All Point Bulletin – December 2022

Red wave turns blue for 42nd district

Democrats swept the local field pre vailing over newcomers and incumbents alike. Sharon Shewmake (D) won a tight race for the 42nd legislative district’s Sen ate seat. The race against incumbent Si mon Sefzik (R) was a hard-fought battle, but with 234 votes left to count at 5 p.m. November 15, Shewmake had an unsur mountable lead with 836 votes.

“I’m really honored and excited to do good work and I’m here to talk to people, whether they voted for me or not,” Shew make said in a phone interview. “Every thing is a community effort.”

Housing is first on Shewmake’s agen da when the Washington state legislature convenes on January 9. She said housing affordability makes it harder for county residents to recover from the November 2021 floods, is the biggest part of people’s budgets that can be controlled and has en vironmental components.

“It’s everything,” Shewmake said. “If we don’t do something right now, What com County will be a place where only millionaires can live and that’s not ac ceptable to me.”

Shewmake received 37,771 votes (50.5 percent) and Sefzik received 36,935 votes (49.3 percent).

“I’m not going to lie and say it doesn’t hurt, but at the end of the day the people made their decision and you move on,” Sefzik said in a phone interview, later add ing. “I was never the most likely candidate for this position and we worked really, really hard. That’s the hardest part, to get close but not cross the finish line.”

Sefzik said he reached out to Shew make and offered his congratulations. He said he’s determining his next step – whether that is law school, as he orig inally intended, getting his master’s degree or working locally. Regardless, Sefzik said he remains committed to tackling rising crime and homelessness, lowering the cost of living and creating a more accountable government.

“I want to thank the people of Whatcom County whether they voted for me or not,” (See Election, page 03

Water district to update comprehensive plan

B y P at G ru BB

Work on an update to the Point Roberts water district’s (PRWD) comprehensive plan is about to get underway. On Friday, November 18, district staff will be meet ing with state department of health staff, and engineers from Pace, a Washington state-based engineering firm to discuss the scope of work involved. The board of com missioners approved a proposed estimate of $185,000 for the work at their October meeting.

Washington state requires water districts to update their comprehensive plans every six to ten years. Among other require ments, the comp update looks at whether

the district is complying with state laws governing drinking water, determines the maximum daily usage which governs the total number of allowable connections and an update to capital system improvements. A current plan is required for a system to be eligible for Drinking Water State Re volving Fund applications and may be ap plicable for other water funding programs, such as Public Works Trust grants, and USDA Rural Development funds.

Updating the plan involves meeting with the state department of health (DOH) to determine the scope of work and establish a time schedule for completion, submis sion and approval of the plan. According to the DOH, “All public water systems

Photo

Photo by Louise Mugar

About 70.3 percent of the county’s 157,580 registered voters turned in their ballots. Whatcom County Auditor’s Of fice estimated another 234 ballots were left to count by 5 p.m. November 15 after 110,830 ballots were counted.

The auditor’s office was previously be hind on processing ballots because of windstorm-caused network outages that limited connection to the state’s voter reg istration system, VoteWA. The auditor’s of fice had over 25,500 ballots left to count after the initial count on November 8.

County auditor Diana Bradrick told the All Point Bulletin that election workers did not count ballots over Veterans Day or the weekend because the office had not bud geted for overtime pay and the ballots still needing to be processed wouldn’t have changed the outcome for the close races. “Having people come in over the holiday weekend wasn’t going to change the re sults,” she said.

Incumbent Alicia Rule (D) won the state representative position 1 seat in the 42nd legislative district with a slightly higher margin than the state senate race. Rule re ceived 38,516 votes (51.7 percent), while

Tawsha (Dykstra) Thompson, received 35,942 votes (48.2 percent) in support.

Joe Timmons (D) won the 42nd legisla tive district’s state representative position 2 seat. Timmons had 38,028 votes (51.2 percent), while Dan Johnson (R) had 36,157 votes (48.7 percent).

Jonathan Rands won the Whatcom County District Court judge position 2 race. Rands received 62.3 percent in sup port, while Gordon M. Jenkins received 37.1 percent in support.

Jaime Arnett won the commissioner district 3 seat for Public Utility District No. 1. Arnett received 45,692 votes (52.2 percent), while Eric Davidson trailed be hind with 41,150 votes (47 percent).

Incumbent Steve Hobbs (D) retained his position as Washington state Secre tary of State. Hobbs received 50 percent in support throughout the state. Julie Anderson (nonpartisan) had 45.8 per cent in support. Over 4 percent of the votes were write-in.

U.S. Senate incumbent Patty Murray (D) retained her seat. Murray received 57.3 percent in support statewide, while Tiffa ny Smiley (R) received 42.5 percent votes.

U.S. representative Rick Larsen (D) will retain his seat in Washington state’s 2nd U.S. Congressional District. Larsen re ceived 60.5 percent in support statewide, while Dan Matthews (R) received 39.2 percent. Following re-districting due to the census, Larsen once again represents Point Roberts.

Point Roberts clinic numbers for October 2022 (2021 figures following) Total 197 (139); office visit 81(87); labs 21(21); PT/INR 8(11); telemedicine visit 13(14); Physical exams 7(0); skin clinic 8(6); B12 and flu shots 59(0).

Fire Incidents for October 2022

Total calls (33); EMS calls (11), result ing in the following transports: St. Josephs Hospital (4), Airlift Northwest (2); Fire Classification (9) resulting in outdoor burns – permits (2), outdoor burns – ille gal (2), false alarm (1), structure (1), gas leak (1), wrong address (1), Water rescue (1); public service (1).

NumbersThe Whatcom County children’s initia tive levy lid lift, Proposition 2022-5, ap pears as though it will fail with 53,940 votes (50 percent) against and 53,766 votes (49.9 percent) in support. The prop osition is failing by 174 votes.

The county’s Emergency Medical Ser vices levy increase, Proposition 2022-6, passed as 68,460 votes (64 percent) are in support, and 38,539 votes (36 percent) are against.

Bradrick said ballots are still coming in and the election results aren’t final ized until they are certified on Tuesday, November 29.

“It really isn’t over until we certify, and we get ballots until the day of certifica tion,” Bradrick said. “The numbers aren’t static. We will continue to get ballots until the 29th.”

The All Point Bulletin is published each month by Point Roberts Press Inc. Total circulation is 9,000 copies in cluding home delivery in Point Roberts and Tsawwassen, subscriptions and distribution to retail establishments on the Point.

The opinion expressed by contribu tors is their own and is offered for the general interest of our readers. Mail and classified ads should be addressed to:

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Letters to the editor

The Editor:

This letter is to express a huge amount of gratitude for all those who stopped by Clover Blossom Farm this year and to those who had flowers delivered to their homes. We appreciate everyone's genuine excitement about the organic flowers we grew this past season. We loved sharing them with all of you.

Thank you to those who participated in our flower share (CSA) program. We en joyed delivering colorful bouquets to your homes each week. We are looking forward to our 2023 flower offerings of spring flower shares – think tulips, daffodils and ranunculus – and summer flower shares –think dahlias, zinnias, cosmos and more.

Along with flower shares, we imple mented a program called Sharing Flowers with Seniors. Through the generosity of our community members who contribut ed to this program we were able to deliv er 118 bouquets to brighten the spirits of many individuals. Working with all the wonderful volunteers at Circle of Care, the Point Roberts Food Bank and the seniors center/community center, we were able to reach those who were having health issues, had lost a loved one or had some other life challenge that flowers could shed some joy and light on.

As the cut-flower season comes to a close, we are busy tucking in the dahlias, planting spring bulbs and looking forward to next spring.

We look forward to seeing you on Sat urday, December 10 at the Holiday Bazaar.

We'll be at the community center that day from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. with flower print gift cards, dahlia tubers and certificates for 2023 flower shares.

I have always dreamed of growing lots of flowers and of having a roadside flow er cart. Thank you for helping make this

dream come true and for all your kindness and encouragement.

Clover Blossom Farm would not contin ue to blossom without all of you.

Wishing you a holiday season full of sunshine and flowers.

Catherine Stewart Point Roberts

The Editor:

What happened in the civic elections in Vancouver exactly one month ago should serve as a cautionary tale for Bellingham mayor Seth Fleetwood, county executive Satpal Sidhu and their respective councils.

Vancouver's liberal, woke mayor Ken nedy Stuart was unceremoniously turfed after just four years in office, the first in cumbent to be ousted in over 40 years.

The main reason was his perceived in ability to deal with crime, homelessness, and the opioid crisis, particularly in the notorious downtown East side. His oppo nent, Ken Sim, became the first Chinese Canadian mayor of Vancouver.

Sim had one resonant campaign prom ise: To hire 100 additional police officers and 100 mental health professionals to deal with the Vancouver's crime and drug problem. Members of Sim’s right-of-center ABC party also scored election victories.

Tonight, (November 15) this new ly installed council will vote on funding these additional police and mental health services.

Seth and Satpal, I have known both of you for over 20 years. You are good, well-intentioned men. But unless you dis tance yourself from these soft-on-crime, social justice warrior policies that are kill ing your city and county, you will not be around for a second term. Voters are angry. And fed up.

I was in Portland last week. The city that I called home for a decade has changed markedly and for the worse. Graffiti, hobo jungles, open drug use and rampant crime. According to law enforcement, fentanyl is a leading cause.

Hire more police. Start arresting people, incarcerate them and treat them. Or you will suffer the same electoral fate as your “woke” counterparts in Vancouver.

John Lesow

Vancouver, B.C.

The All Point Bulletin welcomes letters to the editor; however, the opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editor. Letters must include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters must not exceed 450 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality and good taste.

A fresh viewpoint on matters of general interest to local readers will increase the likelihood of publication. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Re quests for withholding names will be con sidered on an individual basis.

Thank you letters should be limited to ten names.

Only one letter per month from an indi vidual correspondent will be published.

Please email your letter to:

letters@allpointbulletin.com

P.O. Box 1451, Point Roberts, WA 98281 Fax: 360/945-1613

Frank Lucci

Anthony Nault Rhiannon Allen

Last year’s winner of Nielson’s World’s Largest Christmas stocking was Jessica Richardson. Courtesy photo

New method to provide broadband?

Asked if the other party was Robert Hill man, he paused and cited the NDA again.

Those

Point Roberts assets of the former Delta Cablevision have been sold to RMI Commu nications (RMIC), a Langley-based contrac tor that installs fiber optic and copper lines for Telus, Shaw Cable and other telecom munication firms.

Company president Iain Campbell con firmed in an interview with the All Point Bul letin on November 17 that his company was working with another party on a project in volving the cable lines but was constrained from discussing it due to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). He said his company jsut installed infrastructure, it did not act as a service provider.

Hillman, who hitherto had been pushing a wireless solution, has recently been in con versations with the county executive’s office about lighting up those cablevision lines.

Hillman did not respond to a request for comment from the APB before presstime.

An RMIC employee was in Point Rob erts to inspect the cables in mid-November and told resident Stephen Fowler that there were plans afoot to utilize existing cable connections to offer 1 Gig internet access at a competitive price.

If true, the Point could see a rapid in crease in broadband coverage. Prior to the cable company ceasing service in 2019, the majority of homes were connected to cable. It would be a simple matter to run wire from pole to house in the air to connect those without existing cabling.

School district seeking new director

B y I an h au P t

Blaine school board is asking residents, who live in district 1 and are interested fill ing the district’s vacant seat, to send in a letter of interest.

At last month’s board meeting, the board formally accepted board member Todd Nunamaker’s resignation. It is now accept ing letters of interest from residents who live in the district 1 boundaries, which include Point Roberts and western parts of downtown, are a U.S. citizen and regis tered voter. Letters will be accepted until Friday, December 9, according to a No vember 14 news release.

The board will start interviewing candi dates in January. The appointed director will serve until the next election in No vember 2023.

Letters should be addressed to the Board of Directors and submitted either by email at comments@blainesd.org or mailed to Blaine school district at 765 H Street, Blaine WA 98230. They should describe the candidate’s interest in serving on the board, including prior experience, qualify ing factors and goals as a potential board member.

For more information, contact the su perintendent’s office at 360/332-5881.

Most Blaine school staff satisfied with job and workplace, new survey shows

Blaine educators were feeling ready for this school year.

At a time when national polls show teachers are less satisfied than they have been in decades, most Blaine school dis trict staff are satisfied with theirs job and feel they have a healthy work environ ment, according to a recent staff survey.

Over 80 percent of staff that responded said they were motivated, satisfied and en joy the current culture in the district.

17,000.Solutions founder Rich Haz zard presented the staff survey results at a Blaine school board meeting October 24 in Point Roberts. 17,000.Solutions is a re search, consulting and design lab organi zation dedicated to public school improve ment, according to its website.

Superintendent Christopher Granger said the district chose 17,000.Solutions to conduct its staff support project because, along with gauging staff morale, it will de velop solutions to improve district culture. He said it’s an effort to help the district re bound from the pandemic.

Across the nation

Pandemic-related issues are not spe cific to Blaine. School districts across the country are struggling to bounce back. Forty-three percent of teachers polled in a national survey conducted by EdWeek Research Center said they were dissatis

fied with their job. According to the sur vey, which polled 1,324 teachers between January 9 and February 23, only 12 per cent of K-12 teachers said they were “very satisfied” with their job. The percentage dropped by 27 percent from 2012 to 2022. This is the lowest in the 34 years for which the survey had data.

An Education Week article published in September said the pandemic is largely to blame for the discouragement. Students’ mental health and well-being suffered while they lost the equivalent of several months’ worth of learning in reading and math.

Parents relay its effect on their kids. Most parents said the first year of the pandemic curbed their children’s education, accord ing to an October 26 article from Pew Re search Center, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C., think tank. Forty-four percent of those parents said this is still the case.

Union survey

Teachers returning to the classroom had to recover lost ground, which took a toll on Blaine staff last school year.

Every year Blaine school district’s em ployee union, Blaine Education Associa tion (BEA), conducts an anonymous sur vey with school staff to get a sense of the overall school climate. Most years it’s used within BEA as background. But last school year’s, which was conducted April 7, was

ArouNd the poiNt

The Point Roberts Chamber of Com merce is inviting chamber members and those businesses that would like to join to their annual general meeting on Wednes day, December 7. The guest speaker this year is Elliott Smith, director of real estate and asset management for the Port of Bell ingham. Smith is also a resident of Point Roberts.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and will be held at Saltwater Cafe on Gulf Road. Light refreshments will be served. This is an ex cellent opportunity to learn more about the chamber and meet fellow business members.

Please RSVP by December 5 to info@ pointrobertschamberofcommerce.com. For more information about the chamber, please visit pointrobertschamberofcom merce.com

The Point Roberts parks department and the senior center are looking for volunteers to help set up for the senior lunches, assist with food preparation and distribution as

Water ...

From page 1

must develop and implement a technical, managerial, and financial plan appropriate to the system’s size, complexity, and per formance; expected demographic changes; community-specific resource constraints; and planning history … water systems with resilient capacity continually plan, do, check, and plan again in a step-by-step process to achieve their strategic objec tives, including delivery of safe and reli able drinking water.”

A key element of any water district sys tem is the source of the water supply. Point Roberts gets its water from the Greater Vancouver Water District (GVWD) in an agreement dated August 28, 1987.

The contract “shall continue until the later of the 50th anniversary of [August 28, 1987] or the end of the useful life of the GVWD Main and all pipes, meters,

needed, and clean-up afterwards. Send an email to emily.prpr@gmail.com with your information. Please include days and times that you’re available to volunteer.

The Point Roberts Food Bank is hoping to establish a permanent home to better serve their clients here in Point Roberts. A cen tral site with approximately 1500 square feet, power, water and septic is needed.

Contact Ray Smith, Point Roberts Food Bank president, at pharmdray@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like to discuss options in greater detail.

The Point Roberts chapter of Dollars for Scholars is holding a fundraising drive. Umpqua Bank has offered to roll and do nate your tin of coins to the worthy cause of supporting young scholars.

As well, smile.amazon.com will donate .5 percent of your purchases under Schol arship America Point Roberts.

For more info, go to pointroberts.dol larsforscholars.org.

controls, valves or pumps used to deliver the water to be supplied under this agree ment from the Pebble Hill Reservoir to the Delivery Point, unless extended by mutual agreement of the parties.” The construc tion of the Pebble Hill Reservoir was paid for by the Point Roberts water district.

The contract goes on to say that if the parties are unable to agree upon when the end of the useful life occurs, the decision will be made by the chief executive officer of the Professional Engineers Association of B.C. or a person appointed by that of ficer.

Under the contract, the GVWD is ob ligated to supply up to 700,000 Imperial gallons (840,000 U.S. gallons) which the PRWD pays for, regardless of whether the district uses all or only a portion of that amount.

The price of the water has greatly in creased over the years but is the same price that is paid by the municipalities that make up the GVWD.

submitted to the school board due to the nature of the responses, and Point Roberts Press obtained a copy through a public re cords request.

Of 147 BEA members last school year, 121 teachers, or 81 percent, took the sur vey.

Sixty percent of members who took the survey said they were dissatisfied with the overall climate of the district; however, 57 percent of members were pleased with the climate in their main building or worksite. Many said in the comments that Granger and the school administration were at fault for their overall dissatisfaction.

New survey

But staff were positive at the beginning of this school year, according to the new anonymous survey from 17,000.Solutions, which received 275 responses.

Eighty percent of those who responded said they were satisfied with the health of their workplace environment and 91 percent said they were satisfied with the quality and health of their relationships with leadership. Over 80 percent of staff said they were likely to be on staff three years from now, with 50 percent saying they were “very likely.” Also, 248 staff members, or 83 percent of members who responded to the question, said they were motivated ahead of this school year.

“These are really good numbers,” Haz

zard said. “In light of how stressed out ev erybody was at the end of last year, I would have thought these numbers might have been lower.”

If staff took the survey in May, Hazzard said the results would have been different.

Hazzard said the qualitative feedback consisted of over 200 pages of staff com ments. Based on the feedback, Hazzard said 80 percent of staff were positive while 20 percent said they were struggling.

Some of the staff criticisms were grouped into themes of not feeling heard or sup ported, distrust or pessimism, lack of time, inconsistent expectations and unrealistic demands, and things getting in the way of what happens in the classroom. No specif ic comments were provided in the presen tation.

Hazzard began the presentation listing sources that heighten school staff stress levels. They include politicization of school district communities, lost learn ing, increase in mental health needs of students, increase in student misbehaviors and Covid-related personal challenges.

Hazzard provided areas for administra tion to focus on to improve staff support: professional development; culture, rela tionships and teams; job satisfaction and motivation; joy, fun; recognition; and per sonal health and wellness.

Granger then provided strategies that

Free and fun things to do on the Point

will show riders how to decorate their bikes with LED lights.

could be implemented for each category. In personal development, he listed cru cial conversations for district leadership and staff as well as a heightened focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. Other improvements included consistent staff enforcement, more engagement and col laboration, taking input inventory, staff potlucks, more student and staff success assemblies – not just for sports, improving staff recognition, and providing wellness spaces and access to fitness classes.

With the improvements devised, the dis

trict will work to implement them over the school year and evaluate their effective ness at the end of the year.

Board president Dougal Thomas thanked staff during the meeting for tak ing the time to participate.

“It takes an abundance of leaders to be a successful organization,” Granger said. “We’re not going to be successful because we have a good superintendent, and a great board, and good administrators. It’s going to be because we have an abundance of leadership throughout the system.”

Looking for new and fun experienc es? Free on the Point might just be what you are looking for as winter approaches. The Point Roberts Taxpayers Association (PRTA) wanted to do something to bring people back together post pandemic and Free on the Point was their solution.

Funded by a $5,000 grant from the Whatcom Community Foundation’s Neighborly Project, the program is geared toward community members of all ages, as well as encouraging day visitors who come for gas or packages to stay and enjoy what Point Roberts has to offer. PRTA director Samantha Scholefield applied successful ly for the grant. Ideas for activities came from community members who attended a PRTA meeting and offered suggestions of fun and free things to do on the Point.

For their debut event, Free on the Point and Friends of the Library joined forces to host a geology tour of Lily Point that took place during low tide on October 23. The event attracted over 60 participants. Geol ogist Mindy Burgman from Environment Canada and local librarian Rose Momsen discussed the geological history of Lily Point, past earthquakes in Point Roberts, and the forests at Lily Point.

The next planned event is the Holiday Night Bike Ride. This is a two-part event, with the first taking place on Saturday, November 26 at the community center on Gulf Road at 1 p.m. This event is a lights workshop where George and Julie Iddon

The workshop is by donation and if you would like to participate, email sschole field@hotmail.com to secure your spot.

The Holiday Night Bike Ride itself takes place on Sunday, December 4 at 5 p.m. The parade of lighted bikes will begin and end at The Reef’s parking lot. The fire district will be handing out red bicycle lights for those without lighting. Participants should wear helmets and bring headlamps.

The Reef and Free on the Point will pro vide hot chocolate before the ride and rid ers are invited to go inside and share some good cheer afterwards. Come let your light shine and meet some fellow bikers!

Puh-leez! Enough with the junk!

The Point Roberts parks district would like to remind well-meaning donors that the community center is not a “catch-all” donation drop-off center for those wanting to reduce clutter at home. However, there are other organizations around the Point that would appreciate donations. These include:

• Books – contact Friends of the Library at bit.ly/3zUueMM

• Clean, new and gently used blankets and bedding supplies – contact PREP at prep group.org/

• Food – drop-off bin at the Marketplace.

Ray Smith wants to pay it forward

y e r I n K elly

After many years of running the food bank, Henry Rosenthal decided to pass the torch on to Ray Smith last April. Hen ry, who celebrates his 89th birthday at the end of November, has left pretty big shoes to fill, but Smith is just the man for the job. Smith and his wife Victoria moved to Point Roberts from Bakersfield, California in August 2021. They had never visited the Point before, but the combination of the pandemic and frequent wildfires prompted them to pack up and head to greener pas tures. Smith had just retired from his job as a pharmacist and began volunteering at the food bank the first week he was here. He was thrilled to find a way to pass his recently acquired spare time and to be able to give back to the community.

Less than a year later, Smith was voted in unanimously as president of the Point Roberts Food Bank. Apart from a big ti tle, the job came with responsibility, and a good deal of work. Smith volunteers at the food bank 20-30 hours a week. Much of that time is spent wrangling up the provi sions that the food bank offers to the pub lic at the community center on Wednes days from 8:30 to 10 a.m.

Once a week, he drives the food bank van to Bellingham to the regional food bank and distribution center. He also heads to a grocery store to buy extra food that he can’t get at the center. There are also three stores in Tsawwassen that Smith visits a couple of times a week to pick up day-old baked goods. In the summer and fall, he will swing by Christ the King Farm to pick up fresh produce. He spends the re mainder of his time organizing donations and interacting with patrons as one of the friendly faces of the food bank.

With inflation at a 30-year high and a volatile stock market, many people have had to make lifestyle adjustments. The food bank currently serves about 50 pa trons a week, a 40 percent increase in the number of people than when Smith joined the food bank. Anyone who is feeling the tightening of their wallets should check out what’s on offer at the food bank. There is plenty of food, and patrons can take as much or as little as they need. Smith and the food bank are happy to serve everyone and will never ask for an income statement or a tax return.

Food bank guests are offered plenty of good quality foods similar to what is avail able in grocery stores. “This isn’t the last leg or the end of the world,” Smith said, adding, “If I wouldn’t serve it in my house,

I don’t want to offer it to the public.” Some of the most popular items include fresh produce, apple juice, and eggs. Along with numerous healthy options, the food bank also provides processed foods like chips, candy and soda. Just because people are struggling to afford food doesn’t mean they can’t occasionally indulge in some of life’s guilty pleasures.

During their monthly meetings, Smith and the board discuss how the food bank can better serve Point Roberts. They are creating a website to increase community involvement. They would also like to offer increased hours and deliveries to those un able to drive. As the need for more goods increases, the board may consider hiring a staff member who can help out with the weekly trips to Bellingham.

A lack of dedicated space is the great est challenge facing the food bank. They have two storage containers for the storage of dry goods. For refrigerated and frozen goods, the International Marketplace has been accommodating, allowing the use of their facilities.

By the time patrons arrive to pick up their food, volunteers have already filled the community center’s hallway with prod ucts early on Wednesday morning. The operation involves many steps including transportation, set up, and breakdown that would be unnecessary if the food bank had its own permanent space. .

The food bank relies heavily on finan cial donations to provide its service to the community. Donations can be brought in during food bank/senior lunch hours or mailed to 2215 Ross Road, Point Roberts; donations are tax deductible. Recently, a woman wrote the food bank into her will, and while she is no longer with us, her generosity continues to benefit those in need. Donations can also be placed in the box at the International Marketplace. The biggest food donation needs are proteins including canned meat or peanut butter and specialty foods such as vegan or glu ten free items. The food bank has enough dry beans, rice, pasta, and canned soup to last a long time.

Smith works with about six volunteers and would love to expand the group. Peo ple can help with driving, sorting dona tions, attending board meetings and han dling out food during food bank hours.

Volunteers also recently helped make and serve food to the community during the latest power outage.

According to Smith, getting involved is a great way to give back to your community and make some kind-hearted friends.

B

s Volunteers standing in front of the food bank van. From l.; Randy Quarry, Roger Gookstetter, Dave Lee, Patrick Pritchard, Henry Rosenthal, Ray Smith, Adam Rozyskie and Curt Bush.

Photo by Erin Kelly

hALLoWeeN

oN the poiNt 2022

by Louise Mugar

Photos

Borderite Report

Brought To You By The Blaine School District

The 2022/2023 school year continues to bring back the joy that is found in education when you are able to provide enriching experiences such as volunteers, field trips and special events to education. We continue to be thankful for the opportunity to provide these experiences that create a connection to deeper learning and a love of learning.

ART IN THE CLASSROOM

Mr. Etienne Zack has returned to Point Roberts Primary to help provide our students with artistic experiences. Mr. Zack has been volunteering with our school for many years, and we are so thankful for his dedication to enriching the learning experience of our students! Thank you Mr. Zack!

The Point’s Patois

Point Roberts is a community like no place else, and a community which sounds like no place else. This month is the 35th anniversary of a language study conduct ed here which concluded that there is a unique Point Roberts dialect.

As a bi-national community, along with the presence of many visitors and new comers, many dialects and accents can be heard in our confined geography. Indeed, it was the Point’s exclave status which attracted the attention of linguistics pro fessor Marjorie Mann of the University of Victoria. She wrote her 1988 thesis on “Dialect Contact and Dialect Transitions: Point Roberts, U.S.A.”

Mann circulated a written questionnaire throughout the community in the autumn of 1987, and followed that up with tape-re corded interviews on the Point in early 1988. The study asked speakers from both British Columbia and Washington wheth er certain word pairs rhymed, how certain words such as “been” are pronounced, and a fill-in-the-blank section to see which word participants would supply, such as “tap” versus “faucet.”

Mann’s findings were startling: tiny Point Roberts has its own dialect, due to it being an exclave. This is the one place

along the U.S.-Canadian border where Canadian English is encroaching into the United States, versus the other direction.

She concluded that Canadians living on the Point “are retaining their Canadian speech […] and failing to acquire Ameri can speech features that occur in the Puget Sound.” Furthermore, she found that for Americans in Point Roberts, “the num ber of Canadian speech features and their frequency of occurrence increases as the years of residence increases while the oc currence of American speech features de creases.”

One interesting example of the lan guage mashup found in Point Roberts was a “hybrid (word) resulting from dialect contact.” The word “chesterbed,” which is a unique mix of the Canadian term for couch, “chesterfield,” and “hide-a-bed.”

It would be interesting to conduct the study again today, to see if the spread of information technology, digital media and recent migration patterns have changed what Mann found here in the late 1980s.

If you were part of this dialect study, stop by the Point Roberts History Center to share your stories and memories. The library has a copy of Mann’s thesis.

And if you’re selling a pull-out sofa bed on the Point, call it a chesterbed with an insider’s wink.

POINSETTIAS, SEE’S CHOCOLATES AND MORE

Please consider supporting the Point Roberts PTO. Our PTO (parent teacher organization) works hard to provide our students with opportunities for hands-on learning. PTO sponsors all of the field trips that our students take part in. This year our students visited the local pumpkin patch and Reifel Bird Sanctuary in October. We are currently raising funds for the students to participate in a day celebrating the arts where the students will attend a local theater production and then visit a pottery studio in December. All funds raised will directly benefit the students of Point Roberts Primary School through field trips and the purchase of educational equipment and materials.Our current classroom wish list includes age appropriate microscopes for the classroom and different types of seating that will allow our students to have choice in where they work as we look for ways to foster independence.

SAVE THE DATE

Point Roberts Primary School is proud to present The Gingerbread Man. Our winter performance will be held at the Point Roberts Community Center on December 8th, 2022 at 6 pm. Please save the date and come support our students as they perform. Our PTO will be fundraising at our winter performance by hosting a raffle, silent auctions and a bake sale, funds raised will directly support spring field trips that will enhance learning.

Sincerely, Jessie Hettinga, M.S.Ed Principal/K-3 Teacher jhettinga@blainesd.org Point Roberts Primary

S Local resident Ögn Mag nusson drew on her Icelandic heritage to write Secret Saga: How Elves Became Magical and Changed the World. As a teenager, she went to live in Iceland. The magical essence of Iceland’s luminous countryside, the timeless sagas, and the legend of elves, inspired her to create Secret Saga.

To contact Ögn for a copy, call or text 360/860-1907. Or drop by Ögn’s table for a copy of Secret Saga at the Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, December 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the community center. For more info, go to ognmagnusson.com.

Car problems? Gabe’s your man.

B y e r I n K elly

Dennis Auto Repair is no more. The business, started by longtime owner Den nis Heimbecker who sold it in 2018, has once again changed hands. It was bought by Peter Fowler last May who changed the business name to Erickson Brothers Garage. The auto repair facility was used during the summer mostly for detailing cars while the search for a licensed and certified mechanic took place. Fortunate ly, Gabe Meszaros, a dual citizen living in Surrey, saw the ad and was hired in Sep tember. Meszaros says that cars are his pas sion and appears to have been very well received by the town. “I don’t consider it work because I enjoy what I am doing, and that reflects in the customer feedback I am receiving,” he said.

Meszaros grew up in metro Detroit and has been a mechanic his entire adult life. His father owned a hot rod shop and the knowledge he gained there, combined with the technical courses he took in high school, allowed him to pass the mechan ical certificate test right after graduation. He subsequently joined the U.S. Navy and became an airplane mechanic. His military training has made him a meticulous me chanic. “If you have a bad day as an aircraft mechanic, people die. If you mess up on a car, it usually just stops, and you pull off to the side of the road. Working on cars is a little less pressure, but I am a little more

thorough than most people. The U.S. Navy had a very thorough training program,” Meszaros said.

The facility can provide most automo tive services. Oil changes, tune-ups, and tire repairs comprise most of the work done but Meszaros can also swap out an engine or transmission.

He also provides extra services such as house calls, rides home for customers af ter dropping off the car, roadside service, and will eventually offer towing. Local businesses including the marina, the post office, transfer station, and the fire districts have used the garage.

Erickson Brothers Garage, located at 1423 Gulf Road, is open Monday to Fri day from 9–5. The garage can be reached at 360/945-2807

s Gabe Meszaros.

Photo by Erin Kelly

The Gift of Giving

Think of how lovely it is to receive a gift. Now think about how it makes you feel to give to someone else, as you see what joy it brings, or as you imagine what a gift could do for a person or animal in need. The holidays are upon us and these are the times we spread the cheer, look forward to exchanging gifts and revel in donating to organizations both large and small.

Giving Tuesday falls on November 29 this year. Giving Tuesday is a global gen erosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. It was created in 2012 as simply a day that en courages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a year-round global move ment that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate and celebrate generosity. Everyone has something to give and every act of generosity counts.

Now this is where you come in. Circle of Care, a 501c3, has two goals this year:

1. To raise funds for a container for our durable medical equipment and supplies. We have been renting storage space for the past seven years and now we need a space of our own to accommodate our increasing donations from people like you. For this we will need a minimum of $5,000.

2. To raise funds for the first adult fami ly home and staff housing. We have raised a portion of the funds for the market fea sibility study and that is being produced now. We will next need a financial feasi bility study, and to retain the services of CPAs, legal experts and architects. For this, we need to raise $10,000.

If you have any questions about either

November 1, 2:04 p.m.: Welfare check on Edwards Drive.

November 2, 4:07 p.m.: Suspicious circumstances cold call on Sand ers Court.

November 2, 4:24 p.m.: Assault simple on Benson Road.

November 3, 1:55 p.m.: Alarm au dible on Churchill Drive.

November 4, 2:58 p.m.: Burglary cold call on Gulf Road.

November 4, 10:10 p.m.: Traffic hazard on Us candia Lane.

November 4, 10:53 p.m.: Traffic hazard on Tyee Drive.

November 5, 3:32 a.m.: Watch for on Johnson Road and Donegal Drive.

November 5, 11:01 a.m.: Alarm audible on Edwards Drive.

November 5, 5:46 p.m.: Alarm silent on Tyee.

of our goals, please contact either galen@ point-alliance.com or prcircleofcare@ gmail.com.

There are several ways you can give to Circle of Care. You can go to our website (prcircleofcare.com) to donate to either goal or for general use of funds. If you in clude your mailing address, we will send you a tax receipt. You can also order holi day swags during our seventh annual swag fundraiser. Orders must be in by Wednes day, November 30, and picked up Thurs day, December 1 in the afternoon at Trini ty Church in the community hall. Specify small $20, medium $30 or premium $35 when placing your order.

You can also order our Picturesque Point Roberts Wall Calendars for 2023, featuring works of our talented local photographers for $20 each or 6 for $100.

You may order swags and/or calendars by contacting prcircleofcare@gmail.com or by calling 360/945-5222.

Many corporations have matching do nations programs. If your company does, please let us know where you work.

And finally, the gift that keeps on giving – whenever you order from Amazon, type in smile.amazon.com, do your shopping and place your order exactly as you’ve al ways done. But the first time you order via smile.amazon, you will be asked to select the charity that you’d like Amazon to send 0.5 percent of your purchase price. Desig nate Circle of Care and each time you re member to type in smile.amazon.com, we will receive .5 percent! Just think of all the money that Point Roberts residents spend on Amazon!

We are grateful for your support and generosity. Have a wonderful holiday.

November 5, 5:54 p.m.: Alarm au dible on Gulf Road.

November 6, 1:38 p.m.: Hazard on Tyee Drive and Johnson Road.

November 7, 9:08 p.m.: Security check on Claire Lane.

November 8, 12:48 p.m.: Serve papers on Maple Street.

November 9, 3:50 p.m.: Trespass on Gulf Road.

November 10, 2:29 p.m.: Assist citizen on Pan orama Drive.

November 11, noon: Welfare check on Gulf View Crest.

November 12, 3:35 p.m.: Hang up (911) on Park Drive.

November 13, 12:24 p.m.: Welfare check on Gulf View Crest.

November 13, 7:35 p.m.: Welfare check on Claire Lane.

RECENT HOUSE & LOT PRICES

Blaine, Birch Bay & Point Roberts

OCTOBER 2022

DESCRIPTION

HIGHER END HOUSES:

$800,000 & ABOVE:

New 1-story house with 1,924 SF, 3 BD, 2 BA, 3-car attached garage, built in 2022, .23 acres land.

1-story house with 1,790 SF, 3 BD, 2 BA, 548 SF deck, built in 1999, 50 feet waterfront, marine view .16 acres land.

1-story house with 2,764 SF, 1,124 SF basement, 5 BD, 4 BA, 360 SF attached garage, 340 SF deck, 646 SF patio, built in 2006; marine and territorial views, .40 acres land. 1-story house with 2,764 SF, 1,124 SF basement, 5 BD, 4 BA, 360 SF attached garage, 340 SF deck, 646 SF patio, built in 2006; marine and territorial views, .40 acres land.

New 1-story house with basement 2,826 SF, 3 BD, 4 BA, built-in garage, deck, patio, built in 2022; marine and territorial views, .36 acres land.

2-story house with 2,610 SF, 1,152 SF basement, 4 BD, 4 BA, 594 SF built-in garage, 198 SF shop, 204 SF deck, built in 2015; marine and territorial views, .22 acres land.

New 2-story house with 3,029 SF, 4 BD, 3 BA, attached garage, patio, built in 2022; territorial view, .26 acres land.

COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES:

Two 804 foot water storage tanks, 192 foot pump station, two utility buildings with 576 and 5,000 SF, built in 2013 and 2020, 3.37 acres land.

LAND: .35 acres residential lot; marine and territorial view.

LOCATION

8237 Cowichan Road, Blaine

657 Freeman Lane, Point Roberts 5537 Night Heron Drive, Blaine 5752 Nakat Way, Blaine 8996 Dearborn Ave., Blaine 8988 Garibaldi Court, Blaine 3805 Industry Lane, Blaine Tolmiea Court, Blaine

$850,000 $950,000 $1,331,000 $1,299,750 $975,000 $869,000 $549,900 $225,000

obituAry

s Darin Jay Attrill

Darin Jay Attrill

Nov. 26, 1961 – Nov. 1, 2022

Dearly loved husband of Barbie Dutcher passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer.

Darin grew up in Chilliwack, B.C. and left quite a mark there. As well as being senior class president of Sardis Second ary School, he was also a well-known disc jockey, hockey player, hockey coach, and trauma nurse at Chilliwack General Hos pital. But he is best remembered as an em pathetic, kind, and caring volunteer. On Sundays, he would assist in cooking for and feeding the homeless. He volunteered with his church group to build an orphan age in San Felipe, Mexico.

It was his love of cooking and food that brought him and Barbie together. A perfect match. And even on his absolute worst days after chemotherapy, he managed to laugh and smile for everyone. That infec tious laugh will be missed.

Darin loved being part of the Point Rob erts community and wanted nothing more than to spend his final days here, which he did. He often said, “When I fell in love with Barbie, I fell in love with Point Rob erts.”

There will be a celebration in the spring. No one loved a party more than Darin so we will fill up the dance floor in his honor.

LibrAry picks

K r IS lo M ed I co

Bestsellers: Going Rogue Janet Evanovich

Livid Patricia Cornwell

Hell Bent Leigh Bardugo Stella Maris Cormac McCarthy

Movies: One Moment Danny Aiello

Kim’s Convenience All seasons

Where the Crawdads Sing Daisy Edgar Jones

1883 Sam Elliot

Music: Blue Grass Christmas II Craig Duncan

Reset Panda Bear Moon Child Mixes Selena 18 Jeff Beck

Teens:

Bloodmarked Tracy Deonn

Nine Liars Maureen Johnson

The Maze Cutter James Dashner

Kids:

Secret Saga Ogn Magnusson

Polar Bear Candace Fleming

The Forgotten King Kenneth Padgett

Hours: Tuesdays 1–5 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Express Library: 6 a.m. – 11 p.m. daily wcls.org

December Tides

5.8 5:45

12:02

2.6 12:55 pm 9.9 8:04 pm 2.5

Sa 3 1:56 am 6.3 6:51 am 4.0

1:27 pm 9.8 8:42 pm 1.2

Su 4 3:20 am 7.2 7:55 am 5.1

1:57 pm 9.7 9:18 pm 0.1

Mo 5 4:28 am 8.1 8:57 am 6.1

2:25 pm 9.5 9:54 pm -0.7

Tu 6 5:22 am 8.9 9:55 am 6.8

2:53 pm 9.3 10:28 pm -1.2

We 7 6:08 am 9.5 10:51 am 7.2

3:21 pm 9.1 11:00 pm -1.4

Th 8 6:50 am 9.9 11:43 am 7.5

3:49 pm 8.8 11:34 pm -1.5

Fr 9 7:32 am 10.0 12:33 pm 7.6

4:15 pm 8.5

Sa 10 12:08 am -1.4 8:12 am 10.1

1:23 pm 7.6 4:41 pm 8.2

Su 11 12:42 am -1.1 8:52 am 10.0

2:19 pm 7.5 5:03 pm 7.8

Mo 12 1:16 am -0.8 9:30 am 9.9

3:27 pm 7.3 5:21 pm 7.4

Tu 13 1:52 am -0.2 10:08 am 9.8

We 14 2:30 am 0.4 10:40 am 9.6

Th 15 3:07 am 1.3 11:09 am 9.5

6:36 pm 5.3 9:04 pm 5.4

Fr 16 3:49 am 2.2 11:37 am 9.5 6:58 pm 4.3 11:14 pm 5.2

Sa 17 4:39 am 3.4 12:03 pm 9.5 7:24 pm 3.1

Su 18 1:14 am 5.7 5:37 am 4.5 12:29 pm 9.5 7:56 pm 1.8

Mo 19 2:44 am 6.8 6:49 am 5.7

12:57 pm 9.6 8:30 pm 0.4

Tu 20 3:52 am 7.9 8:01 am 6.6

1:29 pm 9.7 9:08 pm -0.9

We 21 4:50 am 9.0 9:09 am 7.3 2:03 pm 9.8 9:50 pm -2.0

Th 22 5:40 am 10.0 10:13 am 7.7

2:43 pm 9.8 10:34 pm -2.9

Fr 23 6:28 am 10.6 11:15 am 8.0 3:27 pm 9.8 11:20 pm -3.4

Sa 24 7:14 am 11.0 12:13 pm 7.9 4:15 pm 9.6

Su 25 12:06 am -3.4 8:00 am 11.1

1:11 pm 7.7 5:07 pm 9.2

Mo 26 12:54 am -3.0 8:46 am 11.0

2:13 pm 7.1 6:05 pm 8.5

Tu 27 1:40 am -2.1 9:28 am 10.8

3:21 pm 6.3 7:13 pm 7.6

We 28 2:30 am -0.8 10:08 am 10.6

4:29 pm 5.2 8:37 pm 6.7

Th 29 3:18 am 0.8 10:44 am 10.3

5:35 pm 4.0 10:21 pm 6.0

Fr 30 4:08 am 2.5 11:18 am 10.1

6:33 pm 2.7

Sa 31 12:21 am 6.0 5:04 am 4.2 11:52 am 9.9 7:25 pm 1.5

Coming up ...

Point Roberts Dollars for Scholars Fundraiser Campaign: Starting Tuesday, November 1. Local Dollars for Scholars board members are actively raising funds to again award scholarships to high school seniors and our continuing education students. Donations can be made through Umpqua bank for Dollars for Scholars, by mail to Point Roberts Dollars for Scholars, P.O. Box 1354, Point Roberts, WA 98281, or you can donate while you shop through AmazonSmile at smile.amazon.com (The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate .5 percent of the price of eligible purchases listed under Scholarship America, Point Roberts, WA). Umpqua bank will roll your tins of coins to donate.

Point Roberts Clinic Hours: Primary Care: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., appointment need ed. Urgent Care can be accessed through telemedicine or at the clinic Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sundays 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Always call for an appointment before coming in, even for urgent care services. Hours subject to change. Flu shots available. Info: 360/945-2580.

PR Library Hours: Tuesdays 1-7 p.m., Wednesdays and Saturdays 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Library express hours: 6 a.m. – 11 p.m. daily.

Point Roberts Walkers: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 8 a.m., coffee to follow at 9 a.m., Thursdays at the community center, Saturdays at Lily Point. Tuesdays location varies and can be found at prwalkers. wordpress.com.

PR Food Bank: Every Wednesday 8:30 –10 a.m. at the Gulf Road Community Center.

Seniors and More Lunches: Wednesdays and Fridays drive through and pick up available from 11:45 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., PR community center. Weekly menus published on PAWS and Point Interface. All ages welcome. More info: prseniors@whidbey.com or 360/945-5424.

Covid-19 PCR testing: Sundays,10–11 a.m., Point Roberts Fire Hall, 2030 Benson Road. Bring ID and insur ance information.

Your Local Small Market: Saturdays, November 19, December 3 and 17, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., community center. Local vendors include Ollie Otter Bakery and The Garden Stand/Slow Botanicals. Come out and shop for local and handmade. Info: slowbotanicals@gmail.com.

The Commons: Saturday, 19 November, noon – 2:30 p.m., the back room of the community center. We have free used books, free flowing conversation, and free time! Come by and find out about our new proj ect, Center of the World, featuring photos of you! Bring us your used books to share with others.

Light up your bike class: Saturday, November 26, 1 p.m. Local experts George and Julie are going to share their EL wire expertise so you can light up your bike for the Holiday Night Bike Ride! We’ve got spots for 10 people in our first session. We’re ordering all the supplies and the soldering guns. Please reply if you are interested! Expect up to $20 supply fee – exact amount to be confirmed shortly. Part of the Whatcom Com munity Foundation grant to bring people together. Email Samantha if you want to be involved in the class at sscholefield@hotmail.com.

PC Care Clinic: Sunday, November 27, noon – 4 p.m., community center. Free computer care clinic commu nity event where you can bring in your PC/laptop and we will provide a free checkup, cleaning and repair if we can. If your PC/laptop has a problem that we can fix on-site, the fix will be free. If the problem requires parts, we will provide an estimate for you to decide. The goals of the Computer Care Clinic are to help local Point Roberts computer users who need assistance, and to keep your electronics out of the landfill by ex tending its life. Please book a time slot by contacting Randy Smith at all4sail@yahoo.com or calling 360/9450283.

Let’s Make Presents: Tuesday, November 29, 3–4 p.m., PR library. Come to the library to make presents for all the loved ones in your life. We’ll have all the supplies and ideas you’ll need to craft beautiful, meaningful gifts. This event is for kids.

PR Circle of Care Annual Swag Fundraiser: Preorder by Wednesday, November 30, 5 p.m., with pick up on Thursday, December 1, noon–3 p.m. Price: $20 small, $30 medium, $35 premium. DIY swag kits available for $20. Call 360/945-5222 or email prcircleofcare@gmail.com to place your order.

Trinity Community Choir performs Gloria: A Christmas Concert: Saturday, December 3, 7 p.m., Saint David’s Church in Tsawwassen and Sunday, December 4, 3 p.m., Ladner United Church.

Holiday Night Bike Ride: Sunday, December 4, 5 p.m. Sponsored by the PR Taxpayers Association Free on the Point program. Get your warm gear, your Christmas sweater and your battery Christmas lights and decorate your bike. We’re getting together for a night ride on the Point in holiday style! This event is family friendly but probably better for older kids and teens who are confident on their bikes. Check out the Light Up your Bike class in November to get your ride lit up. Part of the Whatcom Community Foundation grant to bring people together. Info: sscholefield@hotmail.com.

PR Amateur Radio Club: Monday, December 5, 7 p.m., via Zoom.

PR Emergency Preparedness: Tuesday, December 6, 7 p.m., community center/Zoom. Info: prepgroup17@ gmail.com.

Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce AGM: Wednesday, December 7, 6 p.m., Saltwater Cafe, 1345 Gulf Road. Guest speaker: Elliott Smith, director of real estate and asset management, Port of Bellingham. To join the chamber, visit pointrobertschamberofcommerce.com. Light refreshments will be served. Members must RSVP by Monday, December 5 to info@pointrobertschamberofcommerce.com.

Point Roberts Primary School Holiday Show: Thursday, December 8, 6 p.m., community center. Come see the performance, buy some treats at the bake sale and take part in the silent auction.

Point Roberts Holiday Bazaar: Saturday, December 10, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., community center. Find your hidden treasures and holiday gifts. Food and drinks will be available. Vendor sign up: forms.gle/FFh6hN st4Z3SgDgeA.

PR Park and Recreation: Monday, December 12, at 7 p.m., via Zoom. Info: prparkandrec.org.

Water District: Tuesday, December 13, 5 p.m., via Zoom.

Fire District 5: Wednesday, December 14, at 4 p.m., via Zoom. Info: WCFD5.com.

PR Hospital District: Wednesday, December 14, 7 p.m., via Zoom. Info: pointrobertsclinic.com.

PR Community Advisory Committee: Thursday, December 15, 7 p.m., via Zoom.

The Bergamasca Concert: Noel, Noel: Sunday, December 18, 4 p.m., Trinity Church, 1880 APA Road. Free concert, donations appreciated. All proceeds benefit the PR Landmark Building Restoration Project.

PR Historical Society: Wednesday, December 21, 7 p.m., in the History Center.

History Center: Saturdays, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Same great displays and store! Stop by to check out displays and the Pacific Northwest gift shop. Holiday Hours: Saturday, November 26 through December 17, hours will be expanded to Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., and Sundays December 11 and 18 from noon – 3 p.m. The history center will be closed December 24 and 31. Normal hours will resume on Saturday, January 7.

Storytime: Wednesdays, 10:30–11 a.m., PR library. For ages 2-6. An open program that includes stories, rhymes and songs with opportunities for movement and interactive participation.

Craft and Game Night: Tuesdays from 5–7 p.m., Point Roberts Library. Bring a craft to work on or a board game to play.

Whatcom County Al-Anon: Online meetings available via Zoom and GoToMeeting. Info: whatcomafg.org.