LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Editor:
In reference to Al Carver’s letter in the March All Point Bulletin, regarding Mr. Richard Craddock and his “sheep sheds,” I would like to take exception to his view.
Mr. Craddock provides a valuable service to Point Roberts by providing storage. U.S. residents cannot store goods in Canada. I recently found this out by trying to cross the border with a load of goods bound for a storage unit in Richmond.
As for the noise, Mr. Carver should stand on APA Road some evening and listen to the speeding cars and one in particular that passes by with $3,000 sound system in a $500 car with the woofers blasting out 1,000 watts. Wakes me up every night.
People in Point Roberts need storage and Mr. Craddock provides this service.
Jim Marshall
Point Roberts

The Editor:
I used to dream of the Point having a larger resident population. That dream has been realized, and many capable, interesting folks have discovered this special place. The adjective “unique” has been too often applied, usually referring to our geography. The unique thing about this community is that we each choose to live here. Absolutely no one must do so.
When the voters list numbered less than 100, most of us were active in the voters’ association. We had founded it in a desperate and successful effort to fend off the International Joint Commission. It had decided “a gradual reduction and elimination of the resident population” would resolve any problems. This organization is the only local group which can represent us when county, state, or federal governments take actions which affect us.
After polling all the voters, it was apparent there is dissatisfaction with the local post office. Members of the association continue to pursue this matter, despite lack of cooperation by district officials. Meanwhile, some local accommodation has been made.
I wish you new residents would familiarize yourselves with the group and participate in its activities. It was an active, effective group with a handful of resident voters. Surely now there are more than 700 on the current voters list, the membership should be growing. This group is your voice. We old timers need to pass the torch to you.
Please accept it by attending the annual general meeting in April and becoming members.
Ruby Gibson White
Point Roberts

The Editor:
Have you ever longed to make your very own original two and a half by three and a half inch trading cards? Probably not, probably don’t even know what trading cards are, unless we are talking about baseball: not!
Artists trading cards are little works of art: never to be sold; only traded, made by anyone who ever felt in the mood to draw, paint, collage, stamp. quilt, bead, smith or whatever other medium you have in mind onto a stiff backing (two and a half by three and a half inches, remember?) The movement started in Switzerland in the 1990s and has now spread all over the world. You can trade cards in Paris, Los Angeles, and Vancouver, on the internet and by snail mail. And on Saturday, May 7, you can trade them in Point Roberts at the Blue Heron Gallery, from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Kids do them, professional artists do them, crafters do them, quilters do them, weekend artists do them. We hope everyone who has read this far will do them too and will come to the Blue Heron for a trade. Everyone welcome (even if you just want to watch). From now until then, there will be a book of cards that I have made and cards that I have traded if you want to get a sense of what I’m talking about. Or google “artists trading cards” and see the web presentations. For more information, contact me at judywross@yahoo.com.
Judy Ross
Point Roberts

The Editor:
The Point Roberts seniors’ association would like to express their gratitude to Whidbey Telecom for their generosity in donating one year of DSL service (value over $515) for our senior center’s six computers. We will be using this high speed connection for our upcoming four-week computer classes starting on April 20 at 10 and 11 a.m. (fee $10.)
Classes accommodate beginners and advanced students, age 55 plus, first priority. Lots of one-on-one attention. Drop by the center to enroll or call 945-2101. Note: Seniors are also welcome to use our computer lab on Wednesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (unless a computer class is in progress) to access the internet. This, of course, is possible because of Whidbey’s donation.
Doug Ritchie, vice-president
Point Roberts Seniors’ Association

The Editor:
What wetlands?
The county is rendering many people’s property a liability by giving it a wetlands designation. There are no wetlands on Point Roberts. There are many improperly or inadequately drained lands, but that doesn’t automatically make them natural wetlands.
If the county employed and maintained proper drainage at Point Roberts we wouldn’t have these artificially created wetlands and probably wouldn’t have so many flooded roads and septic systems either. The county is declaring former farm, range and orchard lands wetlands. The only thing that changed over the years is that these lands have lain fallow and neglected for many years and have not been perimeter drained. In many instances if these property owners had kept their properties properly drained there would not be any issue of wetlands. Look across the border to Delta and see completely flooded fields with ducks and seagulls floating around on them and they are not considered wetlands, they are farms.
It’s confiscation by designation without compensation, in my opinion.
Heaven help you if they see a damp spot with any eelgrass on your property, you will be wetlands in their opinion. Forget about utilizing or enjoying your property from then on.
I suppose by their own criteria many of their ditches are now wetlands as the water sits and stagnates, as it does not flow anywhere. Between archeology, eagle, heron, foreshore management, fisheries, wetlands, tree retention, and land use, septic and building permit regulations it’s an amazing testament to human resilience that anything at all gets accomplished in Point Roberts. The day approaches when we will wake up and find what is left of Point Roberts completely paralyzed by bureaucracies. There will increasingly be more contributing less.
Government does not make money or profit, it comes from the taxpayer. There is one taxpayer and it’s their money you are spending. Consider offering some public service and less punitive abuse.
Brian Calder
Point Roberts

The Editor:
Point Roberts is a unique microcosm. We have a lot of arable land but it has virtually all lain fallow for many years. Considering the challenges to our food supply posed by factory farming maybe it is time to think about making some of that land productive again. I am trying to assemble a group of involved locals who are interested in getting together to grow organic vegetables. This could be a good step in making a self-sustaining and sustainable community.
I am sure there are many interesting stories about the clearing and planting of the land by the original Icelandic settlers. The farms no doubt suffered from the lack of water that plagued the community until the 1980s when water was brought in from Canada. One need only look at the farms in Delta to see how productive the land can be in this climate. And of course everyone knows we get more sun than anywhere in the Fraser valley.
We are trying to get planting in April so anyone who is interested can contact me at 945-0383.
Pat Capozzi
Point Roberts

The Editor:
Two residents of Point Roberts, Michael Birchall and daughter, Katherine Birchall, were at the venue of the bomb blast today, March 19, in Doha, Qatar. Michael had left the auditorium (and school) about 10 minutes before the blast, but Katherine was there when it occurred. Other than a temporary loss of hearing and some serious ringing of the ears, lots of debris and dust in her hair and clothing and being quite shaken, she is fine. Both are teachers in Doha and have been there since 2002. It has been identified as a car bomb and so far, there is one known fatality and about 50 injuries. The play being presented was “Twelfth Night” (Shakespeare) and the venue was the English Speaking School (local British school) auditorium. It was being put on by the Doha Players, a local amateur theatre group. It was mostly Western expats in attendance. 
Patricia Birchall
Point Roberts

Blaine school board members
& The Editor:
We are writing to express concern over the possibility that teaching staff may be reduced at our local school. Our two children are enjoying an excellent education at present. Point Roberts primary has two first rate and caring teachers in Mary Edgley and Rita Zimbleman. We could not be more satisfied with the unique and positive experience our children have had at this small well-run local school. Students at our school are performing at a very high level on state tests, so as they say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
The possibility of just one teacher instructing either three or four grades is of great concern. The current teaching staff feels (as we do) that quality of education will suffer if just one teacher is responsible for teaching children who are at such different levels of development.
We understand that budget constraints are an issue. That is why Point Roberts primary gave up numerous services last year. Both teachers have also taken on new duties that would normally be done by a staff member, in order to save costs. Our teachers have also expressed a willingness to look at (even) further cuts, if that is what it will take to avoid a reduction in teaching staff.
In the interest of basic fairness, it is hard to justify any cut in staff. The Blaine school commission now receives between $50,000 and $60,000 per year in extra funding due to Point Roberts “remote and necessary” status. In addition, Point Roberts’ property taxpayers finance approximately 28 percent of the Blaine school budget, while only eight percent of the student population (either attending Blaine or Point Roberts) reside in Point Roberts. Should there be any teaching staff cuts at Point Roberts, it would be in the interest of our community to start our own local school commission. That way, our school related property taxes would stay here. As is the case now, Point Roberts’ property taxpayers currently subsidize a good portion of the Blaine school system budget. Recently, Point Roberts residents voted to increase the school levy portion of our property tax bill. To respond by cutting staff would be an inappropriate way to reciprocate for the financial support our community gives to the children of the entire Blaine school system.
Due to the nature of our community and the fact that our children have to be bused a long distance (from grade four onwards), a lot of parents send their children to private school in Canada or have chosen to home school. Less kids attending public school result in less cost to your school commission. The Blaine school board also allows Point Roberts families to send their children to Blaine from kindergarten onwards. Some families feel they should do this, so younger and older siblings can be together, in one school. So despite having what we deem is a fantastic local school, enrollment here has faced unique challenges. Remote communities elsewhere have as few as four or five students for one teacher. Our teacher to student ratio is much higher than that.
Point Roberts had the greatest population growth rate in Whatcom County over the past 10 years. Over time, enrollment will grow. If you cut teaching staff (who also have to wear many other “hats”), more families will feel it necessary to choose other education alternatives. As a result, you may then face the difficult decision of having to close Point Roberts primary. This in turn would negatively impact our community as a whole, as young families would be less likely to situate themselves in Point Roberts.
Our community would like an ongoing commitment to maintain the standard of education that is in place currently. We have no doubt that longer term growth in enrollment will occur if that support is provided by the Blaine school commission. Please work with us to look at all possible alternatives to any reduction in teaching staff.
Neil and Simone Pope
Point Roberts

The Editor:
We are writing to invite all able-bodied persons to donate a few hours time on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 to help build some ramps for the skatepark. The location is next to the firehall on Benson Road starting at 10 a.m. Dockside Cafe and Food Services of America will donate lunch for volunteers.
Unfortunately, due to immigration regulations, only U.S. resides are able to help.
Thanks again to all our Canadian and U.S. residents who through generous donations have helped the park become a reality.
Mark & Helena Furno
Point Roberts

The Editor:
The PTO would like to thank the community for its tremendous support of our petition against potential cuts at our local school campus. We have well over 200 signatures! The PTO will present the petitions and letters of support to the school board on March 28.
One of the unique things about our community is the fact that parents of school-aged children seem to look at all other alternatives before looking at the local public school. Reasons range from rumors about quality of education, difficult administration, to fears about the long bus ride through two international borders. Parents choose alternatives right from kindergarten so they don’t have to switch them after grade three. This creates numerous challenges in enrollment.
The PTO has determined that two key actions are necessary to address this. Firstly, we will be conducting a comprehensive survey of all property owners and residents on the Point to provide some statistics relative to anticipated educational requirements and potentially produce a long-term Point Roberts Educational Strategic Plan.
Operating with year to year budget shortfalls and recurring uncertainty at our local school seems to have added to the perception that finding alternative schooling solutions is a wiser course of action for young families and newcomers to Point Roberts. 
We need real information about things like how many school aged children permanently reside on the Point, how many are in the Blaine school district vs. ‘alternative’ schools and why, etc.
Secondly, we will be engaging in a ‘marketing campaign’ of sorts to encourage residents to look at this school before looking at alternatives. Point Roberts primary is a great school with great teachers and offers children a wonderful start to their schooling experience. We just have to get the word out!
For further information email: ekomusi@pointroberts.net or Linda@northarm.com.
Elaine Komusi
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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