Letters to the Editor

Home, home on the net
The Editor:
It is nice to find my hometown online. It would be nicer to see less arguing about this or that and see more real news. How our school and town are growing together and not apart. We need more good news. I am asking for a dream but it can be done.
I sit here in Oklahoma where the cardinals are singing and it is greening. The pears are blooming. It is spring and it is time for new things to happen, not the same old stuff. Why not make this a better year by less arguing and more working together. I love my hometown. So from those of us who are elsewhere make us proud to say “Blaine is my hometown! and we are proud of it.”
Polly Mason – class of ’78
Eufaula, Oklahoma

Can I commute too?
The Editor:
I have recently been reading articles in the newspaper regarding the Nexus program and its implementation. It is my understanding that the residents of Point Roberts will be the first to apply for and get approval to this program, due to the fact that many of them must commute across the border for employment purposes. My question is this: Is there a way that other U.S. citizens who do not live in Point Roberts, but cross the border daily for employment can apply at the same time?
I am a U.S. citizen living in Delta and I work in Blaine and must cross each and every day also. I too feel that I should have the right to a faster access across the border before the onslaught of every previous Pace holder applies.
I currently sit in long line ups and have parked my car and walked to work many times. Is there something we can do if we have proof of employment for the purposes of crossing the border daily? Not all residents of Point Roberts must cross daily for employment, yet there are people like me who are U.S. citizens living elsewhere who are required to cross daily.
Is there someone who people in my situation can contact to try and make a difference in the processing of these applications?
Brenna Woronuik
Delta

Crabby softball success
The Editor:
The players and coaches of the Force Summer Softball team would like to thank all those who attended and all those who gave of their time and energy to make our crab feed a tremendous success.
Thanks to the Dakota Creek Roadhouse, the Rockerfellas band (Dave Chapman, Dave Swantos, and Tim Walter), Sea K Fish for cooking the crab and to Bob Briscoe for supplying the crab.
A great time was had by all and we will be scheduling another crab feed in the fall. Keep looking in The Northern Light for details and get tickets early.
One correction must be made in the article which appeared in The Northern Light on March 21 about the crab feed. The Dakota Creek Roadhouse did not give away free beer. A donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, purchased the beer as a thank you to all those that helped support the softball team.
Coaches Mike Dodd, Rob Adams, & Tim Walter
Blaine

Pointing fingers in Palestine
The Editor:
Our federal leaders and media have successfully demonized the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, and dehumanized the Palestinian people. Just last night a retired Army general on one of the talking-head cable news shows referred to Arafat as a “criminal and a thug.” With President Bush embracing one of the world’s most ruthless leaders in Ariel Sharon, Sharon has been able to twist the so-called war on terrorism into a quest to eliminate the Palestinian leader and destroy any possibility of a permanent Palestinian homeland.
Israel has occupied the West Bank and Gaza for the past 35 years.
Imagine suburban U.S. neighborhoods with Cuban soldiers at every street corner demanding identification papers from whoever they stop. Imagine school children caught in crossfire and killed just walking to school (if it is still standing). Imagine Cuban military tanks bulldozing your homes to the ground. Imagine yourself with nowhere to live, no running water, no electricity. Imagine 75 percent unemployment. Imagine Cuban citizens moving to the U.S. to live in Cuban “settlements” on U.S. soil. Imagine that the Soviet Union was supporting Cuba to the tune of about six to 10 billion dollars per year to carry this out.
This is what Israel has been doing to the Palestinians for the past 35 years and the U.S. had been paying for it. Israel practices apartheid and terror and no one in the U.S. is outraged. Children are being killed with weapons paid for by you and me.
Call your representatives in Congress and demand that all aid to Israel cease. Call and demand that President Bush tell Sharon to leave the occupied territories. Save the children.
Terry Pilant
Blaine

Shopping decisions
The Editor:
I would like to reply to Linda Lawrence’s letter regarding the servicing of Blaine police vehicles by a Bellingham firm.
Firstly, I offer my thanks to Linda for caring enough about what city government does to voice her opinion on this matter. Secondly, I would like to congratulate her for doing her research before she wrote her letter to you. Thirdly, I suggest that she discuss her point of view with chief Elfo: he could, then, enlarge upon the reasoning behind the vehicle maintenance in question being performed by a Bellingham firm, driving time notwithstanding.
While I realize that the Shop Blaine First program and the city’s decision to have some of its work done in Bellingham may be construed as double mindedness on the part of council, I wish to assure Linda that, given the facts as council understood them, chief Elfo’s decision to have the vehicles serviced by the Bellingham firm was correct and council did not dispute it.
As to Linda’s fear that the entire business community of Blaine will be plunged into bankruptcy by chief Elfo’s decision and that there will be nothing of it left for the police to patrol, I can only reply that this is an alarmist sort of statement, improbable, and not designed to produce any good.
Kenneth E. Ely
Blaine City Council

Letters Policy
The Northern Light welcomes letters to the editor; however, the opinions expressed are not those of the editor. Letters must include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters must not exceed 350 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality, length and good taste. Thank-you letters should be limited to 10 names. A fresh viewpoint on matters of general interest to local readers will increase the likelihood of publication. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered on an individual basis. Only one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be published.

Please send your letter to:
225 Marine Drive, Blaine, WA 98230 or fax 360/332-2777.
E-mail:editor@thenorthernlight.com

Letters Policy

The Northern Light welcomes letters to the editor; however, the opinions expressed are not those of the editor. Letters must include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters must not exceed 350 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality, length and good taste. Thank you letters are limited to five individuals or groups. A fresh viewpoint on matters of general interest to local readers will increase the likelihood of publication. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered on an individual basis. Only one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be published.

Please email letters to letters@thenorthernlight.com