March 21-27, 2019
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Presentation to focus on advance directives, page 5
Students learn about marine science, page 13
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Boating safety device invented locally, page 16
Federal funding The Wings Over Water festival was a success to assist with December storm damage By Jami Makan President Trump has granted Washington a Major Disaster Declaration for the December 2018 storms that occurred in Whatcom County and elsewhere. This triggers the release of federal funds to help with recovery efforts, according to a news release issued by FEMA. FEMA announced on March 4 that federal disaster assistance has been made available to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, mudslides and a tornado from December 10 to December 24, 2018. Whatcom County was included in the declaration, and suffered significant damage during the storms, with major impacts on Birch Bay and Blaine. “In a nutshell, what happens is that the state’s governor has to put in a request, which details the incident period, the event and what counties were impacted, and then the President looks at the severity and magnitude of the disaster,” said FEMA spokesperson Peter Sessum. “It has to be so large and so bad that the local community, city, county, tribal government or state can’t handle [the disaster] by itself.” The request by governor Jay Inslee was made in a 32-page letter sent to the White House on February 19. The letter specifically mentioned the significant damage to Birch Bay Drive. “The storm surge and wave action coming off Birch Bay was so intense that trees as large as 36 inches in diameter were thrown completely across Birch Bay Drive into private residences and businesses,” wrote Inslee. “The destructive wave action also completely undermined one lane of Birch Bay Drive and a significant stretch of road remains in limited operation indefinitely.” Inslee’s letter to President Trump also mentioned the city of Blaine’s problems due to the December storms. “The city (See FEMA, page 3)
s The 17th annual Wings Over Water festival featured a variety of activities, exhibitions and speakers. For photos, see pages 8–9. Photo by Chuck Kinzer
Official worked overtime to help secure federal funds By Jami Makan Sam Castro, assistant public works director for the city of Blaine, said that the city is fortunate to be receiving federal funds for the December storm recovery efforts. He said that some other cities lack the staff and expertise to be able to tap into federal disaster funding. The process requires the completion of voluminous paperwork, with strict timelines and a tough auditing process. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” he said. “I am well versed in this process,
having done this for other cities and counties in the past.” The first step was for Castro to fill out a FEMA preliminary damage assessment summary report. This report listed the types of damage that Blaine sustained in the storms, and the estimated amount of money required to fix each category of damage. For example, debris clearance was estimated to cost $25,000. However, this amount paled in comparison to the two major projects that are required as a result of the December storms: power line replacements on Pipe-
line Road, which could cost $800,000 to fix, and the rehabilitation of Semiahmoo Parkway, which could cost up to $1.3 million to repair. These projects have not yet started. In order to complete the FEMA report, Castro had to adhere to strict timelines, requiring him to work overtime in order to meet FEMA’s deadlines. Some days he worked up to 16 hours, and he worked on weekends as well. “I knew if I didn’t populate the information about damage estimates right away into a spreadsheet, I wouldn’t be about to meet FEMA’s time-
Native American Voting Rights Act signed into law By Emma Epperly, W NPA O l y m p i a N ew s Bureau The Native American Voting Rights Act was signed by Washington governor Jay Inslee at a widely attended ceremony on Thursday last week. “We believe these three steps will allow tribal members to help us form a more perfect union and make good decisions about our destiny,” said Inslee of the changes the bill makes.
The state House of Representatives passed an amended version of the bill with a 95-3 vote on March 5. House members voting against were representatives Bob McCaslin (R-Spokane Valley), Ed Orcutt (R-Kalama) and Matt Shea (R-Spokane Valley). The bill passed the Senate on February 6 with 34 in favor, 13 opposed and two excused. All 13 senators in opposition were Republicans; however, minority leader Mark Schoesler (R-Ritzville) and other Republicans voted in support.
“This legislation provides us the opportunity to remove those barriers to be able to call to the Native Americans and tell them they matter,” said representative Debra Lekanoff (D-Bow). Lekanoff is the first Native American woman elected to the House and previously worked for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. “The excitement of an aunty going down to pick up her ballot with her little granddaughter and going to the kitchen (See Voting, page 2)
INSIDE
(See Castro, page 3)
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