March 22 - 28, 2018
FREE
Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Downtown development projects underway, page 2
What would Blaine’s $12 million school levy pay for?
Blaine baseball team beats Sehome, page 7
Photos from Wings Over Water, page 8
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Birders flock to Blaine, Birch Bay for Wings Over Water
By Oliver Lazenby
(See Levy, page 3)
s The Wings Over Water NW Birding Festival took place in Blaine and Birch Bay last weekend. The 16th annual event featured various activities for people interested in learning more about the multitude of migratory birds that pass through the Pacific Flyway. Pictured: birders snapping photos during a walk at Birch Bay State Park on March 18. See more photos on page 8. Photo by Chuck Kinzer
Blaine City Council talks next steps after legislative session ends B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e With the 2018 legislative session now over, governmental affairs consultants are encouraging Blaine City Council and city staff to start developing plans for the 2019-21 legislative biennium. The discussion took place on March 19 during a presentation led by Gordon Thomas Honeywell consultants Briahna Murray and Hanna Jones.
The pair was hired by the city prior to the 60-day legislative session commencing and worked in-hand with elected officials representing District 42 to seek funding to extend utility infrastructure to east Blaine and to update an Interchange Justification Report (IJR) for a project to add a new southbound off-ramp on I-5 at exit 274. “Brianna and I are successful in our efforts because of the city’s delegation,” Jones said about state Senator Doug Er-
Community raises funds for Blaine family that lost home in fire By Oliver Lazenby A crowdfunding campaign is raising money for a Blaine family that lost their home in a fire on March 14. The fire tore through the family’s mobile home at 2950 Canada View Drive in Blaine, leaving almost nothing behind. The fire was reported at 10:20 p.m., according to North Whatcom Fire and Rescue. The family was gone when the fire started and no one was injured. To help the family recover, Jared Surow-
iecki started a crowdfunding page for his brother, girlfriend and kids who were victim to the fire damage. More than $9,000 has been raised as of March 21. Jason Surowiecki lived at the house with his girlfriend Hope Woolf and their four young kids. Woolf and the kids were picking Jason Surowiecki up from a friends’ house when the blaze began. They returned to find thick smoke at the front and back doors. North Whatcom Fire and Rescue divi-
sion chief Henry Hollander said he arrived five minutes after getting the call but the house couldn’t be saved. “The older trailers burn really quick; there’s nothing to them,” he said. “I don’t think they’re ever going to find what caused it because of the extent of damage.” His brother’s family lost nearly everything other than the clothes they had on, Jared said. “That has been really heartwarming,”
icksen (R-Ferndale) and representatives Vincent Buys (R-Lynden) and Luanne Van Werven (R-Lynden). “They really fought hard to get this funding for the city.” Prior to the 60-day legislative session adjourning on March 8, the state lawmakers passed more than 300 bills, in addition to supplemental operating, capital and transportation budgets. (See Funding, page 5)
INSIDE
Voters in the Blaine school district will vote on a $12 million technology and capital projects property tax levy in the Tuesday, April 24 special election. The levy would cost taxpayers 51 cents per $1,000 of home value annually and raise $2 million a year from 2019 to 2024. The district would use that money for a variety of maintenance and replacement projects throughout the district, as well as for funding new technology for students and staff. The district characterizes much of the work as maintenance and replacement projects that are too expensive for the school’s general fund. Here’s a closer look at what the district wants to fund with a levy, including estimated costs and completion dates: Birch Bay school property ($1 million, 2019) The school board has considered purchasing property for a school in Birch Bay for more than a decade. During that time, Birch Bay’s population has grown significantly; now more than half the district’s students live in Birch Bay, according to a comparison of census data and Blaine school district enrollment numbers. The school board committed to purchasing property in Birch Bay at a 2014 board meeting but couldn’t afford it at that time. As Birch Bay continues to develop, district officials think purchasing property in Birch Bay will only become more difficult due to limited availability. Once the district purchases property, it will likely ask voters to pass a bond to fund an
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Coming Up . . . . . 14 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
TheNorthernLight.com TheNorthernLight
(See Fire, page 5)
@TNLreporter
@PointRobertsPress