July 28 - August 3, 2016
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District 42 candidates prepare for Expert tips on lawn Blaine residents use ham radios to upcoming election, page 6-7 serve the community, page 10 care, page 8-9
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Chalk artists paint the streets of Blaine Drayton Harbor Days kicks off August 6-7 B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e
(For more on Drayton Harbor Days please turn to page 3)
s Artists took to the streets on Saturday, July 23, chalk in hand. The Chalk It Up! event, located on H Street and Peace Portal Drive, spurred creativity throughout the streets of Blaine.
Photo courtesy of Michael Jones
County officials updating voter precincts B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e Staff at the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office is taking the first steps in what will be a months-long process to adjust voter precincts throughout the county. The changes are a result of the 2015 general election, when Whatcom County voters approved an update to county council representation, moving from three districts to five. Eventually, each district will vote on a single representative and only two at-large positions will go up for a countywide vote. Blaine, Birch Bay and Point Roberts will fall under the new coastal district and will
no longer be represented by council members Barbara Brenner and Carl Weimer after their terms expire. Both Brenner and Weimer are residents of the new Farmlands district. While the updated precinct map doesn’t impact voters, it’s necessary to make adjustments, said Whatcom County Auditor Debbie Adelstein. Whatcom County’s 178 precincts must fall under new district lines. Ultimately, the initiative opens the door to improvement. A few precincts, she explained, are in need of balance. Ferndale’s precinct 505, for example, has 1,148 voters, while precinct 504,
Birch Bay named top West Coast destination By Oliver Lazenby The secret is out – Birch Bay ranks highly with the popular travel and vacation website TripAdvisor.com. The website recently put Birch Bay at no. 2 on its list of affordable West Coast summer vacation destinations. The beachside community also made TripAdvisor’s list of most affordable winter destinations last January.
The summer list, which came out in June, ranks vacation destinations based on the average cost of a weeklong stay in a two-bedroom rental between May and September. A week in Birch Bay averages $940, according to the list. The site praises Birch Bay for its “scenic trails, excellent bird watching … views of the Cascades and Gulf Islands, plus some of the best clamming and crabbing in the state.”
Big Bear Lake, California, topped the list with an average weekly price of $938. Birch Bay was the only Washington state location in the top 10. Most of the destinations are in mountain towns in the Sierras and Cascades, and beach towns in Washington and Oregon. To see the full list of vacation destinations, visit the following: bit.ly/2auZHe4
which sits right next door, has 457 voters, she said. The same goes for Lynden-based prvecinct 601 with 1,092 voters and precinct 605 with 473 voters. A Washington state statute recommends 1,200 per precinct, she said. “It just didn’t make any sense,” she said. However, the imbalance is no cause for concern, she said. Large precincts are more challenging to manage and if they get too small, it’s easier to detect voting patterns. In the meantime, voters should expect to see the proposal ready for public discussion in early September, she said. The updated precinct map will go into effect after the 2016 general election.
INSIDE
Blaine’s pirate-themed Drayton Harbor Days event celebrates its ninth straight year on Saturday and Sunday, August 6 and 7. The event, centered at the Blaine Harbor Boating Center at 235 Marine Drive, will feature activities for all ages. Expect to see games, crafts, food and the popular annual raft race. The Prestigious George Raft Race requires participants to build a vessel out of recycled materials to race through Drayton Harbor. Victory is claimed for the boat that makes it first to the finish line, next to where the historic Plover ferry is docked. Captain Richard Sturgill has participated in the race for years and plans to skipper the handcrafted “Salishan Black Bear” across the rocky waters for the race at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 6. Sturgill cofounded Drayton Harbor Days and is also the director of Drayton Harbor Maritime. This year, he’s determined that his pirate-styled raft, built from a dump truck liner and pieces of an old dock, along with a few “secret” new features, will get his team the George Raft Trophy. For those not interested in dipping their toes in the water, Drayton Harbor Days features a variety of events on land. Expect to see prize drawings, a costume contest and about 40 vendors offering food and shopping opportunities, said Carroll Solomon from the Blaine Chamber of Commerce. Blaine’s nautically themed Marine Park Playground will be open for its first Drayton Harbor Days, she added. For a full list of events scheduled during Drayton Harbor Days, please visit blainechamber.com.
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . 11-12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 13 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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