................................................... 5,997
CLASSIFIED RATES: $5.50 per month for up to 25 words. $6.50 for 26-40 words, $7.50 for
41-60 words. 61+ words, $1.00 for each additional 20 words. Payment MUST be made prior
to publication. DEADLINE for classified advertising for the November 2004 issue is Thursday,
Oct. 21, at 12 noon. Make checks payable to “Sudden Valley Views.” Please send ads and payment to: Sudden Valley Views, Attn: Classified Ads, 4 Clubhouse Circle., Bellingham, WA 98226,
or deliver to the Sudden Valley Clubhouse front desk. For questions about classified ads, contact
the front desk at 734-6430.
washer/dryer, dishwasher, newer
carpets and flooring. 2 private deck/
patios. Carport. 2 storage units. Pool.
Water/sewer paid. NS. NP. $825. Call
360-756-8898.
FOR RENT
One to three months, $850 per month.
Ranch House Condo. Furnished,
2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Please
phone 604-274-3940 or 360-7520618.
DELUXE LAKERIDGE CONDO
Deluxe Lakeridge Condo for rent- 2
bedroom, 1 1/2 bathroom with full
view of golf course and Lake Whatcom. Fully furnished, $850/month and
security deposit. 3-month minimum.
Call Larry at 360-714-1565 or see
<www.suddenvalleyrentals.com>.
Studio Condo overlooking the 18th
green and fairways! Convenient Gate
2 location near almost everything;
nicely furnished, fully equipped with
great local scenic views from the deck.
N/S. $50/night, 2 night minimum;
$225/week; double occupancy. Call
for longer stays/holiday rates. Call
360-647-8102 or <mkharlan@msn.
com>.
VACATION RENTAL
Deluxe 3 BR/2 BA condo on 7th tee,
lake view. Closest unit to main pool,
recreational facilities and Adult
Center. Beautifully furnished, fully
equipped. NS/NP. $100/day, $650
week. Long-term rates available. Call
604-988-1959.
CASH BUYER FOR SUDDEN VALLEY
LOTS
Private party will consider lots in any
division that are buildable and are a
good value. Principles only please.
Call 206-383-0340.
FAMILY OR FRIENDS VISITING?
Family or friends visiting? Winter
rental? Accommodation needed?
Three BR/2 BA condo available. Call
604-272-1885.
LOT FOR SALE
Lot for sale in sunny area, private
neighborhood. Next to two green
belts. Call 360-733-3733.
DELUXE CONDO
Deluxe 2 BR Condo on 6th Green,
Lake view. Close to all amenities.
Fully equipped. 2 TV’s, NS, NP. $90/
day, $575/week. 2-Day minimum. Call
604-984-0675.
CONDO FOR RENT
3 Bedroom Condo near everything.
Fully equipped. Deck with Lake
view. N/S. N/P. $100/Day, $625/Week.
2-Day minimum. Longer periods/
non-season rates available. Please
call 360-738-3435.
VACATION RENTAL
WANTED
TRAVEL DEALS
Best Hawaii, Mexico, Disney and Vegas
Air/Hotel packages. Call Ken your Sudden Valley agent at 360-738-9241.
FRESH FROZEN SOCKEYE FILLETSSMOKED SOCKEYE
All vacuum-packed to preserve freshness. Call 360-510-7600 or e-mail at
<[email protected]>
for pick-up in SV and Bellingham.
TRAVEL
TIRED OF RAIN -- TRY TUCSON SUN!
Decorator’s Executive home, 2,300
square-foot 3 BD/2 BA beautifully
furnished, perfect for “2” couples,
walled in yard with fountain, living
room, Az. room, walk to club house
or Green Valley Mall, 15 minutes to
Tucson . 134 golf courses! You will
love it ! Available 10/04-6/05. $80/
day (2 couples/$40 each) 1 month
minimum. Call Brenda at 360-5959158 or <[email protected]>.
BETTER THAN A HOTEL ROOM AND
CHEAPER TOO!
Fully furnished and equipped studio
condo that sleeps four right on the
18th fairway. Enjoy all the Sudden Valley amenities right at your doorstep.
$50/night. $275/week. Two-night
minimum. Longer terms available.
Call 360-303-9083 for reservations.
FREE USED PANELING
Wanted. Free used old paneling, old
wooden screen doors, bi-fold doors,
or small-paned windows. Call 360676-0243.
RIDGEFIELD VIEW CONDO FOR SALE
FSBO. 2 BD/1 BA, upgraded, with
wonderful lake and golf course view.
$142,000. Call 360-756-8601 or 206909-3436.
REAL ESTATE
MEXICO TIME SHARE
5-star Mayan Palace Resorts. 2 weeks 1
Bed + 1 Floating. Paid $16,000 - make
offer (360) 715-1538.
GUITAR TEACHER WANTED
Guitar teacher for 9-year-old beginner. Female preferred, young or old.
Sudden Valley. Call 360-733-3279.
ALDER FIREWOOD
Alder firewood delivered to Sudden Valley. Your choice of we cut to
16” pieces or you cut from 10-foot
lengths of “slabwood” (the first cuts
made turning logs to lumber). Green
and semi-seasoned 2-cord loads,
16” cut=$200, plus tax. 2-cord loads,
slab lengths=$150, plus tax. Skagit
Hardwoods. Call 360-856-3520 or
360-856-4811 between 7 a.m. to 9
p.m. Weekend delivery also available
for an added small charge.
FOR SALE