March 29 - April 4, 2018
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Tennis team takes to new courts, page 6
Interim police chief discusses role, page 10
Band from Japan performs at Performing Arts Center, page 15
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How the school Students, parents lead ‘March For Our Lives’ protest in Blaine levy would affect your tax bill Recent increase in education tax is from the state, not local By Oliver Lazenby
(See Taxes, page 5)
s ‘March For Our Lives’ participants gathered at Peace Arch Park on March 24. See photos on page 15.
B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e Joining hundreds of thousands of protestors in cities across the globe, approximately 75 people, including students, parents and teachers, took part in ‘March For Our Lives’ in Blaine on March 24 to protest mass shootings at U.S. schools and call on lawmakers to tighten gun restrictions. Created and led by students, ‘March For Our Lives’ drew hundreds of thousands of
people to Washington, D.C. and thousands more to 800 other connected protests. In Bellingham, roughly 3,000 people took part in the demonstration on Saturday. The protest followed the death of 17 individuals who were shot at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14. Days after the shooting, students from the high school came together to organize ‘March For Our Lives’ in Washington, D.C.
City quells concerns about Lincoln Park disc golf course B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e Since announcing plans to install a disc golf course at Lincoln Park in February, the city has received some pushback. At a city council meeting on March 26, Blaine community planner Alex Wenger said the park and cemetery board had budgeted $25,000 to install an 18-hole disc golf course and make improvements to the 27-acre park’s lighting and asphalt trail. Wenger said the city expected to open the new course as early as this June.
Announcement of the new course spurred criticism from some residents who were concerned about the environmental impact, cost of the park, and the combination of flying discs and roaming dogs (Lincoln Park is one of two designated off-leash dog parks in Blaine). To quell concerns, Wenger made a brief presentation to the city council and stated that the park and cemetery board is in the process of developing a detailed maintenance plan for the course to detect any impacts from flying discs and ensure that
the park remains in good condition. “We are moving forward with construction of the disc golf course,” Wenger said to city council at the regular meeting on Monday. “We want to blend the planned future improvements in Lincoln Park, which is more than just disc golf.” Adding, “We’re continuing to review that.” Addressing another concern, Wenger said, the city is also planning to provide trash cans at Lincoln Park. He added, “I (See Disc golf, page 2)
In Blaine, tenth graders Aurora Edwards, 15, and Emma Breedlove, 16, helped organize the march. They were encouraged to do so by their school guidance counselor, Rick Vander Yacht. Edwards’ grandfather, Jeff Schamel, created signs to promote the local march and her dad, Robert Edwards, agreed to speak at the event in support. The city granted a parade permit and the (See March, page 15)
Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Coming Up . . . . . 14 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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Property taxes for education just spiked, but the Blaine school district isn’t the main culprit. That’s the message district officials are hoping to spread in the weeks before the April 24 special election, when voters will decide on the school district’s proposed $12 million, six-year capital projects and technology levy that will go into effect in 2019. Property tax bills went up 11.8-13 percent this year, depending on if you live in Blaine, Birch Bay or Point Roberts. While some local taxes did go up, the biggest change was in state education taxes. The amount of money the state collects for schools from Whatcom County property owners jumped from $2.23 to $3.20 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2018, a $242.50 annual increase for a home valued at $250,000. State lawmakers passed the tax increase in 2017 to comply with the state Supreme Court’s McCleary decision, which found that the state wasn’t fully funding education. When the state disperses that money, it will go toward paying educators’ salaries, not toward fixing roofs, parking lots or grandstands – all things the Blaine school district would do with a new levy. Taxes for the Blaine school district did jump 30 cents to $2.80 per $1,000 in 2018, a bigger increase than any other local tax. A BP Cherry Point tax settlement caused that jump. BP paid a lump sum of more
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