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Letters
The Northern Light is published weekly by Point Roberts Press Inc.
Locally owned and managed, the company also publishes the All Point Bulletin, covering Point Roberts, Mount Baker Experience, covering the Mt. Baker foothills area, Pacific Coast Weddings annual guide, and the summer recreation guide Waterside as well as maps and other publications. Point Roberts Press Inc. is a member of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, Chambers of Commerce of Bellingham/ Whatcom County, Birch Bay, Blaine and Point Roberts and the Bellingham/ Whatcom County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
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The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors.
Letters Policy
The Northern Light welcomes letters to the editor. Please include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters are limited to 350 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality, length and good taste. Thank-you letters are limited to five individuals or groups. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered on an individual basis. Consumer complaints should be submitted directly to the business in question or the local chamber of commerce. Only one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be published. Email letters to letters@thenorthernlight.com.
Beach Cat Brewing ribbon cutting
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Contributors In This Issue Doug Dahl
The Northern Light 225 Marine Drive, Suite 200, Blaine, WA 98230 Tel: 360/332-1777 Vol XXVI, No 15 Circulation: 10,500 copies
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Next issue: Oct. 1 Ads due: Sept. 25
s The Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony at Beach Cat Brewing, at 7876 Birch Bay Drive # 101, on
September 19. Pictured, from right, are brewery owners Darin Hamm and Jake Gobeille, chamber executive director Liz Thornton and chamber secretary and treasurer Doralee Booth.
Photo by Molly Ernst
Letters
The Editor:
With the presidential election taking most of our attention, it is important not to shortchange the “down ballot” races. There is nothing “down” about them. Who we send to the state legislature has huge impact on our daily lives.
The races for the state house from our district offer clear choices. It all depends on what kind of Washington you want to see. All four candidates are good people with sincerely held beliefs. There are, however, big differences on the issues. How they vote will shape what Washington will look like.
I hope you have the time to compare the candidates’ positions and the voting records of the two incumbents for yourself. Here is my take.
If you want state government that cares and is working on reasonable ways to make people’s lives better, protect the most vulnerable, if you believe that government has a legitimate role in setting reasonable boundaries and rules of the road for all and should work to protect us against the Covid-19 pandemic, you should vote for the Democratic candidates, Sharon Shewmake and Alicia Rule.
If on the other hand, you believe that government has little or no role in protecting the vulnerable and to help find affordable housing for low-income earners and homeless, that all regulation is by definition unnecessary and bad, that taxes should be cut further even when the safety net is fraying – in other words, everyone for themselves – their opponents are for you.
I cannot find what the positions of Sharon’s and Alicia’s opponents are on climate change. This is an important issue in itself, and more so now, with fires burning all along the West Coast. Given their apparent adherence to Republican doctrine, I fear they do not see any role for state government while the federal government takes us in the wrong direction.
It is clear what kind of Washington I prefer and why I strongly support Alicia Rule and Sharon Shewmake. If you agree, please join me in sending them to the state House to represent our district.
Arthur Abercrombie
Blaine
The Editor:
I have been so ill from suffering through having the virus. It is not just an attack to your body that is very scary, but the loneliness from not being able to be around others. It has been a wakeup call for us all, as we live our lives and something like this happens and we realize how good we all had it. I am sure everyone wants to get back to work and a routine for our children and grandchildren back in school. I am a writer, author and poet. Writing poetry gives me the courage to live my life. I hope that this poem finds meaning in your life.
The placeholder fades … the beauty within glows
There is nothing beautiful about pain.
Nothing pretty, watching a healthy body deteriorate.
The absolute heartache, of it all.
Some can display an ocean size of courage
The beauty can come from one’s mind of wisdom
Words from a masterpiece quoted for all to hear
The wonder that comes from someone who survives illness
The person who shows such astounding bravery
When losing so many pieces of themselves
Witnessing their vulnerability
Turns into the most beautiful sight of all
Through the depths of their struggle
Radiates light for all to see!
The beauty of life is not found
In the vain way humans look at one another.
It is the brightness from within
That gives the bravery to someone
To share their scars. It is found in the face of people showing
How resilient and courageous they are!
To me that is living life
Bringing me to the depth of everything I know.
Who we are as we evolve
Is something you can’t buy, or find, or du plicate.
It’s watching someone suffer on the outside
As the beauty pours out of every cell.
The placeholder fades … but the beauty within glows.
The power of the element is all that is left
An utter undeniable awe of true beauty.
Julie Hanft
Birch Bay
The Editor:
On September 18, 2020, this nation lost a loved and revered civil rights, women’s rights, and human rights icon and leader, Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She may have been tiny in stature, but stood tall and was a powerful force in her lifetime battle for justice and equality.
Even though the country knew she had been gravely ill, we have been left stunned by the gravity of the loss at this most peril ous time in our country’s history. I personally was brought to tears by the news. My admiration for this great lady was unbounded. This feeling of grief is supplemented by a cold fear and dread at the effect her loss will have on our democracy.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s last and dying wish was to not be replaced until a president had been chosen by the people of this country. To honor her memory, her last wish should be granted. This is the least this country can do for a woman of her great stature, who gave so much to her country.
Joyce M. Menard
Blaine
Letters ...
From page 4
The Editor:
When I read the letter submitted by Dave Berry last week I saw that it left out a lot of inconvenient truths about Donald Trump’s racist behavior and actions. I think most of us can agree that racism is when a group of people is treated unfairly because of their race.
Individual racism refers to an individual’s racist assumptions, such when Donald Trump tweeted that several Black and brown members of Congress (representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib) are “from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe” and that they should “go back” to those countries.
It’s a common racist trope to say that Black and brown people, particularly immigrants, should go back to their countries of origin even though three of the four members of Congress that Trump targeted were born in the U.S.
Racist behavior does not have to include explicit mentions of people’s race or nationality to be racists. Although Donald Trump has done this as well like when he argued in 2016 that judge Gonzalo Curiel – who was overseeing the Trump University lawsuit – should recuse himself from the case because of his Mexican heritage.
There is also the fact that David Duke, a neo-Nazi anti-Semite and white supremacist who founded a Ku Klux Klan chapter in the 1970s, supported Donald Trump both in 2016 and is now supporting him again in 2020.
I wanted to write in, not to defend Biden, because the issue of racism in the U.S. is larger than a single election or candidate but because it’s truly upsetting to see people in my hometown succumb to a single story rather than listen ing to people who have different life experiences than them.
People seem more worried about being called a racist than they are about the fact that so many people are standing up and saying the racism that still exists in the U.S. is hurting them and their loved ones.
Martell Hesketh
Blaine
The Editor:
These are hard times. As a hos pice nurse, I’m fortunate to have a job that I love and have been able to remain healthy to do it. It is rewarding, hard and emotionally draining work. In my time off, it is crucial to do what I can to recharge my batteries. One way I do that is to walk with my dog in peaceful places.
Lincoln Park has been a place of peace for me. It was distressing when they cut down many ancient trees and placed hideous day-glo orange fixtures throughout the park for frisbee golf. However, not wanting to be an old fuddy-duddy, I continued to enjoy this special park while ignoring the eyesores. Without exception, folks playing the course have been polite and I’ve not been beaned yet.
On Saturday, after an especially rough week, I was enjoying a walk with my dog. Because it is an offleash park, and he is a friendly and well-behaved dog, he was not on a leash. At one point, a couple walk ing two dogs on leash began berating me loudly for not having him on a leash and when I said that it was an off-leash park, they repeatedly insisted that it was not. The man said sarcastically: “Strange how just because there is no sign saying dogs must be leashed, you assume that it is an off-leash park.” I replied that I did not assume this, but had believed it to be so for years.
I found this interaction very upsetting and checked to ensure I was correct as soon as I got home. This was confirmed to be so on Blaine’s parks and recreation site. To be clear: My dog did not bark at, run at, or in any way threaten them or their dogs. Just a reminder: 1) Know your facts before you accost someone and ruin their peaceful afternoon and 2) If your dogs are poorly behaved or unsocialized, please stick with parks where all dogs are leashed. Thanks.
Erika Werdal
Blaine
The Editor:
The Semiahmoo Residents As sociation (SRA) homeowners will soon be receiving their annual SRA ballot. It includes candidates for election to the board, and possibly other initiatives proposed by the board. However, this year is different because a group of independent SRA homeowners have placed an initiative requiring that any future SRA debt and loan obligations be approved by a vote of the homeowners. Board leadership does not favor this initiative.
The sponsors of this initiative believe that taking out debt should be avoided whenever possible. For 30-plus years the SRA operated without taking out any significant loans or debt. None of the neighborhood homeowner associations have ever taken out loans. Both the Gleneagle and Beachwalker HOAs have taken on major improvement projects without loans, not to mention other Semiahmoo HOAs. These HOAs are in excellent financial condition today.
The SRA is another story. The SRA Board was caught off guard when their office space agreement with the fire district was terminated. They ended up agreeing to paying a “healthy price” for land on Semiahmoo Drive before they had even finalized financing. Then they erected a building that involved multiple change orders and cost increases.
The result? A facility that cost about $750,000 and a loan with an interest rate of 5.5 percent. Ouch.
SRA homeowners, you are on the hook for this debt.
Now if all of this is not bad enough, we come to today. The board hired a consultant to make recommendations for improving the SRA. One recommendation is to institute a “buyer paid” real es tate transfer fee of 0.5 percent of the sale price any property plus $250 to help retire the debt on the building. Problem is the recommendation does not restrict what the fee can be used for, and there is no provision for eliminating the transfer fee. It can just go on forever and be used for anything. Double ouch.
Justification? Lots of other HOAs have a transfer fee. Our response? Well good for them.
This is the tale of one single loan. Do I want them taking out any more loans without our approval? Absolutely not. I suspect you agree, so vote accordingly and vote yes.
Joel Green
Blaine
The Editor:
Our “Say No to Socialism” sign beside our Trump sign has been trashed three times, obviously by someone who opposes the First Amendment and has no idea of what a socialistic government would be like. Ask anyone who has immigrated here from a communist country (I see my sign as a “public
(See Letters, page 15)
CITY OF BLAINE
Due to COVID-19 and the Governor’s Proclamation, meetings are now only open to the public telephonically. Information on how to listen to the meeting live will be on the City Council agenda which is located on the City’s website homepage under Your Government, City Council, City Council Agenda. Please check the agenda prior to each meeting as the call in number or location may change.
Thursday, September 24 *CANCELED* 6:00pm – Planning Commission Meeting
Monday, September 28 6:00pm – City Council Meeting Public Hearing: Old Mill Street Vacation
Thursday, October 8 9:00am – Park and Cemetery Board Meeting 2:00pm – Public Works Advisory Committee Meeting 6:00pm – Planning Commission Meeting
All City offices are currently closed to the public. Contact information for staff and Councilmembers can be found on the City’s website.
Call (360) 332-8311 or visit our website. www.cityofblaine.com
PLANNING COMMISSION – VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
1. ONE POSITION TO FILL A PARTIAL TERM ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2020. 2. ONE POSITION TO FILL A PARTIAL TERM ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2022. REGULARLY MEETS AT 6:00 PM ON THE SECOND AND FOURTH THURSDAYS OF EVERY MONTH FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS. If you are interested in serving on a board or commission, applications and descriptions of duties are available online at www.cityofblaine.com. First review of applications will be Friday, October 2, 2020. Position will remain open until filled.
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6th Annual Animal Blessing
Sat., Oct. 3, 2020 at 2pm Blaine United Church of Christ 885 4th Street, Outside It’s a drive-by! (please wear your face masks) Call 360-332-6906 for more information. ALL animals welcome!
B y G r a c e M c C a r t h y
Port of Bellingham commissioners unanimously voted during their regular September 15 meeting to reverse their previous decision on who can buy and sell crabs wholesale at the Blaine Harbor. This decision comes after port tenants brought up concerns that the agreement would adversely affect their businesses.
During a September 1 port meeting, representatives of the Tulalip Tribes and Boundary Fish, Inc. expressed concern after seeing non-leaseholding tenants selling wholesale crab at Blaine Harbor. Company representatives said they didn’t have fair competition with other buyers who don’t have the same expenses leaseholders pay.
The port granted business licenses to two non-leaseholding tenants, one in Whatcom County and one in Seattle, to purchase
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wholesale crab at the Sawtooth Dock this August. Before August, the port had not allowed the buying and selling of wholesale crab in Blaine, although it’s been permitted in Bellingham’s Squalicum Harbor since 2016.
Port of Bellingham executive director Rob Fix said the port has gone back and forth about crab buying in the Blaine Harbor over the years. More buyers are better for fishermen but if too many people use port property, then it crowds the harbor, he said.
Tulalip Tribes purchased its 8,000-square-foot Blaine building from Sound Pacific Seafoods LLC last December that sits on land leased by the Port of Bellingham.
“We spent a considerable amount of money purchasing this property, setting up lease and operating this business to be completely undermined by box trucks that have no cost overhead coming in and competing against us within eyesight,” said Jason Gobin, fish and wildlife director for Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources, during the September 1 port meeting.
Port staff provided two options for commissioners to vote on during the September 15 meeting.
The first option aimed to manage fair wholesale operations in Blaine for lease holding and non-leaseholding tenants. Busi
Marine Drive. Sports ...
From page 3 mation becomes available.
Granger said school districts and WIAA are trying to get some clarity on how much of the student body needs to return to reach this requirement. “It’s just one of those things we need to keep an eye on,” he said.
At the end of July, the WIAA executive’s board changed the 2020-21 sports calendar to account for the possibility of all fall sports being canceled. The board created four sanctioned seasons that moved all fall sports competitive seasons to be played in season 3 in early spring, with the nesses without leases in this agreement would have paid 25 cents per pound of crab to the Port, which Fix said was a higher fee to deter outside companies from crowding the harbor.
Alan Birdsall, manager of marinas for the Port of Bellingham,
said during the September 15 meeting that staff found there isn’t a uniform model for wholesale crab buying agreements at neighboring ports. Arrangements at neighboring ports range from not having agreements to having a per-pound fee, but those didn’t option for low-risk sports; like cross country, golf and tennis, to be played in season 1 in the fall.
By this adjusted WIAA schedule, the winter sports season will begin December 28 if the required steps are met.
In a message to students on the WIAA website to answer the question of why Washington schools are not allowed to play sports this fall while other states are, WIAA executive director Mick Hoffman said Washington is in a different environment than other states and that the WIAA is still planning to play all fall sports in the spring starting in late February. Hoffman said the state is in a terrible situation regarding high school athletics that nobody is at exceed 10 cents per pound, he said.
Port staff then contacted Blaine tenants in leases with the port, who said they didn’t want other businesses tenants operating wholesale in Blaine, Birdsall said.
Commissioners ultimately voted 3-0 on a second option to immediately prohibit non-leaseholding tenants from wholesale purchasing and sales in Blaine. This will also mean immediate termination of the two wholesale crab buying licenses that started in August. The port will lease the south pier to an additional buyer starting October 1.
Fix said he will begin the search for a fifth Blaine Harbor tenant, with hopes of finding someone who will operate well with existing tenants and follow port rules.
Commissioner Michael Shepard said during the meeting that the commissioners took the tenants’ concerns to heart and he believes the per-pound fee did not fully address their worries.
“I believe this second option will allow us to make best use of our port property, to maximize business interaction at Blaine Harbor, while still respecting and appreciating those tenants we still have agreements with and really want to continue having a long-term relationship with,”
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s In December 2019 the Tulalip Tribes of Washington purchased the Sound Pacific Seafoods building at 285
Shepard said. File photo
fault for.
The WIAA is learning from athletics associations of states that are playing fall sports to see how it can prevent and respond to outbreaks. Last week, the WIAA hosted a panel with athletics directors from Utah who spoke about Covid-19 protocols for things like transportation, fans, ticketing, and other related topics. A link to the conference can be found on the WIAA website.
“The WIAA is fully committed to working with the partners previously mentioned to give students every opportunity to participate and enjoy the value of education based athletics,” Hoffman said.
Blaine Middle School student publishes dystopian novel
When you don’t know where to turn... because someone drinks too much...
s Kaatri Glanzer, a 14-year-old at
Blaine Middle School, published her first book, “The White Scandal,” on August 12.
Photo courtesy Megan Muse Photography
B y G r a c e M c C a r t h y
There are many things 14-yearold Kaatri Glanzer enjoys doing outside her Blaine Middle School curriculum. She attends dance classes, practices clarinet and likes to play with her Golden-doodles, Indie and Jax. But in between her ordinary middle school endeavors, Kaatri has also managed to accomplish an extraordinary goal for her age: Writing a novel.
Kaatri self-published her first novel, “The White Scandal,” on August 12 and is already gearing up for future novels to come.
“I think it’s really cool because people get to see my hard work that I put in the last couple of years and that feels real to me,” Kaatri said.
“The White Scandal” is a 218- page science fiction book that centers around two sisters, Cadence and Ellie, living in a pandemic-stricken world. The plot follows Cadence’s journey to find Ellie, who has superpowers, after she is kidnapped.
“I wanted to write the perspective of two young girls who are living in a time like we are now, and how challenging that can be, especially if one has special powers that are hard to control,” Kaatri said.
The young author said she started brainstorming her novel three years ago in fifth grade. Her love for reading blossomed in early elementary school after reading series like “Harry Potter” and “Shatter Me,” which are a few of the hundreds of books that line her bookshelves at home.
Kaatri wrote half the novel over the past few years but ramped up
Supposedly, Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in just six words. His response?
“For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.” It turns out that Hemingway’s role has never been confirmed. Nevertheless, it’s a great example of what some people call “flash fiction.” Larry Smith, founder of Smith Magazine, has taken the concept and, calling it “six-word memoirs,” promotes it as a way to spur creativity and encourage people to express themselves. writing when the pandemic started and finished the second half of the book in five months, said her father, Brandon Glanzer.
Through writing the novel, Kaatri was introduced to Kelli Estes, a local author who has published “Today We Go Home” and “The Girl Who Wrote in Silk,” and whose books have appeared on the USA Today bestsellers list. Estes consulted Kaatri on ideas and read Kaatri’s first draft. Brandon then agreed to be Kaatri’s publisher, where he’d help give her ideas, she’d write more, he’d edit and give her more ideas.
Brandon, who is a seventh grade language arts and social studies teacher at Blaine Middle School, said he saw talent in Kaatri when she’d write 20-page stories.
s Kaatri Glanzer’s first novel,
“The White Scandal.”
Courtesy image
“[Writing] is something I know a little bit about and have some passion for,” Brandon said. “A lot of it’s been transferred to her before she even knew what I did as a job.”
Kaatri’s writing was published in Young Reporters, a section in The Northern Light that ran for eight weeks starting April 21, which her father said helped her visualize that she could be published. “That helped motivate her, too, in this process to come to an end point because when you’re in the middle of it, you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get,” Brandon said.
Kaatri said she wants her next book to be realistic fiction in third
Instead of fiction, we’d like you, our readers, to tell us, in just six words, about your life and experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. Six words, no more, no less. Entries may be chosen for publication in this newspaper. Here are some examples:
Six words, no more, no less. • Shut up. Put on your mask. • I want a divorce. Blame coronavirus. • Zoom makes me go truly crazy.
You can do better than those so go ahead and start writing. To submit, go to conta.cc/3hRd7PR. person with a male main character because she wants to explore writing in those perspectives.
“We’re excited to read the next book,” Brandon said. “And then next one after that and the next one after that.”
To purchase a copy of the $25 Al-Anon Family Groups can help. Learn more by attending a confidential meeting in your community. Whatcom County Al-Anon - Online Video Meetings Available (Zoom & GoToMeeting)
Information at http://whatcomafg.org
Has COVID Made it Hard to Pay Rent? There May Be Help!
NEW Whatcom County Housing Assistance Program
To support Whatcom County households financially impacted by COVID-19
Eviction Rent Assistance Program
(until 12/31/20) • Household must earn no more than 50% of area median income. (See table below) • Household must be renter(s). • Household must lack resources to pay for housing. • Household must have lost income because of COVID-19 pandemic.
To apply, contact: Opportunity Council 360-734-5121 x 316
Household size Area Median Income of 50% (monthly) 1 Person
$2,491
Program coordinated by
2 People $2,845 3 People $3,200 4 People $3,554 5 People $3,841 6 People $4,125
Ad sponsored by: City of Blaine with CARES Act funding
Call for submissions: Your life, in just six words
book, visit https://bit.ly/32VEMLp.
