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LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
The Editor:
Just a quick note to thank you for putting those issues of APB
on the web. We’re planning a visit next month up to Birch Bay
and Pt. Bob as part of school spring break for the kids. I used
Google as the search engine and found your website among others
to be informative, well-organized and in short, a pleasure to
read. Thanks for your time and for doing a great job of news reporting.
Ron Wang
Seattle
The
Editor:
I have lived in Point Roberts for the past 20 plus years. I have
seen our local work force of professionals, semi-pros and non-pros
come and go. I have hired some of them to do jobs for me. Most
came and did a great job, some came and did a lousy job, a few
didn’t show up at all.
I would like to tell you about a truly qualified professional,
Chuck Norwich, of Western Arborist Services, (945-0842). He’s
the tree man and an angel in disguise.
Here is my story. On February 16, I looked out to see a very large
cedar branch laying in the driveway. Looking up I saw what appeared
to be a whole big tree snagged. It was loose at the butt end,
just hanging there above my driveway and roof. Panic set in; who
to call? I was scared to death, I’m an old lady and I live alone.
I called 911 maybe they could help me.
John (sorry, I didn’t get your last name) arrived in the rescue
truck, with Nick Kiniski right behind him. Yes, it was awful
a potential for disaster, but no, they couldn’t take responsibility
for getting the tree top down, but they could contact the “tree
man.” By now, it was pitch black. I did talk to Chuck and he couldn’t
help me in the dark, but promised to come first thing in the morning.
The tree was right over my bedroom! They suggested I stay with
a friend.
I was alone again. It was a very long night. I was wide awake;
listening to every creak and crack in the darkness. Dawn was a
long time coming. When it finally did, I watched for the tree
man.
Finally, an average-sized pick-up pulled up, with ladders on both
sides. One average-size guy got out and came to the door. One
guy? Panic, panic.
But little did I know. Chuck looked up at the tree top and said,
“Yes, I can get that down.” Chuck loaded up his rigging gear,
and with his spurs climbed the ladder to tie off the butt end
of the tree. He had to be 40 or 50 feet up in the tree. Then he
went down to do the same thing across the driveway with the pointy
end of the tree. He had me come and look at it, and it was safely
tied up so it wouldn’t fall.
Can you imagine my relief? But it wasn’t down yet. Slowly, calmly,
safely, Chuck lowered the butt end a few feet; then the pointy
end a few feet; then the butt end again, then the pointy end,
a few feet at a time, until the butt end was on the ground. He
then cut a few feet off the end. He continued to lower alternate
ends of the tree until the whole thing was on the ground. What
a blessing!
All this took place before lunch. The icing on the cake was that
when Chuck came back after lunch, he brought his big chipper and
ground up those cedar branches. The only thing left was a little
sawdust in the driveway.
(These measurements are from Chuck 26 foot long snagged tree
top; 12 inches in diameter; weight 1,500 lbs; 40 feet high over
the house.)
This letter is in no way a knock to our local volunteer fire department.
They are all wonderful guys. I know they don’t have the equipment
or training to take a tree like that down, but they did the right
thing, and put me in touch with the “tree man.”
Thanks guys, you’re all angels in disguise.
June Keillor
Point Roberts
The
Editor:
The article in last month’s All Point Bulletin implied the U.S.
Registered Voters Association is circling the drain. We must not
allow this organization to go down. Perhaps it has come to be
taken for granted as people fail to realize its importance.
About 30 years ago residents of Point Roberts were declared “surplus.”
The International Joint Commission led us to believe they were
undertaking a study to resolve some of the many problems of those
who lived here. (At that time, we went through incredible procedures
in order to bring our goods through from the mainland). There
was neither a supermarket nor a bank here.
When the study was complete, we realized it had been done in order
to justify turning the Point into headquarters for an elaborate
international park system, which would include some Gulf and San
Juan islands.
The report stated that the problems of the Point was occasioned
by the fact it had a resident population and gradual reduction
and elimination of the population would solve the problems. In
other words, get rid of the people, get rid of the problem.
Some of us had formed the Community Association to represent both
Canadian summer folks and those of us who were permanent residents.
It quickly became apparent that government officials would not
listen to such a motley group. In desperate haste, we formed the
U.S. Registered Voters Association, which, along with the stalwart
island residents, fought off the International Joint Commission.
We were an entity which could go to county, state and federal
officials and represent the U.S. residents.
Over the years, this group has effectively spoken on behalf of
the permanent resident population and accomplished many positive
things. The former practice was to poll not only the members,
but all local registered voters to determine their wishes on major
issues. Unfortunately, that practice vanished. Periodically, a
group would take over and use the organization as a tool to bring
about their personal goals. Perhaps they come here and view it
as a small puddle in which to be a large frog. I believe they
have meant well. However, it appeared they have not understood
why there is such a group, and how important it can be.
It is not just a monthly meeting to attend. It is vitally important
that this organization be revitalized. We now have the larger
resident population I have always wished for the Point. It includes
some of the most interesting and capable folks one could find
in any community. The Voters Association needs you to come aboard
along with some ‘veterans,’ not just to keep it afloat, but to
charge future courses.
Ruby Gibson
White Point Roberts
The Editor:
The Dollars for Scholars spring fund-raising campaign is underway
and we’ve already had an initial response. A big thank you goes
to Delta Cablevision for their $500 scholarship. Thanks also goes
to contributors Sally Roberts, Don and Linda Frantz, Davea and
John Fisher, Louise Mugar and Pat Grubb, Midge Horan, Jess Lofquist,
Joan Roberts and Nick Kiniski and the Reef.
In addition, Dollars for Scholars is grateful to the Point Roberts
quilters, who have donated a hand made quilt and to the Point
Roberts Golf and County Club which has donated four rounds of
golf. Both prizes will be raffled off at a later time to raise
money for scholarships for students of Point Roberts. Our thanks
goes to all! Tax-free donations may be sent to: Dollars for Scholars,
P.O. Box 2168, Point Roberts, WA, 98281.
Davea Fisher
Point Roberts
The
Editor:
As professional archaeologists who regularly work in Whatcom County
and most recently on Point Roberts, we read with interest your
October 2002 article regarding the disturbance of ancient human
remains within the Maple Beach community. The confusion you noted
about the cultural resource process is understandable as Whatcom
County begins to assume greater responsibility for the management
of heritage resources.
State and federal laws are clear and specific: cultural materials
over 30 years old (state law), and 50 years old (federal statues)
are considered non-renewable heritage resources. In order for
federal, state and local agencies to comply with the existing
regulations, heritage resources must be dealt with in specific
ways and with great sensitivity. The Whatcom County Comprehensive
Plan requires county agencies to take more responsibility for
cultural or heritage resources than was true in the past. Goal
10E of the plan states that the county must “recognize Whatcom
County’s historical and archaeological attributes and identify
and encourage the preservation of lands, sites and structures
that have historical or archaeological significance.”
Most of the cities in Whatcom County have begun to comply with
this requirement and the specific policies contained within the
goal. For example, an engineering firm hired by the city of Lynden
by contracting with local archaeological/cultural resource consultants
to monitor excavation required the construction of new city water
tanks. At little additional cost to the project, the archaeologists
identified and documented a previously unknown and unrecorded
site area. The artifacts retrieved from this site area prior to
its destruction revealed how the city’s earliest homesteaders
had used the area in the 1890s. There was no delay of the project,
yet non-renewable historical information about Lynden’s early
history was recovered and preserved.
In addition to historical sites, there are numerous types of site
areas associated with the history of the First Nations people
of Whatcom County going back at least 10,000 years. These sites
range in size from small-scale resource gathering and processing
areas to large winter village areas covering several acres. Many
of these sites contain ancestral burials. Changing sea levels
and changing resource procurement and settlement patterns have
resulted in sites being distributed throughout Whatcom County
in a variety of elevations and modern environments. Euro-American
cemeteries and historic burials associated with homesteads, logging
camps and town sites are respected by the American public at large,
and are considered to be sensitive places deserving of protection
and documentation prior to development. First Nation communities
place considerable value in the site of their ancestors, and in
any burial areas associated with them. These sites also warrant
considerable respect. Heritage resources contain a considerable
amount of information about how our native and Euro-American ancestors
lived their daily lives and contribute much to our understanding
of our past and present. By nature heritage resources are non-renewable.
If the resource cannot be documented or protected, the information
is lost to us and to future generations and another piece of the
jigsaw puzzle goes missing. Even in a site where there has been
previous disturbance from grading, residential construction and
utility installation, intact deposits are often located. A considerable
amount of information regarding the age and use of a location
can even be gleaned from highly disturbed areas. For example,
we recently examined a property on Point Roberts where a house,
originally constructed in the 1920s within a shell midden area,
had been demolished. Even though considerable disturbance had
taken place on the property, ancient intact fire hearths and artifacts
left by First Nations people could still be seen in the floors
and walls of the foundation excavation. Historic artifacts were
also scattered about the surface of the property. Life in the
1920s is as foreign and exotic to our children as life 3,000 years
ago. In areas in the county, where many heritage resources are
known, such as Point Roberts, projects that will result in ground
disturbance will likely require a cultural resource assessment
as part of the permitting process. During an assessment, archaeologists
determine the potential of locating cultural resources on a property
and look for evidence of them on site. The assessment includes
consultation with local tribes and interested Euro-Americans in
an effort to respect and address their concerns. Where no heritage
resources are found, or are unlikely to be found, a report is
written and submitted to the property owner and the permitting
agency and the permitting and construction process proceeds (as
with a recent assessment on a property on Bayview Drive in Maple
Beach). If the project location is sensitive or if cultural materials
are found, efforts are made to rework plans to avoid or protect
the heritage resources.
For instance, fill material may be brought in to build on, or
septic systems may be relocated or redesignation order to avoid
intact cultural deposits. This often requires professional archaeological
monitoring of excavations to document previously unrecorded features
and artifacts. Typically this kind of work can be done in less
than a week. Salvage excavations like that at the pool excavation
at Maple Beach last summer are rare and expensive, and not the
preferred alternative for dealing with cultural resources. Early
consideration of heritage resource concerns in the planning stage
can save property owner’s time and money during a project.
The ultimate question in this process is the value of our collective
past, not who owns the land, or what you can or cannot do on your
property. Development and the consequential destruction of the
remnants of our past is booming in Whatcom County. With each project,
we lose more of what was left by previous generations. Each little
piece of local history we can preserve or document provides a
clearer picture of what life was like for earlier generations
in the county. This is a powerful legacy to leave future generations,
our grandchildren, and their children.
Jim Hale,
Cultural Resource Specialist Alfred Reid Archaeological Consulting
Bellingham
The
Editor:
I want to thank whoever found my necklace (collar) a few months
ago. I had been down to the beach and back and somewhere along
the way, my necklace fell off. My parents and I went back to look
for it the next day and we never found it, but several weeks later
we saw it hanging on our picket fence.
I was so excited as it had my name and address on it but also
my immunization record. In the meantime, I had to wear an ugly
blue one and that would never do. So I wanted to thank whoever
found it and returned to me and to let you know that I am fine
and wearing it daily! Thank you. Rosie Brownrigg (golden
retriever)
Point Roberts
The
Editor:
I am under the impression that the Wellness Clinic needs another
$25,000 in excess of what has already been donated to them. They
could move in to a building where the owner has agreed to pay
for all the remodeling. Instead, they want to move in to the firehall
and spend $35,000 for renovations, which they do not have.
This seems ludicrous to me.
Lawrence Crossetti
Point Roberts
The
Editor:
We can see spring has sprung and it is time to think about the
garden again. It’s like a fresh new beginning each year. With
the participation of our generous gardeners on the point from
last year’s garden tour, What’s the Point has been able to donate
funds to two worthy projects: the Point Roberts Wellness Clinic
and the Point Roberts Lighthouse Society.
The date (July 20) has once again been set for the 5th Annual
Garden Tour. An opportunity to share the exceptional beauty concealed
behind hedges and gates in Point Roberts with some folks who just
want a great excuse to take a leisurely drive around the Point.
(With the new van we may be able to work out a shuttle system
too). It also gives all those ambitious gardeners a deadline to
get their gardens up to snuff.
If you have a garden to share, we always welcome new participants.
Please call 945-5536. The proceeds stay in the community and we
encourage all to participate. Thank you again to all those wonderful
people who volunteered last year. It is a fun event.
Terrie LaPorte,
What’s The Point! garden tour coordinator
Point Roberts
Letters Policy
The All Point Bulletin welcomes letters to the editor; however,
the opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editor.
Letters must include name, address and daytime telephone number
for verification. Letters must not exceed 450 words and may be
edited or rejected for reasons of legality and good taste.
 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.
Thank
You letters should be limited to ten names.
Only
one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be
published.
Please send
your letter to: P.O. Box 1451, Point Roberts, WA 98281
or fax (360) 945-1613.
E-mail:editor@allpointbulletin.com
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