Bellingham teachers OK new contract

BELLINGHAM — More than 600 teachers in Bellingham on Monday approved a two-year contract that includes a 3.7 percent raise and more pay for out-of-class work.

The Bellingham Education Association, the teachers’ union, had set a strike deadline of Tuesday if an agreement wasn’t reached. A federal mediator helped the union and school district reach a tentative agreement over the weekend.

The last time Bellingham teachers struck was in 1989.

WSU provost named: Robert C. Bates of Virginia Tech was named Monday as the new provost and academic vice president at Washington State University, responsible for all academic issues. Bates, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of microbiology at the Virginia institution, begins at WSU in January. Bates earned his master’s degree in bacteriology and public health at WSU in 1969. The Portland, Ore., native earned his bachelor’s degree from Lewis and Clark College in 1966, and his Ph.D. in microbiology from Colorado State University in 1972.

Regents appointed: Gov. Gary Locke on Monday appointed business leaders Sally Jewell and Steven Hill to the boards of regents at the state’s two largest universities. Jewell, of Sumner, chief operating officer of Recreational Equipment Inc., will join the University of Washington board. She is a graduate of the university and worked in banking before joining REI. She is a director of REI, Avista Corp. and Premera, and is active in education and community service groups. Hill, of Tacoma, senior vice president for human resources at Weyerhaeuser Co., will become a Washington State University regent. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and has an MBA from UCLA. He was a White House fellow and served in the office of the U.S. energy secretary before joining Weyerhaeuser. He is a trustee of the Tacoma YMCA and the Seattle Symphony. The governor also reappointed Peter Goldmark of Okanogan to the WSU board. All three appointments are for six years and take effect immediately. State Senate confirmation is required.

Waterfowl expert dies: Charles Pilling, a world-famous breeder of wild waterfowl for nearly half a century, has died at age 90 at his home beside his beloved duck pond. Pilling, the first person to breed hooded mergansers, buffleheads and harlequin ducks in captivity, died Thursday. He had been in ill health for months but was brought home from the hospital so he could spend his last days looking out the window at Pilling’s Pond.

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