Why should someone vote for the North Whidbey Park & Recreation District Maintenance & Operation Levy who doesn’t swim, kayak, doesn’t have a dog that likes to run, and is not interested in watching kids play baseball?

Well, if you have kids, it’s clear that you would want them to know how to swim, especially since we live surrounded by water. And if you have kids, you would enjoy watching them play ball and swim. There are also special family events and programs at the pool for people of all ages.

Also we are proud to use the pool for Navy Fitness & Testing, American Red Cross Lifeguard Training & Certification, Skagit Valley College Water Safety Programs, and Oak Harbor School District Programs. Parks are also well used community assets.

Furthermore, there is a pragmatic personal reason we should support the levy: health and rehabilitation. Life is precious and precarious. We never know when we might have an injury accident or be diagnosed with rheumatism, arthritis, inflammatory diseases like FM or PMR and osteoporosis. Orthopedic doctors and physical therapists enthusiastically recommend water exercises for pain relief and potential restoration of injured areas. You could look at it this way: A vote for the levy is an affordable health insurance policy.

Trudy Sundberg

Oak Harbor

A fair affair

4-H blossoms at the Fair

Every year, we tell our kids that 4-H is about so much more than “just Fair,” that it’s about learning how to keep records, how to participate in a group, how to communicate with the public, how to assume responsibilities within the community, etc. And yet if you have ever seen a 4-H’er exhibiting at Fair, you know what I have come to respect – that it is at our county fair where the kids get to show off all that learning.

4-H’ers work on their projects all year long in order to earn the privilege of showing at the Fair, and their excitement about entering the ring (or kitchen), answering judges’ questions, and balancing pride with good sportsmanship reflects their efforts. Having an audience that appreciates this and offers feedback to the participants just serves to enrich their experience.

Here on Whidbey, we are so lucky to have a community that turns out in such great numbers to encourage our youth, and to challenge them to continue to “make the best better.” And equally lucky that we have a Board of County Commissioners that values the process and outcomes of the 4-H Youth Development Program. Thank you all!

We are also quite lucky to have a powerful network of community supporters that rally to take care of some of our needs throughout the year: Skagit Farmers Supply, Bayview Farm and Garden, and the Sunny C Ranch, all provide discounts for our animal projects throughout the year and then donate and deliver feed for our animals on the fairgrounds; Island Fabrics, ACE, Wal-mart and