The Northern Light: August 6-12, 2020 by Point Roberts Press

August 6 - 12, 2020 • thenorthernlight.com

Health department recommends local school districts start remotely By Grace McCarthy Whatcom County health officer Dr. Greg Stern recommended to county superintendents and private school administrators that schools plan to start the school year with remote learning, according to a press release from the county health department. “I do not feel it is safe to open schools in September for traditional classroom learning,” Stern said in the press release. “I expect that our current infection rate and its ongoing increase will not slow or reverse enough to allow for safe operations in the fall. Given this, and the lead time needed to prepare for school operations, I strongly recommend schools prepare for remote learning to start the school year.” In his decision, Stern considered the potential impact reopening schools could have on the continuing increase of Covid-19 cases in the county, according to the release. The risk for staff and students with underlying medical conditions also impacted the decision. The Blaine school district

planned to discuss the recent recommendations at an August 5 special school board meeting. Blaine school district superintendent Christopher Granger has repeatedly said during meetings this summer that the school district will prepare for starting the year with remote learning, despite its current plan for families to choose either a hybrid model of learning or online classes. Lisa Moeller, school district public relations specialist, said she believes the district will be prepared to start the year remotely, if needed, because that was already an option for families. Erika Lautenbach, Whatcom County Health Department director, acknowledged and thanked the school districts in the county that worked this summer to plan for reopening in the fall. Health officials in Snohomish and Pierce counties have issued similar guidance, according to the release. As of August 3, Whatcom County had 941 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 38 deaths, according to data from the Washington State Department

Image courtesy Whatcom County Health Department

of Health. Washington state had 59,379 cases and 1,619 deaths, according to state health data.

Preliminary results for August 4 primaries B y P a t G r u bb An estimated 36 percent of eligible Whatcom County voters submitted ballots in the August 4 primary election. A total of 53,750 votes were counted by election eve with approximately 14,500 left to count. Statewide, governor Jay Inslee, D., received 649,074 votes (51.86 percent) with the next closest candidate, Republican Loren Culp, receiving 209,517 votes (16.7 percent). Including Culp, the 15 Republican candidates had a vote total of 542,790. In Whatcom County, Inslee received 27,637 votes (51.8 percent) versus the next closest candidate, Loren Culp, who received 9,788 votes (18.3 percent). Democrat Congresswoman

Suzan DelBene received 74,273 votes (56.4 percent) statewide versus Republican Jeffrey Beeler, Sr. who brought in 42,374 votes (32.2 percent). In the county, DelBene received 10,819 votes (39.7 percent) versus Beeler’s 13,864 votes (50.9 percent). In the Lieutenant Governor’s race, Democrat Denny Heck received 12,948 (24.8 percent) while his closest competitor, Republican Ann Davison Sattler, received 11,115 (21.3 percent) in the county while in the state, the two received 334,117 (27.7 percent) and 139,341 (11.5 percent), respectively. Statewide, Secretary of State Kim Wyman, R., received 617,425 votes (50.2 percent) and will face Democrat Gael Taleton with 549,124 (44.6 percent)

in the general election. Attorney General Bob Ferguson, D., cruised home to a primary victory with 697,273 votes (56.6 percent) against Matt Larkin, R., with 289,292 votes (23.5 percent). Luanne Van Werven, R., pulled in 19,701 votes (53.0 percent) against Blaine’s Alicia Rule, D., with 17,380 votes (46.8 percent) for state representative District 42, Pos. 1. Jennifer Sefzik, R., received 19,121 votes (51.5 percent) for the Pos. 2 seat, leading Sharon Shewmake, who received 17,934 votes (48.4 percent). For more election results, go to bit.ly/2PrrPBx. The next vote count will be announced at 5 p.m. on August 5 and on subsequent days as ballots come into the election office.

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The Northern Light: August 6-12, 2020

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