News in Brief

Banner Bank collects nearly 250 pounds of food
Banner Bank�s Whatcom County branches are pleased to announce reaching their goal of collecting nearly 250 pounds of food during Banner�s July 21-26 food drive. Banner Bank�s matching donations total $398. Proceeds from the food drive go to food banks in Blaine, Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden and Point Roberts. The food drive is held during the summer months, when free and reduced-fee school meals are not available and the resources of homeless and low-income families are stretched extra thin.

Hughes Avenue railroad crossing closed two days
The Hughes Avenue railroad crossing will be closed approximately 8 a.m. on Monday, August 18 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 19 to allow Burlington Northern railroad crews to make truck repairs. The Bayview Avenue crossing, currently closed, will be temporarily reopened to accommodate detoured traffic during this scheduled repair. Questions or comments about this work should be directed to the Blaine public works department by email at pwmail@ci.blaine.wa.us or by phone at 332-8820 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

WSDOT open house to discuss truck crossing
The Washington State Department of Transportation will be holding a project open house and access hearing concerning the Truck crossing and international boundary improvement project on Tuesday, August 26. The hearing and information will be held at the Blaine Performing Arts Center at 975 H Street, and the public open house will be held from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. and the access hearing from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, call Brad Shinn, public outreach coordinator, at 202/269-0229, ext. 14.

Lady Washington to dock on Tuesday, August 19
Washington State�s tall ship ambassador Lady Washington will be docked in Bellingham on Tuesday, August 19 through Sunday, August 24, 2003. Her grand arrival sailing into Bellingham Bay is scheduled for 3 p.m. on August 19 and free dockside tours will be from 4-6 p.m. Launched in March of 1989, Lady Washington is a full-scale replica of the first American vessel to explore the Pacific Northwest coast. She is owned and operated by the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport with the purpose of providing living history programs for schools and the public. Her homeport is Aberdeen, Washington.
Built primarily of old-growth Douglas fir, this full-scale replica is the largest fully-square rigged sailing vessel on the west coast. Certified by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry passengers, the new Lady Washington is as close to the original as historical records and Coast Guard regulations allow. Dockside tours will be $3/adults, $2/senior and student, and $1/child, or $7/family. Sailing tours will be $40/adults, $20/child. For reservations and information, call 800/200-5239 or visit online at www.ladywashington.org.

Birch Bay sees 1.2 million gallon water surplus
With last week�s rain and decreased water demand, the Birch Bay water and sewer district (BBWSD) was able to get 2.8 million gallons in storage. The district is required to have 1.6 million gallons in storage, so it now has 1.2 million gallons in surplus. �Thanks to voluntary conservation efforts on the part of its customers, with a timely assist from the weather, BBWSD has been able to rebuild water storage to levels that should be adequate to meet demand through the rest of the summer,� Brown said. Earlier in the summer, demand grew rapidly, setting weekly consumption records for four consecutive weeks, finally exceeding 10 million gallons in the last full week of July.