July 11 - 17, 2019
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BHS grad to kick at NCAA Division I school, page 4
Most closures lifted for shellfish harvest, page 6
Photos from the Fourth of July parade, page 10
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Full speed ahead for Blaine library expansion By Oliver Lazenby
(See Library, page 3)
s Members of the public enjoyed a free noon-hour concert at the G Street Plaza in Blaine on July 9. The concert was hosted by the Blaine Harbor Music Festival, which runs through Saturday, July 13. Above, Nick Biello plays a saxophone solo.
Photo by Oliver Lazenby
Boule wins government funding for his legal defense By Jami Makan The Canadian government will fund the legal defense of Bob Boule, the owner of the Smuggler’s Inn Bed and Breakfast in Blaine who is alleged to have helped people enter Canada illegally. During a July 5 court appearance, Boule’s application to have his defense funded by the Canadian government was granted. According to a media report, Boule made a successful “Rowbotham” application before Justice Frits Verhoeven at the New Westminster courthouse.
The application, named after a 1988 case in Ontario, can be made by people who are facing “serious and complex” criminal charges and have been denied legal aid but can’t afford a lawyer, according to the website of the B.C. Legal Services Society. During the hearing, prosecutor Daniel Meneley, counsel for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, told the court that in order for a Rowbotham application to succeed, legal representation must be deemed essential to conduct a fair trial.
School board to review superintendent candidates By Oliver Lazenby Applications to be the next Blaine school district superintendent are coming in, and the district scheduled a special board meeting to review applications on Monday, July 22 at the district administrative office at 765 H Street. The meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. with a three-hour executive session, which is not open to the public. Tina Padilla, assistant to the superintendent, said the district expects to have
about eight qualified applicants. Its hiring consultant, Rich Parker, will vet the pool of candidates before the board reviews their qualifications. After the three-hour closed session, the board will hold an open meeting to take action on the applicants, according to a July 3 press release from the school district. Padilla said the board would likely select five finalists for the next round of interviews, on Saturday, August 10. The board could also decide not to pursue
any of the applicants and hire an interim superintendent. The August 10 meeting would be open to the public and each candidate would be interviewed for an hour, Padilla said. The school board defined its priorities for its next superintendent at a May 29 special board meeting. The school board is looking for candidates who can creatively support teaching and learning, are child oriented, can work collaboratively, live in the district and are “fiscally minded,” according to the criteria.
Meneley noted that “the complexity (of the case) is acknowledged and conceded” by Crown prosecutors. Boule faces 21 charges. The charges include allegations that Boule, despite being on prior notice, failed to keep the peace and be of good behavior, and assisted people in the U.S. with attempting to enter Canada in contravention of Canadian law. The charges are set for trial from January 13 to February 5, 2020. Boule will appear in court on Tuesday, July 16 to confirm his trial dates.
INSIDE
After more than 10 years of advocating for an addition to the Blaine Library, Friends of the Blaine Library (FOBL) found a way to speed up the process. The group offered $50,000 to hire an architect or design firm to plan for a library expansion. The Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) plans to issue a request for bids this month, and the city of Blaine – the owner of the current library property – has partnered on the project as well. They hope to have design drawings and a cost estimate for expanding the 5,400-squarefoot building to about 12,000 square feet by the end of the year. The Blaine Library has been in its current space since 1988. In that time, the population of the city and the surrounding area has more than doubled. “The building itself was formerly a public works maintenance shed,” said WCLS executive director Christine Perkins. “It wasn’t ever made to be a library so it has some shortcomings. It hasn’t kept up with modern library infrastructure.” The library’s biggest shortcoming is its lack of space. “There’s definitely demand for more meeting space in the library. Computers are restricted due to a lack of space and electrical and infrastructure concerns. We do have people who get a little frustrated by the noise level and lack of a quiet study area,” Perkins said. FOBL was motivated primarily by the lack of space, said vice president Pat Kingshott. The group raised most of the $50,000 to hire an architect in the last three years with the help of several large anonymous donations, she said. To determine an appropriate size for a library, WCLS uses a target of 0.7 square feet per person in the community, a guideline established by the Public Library Association. WCLS estimates based on 2036 population projections for Blaine and the surrounding area (they looked at areas south and east of Blaine not including
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