Letters to the Editor

The Editor:
Well, here goes the absent-minded council again spending your dollars in huge amounts to fund an airport for the benefit of 12 big boys and their toys which the majority of people in this town see as a colossal waste. The airport should be used as an industrial park to bring much needed jobs to the working people and their children if Blaine is going to have any future of retaining our youth here for the future.
Also, the council is awarding money for the boardwalk when they are about to face a legal lawsuit over conflict of interest by members of the council and planning commission and they are doing it without the vote of the people, the majority of whom do not want the boardwalk and see it as another waste of taxpayer funds.
Also you have the finance director saying that she has already received her budget projections for funds because of all the housing starts, and instead of giving the people of Blaine a tax break on sewer rates they raise them.
Hey! People of Blaine, when are you going to start to get angry enough to get rid of the pinheads that are ruining your city – none of who know how to run a coffee stand, let alone a city.
David White
Blaine

The Editor:
Although I had originally decided to “let sleeping dogs lie,” and not respond to Mickey Madseo’s reply to my first letter, I feel compelled to answer his comments. I can only hope that in his future information gathering he does a better job than in the past.
I am not now, and never have been, a resident of Birch Bay Village. If he had read my original letter more closely and not misconstrued the information, he would have found that, yes, my address is Blaine, which is absolutely correct as there is no Birch Bay, and that I have lived 35 plus years at the south end of Birch Bay. If my sense of direction is correct, Birch Bay Village is definitely at the north end of the Bay. Furthermore, it does not bother me one iota to list Blaine as my address. Our children were raised here and graduated from Blaine schools. I have nothing against Blaine. Mr. Madseo seems to know more about where I live than I do!
I can understand, however, that a post office in Birch Bay would be very handy and a Birch Bay address would then be in order. Birch Bay does not need to be a city to have a post office. Acme, Deming, Lummi Island, Maple Falls and Point Roberts are not cities, but they all have a post office. Perhaps there are others that I am unaware of.
As I will reiterate, the purpose of my letter(s) is to be sure that all voters who live inside and outside the Birch Bay area will have correct, unbiased information – both pro and con – to all voters including the 60 percent who live outside the Birch Bay area. Also, many taxpayers have multiple properties; with six properties, would they have one vote or six?
If my memory serves me correctly, there was an article in the Bellingham Herald just recently describing a new shopping center in Ferndale. A number of individuals were against it, however, the Ferndale city council is leaning toward approval since it would “provide additional tax revenue to the city.”
Marilyn Vaux
Blaine

The Editor:
The article published in last week’s The Northern Light called “Turn off the Tap,” said we were using more water than the district can produce. How are they going to handle the thousands of new living units being developed in Blaine and Birch Bay? Will there have to be water rationing? How much more will all users have to pay for more wells? These are questions that need to be asked of the city council and Birch Bay Water and Sewer District. Do we need a halt on building, until there are some answers?
Dennis Coe
Birch Bay

The Editor:
Will the people in favor of the Blaine airport learn from the tragic accident that occurred recently in Renton, Washington? One plane crashed on the roof of the school, killing the pilot and passenger. Imagine if this occurred when the school is full of students and the plane blows up on impact. What about our school or the houses that are in the flight path – how do we protect them from incidents? The city’s responsibility is to the whole community not only a few pilots.
Mayor Liebert recently asked Don Nelson, Nelson Aviation and airport commissioner, if he ever had a near miss, his reply was never. I am happy for him and must say that this is quite unusual. I have had one that I will never forget and the pilots I have spoken with all seem to have a story to tell. The second plane involved in the Renton accident landed without fatalities. The pilot has 23 years experience including commercial flying. Accidents do happen.
Smaller airports, especially without a tower, are dangerous. Inexperienced pilots and/or Sunday pilots will gravitate towards small airports, as most of these pilots don’t want to deal with tower control as it requires more attention, work and experience.
Let’s remember Port of Bellingham communications manager, Carolyn Casey’s, remarks about the pros and cons of accepting federal airport development funding: “once you accept this money you need to stay an airport forever and you can end up kind of boxed in.”
Would it not be easier to deal with the airport leases than with possible loss of life?
Nicole McCaig
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