News in Brief

Birch Bay Spring Community Cleanup
Birch Bay will be holding its annual cleanup and Earth Day celebration to clean up unnatural objects on the beach and road sides. Meet on April 26 at the C-Shop at 9 a.m. for coffee, donuts, hot chocolate, area assignments and trash bags. Bring gloves. There will be a free hot dog roast at the state park upper picnic area from 12:30 - 2 p.m. for volunteers. This event is sponsored by the Friends of Birch Bay State Park.

Chamber director announces retirement
Larry S. Colby, executive director of the White Rock-South Surrey chamber of commerce has announced his retirement effective July 31. The chamber will immediately start a search for a new Executive Director through newspaper advertising and Tourism B.C. The chamber executive will interview job applicants and make a recommendation to the board of directors to hire the new Executive Director before Larry leaves for a smooth transition. �It is about time for me to really retire and spend more time with my wife and family,� Colby said.

Sterling Savings to deliver tax lunches
Sterling Savings Bank will again be serving lunches to local tax businesses on April 15, tax deadline day. The staffs of Larson Gross, Donald Starr, and Dan�s Mobile tax service will be served lunch courtesy of the bank.

West Nile virus discussion set
There will be an open discussion on the risks posed by West Nile virus, with an emphasis on prevention, at 7 p.m. this evening at Everson McBeath Library in Bellingham. Todd Murray and Dr. Paul Goff, two Whatcom County experts, will lead the discussion. West Nile virus was first discovered in 1999 and within the last few years has spread across North America. In November, a horse in Whatcom County became ill with the virus. The event is sponsored by Friends of the Everson McBeath Library. For information, call 966-5100.

�Be Kind to Animals� poster contest
The Whatcom Humane Society�s second annual Be Kind to Animals week kids poster contest is here, and this year�s theme is why animals are special. Children in grades K-2, and 3-5 are encouraged to be creative, and use paint, pictures, markers, and other artistic elements to design a poster. Grades K-2 and grades 3-5. Each poster should have your full name, grade, age, mailing address and telephone number. Posters should be the size of a large piece of construction paper. First, second and third place winners in each age category will have their poster displayed at the Whatcom Humane Society for one year. First place winners will also have the opportunity to appear on Petwatch, the WHS weekly television show to showcase their winning poster. Posters must be received no later than Wednesday, April 30. Winners will be notified during Be Kind to Animals week, May 4 - 10. Mail or bring your poster to Whatcom Humane Society � Be Kind to Animals Week poster contest, 3710 Williamson Way, Bellingham, WA 98226.