Around the Bays

Memorial exhibit scheduled Monday
The Bellingham and Seattle chapters of Veterans For Peace will sponsoring a traveling exhibit honoring fallen U.S. soldiers in Iraq this Monday at Blaine’s Peace Arch State Park.

This year’s event, fashioned after the Arlington National Cemetery, and endorsed at the national level by Veterans For Peace as well as Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), is a memorial dedicated to the men and women lost during Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Iraq Occupation.

“Iraq Veterans Against the War supports Arlington Northwest in its efforts to bring awareness and exposure to the price our country has paid and a chance to reflect upon the roles we all have in the US Military aggression in Iraq,” said Garett Reppenhagen, a former cavalry and scout sniper with the1st Infantry Division and Chair of IVAW.

A memorial ceremony at the Peace Arch will be conducted at 2 p.m.
For more information, call John Chadwick, 371-4434 or 739-4702.

Local public safety officers honored
Two Blaine public safety officials will be honored at a Birch Bay function this Saturday.

Blaine police chief Mike Haslip and Northwest Fire and Rescue service chief Tom Fields will receive honorary plaques for their community service, along with Ferndale’s fire chief Gary Russell and police chief Michael Knapp.

The event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion Post 86 on Birch Bay-Lynden Road in Birch Bay and coincides with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) 60th anniversary, said organizer Alfred Shaulis.

“We’ll also be awarding three to four 60-year pins for volunteers of the VFW,” he said. “We’re honoring their community services of the police department and also of the fire department, especially during the time of parades and things of those nature, they’re out there with traffic and firetrucks and such.”

For more information, call 332-8317.

ALS golf tournament seeks sponsors
Organizers for the Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club’s annual ALS golf tournament is seeking corporate and individual sponsors for their July 20 golf tournament, silent and live auctions, gala and dinner.
The ALS Association is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. If you would like to receive a Sponsorship Package, contact Bob Beaupré at 371-5968, Marcia Butler at 371-0879. During its first three years, this event raised a total of $811,000 – thanks primarily to the support of Whatcom County businesses, the generous Semiahmoo community, friends of the Beaupré family and the sponsorship of the Semiahmoo Resort.

Proceeds from the event will be donated to The ALS Association – Evergreen Chapter in Kent to provide funding for many much-needed care and research programs.

City introduces Yard of the Week award program
The city of Blaine has formed a new committee to award homeowners for beautiful landscaping and gardens in Blaine neighborhoods. Blaine tourism development coordinator Debbie Harger said the committee is looking for nominations from the community for remarkable yards and gardens in Blaine. All types of gardening efforts including container gardens, flower boxes, vegetable gardens, rock or water gardens, or any type of landscaping that creates beauty visible from the street will be considered.

The committee will perform a drive-by tour of the yards that are nominated to select the yard of the week. The award winner will be honored with a Blaine Yard of the Week sign, a certificate.

There is also a possibility of a 2008 Blaine is Beautiful Calendar or poster with photos of the award winning yards. All nominees will also be acknowledged. The awards will be presented the first week of June and continued through the last week of September.

The Blaine is Beautiful Committee members are Laurie Hart, Kathleen Capson, June Auld, Sue Cushman, Belle Rucker, Blaine Councilman Bruce Wolf and Blaine Community & Tourism Development Coordinator Debbie Harger.

To nominate a yard or garden, contact Debbie Harger at 543-9982. Yard of the Week nomination forms can also be downloaded from the city’s website www.cityofblaine.com or forms are available at city hall and the visitor information center.

By Tara Nelson