Results 71 - 80 of about 25360.
Jul 03 2008, 11:26 AM By garnering all but one vote, Clinton resident Norma Smith was selected as the Republican partys preferred choice to replace State Rep. Chris Strow during a meeting Thursday evening in Mount Vernon. Candidate needed in auditor hunt
Jul 03 2008, 11:26 AM The search for the next Island County Auditor is on hold until Republicans can persuade a third candidate to apply. Sound Off: Ferry system shorts Whidbey
Jul 03 2008, 10:58 PM By Sarah Richards Sound Off: Act now to save our wetlands
Jul 03 2008, 10:58 PM By Angie Homola
My fellow citizens, Island County is on the brink of adopting the new Critical Areas Wetland Ordinance. When we failed to provide adequate clean- up measures for surface water runoff and sewage outfall entry into Puget Sound the state stepped in to mandate these practices.
Our island is fed by a sole source aquifer and maintains a delicate ecosystem. The majority of us understand this requires protection of wetlands that filter water before it returns to the water table and our wells. We understand that wetlands are the lifeblood of migratory birds, native plants and a myriad of dependant species that complete the food chain. We know that livestock defecating in wetlands may introduce fecal coliform or E-coli into water bodies. Hence, setbacks are required.
Why we really sold the cowsJul 03 2008, 8:48 PM I just briefed the Dec. 29 edition of your paper and noted an absurdly inaccurate statement. Your top news stories for the year are always interesting. This year I found your mention of our family selling our dairy cows. You state that we were the last dairy farm in operation on Whidbey and this was the end of an era. To my knowledge this is true and the real news story here was the end of an era. But, your reasoning on page 2 for our leaving the dairy business is simply baseless!
In May 2007 we sold our dairy herd for one and only one reason. Certainly, it would have been more lucrative for us to stay in the dairy business, but for years we had desired to divide up the ownership of our business. It had been difficult to come to a fair agreement while providing for the dairy operation to continue. Once the decision was made to sell the cows, the division was done rapidly and fairly for those of us involved.
It is not my business why other dairies have sold, but I have often heard the same rhetoric used for others as you state as the reason for our sale. Maybe this is the expected reason, or just the easy justification, or more likely the juicy gossip! I dont know. Why would you state it, when it is not factual? Is this responsible journalism?
The little engines that couldntJul 03 2008, 8:48 PM A little bird tells me that Washington state purchased four very expensive engines that will not fit the ferries that we have or are likely to build. They were purchased in advance of our steel-bottomed ferries being pulled from service. Now I can understand pulling dangerous vessels from service, but maintenance of these vessels should have been a priority considering what ferry service means to Washington state and our local economies, as well as being an integral transportation link within Puget Sound. Bulldozers fit in the loopholes
Jul 03 2008, 8:47 PM The proposed wetland regulations very soon to be approved by the Island County commissioners (possibly as soon as Jan. 7) need to be stopped and rewritten to comply with state law. Island County has already spent $2 million of our taxpayer dollars defending an illegal Critical Areas Ordinance all the way to the State Court of Appeals who said the county was in violation of the Growth Management Act.
This would be an additional $2 million to defend another piece of gobblydegook by the countys pro-development hired gun, Keith Dearborn. Keith had veto power over the Best Available Science report and is the lead in writing wetland regulations that are peppered with holes so huge you could drive five bulldozers through them side by side right through a critical wetland.
The big holes are the words practical and reasonable. What is practical and reasonable for developers and clear cutters is not practical or reasonable if you expect to protect wetlands and critical areas, which these regulations are supposed to do.
Cut the ridicule and work togetherJul 03 2008, 8:47 PM Why does the paper continue to print the rantings of people who have nothing more than character assassination as a message?
I believe that people want to elect the best and brightest to public office. People who will serve their communities with integrity and honesty. But when letters like Bill Burnett hit the paper with such regularity, people become embittered and cynical. Families are impacted by the slander.
Wildcats third in WesCo NorthJul 03 2008, 5:39 PM A dominating rebounding performance at both ends of the court by Oak Harbors twin towers, Jennifer Jansen and Clair Thiel, helped out by Jasmine Chong and Roshaunda Smith off the bench, got the Wildcats back on track with a 51-32 victory over Stanwood in Wednesday WesCo North basketball action. Swim team dunks Spartans
Jul 03 2008, 5:39 PM The long holiday break did nothing to diminish the Oak Harbor High School swim teams intensity, and the Wildcats started 2008 off on the right foot beating Stanwood 131-61 in a Thursday league meet at John Vanderzicht Memorial Pool.
