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Saturday, January 19, 2013 • Whidbey News-Times
$25,000 grant will help Meals on Wheels keep rollin’ By JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter
A South Whidbey-based non-profit group that provides hot meals to senior citizens around Island County will have a little extra gas money this year, thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation. Senior Services of Island County was awarded the money in late December through the mega-store’s Washington State Giving Program, which gave a total of $750,000 in 2012, according to an announcement earlier this month. Of that, $375,000 went to nine non-profit organizations that work
to address a variety of basic needs, including hunger relief and job training through innovative programming. “In addition to the thousands of associate volunteer hours and the in-kind donations throughout the year, we are very pleased to grant funds to these wonderful community organizations in Washington state,” said Madeleine Havener, Senior Director and Regional General Manager for Washington and Oregon at Walmart. “Their programs provide vital support for those in need, and we’re very proud to support their continued success
and to help people live better.” Senior Services, the largest nonprofit organization serving older adults on Whidbey or Camano islands, will use the money for its Meals on Wheels program, which assists more than 300 people a year. The program uses a small army of about 90 volunteers to deliver a hot meal to the elderly at their homes, three days a week. Recipients have the option of getting frozen meals as well. Not only does the program help make life a little easier for senior citizens, allowing them to stay in
Man charged in dog abandonment case By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
A 20-year-old Oak Harbor man accused of abandoning his dogs in a state park, leading to the park’s temporarily closure after a biting incident, is facing a series of gross misdemeanor charges. Island County Animal Control Officer Carol Barnes cited Dominick-Francis Fausto with two counts of animal cruelty in the second degree, as well as two counts of violating of the Island County code regarding “control off premises” of pets. Fausto pleaded not guilty to
the charges earlier this month in Island County District Court. Barnes confirmed that Fausto had the dogs euthanized after they were released to him last month. Barnes said Fausto admitted to leaving his two dogs and a bag of dog food at Fort Ebey State Park after they had attacked a neighbor and injured his newborn child. The German shepherd/pitbull mixes were litter mates. The stressed-out dogs then attacked two hikers on a trail in the park. One of the hikers had to get stitches for a bite
wound. Park rangers closed the park as they searched for the dogs. At one point, a ranger had to pepper spray the pooches because they were aggressive. The dogs started roaming into the neighboring areas, prompting Barnes, the sheriff and a specialist from the USDA Wildlife Services to join in the dog-hunt. A resident of the neighborhood was able to make friends with the dogs, allowing the animal control officer to catch them with the help of some cookies.
No flight operations scheduled at OLF this week No Field Carrier Landing Practice operations for aircraft stationed at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station are scheduled to occur at Outlying Field (OLF) in Coupeville the week of Jan. 20. Flight operations are subject to change due to weather, operational and/or training requirements. The Navy’s OLF at Coupeville is a critical national security asset that provides essential training for Navy pilots based at NAS Whidbey Island to conduct safe and effective aircraft carrier flight operations around the world.
their homes longer, but it’s also an opportunity for some to check in with them and see how they are doing. “Sometimes these are the only people these seniors see all week,” said Cheryn Weisner, executive director for Senior Services. Over the past few years, need has risen while revenue sources have dwindled, Weisner said. Often, grants received are between $2,000 to $10,000, which makes Walmart’s gift “significant,” she said. Nutrition Program Director Debra Metz confirmed that the grant amounts to about 10 percent
of Meals on Wheels’s total budget. Most of the money will be spent on food but some will go toward mileage reimbursement for volunteers, she said. She said she is continually impressed with the community’s willingness to help those in need and the Walmart Foundation is no exception. It awarded the non-profit group $5,000 about five years ago, she said. “They’ve done a lot to help our community and we are very grateful,” Metz said.
Sequestration could sap dollars for special education By NATHAN WHALEN Staff reporter
Oak Harbor school officials are waiting for the outcomes of two decisions that will affect special education dollars. They want to know whether “sequestration” will happen at the federal level and they want to know the results of a levy election that takes place next month. The Oak Harbor School District could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars if the next “sequestration” deadline of March 31 is reached. That deadline would mean across-the-board cuts at the federal level which could cost the school district an estimated $220,000 in special education dollars and at least $500,000 in federal Impact Aid dollars. The Oak Harbor School Board held a workshop Monday to discuss the levy’s affect on the district’s special education program. The workshop participants — which included board members along with administrators, educators in the special education department and several parents — came up with a list of possible
costs to the school district if the federal money was reduced. People were concerned the funding loss will have to be made up with funds going toward general education programs. The funding loss would also result in staff cuts, which would in turn contribute to safety problems due to increased supervision, burnout due to increased workloads and community backlash due to the loss of services. “We might run the risk of losing some of our quality staff we already have,” Superintendent Rick Schulte said in an interview after the meeting. He added that the staff is in a “wait and see” mode over the next two months. Schulte will use the information gained from the meeting for an advocacy letter that will be shared with legislators. The Oak Harbor School District did put a $500,000 line item in the upcoming replacement levy to help fund special education services in the school district. Schulte said feedback from public meetings held last year indicated that the public wanted the special education program to receive more funding.
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