August 14 - 20, 2025
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Borderite Community Block Party, page 5
Blaine and Birch Bay crimes, page 6
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Phase two of downtown revitalization to start, page 8
Custer Days returns after seven years Blaine man arrested for death of Lynden bus driver By Grace McCarthy
(See Crash, page 5)
s Custer Days made its return on August 9 after a seven-year hiatus. Organized by the Custer Heritage Board, the community gathered on Main Street for a parade, vendors market, and live music accompanied by street dancing. See more photos on page 10.
Photo by Ryan Quintrall
Bellingham man remembered as conscientious following fatal Custer shooting Son of victim’s client visited sheriff’s office to confess crime By Grace McCarthy Vaughn Hagen, a longtime Bellingham accountant with ties to the Blaine area, was killed on August 6 after attempting to clean the garage of a Custer home he was overseeing as an estate executor. The client’s son, Donald Edward Malone, 61, was arrested for first-degree murder a day later after going to the sheriff’s office and confessing that he shot Hagen multiple times. “A man of great integrity and generosity,” wrote Hagen’s older sister, Vernene Scheurer, in a statement to The Northern
Light describing her brother. “Someone who accepted all and had a strong sense of right and wrong.” Malone told Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) detectives that Hagen, who was the executor of his mother’s estate and former accountant, had approached him at Birch Bay Square on August 6. Malone was still living at his parents’ house in the 3000 block of W. 75th Street in Custer, after their deaths, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed in Whatcom County Superior Court. Hagen, who was driving a U-Haul, offered to help clean the garage.
Public records lawsuit filed against city of Blaine City has previously denied wrongdoing, saying it’s a misinformation fight B y P a t G r u bb a n d Grace McCarthy A civil lawsuit filed in Whatcom County Superior Court on August 8 alleges that the city of Blaine systematically violated the state Public Records Act and failed to respond in a timely manner, denied physical inspection of documents and concealed certain environmental documents. The lawsuit was filed by Geoffrey Baker, who uses
the pseudonym Otto Pointer, on behalf of the Blaine Water Coalition. It’s unclear how many people are involved in the coalition. The 112-page complaint seeks injunctive relief, daily penalties up to $100 per day, attorney fees and systemic reforms to prevent future PRA violations. Baker has threatened legal action against the city numerous times after he began regularly attending Blaine City Council meetings in fall 2023, following council’s approval
of large manufactured home parks in east Blaine. Baker is part of a handful of people who’ve since voiced concern on the city’s transparency and made claims about the city to the community and other government organizations. City officials have repeatedly tried to counter those claims and have at times labeled them as misinformation. City officials previously said the group has (See Lawsuit, page 5)
In a public Facebook post, Hagen’s brother, Kevan Hagen, wrote that his brother met with Malone to discuss selling the house. Malone didn’t like what he was hearing, Kevan wrote, and left the meeting to go home. Malone expressed dislike for Hagen, according to the sheriff’s office. Malone asked the accountant to give him a minute to purchase dinner from a grocery store, and after doing so, rode his bike home using backroads. (See Hagen, page 3)
INSIDE
A 38-year-old Blaine man has been arrested for second-degree murder after allegedly driving into a Lynden school bus and killing the driver, Annette Lyon. The incident occurred in May of this year. He was booked into Whatcom County Jail on August 8 and released on a $250,000 appearance bond later that afternoon. Samuel Peter Swanson, 38, had sent several texts to a friend stating he had suicidal thoughts the night before the crash, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed in Whatcom County Superior Court. The next day, on May 1, Swanson drove a white 2019 Ford Escape head-on into a Lynden school district bus in the 2000 block of Main Street in Lynden, near the Lynden Door company. Lyon was declared dead at the scene, according to court records. Lynden Police Department discovered that Swanson was traveling 77 miles per hour at the time of impact, and five seconds prior was driving 86 miles per hour in the 35 mileper-hour area. Lyon was driving 32 miles per hour and didn’t have time to brake before the crash, according to the police investigation. Swanson was transported to St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham to be treated for broken bones. Lynden Police Department’s affidavit of probable cause was dated May 22. The Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office then charged Swanson with second-degree murder on August 8, the day he was arrested and released from jail. Erik Sigmar, the chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney assigned to the case, wrote in an email to The Northern Light that the prosecutor’s office coordinated with Swanson’s counsel and others involved in the case to have him booked into jail when he was medically discharged. “The jail is not equipped to book or house people with serious injuries that required extensive medical care,” Sigmar wrote. The Northern Light was unable to reach Swanson’s counsel, Jason Powers, who is a
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