What’s happening in Whatcom County for Oct. 14

Bellewood brandy wins award

Bellewood Distilling won two of the top three awards in the Best Eau de Vie/Brandy category in a recent “Best of Northwest 2015” issue of Sip of Washington magazine.

Bellewood’s Reserve Apple Brandy won top honors and the Whatcom County distillery’s Eau de Vie won third place. An Asian Pear brandy from Skip Rock Distillers of Snohomish took second place.

The local distillery is operated by Bellewood Farms at 6140 Guide Meridian, about six miles north of Bellingham.

Great Shakeout

Several schools and other Whatcom County agencies will participate in the “Great Shakeout” Thursday, Oct. 15, as a way to prepare for tsunamis, earthquakes or other catastrophic weather disasters.

Those participating will “stop, drop and hold” at 10:15 a.m. when All Hazard Alert Broadcast sirens activate for three minutes along with a voice message indicating the alarm is a test.

Organizers are asking people to take selfies during the drill and post them to social media using the hashtag #washakeout.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radios set to receive the required monthly test will also activate during the drill.

Loonie bounceback

The Canadian dollar continued to rally on Wednesday morning, Oct. 14, trading at around 77 cents compared to the U.S. dollar. The loonie began its rally around the end of September, when it was in the 74-cent range compared to the U.S. dollar.

Gas prices bump up

The average price for a gallon of gas in Bellingham was $2.40 on Wednesday, Oct. 14, up 1 cent compared to a week ago, according to AAA Washington’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report. While the uptick ended a steady decline in prices since Labor Day, it is still down $1.55 compared to a year ago.

This story was originally published October 14, 2015 at 11:20 AM with the headline "What’s happening in Whatcom County for Oct. 14."