Record South Whidbey
INSIDE
Murder mystery solved See...A12
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 | Vol. 90, No. 17 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
Filter blamed for LMS fire scare
Clinton business groups plan for Oktoberfest fall festival By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
Justin Burnett / The Record
Acting Langley Police Chief David Marks directs traffic on Camano Avenue while South Whidbey Fire/EMS firefighters clean up after a fire call at Langley Middle School on Monday. The incident, the result of a filter problem in a large overhead heater, forced the evacuation of the school campus and temporarily disrupted a basketball game. No one was injured and no damage was reported. For the full, story see page A7.
Langley leaders seek sand shrimp harvest moratorium By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Sandy Point, just southeast of Langley, is a popular feeding ground of gray whales that migrate through Saratoga Passage between January and March.
Langley is seeking to protect one of its natural draws and a major tourism element: gray whale migration. Sand shrimp, also called ghost shrimp, are at risk by commercial harvesters, say members of the Langley Shrimp Advisory Committee. Water jets that disrupt tidelands and expose the shrimp leave the grounds altered in such a way, shrimp advocacy members say, that the whales are not visiting Langley as frequently as in years past. “Whales have a good memory,” said Mayor Fred McCarthy, who
assembled the 17-member committee. “When they come somewhere and there’s no food, they won’t come back next year.” McCarthy said the city has asked the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the state agency that manages tidelands and aquatics resources, for a two-year moratorium on sand shrimp harvesting along Saratoga Passage and in front of Langley. He acknowledged that it may impact the commercial harvesters —sand shrimp are sold for bait SEE SAND SHRIMP, A24
Oompah music will blare, brats will sizzle and beer will flow this October in Clinton. The area’s Chamber of Commerce and the Clinton Progressive Association are meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday to begin planning the Clinton Oktoberfest. The fall celebration imitates a German tradition that marks a time for food, drink and dance beyond its origins in Munich, and it could be a welcome boost for the struggling ferry area that has seen businesses close or move. “It’s early in the process, but I’m hoping we can make it as much fun and get as many people involved as possible,” said Bob Craven, chairman of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, adding that Oktoberfest could “provide a little life to Clinton.” Several years ago, Clinton held a fall festival. But at some point, Langley began its own October celebration, and Clinton’s ended. Marc Esterly, Langley Chamber of Commerce executive director, canceled Langley’s Oktoberfest last year because the event wasn’t as lucrative as they hoped and did not fit the chamber’s goals. “It’s just not in our business plan to do a beer garden,” Esterly said. One of the chief concerns for the Langley fall festival was weather. Come October, some decent days remain but fall’s winds and rains become more prevalent, SEE OKTOBERFEST, A24