March 2 - 8, 2017
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Blaine Math Champs rake in awards, page 3
Northwest Birding Festival
Governor Inslee signs order to limit enforcement, page 5
Atwood Ales celebrates anniversary, page 15
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
More snow falls on Whatcom County
Special pull-out Section
City initiates land transfer to Lummi Nation B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e
(See Land, page 2)
s On February 27, parts of western Washington were struck with a heavy dose of snow just before the first day of spring, which begins on March 20. The National Weather Service is forecasting warmer temperatures and rain showers through the weekend. Photo by Stefanie Donahue
Snow cancels Blaine school district board meeting By Oliver Lazenby The Blaine school district dodged the threat of more missed days this week, but a brief snow storm did cancel after-school activities, including a school board meeting in which the board planned to take action on its last round of snow days. On February 27, the board was scheduled to consider applying for a waiver to the Washington State Office of Superintendent
of Public Instruction (OSPI) for two of the four days students missed from a February 6–9 snowstorm. If granted, that would make Friday, June 23 the district’s last day of classes. The board meeting has been postponed until 7 p.m. Monday, March 6. The drafted letter to OSPI noted that the missed days “occurred during a declared Proclamation of Emergency for Whatcom County” issued by county executive Jack
Lions Camp Horizon raising funds for kitchen upgrade B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e Nearly 70 years have passed since the Blaine Air Force Station was built in Birch Bay. Once used as a surveillance radar station during the Cold War, the land is now seasonally occupied by a small platoon of campers each summer and is in dire need of an upgrade. Lions Camp Horizon has offered summertime activities for individuals with developmental disabilities throughout the Puget Sound since 1975. Now in the midst of preparing for the first day of camp in
June, staff with the nonprofit are calling on the public for donations to complete a comprehensive update to their on-site kitchen. The project, costing upwards of $90,000, will replace 60-year-old appliances that once served U.S. Air Force personnel, said Camp Horizon Foundation president Jan Polen. Staff plan to replace the ventilation system and most cooking equipment, including stoves, burners and tables, she said. “To continue preparing nutritional meals on-site, we need to bring our fire suppres-
sion system and cooking equipment up to a standard acceptable to the fire marshal,” read a statement released by Lions Camp Horizon staff during the initial stages of the fundraiser. “We desperately need your help in raising enough money to cover the cost of the new cooking equipment, demolition and removal of the old components, construction and permits.” Staff with the nonprofit launched a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe in November with the goal of raising $65,000. So far, (See Camp, page 2)
Louws. Most district schools cancelled classes for the entire week. The district already received a waiver from the OSPI for two days that high school students missed in September after an electrical explosion closed that school for four days. Tina Padilla, the district’s assistant to the superintendent, said the district is still “committed to keeping the high school graduation date on June 16,” as listed on its website in February.
INSIDE
The city of Blaine is one step closer to transferring a portion of land on Semiahmoo spit to the Lummi Nation. During a regular meeting on February 27, Blaine City Council voted unanimously to approve supplemental terms and conditions to a settlement agreement with the Lummi Nation that dates back to June 2001 – the landmark vote leaves just a few agreements in the way before the transfer can take place, said public works director Ravyn Whitewolf. “This is a big milestone,” Whitewolf said to the city council on Monday. “Now we’re at the point where we have an agreement that everyone is comfortable with.” The agreement stems from an incident that took place in the late ’90s at Semiahmoo spit, when the city was expanding its existing wastewater treatment facility. Construction crews dug and removed human remains and Lummi artifacts from the site, a former Lummi village, allegedly without notifying the tribe. The tribe filed a lawsuit against Golder Associates, the company contracted by the city for the oversight of archaeological construction. The Lummi Nation eventually settled with the company for $3.5 million, plus an additional $750,000 to be dispersed among its members. A reburial effort soon followed the settlement agreement. After the incident, the city of Blaine and the Lummi Nation signed a June 2001 agreement to, in part, transfer the land. Since then, the city has decommissioned the plant and relocated its wastewater treatment facility to Marine Drive.
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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