A single major difference seems to separate one of the three candidates competing for the open seat on the Port of Coupeville: Whether to support the pending conservation easement for the port’s Greenbank Farm property.
Rangers from Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve asked the kids of Central Whidbey to do the impossible this week; imagine a Coupeville without Kapaw’s Iskreme or the Honey Bear.
On Wednesday, dozens of school children gathered to learn about the island’s first settlers at the Coupeville Library. Ranger Alik Roos told the children that many of Whidbey’s pioneers traveled for years before settling on the prairie. She explained that many families had to leave their prized possessions like pianos, sewing machines and furniture behind because the items proved to be too heavy to carry in the wagons.
Religion notes
Whidbey Islanders with a west side view will see Navy ships begin arriving Tuesday for Seattle’s Seafair Celebration.
Sailors on board the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), and guided-missile destroyers USS Sampson (DDG 102) and USS Chafee (DDG 90) will begin to arrive Tuesday, Aug. 2 for the annual Seattle Seafair.
The public is invited to the Centennial of Naval Aviation Heritage Fly In Saturday, July 30, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.
For aviation buffs, the ramp on Ault Field will be filled with rows of aircraft, from vintage war birds to modern combat jets, patrol planes and helicopters. The air station’s current inventory, including the EA-6B Prowler, EA-18G Growler, P-3C Orion and MH-60 Knighthawk helicopter, will be on the tarmac, some in heritage paint schemes.
Ferry ridership has already increased 35 percent, carrying over 23,000 vehicles, since the addition of a second ferry, the Salish, to the Coupeville-Port Townsend run on July 1.
Emotions boiled over into outrage during a Friday afternoon sentencing hearing for a self-proclaimed spiritual healer who molested a 6-year-old child on South Whidbey.
State state regulators have begun an investigation this week into a third site that might contain Native American remains.
With the mailing of primary election ballots Monday, voters can now begin narrowing down the number of candidates vying for a single Oak Harbor City Council seat from four to two.
Paul Brewer, Mark Wiggins, Martha Yount and Tara Hizon are all seeking to fill position one. The seat is currently held by Jim Palmer, who has decided not to run for a second term due to personal reasons.
The cell phone policy that caused nearly four months of grief for the Oak Harbor School District last fall was adopted by the Coupeville School Board this week, which previously had a more restrictive policy.
The policy was developed and recommended by the Washington State School Directors Association last summer and allows school administrators to confiscate and search a student’s cell phone if they have a reasonable suspicion, based on objective and articulable facts, that such a search will reveal a violation of school rules.
A 53-year-old Oak Harbor resident is accused of assaulting his wife and then attacking a neighbor who came to help the woman, court documents state.
Prosecutors charged Michael Monschau in Island County Superior Court July 14 with assault in the second degree, assault in the fourth degree (domestic violence) and unlawful possession of a firearm.
How much would you be willing to pay to see your boss smooch with a pig?
Cathy Niiro is betting members of law enforcement in the Island County Sheriff’s Office and the Oak Harbor Police Department will pay quite a bit for the chance to see their head honcho pucker up and plant one on a porker.
Better still, the public porcine-related humiliation is for a good cause.
The future of shoreline development in Oak Harbor was the focus of a July 22 community planning meeting at Skagit Valley College.