August 22 - 28, 2019
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Blaine PD launches Facebook page, page 5
Public hearing to focus on water system plan, page 14
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Sewer system to undergo smoke testing, page 17
Back to School Pull-out section on pages 9-12
Family Care Network shares further details of its proposal By Jami Makan
(See FCN, page 2)
s Members of the Washington Diamonds Drill Team marched in the Fan Fest and Discover Birch Bay Days parade on August 17 in Birch Bay. The weekend’s events attracted thousands of Seattle Seahawks fans and other attendees, who enjoyed activities ranging from crab fishing and chainsaw carving to live music and a fun run. For more pictures of the festivities, turn to pages 8 and 13. Photo by Chuck Kinzer/CKimageart.com
Final results released for August 6 primaries By Jami Makan The final primary results have been released, and the top two finishers in each race will now proceed to the general election in November. The final vote count took place in the afternoon on August 19, and the results were certified by Whatcom County auditor Debbie Adelstein on August 20. A total of 58,184 ballots were counted, representing a voter turnout of 39.5 percent. There were 147,265 registered voters in this election. For Whatcom County executive, the top two candidates were Tony Larson with 21,202 votes and Satpal Sidhu with 19,312 votes. Karen Burke, who received 12,450 votes, and Jim Boyle, who received 4,193 votes, will not proceed to the general election. For the Whatcom County Council district 5 seat, the top two candidates
were Ben Elenbaas with 6,183 votes and Natalie McClendon with 3,316 votes. Jaime Arnett received 2,100 votes and will not proceed. For the Blaine City Council ward 2 seat, the top two candidates were Garth Baldwin with 284 votes and Steven Tojek with 72 votes. David Gallion, who received 57 votes, and Jodi Greene, who received 52 votes, will not advance. Greene already withdrew her candidacy due to a conflict of interest, but her name still appeared on the ballot because she missed the formal withdrawal deadline. For the Blaine school district director district 2 seat, the top two candidates were Todd Berge with 1,977 votes and Dougal Thomas with 1,504 votes. Prudence Welch, who received 807 votes, will not advance. For the Blaine school district director district 4 seat, the top two candidates were Charles Gibson with 1,953 votes
and Tana Perkins Reneau with 1,368 votes. Katie Smith, who received 907 votes, will not advance. For fire protection district 21 commissioner position 3, the top two candidates were (See Primaries, page 3)
INSIDE
The president of Family Care Network (FCN) delivered a presentation to Blaine city council at its August 12 meeting, revealing further details of a proposal to build a new medical center in Blaine. FCN president Dr. Rodney Anderson said that his healthcare organization anticipates investing $2.5 to $3.5 million into the project, which would feature a new 8,000- to 10,000-square-foot medical office building on the Gateway parcel, formerly the site of the Blaine Municipal Airport. In May, FCN signed a non-binding letter of intent, which was then amended and signed by the city of Blaine. The two sides are now in negotiations regarding the price of a 2.5-acre plot of land that the city anticipates selling or leasing to FCN. The building would be located on the west side of the purchased parcel, adjacent to the truck route between Boblett Street to the south and H Street to the north. Access to the facility would be off Grant Avenue to the east. According to Dr. Anderson, services would include outpatient family medicine provided by five to eight providers, operated on weekdays during normal business hours. The clinic would have the capacity to serve more than 10,000 patients. In the past three years, FCN has provided care to more than 8,000 patients who have listed a Blaine zip code as their primary mailing address, at its other Whatcom County facilities. In addition to outpatient services, there would be an urgent care center open to FCN and non-FCN patients, open from 1 to 9 p.m. during the week and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Classifieds . . . . . 15 Coming Up . . . . . 18 Sheriff . . . . . . . . . 18 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 18
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