June 22 - 28, 2023
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Local men plead guilty in separate cases, page 3
Birch Bay zoning changes, page 7
Custer teen arrested in drive-by shooting, page 13
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Wenderski awarded Educator of the Year
23
28 th
Birch Bay Kite Festival, Splash Days kicking off summer fun By Grace McCarthy
(See Events, page 5)
s Blaine school district superintendent Christopher Granger, l., presents second grade teacher Robin Wenderski, r., with the 2022/23 Educator of the Year award from the Lynden/Ferndale International Masonic Lodge during the June 20 Blaine school board meeting. Photo by Ian Haupt
50 Blaine school employees expected to be laid off School board members say state funding at fault for lost positions By Ian Haupt The Blaine school district plans to lay off 50 employees ahead of next school year, fewer than what was planned for in April, as it prepares for an expected drop in federal and state funding in 2023/24. Blaine school district superintendent Christopher Granger said that as of June 20 the district plans to eliminate 59.5 positions for the 2023/24 school year and that 50 employees would be laid off. Granger said the other positions were eliminated through employees who were retiring or
otherwise leaving the district. The district is still reorganizing positions and staff members, and Granger said the number of employees impacted could change. “Those are faces and people that we care about,” he said. “We wouldn’t have these positions if we didn’t think they were needed, which is why we advocate for funding that meets the needs of kids.” The reductions in force come after the Blaine school board passed a “worstcase scenario” reduced education plan that would remove 65.2 positions for the 2023/24 school year during its April 24
Whatcom County Council selects site for jail By Ian Haupt Whatcom County Council decided June 13 that the county’s new jail will be built on La Bounty Drive in Ferndale if its funding is approved by voters. During a special committee of the whole meeting June 13, council passed a motion in a 6-0-1 vote, with councilmember Kaylee Galloway abstaining, to select La Bounty as the location for Whatcom County’s correctional facility. Council held the special meeting to discuss wording of
a jail tax measure that council then introduced during its June 20 meeting. Council will hold a public hearing on the measure at a future meeting before it is expected to go before voters in November. The ballot measure seeks a sales tax of two-tenths of 1 percent, or 20 cents on a $100 purchase, to fund the new jail and behavioral health facilities. The remaining funds would pay for improved behavioral health services, diversion programs, supportive housing and re-entry for those released from jail. The new jail is estimated
to cost $137 million and expected to take three years to build. Councilmembers said they selected the La Bounty location because it would be the most cost-effective, while some were worried about the possibility of overexpansion at the site. The two other locations council considered were a site in the Irongate industrial area in Bellingham, which is where the Whatcom County Jail Work Center and (See Jail, page 3)
regular meeting. Dozens of students led a walkout to demonstrate silent support for their teachers, while upset parents and community members packed the Performing Arts Center to show their disapproval and speak during public comment at the April meeting. In July 2022, the district adopted a budget with a four-year forecast that accumulated a $14 million deficit by 2026. The forecast for the 2022/23 school year alone projected a nearly $5 million loss, (See School, page 6)
INSIDE
Summer break is kicking off with a slate of activities for families to do in Blaine and Birch Bay Friday, June 23 through Sunday, June 25 with the Birch Bay Kite Festival, Splash Days and Home Farm Summer Market series. Splash Days Splash Days returns Friday, June 23 for children to cool off under sprinklers from noon to 2 p.m. at 3rd and Martin streets in downtown Blaine. Hot dogs, chips and drinks will be sold for $1 each and the Sugar Shack ice cream truck will be on site. The event organizers, Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 and the city of Blaine, will hold another Splash Days on Friday, July 28. Birch Bay Kite Festival The Birch Bay Kite Festival will provide a weekend full of flying kites and family activities on Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 25. The Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce is holding the festival at a new location, Birch Bay State Park’s BP Heron Center, and it will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. At the festival, families can make and fly kites as well as browse a vendors market selling goods and food all day on Saturday and Sunday. Musician Michael Dayvid will perform from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and The Springmans will perform from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. A juggler will perform from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday and noon to 3 p.m.
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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