Jan. 28 - Feb. 3, 2021
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Covid-19 outbreak in low-security jail, page 3
Blaine City Council applicants, page 6
Derailment leaked 30,000 gallons of oil, page 7
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Suspect who evaded pursuit now in custody in North Dakota By Ian Haupt
s Cars lined up at the Bell Road and Peace Portal Drive intersection. The city of Blaine is seeking $3 million in funding from the state to install streetlights and bypass lanes at the intersection to flow traffic. Photo by Ian Haupt
New plan for congested Bell Road intersection By Ian Haupt The city of Blaine is seeking $3 million in state funding for streetlights and bypass lanes at the Bell Road and Peace Portal Drive intersection that will hopefully reduce congestion and delays, according to the city of Blaine’s 2021 legislative priorities. Previously, the city’s intention was to build a grade separation crossing on Bell Road over the train tracks – often the cause of long delays when a train is present – but after a series of meetings in June and July 2020 between city staff and Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) staff, with consultation from city council, the project was deemed too expensive, city manager Michael Jones said. They estimated starting cost of the project was $50 million. The total cost of the project is now $3
million, $1.55 million originally for the grade separation and an additional $1.45 million for the new scope of the project. The city will also utilize $475,000 from Transportation Benefit District revenue and WSDOT local programs funding, according to the legislative priorities. To raise the road over the tracks, Jones said the city would have needed to buy out businesses to acquire enough land necessary for the incline.The incline necessary for a grade separation crossing would have had to start as far as the Dakota Creek bridge, Jones said, which the city would also have needed to rebuild. This would have made the driveways for all the businesses in between the intersection and bridge inaccessible, eliminating any possible business, he said. “The fixes would have been too disruptive to the area,” Jones said. “It was a non starter at that point.”
Cougar spottings continue in Blaine area By Jack Kintner and Conor Wilson A cougar is suspected as the killer of two goats early January 24 at a home in east Blaine. A cougar had been sighted in the Blaine area over the last three months and one was photographed three weeks ago by Don Kruse, who lives near Damon and Karen
Higgins. The Higginses reported their goats dead early in the morning Sunday. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) confirmed a cougar sighting Sunday at the intersection of H Street and Peace Portal Drive, a few miles from the Higginses property. WDFW game warden Ryan Valentine said the cat seen Sunday was probably the same suspected of killing the goats
because a cougar’s normal range is 100 square miles. The Higginses found the animals dead in their paddock at 8 a.m. Sunday. Dr. Dave Sauter, a veterinarian at Kulshan Veterinary Hospital in Lynden, performed a necropsy on the goats and determined a cougar killed them. (See Cougar, page 13)
Jones said WSDOT examined other possibilities like a roundabout, alternative areas for a grade separation or even taking out the stop signs on one road to clear any right-of-way confusion. But based on the evaluation of alternatives, the city and WSDOT decided an at-grade, signalized intersection with bypass lanes would be the best, most affordable option. Bell Road connects the communities of Birch Bay and Semiahmoo with downtown Blaine and Interstate 5. Long lines at the intersection can be expected during rush hour or whenever a train is present. Another concern, Jones said, are the significant traffic delays stalling emergency vehicles. Trains can also move slowly through the intersection if undergoing inspection at the Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System (See Bell Road, page 13)
INSIDE
A man who eluded Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputies after an incident in which a woman, who he was reportedly holding against her will, jumped from his moving car is now jailed in North Dakota. On January 25, the sheriff’s office received a report that Kevyn A. Johannesson, 32, was incarcerated in Williams County Correctional Center in Williston, North Dakota, spokesperson Deb Slater told The Northern Light in an email. According to the Williams County Sheriff’s Office inmate database, Johannesson was arrested January 24 with several warrants for his arrest. Sheriff’s office deputies were actively searching for Johannesson after establishing probable cause to arrest him on suspicion of eluding a police vehicle, unlawful imprisonment and driving with a suspended license. Johannesson also had a felony arrest warrant out of Montana. Around noon on January 12, a deputy attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic offense near Arnie and Blaine roads in Birch Bay; however, the vehicle sped off at over 100 mph, Slater reported. The vehicle then tried to lose the deputy in a residential area. While in chase, the deputy saw a female passenger in the vehicle who was described as terrified and attempting to escape, Slater said. When the driver tried to make a U-turn, the woman jumped out of the vehicle while it was still moving. The deputy then stopped the pursuit in order to assist the woman, who had minor abrasions on her hands and legs. Investigation determined Johannesson, who the sheriff’s office described as her boyfriend, had held her against her will in the vehicle. The vehicle was later found abandoned in Birch Bay, but a K-9 unit was unable to locate Johannesson.
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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