Casino Protestors Disrupt Nooksack Ceremony

BELLINGHAM,  Washington -- As reported by the Bellingham Herald: "About 40 protestors blocked a piece of construction equipment moving onto the site of a proposed casino north of Lynden for
  a tribal religious ceremony this morning.

"The Nooksack Indian Tribe was holding a 'cultural religious ceremony' at the site of their proposed Northwood Crossing Casino when protestors arrived, said tribal administrator Pat Check. The ceremony included moving dirt with construction equipment.

"Protestors stopped a piece of equipment from entering the site, “briefly engaging in civil disobedience,” said Jeff Parks, chief criminal deputy at the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. Five deputies ultimately came to the site of the planned 35,800-square-foot casino, at the corner of Northwood and Halverstick roads, before the protestors moved out of the way, Parks said.

"No one was arrested in the incident, which Parks described as “nothing unruly or violent.”

"The tribe plans to hold a formal groundbreaking for the casino later this month."