New Year’s Day 5K Resolution Run and polar plunge
Flyers Restaurant is sponsoring a 5K Resolution Run and Polar Bear Plunge New Year’s Day. The run starts at 11 a.m. Jan. 1 at Windjammer Park with the plunge to follow at noon. The event is free, but a donation of a canned food item to North Whidbey Help House is encouraged.
Participants are encouraged to show up early to sign a waiver. Start and finish line is at the lagoon.
Coffee and hot chocolate will be available for the plungers, as well as heated tents for them to dry off after.
Oak Harbor’s Shop Local promotion continues
The 2013 Shop Local Campaign is still underway. When shopping local, be sure to save the receipts. If you bring in your receipts dated between Nov. 29 – Dec. 31 to the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce, for every $50 you spent with a merchant in the 98277 area, you will receive a ticket to win the holiday gift tree. If the receipt is from a chamber member, you will receive two tickets for every $50 spent.
The maximum amount of tickets you can receive is 10 — 20 if a chamber member. A drawing will take place on Jan. 16 at the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge.
Job vacancies in Washington expected to double by spring
In a survey last spring, Washington employers reported they expect to nearly double their job openings by spring 2014.
According to the Employment Security Department’s 2013 Spring Job-Vacancy and Hiring Survey Report, job vacancies in Washington increased by 63 percent, from nearly 52,000 in spring 2012 to more than 85,000 in spring 2013.
The industries with the most vacancies last spring were healthcare and social assistance with 11,430 vacancies; accommodation and food services with 11,404 vacancies; and a category called administrative and support and waste management with 10,089 vacancies.
Statewide, the average starting wage for new hires in early 2013 was $13.67, compared to $15.45 a year earlier.
Researchers said the drop in the average wage is likely connected to the increased hiring in low-wage occupations, such as farmworkers, customer service and freight laborers, as well as lower wages offered in some of those occupations compared to a year ago.
