Work began this week on a project to improve the imaging services at Whidbey General Hospital. Those upgrades should improve privacy, safety and speed of service for patients.
Workers are spending the week installing a CT scanner in the bowels of the Coupeville-based hospital.
Hospital diagnostic imaging manager Randy White is quick to note the improvements the new machine will have over its predecessor, which is 10 years old.
A group of eight volunteers spent the last six months figuring out recommendations on how the publicly owned Greenbank Farm should be operated.
The group, known as the Greenbank Farm Executive Planning Group, recommended that the Port of Coupeville shouldn’t extend the current contract with the Greenbank Farm Management Group, which is set to expire March 31, 2013. In addition, the group recommended that the port should solicit requests for proposals for the selection of future management for the group. The volunteers also stated that the port, as it currently functions, should not assume management of the Greenbank Farm without the assistance of a management entity, according to a report released Wednesday morning during a special meeting of the commissioners of the Port of Coupeville.
A majority of volunteers examining the future of the Greenbank Farm voted this week that the Port of Coupeville should explore selling the publicly owned farm.
The Greenbank Farm Executive Planning Group released its report this week after spending six months researching the farm’s operations, interviewing leaders from the farm and Port of Coupeville and developing recommendations about how the farm should be operated after a current lease with the Greenbank Farm Management Group expires March 31, 2013.
Spending reductions and tax increases associated with the pending federal “fiscal cliff” could hit the pocketbook of the Oak Harbor School District.
School officials are bracing for about $1 million in reductions should federal lawmakers fail to reach an agreement by the end of the year to avert across the board spending cuts and tax increases that are scheduled to take place in coming weeks.
Amid the instruments and musicians practicing, another group of people were at an Oak Harbor music store doing something a bit different.
About six people were in a large room at Click Music honing their juggling skills and having a lot of fun doing it.
The informal group of jugglers, known as the Whidbey Island Jugglers, spend their Wednesday evenings at the Oak Harbor music store tossing clubs and balls to each other and off the walls to improve their dexterity.
Oak Harbor school officials are hoping to see a delay in regulations that could interfere with career and technical classes at the high school.
School board members met with State Rep. Norma Smith recently to discuss legislative priorities for the upcoming session.
Those priorities include delaying regulations that could affect career and technical education, the proper funding of schools and compensation.
A severe storm that hit Whidbey Island left Port of Coupeville officials scrambling to find someone to make repairs to a fuel float.
The high tides and high-speed winds that marked the Dec. 17 storm caused the brackets on one of the two 40-foot, concrete fuel floats at the Coupeville Wharf to fail.
Horse lovers of all kinds have a place to indulge their passion.
The Noble Horse, open on Pioneer Way across near the intersection with Hathaway Street, provides a unique store that allows folks to purchase the artwork, clothing, gifts, books and accessories that highlight their love of the equestrian lifestyle.
About 50 residents, transportation officials and community leaders discussed options being considered to alter several intersections on Highway 20 between Island Transit’s headquarters and Outlying Field.
In the wake of the Dec. 14 shooting in Connecticut where 20 students and six adults were killed, Oak Harbor school officials are busy reviewing security policies and informing parents about safety around the district.
During a special Oak Harbor School Board meeting Tuesday, State Rep. Norma Smith asked staff and school board members about how the district reacted to the tragedy.
“It has made an emotional impact on our staff and our parents and kids too,” Schulte said during the meeting.
For the second time in about a month, a commissioner has resigned his position from the North Whidbey Park and Recreation District board.
Board president Scott Vogt submitted his resignation Dec. 7. The letter was read into the record during a Thursday evening park board meeting.
Hillcrest Elementary School Principal Paula Seaman donned a penguin costume Wednesday as part of a light-hearted celebration of students’ efforts raising money for the school.
The students in November sold holiday gifts, wrapping paper and cookie dough to raise around $26,000 for the school’s parent teacher association.
Business leaders will encourage visitors to Deception Pass to drive south a few miles more on their trips.
The Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce is unveiling a new advertising campaign, “Just a Splash Past Deception Pass,” to encourage visitors at Deception Pass State Park, one of the busiest parks in Washington state, to continue driving south on Highway 20 rather than heading north onto Fidalgo Island.
