The Editor:
We have an issue with residents and visitors dumping garbage and trash onto our county-owned beaches and parks. We have seen several instances of people dumping onto their own privately owned tidelands.
It may seem magical how it gets all whisked-away at high tide but this is illegal dumping – see RCW 70A.200.060. There are laws against solid waste dumping and there are fines from as low as $50 USD and as high as $5,000 USD.
Tidelands, whether public or privately owned, cannot be used to dispose of yard trimmings, leaves or any type of solid waste. Yard waste cannot be set free on any beach – private or public! No waste should ever be left at a public beach from humans or their dogs! All waste must be taken to the transfer station or disposed of on your own property.
People – please be responsible and considerate.
Sandra Raine
Point Roberts
The Editor:
Having noticed some citizens are clamoring for some sort of ferry service to continue to the Point after the land border crossing reopens, be careful what you wish for. People coming north on such a ferry would be unvetted, such as sex offenders, the homeless, the mentally ill, and other criminals, and there would be no one to deny them arriving or staying.
Say what you will about CBP, where I worked the midnight shift for 20 years, protecting you while you slept, but one consequence of their questioning is keeping out folks of all nationalities who would do the community harm. You’d have trouble sleeping at night if you knew how many foxes try to enter our charming hen house, and those are just the ones in cars.
Everyone wants Point Bob to get back to the way it was before the pandemic. Letting bad folks like the aforementioned arrive on a continuing ferry service without scrutiny would likely have a devastating effect on Point Bob.
Michael Hendon
Americus, Georgia and Point Roberts
The Editor:
In 1921, two Canadian researchers, Dr. Frederick Banting and medical student Charles Best discovered insulin with the help of Professor John Macleod at the University of Toronto. They won Canada’s first Nobel Prize.
Their discovery 100 years ago changed the world forever – their research led to the isolation and purification of insulin and offered a life-saving treatment to people whose lives would have been cut short by diabetes. Insulin brought a miraculous change in life expectancy and quality of life for millions of people around the world, but it is not a cure.
The International Diabetes Federation estimates that more than 4 million people die each year from diabetes and that nearly half a billion people worldwide have diabetes. The CDC estimates that 34.2 million people in the U.S. have diabetes – 10.5 percent of the population.
Diabetes is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD), so as a nephrologist I encourage preventative steps and early diagnosis of diabetes to avoid serious complications such as heart disease and blindness, in addition to CKD.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, please take the CDC’s prediabetes risk test: cdc.gov/prediabetes/takethetest/
The sooner you know if you are prediabetic, the sooner you can take action to reverse it and prevent type 2 diabetes.
If your results indicate you’re at risk, take appropriate action. Get your blood sugar checked as a first step and talk to your provider.
William E. Lombard, MD
Bellingham
The Editor:
I’m a Renton resident who has visited Point Roberts on many occasions in the distant past and have many fond memories of this unique exclave of Washington state.
Today I contacted my member of congress, Adam Smith, on behalf of Point Roberts residents and property owners. I expressed my concern about the ongoing saga of COVID-related border restrictions facing your community.
I cannot begin to comprehend the suffering experienced by the Point Roberts community, but I have been staying informed of events and, quite literally, praying on behalf of your community.
I regard those of you who live or own property in Point Roberts as Washingtonians. It is my fervent hope that CBSA and DHS will be authorized to specifically create reasonable access for Point Roberts residents and property owners, as promptly as possible.
Ronald L. Bensley, Jr.
Renton, WA
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