Oak Harbor goes back to school

Students in Oak Harbor gathered their notebooks, donned their backpacks and headed back to school Thursday morning.

It was a fairly calm morning for many students attending Olympic View Elementary School. Students were lined up in an orderly fashion outside their classrooms waiting for the 9 a.m. bell to ring.

Students and families knew where to go on the first day of school. Olympic View Elementary School held an open house Wednesday night to inform families about the first day of school, said Marietta Wiener, principal.

Many of the students heading to class were excited for the new school year.

“I’m looking to having fun, just like last year,” said Melissa Deckard who is entering the second grade while her brother James was heading into third grade.

Melissa and James are two of the more than 5,700 students who started school in Oak Harbor School District.

Students in Coupeville started class Tuesday morning, while South Whidbey schools opened Thursday as well.

With children back in Oak Harbor schools, motorists watch their speed in school zones.

From 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. each school day, speed limits in school zones are 20 mph.

City workers recently removed the black coverings that covered speed limit signs during the summer.

Traffic Officer Robert Dickinson said motorists have been responding well to the speed limit change, although he does pull over some speeding drivers. The police department will place its radar trailer near various schools.

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