September 13 - 19, 2018
FREE
Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Blaine doctors to retire this December, page 4
Soccer starts strong, page 6
Borderites to honor Curt Kramme, page 7
‘Active Seniors’ section, page 8-9
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
County to host Peace Arch ceremony honors first responders on 9/11 listening session about health on September 20 By Oliver Lazenby
(See Health, page 6)
s More than 250 first responders from the United States and Canada converged at Peace Arch Park for a ceremony held on the 17th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. Several dignitaries were present as well as honored guests from New York. See photos on page 15. Photo by Stefanie Donahue
Run with the Chums returns to the BP Highlands B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e Runners and walkers will assemble at the BP Highlands, 5042 Grandview Road in Blaine, on Saturday, September 15 for the annual Run with the Chums 5K and Smolt Sprint 1K. Hosted by the Whatcom Conservation District in conjunction with What-
com Water Week, the event will feature refreshments, children’s activities and hands-on exhibits. Registration is free for the 5K and 1K races with the first 300 registrants receiving a complimentary shirt; 1K racers will also get a ribbon. “From mountains to sea, we all rely on clean, fresh water for drinking, productive farmland, healthy fisheries, outdoor recre-
New eco-friendly business opens in downtown Blaine Rawganique offers natural fiber clothing, organic home products and a vegan cafe B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e After more than two decades of selling organic, chemical-free clothing and household products out of Denman Island, B.C., the owners of retailer Rawganique (pronounced raw-gan-eek) opened their only brick-and-mortar location on
September 10 in downtown Blaine. The new business is located at 429 Peace Portal Drive, formerly a Subway restaurant, and is setup like a showroom with an array of products available for purchase in-store and online. The shop also features a cafe serving vegan food, coffee, pastries and ice cream. “What we’re [offering] is a lifestyle store,” said co-founder Qeanu Wallner. Their products, he added, impact “the way you eat, the way you are clothed and the way you treat people.”
Wallner started Rawganique with Quo Yong Fu while homesteading on Denman Island in 1997. Living off the land, the pair made their own bed sheets, socks and towels due to their own chemical sensitivities and blogged about it along the way. Their work caught traction online and they eventually became a source for people who wanted to learn more about chemical-free living. “A lot of people took a great interest in (See Rawganique, page 10)
ation and safe shellfish harvesting,” read a press release from the district. “Let’s celebrate and get healthy in the process.” The 5K route starts at 10:30 a.m. and winds through a scenic loop above the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve and Point Whitehorn, offering coastal views. The (See Chums, page 3)
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4
INSIDE
The Whatcom County Health Department is working on a report analyzing health differences throughout the county and it wants to hear from residents of Blaine and Birch Bay. The health department is hosting a listening session from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday, September 20, at the Blaine Public Library, located at 610 3rd Street. “It’s an opportunity for us to hear from the community about what issues really matter to them and to give us the stories behind the numbers,” said Amy Hockenberry, county health information and assessment supervisor. The health department will share data that it has already collected about Blaine and Birch Bay at the meeting. The listening session will help inform the county’s Community Health Assessment, which is used for health improvement efforts throughout the area. The health department published its countywide Community Health Assessment this summer, but for the first time it’s working on an addendum with community-specific data. It hopes to publish these community descriptions by November. “One reason we’re doing this is we know that health issues are not equal across the board,” Hockenberry said. “In 2007, when we published the first Community Health Assessment, [people responded] that it didn’t acknowledge where disparities lie.” The countywide assessment looks at a broad range of factors including income, air and water quality, immunization rates, sexual health, drug use, transportation, ac-
Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . 11
Coming Up . . . . . 14
Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
TheNorthernLight.com TheNorthernLight
@TNLreporter
@PointRobertsPress