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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
September 6 - 12, 2018
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ISSUE
Blaine police officers patrol on foot, page 4
Blaine football team beats Earl Marriott 65-0, page 6
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Discover Birch Bay Days photos, page 18
Development Lots of beachside fun at Discover Birch Bay Days is picking up in Blaine Residential building permits up 95 percent in first half of 2018 B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e
(See Development, page 13)
s A fun run, crab derby, chainsaw woodcarving and parade, pictured, were just some of the entertaining activities offered at last weekend’s Discover Birch Bay Days sponsored by the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce. See more photos on page 18.
Photo by Chuck Kinzer
School board approves staff pay increases for 2018-2019 By Oliver Lazenby The Blaine school district board of directors unanimously approved pay contracts for staff at an August 31 special meeting. Teachers at the lowest level of the salary schedule will get a 5.7 percent raise and teachers at the highest level will get a 9.8 percent raise for 2018-2019. The following school year, teachers will get raises ranging from 4.3 percent to 5.3 percent. For 2018-2019, base teacher pay – which doesn’t include a professional learning sti-
pend or pay for optional workdays – ranges from $46,464 to $90,516, depending on education and experience level. The board approved one-year contracts with 3.1 percent raises for most other district employees. Salaries for principals and vice principals in the district this year range from about $100,669 to $131,944, depending on experience. They also get an additional day of personal leave this school year. Executive directors at the district, which includes the finance manager, the
Shellfish harvest restrictions lifted on 27 acres in Birch Bay Improved sewage management allowed the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) to remove commercial shellfish harvesting restrictions on 27 acres in Birch Bay. In a statement released on August 30, the DOH said nearly 700 acres of commercial shellfish beds throughout the Puget Sound will no longer be classified as prohibited. “Over the past 20 years, progress has been made to reduce the potential for sewage discharge from boats and this includes better waste-holding capacity in most boats, increased boat waste pump
out stations and the implementation of a ‘No Discharge Zone’ throughout the Puget Sound,” according to the statement. It continued, “The improvements have led to better water quality, a lower illness risk to people who eat shellfish and greater protection of public health.” The no discharge zone went into effect for all recreational vessels operating in the Puget Sound last May and banned the discharge of treated and untreated sewage. The zone includes all marine waters in Washington state that lie within the line
Eat. Play. Explore. And eat some more!
between New Dungeness and Discover Island lighthouses and up to the Canadian border; Lake Washington and all water bodies that are connected it to Puget Sound are also included in the zone. Vessels are required to use a pump-out station or wait until they’re out of the zone. Most recreational boats have holding tanks or require a marine sanitation device. The rule was imposed as part of a larger effort by the DOH to upgrade or open approximately 1,000 acres of commercial shellfish beds for harvesting near marinas.
director of teaching and learning, and the director of federal and special programs, also get a 3.1 percent raise this school year. Employees represented by the Service Employees International Union (transportation, secretaries, custodians, security, etc.) and those not represented by unions also get a 3.1 percent pay increase with an additional 1.8 percent cost of living increase. More information about school district contracts is available at bit.ly/2ClU80F.
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4
INSIDE
City staff have the numbers to prove that development is on the rise in Blaine. In a mid-year report presented to the Blaine City Council on August 27, acting community development director Alex Wenger said 41 residential units were approved by the city between January 1 and June 30 – that’s a 95 percent increase from last year when 21 units were approved by the city during the same period. All buildings and structures that are erected, moved, added to or altered require a permit issued by a city building inspector. In 2017, a total of 48 residential units were approved by the city and Wenger predicts that well over 100 will be approved by the end of 2018. The last time more than 100 residential units were approved by the city in one year was in 2005 when 122 units were approved, he said. The figures reflect a growing housing and rental market in Blaine. “I think we’re just recovering from the economic downturn,” he said. “Good things are happening in Blaine.” Windermere real estate agent Mike Kent echoed that sentiment during a separate presentation to the city council on August 27. “Blaine’s reputation, and the things that are happening in Blaine, have reached well beyond our city limits,” he said. “In the real estate community, particularly the commercial world, we’ve kind of become the place to talk about in general.” Kent, along with Jeff Johnson, was
Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . 14
Coming Up . . . . . 17
Police . . . . . . . . . 17 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 17
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