January 5 - 11, 2023
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
WCSO deputies return to work after injuries, page 5
Blaine sports return after break, page 6
School board application extended again, page 13
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Report weather Plunging into the New Year, Birch Bay style damages by Friday, January 6
(See Flooding, page 2)
s The Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce hosted the Ring of Fire and Hope on December 31 and then splashed into the New Year with its 40th annual Polar Bear Plunge on January 1. Chamber executive director Danielle Gaughen said she believed roughly 2,000 to 3,000 people participated in the Ring of Fire and Hope and about 3,000 people attended the Polar Bear Plunge, although she said it’s hard to know an exact count. More photos on pages 15-16. Photo by Matt Berry/courtesy Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce
2022 year in
REVIEW
Looking back at a year that just was
By Grace McCarthy January • Birch Bay rang in the New Year with the Ring of Fire and Hope on December 31, 2021 and the Polar Bear Plunge on January 1. • Blaine school district faced staffing challenges and announced it was looking for substitutes. The district had an average of 23 jobs open daily in January. • Blaine Police Department officers began wearing body cameras when state law started requiring them at the beginning of 2022. • President Joe Biden accepted governor Jay Inslee’s request to declare the historic November 2021 flooding a major disaster in Washington state on January 5, bringing individual assistance to those impacted by the historic flooding.
• The omicron variant caused Covid-19 case numbers to reach their highest since March 2020. • Blaine City Council welcomed new councilmembers Kerena Higgins, Rhyan Lopez and Mike Hill. Council voted 5-2 for Mary Lou Steward to become the new mayor. Lopez and Hill voted for Hill as mayor after Hill gave a 10-minute speech to bid for his candidacy. • King tides and a storm surge caused flooding in Birch Bay on January 7. • Whatcom County Council appointed Simon Sefzik, a 22-year-old Republican from Ferndale, to the 42nd Legislative District’s senate seat. The seat was left vacant after Doug Ericksen (R-Ferndale) died of
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Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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(See Year in Review, page 3)
JAN 15
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INSIDE
Residents and businesses have until Friday, January 6 to report weather-related damages that occurred in Whatcom County from December 18-28. Damages from heavy snow, freezing rain or flooding should be reported using Whatcom County’s online form at whatcomcounty.us/reportdamage. The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) asks both renters and homeowners in cities and unincorporated areas of Whatcom County to report damages. Forms are available in Spanish and people needing help with the forms can call 360/676-6681. Reporting damages is the first step in Whatcom County’s aid request from the state and federal government, according to a January 3 press release from the WCSO. While aid is not guaranteed, WCSO said in the release that reporting damages will demonstrate need and help the county meet the threshold for assistance. Areas within Blaine received heavy snowfall measuring a foot or more on December 20. The snowfall turned into freezing rain and then rain as temperatures rose in the following days. The melting snow and rain was unable to be absorbed in the ground as it remained frozen and snow blocked water drains. Snowmelt also caused flooding as it drained into streams and the Nooksack River. By Christmas morning on December 25, emergency workers helped six people and five dogs evacuate by boat from the Marietta area, according to a WCSO news release. King tides and ice buildup at the mouth of the Nooksack River caused water to cover Marine Drive near Marietta and seep into homes. The American Red Cross set up a temporary shelter in Bellingham. Terrell Creek began flooding in Birch Bay around December 26, and the Blaine Police Department asked people on December 27 traveling Drayton Harbor Road to use an alternate route due to flooding. The Bridge Community Hope Center on Alderson Road flooded for a second time in 2022. It flooded nearly a year earlier on January 7, 2022, as well as during the November 2021 flooding. “We appreciate the quick response and coordination by our emergency manage-
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