Letters to the Editor

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

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 are limited to five individuals or groups. 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 email letters to letters@thenorthernlight.com