NEWS-TIMES WHIDBEY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2011 | Vol. 120, No. 78 | WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75¢
Inside
Scores improve but still fall short By REBECCA OLSON Staff reporter
Rebecca Olson/Whidbey News-Times Rebecca Olson/Whidbey News-Times
Jim Cooper examines a pigeon for precise percentages of colors on its wings, a necessity for awardwinning show birds.
A Gray Lace pigeon, named for the precise arrangement of gray on its feathers, peers out of the cage it was trained to stand in during shows.
Let’s Get Ready to Tumble Coupeville couple raise odd pigeons By REBECCA OLSON Staff reporter
If the gray pigeons strutting down city streets realized their wide variety of cousins, maybe they’d understand why people brush them aside. How can they compare to pigeons with feathers that curl up at the ends, or pigeons with white heads and black bodies, reminiscent of bald eagles? As far as originality goes, ordinary pigeons can’t compare to pouters, pigeons with large globes on their chests that fill with air to attract mates, or naked-necked pigeons, their necks alone bare of feathers. However, West of England Tumblers will outshine other pigeons any day with their unique addition to the art of flying: as they fly, they can roll tail first through the air, usually three to four times in a row, a survival skill to avoid predators.
“It’s something that’s naturally in the breed,” said Coupeville pigeon breeder Jim Cooper. He and his wife, Cynthia, breed, show and judge West of England Tumblers. The Coopers have 120 pigeons. Their trilling coos and flapping wings fill the Coopers’ backyard, the warm smell of their lofts blending into the forest. Tumblers have heavily-feathered feet and come in a variety of colors and patterns, from intricately-patterned Gray Lace tumblers to pure white or reddish to black pigeons with some iridescent purple and green feathers. Pigeon-showing isn’t widely-known but it’s a life-long thrill for the Coopers. “It’s a hobby. We’re definitely not making money doing this; it’s for love of the hobby,” Jim said, adding that the fun of it is the camaraderie and sharing experiences with people who enjoy the same passion. Discussing breeding advice and bouncing ideas about which birds can produce certain colors when bred facinates him.
“It’s kind of a dying hobby; there docile. “I like the looks of them and they are more adults than juniors. We want to get juniors involved in it and come in so many different colors,” if they can, it really becomes a fam- Jim said. The Coopers attend approximateily thing. It gets the family together because families don’t do as much ly five shows per year. Most are out of state because there are few together now,” Cynthia said. Both Jim and Cynthia grew up with shows offered in Washington. Jim won national shows in 1998 and 2006 families that cared about pigeons. and Cynthia won “It was a famnationally with ily affair growing ‘It’s one of those passions another breed. up with them,” you get in your blood and At shows, Cynthia said. you can’t get rid of it.’ judges handle Everyone in her family trained -- Jim Cooper, every bird to Racing Homer pigeon breeder examine size, shape, bone pigeons and sat waiting for them to return on race structure, color placement on feathers, eye clarity, how the bird stands days. Jim raised show birds and Racing and other traits breeders work into Homers with his father and brother. the birds through specific breeding. A “best of category” pigeon is Growing up in New York, there were selected for each color category: shows to go to every weekend. From the beginning, Jim’s and monotone birds called selfs; patterns, Cynthia’s relationship revolved like tortoiseshell or Gray Lace, with around birds. They met at a show in precise color placement; mottled, which have certain percentages of San Bernadino, Calif. The Coopers settled on the tumbler breed to show because they are SEE PIGEONS, A2
While Oak Harbor schools showed strong improvement in two-thirds of the categories of state testing, the only Oak Harbor school to meet state standards this year was Hillcrest Elementary School. The standard, Adequate Yearly Progress, is raised each year until 100 percent of students will be required to pass the tests in 2014, as stated in the No Child Left Behind law. Not meeting AYP isn’t unusual; 74 percent of Washington school districts didn’t make it, said Assistant Superintendent Lance Gibbon. Out of 147 similarlysized districts to Oak Harbor, one made AYP: Mercer Island. “It isn’t a cause for alarm but it certainly highlights room for improvement,” Gibbon said. Even though scores improved overall, the percentage of students required to test as proficient increased so the district did not make the standard. For example, the district met the reading standard last year but despite improved scores this year, the district did not pass because the standard was raised to 88 percent of students required to test as proficient. Students in grades 3 to 8 take the Measure of Student Progress test, which includes reading, writing, math and science tests. “We are right about the state average in all areas,” Gibbon said. SEE SCORES, A4