February 2022
IN THIS
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Year in Review 2021 concludes, page 4
Schools need substitute teachers, page 5
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Margot Griffiths meets Ollie Otter, page 8
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Whoa, pardner! Slow down when passing horses ... A slew of local businesses change hands By Meg Olson In the words of Jimmy Buffett, the three well-known Point Roberts businesses have recently changed hands as their owners decided on “changes of latitude, changes in attitude.” After almost 60 years, ownership of Nielson’s Building Center has passed out of Nielson family hands, but not much will change, even the name. Lorne Nielson, who bought the business from his father Ron in 1990, said the sale of the business to Fred Pakzad was finalized on December 31, 2021. Pakzad is a local resident who also owns the Chevron gas station and Point Pantry. Few changes were proposed, Nielson said. The business will remain Nielson’s Building Center and longtime employee Michelle Schwalback will take over operations as general manager. “She has been here 16 years and knows everything,” he said, adding Pakzad will be more of a silent partner than involved in daily operations. Ron and Bev Nielson opened Nielson’s Lumber and Supply in 1963 after buying a store owned by the Thorsteinson family on the corner of Benson Road and Tyee Drive. Prior to the sale, Nielson said he was looking through old documents and photographs, even super-8 film of Bev serving tea at what he thinks was likely the opening of the lumber yard. He will be putting together a history of the business, which will run in the next edition of the All Point Bulletin. Just down the street from Nielson’s, Lynne and Snyder Vick, owners of the local gas station, store and shipping office for 17 years, have sold the Shell Center on Tyee Drive. Lynne said the sale of the property was finalized on the last day of 2021. When the Vicks purchased the gas station in 2004, it was a Texaco station with a small convenience store. They rebranded as a Shell station because it was more familiar to Canadians, and set about upgrading the store. “There were no espresso shops on the Point, so we attended an espresso school and hired a consultant who recommend(See Changes in attitude, page 2)
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s Horses can be easily spooked by loud or speeding vehicles leading to possible injuries to the riders or passersby. Please slow down and give plenty of room while passing. Above, from r., Michelle Schwalback, Breeda Desmond, Kimberly Butts and Darlene Gibbs. Schwalback estimates there are more than 50 horses in Point Roberts. Photo by Louise Mugar
Grants will help Whidbey extend broadband on Point By Meg Olson Whidbey Telecom has received grant funding to continue their push to build a fiber network to serve all the businesses and homes on the Point. “We continue to invest in Point Roberts and are excited about these opportunities,” said Whidbey Telecom chief operating officer Donna Hilty at a January 20 Zoom meeting of the Point Roberts Community Advisory Committee (PRCAC). “Over the past couple of years, access to adequate internet speeds has gained attention from state and federal governments. Better connections and higher speeds are vitally important in this time where so much is done remotely.” In late 2021, Hilty said, they had re-
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ceived two federal grants totaling over $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that, combined with matching funds from the company, will be used to extend the fiber network to areas along the south and western edges of the Point. Boundaries of the areas chosen for the expansion, she explained, were determined by which areas experienced speeds under the thresholds for grant eligibility. When grants initially became available they were for areas that had no or extremely slow internet speeds. As eligibility requirements relax and more areas become eligible, Whidbey Telecom will continue to look for grant opportunities. One that got away, Hilty said, was a grant
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Church ............................................. 15 Classifieds ......................................... 12 Coming Up ....................................... 13 Library ............................................. 14 Opinion ............................................... 4 Sheriffs ............................................. 13 Tides ................................................. 14
(See Whidbey, page 3)
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