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The Northern Light • November 19 - 25, 2020
Opinion
The Northern L ght 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. 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.
New limestone path atop Birch Bay Berm
Publisher & Managing Editor Patrick Grubb publisher@pointrobertspress.com Co-publisher & Advertising Director Louise Mugar lmugar@pointrobertspress.com Editor Oliver Lazenby oliver@pointrobertspress.com Reporter & Copy Editor Grace McCarthy grace@pointrobertspress.com
s Last week, Granite Construction graded a limestone path on the south end of the Birch Bay berm project. Whatcom County publishes an update on berm construction every Friday at bit.ly/3nA5S27.
Creative Services Ruth Lauman, Doug De Visser production@pointrobertspress.com
Letters
Office Manager Jeanie Luna info@pointrobertspress.com Advertising Sales Molly Ernst sales@pointrobertspress.com General Editorial Inquiries editor@pointrobertspress.com Contributors In This Issue Doug Dahl
The Northern Light 225 Marine Drive, Suite 200, Blaine, WA 98230 Tel: 360/332-1777 Vol XXVI, No 23 Circulation: 10,500 copies
Circulation Independently verified by:
Next issue: Nov. 26 Distributes: Nov. 25 Ads due: Nov. 20
Photo by Oliver Lazenby
The Editor: Your article headline “Blaine, Birch Bay and Custer voted for Republicans across the board” was just not accurate. Every precinct in Blaine city limits was won by Biden. The vast majority of Birch Bay was won by Biden. The culturally different, rural areas of Custer voted more Republican, but the map and precincts included in your article’s math included precincts 116 and 117, which are Lynden precincts that always vote Republican, and precincts 120 and 121, which have Ferndale addresses. No need to cherry pick and mislead. The coast went Democratic and the farmland went GOP ... not exactly a surprise. Richard May Blaine The Editor: It is harrowing to realize the radical changes the ongoing impact Covid-19 has had on our everyday lives. The border is essentially closed, grimly affecting countless local businesses that have either shuttered or been severely crippled by the economic fallout from the loss of Canadian tourism. Many of our children are attending school from their kitchen tables, often requiring a parent to remain at home. Professional sports stadiums are filled with cardboard cut-outs of cheering fans. Family gatherings and holiday celebrations have been all but canceled. Face masks have be-
come part of the essential wardrobe for public outings. Folks in care facilities are still in lock down, and may not have hugged a loved one in over eight months. We live in fear of an invisible enemy that has taken so many lives, and caused so much pain. Unfortunately, some things have not changed. Our neighbors continue to line up in the wind, rain and cold to receive food to help to feed their families, and we, the all-volunteer team at the Blaine Food Bank stand together to provide whatever help we can. We have definitely faced challenges this year, a significantly increased need, unprecedented food supply-chain disruptions, canceled food drives and having to constantly redefine our operation to better protect our volunteers and the people who we serve. We could not have possibly met these challenges without the outpouring of support from our community, individuals, businesses and churches that all came together to help us provide for our neighbors in need. We are so grateful to each of you, and know, with no uncertainty, that we would not have made it through these trying and ever-changing times without you. We are so grateful for your support. And now, we must ask for your help again. Our very generous anonymous benefactor has once again offered us $30,000 if that amount is matched by community donations from now until December 20, 2020.
These funds are essential for us to continue to provide milk and eggs to the families that we serve for the next year. We make this request with a heavy heart. We know that these are difficult times for everyone, and it pains us to further burden the community that has been so giving to us and so many other local organizations during this economic and health crisis. Donations can be made by mail to: Blaine Food Bank P.O. Box 472 Blaine, Washington 98231 or on our website at blainefoodbank.org; or in person at Blaine Food Bank, 500 C Street. If you can help us meet this goal, thank you. If you are struggling to feed your family, come to see us, we are here to help. Thank you for caring, and stay safe. Sally Church on behalf of Blaine Food Bank volunteers Blaine The Editor: I want to thank the volunteers who cleared out the overgrown invasive plants next to Cain Creek behind Edaleen Dairy and the Rustic Fork restaurant. With the removal of the lower tree limbs, it looks like a park and for the first time in many years we actually can see the Cain Creek. It is volunteers like (See Letters, next page)
