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See 4th of July
County transportation survey open until May 30
Whatcom Council of Governments (WCOG) is asking the public for its opinion in a survey regarding the county’s 20-year transportation plan.
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The survey will be open until Sunday, May 30.
WCOG estimates more than 60,000 people will move to Whatcom County within the next two decades.
“The transportation plan will discuss and document our region’s goals and priorities for future transportation investments as our population grows,” the media release states.
The transportation plan, last updated in 2017, is set to be adopted again in 2022, according to the WCOG website.
To participate in the survey, also available in Spanish, visit wcog.org/survey.
www.nmtamale.com 360-389-8841
“Be Prepared to Unwrap Goodness!” s Fireworks will light up the sky at Blaine Marine Park this Fourth of July. A street fair, live music and other festivities will ring in Independence Day in downtown Blaine. File photo
4th of July ...
From page 1 cause of not being able to close the road and trying to attract a smaller crowd.
“We had to skip the things we knew would attract too many people, but wanted to still appeal to the locals,” Solomon said.
Blaine Library, at 610 3rd Street, will also host its biannual book sale in the library parking lot, except the book sale will only be one day instead of three. Hours are not yet set for the book sale, Solomon said.
There will be no car show which often packs more than 250 cars on Martin Street, because it was too late to organize. There also won’t be a pancake breakfast at the Blaine Senior Center, Solomon said.
The kid area will be modified to have one-on-one activities since most children aren’t vaccinated, Solomon said. Activities are still tentative, but could include games such as bean bag toss, lawn darts and a downtown scavenger hunt with prizes.
Local musicians are invited to play in the G Street Plaza from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Right now, the 133d Army National Guard Band is scheduled to play rock music at 1 p.m. and then traditional patriotic music at 9 p.m. leading up to the fireworks. Solomon said the city of Blaine has expressed interest in buskers performing at the plaza for free from the midafternoon until the patriotic music starts at 9 p.m.
Until governor Jay Inlsee’s recent announcement on opening the state by June 30, Solomon said the only event planned for the Fourth of July was fireworks, which will shoot off at 10 p.m. in Blaine Marine Park.
Everyone who attends Blaine’s Fourth of July is strongly encouraged to wear a mask and social distance, Solomon said. “At a festival like this, you’ll brush by other people but we’ll do the best we can,” she said.
Solomon said she’s most excited for the annual street fair.
“It’s a great relief,” she said of the Fourth of July celebrations. “We get a lot of phone calls at the visitor center about things that aren’t happening. I’m just so happy to be able to tell people that, ‘yes, there is something going on this year.’”
Street fair vendors and musicians interested in playing music at the G Street Plaza can email Carroll Solomon at cjsolomon07@comcast.net.
The 58th
June 12 & 13, 2021
2021 President Troy Baisden
2021 Bull of the Woods Brian Knutzen
Poster Courtesy of Les Schwab We’re in your neighborhood! Over 400 Locations to serve you!
Free day parking!
Self-contained Camping Available with Reservations
Located just 12 miles East of Bellingham, off the Mt. Baker Highway, on Cedarville Road. $10 • Adults $5 • Seniors and Kids Age 6 & Up FREE • Kids Age 5 & Under Main Show 1pm Exhibitions start at 11am www.demingloggingshow.com
Oregon • Washington • Nevada • Alaska • Idaho • Montana • California • Utah “The West’s Largest Independent Tire Dealer.”
• 31 Events • Professional Acts • World Champion Speed Climbing • Loggers Breakfast Starts @ 6:00am • Salmon, Beef & Chicken BBQ
Covid-19 in Whatcom County, by school district boundaries:
Recent two-week case rates, cumulative counts and vaccinations
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Whatcom County has had a total of 8,920 confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic and 366 probable cases (9,286 total cases), according to May 24 Washington state Department of Health (DOH) data. Three people died from Covid-19 in the past week, which brought the county’s death toll to 98. The percent of deaths per total confirmed cases is 1.1 percent.
Every school district decreased in Covid-19 case rates except for Mount Baker. Blaine school district decreased from 210 cases per 100,000 people last week to 148 cases per 100,000. The school district had 10 confirmed Covid-19 cases since last week.
The county should receive at least 1,870 vaccine doses this week, although this number is not final and is likely to increase. Last week, Whatcom County received 10,730 vaccine doses.
About 42.3 percent of county residents are fully vaccinated and 50.6 percent have received at least one vaccine dose, according to the department. The department reports 96,421 county residents are fully vaccinated and 115,471 residents have received their first shot.
Statewide, 6,749,266 vaccine doses have been administered. About 40.75 percent of people in Washington are fully vaccinated and 48.9 percent have received one dose. Public spaces in the state can reopen to full capacity before June 30 if 70 percent of people 16 and older are fully vaccinated. Right now, 50.78 percent of people 16 and older are fully vaccinated.
Washington state has had 396,713 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic and 33,702 probable cases (probable cases come from an antigen test). In all, 5,722 people in Washington with the virus have died as of May 24 and 23,835 have been hospitalized.
For more Whatcom County information, visit whatcomcoun-
Lynden Vaccination: 37.4
Case rate: 613 Case count: 1553
Meridian
Vaccination: 48.2
Case rate: 390
Case count: 488
Nooksack Valley
Vaccination: 32.2 Case rate: 208 Case count: 794
s The case rate is the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks. Case count is the total number of con-
firmed Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. Vaccination is the percentage of the population that has had at least one vaccine shot. Rates were updated May 22.
BHS student wins state medical competition
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For Blaine High School science teacher Elli Weeks, getting a bag of pins in the mail for students in her Future Health Professionals Club (HOSA) is a regular occurrence. Every year, after her students participate in verbal, written and hands-on competitions against students around the state, she passes out commemorative pins to anyone who joined the club.
This year, among the pins that Weeks always finds, was a single gold medal.
“It didn’t say anything on it or anything,” Weeks said. “So I emailed HOSA and I was like, ‘Hey I got a medal, wasn’t sure what this was for.’ And then they sent me an email back saying, ‘Claar French, First Place, Medical Terminology.’”
The medal in that bag was awarded to whoever placed first in the medical terminology portion of the Washington state HOSA competition, a massive, exhaustive written test on medical vocabulary given to some of the brightest scientific minds in the state.
Claar French, a 17-year-old junior from Blaine High School, earned the award in April after competing in the virtual event. But she didn’t know she won until a few weeks later.
“I didn’t think that anything had happened because it had been a while since the competity.us/covidvaccine and whatcomcounty.us/coviddata. State information is available at bit. ly/3r2URJj. Vaccine locations can be found at bit.ly/3nZiMqr. For CDC data, visit bit.ly/39Kt4qh.
s Blaine High School junior Claar French, 17, poses with her gold
medal from the HOSA Medical Terminology competition.
Photo by Nolan Baker
Joyce B. Vanderpol
MY PRE SALE 261 CHERRY ST. & NOTARY
289 H Street Blaine, WA 98230 360.319.0730 jvandrealty@openaccess.org
"I am still in the real estate business, having started that challenge 35 years ago when a Purchase and Sale Agreement consisted of only two pages! Now, that number can be as many as 20 to 25 pages! Since then, I have added a Notary Service to my endeavors, one aspect of which is to meet Canadian owners in Peace Arch Park (who cannot come into the US due to COVID-19) whereby I am authorized to notarize their legal documents. This is only allowed in a certain area of the park, albeit!. Spanning these many years, I have learned the requirements for building a new house and am now completing my TENTH one. Needless to say, not only do I know about the fundamentals of selling real estate, I also have gained insight into learning the requirements of house building, which in itself has been quite an education and has allowed me to pass that knowledge indirectly onto my clients."
Registration for Summer Dance is Open!
June 21-24 • 9AM-12PM Ballet Tales Camp (Ages 5-9) June 28-July 1 • 9AM-12PM Hip Hop Camp + Breakdance 101 (Ages 5-9) July 5-8 • 12PM-3PM Contemporary/Improv Camp (Ages 12+) July 12-15 • 12PM-3PM Contemporary/Improv Camp (Ages 8-11) Summer Weekly Classes: July 5-31
Fun Times at The Vault
May 27 • 7 pm • General Knowledge Trivia May 28 • 7 pm • Live Music Garrett Hendricks (First Time at The Vault) June 3 • 7 pm • Greek Mythology Trivia with Toga Costume Contest June 4 • 7 pm • Live Music with Lefty & the Right Hand Band June 10 • 7 pm • General Knowledge Trivia June 11 • 7 pm • Live Music with The Song Wranglers June 17 • 7 pm • Game of Thrones/Lord of the Rings Trivia with Costume Contest June 18 • 7 pm • Live Music with Adrian Clark June 24 • 7 pm • General Knowledge Trivia June 25 • 7 p.m. • Live Music with Trio Sueño
Reservations Recommended • Walk-ins Welcome Open Wednesday-Saturday 4-9 pm 277 G Street • Downtown Blaine www.TheVaultWine.com 360-392-0955
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.
Publisher & Managing Editor Patrick Grubb publisher@pointrobertspress.com
Co-publisher & Advertising Director Louise Mugar lmugar@pointrobertspress.com
Editor Grace McCarthy grace@pointrobertspress.com
Reporter Ian Haupt ian@pointrobertspress.com
Reporting Interns Nolan Baker, Sienna Boucher 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 49 Circulation: 10,500 copies Circulation Independently verified by:
Next issue: June 3 Ads due: May 28 Zoom-a-Thon to fundraise for BHS arts and jazz
s Blaine High School will host an arts and jazz Zoom-a-Thon Wednesday, June 2, from 7 to 9 p.m. The webinar will run similar to a
late-night talk show, with choir, band and drama performances and art features intermingled between the MC’s interviews with Blaine celebrities and supporters of the arts. Participants can also donate to the Blaine Fine Arts association with an easy click. The Zoom link will be posted the evening of June 2 on blainesd.org. This piece by ninth grader Allena De Soto from 2020 is called “Whirl of Color.”
Art by BHS student Allena De Soto
Border closure extended again, expires June 21
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The U.S./Canada border will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least June 21, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in a May 20 tweet. The federal government announced the 14th extension a day before the border closure expired.
Both DHS and Canadian’s prime minister of public safety Bill Blair announced the extension in May 20 tweets.
A DHS spokesperson tweeted a statement similar to previous border extension announcements, which included that essential trade and travelers may still pass through the land borders and the governments, including Mexico, are working to ease restrictions as conditions improve. No additional details when or what reopening the border could look like.
The U.S. has fully vaccinated more of its population than Canada. At the time of the border extension, the latest data from Canada showed 3.3 percent of people in Canada were fully vaccinated and 38.8 percent had received at least one vaccine dose. However, health officials in Canada are recommending longer intervals between vaccine doses to allow more people to receive their first dose, according to the Immunize B.C. website, run by the province’s government.
In the U.S., 38.1 percent of people were fully vaccinated and 48.2 percent of people had received one dose, according to the CDC.
In B.C., 2.1 percent of people had received at least one dose and 39.8 percent of people had at least one dose. At the time of the border extension, 38.2 percent of people in Washington were fully vaccinated and 47.5 had at least one dose.
During a May 18 press conference, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was expected to receive 4.5 million vaccine doses that week, more than any other weekly vaccine shipment the county had received. People 18 and older could start signing up for vaccine appointments May 18, he added.
“In regards to the Canada/U.S. border, we continue to work very closely with U.S. authorities and Canadian experts on how we can move forward in a way that is safe for Canadians,” Trudeau said. “We’re all eager to get back to normal but we know that before we get back to normal, cases need to be under control and over 75 percent of people need to be vaccinated for us to start loosening things in Canada. We’ll see what framework we apply to ensure we’re keeping Canadians safe, even as we look to eventually change the restrictions and the posture at the border.”
For more information on border restrictions, visit the government of Canada’s website at bit.ly/3fD1oW1.
Letters
The Editor:
This thought is for your Memorial Day publication of The Northern Light. It is the thought that counts.
Those who disrespect our flag have never been handed a folded one.
Earl Erickson
Blaine
Please send letters to letters@thenorthernlight.com no later than noon on Monday.
CiviC Meetings
Birch Bay Water & Sewer District: Second and fourth Thursdays, 4 p.m., district offices, 7096 Point Whitehorn Road, Birch Bay. Info and Zoom meeting link: bbwsd.com. Blaine City Council: Second and fourth Mondays, 6 p.m., Blaine City Council chambers, 435 Martin Street. Info and virtual meeting login: ci.blaine.wa.us. Blaine Planning Commission: Second and fourth Thursdays, 6 p.m. Info: blainepc@cityofblaine.com. Info for joining Zoom meetings: bit.ly/2CiMKnk. Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation: Second Tuesday, 5:30 p.m., location varies. Info: bbbparkandrec.org. Virtual meeting info: bbbparkandrec.org/board-meetings/ Blaine Park and Cemetery Board: Second Thursday, 9 a.m., virtual meeting. Info: 360/332-8311, ext. 3330. Blaine School Board: Fourth Monday, 7 p.m., Blaine school district offices. Info and virtual meeting link: blainesd.org. North Whatcom Fire & Rescue: Third Thursday, 1 p.m. Info: nwfrs.net.
