April 2025
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Local markets begin to stir, page 3
Fire chief seeks solution from county and medical examiner
Seabright stairs raises concerns, page 9
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Health director let go, page 12
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B y P a t G r u bb After festering for about 18 months, the issue of who is responsible for transporting bodies from Point Roberts to the mainland might finally be getting the attention it requires. Point Roberts fire chief Christopher Carleton told the All Point Bulletin March 26 that he had been trying to no avail to get the county or state to get involved after the county medical examiner denied responsibility for the infrequent job of taking people who have died on the Point down to Bellingham. “It’s a very simple thing,” Carleton said. “We have around 3-6 people die up here each year and in order to transport them through Canada to Bellingham, we have to notify Health Canada in Ottawa that the person did not die of a communicable disease. To do so requires an attestation to that effect and the medical examiner is refusing to provide that,” he said. “He has told us to call the person’s primary care physician. Well, you can’t do that at 2 in the morning.” The county appointed Dr. Aldo Fusaro as medical examiner (ME) in December 2024. By state law, medical examiners are required by to assume authority when a person has died from unnatural causes such as murder or a communicable disease. It follows that if an examiner declines to assume jurisdiction over a corpse then the ME has, in effect, determined that the person did not die from a communicable disease and should be able to provide an attestation to that conclusion. That supposition was posed to county executive spokesperson Jed Holmes when queried to confirm a March 31 meeting between the fire chief and the executive. He replied that he had passed the suggestion to the ME to evaluate. “We are very interested in a solution,” he added.
All Point Bulletin
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WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN
s A foot-stomping, Guinness beer-drinking, sell-out crowd of blarney- and Whisky Dicks-lovers showed up to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day at the Reef on March 8. Photo by Louise Mugar
School board makes hard cuts to next year’s budget By Nolan Baker For the third consecutive year, the Blaine school board has approved budget cuts that will tighten the district’s already barebones budget, this go-around by $3 million. The cuts will eliminate roughly 46 positions, merge first and second grade classes from Blaine Primary School into Blaine Elementary School, cut all C-team high school sports, and significantly reshuffle school district administration. In a 4-0-1 vote, the board approved the recommended budget reduction, which included cuts to four department directors in the district office, two assistant principal positions, four assistant coaches and
16 certified staff positions. Erika Creydt abstained from the vote, citing a lack of board discussion and preparation. Blaine school district superintendent Chris Granger said seven transition to kindergarten positions are “up in the air” and could be reinstated with proper funding from the state, and 10 other positions will be added in the next school year. While each school board member and Granger said the decision to cut more staff is never taken lightly, Granger said it’s now the “unfortunate reality” of public education funding in Washington. “While this is not our preferred method, nobody at this table or on this team (See School, page 6)
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Inside
Church ............................................. 12 Classifieds ......................................... 12 Coming Up ....................................... 11 Crossings ............................................ 3 Library, Obituary ............................. 14 Opinion ............................................... 4 Seniors ............................................. 14 Tides ................................................. 13
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