Ferries plan for Thanksgiving

Washington State Ferries customers traveling over the water to grandmother’s house on Thanksgiving Day will be able to take advantage of extra routes to the San Juan Islands, and will be on a holiday schedule on the Clinton/Mukilteo, Seattle/Bremerton, and Point Defiance/Tahlequah routes.

All other ferries in the system will be on a regular Thursday schedule.

Whidbey General to recruit internist

Scott Rhine, Whidbey General Hospital’s administrator, said this week the hospital plans to recruit a new internal medicine specialist to Whidbey Island. Rhine said he hopes the new doctor will take the place of Dr. Betsy van Loben Sels, who is closing her Coupeville practice and moving off the island.

As in the past, the hospital will probably offer to pay an incoming doctor a salary during his or her first few years on the island, Rhine said, which will give that person time to build a profitable practice. He said he expects that salary will fall in the $90,000 to $120,000 range. A doctor who accepts the deal will be required to pay the wages back once establishing a successful practice.

“We try to help them get started,” Rhine said.

Rhine said the best place for a new doctor to set up a practice would be in Coupeville, due to the proximity to the hospital. However, he or she may chose to practice on North or South Whidbey. He said the hospital tries to keep a certain number of internal medicine specialists practicing on the island in order to meet the needs of Whidbey Island patients.

Firefighter wins education award

Jerry Beck, a lieutenant with Fire Protection District 3, received an award ealier this month for his ongoing work as the district’s public information officer.

At the state fire marshal’s Public Education Awards ceremony Nov. 9, Beck, a Clinton resident, was given the fifth-place award for Outstanding Public Educator among paid and volunteer firefighters. Some of the efforts that won Beck the award include his annual work setting up a smoke-evacuation drill for children at the Island County Fair and a county-wide, multiple-casualty distaster drill that involves fire, rescue, medical and emergency agencies from around the region, as well as dozens of South Whidbey residents.

Pizzeria seeks food for Good Cheer

Pizza Factory in Clinton is offering discounts on its pizzas to anyone who brings canned and other non-perishable food items into the restaurant to donate them to the Good Cheer Food Bank.

People who donate items will receive $1 or $2 off pizza purchases depending on how much food they donate. The food drive runs through the end of December.

The restaurant is also taking part in Operation Dough-Nation, a fund-raiser to benefit children who were affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast. Customers who donate $1 or more to the fund will receive a pizza discount coupon to be used on a later visit to the restaurant. Pizza Factory will donate an additional dollar to the fund with the redemption of each coupon.

Bank declares another dividend

Washington Banking Co., the parent company of Whidbey Island Bank, recently announced a dividend of 6 cents per common share. This is the 14th consecutive quarterly cash dividend since the company went public in June 1998.

The dividend will be paid to shareholders of record as of Nov. 5. The company recently announced third-quarter financial results of 24 percent asset growth, 26 percent net loan growth, 21 percent growth in deposits, and 51 percent increase in profits compared to the the same period last year.

Boeing food drive breaks records

Boeing employees in the Puget Sound region donated more food than ever during the company’s annual Food & Essentials Drive.

Katja Sipple, a spokesperson for the company, said Boeing employees donated 41 percent more food than last year. The donations will provide more than 63,000 meals for families in Western Washington.

Each year, The Boeing Company brings non-perishable food, paper and personal hygiene products and other essential items to Food Lifeline. In addition, the company’s headquarters donated money to help Food Lifeline purchase high-protein items, like turkey and chicken meat, which are often requested by families at neighborhood food banks.

Food Lifeline is the largest non-profit food bank distribution agency in Washington. Last year the organization delivered almost 20 million pounds of food to more than 250 neighborhood food banks, hot meal programs and shelters.