March 30 - April 5, 2017
FREE
Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
District 42 reps to host a town hall meeting, page 5
Community work party at Terrell Creek slated for April
Blaine track athletes celebrate win, page 7
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
How to tackle spring cleaning chores, page 8
Emergency preparedness expo draws a crowd
B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e
(See Terrell, page 2)
s Folks with Blaine-based NorthWest Emergency Preparedness (NWEP) hosted an expo at the Blaine Pavilion on March 25. Emergency response representatives from throughout the county made an appearance to connect with the public and answer questions. The event was the first for the local group and featured demonstrations, displays and discussions. See more photos on page 14. Photo by Melinda Tageant
Blaine high school to offer expanded college credits B y P at G r u bb Blaine High School students wanting to accumulate college credits before graduating from high school will have new options in the upcoming academic year, high school principal Scott Ellis told Blaine school district board members on Monday night.
Currently, the district offers four college credit pathways to students: two tech prep courses, nine Advanced Placement (AP) courses and two College in the Classroom (CIC) and Running Start courses. The district is working to bulk up its CIC options from Math in Society and Pre-Calculus to include junior and senior English, U.S. History, senior Civ-
City hosts April meetings to discuss sales tax measure With ballots expected to hit mailboxes as soon as April 7, Blaine city staff are ramping up outreach efforts to answer last-minute questions about a measure to increase the sales tax. Two open house meetings are scheduled in April to discuss the idea of increasing the city’s sales tax to fund a Transportation Benefit District in Blaine. Monies collected would be used to fund transportation projects for streets, sidewalks and trails. The first of two meetings will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 8 at the Blaine
Public Library, located at 610 3rd Street. The other will take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 17 at the Semiahmoo Fire Hall, located at 9001 Semiahmoo Parkway. If approved by a simple majority of voters during the April 25 special election, the sales tax would increase by .2 percent – that’s from 8.5 to 8.7 percent – and is expected to generate an estimated $200,000 per year for transportation projects over the next 10 years. Money would be collected through a Transportation Benefit District, which the city council voted to form in January.
The funding is expected to address needs outlined by residents out of the city’s recent strategic economic initiative. Out of the 933 responses derived from citywide surveys, trails and streets were near the top of the priority list. Neighboring Bellingham, Lynden and Ferndale already fund transportation projects through transportation benefit districts using a sales tax. To learn more about the sales tax measure, see page 10 for a Q&A, featuring Blaine public works director Ravyn Whitewolf.
ics, Psychology, Calculus and Advanced Art. The additions would allow students to earn up to 30 college credits in each of their junior and senior years. There has been a significant jump in students taking Running Start courses, Ellis told school board members, (See School, page 3)
INSIDE
Volunteers will take part in what’s become a years-long process to restore the salmon habitat in Terrell Creek at a community work party on April 8. With nearly two decades of work completed, representatives from local environmental advocacy groups look back. Located in northwestern Whatcom County, Terrell Creek spans about 9 miles and stems from Lake Terrell; the watershed drains into Birch Bay. Historically, the area from Point Whitehorn to Boundary Bay was inhabited by the Semiahmoo tribe and the creek was known for its abundance of coho salmon and steelhead trout. Since then, more than half of the land directly bordering Terrell Creek was harvested for timber and converted to farmland and the thriving fish population fell dramatically. Efforts to restore the habitat began in 1999 after questions about the health of the creek and existing fish population spurred a detailed habitat assessment led by the Bellingham-based Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA). The study discovered multiple constraints on salmon habitats caused by, in part, unhealthy vegetation and impenetrable passageways, said NSEA executive director Rachel Vasak. Volunteers and a number of agencies throughout the county have since come together to improve and restore water quality and habitat in the creek. NSEA, the Whatcom Conservation District, Birch Bay Watershed and Aquatic
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
TheNorthernLight.com TheNorthernLight
HALIBUT
Rural Ave.
Wi l d & Lo c a l
@TNLreporter
N
Lummi Te’Ti’ Sen Center Slater Rd.
360.933.4211
@PointRobertsPress
EXIT 260
4920 Rural Avenue • Ferndale
I-5 & Slater Rd (Exit 260 W)