May 7 - 13, 2015
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Boys soccer team closes out season, page 6
NWFR chief Ron Anderson resigns during tense union negotiations
Gluten-free or gluten freakout? pages 8-9
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Stafholt opens new short-term wing, page 13
End of a wild ride
By Steve Guntli Amid tensions from union representatives and staff, North Whatcom Fire and Rescue (NWFR) chief Ron Anderson announced he would resign from his office effective May 1. Anderson came under fire during the April 16 fire commissioners meeting, when Joel Sellinger, a former firefighter for the district, attacked Anderson in a six-minute speech. Sellinger accused Anderson of poor management and understaffing. “Chief Ron Anderson neither respects nor values his employees,” Sellinger said. “What was once a proud organization has been replaced with a ‘walking on eggshells’ culture, where friends are rewarded, numbers are fudged and good people are regarded as dollar amounts on a budget. I urge you now, no, I demand that you terminate Chief Anderson effective immediately.” Sellinger and three other firefighters received layoff notices in 2013. Subsequently, firefighters from Station 12 at Bristol Loop went door to door to gain support for an Emergency Medical Services levy that would protect the firefighters from being laid off. The levy passed, but the layoff notices were not rescinded for another several months. Sellinger alleged Anderson kept the firefighters on notice so the department could apply for SAFER grants, which provide federal funds to understaffed stations. That grant never came through. The four firefighters were not laid off, but left the department anyway. Sellinger now works for the Everett Fire Department. Union representatives at a collective bargaining negotiation meeting on April 29 echoed Sellinger’s complaints. The union reps were seeking raises for the first time in three years. At the end of that meeting, Anderson agreed to resign his position. NWFR and district 4 fire commissioners denied the allegations in a statement signed by six of the eight commissioners. “We understand that it is not unusual for firefighters to bring up safety, staffing issues and related matters in the middle of (See Chief, page 3)
s Blaine police chief Mike Haslip and a Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputy help a woman out of Semiahmoo Bay after she tried to escape police by swimming to Canada. The woman had stolen a school bus from the Stanwood school district and led Blaine police on a brief but wild chase down Marine Drive.
Photo by Molly Ernst
Woman crashes stolen school bus, jumps into bay By Ian Ferguson A woman rammed a stolen school bus into a Blaine police cruiser, crashed the bus on Marine Drive and tried to swim away from police officers towards Canada, according to witnesses and police. Sheriffs in Snohomish County reported a small, yellow school bus was stolen from the Stanwood-Camano Island school district’s bus garage at approximately 1:45 p.m. on May 1 with no students onboard. The bus was seen driving north on I-5 near Portal Way in
Ferndale at 3:45 p.m., and Blaine police were alerted to watch for the vehicle. A police officer spotted the vehicle about 15 minutes later in Blaine at a gas station on D Street. When the officer tried to contact the woman, she rammed the bus into the officer’s patrol vehicle and sped away, said Blaine police chief Mike Haslip. Officers pursued the bus to Marine Drive, a deadend road surrounded by water. Blaine resident Katherine McCall was driving west on Marine Drive when the bus passed her going in the same direction. “She passed me going about 60 miles per
55 people affected by E. coli outbreak after Lynden field trip By Steve Guntli As of May 6, 55 people have fallen ill from E. coli sickness after a field trip in Lynden. Eight people have been hospitalized for their symptoms. The Whatcom County Health Department (WCHD) is investigating the outbreak. While the source of the outbreak has not been determined, all of the cases so far have been linked to the Milk Makers
Festival at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds on April 21. Approximately 1,325 primary school students from Blaine, Bellingham, Ferndale, Nooksack and Lynden school districts visited the festival on a field trip between April 21 and 23. WCHD has identified the bacteria as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), which can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fever and vomiting. Severe cases could lead to bloody diarrhea, kidney failure and
breakdown of red blood cells. The bacteria are most commonly spread through animal fecal matter. The Milk Maker’s Festival, intended to introduce young children to farming, featured a petting zoo with small horses, rabbits, sheep, chickens and a baby cow. Health department officers are interviewing subjects to determine a common (See E. Coli, page 3)
hour,” McCall said. “She was flying. My first thought was, ‘I hope there aren’t any kids on that bus.’” Just west of the Lighthouse Point Water Reclamation Facility on Marine Drive the vehicle veered off the road and collided with a log barrier, lifting the front tires off the ground and immobilizing the bus. Witnesses say the woman then ran from the bus towards Semiahmoo Bay, plunged into the water and began swimming north towards Canada. (See Crash, page 15)
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