There's going to be a wide array of artwork available to the highest bidders at an upcoming art auction fundraiser for the Cross Border Coalition to Stop the Radio Towers.
Looking to raise money for legal bills in the ongoing fight to prevent radio towers from being erected just south of the Tsawwassen border in Point Roberts, the coalition is holding the Delta Lifestyle Art and Travel Auction on Sunday, June 7 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Harris Barn in Ladner.
The event, which will have former BCTV weatherman Norm Grohmann as host and Delta councillor Ian Paton as auctioneer, will see a variety of donated works on the block in both live and silent auctions.
Coalition treasurer Jennifer Urquhart said items include a watercolour by Toni Onley, a print by Robert Bateman as well as creations by Point Roberts students.
BBC Broadcasting Inc. has filed an appeal in Skagit County Superior Court in the hopes of overturning a decision by the Whatcom County council. The council had upheld a decision by the county's hearing examiner to reject the company's application to erect five 45-metre (150-foot) steel towers at an undeveloped lot on McKenzie Way in Point Roberts, just a few hundred metres from the Tsawwassen border.
The towers would transmit South Asian radio station KRPI, AM 1550. Also known as Sher-E-Punjab AM 1550, the station currently broadcasts using antenna in Ferndale, but wants to relocate them for a stronger signal for its Lower Mainland audience.
The coalition, which has concerns over blanketing interference with household electronics as well as health impacts, maintains the proposed location for the towers violates Federal Communications Commission guidelines for population density.
The coalition also says the fight is far from over and is becoming increasingly expensive. Noting the appeal will be heard this fall, Urquhart said more than $130,000 (U.S.) has been raised and almost all of it has gone to legal fees.
The Corporation of Delta, which has expressed its opposition to the towers, is providing the Harris Barn rent-free.
For more information about the art auction, including donating items or money for the legal fund, visit notowers.webs.com.
