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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
August 29 - September 4, 2024
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Plover ferry faces additional repairs, page 5
Birch Bay Derby Day returns this weekend
City council vacancy, page 5
CAP coat drive runs September 1-30, page 13
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Blaine schools welcome back students
By Grace McCarthy
(See Derby Day, page 5)
s Caregivers and Blaine Elementary School students line up outside before the first day of school on Wednesday, August 28. Read more about Blaine school district’s most recent news from the school board meeting on page 7. Photo by Nolan Baker
Charges laid in Evergreen CO death amid striking similarities to Point Roberts tragedy B y P a t G r u bb A case of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in Thurston County that has striking parallels to the 2021 deaths of Murray Church and Gail Amundsen in Point Roberts has led to charges against two men accused of improperly installing a gas appliance. A father and son, Frank McCutcheon, 53, and Brett McCutcheon, 32, have been charged with manslaughter in the second degree after a 21-year-old Evergreen State College student, Jonathan Rodriguez, died December 11, 2023, from CO poisoning due to the improper installation of a tankless hot water heater. Two female students, ages 19 and 20, were treated for CO poisoning but survived.
The two men were service technicians working for Olympia Sheet Metal, a Tumwater-based HVAC company. The charges were laid July 11 by the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office following receipt of an investigative report issued by the Washington State Patrol after a three-month investigation. The Washington State Patrol hired a Texas-based forensic engineering firm, Bison Engineering (BE), to examine the modular housing unit the three students occupied to determine the source of the CO. BE investigators discovered a new tankless water heater inside the unit had not been installed per installation instructions nor (See CO deaths, page 2)
INSIDE
Birch Bay Derby Day is back Saturday, August 31 for a day full of crab derbies, rubber duck races, a library fun run/walk and more. The Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce will hold its last large event of the summer from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend at several locations around Birch Bay. The day will start with Friends of Birch Bay Library’s 2nd annual “Love Your Library Fun Run and Walk” fundraiser on the Birch Bay Berm. The fun run starts at Cottonwood Beach, which is north of Bay Center Market. Registration costs $25 for the 1.6-mile (one-way) or 3.2mile (roundtrip) fun run, including a T-shirt. The event is stroller, wheelchair and dog friendly. After the fun run, there will be a pancake breakfast from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the library express location, 7968 Birch Bay Drive. The library will have story time at 10 a.m. and kids activities until 2 p.m. A book sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rubber ducks for the afternoon duck derby will be sold from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the library and Birch Bay Visitor Information Center, 4819 Alderson Road, unit 103. The Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce will hold a poker run along Birch Bay Drive 1-3 p.m. Participants will travel across Birch Bay by golf cart, bicycle or foot in search of getting the best fivecard poker hand to win prizes. Registration is required. Billy Brown’s annual crab derby will take place 3-6 p.m. in front of the Beach Bar, 7876 Birch Bay Drive. Brown, an active Birch Bay resident, will weigh crabs and give out crabbing-related prizes for heaviest catch limit, heaviest single crab and the largest red rock crab. Winners will be announced just after 6 p.m. The rubber duck derby will start at 4:30 p.m. at Terrell Creek. Rubber ducks that participants can purchase for $5 each will float to the C Shop, where volunteers will attempt to catch them. Prizes will be given to the first 10 ducks caught as well as the last place duck, or the “slacker quacker.”
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . 11, 12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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This Week’s FLYER
Dewaard & Bode
Labor Day Sale • BBQ on Saturday, August 31 • 11-2 132 Chrysanthemums! Get your color now!
NEW Pet Food Brands!
YOUR HOME FOR
R.V. HARDWARE & MOBILE HOME HARDWARE • Drain Hose • Electrical • Plumbing • Propane Gas Fittings • Venting • Window & Door •
Watch for Christmas! Starting late-September
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