The Bellingham Herald from Bellingham, Washington • A2

really enjoyed help- ing Hoogestraat said. Indeed. Pemberton, who died of cancer Nov. 21 at the age of 57, left a legacy of helping others. He founded a local organiza- tion that helps people too poor to hire an attorney, and another one that helps people resolve their differ- ences without going to court.

was much more focused on doing things for other people, as opposed to being focused on just making Hooges- traat said. community orientation has been a fam- ily tradition. His Quaker grandfather, William Pem- berton, nicknamed fighting spent much of his time representing workers seeking damages from employers. He served on the state Supreme Court from 1922 to 1924, where his stance in favor of work- ers and government regula- tion rallied foes who denied him re-election. son, Joseph Pemberton also was a civic-minded attorney in Bellingham.

He was elect- ed city attorney and served on the board of trustees of Western Washington State College. Joe Jr. studied philoso- phy at liberal Antioch Col- lege in Ohio, then entered Gonzaga University School of Law shortly after his father died in 1978. Hoogestraat said Pem- berton often represented clients with interesting and important legal prob- lems even when he knew they had little to no money for a lawyer. So when fed- eral funding for legal aid programs began shrinking in the Pemberton lob- bied his fellow attorneys to provide free legal advice to needy people.

just kept at Hoogestraat said. of the attorneys really were not open to the By 1986, the local bar association helped estab- lish a program with 53 lawyers willing to offer free civil law help. Three years later, Pemberton won a national award for his work. Today, the LAW Advo- cates program provides legal help to about 900 county residents a year, with the volunteer help of 200 attorneys. Later in the Pem- berton helped put together an organization to mediate conflicts and to train peo- ple and groups to resolve their differences outside the courtroom.

Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center opened its doors in 1992. A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, Pemberton remained active in the peace movement. Six years ago, he won national attention when he organ- ized a protest march by local lawyers against the U.S.-Iraq War. always been inter- ested in social said Barbara Rofkar, co- chair of the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force and a co-founder of the Dispute Resolution Center. was just an incredibly sensitive Contact Dean Kahn at dean.kahn@bellinghamherald or 715-2291.

SAM TAYLOR THE BELLINGHAM HERALD BELLINGHAM Resi- dents should get used to some reduced services as City Council is set to approve a heavily reduced budget for 2010 during its meeting Monday, Dec. 7. The $187.9 million budget remains largely unchanged from Mayor proposal. There has been little to no public comment on the pro- posal. Nobody came to a Nov.

23 hearing where council mem- bers sought input from resi- dents. The budget is $28.3 mil- lion less than the adopted 2009 budget after slumping revenues forced administration and the coun- cil to cull the budget. Residents began to see the impacts when library hours were reduced and some Parks Recreation WHATCOM TheBellinghamHerald.com/localnews Contact: Debbie Townsend, 715-2280, debbie.townsend@bellinghamherald.com A2 Sunday December 6, 2009 Guide roundabout to open Monday ZOE FRALEY THE BELLINGHAM HERALD BELLINGHAM The newest roundabout on Guide Meridian is scheduled to officially open Monday, Dec. 7, according to the Washington Department of Transportation. The roundabout at River Road is the fourth and final one of the Meridian roundabout project, coming about seven months after the first roundabout opened at Ten Mile Road.

The round- abouts are part of a $106 mil- lion project to make the Guide safer and less congested. Before the Monday morn- ing opening, crews will work over the weekend to prepare the road. They plan to close the area Sunday night, Dec. 6, to stripe the roadway. The roundabout will open with one lane, with a second lane opening after the new Nook- sack River Bridge is com- plete early next year.

The timing for the work will depend on the weather. KIE RELYEA THE BELLINGHAM HERALD Builders building and consumers spending. That means less trash is being collected from homes and business- es, causing a drop in tax dollars for a fund that pays for management of closed landfills in Whatcom Coun- ty and recycling efforts. As a result, county and city of Bellingham officials are working to trim $457,940 from the solid waste fund. Of the total in proposed cuts, $232,000 could be chopped from waste reduc- tion and recycling pro- grams, including Clean Green.

The county manages the solid waste fund on behalf of itself as well as seven cities, including Belling- ham. Money for the fund comes from an excise tax on garbage collected by regulated waste haulers such as Sanitary Service Company and Nooksack Valley Disposal Recy- cling. The tax totals $8.50 a ton and has historically brought in $850,000 a year. But been dropping in recent years, generating $100,000 less this year and could continue to drop in 2010, according to Jon Hutchings, assistant direc- tor of the Whatcom Coun- ty Public Works Depart- ment. in my opinion, are buying less, using things more than they used to, so not ending up in the waste said Ed Nikula, chief financial officer for SSC.

SSC is seeing about a 9 percent drop in the tons of garbage it has collected this year compared to last, according to Nikula. noticed a reduc- tion in tonnage said Calvin Den Hartog, general manager for Nooksack Val- ley, noting the amount of trash been collecting Reduced disposal by residents, businesses causes chopped funds County seeks solid waste cutsBlaine man diesin hit-and-run PETER JENSEN THE BELLINGHAM HERALD A Blaine man was fatally struck in a hit-and-run colli- sion on Blaine Road just south of Birch Bay-Lynden Road early Saturday morn- ing, Dec. 5. Patrick L. Dolan, 54, was in the roadway when he was struck at about 2:50 a.m.

Sat- urday, according to the Washington State Patrol. His family has been notified of his death, according to the State Patrol. The vehicle that struck him fled the scene, and its description or license plate number was not available Saturday afternoon. Detectives are investigating this incident but did not pro- vide more information about it, Trooper Keith Leary said. Boys and Girls sell Christmas trees PETER JENSEN THE BELLINGHAM HERALD Teenagers involved with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Whatcom County will be selling Christmas trees on weekends at the Garden Spot in Bellingham.

The fundraiser will be going on from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at the Garden Spot, 900 Alabama St. In years past, the fundrais- er has raised $18,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs. Hoagland to offer H1N1 vaccine KIE RELYEA THE BELLINGHAM HERALD BELLINGHAM Hoagland Pharmacy will offer the H1N1 flu vaccine during clinics that run Monday through Friday.

The vaccine will be avail- able on a walk-in basis from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2330 Yew St. It is for those in the prior- ity group; those covered include pregnant women, health care providers and emergency responders, peo- ple living with or caring for children younger than 6 months old, everyone who is 6 months to 24 years old and people 25 to 64 years old with medical conditions that place them at higher risk for flu complications. The vaccine is free, but the pharmacy is charging a $25 administrative fee.

It will bill Medicare, Medicaid and Group Health. Details: Call Hoagland Pharmacy at 734-5413. Go online to the Whatcom Pandemic Joint Information Web site at em.whatcomcounty.org to find additional pharmacies and medical providers offer- ing the vaccine. VIEWPOINT DEAN KAHN Arnold Faber is assisted by two men after high winds nearly pushed his boat onto the shore of Boulevard Park on Saturday, Dec. 5.

Rhys Logan The Bellingham Herald A memorial service for Joe Pemberton Jr. will start at noon, Dec. 14, at Jerns Funeral Chapel, 800 E. Sunset Drive. Donations in his name may be sent to Whatcom Peace Justice Center, Law Advocates or What- com Dispute Resolu- tion Center.

Whatcom Family YMCA 1256 N. State Street Bellingham, WA 98225 360-733-8630 whatcomymca.org YMCA Dodgeball Tournament Saturday, December 12th Starts 11am Registration deadline: December 10 REGISTER YOUR TEAM TODAY! See WASTE, A11 hile a law student in Spokane, JoePemberton Jr. looked outside his win-dow one snowy morning and saw a thug knock over an elderly woman, take her purse and run away. Still in his bathrobe and slippers, Pemberton bolted out the door, chased the purse snatcher, tackled him, then held him until the police came, said Jim Hoogestraat, a law school buddy and longtime law partner of REMEMBERING JOE PEMBERTON JR. A life filled with purpose Award-winning, charitable attorney dies at age 57 Few changes made to Mayor proposal Bellingham to vote on low 2010 budget See BUDGET, A11 HIGH WINDS NEARLY GROUND BOAT Skipper struggles to keep vessel off the rocks at Boulevard Park CITY AND COUNTY COUNCILS MEET The Bellingham City Council takes up the issue on Monday, Dec.

7, and the Whatcom County Council on Tuesday, Dec. 8..