News In Brief

City to hold sewer meeting April 3
The city of Blaine is holding a meeting about the sewer treatment plant in an effort to provide the public with information regarding its current condition and capacities, as well as future plans. Public works director Steve Banham, city manager Gary Tomsic, and community development director Terry Galvin will be on hand. The meeting is scheduled for April 3 at 7 p.m. at the Blaine senior center on H Street.

NEXUS hours expanded at Peace Arch
NEXUS hours have been expanded southbound at the Peace Arch crossing, and are now running from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. Northbound Peace Arch hours are still noon to 8 p.m. Pacific Highway hours remain the same; southbound is noon to 3 p.m. and northbound is 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

BP: $110 million for new facilities
BP announced plans last week to invest over $110 million on new clean gasoline facilities at their Cherry Point refinery. With the addition of these facilities, the refinery said it will produce gasoline that exceeds all current and impending gasoline quality regulations. �BP�s low sulfur fuels are considered cleaner fuels because they enable a car�s catalytic converter to work more efficiently, reducing nitrogen oxide emissions,� said John Anderson, BP clean fuels project manager. Locally, the project will employ approximately 600 skilled workers during the peak construction period and create nine new full-time jobs at the refinery. The BP Cherry Point Refinery, the largest refinery in Washington state, is the third largest on the west coast and produces 3.5 million gallons of gasoline per day.

Campbell trial set for June 9-10
The trial of North Whatcom Fire and Rescue Services fire chief Mike Campbell has been set for June 9 and 10. Campbell was charged with second degree child molestation and rape of a child in the second degree, according to county prosecutor David Graham. He was arrested last October on the suspicion he raped a young girl while he served as the Point Roberts fire chief. The rape is alleged to have occurred in 1999, when the then 13-year-old girl was visiting Campbell�s home in Point Roberts. �Mike is still on administrative leave, without pay or medical benefits,� interim fire administrator Dave Crossen said. �At the current time the board is waiting to see what the trial outcome will be.�

Birch Bay Village holds special meeting
A special meeting will be held between the residents of Birch Bay Village and the its board of directors on March 28 at 7 p.m. Some howeowners are concerned with the actions of the board, including freedom of speech at meetings and the legality of by-laws. They are seeking the removal of the board. Birch Bay Village is a gated community which owns and maintains its facilities.

Special Alzheimer program at Stafholt
The Alzheimer Society support group of Washington and Stafholt Good Samaritan Center will host a free program on Alzheimer�s and related memory loss issues on April 2, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Stafholt Good Samaritan Center chapel. Madaleine Lippert, the educational coordinator from the Alzheimer�s Society of Washington, will moderate the panel and field questions from the audience. Persons concerned with memory loss, caregivers of persons with memory loss and interested family are encouraged to attend. For additional information call 1-800-493-3959.

New sign in downtown Blaine
A stop sign was recently placed at the intersection of H and 3rd streets, making it a four-way stop.