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a trolley ride to a group of students last week. Located on Ebey Road, just a short walk from Coupeville Elementar y School, Sherman’s Pioneer Farm Produce is invaded by hundreds of students every October and this year was no exception. According to Joyce Roethle, the school’s student service secretary, about 275 first-grade through third-grade students visited the farm over the past few weeks. Unsurprisingly, it tends to be a popular event. “Oh they love it,” Roethle said. “Rain or shine, it’s a
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didate for mayor, was contacted by the city’s code enforcement officer for putting up campaign signs earlier than allowed by city code. The code said they couldn’t be displayed more than 60 days before the elec-
Wednesday, October 31, 2012 • Whidbey News-Times
in this edition.
big hit.” Parents often seem to have as much fun as the kids. Trish Hall, whose daughter attends Central Whidbey Cooperative Preschool, said they recently moved to Coupeville and the pumpkin patch sparked warm memories of her own childhood. “I love it,” Hall said. “I grew up in Nebraska so this is the kind of stuff I remember doing as a kid.” “This is one of the best parts of living here,” echoed Alison Perera, who visited the farm with her daughter Natalie, 3, and the preschool students. Sherman said, annual pumpkin sales are an important part of his business but he clearly enjoys it.
He has a tractor that’s painted yellow and black with Tonka written on the side and it’s attached to a custom-made trolley that he gives rides to children who squeal with delight. “Sure I spend a lot of money on all the toys … but it’s not just a parade tractor,” he defended. “It’s a work tractor.” Softening, the grizzled farmer admitted to a Whidbey News-Times reporter that while he sometimes gets funny looks from other farmers, he has a pretty good time shepherding kids around his pumpkin patch. “I do enjoy it,” he said. For other Halloween and harvest events on Whidbey Island, see the living section
Central Whidbey Cooperative Preschool students Olivia Hall, 5, and Avery Miller, 4, ride Dale Sherman’s trolley to his pumpkin patch off Ebey Road.
tion. The city attorney, however, determined that it was an unconstitutional infringement of free speech. The council adopted an interim sign code doing away with the rule until the code can be permanently amended. Powers said the planners decided to expand the focus of the amendment beyond political signs to all tem-
porary signage, including commercial. Powers said regulating signs is complex because of First Amendment rights and case law. The planning commission originally proposed banning commercial sign wavers, including the dancing pizza guys, from sidewalks, but Powers said the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in
the famous “Blazing Bagel case” that such a prohibition isn’t constitutionally permissible. Powers emphasized that the code now makes a distinction between “political free speech signs” and “campaign signs.” Political signs pertain to a social or public issue while campaign signs are about an election. The city can put more
Justin Burnett / Whidbey News-Times
restrictions on campaign signs, as compared to political signs. The proposed amendment places no limits on how long before an election a candidate can put up signs on public right-of-ways, but it states they have to be down by 14 days after the election. Previously, the candidates had 10 days, but Powers
said it probably doesn’t make much difference. “Historically the candidates have been very, very responsible when it comes to removing signs,” he said. In addition, Powers said the amendment clarifies that portable A-frame signs are allowed in the central business district, which is in the downtown Pioneer Way area.
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