May 22 - 28, 2025
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Incorporation expert looks at Birch Bay plan, page 3
Birch Bay Waterslides announces opening date
Borderite sports news, pages 6 and 7
Peace Arch Palooza to support BHS students, page 13
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Spring block party kicks off season of events
By Grace McCarthy
(See Waterslides, page 3)
s The Blaine Spring Block Party, held on May 17 in downtown Blaine, was the first in a long line of events scheduled in Blaine and Birch Bay over the next few months. See more festival photos on page 8. Photo by Ruth Lauman
Chaplik named interim school superintendent By Nolan Baker The Blaine school board appointed Dan Chaplik as its next superintendent, filling out an interim position for the 2025-26 school year. Chaplik planned to retire at the end of this school year from his position as superintendent of the Sultan school district, and has worked in education for 32 years. He began his teaching career at Blaine Elementary School, and served as superintendent in Sultan since 2007. Ironically, Blaine’s outgoing superin-
tendent Christopher Granger is leaving to take Chaplik’s position at the Sultan school district. Chaplik was one of seven applicants for the interim superintendent position, and one of three who were publicly interviewed at the district boardroom on May 14. The board also interviewed Josh Middleton, who held superintendent positions in Idaho, Montana and most recently at the Granite Falls school district from 2019 to 2024, and Rich Stewart, the former Eatonville superintendent. The board recruited all three with help
Council to trim downtown revitalization project By Grace McCarthy Blaine City Council unanimously voted during a May 16 special meeting to direct city staff to cut $500,000 from its downtown revitalization project just as contractors were ready to break ground this summer. The cuts represent about 13 percent of the $3.8 million project, which has been years in the making and already trimmed due to previous budget con-
cerns. City manager Mike Harmon said during the meeting that the city would look at eliminating any “nice-to-haves” such as the Martin Street and Clark Street parklets, while looking to keep improvements the city deems more necessary, such as sidewalk replacements, new trees and electrical work. Council held the special meeting after councilmember Richard May suggested on May 12 that council consider whether it should cut, or make significant
changes, to the project. “Know that this is not an easy decision, and I don’t know if there’s a right decision,” Harmon said. “Staff has talked about this, and I could argue in support of continuing the project, and I could argue in support of canceling the project.” Harmon told council that the project was a nexus of improvements, making it difficult to take one component away (See Downtown project, page 3)
from a contract with Northwest Leadership Associates, a public school administrator search firm. The board asked each candidate a series of 10 questions regarding – among other topics – how they would handle budget reductions, communications with the board, staff, students and community, leadership style, and philosophy on working with labor unions. In his interview, Chaplik said he preferred working with smaller school districts (See Chaplik, page 2)
INSIDE
Birch Bay Waterslides plans to re-open on Saturday, June 14 for the first time since it closed in late August 2023. The opening date of the 40-year-old water park was announced on May 14 via social media. Single-day ticket sales were also announced. The park was closed in August 2023 after Burlington resident Larry Baker was injured while going down the Hairpin slide when his legs went through a splash guard, causing lacerations that required him to be airlifted to a Seattle hospital. Baker is in an active lawsuit with the water park and Whatcom County, among other defendants. The Hairpin slide was removed from the park. “It’s a sad scenario that occurred, for sure. Unfortunately, it occurred. With that being said, I’m glad the person is OK at this time,” said Ken Handler, the park’s new consultant. “The new team has made every effort to reestablish the park to the guidelines and the standards of the industry, and we’ve done a fantastic job doing that. We can’t wait to showcase the park to everybody.” Last November, Birch Bay Waterslides announced the park would undergo a five-year renovation and that it was entering a management partnership with Global Management Amusement Professionals (GMAP), a California-based consulting company that Handler owns. Handler has nearly 40 years of experience in the water park industry, which includes opening the Hurricane Harbor water parks at Six Flags and providing consulting to over 100 park locations. Handler said the park is replacing the park’s drop out slide, the Hydro Cliff, because it was made by two different manufacturers. The company is continuing repair and refurbishment work on the complex, in-
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . 11, 12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . 6, 7 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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