RECORD D SOUTH WHIDBEY
INSIDE
Gloria FerryBrennan See...A10
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2013 | Vol. 89, No. 90 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
Gordon keeps his seat, Jenkins looks to future
A night to remember
By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record The last of the November general election ballots have been tallied and Clinton resident Curt Gordon will keep his seat as a Port of South Whidbey commissioner. It also means, according to Gordon, that there won’t be any major course changes at the port over the next four years, that existing efforts and focus will continue. “I felt it (election results) was an endorsement from the public that we’re going in the right direction,” said Gordon, in an interview Thursday. Gordon, the incumbent in the race for Position 3, claimed a sweeping victory over challenger Ed Jenkins. The Island County Elections Office’s final count Thursday, before the results are certified on Nov. 26, showed Gordon with 77.18 of the vote — 4,204 people — compared to Jenkins’ 22.82 percent or SEE GORDON, A11
Hospital bond passes, work begins By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record
someone not in the cemetery placed luminaries throughout the area. The annual event was put on by Friends of the Langley Woodmen Cemetery. The group has organized the event since 1996. Volunteers put together the more than 300 luminaries by placing candles in white paper bags filled with sand. By the end of the night, the cemetery was
Years of planning and effort have finally borne fruit for Whidbey General Hospital as voters have approved the organization’s $50 million expansion measure. In a last count before the results are certified Nov. 26, the Island County Elections Office reported Thursday that the measure passed with 61.53 percent of the vote, or 13,063 people voting in favor of the proposal. Rejecting the bond were 8,169 people or 38.47 percent of voters. But while many are celebrating the victory at the polls, the work for many other hospital officials has only just begun as they now face the enormous task of turning vision into reality. “The focus now is building this new wing,” hospital
SEE ALL SOULS, A20
SEE HOSPITAL, A11
Celeste Erickson / The Record
Cary Peterson and Meg Peterson set up luminaries for All Soul’s Eve, Nov. 1, at Langley Woodmen Cemetery.
South Whidbey honors All Souls By CELESTE ERICKSON South Whidbey Record South Whidbey residents reunited and remembered their loved ones during All Soul’s Eve last week. On Friday, Nov. 1, the Langley Woodmen Cemetery was lined with luminaries along the pathways and near graves as people walked along sharing memories of those who have passed. Those who wanted to remember
Congressman visits Goosefoot businesses By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
Ben Watanabe / The Record
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen speaks with Bayview business owner Chris Dennis, not pictured, Friday. His son, 9-year-old Cedar, was less interested by the visit.
On a short stop in Bayview, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen visited with business owners at the Bayview Cash Store on Friday. Larsen, who represents Washington’s 2nd Congressional District, including Whidbey Island, stopped by on his way to meet with the Island County Housing Authority. And while owners of the Handsome Framer, La Salon Bella, Tres Gringos and Sojourn Studios were plenty happy to make small talk and shake Larsen’s hand, a couple of youngsters were more interested in what Jeff Corwin had to say about exotic animals. Larsen, speaking with Chris Dennis, owner of The
Handsome Framer, asked what Dennis’ sons were watching. They were too engrossed in the laptop screen to answer, however, leading Larsen, Dennis and Goosefoot’s Sandra Whiting and Marian Myszkowski to laugh. “I felt nervous, like I had the truant officer here,” Dennis laughed. His sons, 9-year-old Cedar and 6-year-old Leo, were not in school because they attend South Whidbey Academy and regularly do not have class Friday. The Dennis children ignoring the congressman was just an extension of the family’s history. Dennis said his niece SEE LARSEN, A20