June 6 - 12, 2019
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Plover to begin service this weekend, page 4
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County hosting Birch Bay open house on shoreline
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Blaine renews contract with lobbyists, page 7
Local teens taking the plunge at Jorgensen Pier
By Jami Makan Whatcom County officials will be hosting an open house in Birch Bay to discuss ways to better protect county shoreline in the future. The open house is part of a county-wide initiative, and will be one of several opportunities for county officials to gather input from the public on regulating activities and development along county shoreline, which encompasses the coast as well as larger lakes, rivers and streams. The open house is scheduled to take place on Monday, June 10 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Birch Bay Bible Church, 4460 Bay Road. The event will be attended by Cliff Strong, a project manager with the county’s planning and development services department, as well as Ryan Ericson, the county’s natural resources supervisor. It will also be attended by Dan Nickel of The Watershed Company, the county’s primary consultant, and David Roberts, a public outreach specialist with Kulshan Services. The June 10 open house is one of three open houses that will take place in June. A second open house is scheduled for Wednesday, June 19 in Deming, while a third is scheduled for Tuesday, June 25 in Bellingham. Whatcom County is beginning the process of updating its Shoreline Management Program (SMP). Washington state requires counties to periodically update their SMPs, and the upcoming review will ensure that the county’s SMP stays current with changes in laws and rules, remains consistent with other county plans and regulations and is responsive to changed circumstances, new information and improved data. “The SMP acts like another layer on top of zoning,” explained Strong. “It has more specific rules about how one can develop along shorelines.” According to Strong, the SMP regulates different uses of the shoreline, ranging from industrial and commercial uses like marinas to residential uses like multifamily and single-family homes. It also governs (See Shoreline, page 2)
s A group of teenagers brave the still-chilly water at Jorgensen Pier in Blaine on June 3.
Photo by Mataya Siemion
Legal defense fund started for Smuggler’s Inn owner By Jami Makan A legal defense fund has been created to help Bob Boule, owner of the Smuggler’s Inn Bed and Breakfast in Blaine who is facing human smuggling charges in Canada. A GoFundMe page has been created to raise funds for Boule’s defense. Located online at gofundme.com/smugglersinn, the GoFundMe page was created on May 28 with the goal of raising $40,000. As of June 4, it had not received any donations, although the page noted that separately, $17,220 has so far been raised for Boule. GoFundMe is a “crowdfunding” website that allows people to raise money for
different causes, ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. The website was launched in 2010 and, according to GoFundMe, has collectively helped 70 million donors raise over $5 billion for various causes around the world. Boule was arrested by Canadian authorities in early April for allegedly helping people cross into Canada illegally. Crown prosecutors have alleged that he helped 16 individuals cross into Canada from the Smuggler’s Inn, which abuts the US/Canada border and “0” Avenue in Surrey, B.C. The violations are alleged to have occurred
at various times between April 2016 and March 2019. Specifically, Crown prosecutors have alleged that Boule committed a number of violations of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which states that “no person shall organize, induce, aid or abet the coming into Canada of one or more persons know that, or being reckless as to whether, their coming into Canada is or would be in contravention of this Act.” According to a spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), the maximum penalty for each such offense is a $500,000 fine or 10 years’ imprisonment. “The penalty for this same
School district issues four layoff notices to teachers By Oliver Lazenby In response to a May 15 union-mandated deadline, the Blaine school district has issued layoff notices to four teachers. That’s two fewer than feared during an early round of budget planning, and the district hopes to offer positions to the four teachers laid off in the next couple weeks, superintendent Ron Spanjer said. School district officials project a $1.1 million budget shortfall for next year, mostly due to a state law that reduced the
amount the district can levy by about $2 million. To reduce expenses, the district plans to cut its budget for teacher salaries by $650,000 and its budget for “classified staff,” which includes most non-teaching positions, by $250,000. Including benefits and other costs to the district, $650,000 works out to about six teacher salaries, district officials said at an April meeting when it announced possible cuts. Now it seems likely that the district will have positions for most or all of the laid
off teachers – resignations and retirements will lower the teaching budget and the district will move remaining teachers to spread out any reduction in programs. “We’re hoping to account for those four within the next two weeks, possibly sooner,” Spanjer said. “We don’t want to lose good people so we’re hoping to figure that out as soon as possible.” The four pink slips that went out before May 15 went to first year Blaine teachers at the kindergarten through eighth-grade (See Layoffs, page 6)
INSIDE
(See Boule, page 3)
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Classifieds . . . . . 15 Coming Up . . . . . 18 Police . . . . . . . . . 18 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 18
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