Nathan Whalen Whidbey News-Times

Fundraisers set for Oak Harbor assault victim

By Nathan Whalen • November 23, 2012 3:22 pm

Two fundraisers are scheduled in the coming days to help an Oak Harbor man defray the medical costs stemming from a suspected assault that took place last week.

Chris Cooper, 23, is currently at Harborview Medical Center. His father, Terry Cooper, describes Chris’s condition as a comatose state.

“He has not been conscious since they found him on Pioneer Way,” Terry Cooper said Tuesday. A passerby, believed to be someone who delivered newspapers, discovered an unconscious Chris Cooper in front of a SE Pioneer Way storefront about a block away from the Highway 20 intersection.

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Oak Harbor resident Ann Liszak gets a plate full of food Thursday during the North Whidbey Community Harvest. She enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast before volunteering in the afternoon.

Thousands gobble up North Whidbey Community Harvest

By Nathan Whalen • November 23, 2012 3:20 pm

Thousands of North Whidbey residents decided to share a festive Thanksgiving feast together at the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge.

The annual North Whidbey Community Harvest took place Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. where volunteers provided a turkey and ham dinner, complete with all of the traditional side dishes, to anyone who walked through the doors.

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Prosser resigns after 25 years on the North...

By Nathan Whalen • November 21, 2012 1:05 pm

One of Whidbey’s longest serving elected officials announced he is leaving his position.

Citing health reasons, North Whidbey Park and Recreation District Commissioner Harvey Prosser announced his resignation this week from the elected board.

“I’m trying to get well again and it’s not going well,” said Prosser, 84, who lives north of Oak Harbor.

He added that he is also losing some of his hearing and he isn’t able to understand words that aren’t spoken clearly.

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Oak Harbor High School seniors London Cook

Oak Harbor kicks off levy campaign

By Nathan Whalen • November 21, 2012 12:50 pm

Should North Whidbey voters approve a new Oak Harbor School District levy in February 2012, the district would collect $7.35 million each year.

While that amount is more than double the amount collected on the current levy, school officials say the extra money is needed to help restore the roughly $5 million worth of cuts made in recent years and to bring the school district closer to the levies in neighboring school districts and military school districts throughout the state.

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Auditor looking at Aquajets finances

By Nathan Whalen • November 21, 2012 12:45 pm

The state auditor’s office is examining a North Whidbey Park and Recreation District checking account.

Park district executive director Bill Walker notified the Washington State Auditor’s Office of a checking account in possession of the North Whidbey Aquatic Club that didn’t go through the district’s usual accounting processes.

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Habitat introduces preservation program

By Nathan Whalen • November 21, 2012 11:40 am

Amid the houses built with the help of Habitat for Humanity, work is underway to help current homeowners who are struggling to maintain their home.

Habitat for Humanity of Island County is developing a program to make exterior repairs to homes owned by people struggling to maintain them.

“The intent is to try to help people do exterior repairs to their homes to keep them livable,” said Calvin Hewitt, executive director for Habitat for Humanity of Island County.

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North Whidbey pool board stands by director

By Nathan Whalen • November 16, 2012 6:00 pm

Despite pleas from a group residents, the North Whidbey Park and Recreation Commission is standing by its executive director.

In a marathon meeting that lasted nearly five hours Thursday night, commissioner Scott Vogt said the complaints brought against executive director Bill Walker weren’t enough to warrant removing him from his position.

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Volunteers from the 2011 Community Harvest in Oak Harbor served thousands of people who ventured to the Elks Lodge for a feast an fellowship on Thanksgiving.

Citizens invited to Community Harvest in Oak Harbor

By Nathan Whalen • November 13, 2012 5:40 pm

Hundreds of volunteers are needed to ensure thousands of people enjoy a Thanksgiving feast next week.

The North Whidbey Community Harvest celebration, in which everybody is invited, takes place Thanksgiving day, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 22 at the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge.

Jack Stiltz, one of the organizers for the Community Harvest, said 170 turkeys and 500 to 600 pounds of ham are needed to serve the crowd of people who show up Thanksgiving day.

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Navy critics shanghai Coupeville economic meeting

By Nathan Whalen • November 13, 2012 5:30 pm

A meeting sorting out how the local economy is affected by the military turned into a meeting where critics questioned the Navy’s benefit to Whidbey Island.

The meeting, held as a fact-finding event for the Washington Military Alliance and facilitated by the Economic Development Council last week, was attended by several critics who questioned whether there was any economic benefit to the island.

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North Whidbey Park and Recreation District executive director Bill Walker talk about the termination of North Whidbey Aquatic Club head coach Neil Romney Wednesday night.

Coach’s firing stuns North Whidbey Aquatic Club members

By Nathan Whalen • November 11, 2012 10:00 am

More than 75 swimmers, parents and residents packed a meeting Wednesday night wanting to know why the head coach of the North Whidbey Aquatic Club had been terminated from his position this week.

Neil Romney, who was the coach of the Aquajets for 10 years, was abruptly fired. His termination marks the second employee associated with the Aquajets to be fired in recent months. The swimming club, which boast about 100 youth swimmers and about 20 adult “master” swimmers, is a program of the North Whidbey Park and Recreation District, which owns and operates the John Vanderzicht Memorial Pool.

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Karen Hossfeld and Dianne Varshock stand in front of Kakies Donuts and Bakery

Oak Harbor’s Kakies provides fresh baked goods

By Nathan Whalen • November 9, 2012 5:59 pm

A trip to Oak Harbor’s newest bakery will have some people reminiscing.

Kakie’s Donuts and Bakery, owned by sisters Karen Hossfeld and Dianne Varshock, are baking an orange bread every Saturday. The treat will bring back memories of the Chris’ Bakery specialty for some longtime North Whidbey residents. That family-owned business closed about a decade ago.

The new family-owned bakery has been producing made-from-scratch baked goods from its Pioneer Way storefront for several months.

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Island Transit officials looking forward to new digs

By Nathan Whalen • November 7, 2012 2:23 pm

One thing is for sure when Island Transit’s new headquarters is complete, officials want to help knock the current, cramped building down.

Island Transit Executive Director Martha Rose said she wants to make the first swing of the wrecking ball that will help demolish the agency’s longtime home that isn’t large enough to deal with the agency’s expanding fleet. The current building was constructed in the 1970s and isn’t large enough to meet the agency’s growing needs.

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Port to surrender more than $350,000 worth of...

By Nathan Whalen • November 6, 2012 5:38 pm

After months of work, leaders for the Port of Coupeville have a dollar amount for a conservation easement they want to place on the agricultural, recreational and environmentally sensitive lands at the Greenbank Farm.

The Port of Coupeville, which owns the Greenbank Farm, is also giving up the development rights to two strips of property on either side of Wonn Road. An appraisal of those properties places the value of those development rights at $359,000.

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