Letters to the Editor

The Editor:
Thank you to those who attended the Sounds of the Harbor Concert. Your generous donations provided 450 pounds of food and over $400 in cash for the Blaine Food Bank. 
It is through these types of events that we are able to raise awareness of the 600 plus households that the food bank serves each month. 
Thank you to the city of Blaine for their active role in helping those in need. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Sheila Connors, president
Blaine Food Bank 
Blaine

The Editor:
I am writing to voice my concern about military recruiting in our public schools. While I support the rights of a volunteer military, I do not support institutionalizing involuntary recruitment practices. The No Child Left Behind Legislation automatically gives the military the right to take any student’s private information without any form of parental permission or notification! This snooping into student’s private school information needs to stop! There is an opt-out provision in the legislation, but rarely are students or parents informed of it. I encourage students and parents all over our state to send a letter to their school’s administrators asking them to keep their information private! A sample form can be found at www.militaryfreezone.org/opt_out.
Judith Lockwood
Bellingham

The Editor:
It is with much appreciation and gratitude that I write this letter. I’d like to thank each and every one of those caring and compassionate residents of Blaine and beyond who were touched by the MacLeod family’s struggle with Brian’s cancer. The funds were raised to send all three children to camp! I’m also happy and so touched to say that people chose to keep giving, even though they were aware that the goal for camp had been reached. The children now have much needed school supplies and clothing in addition to wonderful summer memories from camp. The MacLeod family has received inspirational cards and letters from their friends in the community, as well as people whose lives have also been affected by their battle with cancer. Thank you, old friends and new, in helping to make such a positive difference in the lives of the MacLeod family. On behalf of the MacLeods, Brian, Diana, Alexander, Clinton, and Kailey, and myself who is deeply touched, thank you. 
Gayle D. Staker
Blaine

The Editor:
Do you know a service man or woman deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan?
Operation Whatcom Homefront is looking for the names and addresses of servicemen and women with Whatcom County connections presently deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq. Since 2003, with the assistance of KGMI Radio and generous donations from the community, regular care packages have been and continue to be sent to troops who have ties to this area. Due to troop rotations our present list has shrunk and we would like to find more individuals to send out boxes to.
If you know a serviceman or woman presently deployed, please email us at whatcommilitary@yahoo.com; or write to Operation Whatcom Homefront, P.O. Box 32328, Bellingham, WA, 98228-4328.
Tom & Thelma Darling
Blaine

The Editor:
Airport supporters like Mike Myers, who is also a member of our city council, suggest that the airport will be good for Blaine because it will one day bring business to Blaine. Some people think the airport is bad for Blaine for various reasons including its in-town location. For example, this in-town location is OK for occasional small aircraft but a successful airport with bigger and far noisier aircraft downtown would be a negative for the city of Blaine.
I suggest that the city council gather all the facts and guesswork both pro and con. Condense this information into a short neutral document and publish it. And then put this matter on the ballot so the people of Blaine who are going to live with this decision for many years can vote on it directly.
This is a huge issue for the city of Blaine. It should be decided directly by the voters not their city council.
Tom Long
Blaine

The Editor:
I would like to thank you most sincerely for the many beautiful birthday cards and messages, phone calls, and gifts to all who attended my Bayview Drive, Point Roberts beach community and the Blaine and Whatcom County parties. It was grand to see all of you. I’m looking forward to the next decade!
To my wonderful daughters and nieces, thank you, I enjoyed it all. My love to everyone.
Virginia Wampler
Blaine

The Editor:
I wonder if central Blaine residents are aware of the important changes happening in Blaine? Take a walk or bike ride west on Alder Street and you will see an example of what could be in store. The old Westview Motel has been replaced by a solid wall of tall condominiums instead of low buildings with trees and water views between. Do you want the entire length of Peace Portal to be the same? Is it all right if harbor views, sea breezes and winter sunlight are the privilege of a few living along Peace Portal?
If an old building on your block is torn down, do you want to have a voice in what can be built in its place? Bike around town, making note of all the multi-family rental units. Do you think we need more in central Blaine? Would you like to have a four-plex or apartment building next door?
Now is the time to voice your opinion. During the next couple of months city planners and council will be updating the comprehensive plan which will spell out what can and cannot be done in our neighborhoods.
The moratorium on multi-family development is set to expire at the end of the year and already developers are pressing the city council to abandon it. Only by raising a strong united voice can we assure single family zoning for future development.
Attend the comprehensive plan town meetings and speak up! Central Blaine’s meeting is currently scheduled for September 6, 7, and 8. Watch the newspaper for times/places and any changes in schedule.
Write letters to the city council and planning director. Don’t let your silence or apathy allow people who don’t live here to determine the quality of life in your neighborhood.
Ann Olason
Blaine

The Editor:
I will make this letter brief and to the point:
1. Blaine airport has been a waste of valuable space and taxpayer’s money for 40 years.
2. The airport is located too close to our public schools; 40 years ago the high school was not in its present location.
3. The airport would have closed in the 1980s if it wasn’t for one of our local council members who was also a real estate agent was trying to sell the property to a grocery store chain.
The airport was saved then due to the obvious conflict of interest. But since then, city government has continually skipped over conflicts of interest situations. Members of council and planning commission officials continue to purchase property and change land use ordinances to benefit from city contracts or to inflate the value due to public funds being spent on improvements. This has resulted in the one remaining lot for sale now being double the original sale price.
Similarly, a few city officials view the airport as a cash cow, attracting function-related statutory grants in aid that increase its value; but ideally, the land, released from airport use, would become a determining factor in Blaine’s economic revitalization. This would benefit all of Blaine’s residents and not just those who operate the city government.
Joel Douglas
Seascape condos developer
Ferndale
 
The Editor:
A lot of people have come up to me and thanked me for helping out in the process of closing down the airport but to tell you the truth, other than writing a couple of letters and being interviewed by KVOS TV, I haven’t really spent that much time on the issue.
Long time local family names such as the late Budd Dodd, Ray Wilkett, Karen Evans, and Marlene Brown have spent well over 20 years attempting to get the airport closed. These are the people who have hung in there and fought a battle that I feel will finally be won for good by the end of 2006.
Airport commissioner Doug Fenton claims that only a few local residents care one way or another about the airport. I have personally called or spoken with 40 Blaine residents and 95 percent of them want the airport closed. Recently, the Semiahmoo political action committee surveyed 300 Semiahmoo homeowners and out of a response of 100 surveys, the result were six to one in favor of not spending any more money on the airport.
The FAA and airport commissioner Doug Fenton are giving misleading information on the $16 million expansion of the airport. They claim that there is little risk or cost to the city if the airport expands.
The truth is, if the city allows the FAA to purchase more land for the airport and make improvements valued at $16.5 million, and the airport proves to be nothing more than an expensive hobby airport, the cost to buy back the land 20 years from now would not be $16.5 million but instead the cost would be whatever the land is worth in 2025. This could be anywhere between $60 - 80 million!
In this week’s paper, you will find a survey that asks your opinion on the airport. Also, several local residents and businesses including Blaine Marina and Dennis Hill’s Semiahmoo Windermere office will be selling “No Airport” T-shirts will help educate the public about alternative uses for the airport. The cost of these T-shirts is six dollars.
I encourage everyone to fill out a survey, purchase a T-shirt, wear the shirt every Friday through November, and show Mr. Fenton and our city council that we can help turn 40 years use of prime city property benefiting 20 people, into 40 acres of unlimited potential for plenty.
Dennis Hill
Blaine

 

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