April 11 - 17, 2019
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Elenbaas announces county council bid, page 2
Smuggler’s Inn owner facing human smuggling charges
Poet to share message with local youth, page 7
Local musician wins competition, page 10
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Big turn-out for the 2019 Birch Bay Road Race
By Jami Makan
(See Boule, page 3)
s The 2019 Birch Bay Road Race took place on Saturday, April 6. The event included 5k, 15k and 30k races.
Three Blaine students disciplined for racist graffiti By Oliver Lazenby Three Blaine Middle School students were disciplined after one student wrote “whites only” on a restroom wall on March 26, according to the Blaine school district. Eight to ten eighth grade students, including two black students, were coming from a class discussion on civil rights in the 1960s and went into the restroom on break. One white student indicated that he was going to write “whites only” on a wall, district superintendent Ron Spanjer said. Some in the group discouraged him
and others encouraged the graffiti. “He went ahead and wrote it on the wall any way in spite of their discussion,” Spanjer said. “The administrators became aware fairly quickly and closed the restroom so it could be cleaned. They did choose to involve the police, which I think was a good idea.” Blaine police responded at 12:39 p.m. and found that a crime had occurred, but not a felony-level hate crime, according to a police report. The district’s school resource officer followed up with the students involved, Spanjer said. The Blaine Police Department couldn’t make anyone
State legislation to confiscate firearms in domestic violence situations moves forward By Emma Epperly, W NPA O l y m p i a N ew s Bureau A bill to require the removal of firearms following domestic violence calls if there is probable cause that a crime was committed passed out of the Senate law and justice committee on April 2. The bill was previously passed by the House of Representatives on March 5 with
Photo by Chuck Kinzer
60 voting in favor and 38 opposed. All those voting in opposition were Republicans. Prime sponsor, representative Laurie Jenkins (D-Tacoma), testified in support of the bill on Monday, saying the main goal is to reduce the heightened risk to everyone involved by the presence of a firearm in a domestic violence call. A person is five times more likely to be murdered in a domestic violence situation if a firearm is present, said Jenkins.
“In addition to the increased homicide risks, there is really strong evidence that batterers use firearms as kind of tools of terror and intimidation with regard to their children and their partners,” said Jenkins. Jenkins also cited a Washington state Institute of Public Policy finding that domestic violence is the greatest predictor of criminal acts and the single biggest predictor of violent crime of any kind. (See Firearms, page 7)
available to comment by press time. The white student who wrote the graffiti and two who encouraged him were disciplined by school administration. No black students were disciplined in the matter. The district is not pressing charges, Spanjer said. As a rule, the district doesn’t discuss how specific students are disciplined, he added. “We take matters of this nature very seriously. We got on it immediately and we engaged their families. These are adolescent kids and they need to be accountable for their choices,” Spanjer said. “These are complex situations for middle school kids.”
INSIDE
Bob Boule, owner of the Smuggler’s Inn Bed and Breakfast at 2480 Canada View Drive in Blaine, has been arrested for allegedly helping people cross into Canada illegally. According to B.C. court records viewed by The Northern Light, Boule has been arrested and charged with violations of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. He is in custody while he awaits his next court appearance on April 10. Boule’s first court appearance was on April 4 at Surrey Provincial Court. He had subsequent court appearances on April 5 and April 8. Crown prosecutors have alleged that Boule committed offences contrary to section 117(1) of the Act, which states: “No person shall organize, induce, aid or abet the coming into Canada of one or more persons knowing that, or being reckless as to whether, their coming into Canada is or would be in contravention of this Act.” Additional counts state that Boule violated other sections of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, as well as Canada’s Criminal Code. Boule is alleged to have helped at least 16 individuals cross illegally into Canada. Smuggler’s Inn is located immediately adjacent to Canada and “0” Avenue in Surrey, B.C. The violations are alleged to have occurred at various times between April 2016 and March 2019. A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) declined to offer any additional context to the allegations against Boule. “Information that is publicly available may be obtained directly from the court registry,” said the spokesperson. “Subject to any court orders banning publication or excluding the public, all court proceedings are presumed to be open to members of the public and the press. The PPSC has no further information to provide at this time.”
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Coming Up . . . . . 14 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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