October 25 - 31, 2018
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
A closer look at candidate campaign finance, page 8
Like candy, beer, pizza or music?
Children don creative costumes at annual ‘Kids Karnival,’ page 12
High-speed chase ends at Marine Drive, page 17
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Custer students take part in statewide emergency drill
Roctoberfest goes big By Oliver Lazenby
s Custer Elementary School students took part in the Great Washington ShakeOut drill on October 18. As part of the drill, students ventured outside and formed single-file lines while teachers accounted for everyone. Washington schools, including those in the Blaine School District, are required to conduct at least one emergency drill per month that either practice shelter-in-place, lockdown or evacuation. Photo by Stefanie Donahue
Hazard siren in Blaine stays mute during the drill B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e
A hazard siren in Blaine failed to sound during a statewide emergency drill last week. Called the Great Washington ShakeOut, the fifth annual earthquake preparedness drill took place at 10:18 a.m. on October 18. More than 24,000 people in Whatcom County participated, including students from Custer Elementary School; 1.4 million people joined the drill statewide. As part of the drill, All Hazards Alert Broadcast sirens in coastal communities were tested, including those located in
Blaine, Birch Bay and Point Roberts. The sirens are capable of voice and tone alerts and are controlled by state officials, emergency services personnel and the fire district. They can be pre-programmed to warn of hazards, such as an earthquake or chemical spill, and must be routinely tested. In Whatcom County, the sirens are tested on the first Monday of every month using the Westminster chimes tone. After the statewide drill last week, personnel at the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office division of emergency management were told that the siren at Marine Drive in Blaine didn’t sound by several residents who made phone calls, said deputy director John Gargett. The software that sends signals to the hazard sirens didn’t indicate that an error had occurred. “We did some diagnostics on it,” he said.
City forecasts key budget growth for 2019 More cross-border traffic and a stronger real estate market, cited by staff B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e Blaine is increasingly becoming a destination to shop, play and, for some, live. That is according to the city’s finance di-
rector Jeff Lazenby, who in a presentation to Blaine City Council this week forecasted that the general fund will increase to $6.7 million next year, up 3 percent from 2018. “This forecast reflects the strong retail sales growth that we’re seeing currently as well as overall construction activity,” he said. A slurry of taxes and fees, such as sales, utility and property taxes, contribute to the general fund, which can be used to pay for city administration, police services and utility billing, for example.
Lazenby said the city’s sales tax revenue is projected to reach $1.79 million in 2019, up from $1.6 million in 2018, partially as a result of the Marketplace Fairness Act. The law went into effect on October 1 as a result of a Supreme Court decision which ruled in favor of allowing states to collect sales taxes on online purchases. Moving forward, businesses that have an online presence in Washington, but are head(See Finance, page 2)
Adding a silent test was conducted on the siren and it passed. “The signal was received by the station. Obviously, the siren did not sound. It has since been reset.” Unsure about the exact cause, Gargett said an engineer from Federal Signal, an Illinois-based company the state contracts with, will inspect the siren on Wednesday, November 14. All sirens in Whatcom County will also undergo a routine test on Monday, November 5. Gargett said he’s planned to stage people at each siren in Whatcom County to make sure they sound. “Occasionally, there are sirens which fail to sound and they’re currently investigating why that is,” Gargett said. Last July, for example, a hazard siren in Birch Bay didn’t sound during a routine test. The issue apparently resolved itself the next month when it was tested again, he said.
INSIDE
Make sure your Halloween costume is ready early, because Rocktoberfest starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 27. The Blaine Pizza Factory and the BlaineBirch Bay Healthy Youth Coalition are hosting Rocktoberfest, a concert and fall festival for all ages that goes until 10 p.m. at the Pizza Factory, at 738 Peace Portal Drive. Rocktoberfest activities range from trick-or-treating in the haunted Pizza Factory to a beer garden and concerts under a tent in the parking lot. Trick-or-treating (with ghouls passing out candy), pumpkin painting and a walk through the haunted maze with cupcakes at the finish line take place from about 3 to 5 p.m. The beer garden, stocked with local beer from Blaine’s Atwood Ales and Menace Brewing of Bellingham, is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Native American singer-songwriter JP Falcon Grady takes the stage at 3:30 p.m. with the JP Falcon Band. Then Exit 266, a ’90s rock hits cover band, starts at 6 p.m. A raffle for Seahawks gear will benefit the Healthy Youth Coalition. Food options from local vendors include pie, hot chocolate, cider, kettle corn and of course, Pizza Factory pizza. The event doubles as an anniversary party for the Pizza Factory, said owner Laura Massaro, who took over the business two years ago. Massaro threw a Halloween party last year, but is stepping it up this year. “This year we just went big,” she said. “We’re really excited. It’s going to be a huge event.” Event sponsors include the city of Blaine and the Blaine and Birch Bay chambers of commerce. “We’re super excited for Rocktoberfest and for connecting our youth with our community,” said Jesse Creydt, Healthy Youth Coalition co-founder.
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Classifieds . . . . . 16
Coming Up . . . . . 18
Police . . . . . . . . . 18 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 18
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