The Editor:
As we begin this holiday season celebrating our blessings of abundance, it is so easy to forget that far too many individuals and families in our community struggle daily to simply put food on the table. Our community never forgets. You are the heart and soul of the Blaine Food Bank and without you we simply would not exist.
The beginning of this year we were serving around 550 families each week. Today we are serving over 700 families each week, and that number increases at each distribution as new families seek our help. We are serving increasing numbers of people for longer periods of time as they face skyrocketing prices for food, fuel and housing.
These economic challenges have affected everyone, including us, as we face the same price increases as each of you. In addition, donations have decreased dramatically as everyone struggles with higher costs. We are in a perfect storm of increased need and decreased resources. We do our very best to carry families and individuals through these most difficult times, and without doubt, none of what we have faced and overcome would be possible without the steadfast support of our community.
Every year at this time we run our only fundraiser, the Matching Funds Campaign. The funds from this campaign are vital. They are used to purchase meat and egg protein in the upcoming year.
A generous and caring anonymous donor and benefactor has offered us $40,000 if our community matches that amount by December 17, 2023. Our community has never wavered in support of our mission to offer hungry individuals and families food for today and hope for tomorrow. We need your help to meet this goal. Our neighbors count on us, and we count on you.
Please help us if you can. We can’t do it without you. Donations can be made in person at 500 C Street, by mail at PO Box 472, Blaine, WA 98231 or on our website, blainefoodbank.org using a debit or credit card or through PayPal.
We thank you for caring and wish you all a blessed holiday season.
Sally Church
Blaine Food Bank operations manager
Blaine
The Editor:
Thanks for attending the city council meeting. I proposed that the council switch to requiring developers to adopt the Whatcom County recommendations for managing runoff instead of the antiquated city of Blaine building codes that allow “retention ponds.”
These “retention ponds” should be called “redirection ponds” because all they do is allow the water from roofs to run downhill to the next neighborhood. This is because there is a solid bed of clay 12 feet below all of Semiahmoo. There is nowhere for water to go except downhill. We have two lawns that have turned into quagmires, one next to hole 14, and one across the street on hole 16. My crawl space has become very wet. All this happened when the Woodberry development was built and they were allowed to put in a “retention pond.”
My other request is for city council to publish a revised evacuation plan for the city of Blaine. They are planning on allowing thousands of new homes to be built around Semiahmoo, and there is already not enough capacity for an evacuation. There are only two roads leaving this area, and those are only two lanes, and they both go over the railroad tracks.
The city of Blaine is broke and they are allowing new developments to be built without proper infrastructure, just so they can get more revenue in hopes that they can then put in the necessary infrastructure. Blaine needs to get the revenue and build the infrastructure before allowing these homes to be built.
How many people will have to suffer and/or die before Blaine takes the proper steps?
Rob Shiras
Blaine
The Editor:
I hope I may add something to the conversation about the Lummi Nation fishing in Birch Bay.
It was largely due to the Lummi Nation’s efforts that the Gateway Pacific Terminal, due to open in 2017, was stopped. It would have shipped 48 million tons of coal per year on trains running through Whatcom County, and would have coated Birch Bay, Drayton Harbor, and our lungs with coal dust. I thank the Nation every day for their efforts on this issue.
Jennifer Plombon
Blaine
The Editor:
I am writing to introduce the Keep Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 Political Action Committee and request your support for the upcoming February election.
The Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 (BBBPRD2) is a vital part of our growing community. With the current levy of only 10 cents per $1,000 assessed house value, BBBPRD2 is able to offer pickleball, afterschool programs, fitness classes, boot camps, as well as events like Wings Over Water, Pirate Daze, Holiday Lights Dash, and the Trick-or-Treat on the Berm, just to name a few!
The BBBPRD2 also offers financial support to other community groups such as Blaine Youth Sports and the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce. They have given almost $300,000 to local organizations! These programs and events benefit everyone. They support a healthy, active lifestyle, regardless of age, and they also attract visitors to financially support our vibrant community.
As Blaine and Birch Bay continue to grow, it is important to be conscious of what kind of place we want to live, raise our kids in and grow old in. An engaged, active population is a sign of a healthy community, and supporting BBBPRD2 is a fantastic way to ensure that continues. Keeping our current levels of support for Blaine-Birch Bay parks and recreation is one low-cost way to ensure Blaine and Birch Bay continues to be a place that we are proud to call home.
We are looking for help and support to spread the word about how vital BBBPRD2 is to our healthy, growing and active community.
Do you have time? Please consider volunteering with the BBBPRD2 PAC to spread the word.
Do you have financial resources? Please consider a monetary donation to the BBBPRD2 PAC. Do you have a story or a positive, personal experience with an event or activity thanks to Blaine-Birch Bay parks and recreation? Please be sure to spread the word. Speak to your friends, family and neighbors about what this organization means to you!
Questions or comments can be sent directly to bbbprd2_pac@yahoo.com.
Vanessa Rushing
Blaine
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