It’s Dec. 22: The first day of our last weekend before Christmas. Time to rush here, rush there, go to the mall, the mega grocery store, wait at traffic lights, purchase just the right gift made in China, mutter curses in silent parking space battles, try to merge when nobody wants to slow down to let your car onto the freeway. As Peggy Lee used to sing, “Is this all there is?”
The arts community of Langley likes its drama, but not so much when it comes to the mayoral follies. Mayor Larry Kwarsick, his lawyer and supporters were shocked Monday when Island County Superior Court Judge Vickie Churchill figuratively threw the book at him for doctoring land use papers on his home computer when he was the city planner, then slipping them into the city’s system to make it all look legal and tidy. A whistleblower turned in Kwarsick when he became mayor.
One of the greatest things about living on South Whidbey is our theatrical community and the untold thousands of hours put in by hundreds of actors, dancers, directors and stage hands to bring magic to our holiday season.
BY JO MOCCIA
As most of the community knows by now, the school district has been experiencing an enrollment decline over the past several years, as a result of the declining population in the South Whidbey area. Enrollment peaked in 2000 and has declined by 30 percent since that time. During this time the district has responded by downsizing in both staff and space utilization. The debate over facilities use has created a great deal of turmoil in our community.
Islanders are hard at work making sure that a child’s worst nightmare never happens: That he or she will wake up Christmas morning and find nothing under the tree, while other boys and girls in the neighborhood are celebrating their good luck.
What happens when you combine the Mayan doomsday calendar with the impending fiscal cliff? Look at the cartoon to see.
BY PAUL BECKWITH
One recent Sunday morning, I was sitting down to a cup of coffee and the Sunday paper. I skipped through to the sports page. The headline story was about 8 on 8 football on Lopez Island. I enjoy these “throw back” stories and started to read. However, the first paragraph instead had the obligatory ferry worker bashing.
A long time ago on South Whidbey, three Port of South Whidbey commissioners surprised the community by purchasing a beautiful piece of property in the Possession Point area, including 667 feet of precious waterfront and 36.6 upland acres.
Someone already filled in the answers to this congressional quiz.
Whidbey Islanders’ frustrations were evident last week when David Moseley, head of the Ferries Division of the Department of Transportation, visited Freeland.
BY ELISA MILLLER
Ten years ago, when we were new to South Whidbey and exploring all the local, public trails, I heard there was a way to get to the upper end of the Dorothy Cleveland Trail by going up Nation Drive/Lupine Lane.
We recently pointed out the benefits of Christmas shopping at home if you live on South Whidbey, but we would be negligent not to point out that our community is also the best place to just enjoy yourself in the weeks leading up to the holiday.
When people recognize you only by your first name, you’ve made a name for yourself. That’s exactly what 10th District Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen did in the 30 years in the Washington State Legislature, eventually becoming chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.