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Beautiful
music together
The Editor:
As president of the Pacific Arts Foundation (PAA) I
would like to give a great big thank you to the Blaine community
in general and several people and organizations in particular
for making the 2000-2001 season the most successful yet.
Thanks
to the Blaine school district and Gordon Dolman for making
available the beautiful performing arts center. All of the
artists we brought to Blaine this year remarked upon the
wonderful acoustics and the audiences repeatedly told us
that the venue was a treat within which to watch the performances.
Thanks
to our underwriters, local businesses and individuals who
gave generously so that the PAA could bring into our community
the likes of Eduard Zilberkant, Tim Shew, the Violin Duo,
Winter Harp and Quattro Maestri. Specifically I would like
to thank the O’Neill Group, the Baileys, the Wolfs,
Totally Chocolate, the Braumbergers, Cyrus McLean, the Inn
at Semiahmoo and the Bellingham Herald. Additionally, thanks
go to the Blaine Chamber of Commerce/Skywater Summer and
The Northern Light for their generous contributions to our
advertising budget. As well, many thanks to our season ticket
subscribers, those residents of our county who love to spend
a Sunday afternoon listening to amazing musicians giving
their all for their appreciative audiences. The support
of season ticket holders is what allows arts organizations
to continue to operate and thrive. We appreciate your commitment
and compliments very much.
Finally,
I would like to thank the men and women at Fire District
#13 who made available the Semiahmoo fire station for our
board meetings every month and who were always there to
assist with a smile whenever there was a question about
the operation of the facility.
Thank
you to all who made this season not just possible, but a
pleasure and a success. Thank you Blaine. And we hope to
meet more of you in August when the 2001-2002 season opens
in the performing arts center with the Four Freshman.
Donna Lee Elke, president
Blaine
Pet
pointers
The Editor:
And the winner is ... a bichon frise. Yes, a poofy
white ball of fluff pranced away with the best in show title
at the Westminster Dog Show last month.
If
the past is any indicator, there will be a rash of impulse
bichon purchases in the coming months. Bichons will be popping
up like jack-in-the-boxes in pet shops around the country.
But buyer beware: like any purebred dog, the bichon is susceptible
to a host of health problems, including chronic skin rashes,
bladder stones, ear infections and a neurological problem
that has been associated with parvo virus vaccinations.
Many pet store puppies are sick and unsocialized, since
the majority come from puppy mills, where animals are raised
in cramped, filthy cages and shipped off to the shops at
too-tender ages.
If
you are considering adopting a canine companion, take the
time to evaluate whether you are ready for a financial and
emotional commitment that may last for the next 15 years
or more. And please, rescue a homeless dog from a shelter.
There are many adorable, friendly nonpedigreed pups who
would be sure to win a prize if anyone ever decided to stage
a “Westmuttster” dog show. If you have your heart
set on a bichon, check the shelter – purebreds show
up at shelters every day – or with a bichon rescue
group. Whatever you do, stay away from the pet shops, whose
operators may claim they don’t buy from puppy mills
but when pressed, cannot say that they’ve personally
visited the facilities that provide them with puppies. If
you buy, a pound puppy will die. For more information, visit
HelpPuppies.com.
Heather Moore, of PETA
Virginia
The
Editor:
A message for Snowflake. I read your letter with interest
on Happy, Mitzy and other dogs roaming the neighborhood
off-leash and messing in other people gardens.
Tell
your human owners and theirfriends the best sure-fire method
to correct the bad inconsiderate habits of these human dog
owners is to pick up the dog in the street or in their garden,
then take the dog to the pound, or phone the pound to come
and pick the dog up. If the older humans have trouble catching
the dog, ask the neighborhood children to catch the dog.
Believe
me, this simple solution really works. Once word gets out
those inconsiderate humans soon became model citizens.
R. Petlock for Jimmy the watch dog
Blaine
Step
in to stop bullies
The Editor, parents & teachers:
During the last week I think we all have an opinion
about the school shootings and what the motivation was behind
the children’s actions. But as a mother of two in our
very own elementary school, dealing with their very own
peer pressures and problems, I can see very well how a child
can feel isolated and helpless. I feel this is the perfect
time to write this letter.
As
an example consider my daughter, an insulin-dependent diabetic.
Those children have no idea what she goes through. We have
lived here for two years and to this day she has kids telling
her “I hope you die” or “don’t touch
me you have germs”. She cannot stay over at friends’
houses because their parents are too “afraid”
of her illness and the responsibility. And she is very much
isolated.
My
son gets the brunt of it too, because he is her brother.
We have become a “blind” nation when it comes
to our children. Muchof it is our fault. We often are single
parents, or we are two parent, two income families, and
there is not enough time in the day to teach our children
the values and morals that we have grown up with and we
as parents have a lot of guilt.
We
hope that our teachers and school counselors are watching
out for our children, taking the necessary steps so problems
that may arise are noticed and brought to our attention..
But this is not the case. We as parents need to teach our
children to be aware of others’ feelings and emotions,
and how hurtful it can be to call them names and bully them,
how damaging it can be to their self -esteem. Teachers need
to do the same.
A question
to all of you, do you remember being picked on or having
no one to play with? Do you remember having no friends?
Do you remember feeling lonely and that you couldn’t
talk to anyone? If you don’t, you were one of the lucky
ones.
Teri L. Schuette
Blaine
SE2:
too many risks
The Editor,
I live in the British Columbia Fraser Valley. I am
an American citizen, born and raised in the Land of the
Free and all of my family lives in the U.S. My husband and
our children have lived in the BC Lower Mainland for 25
years and for the last four, in Abbotsford.
I can
never get enough of the spectacular scenery of this valley
- the checkered farmlands, the mighty Fraser River, the
surrounding peaks on three sides and the dominating face
of Mt. Baker. So, I have been enthusiastically involved
in the rallies and protests regarding the Sumas Energy Plant.
I am not a radical environmentalist; I am a parent and grandparent,
standing shoulder to shoulder with physicians, educators,
youth and business people from our city. We have been respectful
toward Americans in this issue. Why wouldn’t we be?
Your people and our people are at risk together.
It
doesn’t take an environmentalist to see the harm in
SE2. What about health? Thirty-eight percent of the Abbotsford
doctors who have responded to a survey state that they will
leave if SE2 goes ahead, and another 58 percent are considering
it. They are already overloaded with patients who have pollution-related
problems. Have you not considered your own people in Sumas?
Do you not value their health and their wellness?
We
know we have problems in this valley and we are dealing
with them! BC has implemented numerous programs to lower
emissions because of the unhealthy airshed. For example,
every vehicle must annually pass an “Air Care”
inspection at a cost of $24 per vehicle in order to be licensed.
BC Hydro has recently spent $200 million upgrading the Burrard
Thermal Plant and emissions have been reduced by 90 per
cent. Hydro has stated it will not build any new source
of energy in this airshed.
As
we have been powerfully reminded recently, we are in a seismic
zone. This plant would be built squarely on top of one fault,
and near a second. The valley is also at risk for floods.
The plant has no contingency plans for a quake or a flood.
I am
astonished that the environmentally astute Evergreen State
would consider this project for a stagnant, compromised
airshed, in a volatile earthquake area, and place thousands
of people at risk for monetary profit. And if that isn’t
enough, that some of my American kinfolk would discredit
Canadians in order to divide and conquer.
Marcyne Heinrichs
Abbotsford, B.C.
Letters
Policy
The Northern Light welcomes letters to the editor; however,
the opinions expressed are not those of the editor. Letters
must include name, address and daytime telephone number
for verification. Letters must not exceed 350 words and
may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality, length
and good taste. Thank-you letters should be limited to 10
names. A fresh viewpoint on matters of general interest
to local readers will increase the likelihood of publication.
Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters
will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding
names will be considered on an individual basis. Only one
letter per month from an individual correspondent will be
published.
Please
send your letter to:
225 Marine Drive, Blaine, WA 98230 or fax 360/332-2777.
E-mail:editor@thenorthernlight.com
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