January 1 - 7, 2026
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IN THIS
ISSUE
The Northern Light publishers retire, page 4
NWFR to discuss potential levy, page 2
Fund Schools Now to host Blaine town hall, page 3
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Holidays celebrated with free community dinner Meet Randy Small, the man behind Whatcom County Weather By Madelyn Jones
(See Small, page 7)
s Caption goes Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 brought holiday spirit to the Blaine Community Center/Senior Center on December 18 with its December community dinner featuring caroling from the Blaine High School chamber choir. This fall, the parks district restarted the monthly free dinners, which are 5:30-7:30 p.m. the third Thursday of each month. Photo by Ruth Lauman
2025
year in
REVIEW
A look back at the year that was ...
By Grace McCarthy January • Birch Bay celebrated New Year’s Eve with lights along the shoreline for the Ring of Fire and Hope and then rang in New Year’s Day with the 42nd Polar Bear Plunge. • The Blaine community hosted its first Fund Schools Now town hall that brought Blaine, Mt. Baker and Ferndale school districts together with state legislators to discuss fixing the state’s K-12 funding model. • Blaine’s Liam Kapeikis finished eighth in the 2025 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas February • O’Reilly Auto Parts opened its doors in Blaine. • Birch Bay Community Advisory Committee held its first meeting after being created by Whatcom County Council to represent Birch Bay. • Bow Wow & Woofs owner Heather Campbell’s cairn terrier, Talisker, won best of breed at the 149th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. March •A growing number of Canadians shunned U.S. travel, destabilizing Blaine businesses and causing layoffs to mailbox stores. • A planning summit on MERIS was held at Semiahmoo Resort. MERIS (Marine, Econo
• my, and Research Institute for Sustainability) was an envisioned Blaine marine center on Blaine Harbor that would be used for marine research, education and tourism. • Wings Over Water Northwest Birding Festival held its 22nd festival. • About 100 Blaine High School students walked out to protest the possibility of cuts to theater and band. • For the third consecutive year, the Blaine school board approved budget cuts to tighten the district’s already barebones budget by $3 million. April • “Peace, Love and a Handshake” rallies were held every weekend to show support for cross-border neighbors and opposition to tariffs and talk about making Canada the 51st state. • U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) held a roundtable discussion with leaders from Blaine, Surrey and Point Roberts to discuss how the Trump administration’s tariff war and threats to Canada were impacting border towns. May • The Blessing of the Fleet honored local fishers lost at sea during the 41st ceremony. • Nirwan Law Corporation, a personal injury firm, opened in Blaine. •Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 hosted Blaine Borderline 5K Run, which started and ended in Blaine
Marine Park. •Roadrunner Express Car Wash opened in Blaine. •Birch Bay Carts and Rentals celebrated its grand opening before Memorial Day Weekend. June • The Port of Bellingham commission voted to remove executive director Rob Fix during its June 3 meeting. The commission named director of maritime Tiffany DeSimone as the interim director. (See Review, page 3)
INSIDE
Randy Small starts his days early to capture the sunrise. “I try to get up for every good sunrise,” Small said. “I check out the window, and if there’s any hint of color, I leave as fast as I can.” But that’s just the beginning of his busy day. Small, who is best-known for starting the Whatcom County Weather Facebook page – boasting more than 57,000 followers – also works part-time as a pastor at Liberty Baptist Church of Lynden and owns a photography business, among other hobbies. Small always had an interest in weather, particularly the Fraser Outflow, a weather phenomenon where strong winds are funnelled through the Fraser River Valley and into areas like Whatcom County and the San Juan Islands. He joined weather groups on Facebook and taught himself to read weather maps by researching and asking questions. About 10 years ago, he began doing forecasts on his personal page for friends and family, and was later encouraged to continue his online presence for a wider audience. He started the Whatcom County Weather page in 2017, which quickly snowballed into something bigger than Small had ever anticipated. “The first storm we had was an ice storm in December of 2017, and I got pictures and video and I livestreamed,” Small said. “Every storm subsequently kept growing the page.” The real catalyst for the page’s growth was the historic flood and successive cold snap in late 2021. “We forecasted [the flood] days in advance, but I didn’t forecast that it was going to be a flood of that proportion,” Small said. “You don’t really know until something happens.” Small remembers waking up that morning and beginning to understand the storm’s severity as he tried to get on the scene to livestream. He got in his car, and although many roads were closed, he was able to make it to Halverstick and Garrison roads in Sumas, where he saw firsthand the extent of the damage. “I noticed somebody was putting a boat in, and I’m like, ‘They’re trying to rescue people. This is worse than what I even realized,’” he said. Small used his page to get more boats to the area and help out the overwhelmed search and rescue team. While the effort was chaotic and disorganized, he said it was great to see the real-time effects from his page’s reach. “It was very eye-opening to see that the people, the general population, did a lot of life-saving that day,” Small said. Small said he only has two regrets from that day: that a life was lost, and that he felt he didn’t fully prepare people for how bad the storm could have been. “I try not to scare people, but in hindsight,
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