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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
November 14 - 20, 2024
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Jail visitations resume, page 5 INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Guide to Winter Adventures
CTK Blaine opens downtown church, page 4
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Whooping cough transmissions high, page 15
Veterans Day ceremony honors, remembers
Whatcom County Council confirms medical examiner By Grace McCarthy
(See Examiner, page 5)
s James Higby salutes during the Veterans Day ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Blaine at 11 a.m. November 11. The ceremony, held by American Legion Post 86 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9474, drew dozens of people to honor Blaine residents who have served in the military. More photos on page 3. Photo by Grace McCarthy
WSDOT unveils $67 million project to restore salmon habitat in Cain Creek Two downtown Blaine buildings planned to be demolished for daylighting By Grace McCarthy A planned $67 million salmon habitat restoration project that will uncover parts of Cain Creek in downtown Blaine will result in the demolition of two Peace Portal Drive buildings. The project, which has a 2030 completion date, is in response to a court ordering the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to restore salmon habitats across the state. Chris Damitio, assistant regional administrator for WSDOT, presented the plan to Blaine City Council during a study session before its regular meeting on November 12. Damitio said in the mid-20th century, before increased development, Cain Creek flowed through a culvert under Peace Portal Drive that allowed fish to swim both up-
stream and downstream. Today, Cain Creek runs from the State Route 543 truck route to the BNSF Railway tracks at Marine Drive, where the creek flows into Semiahmoo Bay. The stream enters a culvert behind Edaleen Dairy on Peace Portal Drive and stays underground until reaching the bay. The stream runs about 25 feet below the roadway. “We have seen development both to the east and west of Portal Way that has essentially covered up that culvert extending it quite a distance,” Damitio said. WSDOT is planning to reroute and daylight part of Cain Creek east of I-5 that currently starts running under the Propack Inc. warehouse at 1124 Fir Avenue, which is between I-5 and State Route 543. Currently, the creek runs underground from the east side of Yew Avenue until it exits Propack. Once it
Whatcom County Superior Court impacted by statewide system outages By Grace McCarthy Whatcom County Superior Court is among many courts across the state experiencing service interruptions after unauthorized activity was detected on a court network November 4. Online court services remained down as of press time. The Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) secured critical systems and was working to restore services,
according to a November 4 press release from the Whatcom County Superior Court. The Whatcom County Superior Court has been unable to provide electronic court record searches, electronic filing, electronic payment processing and filing of nonemergent cases. The court is still offering in-person filing, processing of emergency orders, access to physical court records and court programs. “We are unable to perform all of the functions of our office due to the system outage,
and the ones we can are now taking much more time,” wrote Raylene King, Whatcom County Superior Court clerk, in a statement. King said in a November 12 phone call that the AOC was “cautiously optimistic” connection could be restored by Monday, November 18. King said she didn’t have a timeline on how long the subsequent backlog would last. In a November 12 statement the AOC (See Courts, page 5)
exits Propack, it runs in a ditch line, goes in a culvert under I-5, and then flows like a regular creek on the west side of I-5 except for a few culverts, which aren’t owned by WSDOT, closer to downtown. The creek would be rerouted from under Propack and then run parallel to I-5 before reaching Edaleen Dairy. WSDOT will daylight the stream where it currently goes into a culvert behind Edaleen Dairy, which would likely require a bridge to be built on Peace Portal Drive. The new creek alignment would run through the Que Onda building at 442 Peace Portal Drive and the Cole International building across the street at 441 Peace Portal Drive. The creek would then go into a short (See Cain Creek, page 2)
INSIDE
Whatcom County Council has unanimously confirmed interim medical examiner Dr. Aldo Fusaro as medical examiner to start on Monday, December 9. Council confirmed Fusaro to the position with a 7-0 vote at the November 6 meeting. Councilmember Ben Elenbaas said he supported Fusaro assuming the position. “I was involved in the interview process and I found Dr. Fusaro very kind and insightful,” Elenbaas said. “As he served as our interim examiner, the feedback I’ve received from people who have worked with him, I’ll quote one, ‘It’s like a breath of fresh air.’” The Northwest Washington Medical Society and sheriff Donnell Tanksley recommended Fusaro to the position, as required in the Whatcom County Code. In its letter of recommendation, the medical society wrote that the county conducted a thorough interview process and found Fusaro to be well-qualified. Tanksley wrote in his recommendation that “I wholeheartedly support his appointment and believe he will serve the people of Whatcom County gracefully.” The county began searching for a new medical examiner in early August as former medical examiner Dr. Allison Hunt transitioned from her contract with the county. Hunt’s departure came after an independent investigation into the storage of two bodies that were improperly stored and severely decomposed in mid-May. The county received six applicants, including Fusaro, and conducted two rounds of interviews. County council unanimously confirmed county executive Satpal Sidhu’s appoint-
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