Letters to the Editor

The Editor:
I am replying to Marilyn Vaux’s letter concerning incorporating Birch Bay. It is pleasing to see that our neighbors in Blaine have an interest in the future of our community.
In September 2004, the Whatcom County Council approved a comprehensive plan called the Birch Bay Community Plan. A number of subcommittees were created to carry out implementation. One of these was a governance committee of which I was a member. After seven months of meetings we recommended to the steering committee that the option of incorporation be studied for feasibility. Annexation to Blaine and remaining as part of the county, other options, were also discussed and examined.
This recommendation was accepted by the steering committee and the governance subcommittee was reconstituted into an incorporation feasibility subcommittee, of which I am also a member.
This subcommittee will carefully examine and study all aspects involved in order to reach a satisfactory decision.
My comments to these points are as follows: Recently, the population of Birch Bay has grown rapidly with the increase of mostly new permanent full time residents. Not all are retirees. Thus, the percentage of seasonal, part time residents is on the decline.
Our information differs from hers. She has a valid point and it will be given proper consideration.
All questions raised here are valid and will be addressed during the course of our feasibility study. We have already reviewed various aspects of public safety with valuable input from local past and present public safety management staff.
Police and fire services will be a high priority. The cost of these services is dependent upon the level of services our community desires.
One of the issues to be considered will be to establish “city boundaries.” It is my belief that neither BP-Arco nor Chemco will be within these boundaries.
The power Ms. Vaux refers to should be in the hands on the voting residents. My personal viewpoint is that through incorporation Birch Bay residents will have a greater voice in local matters.
Mickey Masdeo
Birch Bay

The Editor:
The Blaine Family Service Center will be closing for the summer and opening again August 30. We didn’t want to let the summer go by without sending a big thank you to our donors from this past school year. Cost Cutter has always been a huge supporter of our service center, with school supply drives and coat drives and they have shown this again with the bags of household goods and personal hygiene items that they prepared for community members to purchase and donate. Several community members and businesses donated money, school supplies, household goods or clothing.
This year we were fortunate enough to receive large monetary gifts from the Kellar Foundation, the Windermere Foundation, the Semiahmoo Ladies Club, the estate of Helen Stutzke, and some wonderful local churches. As well, a committee of people from St. Anne’s went on shopping sprees to stock our household supplies bank. We are very grateful for all contributions, big or small, and apologize if we missed mentioning anyone. Thank you to the community and we hope to continue to work with various groups to ensure we keep our doors open to service families in need in our school district.
Larissa Dhanani and Andree
Marcus
Blaine

The Editor:
On behalf of parents of the 2005 seniors, we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made the after-graduation party on June 10 a big success.
Almost the entire graduating class of 2005 participated in this safe and free event which involved busing the students to Vancouver, a cruise with a casino night, food, prizes and music.
Special thanks to our chaperones: Dan Persse, Autumn Carper, Dan DeLong, and Sherrie Vekved. More special thanks to Greg Avery (Cost Cutter in Blaine) for so generously donating frapuccinos and Gatorades for the entire class; Bonnie Onyon (Nature’s Path) for boxes of granola bars; Jeff Robinson (Totally Chocolate) for chocolate bars; Baker’s Breakfast Cookies (Bellingham), and Rosemarie & Dean Francis for cases of muffins, bagels and a variety of delicious pastries.
Due to generous donations from many local and county businesses and individuals, we were also able to give every student a prize that evening.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this an evening of memories and fun for the seniors, but also most importantly, a safe celebration.
Marta Kazymyra, Cynthia
Thompson, Kristi Galbraith &
Nancy Day
Blaine

A note from the publisher...

This issue marks the 10th anniversary of The Northern Light.Time has certainly marched on since our beginnings as a bi-weekly newspaper on June 23, 1995.
While the life of a community newspaper is often precarious, we have enjoyed the ride as we have observed and reported on the growth and changes in Birch Bay, Semiahmoo and Blaine.
We would like to express our appreciation to our advertisers who pay the printing bill, the payroll and medical and all of the other things that go into publishing a paper. We would like to also thank our employees, past and present, for being there when deadlines loom and catastrophe strikes. Finally, we thank our readers who make this all worthwhile.

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