October 2 - 8, 2025
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No injuries in Birch Bay fire, page 2
Borderite Hall of Fame inductees announced, page 7
Blaine Art Gallery to bring in art across U.S., page 15
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Borderites face Granite Falls for homecoming Nonprofit to host Blaine school board candidate forum By Nolan Baker
s Blaine senior wide receiver Kai Kerwin, 17, is wrapped up by a Granite Falls defender in the first half of Blaine’s homecoming game on September 26. Kerwin tallied six receptions for 104 yards and scored Blaine’s only touchdown on the night. Read more sports on pages 6 and 7. Photo by Nolan Baker
County closes loophole on legal payouts By Nolan Baker Whatcom County Council introduced an amendment during its most recent regular meeting that would close a loophole that kept the government body from knowing about a $225,000 payout to settle a sexual harassment claim made by a county employee against her manager. The payout, which was made in November 2023 following sexual harassment claims against former public works director Jon Hutchings, was just under the $250,000 threshold for notifying
county council of a third-party payment, according to previous reporting by The Northern Light. The payment was made through the Washington Counties Risk Pool (WCRP), which Whatcom County joined in 1988. While the settlement was paid in 2023, Whatcom County Council said it did not learn of the six-figure payment, nor the allegations against Hutchings, until Cascade PBS reported the payment in an April 2024 exposé. After more than a year of internal investigation, county council found that
Burn ban lifts in unincorporated Whatcom County The Whatcom County Fire Marshal’s Office has announced it will lift the stage 2 burn ban in unincorporated Whatcom County at midnight Saturday, October 4. The end of the summer restrictions comes as the area is seeing an increase in rain and fuel moisture levels. The fire marshal’s office enacted its original burn ban on June 15 before upgrading it to a stage 2 ban on July 19. While the ban will be removed, the office warns people still need to use extreme
caution as fires are still possible following a dry summer. Except for legal recreational fires, people must receive a permit before outdoor burning. Fire rules are available on the county fire marshal’s office website, bit. ly/4nX5ObS. Starting October 4, verbal burn permits will be available through the county’s outdoor burning information line, and written burn permits for fires larger than four feet by four feet will be issued at the
Whatcom County Planning and Development Services office, 5280 Northwest Drive. Burn permit applications are available on the fire marshal’s website. Open burning is indefinitely prohibited in the cities and urban growth areas of Blaine, Birch Bay, Cherry Point, Ferndale, Bellingham, Lynden, Everson, Nooksack, Sumas and Columbia Valley. People must contact the Washington (See Burn ban, page 5)
while the payment was made through the risk pool, the county still reimbursed the pool because the payout was below the $250,000 deductible for a single claim. Liability for the claim was passed from the county to the risk pool, and council was never informed about the payment, despite Whatcom County taxpayers footing the bill. Hutchings resigned from his position in October 2022. On September 23, new language add(See Payouts, page 3)
INSIDE
With election day just around the corner, Fund Schools Now, a grassroots parent organization, will hold a public forum for Blaine School Board candidates at 6 p.m. Tuesday, October 7 in the Blaine Community/Senior Center, 763 G Street. The forum will feature all four candidates on the ballot: Bob Feaster, Jim Shaver, Chelsey Belarmino and incumbent Ryan Swinburnson. The forum open to the public and will provide an opportunity for voters to hear directly from candidates running for positions governing Blaine’s K-12 school district. Fund Schools Now also released a community survey to help steer the conversation with the candidates. The survey asks voters what they believe to be the most pressing issues facing the school district and community, what qualities and perspectives they most want to see in a local school board, and to pose a question for the candidates to answer at the forum. The survey can be filled out online at bit.ly/479LWvF. Blaine school district will have three positions up for election this year. District 3, which covers Birch Bay Village and sections of Birch Bay and Semiahmoo, will have the only head-to-head race with Bob Feaster and Jim Shaver. The District 4 and 5 races are being run unopposed. District 4 director Ryan Swinburnson will run for his first full term after being appointed in March 2024. The District 5 race will feature Chelsey Belarmino running unopposed. Belarmino will run to replace Steve Galbraith, who was appointed in March 2024. For more information on the candidate forum, visit fundblaineschoolsnow. com. Election Day is Tuesday, November 4, and ballots will be mailed by Wednesday, October 15, according to the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office.
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . 11, 12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . 6, 7 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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