Articles by Grace Swanson
Dancers Kelsey Lampe and Sierra Schallock practice a contemporary dance move with professional dancer Joy Spears.
Island dancers train with stars
By Grace Swanson • May 20, 2016 7:20 pm

Music flooded South Whidbey High School as Island Dance students twirled and leaped under the tutelage of two internationally renowned dance stars this past weekend.

During the two-day workshop, Joy Spears and Barry Youngblood taught contemporary dance classes to 30 dancers ranging from ages 8 to 18. Spears was one of 10 top female dance competitors on the second season of the hit Fox television show, “So You Think You Can Dance,” and has performed with Lady Christina, Britney Spears, Will.i.am and many other entertainers.

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Lizzy Hanzelka
Teenage employment remains a struggle on South End
By Grace Swanson • May 13, 2014 7:39 pm

Everyone remembers his or her first job, but for teens on South Whidbey a job can be hard to find.

Charlie McKissic, the Goose Community Grocer store manager, has noticed a change in the average employment age over his career in food retail. In the 1970s and ’80s, teenagers held a majority of the grocery jobs, from baggers to floor and courtesy clerks. This trend shifted in the last decade when the economy tanked and more adults began to fill these positions.

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