A Look Back at the Year That Just Was

January

• In a 5-2 vote, Whatcom County Council approved changes to the ordinance that determines the makeup and operations of the Point Roberts Advisory Committee (PRCAC), increasing the number of at-large positions to four.

• The Wackie Walkers changed their name to the Point Roberts Walkers, continuing their tradition of Tuesday and Thursday walks.

• After 10 months closed to the public, the Point Roberts library was able to open at 25 percent capacity.

• Banner Bank closed its Point Roberts branch.

• The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office announced all deputies would begin wearing body cameras in March 2021.

February

• County executive Satpal Sidhu recommended PRCAC take 2021 off while his office worked with the community to make the advisory body more effective. He set criteria for member organizations to have a seat on the committee, which two of the three groups had already met.

• Some students at Blaine schools returned to the classroom under a hybrid learning model.

• The local parks district began hosting online workshops via Zoom.

• Community members renewed calls for an off-leash dog park on the Point, bringing their request to PRCAC.

• Point Roberts native Sean Heppner was signed to the Kamloops NorthPaws baseball team.

• The Taxpayers’ Association requested the county executive appoint Annelle Norman to PRCAC as their organization’s representative following the sudden death of Steve Wolff.

• After 10 years operating without, PRCAC adopted bylaws. With the resignation of Pamala Sheppard and the expiration of committee chair Stephen Falk’s term, two at-large positions became available which were filled by Katherine Smith and Grant Heitman following an online election.

March

• Trinity Community Lutheran Church launched a fundraising campaign to make urgently needed structural improvements to the 108-year-old building.

• Covid-19 vaccinations got underway on the Point through a collaboration between the local fire department and the SuperTrack Point Roberts clinic.

• Diners lined up for the drive-through senior center lunches being offered while Covid-19 restrictions remained in place.

• As Whatcom County moved into Phase 2 the library, the history center and local restaurants were able to open to the public with certain restrictions.

• Over 50 community members attended a virtual townhall meeting with county executive representative Jed Holmes and county council member Ben Elenbaas to talk about the future of PRCAC. There was strong consensus the committee needed to see some changes but shutting it down was the wrong way to make them.

• Rumors that homeless people were coming to the Point on the ferry and being returned to the mainland by deputies were debunked by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.

April

• The vigorous vaccination program at the Benson Road fire station had vaccinated 489 Point Roberts resident with at least one dose.

• PRCAC members committed to keep the committee rolling through 2021, addressing executive Sidhu’s recommendations to increase the effectiveness of the committee while tackling local issues that need attention, from seawall erosion to economic recovery from Covid-19. Two of three member organizations met all of Sidhu’s criteria for a spot on the board while the chamber of commerce met all but the requirement for meetings open to the public.

• Whatcom County Council voted to renew Cando Recycling and Disposal’s lease the Johnson Road transfer station despite questions from PRCAC about why rent for the local transfer station remained significantly higher than at other transfer stations in the county.

• Unpermitted road work and ditching on a property at the intersection of Tyee Drive and APA Road drew the attention of county code enforcement officials.

• The Washington State Department of Agriculture urged Whatcom County residents to keep their eye open for Asian giant hornets waking from winter hibernation. The first nest in the U.S. was eradicated in Blaine the previous October.

• The buoy off of Lily Point was the turn back southward for racers in the WA360 race.

• Whether Point Roberts residents transiting through Canada needed to use the new ArriveCAN app for people arriving in Canada remained a murky question.

• Staff at Lighthouse Marine Park prepared for the potential reopening of the campground for the season.

• Circle of Care continued gathering input and discussing ideas for what facilities and seniors need to allow them to stay on the Point as they grow older.

• Washington moved to phase three of governor Jay Inslee’s Roadmap to Recovery reopening plan.

• The Whatcom County Library System opened a new online bookstore for county residents.

• Point Roberts Marketplace owner Ali Hayton spoke out to dispel rumors the local grocery store would be closing if the border didn’t reopen by May.

May

• Fire chief Christopher Carleton approached the Washington congressional delegation with the idea of using Point Roberts as a cross-border vaccination site for Canadians to boost the local economy while helping out our Northern neighbors.

• Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism president and CEO Sandy Ward visited the Point looking to help with short and long term solutions to the community’s economic challenges.

• County parks was able to hire seasonal staff for Lighthouse Marine Park and eyed the possibility of opening the campground even if the border stayed closed.

• The chamber of commerce chose to withdraw from PRCAC and the committee voted to ask the county to change the makeup of the committee to five at-large members chosen in an informal community election and representatives from the two remaining organizations – taxpayers’ and voters’ associations.

• A total 664 people had received their Covid-19 vaccinations through the program run jointly by the fire department and the clinic.

• Working with engineers and a project contractor, Trinity Lutheran Church came up with a $400,000 plan to stabilize the building. Fundraising picked up steam from both sides of the border, with $13,000 of the $200,000 needed to start the project raised. The sanctuary is closed until the work is complete.

• The Centers for Disease Control advised Americans not to travel to Canada, even if vaccinated.

• The Point Roberts health clinic began offering service seven days a week, three days open on-site, two days of telemedicine through the local clinic and weekend coverage via telemedicine through the Bellingham SuperTrack clinic

• Owners of central Point Roberts properties issued violations by the county for unpermitted road building said that they were working on a farm.

June

• A proposal by local fire chief Christopher Carleton to vaccinate Canadians in Point Roberts was turned down by B.C. Premier John Horgan.

• Sources at the U.S. ports of entry in Blaine told local immigration attorney the U.S. would unilaterally open its border with Canada on June 22.

• An Israeli ketch circumnavigating the world had its trip cut short when it ran aground arriving at the Point Roberts Marina.

• A petition started by Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce president Brian Calder to use the Point as a pilot project for a controlled reopening the U.S./Canada border garnered over 1,000 signatures from both sides of the border.

• A Village Fair was organized to let the community get together safely after over a year of isolation.

• Point Roberts celebrated its 175th birthday as a geographic exclave, and members of the historical society celebrated the 1846 signing of the Treaty of Washington that drew the border.

• The space formerly occupied by Banner Bank at the Point Roberts Marketplace was reopened as a space for local artists and producers to sell their wares.

July

• Despite reports that it would reopen on June 22, the U.S./Canada border remained closed, and both counties announced it would stay closed until at least July 21. Looking at almost 500 days of lost revenue with the border closed Point Roberts Marketplace owner Ali Hayton announced the store would close July 15. State and federal elected representatives wrote letters to officials of both countries asking for relief for Point Roberts.

• At an outdoor townhall meeting attended by county executive Satpal Sidhu and other elected officials PRCAC considered four requests for county action: A shuttle bus service on the Point, expanded high-speed internet service, a solution to flooding at Maple Beach, and the creation of a wetland mitigation bank. Sidhu offered enthusiastic support for improvements to internet on the Point and the establishment of a wetland mitigation bank.

• Jessica and Bryson Basore took over as the new owners of Westwind Marine.

• An 18-year-old from Shelton, Washington died after crashing his vehicle into the Maple Beach seawall at the corner of Roosevelt Way and Bayview Drive.

• Point Roberts celebrated an old-fashioned Fourth of July and on July 5 members of the community met up with community members from North of the border for a hands-across-the-border demonstration.

• Governor Jay Inslee visited Point Roberts bringing $100,00 in relief funding to keep the local grocery store open. With him were state representatives Alicia Rule and Sharon Shewmake, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene and county executive Satpal Sidhu.

• The U.S. extended the border closure again until at least August 21, 519 days since it was first closed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Canada announced it would open the border to non-essential travel on August 9 for travelers with some conditions: full vaccination with a vaccine approved in Canada, a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours, use of the ArriveCAN app and a quarantine plan in place. “Habitual residents” of Point Roberts were allowed to visit the communities in Delta for day trips without the testing requirement. The failure of the Biden administration to open the border to non-essential travel as well was widely criticized by elected officials representing Point Roberts.

• County executive Satpal Sidhu appointed Bill Zidell to one of three open at-large positions on the PRCAC and the committee scheduled a townhall to allow candidates for the remaining positions to meet the community.

• A collection of businesses from both sides of the border helped to sponsor Family Days at Baker Field.

• The fire district upped its Covid-19 testing program given requirements for cross-border travel.

• Fundraisers for Trinity Lutheran Church urged donations to keep the condemned sanctuary from collapse.

• A baker’s dozen of local students received funds from the local branch of Dollars for Scholars to pursue their education.

September

• Some parents and community members protested at Blaine schools as students prepared to head back to class under a mandate requiring masks and vaccinations for staff.

• PRCAC members committed to establishing a framework to track how much sales tax is collected in Point Roberts as a tool to lobby the county to ensure funds collected here are spent on the Point.

• Circle of Care’s community assessment survey results showed strong support for building a physical facility to serve as a retirement community or assisted living facility.

• Whatcom County health department staff indicated support for a PRCAC proposed community cleanup event once the border is open again.

• Kids Kamp was cancelled for its final week after an increase in COVID cases on the Point and possible exposure of one of the families attending the summer camp.

• PRCAC presented a proposal for an off-leash dog park at Lighthouse Marine Park to Whatcom County parks commissioners.

October

• Whatcom County Council approved allocating $250,000 in emergency funding from American Rescue Plan funds to help Point Roberts businesses.

• Results of the 2020 Census showed the population of Point Roberts had dropped by 9.4 percent over 10 years and that residents are on average older than in other parts of the county.

• The U.S. government announced that it would loosen restrictions on air travel in November but that restrictions at land borders would stay put, drawing criticism from elected officials from border communities coast to coast.

• Whatcom County parks commissioners directed staff to bring them more information, postponing a decision on a proposed off-leash dog park at Lighthouse Marine Park.

• The Friends of The Point Roberts Library opened The Commons in the back room of the community center, a space for their used book sales and a place for people to get together a few times a week.

• National Geographic with Lindblad Expeditions added the Point to their itinerary exploring the Salish Sea.

• With Covid-19 cases popping up in Blaine schools superintendent Christopher Granger urged students and staff to stay home if they felt ill in order to slow transmission and keep schools open to in-person, full-time learning.

• Through a 2022 Whatcom County lodging tax promotion grant the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce launched a new promotion program to draw visitors to Point Roberts one the border opens.

• A statewide ban on single use plastic bags in stores went into effect.

• The drive-through lunch program offered by the local senior center was booming in popularity. The program has been open to all community members during the pandemic and is serving up to three times as many meals.

November

• Whatcom County Council members sent executive Satpal Sidhu back to the drawing board on how to spend $250,000 of aid the Point Roberts they had approved in September. Only two of the members at an October 26 council of the whole had an opinion on the three options Sidhu presented, and only expressed lukewarm support for direct grants to businesses.

• Point Roberts was designated an affiliate of the Washington Main Street Program, a state program designed to revitalize the commercial core of communities.

• High winds and waves battered the Point during a “bomb cyclone” weather event.

• The U.S. government extended the closure of the border to non-essential travel until January 2021, with the caveat that fully vaccinated individuals will not be subject to the limitation as of November 8. Canada allowed “habitual residents” of the Point to travel to Delta without a negative Covid-19 test but maintained that requirement to enter Canada for all other travelers, keeping that barrier in place for visitors to the Point trying to return home.

• The Reef closed for the winter. Owner Nick Kiniski said the requirement for a negative Covid-19  test will continue to deter visitors from Canada to support his business.

• Chief Christopher Carleton reiterated that the state would cover the cost of Covid-19  tests for Point Roberts residents without insurance coverage for the testing.

• With the governor’s vaccine mandate about to take effect, the Blaine school district reported 91 percent of employees were vaccinated, while nine percent were exempted.

• With the county anticipating delayed response to snow events this winter due to Covid-19 and other staffing issues the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce renewed its request to the county to stage equipment on the Point and set up a roster of licensed local operators to use it under the direction of fire chief Christopher Carleton.

• During the election of directors at the annual meeting of the taxpayers’ association, an objection by member Jana Walker to candidate Annelle Norman on the grounds she was not a property owner and therefore not a taxpayer by the association’s definition called into question the validity of some memberships and led to a call to revise bylaws to reflect the associations more inclusive practices.

• County parks commissioners decided against moving forward on a proposed off-leash dog park at Lighthouse Marine Park based on opposition from county parks director Michael McFarlane.

• The local clinic added doctor Kelly Evans and nurse Cheryl Kirton to their staff. Piaa Shokair joined the clinic as r
eceptionist.

December

• A state of emergency was declared for Whatcom County after devastating flooding closed roads and led to hundreds being evacuated.

• Fire district personnel, health clinic staff and a squad of volunteers mounted a massive vaccination and testing efforts after returning Canadian property owners drove up demand due to testing requirements to return to Canada.

• Mitch Friedman was appointed to one of two empty positions on the parks board.

• Heavy rainfall resulted in higher than normal levels in the lagoon at Oceanview Estates led property owners to ask the marina to open gates controlling outflow to the ocean.