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The Northern Light • September 3 - 9, 2020
Family Service Center providing food and hygiene supplies By Kyra Planetz The Blaine school district’s Family Service Center (FSC) has been serving the community since 1997, and though its employees are working remotely during the pandemic, the FSC is still available to provide support to local families. Services the FSC provides include food and hygiene supplies and connections with out-of-district resources. “Due to Covid-19 we have seen an increased need from families in our community,” said Lisa Moeller, Blaine school district public relations specialist, in an email. According to Moeller, the FSC
has provided assistance to approximately 40 more families this year than in 2019. In partnership with Wildbird Charity, the FSC continues to provide weekend meal bags to roughly 150 low-income families. Because each school is providing students with school supplies this year, the FSC is not conducting its usual school supply distribution. However, any family with school supply needs is encouraged to reach out to the FSC by email at fsc@blainesd.org. Moeller said there has been more need in the community for household and hygiene items this year. But in lieu of donations of items, the FSC requests mone-
tary donations in order to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Monetary donations will be used to purchase gas or food vouchers, personal hygiene items, household supplies, clothing, one-time emergency rent assistance and more. To donate to the FSC, checks can be mailed to the district office at 765 H Street. Checks should be made payable to Blaine school district, with Family Service Center in the memo. Backpacks and winter coats at T the Blaine school district’s Family Service Center. The center is still providing essentials to students and families this year. File photo
Custer man arrested after Birch Bay-Lynden Road accident By Grace McCarthy An August 28 vehicle collision on Birch Bay-Lynden Road and Holiday Drive resulted in a Blaine resident being sent to the hospital and the arrest of a Custer man for vehicular assault. Lanes were blocked for about five hours
after the Friday night crash until Washington State Patrol (WSP) advised the county open roads near 2 a.m., a WSP spokesperson said. WSP officers responded to the collision at 9:17 p.m. after 25-year-old Blaine resident Christopher J. Galindo attempted to
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turn his 2009 Isuzu NPR truck left on Holiday Drive from the westbound land of Birch Bay-Lynden Road, according to a press release from the agency. Galindo hit Brian Alan Johnson, a 47-year-old Custer resident, who was driving a 2003 silver Chevrolet Malibu eastbound
on Birch Bay-Lynden Road. Johnson, uninjured, was driving under the influence, according to the release. Both cars were totaled. Galindo was transported to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Hospital in Bellingham for serious injuries, according to the WSP spokesperson. The drivers were wear-
ing seatbelts at the time of the accident. Johnson was arrested and booked in Whatcom County Jail for vehicular assault at 12:14 a.m. on August 29, according to jail booking data. He was released on a $25,000 appearance bond on August 30, jail data shows.
Testing ... From page 1
rate of new cases per 100,000 people in the past two weeks was 30.2. That number has declined by three cases in the last week and is getting closer to the state’s goal of 25 new cases per 100,000 people in a two-week period, which, before governor Jay Inslee paused reopening indefinitely on July 28, was a metric for counties to be able to apply for a higher phase with fewer restrictions. The Blaine school district area has the highest rate of new cases in the past two weeks at 40 per 100,000 people, with a total of 66 cases, according to the county’s Covid-19 data. Case counts were increasing statewide when Inslee announced that counties could no longer move to higher phases in the state’s Safe Start Washington plan. While the rate of cases declined through August, the state hasn’t revisited its decision to pause reopening.
s A health department medical professional directs a car at the county’s low-barrier testing site at Birch Bay Bible Community Church on September 1. Photo by Ian Haupt
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s A Whatcom County Health Department graphic shows the rate of confirmed cases per 100,000 people in a two-week period from August 16 to 29. In that period, the Blaine school district area had the highest rate of new cases in the county, with 40 per 100,000.
Image courtesy of Whatcom County Health Department
