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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
August 25 - 31, 2022
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Ferndale fires cop following arrest, page 3
City annexes two H Street properties, page 6
CAP winter coat drive starts September, page 13
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
A Sasquatch comes to town ...
Blaine to host four university football games By Ian Haupt
(See Football, page 2)
Back to School Pull-out Pull-out section on section on pages 7-10 pages 9-12
s Blaine residents Charlie, l., and Lucas Johnson stand next to the Sasquatch statue at Hill’s Chevron. Gas station owner Mike Hill placed his newly purchased 3,500-pound Sasquatch statue on a concrete pedestal at the edge of the gas station’s property on August 18. Purchasing the 6-foot-8-inch Sasquatch started as a joke until Hill thought about how it would fit with the gas station’s Northwest-themed merchandise and serve as a tourist attraction. “I’m amazed how many people go out to take pictures with him,” he said. “He’s going to be Santa Claus. He’ll be an Easter bunny. He’ll be a Seahawk.” Photo by Ruth Lauman
Former public works director resigned after credit card purchase investigation, city records show By Grace McCarthy City of Blaine records show former public works director Bernard “Bernie” Ziemianek was asked to resign July 12 after allegedly using a city credit card to purchase over $4,000 of personal items. A question on one of Ziemianek’s purchases from a public works employee spurred the city to begin investigating the former public works director in late June, according to records obtained by The Northern Light. The investigation showed potential misuse of city funds from March to July on tools and equipment that the public works department wouldn’t have needed and were missing. Interim city manager Dave Wilbrecht asked
Ziemianek to resign immediately on July 12. Ziemianek submitted his resignation letter and repaid the city the next day. The city submitted its investigation to the Washington state auditor’s office as required by law. “The Blaine police department has not opened an investigation into this matter at this juncture,” Wilbrecht wrote in a statement. “With that being said, I cannot speculate if there will or will not be an investigation in the future.” The city began investigating Ziemianek on June 27 when a public works employee asked city staff where to write down a $1,203 Dewalt electric concrete grinder that Ziemi-
INSIDE
College football is coming to Blaine. Simon Fraser University (SFU) announced August 16 it moved four home football games from its stadium in Burnaby, B.C. to Blaine High School stadium due to Canada’s vaccination requirement causing difficulty for traveling teams. SFU will play Texas A&M University-Kingsville October 1, Western New Mexico University October 22, Angelo State University October 29 and West Texas A&M University November 12 in the Lone Star Conference. All four games are on Saturdays and will start at 6 p.m. General admission tickets will be $15 at the gate. Youth, 8 years old and younger, and seniors, 65 years and older, are free. The games will also be livestreamed at lonestarconferencenetwork.com. New Blaine High School athletic director Chas Kok coordinated with SFU to bring the games to Blaine. He said part of admissions will go toward the high school’s athletics program. “I know Blaine is really passionate about sports, having grown up not very far from here in Lynden, and I thought to have Division II football here in Blaine would be a special thing for the community,” Kok said. “We’re excited to host the games.” With a capacity of 2,000 and artificial turf, Blaine High School’s new stadium makes it a fit replacement for SFU’s Terry Fox Field. It is also about 30 miles south of SFU, across the U.S./Canada border. “We are all looking forward to a time when the impact of the global pandemic will be behind us,” said Theresa Hanson, senior director of athletics and recreation at SFU. “This news is especially disappointing for our student-athletes, but we continue
TheNorthernLight
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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(See Ziemianek, page 5)
Rite Aid
DISCOVER BIRCH BAY DAYS AUGUST 27 & 28
LIVE MUSIC BABY CAKES SUN. 11-2
CRAB DERBY SAT. 4-7 PM
• Parade • Vendor Fair • Live Music
H
7968 BIRCH BAY DR.
• Duck Derby • Crab Derby
• Outdoor Movie • Poker Run • & More
FOR FULL EVENT DETAILS, SEE AD ON PAGE 2
PARADE SAT. NOON
DUCK DERBY
SAT. 5:30 PM