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The Northern Light • November 5 - 11, 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.
Election Day at Blaine’s ballot box
Publisher & Managing Editor Patrick Grubb publisher@pointrobertspress.com Co-publisher & Advertising Director Louise Mugar lmugar@pointrobertspress.com Editor Oliver Lazenby oliver@pointrobertspress.com
s Justin Brunsvik drops off ballots at the Blaine library ballot drop box on Election Day, November 3, 2020. Brunsvik said he drove from Utah to return his ballot on time.
Photo by Ian Haupt
Letters
Reporter & Copy Editor Grace McCarthy grace@pointrobertspress.com Reporting Intern Ian Haupt prpintern@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 21 Circulation: 10,500 copies
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The Editor: Currently 230,000 people have passed away from Covid-19. (Johns Hopkins) It is shortsighted to think that if you have no underlying comorbidities and are young that it won’t affect you. You think I’ll be fine. Not a very socially responsible attitude. Almost inevitably you will infect another. Deaths from Covid-19 tell us we need to do everything we can to lower that number. Disseminating information that tries to minimize the effects of this disease is very dangerous. Herd immunity (current White House strategy) requires approximately 60 percent of the population to become infected. Results of that strategy: 8,000,000 cases with 2.5 percent of population infected is 220,000 deaths. 198,000,000 with cases 60 percent of population infected is 5,445,000 deaths.Even a figure of 150,000 deaths (if deaths are over reported) results in 3,700,000 deaths. Shouldn’t we do all we can to prevent this? Information is available to us because we have a free press yet Trump is unrelenting in his attempts to undermine the credibility of our free press. He has said he does it because he doesn’t want criticism of himself or any information that contradicts his policies to be reported. Our founding fathers felt that a free press was so important they addressed this issue in the very First Amendment to our constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances. Trump’s attempts to undermine the credibility of our free press are exactly what authoritarian rulers all over the world have done in order to control the flow of information to the public. The first step in that process is to undermine the free press’s credibility. There are larger issues at stake here and Trump’s ignoring the severity of the situation speaks to further undermining the credibility of information vital to understanding the situation. People tend to become focused on one issue which can blind them to the dangers inherent in ignoring the larger issues. Andrew Fisher Blaine
break down our displays. They were amazing, and we are so grateful for all of their help. Thank you also to Girl Scout Troop 4038 and Boy Scout Troop 4038 who provided us with the most delicious popcorn balls. Everyone loved them. And of course, thank you to Oliver Lazenby at The Northern Light who offers us incredible support, and is always there to help us get the word out about our events. And in closing, thank you to our community, to everyone who made the Blaine Food Bank Spooktacular such a success. It has lifted the spirits of our Covid-19 weary volunteers, and we appreciate and love you for it. Sally Church, operations manager Blaine Food Bank
The Editor: Once again, our wonderful community has stepped up in support of the Blaine Food Bank. Thank you so much to the adorable little trick or treaters and their parents for making our Trick or Treat Spooktacular such a success. We loved seeing all of the beautiful children in their amazing costumes. I’m not sure who had more fun, the children or us. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to join the community in a fun-filled evening. Our volunteers are absolutely incredible. In just hours, they transformed our facility into an unrecognizable magical space for children to safely experience trick or treating. They wore some wonderfully spooktacular costumes, and had so much fun interacting with the children. Special thanks to the high school students who donated many hours bagging candy, setting up displays, dressing in character and helping us
The Editor and amazing crew at The Northern Light/Point Roberts Press: Congratulations on your 31 awards for 2020 from your statewide newspaper peers. We regular readers appreciate the quality of your publications and we are proud of the annual recognition you get from your competitors across Washington. It is also important for all the individuals at Point Roberts Press who contribute to your success and receive their own awards. Bravo to all of you. I was particularly pleased to see the award for the articles on the Iranian-American detentions at the border, but I was really hoping you’d get the Pulitzer you deserved. Georgia A. Gardner Coupeville (See Letters, next page ) Please send letters to letters@thenorthernlight.com no later than noon on Monday.
