Local parks champion retires after 38 years

Dennis Conner, long-time ranger at Hovander, helped foster volunteer efforts FERNDALE — Dennis Conner went home from Hovander Homestead Park on Dec. 31 for the last time in a Whatcom County Parks and Recreation uniform. Conner spent 38 years with the department, 29 of them based at Hovander as the southwest region manager. “I was…