August 11 - 17, 2016
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
City approves more dwelling units, page 2
Road projects scheduled for late August, page 7
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Artisan cheesemakers share their secrets, page 9
Birch Bay celebrates Drayton Harbor Days attracts crowds to Blaine Harbor second annual Rollback Weekend B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e
s Blaine’s Drayton Harbor Days attracted people from near and afar to Blaine. The event is in its ninth official year and is host to a number of events, games and vendors for all ages. The Prestigious George Raft Race, pictured above, required participants to craft their own boat and navigate through the harbor for a prize.
Photo by Oliver Lazenby
Ideas taking shape for new Birch Bay Community Park By Oliver Lazenby Community members still have time to help design Birch Bay’s future $2.5 million park. An August 6 planning meeting for the Birch Bay Community Park showed community-wide support for several park ideas, while a few, such as a playground, polarized
meeting attendees. The park’s designer, Robert W. Droll Landscape Architects, will design the park based on ideas from the meeting and present two alternate park plans at the second of three planning meetings at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, August 31, at Birch Bay Bible Community Church. The 4.2-acre park is located at 7954 Birch
(See Parks, page 2)
County council temporarily bans new permits for shipping unrefined fossil fuels By Oliver Lazenby Whatcom County Council unanimously approved an emergency moratorium on new applications and permits for new or expanded unrefined oil and coal export facilities at Cherry Point at its August 9 meeting. The moratorium will last 60 days and council must hold a public hearing on it in that time. The moratorium allows local refineries to continue refining and exporting oil, but bans new projects that would ship oil be-
fore refining it, cutting refinery workers out of the equation. The decision came after two hours of public comments from environmentalists, refinery workers and Native American rights advocates that were largely focused on threats to fisheries, safety risks to crude oil traveling by rail and the loss of local jobs that could accompany a shift from refining to exporting – issues that are often raised at council meetings. “I want to make it clear to the workers that this is not intended to affect the
Bay Drive, on the east side of the road just north of the Birch Bay Visitor Information Center. The county held the August 6 meeting to gather input on the park’s design from the community. Ideas for the park included the following: • Parking • Restrooms
existing refineries,” councilmember Rud Browne said at the meeting. The council added language to the moratorium to allow refineries to ramp up oil export if, for example, they have to close for a period and need to ship crude oil or other fuels elsewhere. In July, councilmember Carl Weimer proposed an amendment that would ban unrefined oil, coal and natural gas shipments from the Cherry Point Urban (See Fuel, page 3)
INSIDE
Birch Bay kicks off its second annual car show at 9:30 a.m. this Saturday and Sunday, August 13 and 14 at Birch Bay Beach Park. Each day will feature a beer garden, live music and car competitions. Those who claim victory in the weekend car competitions will win prizes. Judges will select the winner on Saturday and the public chooses the winner on Sunday. Car show registration is required and is due by August 11, or until 300 cars have been entered. A variety of music acts will Photo by Steve Guntli perform during the two-day event, including local favorites, The Replayzmentz, a Led Zeppelin tribute band called ZEPTOLOGY and the Blaine High School Band, just to name a few. Event hosts encourage participants to don clothing from the ’50s and ’60s. Those accurately dressed to the times may win a special award. The event is sponsored by the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce as well as the Blaine Birch Bay Parks and Recreation District 2. To register, visit birchbaychamber. com. Proof of registration is required upon entrance.
Letters . . . . . . . . 4-5 Classifieds . . . 15-16 Police . . . . . . . . . 18 Coming Up . . . . . 18 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 18
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