September 15 - 21, 2016
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Brush fire halts traffic and forces evacuation, page 3
Public hearing to focus on unrefined fuel shipments
Blaine dog awarded grant for surgery, page 8
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Service members honored at 9/11 ceremony, page 10
Are you up for the #BookBrainChallenge?
By Oliver Lazenby
s Blaine Library page April Sibley participated in the #BookBrainChallenge on September 12. For the challenge, she balanced a book on her head while training her two dogs. The Whatcom County Library System launched the campaign in conjunction with Library Card Sign-up Month.
Photo by Stefanie Donahue
Whatcom County libraries launch social media campaign B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e Thanks to a recent campaign led by the Whatcom County Library System (WCLS), folks all the way from Bellingham to Blaine are donning books on their heads while dancing, singing, painting – you name it. The challenge corresponds with National Library Card Sign-up Month. To date, less than half of households in Whatcom County own a library card. “Our #BookBrainChallenge offers an
easy way for people to support the library, engage with their community, get more people signed up for library cards and have fun while doing it,” said Christine Perkins, library system executive director. This week, Blaine Library staff member Cindy Lettel decided to get creative with the challenge. On Monday, she carefully placed “The Wonderful Book,” by Leonid Gore atop her head while Blaine police officer Jake Farrer mimicked booking her into jail.
Marijuana exclusion policy termed “ludicrous” B y P a t G r u bb Recent and widespread publicity about Canadians being permanently banned from the U.S. after admitting to having smoked marijuana in the past has politicians on both sides of the border concerned. Reuters reported last Friday that Canadian public safety minister Ralph Goodale said, “We obviously need to intensify our discussions with our border authorities in the United States, including the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security.” “This does seem to be a ludicrous situation,” he said, pointing out that marijuana is legal in Washington state as well as “three or four other jurisdictions in the United States.” According to Reuters, Goodale spokesman Scott Bardsley stated, “In terms of the practices of border guards in question, those only came to widespread attention recently and will be discussed in future bilateral discussions.” Congresswoman Suzan DelBene was
equally forthright about the policy after her office was contacted by constituents upset by recent incidents at the Point Roberts and Blaine crossings. “The recent reports of Canadian citizens being interrogated for hours and banned from U.S. entry after admitting to having ever smoked marijuana is concerning,” she said. “The commerce and tourism that comes with sharing a border is a critical factor (See Exclusion, page 13)
Blaine Library page April Sibley chose to train her two corgis, Toffee and Chile, while balancing a Pembroke Welsh corgi training guide. A quick search of #BookBrainChallenge or #WCLSlibraries populates dozens of videos and posts. As Lettel puts it, “It’s just one example of the fun we have at the public library.” To complete the challenge, participants (See Books, page 2)
INSIDE
Whatcom County has scheduled a September 27 public hearing on its moratorium on applications for new or expanded facilities for shipping unrefined fuels from Cherry Point, during the council’s regular meeting. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. and is at council chambers at 311 Grand Avenue, in Bellingham. The county was required to hold a hearing within 60 days of August 9, when it passed the emergency moratorium. The moratorium allows local refineries to continue refining and exporting oil, but bans applications for new projects that would ship oil without refining it. The moratorium came about after councilmember Carl Weimer proposed an amendment to ban unrefined oil, coal and natural gas shipments from the Cherry Point urban growth area as part of the county’s 20-year comprehensive plan update. County staff is studying the issue and will make a recommendation to council before January 17. As recently as last year, shipping unrefined oil from the U.S. was illegal. In December 2015, U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama repealed a 40-year ban on unrefined oil exports. Since then, Canada has received the majority of unrefined oil shipments from the U.S. The cities of Vancouver and Hoqiuam, Washington, both have similar moratoriums in place as a result of oil export projects proposed in those communities. County council on September 13 also introduced an ordinance that would extend its moratorium by six months. That ordinance could be extended an additional six months if subsequent public hearings are held. The moratorium doesn’t prohibit the filing or processing of applications for maintenance or repairs that don’t increase capacity for shipping unrefined fossil fuels.
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . 11-12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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