May 2020
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County health dept. cancels summer events, page 3
Blackfish for Sale? page 8
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Point the safest place to be, says media, page 11
Point Roberts, WA 98281 Postal Patron Local
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Covid-19 news roundup: County lags state in testing, death at Stafholt, tests continue at fire district, tough decisions on small business grant applications By Oliver Lazenby As of April 30, the Whatcom County Health Department is reporting 304 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to date in Whatcom County and 28 deaths. In total, 2,737 in Whatcom County have been tested for the new coronavirus, making the rate of positive tests in Whatcom County 11.1 percent. That’s higher than the statewide positive rate of 7.5 percent, according to the Washington State Department of Health. Whatcom County has a higher rate of positive tests despite testing a smaller percentage of citizens than the state as a whole. In Whatcom County, 1.1 percent of the population has been tested, according to a calculation made with county health department numbers and the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 population estimate. That’s less than half the statewide rate of 2.4 percent. (See Covid-19, page 6)
s The view from Maple Beach of the April 8 Super Moon hovering over Boundary Bay was a memorable one.
Curbside trash and solid waste operations to continue By Meg Olson Cando Recycling and Disposal will continue to operate as usual after the sudden death of founder David Gellatly in late April. “David was a responsible business owner and, as such, ensured that succession and other planning was in place for such
an event,” said a statement from company management. “The company will continue to operate ‘business as usual;’ future operations will carry on, as they have in the past, to provide service to customers in the community.” Management does not anticipate any interruptions in service, the transfer station remains open and garbage/recycling
Point Roberts lagging in submitting census forms By Oliver Lazenby As of April 28, 61.6 percent of Whatcom County households had completed the 2020 census questionnaires, which can only be done online, by mail or by phone. But Point Roberts, Birch Bay and a few other areas in the county have a long way to go on the once-a-decade count, according
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Photo by Leanne Myrdal
to response rates published on the U.S. Census Bureau’s website. So far, 59.7 percent of households in the state and 61.6 percent in Whatcom County have responded to the census – that’s above the national response rate of 54.3 percent. Though the county rate is above average, just 17.9 percent of households in Point
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Roberts have responded to the survey. Birch Bay households are also neglecting the survey – one of the census tracts in Birch Bay had a response rate of 39.1 percent. In Blaine, 58.0 percent of households have responded. For the 2010 census, 62.1 percent of Blaine households and 67.6 percent
collection will continue, both as regularly scheduled or mandated. “There has been no interruption in services and staff continues to operate at capacity.”
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Church ............................................. 14 Classifieds ......................................... 12 Coming Up ....................................... 13 Obituary ........................................... 15 Opinion ............................................... 5 Library ............................................. 11 Tides ................................................. 11
(See Census, page 2)
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