September 2021
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Post-border opening cleanup planned, page 7
Asian giant hornet nest found, page 9
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50th anniversary of the the great heronry, page 10
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The boys in the band on the beach ... Students return to class with masks and vaccines for all staff By Ian Haupt About 50 parents and community members assembled outside of the Blaine High School cafeteria to protest governor Jay Inslee’s mandates and encourage the Blaine school board to resist them. While not all of them spoke during the public comment portion of the August 23 board meeting, the majority of those in attendance opposed masks and vaccinations. Before the meeting started, board president Charles Gibson addressed the angry crowd. Interruptions and heckles were frequent. “We want to be able to communicate your concerns to those who can do something about this,” he said. “We are elected officials; we have certain limitations we have to adhere to. We cannot change the law.” Gibson added that if the board and school administration do not comply with the governor’s orders, the district will lose funding. State mandates With two weeks until the start of the 2021-22 school year and rapidly increasing case rates and hospitalizations throughout the state, the governor announced a vaccine requirement for all state educators and issued an indoor mask mandate for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status. Under the governor’s new proclamation, all K-12 educators, school staff, coaches, bus drivers, school volunteers and others working in school facilities are required to be fully vaccinated by October 18. To do so, educators who are not yet vaccinated will have to get their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or the only dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, by October 4 to be in compliance. Washington is the first state to implement such a mandate without a testing alternative, as Inslee said such options (See School, page 7)
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s The Whiskeydicks, a “Celtic Gypsy party rocking” band mostly based in B.C., played a cross-border concert at Maple Beach in front of an enthusiastic crowd on Sunday, August 22. From l., Point Roberts’ own Mike Bell along with Kyle Hagen, Kyle Axford, Samuel Cartwright and Patrick Ernst. Keep tuned for news of another concert this fall. Photo by Pat Grubb
Show us the money, says PRCAC members By Meg Olson Members of the Point Roberts Community Advisory Committee are working with state and county officials to answer a question county executive Satpal Sidhu asked, distilling a longtime community concern. “How much money is Point Roberts’ money?” Sidhu asked the question at a July 9 townhall meeting that brought state, county and federal elected officials face to face with the community. A recurring theme at the meeting was, how does the community keep locally collected taxes in the community to pay for projects and programs in Point Roberts? Broadband service for the entire Point
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is at the top of Sidhu’s list of projects to help revitalize Point Roberts’ economic outlook, and other community members brought their own priorities into the discussion: rebuilding the pier at the foot of Gulf Road, the dock at Lighthouse Marine Park, a lighthouse, a sewer system, the return of the Arts and Crafts Festival. All of it costs money and the community relies on Whatcom County to fund projects and pursue grants. “How do we get them to work for us?” Mark Robbins asked in regards to the county parks department decision not to pursue grant funding for a lighthouse at Lighthouse Marine Park, leaving $500,000 in matching funds on
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Inside
Church ............................................... 6 Classifieds ......................................... 12 Coming Up ....................................... 14 Crossings ............................................ 2 Garden .............................................. 13 Library, Tides ................................... 11 Opinion ............................................... 4
