September 12 - 18, 2024
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Undersheriff on administrative leave, page 3
Borderite football wins first game, page 6
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Upcoming events in Whatcom County, page 7
Beach Cat 9/11 remembered at the Peace Arch Brewing to host ‘Catoberfest’ at Marine Park By Nolan Baker
(See Catoberfest, page 5)
s First responders, dignitaries, bikers and community members from the U.S. and Canada gathered at Peace Arch Park on the morning of September 11 in remembrance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. See more photos on page 15. Photo by Nolan Baker
Mural festival to bring international artists By Grace McCarthy A mural going up on the G Street Plaza is the first in a new mural festival slated to bring international artists to Blaine later this month. OverAll Walls founder Margaret Owens said she hopes to create an annual mural festival in Blaine, which kicked off September 9 with artist Emily Ding, of Houston, painting sandpipers on the side of the Blaine Bouquets wall facing G Street Plaza.
“The fact that this teeny, tiny little town will have artists who do nothing but travel and paint is pretty incredible,” said Owens, who helped start the Wide Open Walls mural festival in Sacramento before moving to Blaine in 2022. Ding, who needed to start work early due to scheduling, is the first of three artists who will be painting murals and creating art installations during the last week of September. The other artists will be Tom Bob, a New York City artist who will create street art from mundane city
City council discusses next steps for Plover By Grace McCarthy Blaine City Council held a September 9 study session on the Plover ferry’s repairs after a piece of the stern fell off and exposed rotting wood in late August. City manager Mike Harmon told council during the meeting that the city hired Greg Berg to run the Plover on August 22. Berg, a former officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, previously worked in the Blaine public works department and now works for Cascade
Engineering Group which does contract work for the city. The new Plover crew was conducting training on August 25 when a plate on the starboard side of the boat came off near Semiahmoo Pier, exposing rotted wood, Berg said. Shortly after, the Coast Guard issued a nosail order for the vessel, which had just finished nearly two years of repair work earlier in the summer and was preparing to start rides for the remainder of the season. Berg said he had hoped the repairs would
be minimal and allow the Plover to return to operations quickly, but a shipwright will need to look at the boards needing to be replaced. “Originally we thought it was a few planks above the water line. You put the planks in, you hammer, man. You do whatever shipwrights do and you’re back operating,” Berg told council. Berg said there were a few other spots they noticed once they took the Plover out of the (See Plover, page 10)
objects; a British muralist who goes by the name My Dog Sighs; and local Tlingit artist Justin Ketah. Ketah is expected to start painting a mural on the car wash by Blaine City Hall the weekend of Saturday, September 21. Bob is anticipated to create street art around Blaine Tuesday, September 24 and My Dog Sighs will paint the front wall of the Blaine Arts Gallery starting Wednesday, September 25. Ding may re(See Murals, page 2)
INSIDE
To celebrate the incoming autumn while also supporting the Blaine Food Bank, Beach Cat Brewing will host Catoberfest at the Blaine Marine Park amphitheater on Saturday, September 14. Tickets for the seaside festival are $25 and will go from 12 to 7 p.m. for VIP guests, and 1 to 7 p.m. for all other attendees, with all ticket proceeds benefitting the Blaine Food Bank. Catoberfest will feature live music from Dad Company, Paperhearts, and Michael Dayvid, along with a DJ, beer garden, games, silent auction and a costume contest. Beach Cat Brewing co-owner Jake Gobeille wanted to celebrate the change of season with a classic Bavarian-style Oktoberfest while raising money for a crucial nonprofit. Gobeille said the food bank’s motto, “Turning hunger into hope,” resonated with him. The date, September 14, is a special one for Gobeille. It’s the birthday of his best friend Bradley Hill, who committed suicide in November 2023. Gobeille said he wanted to make Hill’s birthday a celebration, and thinks the festival will be a great way to keep on remembering a dear friend, all while helping the community. “All of the music and the event itself was to put something together to honor my friend’s memory,” Gobeille said. “His whole family will be there, so it’s a personal thing for me. That’s one of the reasons I did this, to highlight and show that the food bank needs our support and we need to be able to be there for our community.” Taps from breweries Beach Cat, Anacortes, Barley Pop!, Distant West, Menace, Kulshan, Larrabee, El Sueñito, Bickersons and Bellingham Cider Company, and three local food trucks will all be available, with proceeds benefitting the Blaine Food Bank. VIPs will receive two free drink tickets, with tickets available for general admission for $4 per ticket,
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