August
• Whatcom County Council enthusiastically approved the scenic loop proposal for Point Roberts.
• Plans for the annual Arts and Music Festival moved forward despite a scare that the closure of half of the boardwalk at Lighthouse Marine Park would derail the event. The county parks department began budgeting to redesign and replace the boardwalk.
• The Point Roberts Food Bank, with operations spread out to several locations, asked for community support in finding a permanent home.
• Trinity Lutheran Church prepared for another year of the Children’s Music Camp and offered a special concert featuring the arrangements of local musician Esther Rosenthal.
• Local resident Margot Griffiths published her first novel, “Angel Hair.”
• United Parcel Service (UPS) announced a new franchise of the UPS Store was scheduled to open in Point Roberts.
• Former fire chief Bill Skinner announced his retirement from the local fire department after serving over 20 years.
• The Point Roberts Volunteer Firefighters Association raised over $1,000 for Dollars for Scholars through carwashes in July.
• The dock at Lighthouse Marine Park, due to be installed for the summer, was put on hold again due to uncooperative tides and spawning fish.
• The Friends of the Point Roberts Library (FOPRL) presented a show of quilts by Judy Ross as a benefit for the library construction fund.
September
• People denied NEXUS membership struggled to get answers about why, and turned to Blaine attorney Len Saunders for legal help.
• Whatcom County set a November hearing date for the radio tower array proposed for Point Roberts.
• The Blaine school district board approved putting a $45 million bond before the voters in February to fund an expansion of the high school and a roof replacement at the Point Roberts Primary School.
• Jim McMurty won the coveted Ha Ha Cup at the 2014 joke telling contest.
• Les and Nancy Lomedico announced plans to shut down The Letter Carrier, citing the condition of the building and an expiring lease.
• With his application to put up a 25-foot internally-lit sign turned down by the county, Valero owner Fred Pakzad went back to the character plan committee proposing a 22-foot sign advertising Valero and the new UPS Store, replacing the community events sign.
• B.C. artist Blake Wydeman painted a mural featuring summer berries on the wall of the Baker Field restrooms.
• At a well-attended community forum, congresswoman Suzan DelBene talked about efforts to ease border lineups and concerns about proposed radio towers.
• A Richmond antiques dealer was indicted for smuggling ivory and rhino horns through Point Roberts parcel services.
• The local water district told the developers of The Cottages at Seabright Farm it was up to them to negotiate with the current property owners of a parcel which was once part of the development but was foreclosed upon regarding who owns the water connections purchased by Stanton Northwest in 2005 for the project.
October
• The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) scheduled a hearing to consider whether a trio of radio stations are breaking the law by broadcasting content produced in Canada from across the border.
• The Friends of the Point Roberts Library (FOPRL) received a $25,000 grant from the Norcliffe Foundation to help fund the renovation of Julius Fire Station as a new library.
• The fire department’s CPR training class, which saw 70 people certified so far in 2014, proved its value when back-to-back emergencies saw well-trained citizens step in until emergency crews arrived.
• The Point Roberts Character Plan Committee, with two members recusing themselves, agreed the proposed radio towers did not conform to the character plan due to their height.
• Over 500 opponents of the proposed radio tower array came out in droves to Seabright Farm for a mammoth fundraiser.
• The character plan committee approved the building design for a proposed UPS store but the design for the sign, which would advertise both the UPS Store and the Valero station, was tabled pending more information on lighting.
• Western Washington University’s Border Policy Research Institute found Whatcom County is getting more Canadian shoppers than ever.
• Sandra and Richard Procter took over as owners of Brewster’s Fine Foods.
• At an open house held by the committee tasked with revising the character plan, community members talked about what they felt was the “essence” of Point Roberts: nature, land, community, security and uniqueness.
• Dakota Land Company LLC, the Point Roberts applicant for a retail marijuana license that made it to the lottery stage, didn’t earn a high enough ranking to move to the next stage of licensing.
November
• Whatcom County Hearing Examiner
Michael Bobbink denied the CUP application for radio towers on the basis they did exceeded height restrictions under existing zoning language.
• The PRCAC prepared a list of suspected code violations to forward to Whatcom County, while the character plan committee reviewed the first proposed changes to the plan.
• The fire department held another spooky haunted house.
• Library manager Kris Lomedico spoke to community groups about the growing benefits of having a library card, including access to a wealth of online resources.
• Another fundraiser to fight the proposed radio towers featured chanteuse Shaune Ann Feuz.
• Whatcom County Library System held their monthly meeting in Point Roberts, signing a new memorandum of understanding between the parties aiming to build a new library and honoring Kris Lomedico for 30 years with the library.
December
• BBC Broadcasting appealed the hearing examiner’s decision to deny the company’s CUP to county council.
• The annual craft fair invited shoppers into the community center and for a stroll among Gulf Road businesses.
• More than 80 people attended the International Day of Remembrance at the Benson Road fire hall.
• The CRTC ordered Sher-e-Punjab and two other “pirate” radio stations to cease operations.
• Point Roberts voted overwhelmingly Democrat, a trend not reflected across the state or the nation.
• Spawning surf smelt put the dock replacement at Lighthouse Marine Park on hold once again, leading the county to ask regulators for a little wiggle room so the project can move forward.
• Another benefit for the legal fund to oppose the towers took place at Kiniski’s Reef Tavern, featuring Tony Barton, raffles and costumed superheroines.
• Enraged by PRCAC steps to forward perceived code violations to the county, Benson Road resident Shawn McSkimmings disrupted the committee’s meeting to the extent that the meeting was abruptly
adjourned.
• All Point Bulletin co-founder Glennys Christie died.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here