We were surprised to hear about the unfriendly reception given to visitors and speakers from the north end of the island during Langley’s Choochokum event (Letters, July 26).

It has been our experience with Whidbey Walks and Meet Feet on Whidbey that from Deception Pass to Glendale you can find people with the shared values of finding out what they can do to keep Whidbey such a magical and lovely place. Those of us with an interest in creating and preserving Whidbey’s beautiful places have found others living on all parts of the island who share these concerns.

Perhaps they are near Oak Harbor, working on water issues, keeping our wells from becoming too saline. Perhaps they are near Coupeville, volunteering their time to cut salal and nettles, keeping public hiking and biking trails accessible, or near Greenbank helping to maintain public beach access. People who will come out on a cold evening to work on keeping the island highway scenic, to plan an event that will be open to the public, or to talk about safety concerns for bicyclists or children walking to school. These public spirited values are alive and shared in communities all over the island, north and south, and we would do well to focus on those things that unite all of us who live on and enjoy Whidbey Island!

Elaine Woods

Diana Klein

Jan Hughes