July 7 - 13, 2022
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IN THIS
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Blaine Harbor Music Festival starts July 10, page 6
City and county council news, page 6
WWII veteran honored for flag display, page 15
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Blaine man dies Blaine goes big for Fourth of July celebration in I-5 Bellingham motorcycle crash By Ian Haupt
s Rosemary Koch drives grand marshals Dorita Gray, l., and Bob Gray, band director for Blaine schools, during Blaine’s Old-Fashioned Fourth of July parade. The parade, car show, live music, vendors and other festivities brought thousands of people to celebrate Independence Day in downtown Blaine. View more Fourth of July photos on pages 8-9. Photo by Louise Mugar
Canadian side of Peace Arch Park not reopening this summer, waiting on vaccine mandate to lift By Ian Haupt B.C. government officials say Peace Arch Provincial Park won’t reopen until Canada’s vaccine mandate is lifted because the park has open entry from the U.S., which means it will remain closed for the summer. The Canadian side of Peace Arch Park closed in June 2020 because of Covid-19 concerns from the Semiahmoo First Nation, located just north of the park. B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate
Change Strategy officials told The Northern Light it will not reopen until B.C. Parks can verify visitors’ vaccination status, which the ministry said is not feasible at this time. B.C. Parks and the provincial government coordinate with Semiahmoo First Nation about the management of the park since its parking lot is on tribal land. The Public Health Agency of Canada announced June 29 that current border rules – proof of vaccination and random testing – will remain in place for at least three months.
First Asian giant hornet nest eradicated in east Blaine now on display at the Smithsonian By Grace McCarthy A piece of Blaine is now displayed for the world to view at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The first Asian giant hornet nest found and eradicated in the U.S., or “nest zero,” was displayed July 1 in the Smithsonian’s new “Our Places: Connecting People and Nature” exhibition. The exhibit explores
how peoples’ experiences with nature across the globe motivates them to care for and protect the environment, according to a National Museum of Natural History announcement on the exhibit’s opening. In addition to the nest, the exhibit will include the eradication suits and hornet tracker to educate museum-goers on threats of invasive species. “Our Places” will also look at the equity of green spaces in urban settings, Indigenous practices to
restore arid soil and minority-owned aquaculture programs in Chesapeake Bay. “By emphasizing that we are all connected to the natural world, ‘Our Places’ provides new opportunities for heightening understanding of our planet’s biodiversity and a range of environmental justice issues,” said Torben Rick, the museum’s curator of North American archaeology, in (See Nest, page 5)
B.C. Parks does not require proof of vaccination at any of its other parks, but ministry officials said Peace Arch Provincial Park is an exception because of its unique location along the border. “As long as COVID border restrictions and vaccination requirements are in place, the Canadian side of Peace Arch Park will remain closed,” a ministry spokesperson said. Before the pandemic, Peace Arch Park (See Park, page 3)
INSIDE
A Blaine motorcyclist died June 30 after he lost control on I-5 in Bellingham, left the road and ended up on Lakeway Drive below. No other drivers were injured. Vincent T. Englert, 37, of Blaine, was riding his 2003 Honda VTX1800R northbound on I-5 approaching the Lakeway Drive overpass around 8:23 p.m. June 30 when he failed to negotiate a curve. He drove on to the median, struck a guardrail and crossed over a cement barrier, according to a Washington State Patrol (WSP) press release. Englert came to rest on Lakeway Drive and was pronounced dead at the scene. WSP reported speed and aggressive driving as the cause for the crash. Englert was wearing a helmet, according to WSP. WSP trooper Jacob Kennett said Englert and his motorcycle fell between the northbound and southbound lanes of the overpass and hit the wall beneath the bridge before falling onto Lakeway Drive. A 2018 GMC Canyon pickup truck on Lakeway Drive was struck by the guardrail, but the 73-year-old Bellingham driver was not injured, according to WSP. Kennett said several witnesses reported seeing a motorcyclist traveling at a high rate of speed before the crash. Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) tweeted that the left lane of northbound I-5 was closed for about 40 minutes while Lakeway Drive was fully closed. Bellingham Police Department posted on Facebook that Lakeway Drive was closed while WSP investigated. So far, it is the eighth fatal crash on Whatcom County roads this year, according to WSDOT’s crash data portal. There were 15 fatal crashes resulting in 18 deaths in 2021, two of which involved a motorcycle. Half of Whatcom’s fatal crashes so far in 2022 involved a motorcycle.
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