BUSINESS | A skilled chef serves Mexican food on wheels. Page 4 ENVIRONMENT | New program sends whale alerts. Page 9 SPORTS | An indoor baseball training center opens. Page 24
REPAIRING A STREAM Students help restore an ecosystem. Page 12
A HOLIDAY CLASSIC Thespians put on ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Page 10
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2011 Vol. 56, No. 47
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
75¢
The increase, some say, reflects the impact of a lingering recession
The return of the elves: The saga continues
By LESLIE BROWN
By LESLIE BROWN
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
The number of children eligible to receive free lunches at Vashon’s three public schools has doubled in the last three years, according to statistics compiled by the Vashon Island School District. In September 2008, 142 students, or 9.6 percent of the district’s enrollment, qualified for the federally subsidized program. By this fall, the number had climbed to 281, or 18 percent of the student body. The number of students receiving partially subsided lunches — called reduced-price lunches — has not climbed quite as rapidly on Vashon, though those numbers have also inched upwards from 71 students in 2008 to 78 in 2011. When both categories are combined, Vashon’s free and reducedprice lunch program has grown from 14 percent of the student body in 2008 to 23 percent this fall. All told, enrollment in the two programs has jumped 40 percent — from 213 students in 2008 to 359 students in 2011.
ferry as its own. “We were all kind of attached to the artwork,” he said. “It has a lot of great hometown shots.” The $80.5 million Chetzemoka (pronounced Chet-za-mocha) began service in late 2010 on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route as the first of three new 64-car ferries purchased by the state. It was joined on the route by the second boat in the class, the Salish. The final boat, the Kennewick, was to replace the Rhododendron. However, the second two ferries were built with a different propulsion system than the Chetzemoka, and Washington State Ferries (WSF) decided to instead have the identical boats serve Port Townsend together during the peak season, sending the Chetzemoka to Vashon, said
After a media storm that thrust Vashon’s colorfully garbed elves into a regional spotlight, the King County Sheriff ’s Office and the Island’s chamber of commerce have worked with the traffic-stopping fundraisers to craft a compromise. The elves will return to the center of town, though drivers will be asked to pull to the side of the road to hand over their bills and loose change rather than stopping in the actual intersection. Debi Richards, executive director of the chamber, came up with the plan after she and Sgt. John Hall with the sheriff’s office met to discuss a solution. Last week, after the two head elves — Tag Gornall and Bernie O’Malley — agreed to the plan, she asked businesses at the four-way stop if they’d willingly sacrifice some spots in front of their stores to the elves. All said yes, according to Richards. So now the elves are in the process of creating what they’re calling Candy Cane Lanes, pullouts into the parking strip along the highway and Bank Road where drivers can pull over, donate some money and re-enter the traffic. The pullouts will be marked by colorful, ribbon-bedecked barriers. Gornall and O’Malley said the new system won’t be nearly as effective as elves standing in the middle
SEE FERRY, 5
SEE ELVES, 18
More students qualify for free lunch program
Leslie Brown /Staff Photo
Students line up for lunch at Chautauqua, where a growing number qualify for the subsidized free lunch program. The numbers on Vashon mirror a statewide trend that underscores the impact of Washington’s lingering recession. Statewide, according the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), enroll-
ment for free and reduced-price lunches has gone from 400,760 students in 2008 to 452,076 students in 2010, an 11 percent increase. (OSPI does not have 2011 numbers.) As on Vashon, the largest jump
statewide has been in the number of students qualifying for the freelunch program, where Washington’s enrollment has gone from 295,033 SEE LUNCH, 19
A new ferry, already in need of repairs, is headed to Vashon By NATALIE JOHNSON Staff Writer
In just a few weeks Vashon will get one of the state’s newest ferries, replacing the aging Rhododendron on the Point Defiance-Tahlequah route. The boat was well received in Port Townsend, where it has served for a year on the Port Townsend-Coupeville run. It was a welcome replacement to the previous, 80-year-old Steel Electric boat and was even named by the community. But already the 64-car Chetzemoka is garnering mixed reviews on the Island, where some are concerned about the repairs the boat has needed during its first year on the water and at least one ferry advocate questions its efficiency. Others,
meanwhile, are simply sad to see the 64-yearold Rhody, which has served the south end for almost 20 years, go. The Rhody, the oldest boat in state’s fleet, has been scheduled for replacement since 2009, as it no longer meets U.S. Coast Guard safety standards. Along with having larger engines and space for about 16 more cars, the Chetzemoka will come to Vashon decorated inside with art depicting historical Port Townsend, a reminder that the ferry was not originally constructed to serve Vashon. The boat’s name, too, references a famous tribal chief from the Olympic Peninsula. Tim Caldwell, chair of the Port Townsend/ Jefferson County Ferry Advisory Committee, praised the Chetzemoka’s performance and said the Port Townsend community embraced the