August 2 - 8, 2018
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
State releases reminder on MMR vaccine, page 7
Maritime festival to take place August 4-5
Last Birch Bay Library design meeting is August 18, page 13
Birch Bay Music Festival starts on August 3, page 15
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Interim police chief leaves post at Blaine Police Department
B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e
(See Maritime, page 12)
s Blaine Police Department lieutenant Ryan King, l., presents interim police chief Michael Knapp with a plaque commemorating his service to the city of Blaine. Knapp concluded his tenure with the department on July 31. Los Angeles Police Department lieutenant Allen Schubert will take the helm as police chief on August 20. In the meantime, King will serve as police chief.
Blaine School District is testing water fixtures for lead By Oliver Lazenby After replacing 12 faucets that tested higher than allowable threshold for lead last year, the Blaine School District is continuing to identify and replace fixtures that don’t meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. District superintendent Ron Spanjer updated the school board on the process at
its July 30 meeting. The district is waiting on results from lead testing at Blaine Primary School, and if any fixtures test above its threshold, they’ll be replaced within days, Spanjer said. The district doesn’t know when it will get test results. The Washington State Department of Health tested all the fixtures at Blaine elementary in March 2018, and in April the district replaced two sink faucets with
Primary election ballots must be returned by August 7 B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e Voters in Whatcom County have until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 7 to return their primary election ballots. More than 60 candidates are running for key federal, state and county positions, including U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, State Representative, State Senator and Whatcom County Council, among others. The top two candidates receiving the most votes, despite party affiliation, will move on to the general election on
Photo by Mathew Roland
Tuesday, November 6. This year, election ballots can be mailed without postage due to an agreement struck between secretary of state Kim Wyman and governor Jay Inslee to boost turnout. In a statement, Whatcom County Auditor Debbie Adelstein said ballots must be postmarked no later than August 7. “Voters are encouraged to check the last pick-up time posted on the mailbox if waiting until election day to mail their ballot,” Adelstein said in a statement. “Ballots deposited after the last pick-up
time on election day will not have a valid postmark and can’t be counted.” Voters can also return their ballots at an official ballot drop box, including those located at Birch Bay North Whatcom Fire and Rescue, 4581 Birch Bay-Lynden Road; Custer Elementary, 7660 Custer School Road; Blaine Public Library, 610 3rd Street; and at the Whatcom County Courthouse, 201 Grand Avenue Bellingham. For more information, contact Adelstein at 360/778-5105 or chief deputy auditor Diana Bradrick at 360/778-5130.
lead levels over the EPA’s recommended replacement threshold of 20 parts per billion. The classroom faucets that were replaced had lead levels of 23 and 20 parts per billion. The district replaced an additional 10 faucets with lead levels over 10 parts per billion. (See Lead, page 13)
INSIDE
Seafaring folk from all around are set to attend Drayton Harbor Days this weekend. The annual maritime festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, August 4-5, at the Blaine Harbor Boating Center, located at 235 Marine Drive. From 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, volunteers at the Blaine Senior Center, 763 G Street, will serve up a pancake breakfast. The breakfast will include a selection of pancakes, French toast, waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage, coffee and orange juice. The cost to attend is $6 for adults and $4 for children under the age of 6. Starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Blaine Marine Park, nonprofit Let’s Move! Blaine will sponsor the 18th annual Run to the Border 5K. A 1-mile Kids Marina Fun Run and Walk, for children age 10 and under, will precede the race at 8:30 a.m. Day-of registration is available for racers and costs $16 for adults, $10 for age 7 to 12 and $6 for children age 6 and under. All proceeds will go toward the construction of a new playground at Blaine Elementary School. This year, volunteers from Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 are promising a slew of pirate-themed activities at ‘Pirate Daze’ between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday at Blaine Marine Park. Pirates from all around – including the Shady Isle Pirates from Steveston, B.C. – will sing sea chanteys, perform historical reenactments and even shoot a real cannon. To boot, a parade will take place at noon
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Coming Up . . . . 14 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . 14
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DRAYTON HARBOR DAYS MARITIME FESTIVAL August 4 & 5 at Blaine Harbor See ad on page 3 for event schedule
Free Family Fun!