South Whidbey measles scare unfounded

n News of an outbreak of German measles on South Whidbey Island turned out to be unfounded said Island County Health officials. It turned out a 17-year-old girl who tested positive for the virus also known as rubella had been misdiagnosed. The error wasn’t discovered until after warnings had appeared on social media and school officials had been informed.

Port director’s employment agreement approved

Commissioners for the Port of Coupeville approved this month an employment contract with Tim McDonald, who begins his tenure as executive director Dec. 1. McDonald will earn $38,400 a year with no benefits. He takes over for Jim Patton.

Digital attendance OK’d by south end parks board

South Whidbey Parks and Recreation commissioners approved last week a remote attendance policy. The new rules gives the commissioners the ability to attend the once-a-month meetings by telephone or video chat.

South Whidbey students gather food for needy

Students at Langley Middle School collected 1,010 pounds of food that was donated to the Good Cheer food bank. Their Scare Hunger food drive culminated in an assembly Nov. 15. Good Cheer served 960 families in October and numbers are expected to increase in November.

City of Langley considers number of officers

Langley interim police chief David Marks is evaluating the staffing levels of his department in an effort to propose a budget for the city’s general fund. The small police department has been down one officer since former chief Randy Heston retired. The police force survey is expected to be presented before the Langley City Council in February or March.

Island Consort starts inaugural season

Island Consort kicks off the season with a series of performances in coming weeks. Part of the music group performs at a Christmas concert at 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 15 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland.

One-way road proposed to deal with erosion

Leaders for the Town of Coupeville are considering changing a portion of Front Street between North Main and Gould streets into one-way to deal with a bluff erosion problem. Town officials budgeted $26,000 to resolve the erosion near the trail on Front Street. A proposal will be brought to the town council in early 2014.