Letters to the editor: May 4-10

The Editor:

On behalf of the City of Blaine, we would like to thank local residents for approving the recent 0.2 percent sales tax increase to fund streets and trail projects through a new Transportation Benefit District. Almost 73 percent of voters approved the idea, and we want you to know we are accountable to you for this vote

of confidence.

Regular updates on street and trail projects funded by the TBD will be posted to our website. We also encourage you to participate in public discussions about what projects should be funded as these

conversations unfold.

Exciting times are ahead for our city. We completed a Strategic Economic Initiative to prioritize city services and projects. The TBD was the first idea to come out of that process. In the year ahead, we will be looking at ways we can drive economic development, revitalize our downtown core and bring more people to Blaine for shopping, tourism and recreational opportunities.

Good transportation links are critical to economic development, and we believe the TBD is the first step toward this goal. It’s great to know the community is behind these revitalization efforts and we want to sincerely thank you for partnering with us on this effort.

Ravyn Whitewolf

Blaine public works director

The Editor:

Thank you for your support of the Blaine Community Blood Drive!

On Friday, May 5, your community blood drive registered a total of 22 donors. We welcomed one first-time-donor and congratulated two donors for reaching milestone gallon markers. We were able to collect 18 units of whole blood. Since each unit of whole blood is separated into the different components (red cells, platelets and plasma) your efforts will benefit up to 54 patients throughout the Pacific Northwest. The blood donations collected at the blood drive are critical to maintain a stable blood supply for surgeries, medical emergencies, and for supporting patients battling life-threatening illnesses like leukemia and other cancers

Thanks to all the donors who took time out of their busy day to donate blood as well as our sponsors and all who helped to get the word out. These are a few patients who recently received blood products from Bloodworks Northwest:

Each day, 800 people must donate blood to meet the needs of patients in hospitals. Your blood drive played an important role in helping meet that goal. The next Blaine Community Blood Drive is Friday, July 7. If you didn’t get a chance to rebook your next appointment and would like to, please call 800/398-7888.

Sasha Seiden, Bloodworks Northwest

Bellingham

The Editor:

 The annual Letter Carrier Food Drive will take place on Saturday, May 13, 2017.  Letter carriers across Whatcom County and the nation, will participate in the largest one day food drive of the year. Letter carriers hope to collect at least 6,000 pounds from Blaine Custer and Birch Bay area residents that day during the “Stamp Out Hunger Drive”.

“This food drive is critical to our food bank and the families we serve,” said Jerry Bladies, Blaine Food Bank executive director. Bladies said that one in six Blaine households visit the food bank regularly, and that visits have gone up by almost 30% since 2015.

It’s an easy food drive for anyone to join.  Letter carriers will pick up donations as they deliver the mail on Saturday, May 13.  They will be joined by many volunteers to help carry all of the donations back to the food bank.

We thank everyone for their continued support in this very worthy cause.

Jerry Bladies  on behalf of the Blaine Food Bank

The Editor:

The Whatcom Business Alliance sent an email in late April comparing “banning export of fossil fuels” out of Cherry Point to telling a pizza maker they could continue to make their same pizzas, but they couldn’t change anything else about their business. The proposed Cherry Point amendments to Whatcom County’s long term planning document are up for a public hearing and potential vote by county council on May 16, 2017.

The study included in those amendments does not ban export of fossil fuels. What’s more, even if the proposed study did find some legal ways the county council can limit negative impacts from export of coal, crude oil, liquefied petroleum gases, and natural gas above current levels, that certainly does not prevent Cherry Point industries from changing things about how they do business.

It just means, maybe, they won’t be able to expand shipping of types of “pizzas” out of our area made with certain ingredients discovered to be toxic to humans and animals, by way of vehicles that have proven to leak and explode in vulnerable and cherished neighborhoods that have been devastated by such events.

Please attend the public hearing on May 16, at 7 p.m. at 311 Grand Avenue, in Bellingham. The wonderful jewel of the historical, cultural and spiritual lands of Lummi Nation and the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve deserves our protection. Our care and support for this rich environment will provide the kind of foundation we can rely on for jobs and wellbeing for generations to come. Come early to get a good seat!

Dena Jensen

Blaine

The Editor:

I read with interest Mr. Masdeo’s comment regarding Canadian drivers.

I am in disagreement with him as I have found Canadian drivers to be very discourteous when driving, passing on the right, tailgating and not backing off for a right-hand exit.

Not only do I find them discourteous when driving but also in stores, crowding in on checkout, bumping into you when shopping, etc.

It really irritates me to go to a gas pump and see them fill up 5 gallon cans to take back to Canada.

If their gas is too high in Canada, that’s their problem. Do not come to the U.S. and use our gas, causing higher prices and using our product.

This is just a few of my pet peeves regarding Canadians.

Lyle Atchley

Custer