FREE
Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
January 2 - 8, 2020
HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Starting off 2020, Birch Bay berm project gets underway
s After decades in the works, preparatory work on Birch Bay’s long awaited beach restoration project began recently. The project, called the Birch Bay Drive and Pedestrian Facility Project or the Birch Bay berm, will add about 210,000 tons of sand and gravel to a 1.6-mile stretch of beach between Lora Lane and Cedar Avenue. The project’s goals are to restore the beach to a natural state by replacing a series of sea walls and other concrete structures, protect Birch Bay Drive from storm surges and improve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure along the road.
Photo by Ruth Lauman
year in
REVIEW
A look back at the year that was
January • On January 8, the city of Blaine announced that six residents had applied for a vacant Blaine City Council position that was left open by Meg Olson in November 2018. The residents were Colin Hawkins, David Gallion, Garth Baldwin, Jaime Arnett, Jodi Greene and Steven Tojek. • At a January 9 special meeting, school board members were told by Zervas Architects that due to escalating building costs, the district probably wouldn’t get the high school grandstand it wanted
without going over budget. • Seattle Mariners pitchers Dan Altavilla and Nick Rumbelow, veteran broadcaster Rick Rizzs and the Mariner Moose visited the Blaine Boys and Girls Club on January 10. The visit was part of a three-week tour in which current and former Seattle Mariners personnel made 22 stops in communities throughout the Northwest to sign autographs and talk about the DREAM Team initiative. • Basic training was led by the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
beginning on January 16. As part of the training, participants learned how to respond to an emergency that could impact the community. • The Blaine Police Department provided guidance about waterfowl hunting season, which ran until January 27. “The department understands the delicate balance that exists between ornithologists studying migrations, birders enjoying the annual Wings Over Water festival and
INSIDE
2019
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 7 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Coming Up . . . . . 14 Sheriff . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
TheNorthernLight.com
(See 2019, page 2) TheNorthernLight
@TNLreporter
@TheNorthernLightNews
We have sold virtually all of our inventory, so for boats listed in January or February, we will reduce our commission from 10% to 8% if we don’t sell your vessel within 90 days of listing.
If we don’t sell your boat within 90 days, you pay less. As boat owners and enthusiasts, we understand the urgency to sell your vessel. We know as long as your boat is unsold, you still have to pay for moorage and maintenance. -Captain Randall Parten, USCG 100-Ton Master
dreamboatcompany.com | 360-383-6191 | office@dreamboatcompany.com