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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
October 5 - 11, 2023
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IN THIS
ISSUE
BHS Hall of Fame, pages 3 & 7
Harbor Harvest Festival comes to downtown Blaine
Blaine sports see midseason changes, page 6
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, page 8
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
bp Cherry Point hosts open house
By Grace McCarthy
(See Festival, page 2)
s bp Cherry Point hosted an open house that allowed the public to get an inside look into refinery operations on September 29 including operational presentations and one-hour guided bus tours. Photo by Chuck Kinzer/ckimageart.com
Planning study to look at water, sewer upgrades for west Blaine development By Grace McCarthy Blaine City Council unanimously approved a planning study for water and sewer infrastructure needs in west Blaine in anticipation of the upcoming Avista and Inverness housing developments. Council contracted David Evans and Associates on September 25 to conduct the study for no more than $35,700, according to city documents. The study will update existing capacity, growth predictions and proposed improvements for the area in the
2005 General Sewer Plan and 2019 Water System Plan. The planning study will also delineate individual responsibilities for both developers and the city. The water and sewer plans cited that the city would need capacity improvements for the areas where Avista, formerly known as Semiahmoo Highlands, and Inverness are expected to develop, though other projects being built in west Blaine could also be impacted. Avista could develop up to 500 units and Inverness plans to develop about 65 units.
Community members hope to educate their neighbors on disaster preparedness The Salishan Neighborhood Association will host a disaster preparedness presentation for the public at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 10 at Blaine Senior Center. The event, hosted in coordination with FEMA’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program, will provide education on potential disasters, responses and survival information. “It’s basically how to take care of yourself because first responders are going to
be so overwhelmed they won’t be able to respond to everyone,” CERT trainer Liz Parker said. “Food and water are going to be at a premium.” In addition to teaching people how to survive, Parker and CERT trainer Mary Lou Steward will give more details on the CERT program and discuss how to become trained to assist other community members during a disaster. CERT offers a free course to volunteers so
they can help first responders after a disaster by checking on neighbors, conducting search and rescues and helping with medical needs, among other emergency responses, according to FEMA’s website. The presentation is expected to run about two hours, Parker said. For more information on CERT training, visit the Serve Washington website at bit.ly/45bEHA5 or FEMA website at bit.ly/3PZWF4f.
Avista, located northwest of the Horizon development on Semiahmoo Parkway, is expected to submit its planned unit development and preliminary plat application to the city later this month, developer Wayne Schwandt said. Half of Avista is in the county, but Schwandt said the city property would be built out first. Inverness also has not received city approval for the subdivision, adjacent to the Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club. (See Council, page 3)
INSIDE
A new festival coming to Blaine on Saturday, October 7 will celebrate fall and the local bounty the season brings. Blaine Chamber of Commerce will host the Harbor Harvest Festival from noon to 6 p.m. in downtown Blaine. The event will have something for everyone, from shopping, food, live music, garden tours and a bouncy house. “The goal of this event is to bring local small farms, businesses and the Children’s Giving Garden to our community,” said Jacquee Sovereign, director of the Blaine Chamber of Commerce. “The harvest is local to us so we can support and sustain our own community.” Lummi Seafood Market, Ghost Cat Farm and Spotted Owl Farm will be selling their harvests, including smoked salmon, sea cucumbers, urchin roe, quinces, apples, pears, hot sauce and produce. The festival will have food trucks from Bry’s Filipino Cuisine, It’s The Sweet Things, Street Dogz and Chef Bo’s Gourmet Jerky and Lemonade. CTK Blaine will be serving hot cider. The Gateway 1890 Taphouse and Grill will have a beer garden on G Street Plaza. There will also be covered seating and an area with coloring pages for children on the plaza. Live music will also be playing all day on G Street Plaza. Kickerville will start the festival tunes with a 12-1:30 p.m. performance, followed by Dial Up’s performance of ’90s and alternative rock covers 2-3:30 p.m. SpaceBand will close out the evening 4-5:30 p.m. with ’90s and early 2000s R&B and hip-hop covers. Small county businesses will line H Street to sell an assortment of items, including apparel, children’s toys, soaps, jewelry, crocheted items and woodworking. Youth programs will have booths with kid’s activities and the Blaine Chamber of Commerce will raffle donated items at its booth.
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . 11, 12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . 6, 13 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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