August 8 - 14, 2019
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County Republicans face PDC complaint, page 6
Meals on Wheels feeds seniors, page 8
NWFR puts out overnight dumpster fire, page 15
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Opportunities for public feedback at superintendent interviews By Oliver Lazenby
(See School, page 2)
s Tall ship Lady Washington, docked at Blaine Harbor on August 2. Lady Washington came to town for the annual Drayton Harbor Days Maritime Festival, which took place on August 3 and 4 at the Blaine Harbor Boating Center on Marine Drive. The festival featured arts, crafts, food vendors, kids’ games, a pirate parade, live music, a pet contest and more. For photos of the festival, turn to page 10. Photo by Jami Makan
Preliminary results released for August 6 primaries By Jami Makan Preliminary primary results have been released, with 42,945 ballots counted and an estimated 5,000 ballots left to count. Voter turnout was 29.16 percent, out of a total of 147,254 registered voters. Here are the results as of the morning of August 7. Results are subject to change, and the election certification date is not until August 20. For Whatcom County executive, the top two candidates were Tony Larson with 16,399 votes and Satpal Sidhu with 13,921 votes. They will continue on to the general election, which takes place on November 5. Karen Burke, who received 8,722 votes, and Jim Boyle, who received 3,059 votes, will not proceed. For the Whatcom County Council district 5 seat, the top two candidates were Ben Elenbaas with 4,554 votes and Natalie McClen-
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don with 2,470 votes. Jaime Arnett received 1,419 votes and will not proceed. For the Blaine City Council ward 2 seat, the top two candidates were Garth Baldwin with 203 votes and Steven Tojek with 50 votes. David Gallion and Jodi Greene (whose name appeared on the ballot despite having withdrawn her candidacy) each received 45 votes and will not advance. For the Blaine school district district 2 seat, the top two candidates were Todd Berge with 1,434 votes and Dougal Thomas with 1,060 votes. Prudence Welch, who received 585 votes, will not advance. For the Blaine school district district 4 seat, the top two candidates were Charles Gibson with 1,449 votes and Tana Perkins Reneau with 950 votes. Katie Smith, who received 634 votes, will not advance. For fire protection district 21 commissioner position 3, the top two candidates were Scott Fischer with 2,921 votes and Kathy
Berg with 1,543 votes. Dean Berkeley, who received 1,069 votes, will not advance. For up-to-date election results, visit whatcomcounty.us. The next ballot count was scheduled for August 7 by 5 p.m.
INSIDE
Community members will have a chance to watch interviews with the Blaine school district’s superintendent candidates and give the school board feedback on the interviews on August 10 and 12. Current Blaine superintendent Ron Spanjer is retiring at the end of the month, and the Blaine school district board of directors is considering three candidates to replace him. At a public meeting on Saturday, August 10, the Blaine school board will interview each of the three candidates for an hour. That meeting starts at 10 a.m. in the school district administrative office at 765 H Street. A meeting schedule is posted on the district’s website. Those who watch the interviews can let the board know their thoughts during an open discussion between 2:15 and 3:15 p.m. After that, the board will discuss candidates in a closed executive session from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., according to a press release from the school district. Then, at 4:30 p.m., the board will start an open session in which it will announce more information about the second round of interviews, on Monday, August 12. At that round of interviews, anyone who wants to will have the opportunity to ask the candidates questions during “stakeholder interviews.” The community interviews will last an hour each and take place at 10 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 12:30 p.m., all in the Performing Arts Center, 975 H Street. Elsewhere on campus, candidates will rotate through interviews with school staff, administrators and the school board. At 3:15 p.m., the school board will meet in executive session in the district office to review feedback from the stakeholder groups and consider the candidates. After that, the board could resume an open regular session before 5 p.m. to take action on hiring a candidate, or it may recess after 5 p.m. and resume at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 14. The board could also decide to hire an interim candidate and continue its search. During the August 12 executive session, the board will make announcements
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