INSIDE

2004: Another year has come & gone...

How did that happen? Here we were, at the beginning of 2004 and the next thing we know, the year has flown by and we’re looking 2005 in the eye and wondering what the heck happened. That was no run-on sentence, it was a run-on year. But just before we ring in the new year, let’s take a look back at 2004...

January
• Whatcom county council hastily appointed David Gellatly to the recently abandoned fire district board and he and Bill Meursing, the lone remaining commissioner, quickly moved to yank the local fire department out of North Whatcom Fire and Rescue Services.
• The border got even trickier for local restaurants as the Food and Drug Administration introduced new rules requiring eight-hours notice for commercial food imports and a registry for suppliers.
• The Point Roberts golf course made the Golf Digest list of top 10 new affordable golf courses in the nation.

February
• The mad cow madness threatened to bring enforced vegetarianism to the Point after Canadian authorities stopped the grocery truck, prohibiting any beef tainted products from transiting through Canada.
• A fire at the marina burned two large power boats to the waterline
• Fire commissioners brought their board to full strength with the appointment of Susan Brownrigg, hired a bookkeeper, adopted a budget based on what taxes bring in and agreed to look for a new fire chief to replace Nick Kiniski, who worked for North Whatcom Fire and Rescue Services.
• NEXUS expanded hours at the local border.

March
• Almost 200 people signed a petition that has spurred county council to look at revising, or eliminating, tree retention rules for Point Roberts.
• A 16-year old girl was arrested for smuggling marijuana on the school bus bound for Blaine.
• A group of local recreational fishers proposed a “sport-fishing only” zone to the south and west of the Point.
• Western Washington University’s Small Business Center opened a satellite office to help local business in Sterling Savings bank.

April
• Point Roberts tree retention and archaeological rules withstood a challenge by several hundred local property owners who petitioned county council to strike the new rules from county code. Petitioners called the rules unreasonable, but county council members disagreed.
• The Whatcom County Sheriff expressed growing frustration with the unwillingness of the Border Patrol to respond to cross-border crime on the Point.
• Former fire chief Mike Campbell was sentenced to 6.5 to 8.5 years after pleading guilty to the 1999 rape of a child, most of which will be served in a combination of treatment and community supervision programs.
• Sue Johnson was appointed to the water board to replace Lorne Neilson and the water board approved a $2 rate hike to cover the rising cost of water purchased from Vancouver’s water system.
• The state department of fish and wildlife recommended listing the local orca populations as endangered due to population decline and threats to habitat.
• Sheriff’s deputies and border enforcement personnel arrested a 16-year old boy on the Point Roberts school bus less than a week after one of his classmates, arrested in February, was formally arraigned on a felony charge of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. A well-attended community meeting with the county sheriff, prosecutors and school representatives looked at the recent rash of drug-related juvenile arrests.
• Mark Samuelson took over as pastor of Trinity Lutheran church while the congregation continued its call for a permanent pastor.

May
• Fire commissioners hired Emergency Services Consulting to lead their search for a new fire chief for the Point.
• County engineers held a community meeting to ask how the northern portion of Tyee Drive should look after reconstruction, and if some of the dollars would be best spent elsewhere.
• Another 16-year-old was arrested in connection with pot smuggling on the school bus.
• Point Roberts hosted a cross-border coast guard competition at the marina.
• The USDA opened the border to beef and other ruminants only to reimpose the beef ban a week later.
• The Point Roberts Community Foundation was formed to be the sponsor for the healthful living fair and other projects intended to boost the quality of life on the Point.
• Orcas were placed on the state endangered list.

June
• Job-shuffling at the border led to two of the Point’s long-time inspectors being eased out of their positions.
• The sheriff’s office more than doubled the number of deputies on the Point over the Victoria Day weekend and wrote over 100 tickets for everything from no seatbelts to aggressive driving.
• Several local groups started putting together proposed rural advisory committees to be the Point’s voice with the county.
• Fire commissioners decided to talk to their lawyers as bills started to show up from the previous year under the North Whatcom Fire and Rescue Services umbrella.
• The wellness clinic celebrated its first year of keeping the Point healthy.
• The senior center started opening of Fridays as well as Wednesdays.

July
• Water district commissioners approved a $400,000 package of improvements aimed at better disinfection and a fresher water supply.
• At their annual meeting the taxpayers association formally endorsed the county’s proposal to form a rural advisory committee in Point Roberts to serve as the link with county government.
• County crews laid down asphalt in the higher density summer cabin areas of Point Roberts.
• The BEACH program started regular monitoring of water quality at Maple Beach, with results available to the public on the Internet.
• The summer program expanded to offer more activities for older kids, from a mosaic project to a kayak club.
• A new local eatery opened, Caffé Capanna at the corner of Gulf Road and Marine Drive, while a traditional eatery, the Roof House, announced plans to close.

August
• Biologists monitoring the Point Roberts heron colony reported that the 600 or more birds nesting in the colony had abandoned their nests.
• Fire commissioner David Gellatly suggested to fellow commissioners it was time to prepare a strategic plan to replace and upgrade facilities and equipment, and sell the plan to the voters who would pay for it.
• School board member Deb Hart stepped down citing business pressures and was replaced by Red Goodwin.
• Local musician Craig Jacks launched his newest CD Waiting For My Angel at the annual Arts and Music Festival at Lighthouse Park.
• Point Roberts seniors opened their new bocce court behind the community center.
• Chris Demello was appointed new permanent port director at the U.S. border, replacing interim director Linda Robinson who stayed on as a supervisor.
• Elsa Piper, who first attended a Point Roberts town picnic in 1908, was the guest of honor at this year’s town picnic.
• A tight school budget cut out all after school buses.

September
• After meeting with community members U.S. Representative Rick Larsen suggested his office would work on a broad plan to bring Point Roberts border issues to the right federal agency.
• The boards of the Wellness Clinic and the Pioneer Project prepared a proposal for a new taxing district to raise taxes to make up the clinic’s projected ongoing shortfall and keep medical care available on the Point.
• County executive Pete Kremen reviewed applications for the proposed rural advisory committee and proposed an eclectic group of seven people to represent the Point’s interests.
• After 18 years as an immigration inspector, most of them spent at the Point Roberts border Al Wilson retired.
• A long-awaited National Geographic article on the Point got praise for getting national attention for the community, but criticism for calling Tsawwassen a “strip-mall hell.”

October
• County executive Pete Kremen decided the proposed rural advisory committee would not be productive and cancelled the program, calling instead for more county meetings on the Point.
• The Blaine school district announced plans for a Point Roberts advisory committee.
• The Point Roberts pier project, stalled without an agency to start looking for construction and design funds, landed on the desk of Roland Middleton, now special projects coordinator for the county.
• U.S. customs and border protection officer Cory Whitfield was busted at the Lynden border with 536 pounds of pot.
• A new testing regimen discovered a newly regulated class of potential carcinogens in the water and commissioners started work on plans to monitor and control the compounds.
• Local organizers of the WTA community van expressed concern the program could be cut without more volunteer drivers.

November
• A local teenager was arrested following a rash of burglaries in Maple Beach and boat thefts at the marina.
• Fire commissioners announced that despite a full day of interviews with their top three candidates they had not found a suitable candidate to be Point Roberts fire chief.
• Supporters of the local hospital district got 10 times more signatures on their petition than they needed to get the proposal on the ballot for a special election.
• For the first time in many years the voters association decided against holding a candidates night prior to the general election.
• Gene Kiniski was voted into the wrestling hall of fame in 2004.
• The federal government relaxed rules on the NEXUS programs allowing groceries in the commuter lane.

December
• Point Roberts voters showed their Democratic stripes in the general election, voting supporting Democrat candidates for every spot on the ballot.
• Marketing for the now defunct Lily Point project property took a green turn, with real estate agents touting the area as more of a recreational or park possibility than as a development.