Almost 300 residents from both sides of the border made their way to the Reef Tavern in Point Roberts Saturday night to close the book on the radio towers saga.
The Cross Border Coalition to Stop the Radio Towers held the event to help pay off what's left of the hefty legal bills racked up during the fight to stop the towers from being erected just south of the border in Point Roberts.
The coalition's Jennifer Urquhart said it looks like the approximately $14,000 left on the legal tab was covered by the fundraiser, which featured games, prizes and musical guests, including The Neon Stars, as residents continued to show their generosity and support.
It was one of many events the coalition held as its legal bills reached the $250,000 range.
Urquhart said the group knows how to "put the fun in fundraiser" as residents, including some that provided rather sizable donations, didn't give up the fight to stop the towers from being erected.
Their efforts culminated in a final court victory last fall when a Skagit County
Superior Court judge dismissed an appeal by BBC Broadcasting Inc. to overturn a decision by Whatcom County to reject the company's application to erect five 45-metre (150-foot) steel towers at an undeveloped lot on McKenzie Way, about 330 metres from the Tsawwassen border. It was rejected because the towers exceeded height limits. The company had been arguing the antenna would be a utility that would have provided "vital public services" for Point Roberts. The towers would have transmitted South Asian radio station KRPI, AM 1550, which broadcasted from studios in Richmond for a Lower Mainland audience. Also known as
Sher-E-Punjab AM 1550, the station currently uses antenna in Ferndale, but wanted to relocate them for a stronger all-day signal.
Concerned about electrical interference and health impacts, residents on both sides of the border fought the proposal on several fronts for more than two years.
Urquhart said the coalition is grateful to all those who provided financial and in-kind support as well as those persistent individuals on the frontlines.
"Hillary Clinton famously said 'It Takes a Village' but in our case it took two: Point Roberts and Tsawwassen," she added.
