29 minute read
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.
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
Creative Services Ruth Lauman, Doug De Visser production@pointrobertspress.com 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
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.
Photo by Oliver Lazenby
Letters
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 become 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
CBP leadership allegedly detained more Iranian travelers than thought, covered up actions
B y P at G ru BB
A joint press release from the Council on American Islamic Relations Washington (CAIR) and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) released November 17 alleges that local CBP leadership not only detained many more U.S. citizens and residents of Iranian backgrounds in a January 3-4 crackdown than previously known but subsequently attempted to cover up their actions.
In addition, the two organizations released hundreds of pages of emails that were subject to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit that was heard last month in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. In an October story in The Northern Light it was reported that Judge Ricardo S. Martinez in Seattle had
Letters ...
From previous you that help to make Blaine a special place to live. Thank you.
Janet Pickard
Blaine
The Editor:
If you have evidence of election fraud, I urge you to take your evidence to the county prosecutor right away. Free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy and it’s up to all of us to support them. But baseless claims of fraud undermine our democracy, and that’s exactly what state senator Doug Ericksen is doing with his proposed legislation to return Washington state elections to in-person poll voting.
Washington’s Secretary of State Kim Wyman, a Republican like Ericksen, vigorously defends the security of Washington state’s election and rejects claims of voter fraud in our all-mail-in system. Her office found a whopping 0.002 percent of the 3.36 million votes cast in Washington in the 2016 presidential election that were possible fraud, and these were prosecuted. Just because other states with little history or experience with large numbers of mail-in ballots struggled in the midst of a pandemic doesn’t mean our system needs to be scrapped.
So what’s really going on here? In the last two years, the 42nd Legislative District voters turned out two Republican representatives and Ericksen squeaked to victory with only 54 votes to spare. More people are voting because they care, and we have made it progressively easier to vote, including online registration, Election Day registration and mail-in voting.
But there is a dark history in this country of suppressing the vote, starting with the voting privileges given only to free white men who owned property. Now that all adult citizens have the right to vote, efforts to keep certain groups from voting take the form of voter ID laws, closing neighborhood polling places, forcing voters to stand in line for hours, limited and cumbersome absentee voting procedures. ordered CBP on October 5 to turn over documents that CAIR sought in a January 8 FOIA request but had either not received or were redacted to the point of uselessness.
Following the January 3 killing of Iranian general Qassim Suleimani in a U.S. drone strike, CBP Seattle Field Office’s tactical analytical unit issued a “high alert” stating “all persons (males and females) born after 1961 and born before 2001 with links (POB, travel, citizenship)” to Palestine, Lebanon or Iran were to be vetted with extra questioning on their entry to the U.S. from B.C. Consequently, numerous U.S. citizens and resident green card holders of Iranian heritage were detained and held for hours and subjected to enhanced questioning.
The documents released by the two organizations show that more
Washington state law, and its people, support the principle of one person, one vote and that everyone eligible to vote should be able to do so. Mail-in voting does that, and those who oppose it don’t really believe in democracy.
Natalie McClendon
Bellingham
The Editor:
As Yogi Berra said, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” As we head into this particularly uncertain holiday season, our country is in a third wave of Covid-19 infections. In Western Washington, though better than many places, we’re seeing rates that are surpassing case highs seen in the spring.
During my career caring for chronic kidney disease patients, I know that Covid-19 poses serious challenges for them. Now, we know that non-elderly adults, with no underlying medical conditions and infected with Covid-19 can develop acute kidney injury, a sudden loss of kidney function. Though with proper treatment, including dialysis in severe cases, it can be reversible, but it carries a high mortality rate. If we all collectively increase our efforts to keep the virus at bay, we can help save lives and avoid a fourth and fifth wave.
Covid-19 is increasing across every age group, currently most frequently in people over the age of 80, and those between 20 and 29.
It is so important that we rethink our traditional holiday plans. Public health and medical professionals are encouraging Washingtonians to voluntarily comply with masking and social distancing directives and not gather with those with whom they don’t live.
It’s not likely we’ll go “cold turkey” on socialization, but please consider everyone’s health and well-being as you find new, safe ways to celebrate the 2020 holidays.
This is a societal challenge of our times.
William E. Lombard, M.D.
Bellingham
than 250 people, many more than previously reported, had been detained at the border, some for as long as nine hours. Many of the travelers were returning from an Iranian pop star concert held in Vancouver. CBP had denied that a directive had been issued instructing border agents to detain people based on their country of origin.
The Northern Light was the first media outlet to publish the directive after a whistleblower dropped off a copy at the office of local Blaine immigration attorney Len Saunders who in turn supplied it to the newspaper. The Northern Light and writers Patrick Grubb and Jami Makan were awarded two first-place place awards in various news categories for its story coverage in the Washington News Publisher Association’s 2020 Better Newspaper Awards.
NWIRP’s release goes on to allege “an attempt by high-level CBP officials to mislead the public. Released emails demonstrate that after reporters began to inquire about the detention of Iranians at the Blaine Port of Entry, then-acting CBP commissioner Mark Morgan and other high-level officials signed off on a public statement claiming that “reports that CBP officers are detaining Iranian-Americans and refusing their entry in the U.S. solely because of their country of origin are false.” The same statement that Mark Morgan authorized went on to claim that reports that the Department of Homeland Security/CBP has issued a related directive are also false.”
The two organizations are still waiting for a decision by Judge Martinez on additional documents that have also been requested.
CITY OF BLAINE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL
Notice is hereby given that the 2021 Preliminary Budget was filed with the Blaine City Clerk on November 2, 2020. Copies of the preliminary budget are available for review in the City Clerk’s office.
Public Hearings on the final 2021 budget are scheduled for Monday, November 9, 2020, and Monday, November 23, 2020, at 6:00 pm. The meetings will be held virtually. Information on how “attend” the City Council meeting will be included on the agenda. City Council meeting agendas are published the Friday before each City Council meeting. If you do not want to give testimony during the public hearing, please email your testimony to CityCouncil@cityofblaine.com. Please note that emails and letters sent to the entire Council are public record and they will be included on the City Council meeting agenda. All City Council meeting recordings are on the City’s website. Anyone wishing to attend and participate who may need special accommodation to do so should contact the City Clerk’s office no later than seventy-two hours (72) hours prior to the scheduled meeting. For further information on the 2021 budget, please contact the Finance Department, 360-332-8311.
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.
Monday, November 23 5:30pm – Study Session – Board, Commission, Committee Interviews 6:00pm – City Council Meeting Public Hearing (continued) – 2021 Budget Public Hearing
Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27 City Offices Closed – Thanksgiving
Thursday, November 26 6pm – Planning Commission Meeting *CANCELLED*
Thursday, December 10 9am – Park and Cemetery Board
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
Blaine United Church of Christ "Where friendly people gather and become family" Sunday Services 10:30 am
Jesus didn’t turn people away
Neither do we. (360) 332-6906 885 4th St. • Blaine, WA 98230 Pastor Sandy Wisecarver
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What some people have written: “We are happy to be sending to you this check to support the ongoing publication of the newspaper. Thank you for your excellent reporting and congratulations on your awards.” - Sarah C. Whitney This week’s supporters: Liu Schoen Mary Sheehan Renee & David Thompson Sarah C. Whitney
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Birch Bay residents open their second spa at Sandcastle Resort
s Russell and Marika Dawe, owners of M.D. Spa and Wellness Center
in Bellingham, opened a Birch Bay location on November 16.
Photo by Oliver Lazenby
The Immigration Law Firm
• U.S. green cards / naturalization • U.S. green cards / naturalization • Work / investor visas • Inadmissibility waivers • Denied entry waivers • TN (NAFTA) work permits • Removal hearings • NEXUS appeals • U.S. Citizenship claims 360-332-7100 360-332-7100 www.blaineimmigration.com • 435 Martin St., Suite 2010 • Blaine, WA www.blaineimmigration.com • 435 Martin St., Suite 1010 • Blaine, WA Leonard D.M. Saunders, Attorney at Law Leonard D.M. Saunders, Attorney at Law
B y O liver l azen B y
Birch Bay residents Russell and Marika Dawe opened M.D. Spa and Wellness Center in Bellingham in March. Eight months later, they have already opened a second location, and this time it’s closer to home.
M.D. Spa and Wellness Center’s new spa in Birch Bay, inside Sandcastle at Birch Bay resort at 7854 Birch Bay Drive, will offer most of the same cosmetic and medical services as the Bellingham location. It has seven treatment rooms with services including Botox and facial fillers, massages, facial and chemical peels and laser treatment, in addition to a Jacuzzi spa and steam room.
Unlike the Bellingham location, Birch Bay’s spa won’t do Covid-19 testing, though it will do DNA, gender reveal and other lab testing, Russell Dawe said. The spa had a soft opening on November 16.
Opening a second location so soon wasn’t part of a grand plan for the Dawes – instead, they heard about an opportunity that was too good to pass up. A few weeks after moving to Birch Bay Village last summer, a neighbor
Birch Bay Drive.
Peace Portal Drive in downtown Blaine is already looking festive with new holiday lights, and more lighting is on the way. The lights are funded through a fundraising campaign orchestrated by the city of Blaine, the Blaine Chamber of Commerce, Wildbird Charity and The Northern Light.
Bellingham-based Northern Lights Holiday and Event Lighting installed the first round of lights, LEDs with the ability to change colors, on smaller trees along four blocks of Peace Portal Drive last week. Those lights told them that there used to be a spa at Sandcastle resort.
The spa owners put lots of money into remodeling it shortly before closing in the Great Recession, according to the stories they heard from neighbors. The Dawes were intrigued by the story and seeing the space in person sealed the deal.
“We were just blown away,” Russell Dawe said. “We just went, ‘Oh yeah, we’re doing this.’ It’s like somehow they just locked the doors and left everything there. Other than a really deep cleaning it was ready to go.”
Dr. Ken Stiver, who has over 40 years’ of medical experience, will be the medical director of the Birch Bay spa, in addition to the Bellingham spa. Marika Dawe will be more involved in running the Birch Bay spa, while Russell Dawe will continue to focus on the Bellingham location.
Hiring has been challenging, Russell Dawe said. The business is taking applications and he expects to have 25 to 30 employees at the location eventually, he said.
M.D. Spa and Wellness Center’s Bellingham location currently has patients who live in Blaine and Birch Bay, Russell Dawe said, were initially purple, but the color will likely change about once a week, said Alex Wenger, city of Blaine economic development and tourism coordinator.
WECU aided the first round of donations with a $6,500 donation, according to a press release from the city.
As of November 17, the Holiday Harbor Lights fundraiser had raised about $12,000 and was about halfway to funding a second round of lights, which will be enough to wrap every tree in the four-block section of Peace Portal Drive.
Also, larger pole-mounted nautical themed light decoraand people in Lynden and Ferndale may also prefer the trip to the Birch Bay location over driving to Bellingham.
Though new Covid-19 restrictions and the surging virus may make business challenging in the short term, the Dawes expect the spa will be popular with Sandcastle guests in the summer. The resort has nearly 200 rooms and is typically close to fully occupied in the summer, Russell Dawe said.
“Most spas [at a resort] live solely off traffic at the resort,” he said. “So we’re pretty excited about the resort traffic, along with the locals.”
While it may be a while before traffic at the resort is back to full capacity, Dawe likes the idea of opening a new business now in Birch Bay.
“With all that’s going on and places closing, I think it’s just good news all around that someone is out there opening something up,” he said.
To start, the M.D. Spa and Wellness Center’s Birch Bay spa will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Learn more at
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s One of seven treatment rooms at M.D. Spa and Wellness Center, inside the Sandcastle Resort at 7854
New LEDs decorate downtown, with more holiday harbor lights to come next month
B y O liver l azen B y
md-wellness.com. Photo by Oliver Lazenby tions in the spirit of “Blaine by the Sea” will go up early next month, along with the city’s snowflake lights and Christmas tree.
“It’s been a lot of fun and it’s great to bring some cheer to downtown Blaine,” Wenger said. “We received a lot of compliments on it and that’s always nice to hear.”
To donate, visit wildbirdcharity.org. Since Wildbird Charity is a nonprofit, donations are tax-deductible. Wildbird Charity will donate the lights to the city so that they can go up year after year, according to the city’s press release.
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s Rick Wood helped with the conservation of pandas during his trip to China in September 2017. This was
the second stop on his four-country trip to answer questions about animal trade.
Courtesy image
Author ...
From page 1
Species. He realized if poaching didn’t change immediately, repercussions would be felt in as short as 10 years. “I’m not getting any younger. There’s no reason to put it off. I immediately jumped into it feet first,” he said. Tanzania was the beginning of the four-country journey, and the apex.
Wood traveled to Tanzania for 22 days in February 2017, and within five days of his trip said he felt foolish for previously questioning if poachers could be good people.
Wood met a poacher in a rice field outside Moshi, Tanzania, who worked in the field and had a side job of hunting meat from the forests and savannas.
“This poacher in no way was an evil person, he was a very poor person,” Wood said. “He had no other occupation so the bush meat he acquired fed his family and kept his family alive in a literal sense.”
Wood spent most of his time volunteering with children who were orphaned from the AIDS epidemic and at an animal rescue group outside Moshi.
His next adventure led him along a 13-day journey in Sep(See Author, next page)
Whole Pilates of Birch Bay
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Join the Checkup Challenge to make sure every aspect of your health is covered.
Check all the boxes for you and those you care about:
Get preventive screenings
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For a complete checkup checklist by age group, visit peacehealth.org/challenge
Author ...
From page 7
tember 2017 through China, where Wood wanted to visit wet markets and help rehabilitate pandas. During this trip, he also met with ivory carvers before the country made ivory trade illegal in 2018.
“I knew from my research that the Chinese, although they get the brunt of the accusation of being responsible for the ivory trade, we forget that the United States is actually the second-largest consumer of illegal ivory in the world,” Wood said. “That puts us in an area of responsibility for elephant poaching that we might not normally associate the United States with but we play an integral part.”
Wood visited Yellowstone National Park for three days in October 2018 before heading to Costa Rica. The 12-day trip in Costa Rica ended the two-year journey in April 2019.
Wood said he chose Costa Rica to learn how it became a world leader in conservation. Costa Rican conservation, coupled with efforts he’d seen in Tanzania and s Blaine author Rick Wood.
China, gave him hope that there are nearly the same amount of people trying to save animals as there are people trafficking them.
“It left me with a wonderful rejuvenation of my outlook,” Wood said. “There are so many heroes working in so many countries, not just in Costa Rica.
For five days after its release, the book topped Amazon’s charts in the endangered species category, Wood said.
“I want it to grow as much as possible from people that take a look at it, that find the value in it, they find something interesting about it, and then encourage their friends or family to pick it up,” Wood said.
Wood said he chose to format his story as a graphic novel to appeal to a younger audience, while also allowing readers to learn from different senses.
“I always wanted to see The Human Snare end up in classrooms,” he said. “It’s an amazing tool for students of any age to dive into subject matter that is normally shied away from because it’s a sad thing or it’s a deep issue.”
Wood said he believes most literature on poaching comes in dense books that are harder for younger people to digest. Focusing on science and statistics doesn’t create the best segue for students to explore their own questions, he said.
“The Human Snare, at the end of it, isn’t going to give you all those answers you’re looking for. I didn’t find all the answers,” Wood said. “I found a heck of a lot more questions than I found answers out there.”
The book is free with Kindle Unlimited or a paperback version costs $14.99 on Amazon.
s Blaine author Rick Wood released his new graphic novel, The Human Snare, on November 9. Courtesy image
ADVICE FROM THEPROS PROS
Q: Is now a good time to refinance? A:
Loren Adkins Senior Real Estate Loan Officer
NMLS# 643779
Office: (360) 647-4425 Cell: (360) 303-8599
loren.adkins@peoplesbank-wa.com Yes. Interest rates are very low, and they should remain that way through the end of the year. Talk to a lender to see if it makes sense to refinance while considering your current rate and situation. Taking equity out for improvements, consolidation of bills, or refinancing to improve the Rate and Term on a current balance, can all make sense. Plenty of options exist, and the process is more streamlined than you might think. You may not even need an appraisal.
Bellingham Real Estate Loan Center • 3100 Woburn St. • Bellingham WA, 98226 Deka Wiebusch
CFP® AIF® CRPC® FINANCIAL ADVISOR Q: Should I invest more during
a market downturn?
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Skyline Advisors, Inc. is a Registered Investment Adviser. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Skyline Advisors, Inc. unless a client service agreement is in place.
405 32nd Street, Suite 201, Bellingham (360) 671-1621 www.myskylineadvisor.com
Q: College isn’t for me. What can I do after high school?
SFC Rob Decker
Recruiter
360-305-9478
FB/Instagram: sfc_decker 4184 Cordata Pkwy #101 Bellingham, WA 98226 A: The Washington Army National Guard can be that thing you do. It can help you figure out that next step in life while being a career as well. When you join, you’ll be employed full-time for a few months to get initially trained. You can gain a skillset that carries over to a civilian career. Such as a mechanic, carpenter, electrician, paralegal, construction equipment operator and medic to name a few. This paid skillset training can set you apart from your peers in the workforce. You can have low-cost health insurance, a monthly paycheck and access to up to 100% tuition paid with the Postsecondary Education Grant, should you need it. The grant is only for WA Guard members!
Q: Are you prepared?
A: Unemployment benefits are taxable including the additional $600 a week received from the federal government. If you received unemployment and had federal withholding deducted from your benefits, you are off to a good start. The elected withholding on unemployment benefits is usually ten percent. The amount of tax on your benefits depends on your marital status, all other income and other withholding. This amount could come short of paying the full income tax depending on all factors involved. The income from unemployment benefits can also affect other credits on your tax return which could have an unpleasant outcome. For example, if you get health insurance through the state and receive a premium tax credit, the unemployment benefits could put you over the income limit, causing you to have to pay back part or all of the premium tax credit. Please call us if you have questions.
Cynthia Polley, Enrolled Agent 8105 Birch Bay Square St. • Suite 102
Blaine’s indoor Holiday Market by the Sea runs every weekend from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and 12-4 p.m. on Sundays. The market is now located at the Old Wolten and Montfort grocery space at 648 Peace Portal Drive, and is continuing at 25 percent or less capacity. Items at the market include homemade soap, candles, pastries, jam, fresh coffee, gems and jewelery and more. Learn more at Blainechamber.com.
Images courtesy of Blaine Chamber of Commerce
PROS PROS
A Special Section of published monthly on the 3rd Thursday of the month
Julia Mullenix
978 Peace Portal Drive Blaine, WA 98230 (360) 922-0102
Q: Are VA home loans still an option in this competitive market?
A: Happy Veterans Day! To those veterans who are thinking of using your hard earned and well deserved VA loan benefit, yes you can still use it despite the competitive market. This year there were 148 homes bought with VA loans in Whatcom County. The majority of these were used outside of Bellingham, including many in Blaine and Birch Bay. We have personally used the VA loan and have helped multiple buyers from all branches use it. Call or email me anytime to get more information on how to successfully use your VA loan in this market. Thanks to all those who have stood or are standing the watch.
julia@peacearchrealestate.com
www.peacearchrealestate.com
Q: Should we self-insure our Group Benefits Program?
A: For some, self-insuring can provide better coverage, lower rates and greater stability - especially when paired with a wellness program. Unlike traditional fully-insured plans where cost containment requires shifting carriers, deductibles and out-of-pocket amounts, self-insuring directly manages the supply chain (office visits, surgeries, imaging, prescriptions) which can lower healthcare costs and increase predictability of claims. Level-Funding is an easy-to-understand, low risk form of self-insurance that’s growing in popularity. Here’s how it works: An employer starts by paying a set monthly premium into an account - the money is then used to pay claims for healthcare - if there’s any funds left in the account at the end of the plan year, it goes back to the employer, or if claims spending exceeds the funds in the account, the health insurer covers the difference. When accompanied by a thoughtful wellness program that incentivizes healthy activities like smoking cessation, mid-day fitness and nutrition counseling, the year-end claims savings is typically even greater.
288 Martin St. Downtown Blaine (360) 332-7300 (604) 256-1384
Justin Kulhanek
360-424-5507
Principal, Employee Benefits
Doniel Hagee, DPT, ATC, OCS
Physical Therapist Capstone Physical Therapy
1733 H Street, Suite 400 Blaine, WA 98230 360-332-5111 www.capstonept.com Q: What measures are the Capstone clinics taking to ensure safety during COVID-19?
A: We have increased our sanitization practices in all of our clinics and all Capstone providers and support staff are required to complete daily health and temperature checks. All patients will be required to wash/sanitize their hands when entering and leaving our facility and during therapy. We ask that patients with symptoms should stay home and contact their health care provider. They may return to therapy when they are symptom free and/ or a negative COVID test. We know how important it is to continue to make progress with therapy. We offer telehealth therapy in addition to in clinic therapy.
Thank you for helping us to keep Capstone a safe place for therapy. Our Birch Bay clinic is now open 5 days a week and Blaine is open 3 days a week.
