Whidbey News-Times, September 05, 2012

Page 1

News-Times Whidbey

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2012 | Vol. 113, No. 71 | www.whidbeynewstimes.com | 75¢

LIVING: New George novel is set on Whidbey. A10

Photo by Wallie Funk

Orcas struggle for their freedom during the famous 1970 round up in Penn Cove. Whidbey’s Orca Network is suggesting one of two new 144-car ferries being built by the state be named after the event’s last remaining survivor, Lolita.

Whidbey group proposes a whale of a name for ferry Jessie Stensland / Whidbey News-Times

Janie Cribbs of the band Tambourine Sky sings to Olympic champion Marti Malloy at the start of the Oak Harbor Music and Jazz Festival.

Oak Harbor Jazz Festival is a hit By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter

people, including visitors from as far away as Canada and New York. “It was everything I envisioned and more,” he said. “There were people dancing in the streets. A few times it brought tears to my eyes.” Paparella said a couple from New York were in Seattle when they heard about the festival in Oak Harbor and came to visit. They loved it so much they stayed an extra day. Nobody wanted to go home as the Chris Eger Band closed out the festival Sunday night. Paparella said the mayor granted special permission for the music to continue an extra 20 minutes.

Paparella said even the band members were pleasantly surprised at how well the festival was organized, even though it’s a first-time event. Some of the bands have already signed up to come back next year. Margaret Livermore, a festival organizer, agreed the musical event was a huge success. “The streets were packed for three days,” she said. Livermore said the festival raised about $8,000. Some of the money will be used as “seed money” for next year’s festival, while the rest will be donated to the Blue Fox Drive In and used to start a music scholarship.

Staff reporter

Efforts to release Penn Cove’s most famous orca from captivity has resorted to name calling. Orca Network, a nonprofit whale advocacy group based in Greenbank, has submitted “Tokitae” to the Washington State Transportation Commission for consideration as a name for one of two new 144-car ferries under construction. Tokitae is the Coast Salish greeting for “nice day, pretty colors,” and is the original name of Lolita, a Puget Sound orca that has spent more than 40 years living and performing at Miami Seaquarium in Florida. Howard Garrett, president of Orca Network, said the name choice is fitting as it honors both an old Native American greeting and orcas, which are an endangered species and the state’s official marine mammal.

“It goes back thousands of years and four decades,” he said. “It honors both longterm and short-term history. Of course, it’s also meant to cast light on the famous whale herself. She is the last survivor of approximately 45 Southern Resident orcas captured in Washington during the 1960s and 1970s and Orca Network is one of several advocacy groups that believes she should be released into the wild. “One of our citizens is being held captive as a circus performer in Miami,” Garrett said. “We’d like to return her.” Former state Gov. Mike Lowry declared the whale a Washington citizen in 1995 See Tokitae, page A8

FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS

Est 1991

830 SE Pioneer Way Oak Harbor, WA 360-679-3700 Tues-Fri 11-5:30 Saturday 10-5 20 years at the same location

YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER

We Buy Gold, Silver, Coins, Diamonds, & Estate Jewelry

FREE $20 Gas Card FREE $100 minimum with our purchase of your jewelry.

FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS FREE GAS

FREE GAS FREE GAS

FREE GAS FREE GAS

The first Oak Harbor Music and Jazz Festival was a roaring success as hundreds of people crowded into Pioneer Way over the three-day weekend. The event was kicked off in style Friday night as Oak Harbor City Councilwoman Tara Hizon and Darren McCoy, the high school choir director, sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Then Mayor Scott Dudley introduced Oak Harbor’s first and only Olympic champion, Marti Malloy. Malloy won a bronze medal in judo at the London Olympics. She apologized

to the crowd on Pioneer Way for not visiting the city sooner, but said her life has become a whirlwind since winning the medal. “After 20 years, I saw my dream of winning an Olympic medal come true,” she said. Malloy hung out on stage as Tambourine Sky played, the first in a lineup of more than 20 bands and artists from across the nation, including Groove For Thought and Steve Trembley. Michael-John Paparella, the man who came up with the idea for the festival, said the event was a huge hit. The streets were filled with

By JUSTIN BURNETT


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.