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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
June 27 - July 3, 2024
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Blaine police officers recognized, page 4
Blaine art gallery to open July 4, page 5
Water ski lake for sale, page 8
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Birch Bay Kite Festival provides summer fun Investigation into improper body storage at funeral home contracted by Whatcom County By Nolan Baker
(See County, page 6)
s The Birch Bay Kite Festival started the summer on a high note with family-friendly activities at Birch Bay State Park on June 22 and 23. Attendees flew kites along the beach during the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce’s annual event, which also included a vendor fair, live music and youth activities. View photos of the kite festival and other weekend events on page 15. Photo by Grace McCarthy
Blaine’s Old-Fashioned Fourth of July guide: Reversed parade route, and more to know By Grace McCarthy Blaine’s Old-Fashioned Fourth of July is expected to draw over 15,000 people celebrating Independence Day in the border town, with popular traditions returning and some new changes, such as a reversed parade route. The July 4 holiday will be an all-day affair, with activities from 8 a.m. to dusk provided by the Blaine chamber and other community organizations. The festival’s largest change for participants will be the Fourth of July parade starting at noon at Boblett Street and Peace Portal Drive and traveling north along Peace Portal Drive until ending at F Street. Jacquee Sovereign, executive director of
the Blaine Chamber of Commerce, said the parade route was changed to open more streets for vendors and the car show. The parade is anticipated to have up to 100 participants. Blaine Senior Center will start the day with its annual pancake breakfast 8-11 a.m. at 763 G Street. A plate with pancakes, eggs, sausage, potatoes and other breakfast items will be available for purchase. The car show is anticipated to have hundreds of hot rods, vintage cars, motorcycles and other vehicles displayed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the streets near the Banner Bank building, 435 Martin Street. Check-in is at 8 a.m. on 4th Street just south of Banner (See July 4, page 3)
INSIDE
Both Whatcom County and the state of Washington have begun independent investigations into allegations that human remains were improperly stored at a Bellingham funeral home contracted by the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s (ME) Office. The Washington State Department of Licensing and the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office have each begun investigations after multiple bodies were kept at Moles Farewell Tributes and Crematory Center without refrigeration over the weekend of May 11 and 12, violating state law. The prosecutor’s office hired Bundy Law Group, an independent firm, to conduct its investigation. In June 2023, the ME office began renting space at Moles’ Bayview Chapel in Bellingham to be used as a morgue and autopsy area with three refrigeration spaces and additional storage at its Ferndale location while renovations were being completed at the ME’s downtown Bellingham office. The county contracts Dr. Allison Hunt of Hunt Forensics to be medical examiner. Hunt and Moles submitted conflicting accounts on who was responsible for the improper storage, according to legal documents from the county prosecutor’s office. Company president John Moles has stated that the funeral home was not at fault for the improper storage, as it was simply operating as a landlord while the ME office conducted its business. Moles wrote the company could not move the deceased without a formal request from the ME office, which holds legal responsibility for the deceased. Moles said the company told the ME office it was available to transfer bodies to a different facility in Ferndale on May 10, but never received a request. “When we returned to work Monday, May 13, we discovered that no one had picked up the decedents,” the statement read. “It was the sole responsibility of the Medical Examiner’s Office to make arrange-
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . 11, 12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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