Record South Whidbey
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Falcons declaw Tigers See...A8
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015 | Vol. 91, No. 8 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
Clinton council pins hopes on Food Shed plan By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
to do this, something that is handson and of high interest to them,” said David Pfeiffer, South Whidbey Academy principal. “It’s a great way to engage the kids.” The kindergarten through second graders, who have thus far learned the process of knots, string games and finger knitting, fashioned ribbon bookmarks to give to loved ones for
Creating a place where Clinton can gather for a cup of coffee, some local produce and community events is at the forefront of the Clinton Community Council’s agenda. Both finding a space where those things can happen and making Clinton a more attractive place for visitors were discussed during the volunteer council’s monthly meeting Monday night. The group, a non-elected body of more than a dozen volunteers trying to fight for Clinton’s economic vitality and survival, met in the Clinton Community Hall. Across the street, members pointed out that a longtime antique store is having a closing sale. A block up Commercial Street, a once full shopping center is mostly vacant. With a shoestring budget of less than $4,000 between the council and the Whidbey Food Shed group, they’re hoping to find partners to secure a location for the cafe-grocer-event space. Negotiations are ongoing, said council member Carol Flax, between a building owner and potential longterm renters who want to use the space for their catering business and also possibly for a cafe. “This is incredible for Clinton,” she said. “We don’t get this every day, and we worked our butts off.” The Food Shed was proposed last year by members of the Clinton Community Council, which is still working on its official corporation
SEE FIBER, A12
SEE CLINTON, A13
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Fran Johnson scowls at a pair of bunnies in a Langley neighbor’s yard. The longtime resident was sorely miffed with rabbits for devastating her recently landscaped yard.
RABBIT WARS
Langley mayor pardons city’s bunnies despite citizen complaints By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record Worried that a mass culling or relocation of Langley’s abundant rabbit population would be political suicide, Mayor Fred McCarthy has decided to let the bunnies be. Despite fielding several complaints about the booming bunny population in Langley, the city
will not hire a trapper or authorize the slaying of rabbits under McCarthy’s governance. “I don’t think we’re going to get into the business of trapping and euthanizing rabbits,” McCarthy said. “I don’t think that would go over well in Langley.” Residents are split on their opinions of the furry critters. Some have taken to feeding and
sheltering the big-eared bunnies, which in Langley are largely a combination of semi-wild/ feral rabbits or hares and non-native eastern cottontail rabbits, according to Russell Link with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. SEE RABBITS, A13
Fiber arts program weaves new skills into students By KATE DANIEL South Whidbey Record Sheep may not be masters of arithmetic, and goats may not be adept business strategists. But students at South Whidbey Academy are learning lessons in these and a variety of other subjects through study of these animals, and their fibers. The Sheep to Shawl and Fiber Arts programs at South Whidbey Academy are led by volunteer Christi
Rosenberger, who visits the school twice weekly to instruct two groups of students in these respective disciplines. The South Whidbey Schools Foundation donated $1,500 to this year’s program. This year, the program is incorporating goat fibers as well as those from sheep. Kindergarteners, first graders and second graders take part in Fiber Arts, where they improve fine motor skills, learn basic arithmetic and
other lessons while learning to tie knots, play string games like cat’s cradle and knit with their fingers. Third, fourth and fifth-grade classes take the Sheep to Shawl class, which is somewhat more advanced. Students take on tasks like dying and researching the origin of their fibers as well as planting dye plants, harvesting and spinning. “The arts are an awesome intersection of lots of different content or academic learnings, and kids get