April 21 - 27, 2016
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Pet Care special section, page 8
Dog shot and killed after attacking sheriff’s deputy
Get Out Boating special section, page 9
Theater students stage original show, page 10
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Giving back
By Steve Guntli
(See Dog, page 2)
s Bruce Ansell, r., presented a check for $2,000 to the Blaine Food Bank on April 19. Ansell raised the money through his nonprofit organization, Unwined Barrels of Hope. Ansell and his wife, Mary, re-purpose wine casks into furniture and household items and donate 100 percent of the proceeds to charity. Ansell donated the money on behalf of Ken and Jill Peck, the owners of Dakota Creek Winery, who donated casks from their final batch of wine to Unwined Barrels of Hope.
Photo by Steve Guntli
New BPRI study shows suffering internet sales By Steve Guntli A new study released by the Border Policy Research Institute (BPRI) at Western Washington University found year-over-year sales from online retailers has slowed significantly since 2010. Online sales is one of the largest economic drivers for border towns like Blaine and Sumas. Canadians from the lower Fraser Valley will of-
ten order items from American sites such as Amazon.com, and have them shipped to post office boxes near the border to save on shipping costs and sales tax. According to the BRPI study, Blaine and Sumas experienced record-high booms in online sales between 2000 and 2010, but the rates of increase have steadily declined. In 2013, online sales were up 27 percent from the previous year. For the one-year period between 2013 and 2014, however, sales were up
Blaine man hit by car in Mount Vernon By Steve Guntli A Blaine man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after he was struck by a car in Mount Vernon. According to the Washington State Patrol, Trelawney Babcock, 48, was walking along Highway 536 in Mount Vernon at
10:40 p.m. on April 14 in the eastbound lane when he was struck by Elizabeth Kay Rogers, 44, of Mount Vernon, who was driving a silver 2002 Toyota Avalon. According to state troopers, Babcock was wearing dark clothing at the time of the accident. Babcock was taken to Harborview,
where his condition has been listed as serious. Rogers, who was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, was released from the scene and suffered no injuries. According to WSP, no drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash, and no criminal charges have been placed.
by only 3 percent. According to the study, the downturn in online shopping could have a disproportionate impact on border communities when compared with retail centers such as Bellingham. The study’s authors believe traffic through the Cascade Gateway will continue to decline, as numbers have been on a downturn in conjunction with the declining value of the Canadian dollar. Read the full study at bit.ly/25usO5x.
INSIDE
Whatcom County sheriff’s deputies used deadly force after two dogs attacked them during an investigation in Custer. At 8:20 a.m. on April 14, deputies Steve Harris and Bill Roosma responded to a domestic violence call from a home in the 1100 block of Birch Bay-Lynden Road. The suspect in the assault, Chuck Wyatt, 40, was wanted on probable cause for assault in the fourth degree and for tampering with the reporting of domestic violence. According to the call the deputies received, Wyatt allegedly committed the assault at a house on Harksell Road, and then got a ride back to the Birch Bay-Lynden Road address. On arrival, the deputies approached the residence and saw a lone male in the backyard with two pit bulls. When Harris called out to the man, the dogs charged at the deputies in an aggressive manner. Harris attempted to use a Taser to subdue the dogs, but they closed the distance too fast. One dog began jumping at Harris and chewing on his firearm holster. Roosma called out from an adjoining property to get the dogs’ attention, and the animals turned and charged at him. Harris called to the man in the yard to control his dogs, but the man ignored the request and walked into the house. The dogs continued to attack Roosma, growing more aggressive and leaping at the deputy. Finally, Roosma fired one shot from his sidearm, as one pit bull was approximately four feet away. The dog, named Kane, was struck in the jaw. The male tenant, Toby Carlson, took Kane to the nearby Kulshan Veterinary Hospital, where he died. The other dog, named Jackson, was not harmed in the incident. The dogs’ owner, Jacquie Lea Johnson, 37, was identified at the scene. Johnson was having breakfast and left Carlson in charge of watching the dogs. Johnson told deputies the dogs had been pepper sprayed and abused in the past and did not like people in uniforms. Wyatt was not found at the location, and probable cause remains open for his arrest.
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Coming Up . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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