September 24 - 30, 2015
FREE
Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Blaine man gets nine months for car chase, page 3
Candidates to debate the issues at Birch Bay forum Whatcom County citizens are invited to ask questions of candidates for this fall’s election. The annual Birch Bay candidate forum returns to Birch Bay Bible Community Church at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 1. The forum has been held each year as a way of connecting the candidates with voters. Each candidate will make a 90-second opening statement before fielding questions from the moderator, Lummi Island resident Terry Terry. The candidates will then answer questions prepared by the organizing committee and submitted from the community. Doralee Booth, board member for the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce, is helping organize the forum. “We have really good candidate turnout this year,” Booth said. “We’re anticipating an enlightening evening.” So far, 12 candidates have agreed to appear at the forum: Jack Louws and Joy Gilfilen, who are running for the county executive seat; Whatcom County Council candidates Todd Donovan, Bruce Ayers, Barbara Brenner, Satpal Sidhu and Kathy Kershner; Port of Bellingham commission candidates Bobby Briscoe and Gary Jensen; Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo, running unopposed; Blaine school district board of directors candidate Joan Lotze; and John Crawford, candidate for fire commissioner in district 21. Booth said the organizing committee has sent out notices to the candidates who have not responded to the invitation in the hopes of encouraging them to attend. Booth said she and her staff will accept questions from the audience written on 3x5 cards, but due to time constraints they may not be able to ask all of them. Questions can be addressed to specific candidates or can be general questions. Questions about the Gateway Pacific Terminal or the Williams pipeline expansion will not be accepted, since none of the candidates involved have direct influence on the development of those projects. The forum is co-sponsored by the Blaine Chamber of Commerce, the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce and The Northern Light. The forum will begin at 7 p.m. at Birch Bay Bible Community Church, 4460 Bay Road.
Home and garden special section, pages 8-9
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Fall activities in the county, page 10
Sprinting with Sammy
s Braving heavy rainfall, a group of kids line up to race Sammy the Salmon for a 1k “smolt sprint,” part of the third annual Run with the Chums race. The race, part of Whatcom Water Weeks, was held on September 19 in the BP Highlands.
Photo by Steve Guntli
City plans event as playground opening nears B y K at e ly n D o g g e t t After more than a year of planning, fundraising and construction, the Marine Park playground is scheduled to open on Monday, October 12 at 5 p.m. At the Blaine parks board meeting on September 17, community planner Alex Wenger provided an update on the status of the park. The nautical-themed playground features a 30-foot pirate ship, a climbing rock and a smaller lighthouse-themed play structure.
“This playground really captures the essence of Blaine,” Wenger said. “It reflects Blaine’s history and character, and is a fantastic, imaginative park for kids to get outside and get active.” Several factors could potentially postpone the opening date in October, Wenger said. All construction must be finalized and all safety requirements met before the park can officially open, he said. Wenger expects construction on the lighthouse to begin soon. No play structure will be ready to use until all safety features are in place, Wenger said. Com-
munity members are invited to attend a work party on Saturday, September 26 at 9 a.m. to finish raking out the topsoil and complete other groundwork. If plans go smoothly, at 5 p.m. on October 12 there will be a grand opening ceremony with the parks board, BlaineBirch Bay Parks and Recreation District 2 (BBBPRD2) and Blaine City Council. BBBPRD2 director Ted Morris and chair Jeff Carrington will speak, and there will be a (See Playground, page 2)
Online
WDFW seizes nearly 700 illegal crab pots By Steve Guntli The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and tribal police seized 674 illegal crab pots from the waters off Blaine. Twelve WDFW agents and four officers from Tulalip Police conducted the two-day
sweep. WDFW sergeant Russ Mullins led the investigation. Mullins said the department tries to run a sweep for illegal Canadian crab pots in Boundary Bay and Semiahmoo Bay every other year. “Typically, we have a problem with Canadian commercial fishermen operating
in our waters without licenses,” he said. “This has been a historic problem for many years. By this time of the year, the Canadian portion of Boundary Bay is fished out, so fishermen illegally crab south of the border to increase productivity. It’s a tremendous drain on resources. We estimate (See Crabs, page 3)
thenorthernlight.com facebook.com/thenorthernlight
Inside
Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Coming Up . . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14