July 22 - 28, 2021
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Blaine’s proclamation of emergency ends, page 3
Rollback Weekend will bring fun to Birch Bay
City looking for mural locations, page 5
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Peace Arch Park weddings, page 8
Splash Days off to a great start
B y E m i l y F ee k
(See Rollback, page 2)
s Kids play with hula hoops and run through sprinklers including an inflatable elephant and giraffe, that the city of Blaine’s public works department hooked up to a fire hydrant on July 16. The event took place on Third Street next to Loomis Hall and will be held again 12:30-2:30 p.m. Friday, July 30. See more photos on page 7. Photo by Emily Feek
Canada to open border to U.S. travelers August 9, while U.S. nixes reciprocation By Grace McCarthy The Canadian border will reopen to fully vaccinated U.S. travelers Monday, August 9 and then reopen unilaterally to vaccinated travelers from other countries September 7, according to a Canadian government announcement on July 19. U.S. travelers with a negative Covid-19 test two weeks or more since their last vaccine dose will be able to enter Canada for non-essential reasons as of 12:01 a.m. EDT August 9.
The announcement came just days before the U.S./Canada ban on non-essential travel was set to expire July 21, after the 15th extension was set to end. The U.S./ Canada border has been closed since March 2020 to limit the spread of Covid-19. Children under 12 will no longer be required to quarantine, but will still need to avoid group settings such as school and childcare. Adult travelers who are not fully vaccinated will still be required to quarantine for 14 days and take a Covid-19 test on their first and eighth day of arriving in
Derelict fishing vessel sinks off Point Whitehorn By Grace McCarthy A derelict 1930s fishing vessel sank off Point Whitehorn July 13 while being towed from Blaine Harbor to Bellingham. The Bligh Island, a 79-foot wooden hull purse seiner, had been in the Port of Bellingham’s custody since 2017. The port put the abandoned boat up for auction, but there were no bidders, port public affairs administrator Mike Hogan said. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has a derelict vessel program, but
it is underfunded because of the number of abandoned boats in the Puget Sound, Hogan said. “DNR’s derelict vessel program is very important and we talk about the importance with our legislative delegation every year because unfortunately people will abandon boats,” Hogan said. After going through the bidding process and looking into the DNR program, the port authorized money to move the vessel to Seaview North Boatyard in Bellingham, where it was going to be scrapped. Under
custody of Seaview North, Western Towboat Company attempted to move the boat to Bellingham July 13. The boat sank in about 160 feet of water off Point Whitehorn at the end of Birch Bay. To Hogan’s knowledge, the vessel is the first boat owned by the Port of Bellingham to sink. The port was concerned about the boat sinking in Blaine Harbor, which is why they authorized funding to remove it from (See Vessel, page 9)
Canada. A Public Health Agency of Canada news release said the border would first open to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and residents so the Canadian government could prepare for opening the border to vaccinated travelers from other countries in September and as recognition of the strong partnership between Canada and the U.S. All travelers will be required to use ArriveCAN, the government’s app for (See Border, page 6)
INSIDE
Birch Bay’s annual Rollback Weekend and Sand Sculpture Competition is back in action with a full weekend lineup of events plus vendors Friday, July 23 through Sunday, July 25. “This year is a little bit different because we found out pretty late that we could have full-fledged events,” said Sacha Sanguinetti, Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce event coordinator. “Things we would normally start planning for late last year, we didn’t get started planning on until May. We’re trying to do as full of an event as we can.” The Rollback Weekend will begin with a showing of “La Bamba” on Friday night, part of the Dive-in Movies series at the Birch Bay Waterslides. The movie will begin around 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 per vehicle, including the popcorn, and can be purchased online. Sanguinetti encourages attendees to bring classic cars if they can. The 38th annual Sand Sculpture Competition will be held on Saturday, July 24 and Sunday, July 25. Building begins at 9 a.m. and judging will be held in the afternoon. Previous years’ sculptures can be viewed on the chamber website for inspiration and include traditional sand castles, mermaids and dragons. Judging will also be held across multiple categories accounting for the range of participants from seasoned sculptors to families entering for fun. The Golf Cart and Bicycle Poker Run is scheduled Saturday, July 24 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Participants draw playing cards at checkpoints along the course, and those with the best poker hands will win a prize at the end. The poker run is a free, family-friendly event. Anyone who didn’t register in advance should start at the Birch Bay visitor center at 7900 Birch Bay Drive. On Sunday, July 25, the Rollback Weekend Classic Car Show will be held along Birch Bay Drive from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and all of the attending vehicles will cruise Birch Bay Drive at 1:30 p.m. Advance tickets cost $5. Day-of registration will cost
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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