FREE
Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
June 9 - 15, 2022
HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
School board asks for waiver, page 2
CLASS OF
ISSUE
Fundraising for Blaine man who died during Ski to Sea surpasses goal
The Gathering Place offers social services, page 16
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Blane Senior Center bustling with activities
By Ian Haupt
(See Lawrance, page 2)
s A group of Blaine seniors socialize after a bridge game at Blaine Senior Center on June 7. The senior center is beginning to buzz with activity following two years of events paused during the pandemic. Hot lunches returned to the senior center on June 2 and will be served Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Read more on page 6. Photo by Grace McCarthy
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Bob Boule’s suit against U.S. Border Patrol agent By Ian Haupt The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold Smuggler’s Inn owner Bob Boule’s Fourth Amendment excessive-force claim and First Amendment retaliation claim against a U.S. Border Patrol agent in a June 8 decision. The opinion, written by justice Clarence Thomas, said the court’s past cases have made clear that a cause of action – right to sue – is a job for Congress, not the courts,
except in the most unusual circumstances. The Constitution does not say how the rights of individuals against the government are to be enforced. The court held that Boule does not have a cause of action to sue a federal agent for alleged First and Fourth amendment violations when enforcing immigration laws along the border. Boule filed a lawsuit against border patrol agent Erik Egbert for unreasonable search and use of excessive force after the agent suspected Boule of smuggling a Turkish immigrant through the U.S./Canada border
Lil’ Sprouts receives state grant to expand By Hannah Cross Lil’ Sprouts Child Care Center in Blaine received nearly $300,000 in state grant money that the owner expects will double the center’s enrollment. Statewide, the $43 million grant was intended for facilities with Early Childhood Education and Assistance and Working Connections Child Care subsidies to address significant need for more early learning spaces. The Washington State Department of Commerce and the Department of
Children, Youth and Families issued the grants for acquisition, renovation, planning and new construction of 69 early learning facilities across the state, according to a state commerce department press release. Lil’ Sprouts owner Jason Polverari said the child care center has about 30 kids enrolled but only serves 23 kids each day. “We’re looking to double our capacity through the grant money by building a new building to create more space,” he said. Polverari said the biggest challenge the center faces is lack of space with the cur-
rent building. “We have a waitlist of 12 families we don’t have space for,” he said. “The most recent family to be put on that list is waiting for anything that opens up.” The cost of daycare has also risen, which puts an additional financial stress on families, Polverari said. “We want to serve more people in the community and the expansion will help us better fulfill those needs.” He said they plan to create a modern (See Child care, page 3)
in 2014. After Boule reported Egbert to his superiors following the incident, the agent reported Boule to the IRS and other government agencies. Boule argued such actions were in retaliation against him. If Boule’s claims were upheld, the case would have expanded the court’s Bivens precedent to the First Amendment and extended Fourth Amendment claims to include federal agents. Congress authorized lawsuits against state and local officials (See Boule, page 5)
INSIDE
Team members of a Blaine man who died during the Ski to Sea relay race have raised nearly $12,000 for his memorial. Rob Lawrance of Blaine died May 29 of an apparent heart attack during the cyclocross leg of the 49th annual Ski to Sea. He was 58. Rob started race day joking around with his Border Traffic teammates in their group chat, according to a GoFundMe page started by aunt and teammate Dawn Groves. He was to do the cyclocross leg – the sixth leg of Ski to Sea, a 93-mile, seven-leg race from Mt. Baker Ski Area to Marine Park in Fairhaven. Cyclocross riders were to bike 13 miles of open fields with tall grass and mud, dirt and gravel trails, and county roads from Hovander Homestead Park in Ferndale to Zuanich Point Park in Bellingham. Groves wrote Rob was supposedly making good time on the leg when he collapsed near Squalicum Creek Park. Race supporters came to Rob’s aid and performed CPR, according to the GoFundMe. As the team’s kayaker, Groves waited for Rob at Zuanich Point Park with his wife, Rebecca Lawrance, a fourth grade Blaine Elementary School teacher. After he failed to show, Groves was released early via race protocol to make it to the finish in Fairhaven by 6 p.m. Rebecca learned Rob had died on course from a police officer while waiting at Zuanich Point Park, Groves wrote. Groves and other Border Traffic teammates found out shortly after finishing in Marine Park. Border Traffic finished last overall in 293rd place after the early release with a time of 11:11:37. “We don’t believe Rob suffered prior to his collapse because he was doing so well,” Groves wrote on the GoFundMe page. “He was probably smiling, looking forward to seeing Becky and handing off to me.” Rebecca and Rob had met at the race 10 years earlier while partnering in the canoe leg, Groves wrote. They started a
TheNorthernLight
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
@TNLreporter
@TheNorthernLightNews
TheNorthernLight.com
ThisFLYERS Week’s
Rite Aid Whistle Workwear