FREE
Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
February 19 - 25, 2026
HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
PeaceHealth layoffs, page 5
Boys basketball battles through districts, page 6
Lincoln Mews hearing, page 11
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Motorcyclist sentenced for fatal Blaine Road crash By Grace McCarthy
(See Sentencing, page 5)
s Dozens of Blaine high school and middle school students walked out of their afternoon classes to protest ICE on Feb. 12 at the U.S./ Canada truck crossing, between the U.S. Border Patrol Blaine Sector’s station and Blaine schools. The protesters were met with a Photo by Grace McCarthy group of students counter protesting, as well as a woman who counter protested with a Trump flag.
Dozens of Blaine students attend ICE walkout BHS senior organized protest on behalf of deported family member By Grace McCarthy Dozens of Blaine students crowded four sidewalk corners along the U.S./Canada truck crossing, between U.S. Border Patrol’s Blaine station and the school district’s main campus on Feb. 12. The students, who had walked out of their afternoon classes to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, were joined by a handful of counterprotesters, a few adults and police monitoring from afar.
But before the text messages spread and posters were hung in the girls bathroom, there was an abandoned 2000 Chevy Malibu found on the side of I-5, just north of the Custer rest area, with keys left on the driver’s seat. Juan Gonzalez-Hernandez Juan Gonzalez-Hernandez, 41, moved with his family from Mexico to the Skagit Valley as a teenager. He attended Mount Vernon High School and considered northwest Washington home, eventually rearing
Blaine Community Theater’s “Closer to Home” to take center stage By Grace McCarthy Blaine Community Theater’s latest play, “Closer to Home,” is expected to fill Blaine High School’s theater with laughter, while sharing messages of honesty and authenticity during its debut performance Friday, February 20. The play follows Alice Hansen, a 1940s magazine columnist who has made a name for herself writing about being
the ideal housewife in the countryside – except she’s actually a single woman in Brooklyn. Hansen’s career is quickly jeopardized when she’s required to host a World War II veteran for two weeks, requiring her to make up a life and hope others will go along with it. “I want the audience to see Alice’s struggle with authenticity and maintaining the security that her job brings,” first-time director Faith Den Bleyker
said. “That’s something all of us experience. I want the audience to learn with Alice.” Laura Williams-French, who serves both as playwright and supporting actor in the production, drew inspiration from the 1945 film “Christmas in Connecticut,” a romantic comedy about a magazine columnist who also lies about being (See Theater, page 11)
three children and other young children as if they were his own. Family members described Gonzalez-Hernandez as a hard-working man who provided for his family. He had a job at a Bellingham insulation company and enjoyed helping an elderly man in Semiahmoo with household needs. Gonzalez-Hernandez volunteered at Blaine wrestling fundraisers and often left work early (See Walkout, page 2)
INSIDE
A 25-year-old Blaine man was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in a fatal car crash on Blaine Road in March 2023 that killed 33-yearold Ashleigh Nicole Woodward and severely injured her teenage daughter. Colby Jon Gunderson, 25, of Blaine, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and hit-and-run felonies during a plea and sentencing hearing on Feb. 10 in Whatcom County Superior Court. Judge Evan Jones sentenced Gunderson to five years in prison and 1.5 years of parole, which went above the recommendation of two years in prison that the state and defense had agreed upon. Jones sentenced Gunderson to concurrently serve 3.4 years in prison for vehicular homicide, one year for vehicular assault and five years for the hit-and-run. Each sentence was the highest length within the standard sentencing range for Gunderson’s charges and criminal history, according to superior court records. On the evening of March 7, 2023, Woodward was driving her 2007 Mazda southbound on Blaine Road with her then-13-year-old daughter, Sienna, in the passenger seat. Witnesses described a motorcyclist, later identified as Gunderson, driving “erratically” as he weaved through southbound traffic on the two-lane road, according to the Washington State Patrol (WSP) investigation. Woodward was coming up to the intersection of Drayton Harbor Road, near Bens Market, when Gunderson attempted to pass her. An oncoming vehicle began approaching Gunderson as he was left of Woodward, causing him to move into her lane. Woodward moved to the right to make room, but then overcorrected, swerving to the left in front of Gunderson and striking two concrete barriers, according to WSP. WSP’s initial investigation determined
Coming Up . . . . . 10 Classifieds . . . . 8, 9 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 10 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 10
TheNorthernLight.com TheNorthernLight
@TNLreporter
@TheNorthernLightNews