Letters to the Editor

A Plaine name for Blaine
The Editor:
Pure, plaine and simple. If you want to change the name of Blaine, how about Plaine? Plaine is straightforward; what you see is what you get. Plaine is: free from obstructions, open to view, unaffected, ordinary, simple with little decoration or ornamentation, not pretentious, pure.
And we can change our signage and letterhead by simply erasing the bottom half of the �B.� Let�s reclaim the honor of being Plaine.
Jackie Goodsir Pfeil & Jesper Pfeil
Blaine

Nice changes
The Editor:
The paper has never been better! In the last few months The Northern Light has been so upbeat, colorful, and just more interesting. We don�t know what the difference is but are really enjoying it more all the time. Perhaps it was the Gardening section as I am a plant addict or the News In Brief, as I am quite impatient with gossip and an overload of depressing news items, or maybe it is just all the color!
We have also had success with the classifieds both in selling and the services that have been advertised we have used.
Whatever is going on, we love it. Thank you so much.
The Furman family
Birch Bay

Sparkling Waters?
The Editor:
What is wrong with everybody?
Why would you want to rename the small town city, Blaine, that is often called home. Especially when the name may be changed to Sparkling Waters, all of the water around here is dirty, muddy and brown. Sparkling makes you think of nice blue water that sparkles and is pretty, the water here is nothing like that.
Blaine has been the name for 119 years, why change it? Blaine is home. Nobody wants Sparkling Waters, Mud Bay, Drayton�s Cove, or Drayton�s Harbor. All of the names people are coming up with suck. When I receive letters I like reading Blaine, WA 98230. If the city�s name changed then we would have to change the school�s name, the school mascot and other things.
I have three generations who have been to Blaine high school and I would like to keep it going. If we want more tourists then let�s put more things to do in the city Blaine. We should have stores to go to, activities to do, things for children and adults. To attract tourists we need to get more creative than changing the name of Blaine.
Meghan Schnackenberg
Blaine

Think before you decide
The Editor:
Okay � all the talk about changing Blaine�s name and speed limit is crazy. A rose by any other name is as sweet. And Blaine by any other name is still � Blaine. However, if a new name is a must, Drayton�s Cove has a ring to it!
And why raise the speed limit when people just cruise through town? Why would they stop? What do we offer? Empty store fronts, three or four taverns, no restaurants open past 10 p.m., empty gas stations and a half empty shopping center � heck, most of the locals shop in Bellingham, too!
Stop complaining, save gas and time, and shop in Blaine. People say Blaine needs revenue, yet they don�t shop at home. Odd how that works, yes?
As for attracting tourists, how about a theme for our community? Themes have worked for many out of the way towns, why not Blaine? Think of it - Winthrop, Las Vegas, Deadwood, and many more. How about the cozy welcoming Mediterranean fishing village of Drayton�s Cove or Blaine Harbor?
Massive lines and heavy wood storefronts, warm colors, Espalier figs and grapes � Renaissance style and carvings, baskets heavy with flowers at every corner (wait, we already have those), a lovely harbor full of boats. We already have rainy winters and sunny summers. So we could go far with this theme. Well, that�s my input and I won�t complain. But please, we live here, this is home, think before you decide.
Caroleeann Jenkins
Blaine

How about Quiggleville, Oxnard or Smackover
The Editor:
All of this debate over whether or not Blaine should change its name got me wondering how other moniker challenged towns in this nation fare, so I did a little searching. Mars, PA is home to M&Ms, so of course they are doing OK, as is Yeehaw Junction, FL, Rambo Riviera, AR, and King Arthur�s Court, MI. These towns have actually capitalized on their names and turned them into profit.
Gun Barrel City, TX is booming (no pun intended) as well as the other Texas cities of Ben Hur, Tarzan, and Lollipop. Unfortunately, Ding Dong, TX isn�t doing that great. Mississippi has taken full advantage of the water theme, having towns named Hot Water and Cold Water. But, of course, to get from one to the other, you have to go through Yazoo.
Fleatown, OH enjoys a strong economy thanks to agriculture and local industry, and in Beetown, WI they have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state as well as their schools being among the highest GPA in the state. All this in spite of the fact that the maximum speed limit in the city is only 25 mph!
All this to say that I guess it really doesn�t matter what the name of your town is. Towns either prosper or collapse based on the leadership, their long term vision, and their commitment to improve the quality of life for the citizens of the city. Besides, if we change the name in order to lure tourists, don�t we need something for them once they get here? It�s like sending out fancy party invitations and you haven�t even ordered the cake yet.
And for those of you who just plain don�t like the name Blaine, cheer up. It could be worse. You could be living in Quiggleville, Oxnard, or Smackover.
Steve Berndtson
Blaine

No spit gambling
The Editor & Mr. Galvin:
I can not, in my right mind imagine that any intelligent person on the Blaine city council will go along with - even contemplate - a casino at the Semiahmoo Resort on the spit.
Every morning, when I walk the spit, I wonder how in the world anybody in the first place could ever have approved a development such as the Semiahmoo Resort on our precious spit.
It should have stayed a wildlife refuge for our birds to enjoy, just as the Dungeness Spit on the Olympic Peninsula! However, what is done is done but let us not do any more damage.
I look at the lone eagle or sometimes two or three eagles, sitting in the old trees on the spit in the early mornings when I walk there and I tell him - soon you, majestic national bird of ours, have no tree to sit in, all because of human greed!
Please, please, Mr. Galvin, let not this happen! Sincerely, a citizen who deeply cares!
Karina Pratt
Blaine

A great loss
The Editor:
With the passing of Harold Dodd, this area has suffered a great loss.
In an era when larger corporations are bilking customers, ripping off pension funds, etc., here was a gentleman who cared for people and treated them fairly and with kindness.
Mr. Dodd was referred to in our home as �Uncle Bud.� As struggling young marrieds, we knew him first as our landlord (a very patient one, in fact) and then as a business person willing to extend credit when others wouldn�t. Many years later, our fortune having been made and lost, he was there again to help us back on our feet.
We are deeply saddened at the passing of Bud Dodd and we are extremely proud to have known him.
Ed & Jamie Armstrong
Blaine

Thanks for support
The Editor:
On behalf of the Birch Bay, Custer, Haynie and Blaine volunteer firefighters, we would like to thank the following businesses for making our furniture sale a success: WorldMark/TrendWest for donating the furniture, Yorkston Oil and Pan Pacific for donating a place to store and sell the furniture and The Northern Light for advertising our sale.
We would also like to thank everyone who came out to support us.
Todd Berge,
battalion chief Blaine station
Blaine

I'll go with...
The Editor:
I have followed with great amusement the running dialog in your letters regarding the name change debate. My, oh my, such heated debate in the light of more pressing issues facing this community.
Considering the candidates, Drayton Cove, the original name (in 1841), certainly conjures up a feeling of mystery plus history: a sort of secret hideaway where children romp on uncrowded beaches and uncover treasures in tide pools, where you can take a quiet walk or stop at a sidewalk cafe and sip a latt� on a flower bedecked patio. On the other hand, Plaine Blaine has no hint of lovely waterfront, no romance, no image other than truck crossings, gas stations, and empty storefronts.
A name change alone is no magic pill. It will not bring about unbridled growth � that takes hard work! (Imaginative marketing for one thing.) You don't even need to change the name of the schools because lots of cities have schools named after presidential candidates. (However, they usually choose winners.)
So, I have to vote for Drayton Cove with my apologies to all of you who only have roots of 100 years or less. Root rot can set in where fresh air cannot penetrate. Whatever happens, please, oh please, save us from Sparkling Waters!
Carol Kirkwood
Blaine

James Blaine is not a bad name
The Editor:
There has been some hoorah recently concerning the name of this burg. James Blaine is not a bad name. Mr. Blaine was a U.S. Senator, a Secretary of State and a presidential candidate. Plus, after retirement, he wrote a highly regarded book, �Twenty Years in Congress,� a brilliant historical still worth reading by history buffs.
Blaine is not a common name for a municipality; there are Blains in West Virginia and Kansas, and a lake by that name somewhere north of here. Blaine is easy spelled and pronounced, not as mind-blowing, say, as Cut and Shoot, Texas, Truth and Consequences, New Mexico, or Hell, Michigan. As a relatively new resident of the area and an old goatface, I surely am comfortable with Blaine on my good letterhead, even if it has little panache.
To me, it is far more important that the gendarmes are polite and efficient; that the streets are clean; that the public schools are no worse than average; that the water is potable; that it is located in lovely terrain close to the ocean and the mountains, and that is has quite an adequate senior center.
So what would be a more descriptive moniker � Corner City, perhaps? Phil Walrod
Blaine

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