Letters to the Editor

The Editor:
The Interfaith Coalition Coat Drive and distribution, which ended a little before noon last Friday in the rain, was a howling success! (Well, the wind was howling, anyway.) At the start of the distribution in front of the Blaine Food Bank on Tuesday, there was nearly a full truckload of coats, including 84 children’s coats that were purchased by three churches: St. Anne’s, Grace Lutheran, and Christ Episcopal. By Friday noon only three small children’s and about 20 adults’ coats were left. Thanks so much to the many people who donated coats, blankets and knit hats, to the churches of Blaine who collected and brought them, to the volunteers who stood out in the weather for hours to sort them and hand them out, and to the Blaine Food Bank for letting us hold the event on their front porch.
Know that because of your generosity and caring, there will be many children and adults in our community who will be able to keep warm outside this winter.
Brent Brentnall
Director
Community Assistance Program
Blaine

The Editor:
Oh dear, it’s fear if all else fails. Airplanes and numbers can be lumped or categorized. Straight from the horse’s mouth. The National Transportation Safety Board has all official records of aviation accidents and incidents. Those statistics can be had by all and interpreted by whatever colored glasses we look through. There were 1148 general aviation accidents this year through September. What about the 55 of those that were involved in aerial application, categorized under general aviation, one example: crop dusting? It’s good to know we are a little safer by not living in some farmer’s field.
In the last 10 years, 69 people on the ground have died by a general aviation plane hitting them. Online references are available at www.ntsb.gov/aviation/stats.htm then go to table 10. Take the difference between the total and aboard fatalities and you have the ground collateral damage.
Each and every year there are 40,000 deaths by auto; and 15,000-plus are murdered. Around an airport I would look more to the horizontal than the vertical to keep alive. Let’s watch out for the banana peel; a slip would be pedestrian error. All airports have a traffic pattern; and Blaine aircraft stay to the east of the airport if that is their destination and there is no pilot error.
P.S. Try a sailplane, there are two clubs at the Arlington airport, they’re beautiful. You may crash, but not crash and burn!
Steele Brownlee
Blaine

The Editor:
On behalf of the Whatcom Volunteer Center, I’d like to thank the 1,000 people that gave back to the community on Make a Difference Day. For this annual day of volunteering, local residents came out in force to work on 50 projects for over 40 non profits. Service groups, scout troops, students, families, employee groups and volunteers of all ages put in almost 4,000 hours in just one day. They helped restore a streamside in Ferndale, did environmental restoration in Birch Bay and Acme and cleaned up the beach near Gooseberry Point. Others brought their pets to seniors in assisted care facilities, put the finishing touches on a center for kids with disabilities and knocked on hundreds of doors for a canned food drive. Our community is cited as a “top 10” place to live for a number of different reasons, but the one we observe the most at the Whatcom Volunteer Center is that people give back and ask nothing in return for it. Thank you volunteers, you are truly remarkable.
Daniel C. Hammill
Bellingham

The Editor:
I applaud the Blaine city council members for approving the upgrade to the Blaine airport. With this upgrade the Blaine airport will be a safer airport. The new runway will be south of where the existing runway is. The airport traffic will remain on the east side of the runway, away from schools and city center. My belief is, with this expansion the Blaine airport will be a very positive economic force for the community as opposed to a questionable one.
My wife and I are two of the many folks who were attracted to move to Blaine by its many amenities. The school system, boat harbor, parks, library, golf courses and airport all make this a very desirable place to live.
My wife and I are both airline pilots approaching retirement and while we have never taken off or landed at the Blaine airport it was still one of the amenities that attracted us to this community. We hope after we retire to buy an airplane and fly out of the Blaine airport.
To me, having a “local” airport is just as valid as having other “local” community facilities – parks, marinas, markets, churches and even this “local” newspaper. I am sure most of the things I need or enjoy could be supplied from Bellingham and I can always read about Blaine in the Bellingham Herald, but that isn’t why I moved here. To make our city more attractive, we should add to what it offers, not toss away valuable infrastructure like our airport.
The sad part for me in watching this “airport controversy” has been in seeing the failure of the current airport users to keep the public informed of the benefits of having an airport in the community until it was almost too late.
This lack of understanding of the value of an airport has resulted in an opportunity for people with questionable agendas to come in and spread false information and half truths. I believe for the expanded airport to truly be judged a success it must provide a more tangible benefit for a larger percentage of the community.
Bill Morin
Blaine

The Editor:
At this thanksgiving and harvest season, many of us at the Blaine Senior Center would like to express our gratitude toward the city of Blaine and the individuals who made it possible for us to have a vegetable garden at the 7th Street garden on G Street this summer. The garden provided meaningful activity and nutritious produce for seniors, only a half block away from the center.
Thanks to Jane and the other woman who helped organize the spaces (we’ve lost contact with them now, so please call if you can re-connect with us!) Thanks to the city for the land and rototilling and to Cost Cutter, Haggens and Van Wingerden Nursery for donating plant starts. The seniors really dug into this project and we are looking forward to an even bigger garden next summer.
Turtle Robb,
Activity programmer
Blaine Senior Center

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