News in Brief

Drayton Harbor to open for shellfish harvesting
For the first time in almost 10 years, Drayton Harbor is open for shellfish harvesting. To celebrate the occasion, the Drayton Harbor shellfish advisory committee will be hosting an open house on Saturday, June 19 from noon till 4 p.m. at the Harbormaster’s conference room at Blaine Harbor, 235 Marine Drive.
In 1995, Drayton Harbor was partially closed due to bacterial contamination and in 1999, the entire harbor was closed to shellfish harvesting. After significant efforts by the community to combat the pollution, the shellfish bed has reopened. “We owe so much to our partners and the community for their efforts to restore water quality around the harbor and the creeks that flow into it,” said Geoff Menzies, chair of the advisory committee.
Along with a free oyster feed, attendees will learn about past and ongoing work to improve water quality and re-open the shellfish beds and how local residents can help keep the harbor clean for years to come.

Public works department to hold design charette for Marine Park water reclamation facility
Progress continues to be made on a sewage plant as the Blaine public works department will be holding two meetings next week on the conceptual design of how the plant would work within the park.
Attendees will include members of Blaine government, Port of Bellingham and city leaders and is being hosted by the public works department. The first day will involve reviewing the master plan for the Marine Drive area and then brainstorming on design concepts for the sewage plant and the improvements to the specific areas of Marine Park. The second day, the group will be looking at concept sketches based on the previous day’s work.
“We hope to provide a vision for the community on how the sewage plant can be incorporated to the park in way that would enhance the park, not detract from it,” said Steve Banham, Blaine public works director.

Collision shuts down I-5
Two Vancouver, B.C. residents were transported to hospital after an intoxicated driver collided with three other vehicles, subsequently sending one of them into a Blaine police car parked nearby, shutting down both lanes of northbound traffic on Interstate 5. The collision occurred near the Peace Arch on May 17. The Portland, Oregon driver was exceeding the speed limit at the time of the collision and was arrested by the Washington State Patrol.