• Education issues on Whidbey - read about texting policy here!
  
• FINANCIAL CRISIS REACHES WHIDBEY ISLAND;
  
• Visit Island County - a place to play, dream, a way of life...
• click here for virtual visit! 
  
• Read about The Nature Conservancy's recent purchase in...Island County!
  

From Minutes of Dec. 6, 2004 Board of Island County Commissioners:  Supplemental Agreement No. 1 – PW-0320-102(A); Island County and Otak, Inc. for  Whidbey Island Scenic Corridor Management Plan... as recommended by Mr. Oakes (a Commissioner), the Board by unanimous motion approved Supplemental Agreement No. 1 [PW-0320-102(A)] with Otak, Inc. for  Whidbey Island Scenic Corridor Management Plan, for the purpose of extending completion date to  May 31, 2005(link to minutes)

• Did you know when absentee voting took hold in Island County, Washington?
  
• Link to official Island County website;
  
• Link to Island County PC:
• official announcements/meeting notes here.
• Island County Planning Commission notes from back East in CT... on the subject of "frequently flooded areas" and building size limitations for commercial RAIDs - at July 26 Island County Planning Commission meeting...what do you suppose they will decide?  We would bet they will decide to use strict definitions of "frequently flooded areas" BUT use conditional language regarding how to deal with non-compliance of existing development.  And if they don't want "big box" development, they should be careful how large they permit "infill" to get...
• unofficial Island County Planning Commission agenda - "frequently flooded areas
• "Critical Areas and Zoning. We are in the wild west on Whidbey Island:  annexation is something that actually happens!
• Community Analysis:  most recent top story from Whidbey NEWS-TIMES or South Whidbey RECORD; culture.
  

• Public Disclosure Commission: http://www.pdc.wa.gov/
• Washington State public information rules;
• example of policy in quasi-governmental arena.

• http://www.islandcounty.net/code/CountyCode.htm
• Telephone Numbers:  http://www.islandcounty.net/deptall.htm  

Direct link to MAPS;
Planning & Zoning stuff...
http://www.islandcounty.net/Island_County_Code.htm
Economic study of Whidbey Island (report).
 
 

First thing you need for a land use or development-type plan is a map...is something fishy about this one?
http://www.visitwhidbey.com/image-map.html
Is Whidbey actually big enough to host a college (how big is Whidbey)?  Is any faculty available to assist in Land Use Planning? 
http://www.ccis.edu/nationwide/main.asp?Whidbey

• South Whidbey School District:  http://www.sw.wednet.edu/
• Compare South Whidbey Schools to Weston, CT...from Census 2000.
• Clinton environs e-newspapers older stories HERE.

HOW IS INFLATING A FOOTBALL LIKE GLOBAL POLITICS?
Big soccer ball v. itsy-bitsy football like the euro coin v. the devalued dollar?  And how about that renminbi...

Budget rises as top issue for South Whidbey parks candidates
By BEN WATANABE, South Whidbey Record Reporter
Oct 28 2011

CLINTON — Money and park use are the main issues for the Clinton candidates for the South Whidbey Parks & Recreation District board.

Both Joel Gerlach, 45, and Jean Streitler, 42, know the parks district is in a bind financially. Property values are down, and so are revenues for the parks. Both Gerlach and Streitler are frequent South Whidbey parks users.  In an early display of prudence, the candidates have avoided spending on a campaign, preferring to let their peers and community elect them to the four-year term based on name and deeds.

What separates them is how they see parks being used. They are on opposite sides of the football — or is it fútbol?  Gerlach is an avid soccer supporter. He’s been on the South Whidbey Youth Soccer Club board of directors and coached South Whidbey High School soccer for the past 18 years. He’s also worked with the parks district during the creation of the Sports Complex and the upper field at South Whidbey Community Park.

“I love the park, whether I’m playing soccer or I’m hiking around in there or enjoying other people’s events,” Gerlach said.

A Whidbey Island resident since 1990, Gerlach was a commissioner with the Scatchet Head Water District and served as president for two years. The experience from that position gave him the chance to look at budgets and planning, which he said will help him serve on the parks board.

“With less money, you have to be more conservative,” Gerlach said.

Prioritizing park facilities and resources is paramount to keeping the district’s budget intact, he said.

“One of the things I do really well is solve problems,” Gerlach said. “As in these boards where, whether it was restoring our hillside or as water commissioner dealing with new waterlines and towers, it’s looking at all the things, getting all the information and coming up with the best solution.”

That doesn’t mean the self-employed general contractor has any answers for the parks board now. He wants to see the state of the parks district before he sets goals.

“The first thing I’m going to do is listen and pay attention,” Gerlach said.

“You have to have all the facts before you make decisions, before you make big decisions,” he added.

Maintaining the condition and status of the parks is important to Gerlach. Since expansion seems financially burdensome, he proposed enhancing what exists and finding new ways to generate revenue.

“We have to look at what’s our budget, where’s it going and do we need to shift it into some direction to prioritize it,” Gerlach said. “There are the options of putting out some new levies or bonds to try to raise some funds that way. But there could also be where, potentially, you have to increase the fees for some things.”

“There are probably some places where we could save money, that we just haven’t looked at yet,” he added. “I’m not going to say ahead of time that we’re going to cut all this stuff, because I don’t know.”

He pointed to the diversity of programs the parks district offers; archery classes, dog training and dodgeball. Adding nature walks, mushroom hunting could help bolster the parks’ coffers.

“They have a lot of activities for a very diversified group,” Gerlach said. “Anything that breaks even or makes a profit for the park is great, and anything that doesn’t we may have to look to see if it’s feasible to continue to do it.”

The issues are similar for Streitler.  He sees the parks as places for South Whidbey youths to spend their time, and football is just one way they can.

“It seems like the majority of the people using the parks are kids,” he said.

“Anything that I could do that would bring more kids to the park and somehow keep kids out of trouble and give them something to do, I would be proactive at doing those types of things,” Streitler added. “Kids on South Whidbey need things to do.”

Streitler has been the South Whidbey Youth Football League board president for 15 years. In that time, he oversaw the league’s expansion to three teams and inclusion in the North Cascade Youth Football League.

“We’ve been able to grow from year to year,” Streitler said. “We’ve done well with the financing and fundraising to purchase some equipment for three teams.”

He made sure to credit his fellow football board members, too.

“I work with a board, and I’m just one small part of a big picture. For me to take credit for something is not really right, because we’re a team.”

“I see the parks and rec as the same thing. We’d be a team of people gathered together to accomplish some goals.”

Streitler is familiar with what the park district has to offer. His family uses South Whidbey Community Park for family outings, horse riding on the trails and throwing a Frisbee. Streitler, who manages Harbor Plumbing, said his passion for parks and the South Whidbey community led him to run for the position.

“There’s never really been anybody on the board that was any kind of a voice for football,” Streitler said. “The park is a pretty large facility, and I think there probably could be room for some football goal posts, maybe.”

Revenues and expenses were also a point of interest for Streitler. Learning from the community about what it values in the district’s programs and facilities is a priority, he said.

“I don’t know that it means cutting things,” he said. “It might mean finding ways to make money, finding ways to generate funds, rather than making cuts.”

Expansion in the district should be delayed, Streitler said, until the board’s revenues increase.

“I know there are other facilities that the county is wanting the parks to be part of and help maintain and that’s always a big stretch financially,” he said. “I would say they need to prioritize.”

By JESSIE STENSLAND, Whidbey News Times Assistant editor
Sep 02 2011

State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen sat beside her husband, Basil Badley, in an Island County courtroom this week as attorneys battled over a politically charged lawsuit involving allegations of groping, mental illness and the consumption of large amounts of alcohol.

Coupeville resident Courtney Jones, Haugen’s former campaign manager, is suing Badley for sexual assault and battery. Jones claims Badley sexually assaulted her during a post-election dinner at the Democratic state senator’s Camano Island home on Dec. 2, 2008.

Jones took the stand Thursday and became emotional as she answered questions about the events that evening. She described how she tried to politely resist and deflect Badley’s sexual advances. She said at one point she reminded him of Sen. Haugen.

“He said it has nothing to do with Mary Margaret, it has everything to do with you and me,” she said.

The trial got off to a dramatic start Wednesday as sparring attorneys laid out their evidence and arguments in often ugly detail during opening statements.

On one side, the plaintiff’s attorney described Badley as a politically important man who used his position over Jones, physical force and promises of career help in an unsuccessful attempt to compel her to have sex with him. He described Jones as an emotionally fragile woman who had been victimized as a child and was devastated by Badley’s actions.

“You can’t touch someone sexually if they don’t want you to. It’s a universal principle,” attorney Thomas Breen said, adding that Badley violated the principle and needs to take responsibility.

On the other side, Badley’s attorney painted Jones as a woman with diagnosed mental health issues who had flattered an old man to further her own career and then greatly exaggerated an incident she regretted. The attorney characterized Badley as an old man who drank too much, but did nothing more than kiss a younger woman he had reason to believe welcomed his attention.

“This is a case of two people who had way too much to drink, exercised poor judgment and regretted it the next day,” said Tyna Ek, the attorney for Badley.

Breen asked the jury to award Jones $100,000 in damages. He said the amount may sound like a lot, but will seem reasonable by the end of the trial.

As Breen told it, Badley had invited Jones over to the house to pick up her things and have dinner on the night of Dec. 2, 2008, as her employment was drawing to a close. They were both aware that Haugen would be in Olympia, though Breen contended Jones had mainly worked with Badley on the campaign, so it made sense for her to meet with Badley. Breen emphasized that Jones was 28 and Badley was 72 years old at the time.

Breen described the alleged assault in detail. He claimed Badley repeatedly kissed her, licked her face and groped her breast and crotch as she physically and verbally resisted.

“She tells him, ‘I do not want to do this.’ He tells her it will be good for her,” Breen said. “She’s looking for a polite way out of this. He’s someone she knows and respects.”

Breen said Badley finally stopped after Jones pushed him off her and he saw the distress in her face.

“He sees that no matter how hard he tries, no matter how hard he pushes the issue, she is not going to give in,” Breen said.

Badley then told her to leave, which she did.  Badley sent an email to Jones the next day, apologizing and explaining that he’s “not a dirty old man.” Jones sent an email accepting the apology, saying she wanted to be friends and didn’t have any hard feelings.  Nevertheless, Breen said the incident weighed on Jones, who was especially vulnerable because of a childhood assault involving a dentist and an ongoing battle with depression. He said she was doing really well until Badley allegedly  assaulted her.

“Just as she’s climbing out, seeing the sun, that’s when Basil Badley pushed her right back down,” he said, adding that she went into a “tailspin.”

Breen said he would call Jones’ former counselor to testify as well as Jon Conte, a professor at the University of Washington and expert on the impact of sexual violence.  On the other side, Badley’s attorney, Tyna Ek, described a much different series of events. She pointed out that Jones brought a bottle of wine and a laptop computer with her resume´ to the dinner with Badley and admitted she hoped he would help her find a new job.

“She was hoping to convince Basil Badley to help her, maybe use a little influence,” she said.

Ek claimed that Jones drank the entire bottle of wine by herself and that Badley was also intoxicated from drinking.

“You will find that drinking is a recurring theme, sadly, for both of these parties,” she said.

Ek described a scene in which Jones was laughing at Badley’s jokes and flattering him as they sat close together on the couch. According to Ek, when Jones was asked during her deposition how she put up resistance to Badley’s advances, she said “sometimes I didn’t kiss him back.” Also during her deposition, Jones admitted she didn’t think Badley realized that she didn’t want him to kiss her.  Ek emphasized that Jones didn’t leave immediately, but managed to show Badley her resume´ and continually texted a friend during the alleged assault.

“How threatened did she really feel?” Ek asked rhetorically.

In addition, Ek disclosed that Jones had been diagnosed with a mental health issue and had stopped taking her medication, against medical advice, about a year before the incident.  The attorney claimed Jones had a history of conflict with other people since “going off her meds” and often mistakenly thought people were being “mean” to her. For example, she said Jones worked for state Sen. Jean Berkey of Everett after the Haugen campaign, but Jones felt the senator was unkind. Ek said Berkey will testify and the jury will see “she’s one of the nicest ladies you will ever meet.”

In the end, Ek argued, the jury will find that Badley’s actions did not remotely rise to the level of sexual assault and battery. She said it’s “a extremely steep and serious charge” and that there’s no evidence that Badley meant to cause Jones any harm, which she said is required to prove the accusation.

“Let’s be honest here. My client should have known better,” Ek said. “But frankly, so should have Courtney Jones.”

Archaeological work begins in Oak HarborArchaeological work on SE Pioneer Way in Oak Harbor began in earnest Tuesday.
Whidbey News-Times

Slides continue in beleaguered Whidbey Shores neighborhood
By ROY JACOBSON
South Whidbey Record Reporter
Mar 16 2011, 9:39 AM

Smaller mudslides continued through the night Monday in the wake of a large slide this past weekend that blocked East Point Drive, hit two houses and damaged two vehicles in the Whidbey Shores waterfront neighborhood north of Langley.

“It kept sliding all last night,” said Dale Strickland, a South End excavator who has worked to clear the road since Saturday afternoon. He said he had been on the job on the lower portion of the road next to the beach until 8 p.m. Monday, and was heading back Tuesday afternoon.

“If we get another gully washer, we’re going to have more slides,” Strickland said Tuesday morning. “There’s nothing we can do but wait and see.”

The first, and largest, slide hit about noon on Saturday. Mud, sand and vegetation, including trees, tumbled from a rain-saturated steep bluff more than 300 feet high, blocking the road with a pile of material 100 feet wide and 10 feet tall in places.

The slide pushed around and damaged a station wagon and slammed into a pickup truck, and piled mud and debris against two houses on the other side of the road. A light pole on the slope side of the road had a chest-high coat of mud left in the wake of the slide. Paving stones and landscaping were washed away in a wave of debris that includes trees and other vegetation from the fallen hillside.

The slide also pushed over three large propane tanks in front of one of the houses, one of which sprung a leak in its connecter, said Deputy Chief Mike Cotton of Island County Fire District 3.

Cotton said the leak was sealed, and the tanks eventually were taken away by the propane vendor.

No one was injured in the slide, Cotton said Monday. He said the residents of the two houses struck by debris were made aware of the gas situation, but were not evacuated.

Pat Ehlers, her husband Ron and son Brett were on the lower level of their three-level house about noon on Saturday when the mud hit their propane tanks, and then the building.

“We heard a thud,” Pat Ehlers said Monday. “We went up there and looked, and there was a lot of the bank in our front yard.”

She said their house didn’t appear to be damaged, other than the yard.

By Monday, Strickland, whose company, Dirt Movers, operates out of the South End, had removed most of the slide material from the yard.

But with their power off and no propane, the Ehlerses decided to relocate to a motel in Freeland on Saturday night. Pat Ehlers said Monday that they will move into a friend’s cabin in the area until their house is usable again.

“It’s an experience one could live without, but nobody got hurt and we’re OK,” Ehlers said. “At least it wasn’t a tsunami like in Japan. I don’t have much to complain about.”

Meanwhile, Strickland, who has contracted with homeowners in the area for years, worked 20 hours straight clearing the mud from the road during the weekend. He was back Monday, finishing off the large blockage and trying to keep up with several smaller slides as the rain continued to fall.

Strickland said he has removed a huge amount of mud and debris from the road and has stockpiled it on any appropriate flat area he could find. He said he has kept the road mostly passable since Sunday.

He also said he has attempted to remove trees on the lower part of the bank that have been weakened by the slide and may pose a danger to power lines.

Strickland said the weather forecast calls for more rain, but with a drier spell expected later in the week.

“When it dries up, we’ll come in and clean up the mess,” he said.

Ehlers, who has lived at Whidbey Shores full-time for five years, said neighbors told her it was the worst slide in the area since 1997, when a mudslide pushed a house into the surf.

Mike Simmons, of the county’s Department of Emergency Management, said he visited Whidbey Shores on Saturday to make sure residents were OK.

Simmons said slides are not uncommon in areas where there are sand and gravel bluffs that become saturated with water during rainy periods.

“You expect it once in a while,” he said. “It’s just a fact of life on Whidbey Island.”

Whidbey Island sailors help in Japanese quake disaster

Sturdy, talented Oakes handed another hat by Island County
By JESSIE STENSLAND
Whidbey News Times Assistant editor
Dec 23 2010, 10:08 AM · UPDATED

Slowly but surely, Bill Oakes is taking over Island County.

The public works director just got his fourth “hat” last week. Now he’s not only the director of the county’s largest department, he’s the county engineer, the parks director and the director of emergency management.

“It’s busy,” Oakes said in his famously understated way.

Oakes inherited his latest responsibility after Dave Hollett, the former director of Emergency Services, quit the county to take a job at the Navy hospital in Oak Harbor.

The department of emergency management was at the center of controversy a couple of years ago after the department was placed within the sheriff’s office. Two of the county commissioners blocked the sheriff’s plan to lay off Hollett and replace him with a deputy.

But then Hollett quit, leaving the county without a director for the beginning of the storm season. Although taking on the additional role wasn’t his idea, Oakes said it is logical. He has years of experience planning for and dealing with emergencies in his former job in King County and nine years in Island County.

On Thanksgiving, for example, he said he was out working with his crews “from 4 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon” on weather-related emergencies.

Of course, Oakes isn’t going to run the Emergency Management Department alone. He said the county will soon advertise for an emergency services coordinator, who will report to Oakes. The county contracts with Mike Simmons to do emergency management work on Camano Island.

Unfortunately for Oakes, all the extra responsibilities haven’t come with pay increases, although he has saved the county a significant amount of money by taking on the extra work.

Oakes started amassing extra titles when Dick Snyder, the former county engineer, left in 2006. The county is required by law to have a “county engineer” position filled. Oakes become public works director and county engineer, though he has an assistant county engineer, an assistant public works director and a public works manager to help with the load.

A couple of years ago, Oakes also became the parks director after the commissioners transferred the department into public works. That was about the time the parks department fell victim to the budget axe, leaving just a third of its funding for 2011. He now has one part-time person on each island handling all the maintenance in 67 parks and habitat areas.

“We’re below sustainable,” he said. “We can limp along like this for a little while, but eventually something has to change.”

If Island County ever opens a coal mine or procures a nuclear reactor, Oakes could easily take on even more responsibility. In his life before public works, Oakes worked his way through Penn State by laboring in a coal mine. He graduated with a degree in engineering with a mining specialty.

He then went to work in another windowless environment. He joined the Navy and worked on a nuclear-powered, fast attack submarine. When he left active duty after eight years, he was the assistant engineer and was qualified to run a nuclear reactor and a nuclear submarine.

His record for staying underwater in a submarine, on a mission that was apparently strictly hush-hush, was 89 days.

“It’s a different life,” he said.

After leaving active duty, Oakes spent 12 years in the Navy Reserves before retiring as a commander. He worked as an engineer in King County for a decade before coming to Island County.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Island County commissioner candidate embroiled in permit allegations
By JESSIE STENSLAND
Whidbey News Times Assistant editor
Oct 18 2010, 12:59 PM · UPDATED

Island County Commissioner John Dean sent out about 20,000 copies of a mailer this week that his Republican opponent, Kelly Emerson, characterized as “a hit piece” and “mudslinging.”

But even more significant, perhaps, is the story behind the negative ad. The alleged county code violation by Emerson and her husband may be even more serious and long-standing than is indicated in the mailer, while she accuses Dean of inappropriately using his authority to pressure the planning department to pursue the issue.

The mailer criticizes Emerson, a Camano Island resident, for “knowing and willful violation” of county building codes for construction work that was being done on her home without a permit.

“We don’t need leaders who think they’re above the law. Island County can do better than Kelly Emerson,” the mailer concludes.

In response, Emerson issued a press release decrying the “attack mailer” as “the dirtiest piece I’ve seen.”

“I’m getting a lot of calls from people who think that it’s pathetic. These are people who planned to vote for John Dean, but now are switching sides,” she said Thursday afternoon.

In her press release, Emerson goes on to accuse Dean, a Democrat, of violating county regulations and protocols in manufacturing an “October surprise.” In an interview in September, she said Dean deviated from the standard process in effectively siccing the planning department on her.

“It was interesting to see how fast the planning department can go when politically motivated,” she said.

The controversy surrounds an enclosed patio that Emerson said her husband was building on the back of their Camano home. She explained that her husband, Kenneth, started work on the project before she got done with the drawings. She admits that he did “about 10 hours of work” before even beginning the necessary permitting process or paying the fee; he started the process the day before the stop-work order was issued.

At a candidates’ forum Thursday, Emerson said her husband did the unpermitted work when she was busy campaigning.

“From time to time, my husband needs adult supervision,” she said.

According to documents obtained by the News-Times, one of Emerson’s neighbors sent an email to Dean’s home email Aug. 30, complaining that the Emersons were adding onto their home without a building permit.

Emerson said it was astonishing that county planning staff was at her property the very same day, issuing a stop-work order.

Dean explained that the normal process when he receives such a complaint is to pass it on to the planning department; sometimes he even directs staff to take a certain action. But since the issue involved his opponent, he realized the political implications.

“In this case, a perceived conflict of interest clearly exists,” Dean wrote, then urged the woman to report the issue directly to the county’s code enforcement officer, effectively leaving himself out of the controversy.

And yet, Dean immediately forwarded the woman’s email and his response to County Planning Director Bob Pederson, along with his fellow commissioners and the administrative assistants in the commissioners’ office, with the message “FYI.” In an interview, Dean explained that he forwarded the complaint because he felt Pederson should know what was going on, plus he felt there should be a public record of the issue.

After receiving the forwarded email, Pederson said he immediately asked a member of his staff to look into the allegation that the Emersons were building without a permit. An Island County building official issued a stop-work order Aug. 30. The department didn’t receive a formal written complaint from the neighbor woman until Sept. 2.

Emerson pointed to the county planning department website, which clearly states complaints from citizens about code violations must be written on a formal complaint form and then mailed to the department. She said the speed of the planning department’s action — before a formal complaint — is suspicious to her and many others in the community; one woman told her she’s been complaining about a neighbor’s unpermitted project for more than a year without action by the county.

“That’s the kind of stuff I’m hearing,” Emerson said.

In a Sept. 13 email to the county building official, Kenneth Emerson questioned who filed the complaint against him. He wrote that he asked a member of county staff and the staff member replied, “The call came from Coupeville.”

Yet Pederson said the department’s long-standing policy is to immediately investigate and issue stop-work orders when the department receives any information about someone building without a permit. He said it’s easier on everyone involved if compliance checks on structures occur early on.

In investigating the construction, county Building Official Andy Griffin discovered that the Emersons may be knowingly building within a restricted wetland buffer. When the Emersons were issued a building permit for a garage in 2008, the permit states that “the building footprint as staked lies outside the 100 foot buffer. No objection to issuance of permit as long as footprint is not moved any closer. Further development/clearing in wetland buffer must be approved by ICPCD.”

Griffin concluded in a letter to Kenneth Emerson that the construction was “a knowing and willful violation” because he had been warned that any new construction in the wetland buffer required approval from the county.

Then in an Oct. 1 letter to Kenneth and Kelly Emerson, county Code Enforcement Officer Andrew Hicks wrote that county staff had discovered the couple had also built a covered porch, another structure and a wall within 50 feet of a stream and wetland feature, all possibly in violation of the county’s critical areas ordinance.

“Staff has also determined that structures have been constructed on the subject parcel without prior approval of required building permits,” the letter states.

Hicks continued that the Emersons can take actions to bring the property into compliance with county code and avoid formal enforcement action, which could amount to $5,000 for critical area violations, as well as a daily $500 fine for each day the violations continue unabated. The Emersons must submit a wetland report, prepared by a professional, within 30 days of receiving Hicks’ letter. The report will delineate the wetland and stream boundaries. In addition, they must submit building permits for all non-exempt structures within 21 days.

Emerson said she doesn’t believe a wetland even exists.

After learning about all of this, Dean said he felt compelled to tell the public about Emerson’s “lack of respect for government.” He admits to “thinking long and hard” about going negative, but ultimately decided it was a matter of fairness. If he had violated county code, he said, everyone would criticize him for being a hypocrite. He felt Emerson, as a candidate, should be held to the same standard.

“It is a big deal. An elected official or a candidate needs to follow the law,” he said.

Island County braces for possible return of Colton Harris-Moore

The Slow Food movement is alive and tasty
By PATRICIA DUFF, South Whidbey Record Arts & Entertainment, Island Life
Jun 25 2010, 2:35 PM · UPDATED

Slow food is the opposite of fast food.

It’s good for you, it doesn’t kill the planet on its way to production and it tastes delicious.

The Slow Food movement brings to mind the famous morality tale in which the slow and steady tortoise ultimately beats the speedy and somewhat villainous hare to the finish. Slow Food advocates, like the well-meaning tortoise, are ever-so-slowly convincing their friends, neighbors and legislators that good, clean and fair-market food is worth fighting for in a world dominated by cheap, unhealthy and somewhat mysterious fast food. Ultimately, slow and clean beats fast and dirty.

The Greenbank Farm will sponsor the first-ever Slow Food Whidbey Island event from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 27 at the farm.

The Slow Food movement is not just about eating local in-season organic food. It’s also about providing healthier food in schools, helping the poor to be able to buy food that is both affordable and nutritious and giving tax breaks to small family farmers who raise food without polluting their communities in the process.

The Slow Food movement began in Italy in the late 1980s in order to provide an alternative to the encroachment of the fast-food market in Europe.

Its mission is to show people that modern, pre-industrial-style food production methods and manufacture are viable, healthful, preferable alternatives to current food manufacturing and agribusiness practices.

The top item on the current agenda of Slow Food USA is nutritious food in school cafeterias across the country. Slow Food USA seeks to create dramatic and lasting change in the food system. It strives to reconnect Americans with the people, traditions, plants, animals, fertile soils and waters that produce a healthy national diet.

The concept for the Whidbey Island event is to teach what Slow Food means by way of tasting, smelling and seeing locally grown products cooked by island chefs.

“We’d like people to learn to appreciate real food which has been handled more by hands than machines,” said Barbara Graham, Slow Food Whidbey Island chapter chairwoman.

“The message is to show why these Whidbey growers give their crops and animals such care, time and energy to produce high-quality, nutritious products, and why these Whidbey chefs bother to buy a local product from them, instead of cheaper sources trucked in from far and wide,” she added.

The proof is in the pudding, as they say, and a gaggle of Whidbey chefs and growers will be on hand at the event to talk about slow food while everybody eats.

Tables of prepared locally grown foods will be available for guests to eat, while raw products of farmers will also be on display. Chefs and growers will talk to participants about the food and their methods for cooking and growing.

“It’s a rare opportunity to catch these chefs out of their kitchens for a chat,” Graham said.

Chefs at the event will include Scott Fraser of Fraser’s, Joe Scott of the Oystercatcher, Andreas Wurzrainer of Christopher’s, Sieb Jurriaans of Prima Bistro, Kathy Longstreet of Deception Pass Café & Grill and Jan Gunn of Whidbey Pies Café.

The growers involved are Rosehip Farm, Penn Cove Shellfish, 3 Sisters Cattle Company, Willowood Farm and Bell’s Farm.

Vintner Greg Osenbach of Langley’s Whidbey Island Winery will pour the wine and tell his story about growing grapes and making wine on Whidbey for the past 25 years. His wines and other locally-made wines may be purchased by the bottle in the Greenbank Farm Wine Shop, which will provide wine glasses for guests at the event.

The local movement began as a grassroots push to open people’s eyes to the island’s bounty.

Last August, Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard hosted an informational potluck and meeting for Whidbey residents interested in starting a local Slow Food chapter. A small group of mostly growers, chefs and friends met for several months to discuss a vision for Slow Food on Whidbey. The group became the steering committee which fulfilled Slow Food USA requirements to become a bona-fide chapter.

The event at the Greenbank Farm will be the group’s first event for the new Slow Food Whidbey Island chapter, which seeks new members.

Tickets are $25 per person and include food and wine; adults only, please. Get tickets at the door or at Whidbey Pies Café and Greenbank Farm Wine Shop in Greenbank; the Oystercatcher, Christopher’s or Bayleaf in Coupeville; Solutions Salon in Freeland; or Prima Bistro and Whidbey Island Winery in Langley; or Deception Pass Café & Grill, Fraser’s or Bayleaf in Oak Harbor.

The event will take place in the main barn adjacent to the wine shop during the Sunday farmers market.

"About Town" visited Bayview in 2005.  At the right, the public restroom that is a CLIVUS-MULTRUM system - Bisceglie Park in Weston has one!

A house burns at Useless Bay early Sunday morning. No one was home at the time of the fire, but the house was gutted.
Jon Beck photo

Deputy saves jumper
By JESSIE STENSLAND
Whidbey News Times Assistant editor
May 12 2009, 4:51 PM · UPDATED

A suicidal man had climbed over the railing of Deception Pass Bridge and was on his way to near-certain death when a quick-thinking deputy reached out and pulled him back from the brink.

Monday, Island County Sheriff Mark Brown recognized Deputy Dan Waggoner with a lifesaving medal for his heroic actions. Waggoner couldn’t attend the packed county commissioner meeting because he was at a call, dealing with a teenager who was threatening family members with a knife.  Brown briefly described the dramatic March 14 incident, leaving no doubt that Waggoner saved the man’s life and risked his own.

“I’m extremely proud of Deputy Waggoner, as we should all be,” the sheriff said.

In an interview, Waggoner explained that the incident occurred when he was driving across the bridge to Whidbey to start his shift at about 9 p.m. He noticed a car parked oddly, as well as scattered beer cans, at the lot on the Whidbey side of the bridge.

The deputy rolled down his window and asked the 30-something driver if he was OK. The man seemed dazed, Waggoner said, and ignored his inquiries. Waggoner quickly got out of his car and followed as the man “speed walked” onto the bridge walkway.  Just as they got over the water, which is about a 180-foot drop, the man turned around a gave Waggoner an odd, blank look. Then the man put his leg over the railing and started to roll over.

“The share of his body weight was over the railing,” Waggoner explained. “He was gone.”

But not quite. Waggoner said he just grabbed the guy and pulled. The man fought, grasping and pulling to go back over.

“It was a good thing he was a smaller guy,” Waggoner said. He’s not sure if his feet ever left the ground during the tussle or how close they came to going over together.

“I just didn’t think about it,” he said.

The deputy finally got the man onto the ground and wrestled with him for a few minutes before getting him into a hold and handcuffs. Waggoner said the man suddenly became limp and started to shake all over, possibly from a seizure. The despondent man had apparently mixed alcohol and pills, the deputy said.  The paramedics soon arrived and transported the man to the hospital. He’s now fine, at least physically.

“The only thing that we could get out of him was that he was in extreme debt,” the deputy indicated.

Waggoner said he still worries about the man and wishes him the best in his life.

“He’s certainly alive today because of Deputy Waggoner’s efforts,” Brown said.

"Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille" is from "Sunset Blvd" (1950) Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Eric Von Strohein, and lots of others including Cecil B. DeMille himself!

Freeland sunbather is The Clyde’s alpha dog
By ROY JACOBSON
South Whidbey Record Reporter
Mar 04 2009, 10:55 AM · UPDATED

Woof, Mr. DeMille. She’s ready for her close-up.

Little Miss, a 9-year-old miniature American Eskimo dog, took the folding seat of honor in the balcony Saturday after being selected from among 116 entries to become The Clyde Theatre’s 2009 Top Dog.

“We had a heck of a time choosing,” said Lynn Willeford, owner of the Langley movie house with her husband, Blake. “With the help of staff, we were able to get it down to a dozen or so finalists, but then someone would point out yet another cool dog, and the list would grow again.”

“We finally just chose the dog who seemed to indicate the most Clyde-like attitude,” Willeford said.

Little Miss, all goggles and smiles, belongs to Susan and Dale Hanzelka of Freeland. At 5 p.m. Saturday, Susan Hanzelka and her four-legged theater companion settled into their seats in the balcony of The Clyde to watch the first showing of the movie “Hotel for Dogs.”

“It was amazing,” Hanzelka said. “She got her own seat, and was even heavy enough to hold it down. I gave her some pieces of popcorn, and she sat there the whole time.”

“She was very well-behaved,” Hanzelka added. “When there were dog sounds from the movie, she would sit up and listen.”

Willeford said she got the idea for the contest after noticing the number of new movies featuring dogs or with the word dog in the title. Participants were asked to drop off flattering photos of their dogs to The Clyde or Myken’s Pet Boutique on First Street in downtown Langley.  More than 100 people responded. The entry photos remain on display in the lobby of The Clyde.  Hanzelka received a $25 gift certificate for toys and treats from Myken’s, five passes to The Clyde and a signed copy of Jeanie Schick-Jacobowitz’s comic little gift book, ‘You’re My Friend ... Be Paws.”

The photo of Little Miss submitted for the contest shows her lounging in a swimming pool and wearing nothing but a pair of swim goggles.

“She looked so stylish,” Hanzelka said. “Whenever she would see the pool, she would just jump right in. She doesn’t swim much, but she really likes to float.”

Little Miss shares her Freeland household with Hanzelka daughters Christy, Cady and Lizzy, and a golden retriever named Ted. Ted has to watch his dog movies on television.

“I thought it was great, a fun thing for them to do,” Hanzelka said of the contest. “I bet they had a tough time picking. What a job.”

It was so difficult, in fact, that Willeford came up with additional categories, to spread around the kudos.  The Top Puppy award went to Bing, who lives with Marty and Peggy Fernandez-Moe of Langley. The Most Inspirational Award went to Diego, who hangs out with Helma Lucker and her family in Clinton, and who gets around with the aid of a two-wheeled cart supporting his hind quarters.

And the prize for Best Reason to Rescue a Dog went to Quigley, adopted from the pound by Diana Putney of Langley.

“I think everyone’s had a great time with it,” Willeford said of the contest.

“I don’t know what I was thinking when I came up with the idea. Who can choose the greatest dog without meeting them all personally?”

It is yet to be determined if there will be a 2010 Top Dog Contest.

“As Blake said, why would I want 115 people mad at me?” Willeford said. “But it’s been a hoot nonetheless, and a great testament to dog love.”

Troopers clear rockslide at Deception Pass

 
Alexander Toney pulls his sled up a hill Sunday morning in Oak Harbor. More snow blew through Whidbey Island over the weekend, leaving slick roads, fallen trees and burst pipes. More snow is forecast Tuesday night.

Island prepares for a white Christmas
By NATHAN WHALEN, Whidbey News Times Reporter
Today, 10:18 AM · UPDATED (Dec. 23)

Another weekend of snow falling on Whidbey Island means more slick driving conditions for residents, and more winter fun for children.

And most importantly, it looks like it will be a white Christmas with more snowfall expected today.  City and county road crews remained busy over the weekend trying to stay ahead of the snow and residents seemed to be trying to stay off the roads.  Nearly a week’s worth of snow created treacherous driving conditions, wreaking havoc for motorists on island roadways, both big and small. At least a foot of the cold, white stuff accumulated on North Whidbey.

Police received multiple reports of naughty snowmen blocking roadways, as well as trees falling and frozen water pipes breaking open. The city received reports of about 20 broken pipes leaking on Monday alone.

Rhonda Haines, the city’s utility services coordinator, said that people should keep a steady trickle of water running in their homes and wrap exposed pipes. More tips can be found at oakharbor.org.  A water pipe supplying North Whidbey Middle School’s sprinkler system burst Monday morning. Oak Harbor School District spokesman Joe Hunt said custodians were fortunately in the building at the time of the accident. Firefighters shut the system down until repairs were made. Hunt said the gym floor was flooded but didn’t sustain any damage.

Oak Harbor and Island County Police and Fire worked through the weekend, responding to calls from stranded vehicles and minor fender benders despite snow crew’s best plowing and sanding efforts.

“Most are minor, non-injury calls,” North Whidbey Fire Chief Marv Koorn said.

City and county police closed Goldie Road at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday following a natural gas leak caused by a Toyota pickup truck that rolled over and landed on top of a natural gas riser.  Cascade Natural Gas fixed the leak later that day and the road was re-opened, said Koorn.  Clear, icy weather made for slick conditions Friday, which contributed to a collision at Highway 20 and SW Erie Street.

“This is a hot spot for accidents,” Officer Cedric Niro said of the location, even in the best of conditions.

Drivers heading southbound on Highway 20 often slow to allow northbound traffic onto Erie Street. On the two-lane road, this kind of “good Samaritan” driving is dangerous, he said, and often results in an accident.

Rich Tyhuis, operations manager for the Oak Harbor Public Works department, said three plows are clearing roads in the city. He said Monday morning that the loose snow was plowed off the main streets and crews were starting to plow the residential streets. They are also spot-sanding at intersections and on hills, he said, adding that crews worked all day Sunday and into the early morning Monday.

Like in Oak Harbor, public works employees were busy clearing roads in Coupeville. Mayor Nancy Conard said the town has two snow plows in operation and the main roads will remain clear because they ensure access to Whidbey General Hospital, the courts and fire department.

“It’s tough when you have a small department and a prolonged weather event,” Conard said. She complimented the maintenance crew on the job they’ve been doing plowing and sanding roads.

In the county, every available piece of equipment is in use to maintain the roads, especially since temperatures are about to rise.

“We’re working hard to get roads clear while the snow is melting,” said Bill Oakes, Island County Public Works director.

Road crews are ramping up their efforts to clear the pavement as forecasters call for more snow on Whidbey Island. As of press time Monday, there is a 60 percent chance of snow Tuesday evening, Oakes said.

Joe Biller, chief of Central Whidbey Fire and Rescue, said it looks like many people are avoiding the slick roads by staying off of them.

“The good news is that people are heeding advice and hunkering down,” Biller said. He added that firefighters in Central Whidbey responded to reports of broken power lines and people who’ve slipped and fallen, but there haven’t been reports of fires or major accidents.

Unfortunately, the department’s Santa Mobile is cancelled because of heavy snow. Candy canes normally dispersed to residents will be donated to Gifts from the Heart food bank.  There were scattered power outages reported Monday morning. Most of those outages happened on the south end of the island. Roger Thompson, a spokesperson for Puget Sound Energy, said there were fewer than 1,000 outages reported on Whidbey Island Monday morning. It’s been difficult for crews to restore power to affected homes because the snow is so deep.

The snow that has fallen, and stayed on Whidbey Island, hasn’t dampened holiday spirits.  The Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association held its first-ever, Red Ticket drawing Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of several hundred people. Coupeville resident Penny Holland won the $1,000 cash drawing.

“We were kind of nervous because of the weather,” said Mary Sterling of the Waterfront Association, but was pleased that so many people came out for the event.

Sterling said that people enjoyed hot chocolate, music and stayed hours after the drawing to shop local stores.

“It was a little get-together,” Sterling said. “People just stayed around and chatted.”

Likewise, shoppers continued with their holiday shopping in downtown Oak Harbor. Although a handful of Pioneer Way businesses posted temporary winter-weather closure notices in their windows, others enjoyed an influx of last-minute holiday shoppers, unable to safely travel to mainland malls and chain stores.