January 3 - 9, 2019
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Memorable Blaine police A look back at Tips for staying County sheriff’s reports from 2018, page 2 BHS sports, page 6 fit in 2019, page 9 reports, page 14
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Storm results in Polar Bear Plunge kicks off the New Year costly damage for Blaine, Birch Bay B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e
(See Storm, page 13)
s Hundreds of residents and visitors charged into Birch Bay during the annual Polar Bear Plunge on January 1. The event was hosted by the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce. Photos on page 10. Photo by Chuck Kinzer
2018 year in
REVIEW
A look back at the year that was
January • Donning costumes, revelers took part in the annual Polar Bear Plunge on January 1 at Birch Bay Beach Park. The event was hosted by the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce and draws thousands of people each year. • Newly elected members to Blaine City Council, Alicia Rule, Eric Davidson, Bonnie Onyon and Charlie Hawkins took their oath of office before a regular meeting on January 8. The city council unanimously appointed Onyon as mayor and council member Steve Lawrenson as mayor, pro tempore. • Serving teens in Blaine and Birch Bay, the Health Youth Coalition hosted its first Teen Nite on January 15 at the Pizza Factory. The event featured live music, games, prizes and pizza. More than 100 people attended, including kids from Blaine, Birch Bay, Ferndale and Lynden. • Developer Mike Hill announced plans to build a mix of a commercial, office and retail space next to the Chevron gas station
he owns on Peace Portal Drive. • Birch Bay couple Pat and Patty Anderson sat down with The Northern Light to describe their 5,428-mile, 226-day boat journey around the eastern United States, called ‘America’s Great Loop.’ • Whatcom County Council appointed former chairman of the Lummi Nation Business Council Timothy Ballew II to serve a vacant at-large seat on January 16. Ballew was expected to fulfill the position until the next election and told county councilmembers he would not run for the position in November. • The state Transportation Improvement Board allocated $293,425 to the ‘Peace Portal Community Trail Phase 2’ project. The project aims to create a pedestrian connection from the new pedestrian crossing at the Peace Arch U.S./Canadian border crossing through the city to southern Blaine city limits. • Krys and Katy Bennet purchased The Railway Cafe, located at 795 Peace Portal Drive, and re-opened it on January 19.
• The Blaine school board approved a resolution to send a $12 million capital levy to voters on January 22 to fund a variety of projects the district wanted to complete over six years. Projects included updating the existing grand stand structure and purchasing property for a (See Year in review, page 7)
INSIDE
Upwards of $5 million in damage was incurred locally from the December 20 storm that left Birch Bay Drive in tatters, according to estimates from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO). “While all of Whatcom County has been affected by this event, hardest hit was Birch Bay where significant road damage has occurred,” said John Gargett, deputy director of the WCSO division of emergency management, in a statement. Gusts peaked at 60 mph and sustained winds reached 50 mph during the storm, which hit the hardest between 1:45 and 3:45 p.m., Gargett said. Low atmospheric pressure caused a storm surge in Birch Bay that lifted 3-to-5-foot waves over the drive, crashing into businesses and homes. Power outages were reported for thousands of Puget Sound Energy customers across Whatcom County. Some households in the southern portion of Birch Bay, including Point Whitehorn, were without power for 18 to 20 hours, Gargett said. At least 12 homes were damaged on Birch Bay Drive as well as approximately 10 businesses, Gargett said. Bay Breeze Restaurant and Bar, located at 7829 Birch Bay Drive, was damaged so severely it was red-tagged by the county, meaning it is unsafe to enter. Recognized by its bright-blue exterior, the restaurant opened in May. A statement posted to Facebook on behalf of Bay Breeze staff and owner Chris Choi said the restaurant would be forced to cancel all events and close until further notice. “We promise to keep everyone posted on what the future holds for the Breeze as we figure things out but it is going to take some time before we have any real information to share,” Choi wrote. “Thank you all for your support. We are Birch Bay strong.” To lend support to the restaurant and its employees, staff at The Beach at Birch Bay and Boardwalk Restaurant hosted a benefit on December 27. The event featured a silent auction and a performance by The Replayzmentz, among others. “We are humbled by the generosity of our community,” read a statement from Bay Breeze. “We thank each and everyone one of you for reaching out and coming together to help us during this difficult time.” In addition to damaging about a dozen residences in Birch Bay, the storm forced at least two families out of their homes, Gargett said. One family had to relocate to Bellingham temporarily because their home was floating, held down only by plumbing. The most costly and time-consuming repair will be to Birch Bay Drive, which was severely undermined by wave action resulting in large cracks and subsidence of the road bed. Currently, one northbound lane is open between Harborview and Shintaffer with a 10 mph speed limit, according to the WCSO. Southbound traffic from Birch Bay Village and Birch Point must use Shintaffer
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Coming Up . . . . . 14 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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