Record South Whidbey
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2012 | Vol. 88, No. 43 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
INSIDE: ‘I heart art’, Island Life, A12
WILDLIFE ADVOCATES ARGUE FOR NO-KILL POLICY
Jim Larsen / The Record
Langley city workers Tim Grove, left, and Byron Hamilton stand in the hole left by a huge fir tree uprooted during a freak storm in Langley Friday night.
Twister-like storm whips through Langley, fells trees Jim Larsen / Whidbey News-Times
A pair of Canada geese and their three goslings are among those marked for death as they graze on a Honeymoon Lake lawn early Thursday morning. The killing has been approved by a federal agency, but islanders are organizing an effort to save the wildlife.
Staff reporter
Plans to kill a few geese and goslings that annoy some residents of a Greenbank lake community have upset fans of the waterfowl and spawned an online petition drive to save them. Board members of the Honeymoon Lake Community recently signed a contract with a federal agency to euthanize the four adult geese and three goslings that took up residence on the lake this spring. The board caused a stir last summer by bringing in federal agents to kill 19 honkers that lived there at that time and upset some residents by pooping on lawns. “There are many of us homeowners around the lake that love the geese, but we were outvoted,” resident Theresa Delap said. This year, community members are trying to stop the killings. Aubrie Keegan, a South Whidbey resident, started an online petition in an effort to convince the
board members to change their decision. The address is www.change.org/petitions/ honeymoon-lake-board-and-communitymembers-stop-the-killing-of-honeymoon-lakes-migratory-geese-and-goslings. The petition gathered 675 signatures after just a week. “The killing of the geese has become a much bigger issue than just Honeymoon Lake,” Keegan said, noting that she’s been contacted by concerned people from as far away as Canada. Among those who signed the petition are lake residents John and Nicole Dobmeier, whose children enjoy the geese and watching the babies hatch. “Nine years ago we chose to make Honeymoon Lake our home, a place to raise our children in an environment respectful of nature. I am offended by those who have stripped my children of a responsible, educated life with nature,” Nicole Dobmeier wrote on the petition site. John Dobmeier is the chairman
Staff reporter
of the new wildlife committee for the Honeymoon Lake community. He explained that the community members approved a measure to control the geese population by a vote of 21 to 13 in March. He said people get to cast votes based on the number of lots they own, so the larger landowners dominated the vote. He’s argued that the community should be spending money on non-lethal ways to control the geese, but some residents are adamantly opposed to having any geese on the lake. “The bottom line is that we need to change some people’s opinions on wildlife,” he said. Aristana Firethorne, a South Whidbey resident and animal advocate, agrees. “It’s pretty ironic that people who hate the geese the most are the ones who are making their yards the most inviting,” she said.
Several trees were destroyed in Langley Friday night by what city officials are saying may have been a twister. “It was pretty amazing,” Mayor Larry Kwarsick said. “It came out of nowhere.” “Smells like It’s not exactly clear Christmas.” when the A cyclist passing by the uprooted phenomenon fir tree in Langley. began but Kwarsick estimated that the event started sometime around 7:45 p.m. and lasted about 10 minutes. Most of the damage was located in the area of Sixth Street and Cascade Avenue, he said. Kwarsick didn’t personally witness any destruction as it was happening, but was on a walk with his wife at the time. He said they were enjoying a beautiful evening when “out of nowhere, this really strong wind picked up.” It became so strong that it toppled a very old Douglas fir on Cascade Avenue. The tree was on the property of an old Langley house overlooking the harbor that later became an upscale eatery called The Edgecliff Bar & Grill, now closed.
See geese, A10
See twister, A10
Effort mounts to save geese on Honeymoon Lake By JESSIE STENSLAND
By JUSTIN BURNETT