INSIDE: Girls prep for playoff rivalry ... Sports, A7
Record South Whidbey
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013 | Vol. 89, No. 11 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
Four seek mayor position
Dear Mr. President
By JIM LARSEN Record editor The next mayor of Langley will be chosen from among at least four candidates, two of whom presently sit on the five-member City Council. The vacancy occurred when Mayor Larry Kwarsick was found guilty of a gross misdemeanor for tampering with a public document when he was planning director. He was fined and sentenced to 15 days in jail, a term he began serving Monday. He also had to resign as mayor. In the interim, Mayor Pro-Tem Hal Seligson has taken on mayoral chores. He apparently enjoys the job as he applied for the position, which pays $53,000 annually.
“This will be the first time the council is selecting a mayor.” Hal Seligson Langley city councilman, mayor pro tem
Having fired pistols and rifles with family, firearms did not intimidate Andrew. And he wrote his letter in response to what he heard in the news about Congress looking at new gun regulation. “Even if we ban guns, there will be someone who really wants one can get one.” As Andrew shared his opinion with the other students, they began to fidget and whisper to each other until finally one asked, “Can we debate him?” There, in that moment, Kizer’s aim to teach a civics lesson was apparent. These kids, most not even teenagers, were ready to argue for and against hot-topic issues.
The mayor’s salary has been a hot topic in the past, and Kwarsick was taking only $30,000, seeing it as a part-time job. The council briefly talked about salary at Monday’s regular meeting, but it is fixed by ordinance until at least 2016 when the term Kwarsick was elected to expires. Seligson, for one, sees it as a full-time job. “Without seeming like I’m campaigning, as mayor pro-tem this is in no way a part-time hobby,” he told the council. “I put in 11 hour days. Be prepared to spend a great deal of time and energy at this task — but it is rewarding.” Councilman Bruce Allen also applied for the position. Also vying for a chance to be mayor of Langley are city residents Edwin Anderson and Thomas Gill. There could be more. The deadline to submit a letter of interest is Thursday, Feb. 7, at 5 p.m. They can be dropped off at City Hall, emailed to clerk@ langleywa.org or mailed to Debbie Mahler, finance director/city clerk, P.O. Box 366, Langley.
See President, A8
See Mayor, A8
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Students in Rachel Kizer’s seventh-grade social studies class wrote letters to President Barack Obama after the inauguration. These students, clockwise from top left, are Fiona Roberts, Lila Stach, Joe Davies, Alex Low and Andrew Baesler.
Students send hopes to POTUS By BEN WATANABE Staff reporter LANGLEY — Banning guns, allowing same-sex marriage, protecting the environment, drilling for domestic oil and walling out immigrants were all on the minds of seventh graders. Students in Rachel Kizer’s social studies/language arts class wrote letters to President Barack Obama after his inauguration in late January. The assignment was to tell Mr. Obama their hopes and dreams for the future of America and include issues that mattered to the students. “It’s important what our input
is because we’re going to be the future of this country,” said student Fiona Roberts. The letters are one of those multi-faceted lessons that teachers love. Related to language arts, the process reinforces writing skills and introduces a new type of writing (it was a formal letter, after all). As for social studies, it builds an identity as a citizen, informs students of national issues and gets them thinking about something beyond themselves. “It’s developing citizenship,” Kizer said. “That’s the best part of seventh graders, they’re moving away from themselves and gaining a world view.” And what world view they have. A selection of five letters
— out of 22 — spans the current events gamut. Students wrote about gun control, marriage equality, employment, Afghanistan, the cost of education and immigration. These students are between 12 and 13 years old. With the December shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School still on their minds, two students held opposing views of gun safety. Andrew Baesler, 12, expressed his concern with restricting guns, which would take them away from “the good guys.” “If the person has a gun, the only thing that will stop him is a good guy with a gun,” said Andrew of a hypothetical home invasion. “If they banned guns like that, you’d be defenseless.”