Briefs...

Cherries for Japan
The Blaine high school Wind Ensemble has been invited to perform at the 2007 Funabashi Music Festival in Funabashi, Japan, February 2007. To raise funds for the trip, the wind ensemble is selling an early crop of bing cherries from eastern Washington.
The shipment will arrive in Blaine on or around June 16. The students will be taking pre-sale orders prior to their arrival and all expectations are that they’ll go quickly, so get your orders in soon.
There will also be a stand setup and the students will be selling them in one or two different locations in Blaine.
The cherries come in 25-pound boxes and they will be pre-selling them by the box for $40. Cost by the pound will be $2.50.
Contact any student of the Wind Ensemble or Dorita Gray at 380-1634 for pre-orders. For further information, please contact Lauri Waslohn at 332-7081.

Flood insurance rates revised
A flood insurance study revision has been completed for Birch Bay. The project includes flood insurance rate maps showing areas that would be inundated by a 100-year flood in the flood hazard areas.
These maps are used by lending institutions and insurance agents to determine who is required to purchase flood insurance and the cost to provide it.
The people most directly affected by the study are those owning property or living in property located in flood hazard areas, which are subject to flooding from the ocean rather than storm water runoff.
Maps may be viewed by calling the Whatcom County Public Works River and Flood Division at 360/676-6876 to arrange a time to see them. Their offices are located at 322 N. Commercial Street, Suite 120, Bellingham.