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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.
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The Northern Light 225 Marine Drive, Suite 200, Blaine, WA 98230 Tel: 360/332-1777 Vol XXVI, No 16 Circulation: 10,500 copies
Circulation Independently verified by:
Next issue: Oct. 8 Ads due: Oct. 2 Blaine’s fall display contest starts October 11
s The Blaine Chamber of Commerce’s 2020 fall display contest is coming up and entrants must have their displays ready by October
11 for a chance to win a prize. The Railway Cafe won last year’s contest. Send a picture of your display to info@blainechamber.com to have it shared on Facebook. Learn more at blainechamber.com
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Letters
The Editor:
We are the biggest supporters of Alicia Rule, a lovely woman who is running for 42nd District state representative in Olympia. Sharon Shewmake is the incumbent representative for the other 42nd district position. They are a good pair. They are running positive races and will not go negative. These two balanced candidates run as Democrats but would represent all of us. Policy will be formed with concern for all.
Alicia Rule is a capable woman who accomplishes a lot. She has her own mental health counseling business, is a Blaine city councilwoman, is raising three sweet boys, while she runs for this position.
Alicia enjoys teamwork, will listen to you and she is not extreme. We believe other candidates running are extreme.
As our state deals with Covid-19 and after, we need this kind of ability, talent and leadership to help move our state forward.
We hope you will vote for Alicia Rule. Vote for Sharon Shewmake if you are in her district.
Paula and Michael Smith
Blaine
The Editor:
As a Lutheran pastor for 30 years, I find it disturbing that so many of my Christian brothers and sisters are planning to vote for Donald Trump, supporting his continued sinning, even if they are following instructions from their churches.
I am including his support for legally outlawing abortion. Many studies have shown that keeping medical procedures legal, safe and rare, and reducing their number is best accomplished by keeping government out of the decision. Don’t pass a law, get to know these people and persuade them it’s wrong if that’s how you feel. That works better. Then a law is seen more as a reminder and is followed, as with seat belts and smoking.
This has to do with people not liking to be told what to do, which may be your reaction to this letter. But like it or not, it’s the truth, which according to John 8 will set you free, even free from voting for such a blatantly and deliberately sinful man as Trump who now admits planning to steal this election. How much of our country “under God” do we want to lose?
Jack Kintner
Blaine
The Editor:
I would like to thank you for all the kindness shown to me over my nearly 30 years as a Blaine post office rural carrier.
Many customers have become more like friends who I will sorely miss, and the smiles I always got via their four-legged buddies will stay with me. Thanks also to the Blaine postal family, we’ve been through a lot together over the years and I choose to focus on potlucks and kind gestures shared when life wasn’t going so smooth.
It’s been a great career and I’m looking forward to the future and to tossing my alarm clock.
Cathy Dent
Blaine
The Editor:
For those people out making the argument that we should wait until the American people elect a president before we nominate or confirm a Supreme Court justice to replace Justice Ginsberg, let me point out that we did. He is president until January 20, 2021.
Calvin Armerding
Blaine
The Editor:
Every morning at about 7:30 a.m. I walk my dog from our home on Morgan Drive, down Harborview, right on Birch Bay Drive, and up Cottonwood back to Morgan Drive. I have been watching the side dumps haul in load after load of rock for the Birch Bay berm project. Right now, the rock has been dumped from the southern end of the project roughly to Harborview.
I know engineers are smart with their formulae and slide rules and all, but I cannot for the life of me see how this rock material is going to stand up to the fury of the sea when unusually high tides combine with unusually strong winds, such as occurred in the December 20, 2018 storm that took out a portion of Birch Bay Drive, destroyed a restaurant and flooded numerous properties on the landward side of Birch Bay Drive.
I will be really glad when my dog and I can walk safely atop the berm from Harborview to Cottonwood. I certainly hope the engineers are right and this berm does not end up as rocks strewn all over the tide flats, or worse, washed up onto Birch Bay Drive.
Pat Anderson
Blaine
The Editor:
Heartfelt thanks to Girl Scout Troop 42415, who put up the little free library box on H Street. As a lifelong voracious reader, one of the most dismaying closures for Covid-19 for me was our library.
Those of us who love physical books and are unable or unwilling to access them digitally were really hard hit. This tiny box has allowed us to exchange actual books that have provided many hours of pleasure during this confined period. Thank you so very, very much.
Bonnie Ventura
Blaine
The Editor:
I am writing in response to the letter from Joel Green in last week’s The Northern Light regarding the upcoming Semiahmoo Residents Association (SRA) annual meeting and elections.
The writer’s frustration with the actions of past boards is understandable on the
surface. But given the circumstances we were facing of having to find an alternative space for our headquarters, the past board at the time made what they felt was the correct decision. That is what boards do. We may disagree but that is water under the bridge. Construction overruns occurred. This is never good. But if the board had not made aggressive efforts to correct the direction the project was heading, it may have been worse. Have you ever done construction in your home or built a house? This happens.
We can question these past decisions or focus on these snafus, but long term this property will add to the SRA’s assets and balance sheet.
The board, with help from its expert consultant, has creatively found a way to raise revenue with no increase in dues or special assessments to current homeowners and SRA members. These funds will not only accelerate the retirement of this debt, but it also provides funds for the increasing maintenance and liability costs of the community, now and in the immediate future. Failure to do this would impact all our property values in a negative way.
Not only is our community aging, but deferred maintenance and storm damage have created a backlog of needed maintenance. I think we want to give the board the support and tools they need to do this job, not tie their hands.
A sunset provision on the new revenue source may not be a bad idea but limiting the board’s discretion is not productive. We should not take on debt we cannot afford. But we should invest to keep our property values strong. The board knows that.
I strongly support the current leadership’s forward thinking strategic planning to keep Semiahmoo a great place to live.
Rick Beauregard
Blaine The Editor:
I have been involved in distributing election signs and so when I heard that many people have had their signs removed from their private property, I have been dismayed that once again this is happening. Trump said he wanted a free and fair election and as long as people are taking any party signs, it is not free and not fair.
The reality is there is so much more to be concerned about: Childhood poverty, education in the time of Covid-19, caring for lonely elderly, kids in cages and family separation, the discrediting of health professionals and scientists, continued pressure put on nurses and doctors expecting them to save those who do not follow guidelines, lack of awareness that the earth is not ours to desecrate but protect, and financial strife due to Covid-19.
Where do we start to deal with the concerns we all have? We are a small town, and in this small town, we could have a town hall to come together and dialog about what kind of community we want and what we want to leave for the next generation, our hopes and dreams for our children’s future. Will we continue the same course or accept that the need to change? Developing compassion for others, wildlife, the environment and working together for the common good for the benefit of all, not just a few?
Taking signs is an example of not caring for others, not wanting all voices heard, lack of ability to listen on how to live together in peace and harmony while leaving something good for the next generation; parks, wild animals, natural terrain, countries to visit, a diversity of people to meet and love and the earth to be grateful for.
Someone once said if we want to lift ourselves up, start by lifting up someone else. It all starts with deep listening to the needs of
Tired of your same old viewing options? With a free WCLS library card enjoy access to over 26,000 DVDs 30,000+ Streaming Videos Don't have a card? Sign up online at wcls.org/getacard or call the library.
BLAINE LIBRARY 610 3 rd Street Book talk/multimedia presentation 360.305.3637 Paid for by Friends of Blaine Library others and a desire to bring people together through cooperative and shared intentions and interaction. Maybe as a community we could make that our goal?
Sharon Somers-Hill
Blaine
The Editor:
Sharon Shewmake holds a doctorate in and teaches agricultural and resources economics, so she understands the economy and how to bring solutions to Whatcom County. Sharon is committed to restarting our economy by providing high-speed internet to rural business and homes, so they can compete with global business and work and attend school from home.
Sharon understands that education is important for every Washington student, so she works tirelessly to help provide opportunities for early childhood education and rural childcare providers.
Sharon’s background in economics informs her policy decisions on housing. If we provide more housing options, the overall rents will drop. This looks like loosening regulations for folks to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs), allowing more people who are not in a family unit to reside in one home (this is really beneficial for college students and people in nontraditional family units), and encouraging more new housing and apartment developments.
Sharon knows we must protect the environment as well as provide opportunities for our workers in Whatcom County. That is why she has worked on a natural gas bill to improve natural gas reporting, safety and transparency. She knows that gas and aluminum produced in Whatcom County is probably safer and less carbon intensive than in other areas and so has worked to preserve Cherry Point jobs and ways the Alcoa workers can transfer their skills to other living wage jobs, here in Whatcom county.
Sharon supports a community that works for everyone with no one left out so that is why she is committed to affordable, transparent, accessible healthcare, as well as diversity.
These and many other reasons are why I am asking you to join me in voting for Sharon Shewmake.
Pam Borso
Custer
Lighthouse Baptist Church Welcomes you to meetings with Evangelist Dan Knickerbocker
Sunday, October 11 at 11 am and 6 pm
Mon-Wed, October 12-14 at 7 pm Lighthouse Baptist ChurCh 8373 Harborview Road, Birch Bay 360-303-2793 • birchbaybaptist.com
Please send letters to letters@thenorthernlight.com no later than noon on Monday.
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, October 8 9:00am – Park and Cemetery Board Meeting 2pm – Public Works Advisory Committee Meeting *CANCELLED* 6:00pm – Planning Commission Meeting Monday, October 12 6:00pm – City Council Meeting Tuesday, October 13 8am – Blaine Tourism Advisory Committee Thursday, October 22 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
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!
Thank you for supporting local journalism.
This week’s supporters:
John Groves • Roy Hubbard • Kathy McDevitt • Ken Trombadore
You can also contribute online at thenorthernlight.com
Please Support Name: Email: This Newspaper Address: $24 City: State: (or whatever you can) Zip: Community Newspaper for Blaine & Birch Bay
Plazas ...
From page 1 businesses.
“This is the kind of success story that we have been yearning for in this town for decades,” said councilmember Richard May. “So regarding other competition, I would rather put the effort in to trying to find a way to do the same thing at G Street. Rather than chopping down one tree, I’d rather grow another tree.”
Jones said that while the city intended for plaza space to be available to all businesses, it’s turned out to be more challeng ing than expected for businesses that are not adjacent to a plaza, as Drayton Harbor Oyster Com pany is, to make use of plaza dining.
“I want to assure council we have put a substantial amount of
Berm ...
From page 1 dent,” he said.
The chamber plans to host the “Coffee with the Contractor” meetings on the last Thursday of every month.
Below are some questions and answers from the September 24 session, edited for length and clarity.
Will the sea walls be taken down? And what will be done with the materials?
Orelup: All seawalls south of Cedar Avenue will be taken down six inches below the new beach grade. We haul them to one of our pits in the county and they effort into that with other busi nesses,” Jones said. As an example of the challenges involved, he told council any business that wanted to serve alcohol at the plaza would need to have a staff member at the plaza the entire time to supervise.
“It’s far more complicated than we suspected and none of the restaurants are in a position to do that,” he said.
Council originally thought de mand for plaza space would fade with fall weather. But the Dray ton Harbor Oyster Company said it could continue using space at the H Street plaza into the winter – along with three other Blaine businesses – under a heated can opy tent with 10 tables.
Drayton Harbor Oyster Com pany owner Steve Seymour said in a letter to Blaine City Coun cil that it has discussed the idea with several other Blaine busi crush the material up and recycle it and reuse it for new concrete.
So you’re not burying it under the berm or anything like that?
Orelup: Well, we remove a portion of it. We don’t remove everything. We only remove the portion that’s extruded out of the ground. And then once we can break the concrete off to where it’s about six inches to a foot below the new beach grade, we’ll just bury it and leave it in place.
What happens to the existing stormwater outlets?
Orelup: Yep, those will also be removed – similar process. We’ll demolish them and chuck them out to one of our existing pits. Then they get ground up and recycled and put back into new nesses and has commitments from Tiny Taproom, Atwood Ales and Kaisacole Seafood to share space. “We hope to add at least two more vendors to the big tent,” Seymour wrote.
In response, Alan Finston, owner of The Vault Wine Bar and Bistro, said in a letter to the city that his business has been nega tively impacted by the availability of tables on the H Street plaza.
“No one is circulating to find other possibilities due to their copious availability,” he wrote. “I do feel that the city, in its effort to accommodate a restaurant that had limited inside seating with respect to Covid restrictions, has overcompensated to the point of providing an unfair advantage with respect to the rest of the restaurants in town.”
City attorney Jon Sitkin cau tioned council to be careful with how it treats the plaza, because concrete later on. Where the concrete outfall is now, we will be replacing it with an HDPE plastic pipe, which has a much longer surface life than a concrete pipe in these conditions.
What about the groins (small concrete walls running perpendicular to the beach)?
Karcher: Most of the groins will be covered. Those are historic, and I think the condition that we worked out with the permitting agency is that those groins would be covered by the berm material.
The issue with the groins is that if we start removing those off the beach, we don’t know what else we will uncover there, and think it’s best to let those stay in place.
What type of recreation amenities can be placed on the berm, like benches and trash cans?
Middleton: We did not purchase right of way for the whole berm, so that is not public property. We have a construction easement, and people are allowed to walk along the berm but it is private property. If you want to
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
On September 22, the city of Blaine sold a total of $5,280,000 in tax-exempt refunding bonds, taking advantage of low interest rates to pay off two water and sewer loans. Refinancing that debt that will save more than $2.2 million over the next 30 years, according to a press release from the city’s finance department.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the city the origithe city could potentially be seen as gifting public funds to a pri vate business, which is prohibited in the Washington State Constitution.
The state Attorney General’s Office has received “a number of inquiries” since the pandem ic started about whether steps local governments have taken to combat the Covid-19 pandemic could be considered gifts of pub lic funds, according to an April 6 memo by attorney general Bob Ferguson. That memo focuses on grants and loans to small busi nesses, but indicates programs that help small businesses sur vive temporary closure during a public health emergency would likely not constitute a gift of pub lic funds.
While city council did receive several emails before the meet ing in support of Drayton Harbor Oyster Company’s use of the put a bench up there, you need to talk to the property owner. You know, across from Gold Star [Resorts], that’s Gold Star’s property. Down from Mr. Vogt, that’s Mr. Vogt’s property. Across from the [Birch Bay Vogt Community Library], that would be dealing with the library. All that beach area is privately owned, and any kind of amenities, whether it’s benches or trash cans or that sort of thing, has to be dealt with the property owner.
Any kind of improvements, park-type improvements, to the berm, that’s really up to the individual property owners. If the park and recreation district would like to move forward with talking to all of them and putting up park benches and that sort of thing, that’s fine. That is totally up to you and the property owners. Public works will not be maintaining those, Whatcom County Parks Department will not be maintaining those, because we don’t have any jurisdiction. It wouldn’t be any different “six-word memoirs,” promotes it as a way to spur creativity and encourage people to express themselves.
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. nal loans in 2010 to pay for construction of the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Refinancing will save money from the city’s sewer utility fund, which is funded by sewer ratepayers.
Interest rates averaged 2.3 percent on the new bonds, compared to 4.125 percent on the larger loan and 4.5 percent on the smaller loan being refinanced, according to the press release.
“It is gratifying to be able to take advantage of low market inspace, it didn’t hear from mem bers of the public who are upset with the private business using public space.
City manager Michael Jones requested that council direct the city to come up with a fee sched ule for use of the space. The fee schedule could be in line with the cost restaurants pay to use sidewalk space, something that requires a yearly application and fee. Sitkin said that could resolve legal concerns about plaza use.
“We can strategically and com prehensively look at this for the city and come up with a program that you might endorse. You can look at it at a study session, and
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then come back,” Sitkin said. than us maintaining the bench on your front porch.
Will the rock riprap be reused in the berm?
Orelup: A lot of it’s being buried into type 1 material, since we are building the grade up so much so it won’t affect the beach itself. But if there are rocks that are too large to cover, we will remove them.
Is type 1 material the bigger rocks that the crew is pulling in now close to the road?
Orelup: The type 1 material is the larger rocks that you’ll see. Then we have another material that will cap in place on top of that type 1 material that is more consistent with the material that you’ll see on a beach. But to build the grade up, we use the larger size rocks first. It’s all local rock.
For more information, visit the county’s project website at co.whatcom.wa.us/522/ Birch-Bay-Drive-Pedestrian-Fa
Call for submissions: Your life in six words
cility-Proj. 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.
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City of Blaine saves over $2 million by refinancing sewer utility fund debt
B y O l
v e r L a z e n y
cc/2RZeFgm. terest rates,” said Jeffrey Lazenby, finance director for the city (Lazenby is not related to the reporter). “The refinance will ultimately benefit the sewer system utility and, therefore, its ratepayers in the long run.”
Lazenby added in a phone interview that the new interest rate on the bonds was better than he expected; he had anticipated a rate of about 3.5 percent.
D.A. Davidson and Co. in Seattle is the city’s underwriter for the bond.
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Oct 10 11am – 1pm
4477 Sweet Rd near the Red Barn
Pick up your organic care package thanks to Nature’s Path Foods
Blaine HORSE Tournament November 7-8 Athletes 5th grade through High School living in Blaine School District boundaries Boys & Girls $10 Registration Includes tournament shirt & swag bag Winner of each division gets a championship sweatshirt created by Arch City Apparel Live streaming the event
Register online at bbbparkandrec.com Deadline October 12
More info 360-656-6416 or email josh@bbbprd2.com Sponsored by: Blaine Girls Hoops & Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Rec
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
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9565 Semiahmoo Parkway Blaine, WA
