News in Brief

A fine job was done
Blaine high school offers 10 advanced placement (AP) courses in a variety of subjects to challenge students to take college-level courses while in high school, and to receive college credit, advanced placement, or both, for successful performance on the AP exams.

AP Scholar with distinction is for students with an average grade point of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grade points of three or higher on five or more exams. They are Blaine graduates Travis Black, Andrea Klemmt and Brendan Mulholland.

AP Scholar with honor is for students with an average grade point of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken, and grade points of three or higher on four or more exams. Senior Lisa Wierzbicki earned this distinction.

AP Scholar is for students with grade points of three or higher on three or more AP exams. They are graduates Garrett Highley, Carly Hubbard, Danielle Johnson, Simranjit Kang, Jennah Makalai, Brian McCall, Steven Poitras, Cassie Revell, Thomas Schuman, Holly Steckler, and Dana Werdal.

A pretty hot club has formed
The Boys & Girls Club of Blaine is introducing a torch club. A charter small group leadership and service club for boys and girls, ages 11 – 13, a torch club is a vehicle allowing club staff to meet the special needs of younger adolescents at a critical stage in their development.

Members learn to elect officers and work together to plan and implement activities in four areas: service to the club and community, education, health and fitness, and social recreation. The torch club has chosen to help raise funds for the tsunami victims as their first project. Members will be washing windows of downtown businesses March 7 – 9 for donations. Please call the club at 332-3008 to schedule.

Time to slow down
In city council business, only the petitioner spoke at a public meeting to gather public input about whether a four-way stop is needed at the intersection of Semiahmoo Parkway and Drayton Harbor Road, and city council directed staff to come back with a resolution to enact the change.

“The real compelling reason for doing this is that it will slow traffic,” said city manager Gary Tomsic at the February 14 city council meeting. “The people who live in that area do not feel safe. It might be worth a try to see if this works.”

Semiahmoo resident Roberts Mims submitted a petition to council two weeks ago with the signatures of over 45 neighbors, asking the city to slow traffic as it heads down the hill towards Semiahmoo spit and the resort. “As they come to that hill they’ve got a full head of steam,” he said February 14. “They’re nowhere near the speed limit.” While the speed limit on Semiahmoo Parkway is 25 miles per hour, Mims said the boulevard design of the road encouraged higher speed. Walkers, runners and cyclists share the narrower stretch of road with vehicles on the hill down to the park and the trail system on the spit. “You’re a target,” he said.

Council member Bob Brunkow asked if there was traffic data to support the added stop sign. “From a traffic volume standpoint you wouldn’t put additional traffic controls there,” said city public works director Steve Banham. “Usually you would put them where traffic on the main route is so heavy, cross traffic can’t get across. That’s not the case here. You’re using it essentially as a traffic calming device.”

Brunkow also asked police chief Mike Haslip is there were enough accidents to bear out the perceived safety risk. “We don’t have a high frequency of collisions in that area but when they happen, it’s significant,” he said. “It tends to happen at the bottom of that hill and that’s really dangerous.” The county park and a daycare are both located at the bottom. Asked by Haslip if council members felt more patrols were needed Brunkow said enforcement should be targeted to certain times of day. “It’s tied to shift changes at the resort,” he said.

Council will consider the resolution for the extra stop sign and discuss other ways to slow traffic at that location at their February 28
meeting.