The Northern Light Classifieds: October 23-29, 2025

the Estate of John Murphy, Deceased. NO. 25-400956-37. PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS (RCW 11.40.030) JUDGE: Jennifer Slattery

The personal representative named below has been appointed as personal representative of this estate. Any person having a claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the personal representative or the personal representative’s attorney at the address stated below a copy of the claim and filing the original of the claim with the court in which the probate proceedings were commenced. The claim must be presented within the later of: (1) Thirty days after the personal representative served or mailed the notice to the creditor as provided under RCW 11.40.020(1)(c); or (2) four months after the date of first publication of the notice. If the claim is not presented within this time frame, the claim is forever barred, except as otherwise provided in RCW 11.40.051 and 11.40.060. This bar is effective as to claims against both the decedent’s probate and nonprobate assets.

Date of First Publication: October 16, 2025

Personal Representative: Phyllis Harber-Murphy 1843 Main Street #A4 Lynden, WA 98264

Attorney for the Personal Representative: Katti Esp 301 Prospect Street Bellingham, WA 98225

Address for Mailing or Service: Katti Esp 301 Prospect Street Bellingham, WA 98225

Court of Probate Proceedings Superior Court of Whatcom County and Cause Number: Cause No. 25-4-00956-37

Road Rules: Who has the right-of-way in four-ways stops?

B y D oug D ahl

Question: At a four-way stop with three cars approaching the intersection, in what order do they go? The first to arrive is the first to leave, but then does it pass to the left or pass to the next to arrive?

Answer: Sometimes you don’t have to be right. You just have to be right enough. Take Issac Newton, for example. In 1687 Newton published a book explaining the universal law of gravity. For anything you’re going to encounter on Earth, and most anywhere in our solar system (except for an anomaly in Mercury’s orbit), Newton’s math works fine.

It’s sort of like the “first to arrive is the first to leave” theory for four-way stops. It’s not exactly right, but it works. If you want to get more accurate about gravity you need Albert Einstein’s general relativity. If you want to get more accurate about intersection rules you need the Revised Code of Washington. I won’t attempt to explain general relativity, but I’ll give the intersection laws a shot.

Before we get to the RCW though, let’s take a look at what’s in the Washington Driver Guide

The guide says (like you noted) that at an intersection controlled

by stop signs, the first vehicle to arrive is the first to go. The second vehicle to arrive goes next, and it continues on. If two vehicles arrive at about the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right.

The law, though, doesn’t say the first to arrive is the first to go; that’s an interpretation of the law. Instead, it says that after stopping for a stop sign, a driver “shall yield the right-of-way to

any vehicle in the intersection or approaching on another roadway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard.”

Functionally, at a four-way stop, if everyone obeys the stop signs, you’ll do just fine by following the Driver Guide. Everyone takes their turn and we all get along. Until someone loses count. Humans making mistakes is as reliable as gravity. If someone at a four-way stop doesn’t

yield when they are supposed to, take a breath, let it go, and reset the taking-turns process.

While we’re on the topic of nearly-right traffic rules, the Driver Guide also says that a driver turning left must yield the right of way to drivers going straight or turning right. It’s close, but there’s something missing. Similar to the stop sign law, the left-turn law says left-turning drivers “shall yield

the right-of-way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard.” Without the hazard part, you could conceivably have a left-turning driver waiting indefinitely at a busy four-way stop, yielding to every oncoming driver that’s going straight.

The Driver Guide is right about who yields to whom when two drivers arrive at the same time. In the law, like the guide, you yield to the driver on the right. If I understand your question correctly, that’s the reverse of what you asked. That may have just been a writing error, but it inadvertently makes an important point.

Even the best-intentioned drivers don’t always get it right, so sometimes we need to adapt. When a driver who should have yielded pulls into the intersection, it’s now the responsibility of other drivers to “yield the rightof-way to any vehicle in the intersection.” If that seems unfair, think of it this way; you’re trading a few seconds for a safer intersection experience. That seems like a pretty good deal.

Doug Dahl is a Blaine resident, manager with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission Region 11 and publishes TheWiseDrive.com.

in the windows on the south side of this home. Two spacious bedrooms with private ensuites offer well-planned storage/closets. Safe & secure entry from single car garage to small den/ office that can also serve a variety of needs. Back patio is peaceful with level side yard.

Kathy Stauffer