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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
Sept. 29 - Oct. 5, 2016
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Athletic fees decrease Energy efficiency initiative Area cheesemakers share for local students, page 6 expands in Blaine, page 9 samples in Seattle, page 13
Blaine’s inaugural Marine Park celebration rings in the last days of summer Oktoberfest kicks off next weekend B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e
(See Oktoberfest, page 3)
s Blaine city staff hosted an End of Summer Celebration last Saturday to honor community donors who helped fund the construction of the nearly one-year-old Marine Park playground. The event featured a rededication ceremony, food, a beer garden and live music. The playground features a wall of bronze plaques honoring the many private donors, who raised about $83,000. See more photos on page 15. Photo by Louise Mugar
Birch Bay berm project delayed another year By Oliver Lazenby After more than 40 years of waiting, planning and design, the Birch Bay Drive and Pedestrian Facilities project will likely be delayed another year. County officials hoped construction on the project known as the Birch Bay berm would begin this fall, but ground breaking
will likely be delayed until after Labor Day 2017. Whatcom County needed to obtain property easements before construction could start on the project, which would naturalize the beach along Birch Bay Drive, replacing concrete seawalls and breakwaters with a sand and gravel beach that would more effectively protect the
School district sells bonds to help pay for renovations By Oliver Lazenby The Blaine school district is taking advantage of low interest rates by selling $30 million worth of bonds in a deal that was expected to close September 29. The bonds will help pay for renovations at Blaine schools. Voters approved the sale of $45 million in bonds to pay for renovations and upgrades for Blaine High School, elementary and primary
school buildings in a February 2015 special election. The bond initiative passed by 70.16 percent. The district sold the first $15 million in bonds in May 2015 with a 2.6 percent interest rate. This month’s bond sale has a slightly better 2.42 percent interest rate, said district finance director Amber Porter. Taxpayers are projected to pay $1.04
SEPT 30 & OCT 1, 2016 BELLINGHAM BAY, WASH
per $1,000 of assessed property value, or about $312 a year for a $300,000 home in 2017. That rate is projected to drop incrementally until 2026, at which point taxpayers would be paying $0.56 per $1,000 until 2036, according to a document prepared by the district’s financial advisor, Piper Jaffrey. In total, the district will be paying the bondholder $3.7 million a year from 2017 to 2025.
road from floods. The county hoped to obtain those easements and start construction this September, but negotiations are taking longer than expected; the county has obtained eight easements and still needs 30 more, said county project engineer Kevin Thompson (See Berm, page 3)
INSIDE
The leaves are falling and the temperature is getting cooler by the day – one thing is clear, fall has arrived. To celebrate, the public is invited to take part in Blaine’s first Oktoberfest on Saturday and Sunday, October 8–9. The harvest-themed event corresponds with Blaine Harbor Art Gallery’s Art-oberfest, the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday and the Semiahmoo Resort Oktoberfest celebration over the weekend. Blaine’s Oktoberfest begins with a hearty community breakfast and ends on Sunday with a pub crawl through downtown. In between, event goers will have the chance to peruse Blaine’s Gardener’s Market, hitch a ride on a horse-drawn hay ride and more. The community breakfast starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday and takes place at the Blaine community center. Art-oberfest takes place both Saturday and Sunday at the Blaine Pavilion on the corner of 8th and H streets. The art and gift show, sponsored by the gallery also features live music, a coloring contest and a Kids Fun Zone, including a bouncy house. Prizes are available for each age bracket in the coloring contest. Coloring sheets can be found at many local businesses or on the Blaine Harbor Art Gallery website: blaineharborartgallery.com/art-oberfest-coloring-sheets.html. Everything from an oyster grilling competition to a pizza dough tossing contest is on the Oktoberfest docket. Drayton Harbor Oyster Company, the Blaine Pizza Factory and other downtown businesses are sponsoring events Saturday. And don’t forget the canines. This year’s Dogtoberfest takes place from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Birch Bay Activity Center. Pups will have
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . 11-12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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