Four seek pair of Lind Town Council seats

The candidates for Lind Town Council Positions No. 1 and No. 2 gathered at Lind Senior Center on Sept. 25 to introduce themselves to the community and participate in a candidate forum.

Candidates running for council positions are Karissa Labes, Calah Kulm, Rose Elkington and Kathy White. Elkington is currently the incumbent for the council position No. 1 and is running against challenger Labes.

Each of the candidates had three minutes to introduce themselves to the audience members and discuss any concerns or ideas they had for the council. Due to an open house at the Lind Elementary School, Labes and Kulm had to leave the forum after the opening statements and did not have an opportunity to participate in the question portion of the forum.

During her opening statement, Kulm explained she moved around a lot during her youth and never had a place to call home. She moved to the Lind community four years ago, and has enjoyed becoming a part of the community.

“This is the first time in my life where I could call a place home, and that’s a big deal to me,” Kulm said.

Kulm is a teacher at Warden High School, and also works part-time with Cathy Jo’s Catering Company, as well as attends church in Lind. Kulm participates in a variety of community service events and also has volunteered for two years as the chairman of the Lind Fun Fair. Kulm is running for a position on the council because she has ideas for the town and also wants to serve as a voice for community members to address issues in the community.

Labes moved to Lind in 1993 and after moving away briefly, she returned home and currently works as the secretary at Lind-Ritzville Middle School. Labes also works in a few part-time roles at The Ritz Roadhouse and for Cathy Jo’s Catering.

Labes has three young children in the school system and she expressed that she enjoys raising children in the Lind community because it is safe and the kids enjoy living in a small town.

“I’m interested in being part of the council and being involved,” Labes said. “Since it’s part of my home, I’d like to know what’s going on and help build the future here.”

Elkington has lived in Lind for the past 13 years with her husband and said she enjoys being a part of the small town. Elkington previously worked for 10 years in law enforcement, five years as a city cop and as a state humane officer.

Elkington has served on the council for two years and said her time there has helped improve and update the employee policy for the town. The two provisions she added to the policy were for sexual harassment and drug and alcohol addiction.

“I consistently vote against raising water rates, I think this town has enough money to pay for utilities and things. I know people are hurting to afford it,” Elkington said. “I will continue to do that, and listen to people.”

White has resided in Washington for seven years and is currently employed at the Ritzville Ace Hardware store. White moved to Lind last year in June and wanted to become involved with town council in order to become more involved in the community and the decisions made in the town.

White explained she had a variety of ideas to present to the town and the council in hopes of promoting the town of Lind. Her main goal is to increase the amount of activities that go on within the town and to use the resources the town already has available.

While being a member of the council would be a learning experience for White, she is excited to bring new ideas to the community to help promote the town and to bring more businesses into the small community.