Briefs

Class of ’57 to celebrate 50 years

The 1957 graduating class of Blaine high school will celebrate its 50th reunion next week with a series of social events beginning with a “getting acquainted again” social at 7 p.m. Thursday, September 13 at Paso del Norte, Mexican restaurant in Blaine.

Event organizer and past Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce president Genee Haws Kay said she has been organizing the annual event since the class’s 10th anniversary nearly 40 years ago.

‘It’s been really interesting,” she said. “We should have a good turn out and we’re thinking it will be a fun time for anyone who shows up.”

Other events include a sock-hop social open to Blaine alumni from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, September 14 at the old Blaine high school gym, a social and catered dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, September 15 at the Sandcastle Resort in Birch Bay, and a potluck picnic at noon on Sunday, September 16 at Birch Bay State Park. A “survivor’s breakfast” will follow Monday morning.

Reservations for the Saturday dinner are $30 and must be paid in advance.

For more information, or to RSVP, call 371-2819.

Border agencies seize cocaine at Blaine crossing

A Canadian woman will face federal drug smuggling charges after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) outbound inspection found a million dollars worth of cocaine in her car.

“We nailed ‘em,” said CBP public information officer Mike Milne.
Robbyn Blankinship, 29, is a Canadian citizen living in Vancouver who was returning to Canada on Labor Day when CBP officers searched her Ford Explorer and found 77 pounds of cocaine packed in and around the vehicle’s spare tire. She was arrested at the port and had an initial appearance in U.S. District Court on September 4.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is continuing to investigate the case.

“This case illustrates the bi-directional nature of smuggling along the U.S.-Canadian border here in the Pacific Northwest,” said acting port director Jay Brandt.

Milne explained that CBP officers intercept smugglers with bulk currency, marijuana and ecstasy as they enter the U.S. while Canadian inspectors pick up smugglers with “cash, cocaine and guns.”