MAPLE FALLS — A new effort by residents of the Mount Baker Foothills aims to connect rural, dispersed people to resources.
The Foothills Communication Hub, an effort nearly a decade in the making, is set to officially launch in a few weeks to bring together events, resources and information relevant to people in East Whatcom County in one place. The Hub will include a website and a free monthly print publication called the Foothills Outlook, and will connect to the community radio station, KAVZ 102.5.
Editor Melonie Ancheta said the hub was the brainchild of two longtime Foothills residents: Matthew Thuney and Carl McDaniel.
“They understood that out here in our rural communities, we don’t have a consistent form of communication,” Ancheta said. “There’s all kinds of things that are going on, meetings for different organizations or an activity or an event. And quite often, people don’t hear about it until after the fact,” she said. “They had this idea of bringing this all together and creating a communication hub.”
Funding to start the project came through the Foothills Community Alliance in 2022, but Ancheta said it took time for them to find an editor. The initial editor didn’t work out, and then Thuney passed away in October 2022.
“We basically started over again,” she said. Now, the project is on track to launch in a few weeks.
The crux of the project is letting people know what resources are available to them.
“We’re not talking about the news. We’re not selling ads. We’re not promoting certain businesses,” Ancheta said. “It is more about the nitty gritty of people’s lives and how do we get from one day to the next and make use of the things that are available to us.”
Ancheta said they decided to do a print publication and a website because some residents don’t use a computer or have connectivity issues.
The website will allow service providers and event organizers to make an account and input meetings, events or other resources. Ancheta said service providers she’s talked to are on board as they also want a better way to connect with the community.
The monthly print publication, which will include all events, notices and articles published on the website, will be distributed all over eastern Whatcom County, Ancheta said. This includes the Kendall, Maple Falls, Glacier, Deming, Van Zandt, Welcome and Acme communities.
Ancheta said the radio station is linked on the Hub’s website, and she’s hoping the station will broadcast local public service announcements.
KAVZ Station Manager Breanna Anderson said the radio station has its own plans to start broadcasting the “top five things to know in the Foothills” and said it would be great to use the communications hub as a source for that.
“I think it’s really important,” she said of the project. “I’m looking forward to working with the hub once they get up and going.”
Ancheta said she signed on to be the editor because she wants residents to know what resources are available.
Years ago, Ancheta said she was homeless and struggled to find the resources she needed, especially access to the internet.
“It was an absolute nightmare trying to find help,” she said. That experience showed her how important communication systems can be for East Whatcom County.
“Knowing that there are others, particularly seniors, elders out here in our communities, who are in that position, living hand to mouth, day to day in danger of losing their homes. One little thing can tip that scale completely over, and poof, your life is gone,” she said. “I don’t want people to have to be facing that kind of situation and not know who they can turn to for help.”
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
