February 25 - March 2, 2016
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Wrestlers fall short at state, page 6
Haggen auction for Whatcom County stores delayed for the third time
Home and Garden special section, pages 8-9
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Oscar night predictions, page 13
Opening the Pavilion
By Oliver Lazenby
s Dozens of elected officials, private citizens and members of the Boys & Girls Club cut the ribbon on the new Blaine Pavilion. The $600,000 indoor recreation area has been in the works for years and is now available for use by the public. See more photos from the opening online at thenorthernlight.com.
Photo by Steve Guntli
Pizza and Pizzazz talent show benefits Blaine choir By Jenna Dennison The 7th annual Pizza and Pizzazz fundraiser will be returning in early March. This evening features performances from community members, an all-you-can-eat pizza dinner and raffle drawings. The dinner, furnished by Scott Meaker and local pizzerias, features fresh homemade pizza, including dessert pizza. “His pizza is legendary, especially the dessert pizza,” said Andy Harmening, the Blaine middle and high
school choir director. The funds raised from the talent show directly benefit the Blaine High School Chamber Choir’s travel fund. In previous years, the choir has traveled to New York City and San Diego to perform. Most recently, the choir traveled to Seattle in December to perform at the Paramount Theatre. “Pizza and Pizzazz is one of those oncea-year fundraisers that we do to raise some money in the choir account to help us offset trip costs,” Harmening said. “We might consider taking the chamber choir
WWU students need participants for rail survey By Steve Guntli Students from Western Washington University are conducting a feasibility study for a passenger rail stop in Blaine. The students are asking people in Blaine, Birch Bay and across the border to take part in a brief survey to help determine potential ridership for a Blaine Amtrak stop. The
survey can be found at bit.ly/1LEy5LE. The city has been considering a passenger rail stop for several years, and began aggressively pursuing the idea last year. Proponents say it would be a boon for the local economy, as there are more than 1 million potential riders just north of the border in B.C.’s Fraser Valley. However, a rail stop would not be ap-
proved unless it could be demonstrated that a sufficient number of riders would actually use the facility. Those having trouble accessing the survey can contact the city of Blaine’s public works department at 332-8820. For more information on the passenger stop project, visit cityofblaine.com/849/A-New-TrainStation-in-Blaine.
out of state next year.” The organizers of Pizza and Pizzazz are looking for community members to join the talent lineup for the show. Many student acts perform at Pizza and Pizzazz, as well as community groups. This year, the women’s barbershop quartet ELATION will perform. The group is comprised of representatives from the larger Valley Voices a cappella Chorus. Audition forms may be picked up in the Blaine primary, elementary, middle and high (See Talent, page 2)
INSIDE
The auction for Haggen’s last remaining and most profitable stores has once again been pushed back, this time until Friday, March 11, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware last week. The auction is scheduled for 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time at the law offices of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in Manhattan. Bellingham-based Haggen is expected to auction 33 locations, including all five Whatcom County stores and its Bellingham pharmacy. This is the third time the auction has been delayed. It was originally scheduled for January 8, before being pushed back to February 11 and then to February 22. Court filings didn’t indicate a reason for the delay. Haggen said in court documents filed last year that the stores are profitable and could attract a lot of interest. The delays could allow potential bidders more time to perform due diligence on the stores. The delayed auction will finally happen more than six months after the Bellingham-based grocer filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company’s troubles started early last year after it bought 146 stores from Albertsons, which sold the stores to get Federal Trade Commission approval for its merger with Safeway. Haggen went from owning 18 stores in Washington and Oregon to 164 in five West Coast states. The company immediately ran into problems in its new markets and declared bankruptcy on September 8, 2015. Haggen has already sold or closed many of the stores. Albertsons re-purchased more than 30 of them in a November auction.
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Coming Up . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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