Jiggy Sorrell

09/04/2026

Thank you to The Northern Light for covering our Blaine Boys & Girls Clubhouse renovation story. We appreciate you helping share this great example of community coming together for our youth.

The Sept. 3, 2026 issue of The Northern Light is now online – check it out today at thenorthernlight.com, or grab your copy in mailboxes and newsstands later this week.

09/01/2026

Thank you to everyone who showed up yesterday for our youth in Blaine. We had a great turnout, and the kids and staff got to enjoy a little welcome back to school pizza party. Big shoutout to Border Town Pizza for making that happen. More photos of the Grand Re-Opening to come soon.

Thanks to all the incredible Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County staff, David Campbell and his entire crew at Pen & Hammer, and a big shoutout to Alicia Rule for your support and for bringing your sons to help make it happen. Thank you to Blaine Public Works for always being there for the crew and staff. Chief - Blaine WA PD Funk, thanks for always being able to make it and for supporting our youth. Sarbie Bains, thank you for showing up every time for our youth, it truly means a lot. And Julie, thank you for your donation of school supplies and arts and crafts.

This just goes to show once again the amazing things we can accomplish when we come together as a community.

09/01/2026

Had a great follow up meeting Friday with Chris Orr, Executive Director of Whatcom Council on Aging, at the Blaine Senior Center. This came out of the momentum from Senior Day in the Park, and it was good to sit down and really dig into what Blaine's aging community needs.

We talked through the range of services available across the county and started working through how to bring more of those resources into Blaine on a regular basis. Our seniors deserve consistent access, not just occasional outreach, and this conversation felt like real progress toward that.

Looking forward to continuing this work with Chris and the Council on Aging team. More to come.

08/31/2026

Today's the day! Join us for the Grand Re-Opening of the Blaine Boys & Girls Clubhouse, 2:30-3:30pm at 635 8th St, Blaine, WA 98230. Come see the new look and celebrate with the kids. Hope to see you there!

08/30/2026

Huge thank you to Pen & Hammer General Contractors for taking on this project and putting in the work to get it done, donating roughly $10,000 in materials and labor to make this happen.

Thank you to the City of Blaine Public Works for making sure we could get into the building even with a last minute ask.

Thank you to the Boys and Girls Club staff for their input on colors and for trusting us to take on this volunteer project.

A special thank you to Abigail Lemay, former Senior Vice President of Operations, and Aja Ruswick, Blaine Club Director, for their involvement and help throughout the project.

Thank you to Alicia Rule and two of her sons for coming in and helping prep the inside of the clubhouse before work started. And thank you to Julie Vopnford Butschli for her donation of arts and crafts and school supplies

And a big thank you to all the Blaine Boys and Girls Clubhouse staff for everything you do for our youth here in Blaine.

We're excited to announce a Grand Re-Opening for the kids on August 31st. Boys and Girls senior staff and clubhouse staff will be there, along with Pen & Hammer, Council Member Bains, myself, and others from the city.

The kids will also enjoy a pizza party thanks to Border Town Pizza.

Can't wait to see this space come alive for our kids.

08/22/2026

Big day at American Legion Post 86 today. The rummage sale kicks off at 9 and runs to 4, open to the public with vendors welcome. Warrior Service's Veteran Firewood Giveaway also starts at 10 today and runs again tomorrow, August 23, both days starting at 10 AM. Any local veteran is welcome to come collect firewood, just bring a truck or trailer, it's first come first served while supplies last, and volunteers are needed to help cut, split, and load.

Come 5:30 there's a meatloaf dinner for $14, then games tickets go on sale from 5 to 6 ahead of bingo, joker poker, 50/50 raffle, and meat draw running all evening. C & G Tones takes the stage at 7 to close it out.

I'm heading down there shortly to be part of it. If you're in Blaine today, come find me, grab some firewood if you're a vet, get a plate of meatloaf, and stick around for the music. Post 86 is at 4580 Legion Drive. Members and guests, have your membership card ready at the door.

08/18/2026

It's National Nonprofit Day! I'd love to hear from you: what's a nonprofit you care about, and what's their mission?

I'll go first. I've been proud to help co-found the Blaine Community Fund (AKA Blaine Together), working to get resources directly into the hands of people and projects here in our community. I also want to give a shoutout to a few others doing great work: Warrior ServiceUSA, Stay Spicy Foundation , and Grounded No More Veteran Flight Lift.

Nonprofits like these only work because neighbors show up for each other.

Drop your favorite in the comments, local or national, I want to hear what's moving you.

08/14/2026

Many people have been asking me about crabbing in Blaine, so here's the scoop.

Crabbing season opens this Saturday, August 15th. Just a reminder that Blaine falls in Marine Area 7, Sub-Area 7 North.

If you still need a license, you can grab one locally instead of driving somewhere out of the way.

Bay Center Market in Birch Bay has them at 8050 Harborview Rd, or call ahead at 360-371-7233.

Pacific Building Center in Blaine also carries them at 2677 Bell Rd, 360-332-5335.

You can also get one online through WDFW here: https://wdfw.wa.gov/licenses

Quick reminder on the schedule this season: crabbing is open Thursday through Monday, closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

For full regulations and area details for our zone, check out WDFW's North - Gulf of Georgia page: https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfishing-regulations/crab/seasons-areas/north-gulf-georgia

Get your pots ready, check the tides, and I'll see you out on the water.

08/07/2026

Tonight downtown Blaine is cleared for takeoff. Free Movie on the Green is showing Top Gun, and this one hits different for me.

My grandfather worked on the F-14 back when it was brand new. Years later I ended up serving in the Navy myself, out on the flight deck and in the hangar bay of the USS George Washington, CVN-73. My last deployment on GW turned out to be one of the last deployments for the F-14 before it was retired from the fleet. There was one more cruise with the Tomcat two years after mine, but I was there for the sendoff on CVN-73, and I still have my Red Ripper shirt from that deployment tucked away.

So when I watch this movie I'm not just watching a movie. I'm watching the jet my grandfather helped build and the jet I watched fly off the deck I stood on.

Come watch it with us tonight in downtown Blaine. Bring blankets and lawn chairs, grab dinner or ice cream from Edaleen Dairy or L&L Bakery beforehand, and settle in. Movie starts at dusk down at the Blaine waterfront.

📅 Tonight, Friday, August 7
🎬 Top Gun
💰 Free admission
🌙 Starts at dusk
📍 Downtown Blaine by the Sea

Next Movie on the Green is August 21 featuring Anaconda.

Tag your movie crew and meet us downtown.
More Blaine events at www.blainebythesea.com/upcoming-events