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Inside! Thursday, April 10, 2014
VOL. 19, NO. 36
Potty fight bubbles to surface By Janis Reid Staff Reporter
The Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association plans to raise a little bit of a stink over bathrooms. The group of merchants plans to ask the Town Council to reopen the town’s public restrooms during festivals on a limited basis. “It is problematic,” said Vickie Chambers, executive director of the Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association. This issue was raised during the Musselfest recap at the group’s March meeting. Chambers said that having the bathrooms closed completely during festivals like Musselfest, which draws thousands of locals and visitors each year, has caused issues — particularly for mothers seeking a place to change their children or to nurse, for those with special needs and for other unique situations. While the organizers of large festivals are responsible for bringing in sufficient
Michelle Beahm/staff photo
John White, at left, and Bob Wagner practice sea shanties at a recent Shift Sailors practice. Shanty Fest is Saturday in Coupeville.
‘We’re all Whidbey Islanders’
See POTTIES page 16
Ebey’s board against pot restrictions By Janis Reid Staff Reporter
The Trust Board of Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve said that farmers should be able to grow and process recreational marijuana within the area if they wish. Island County is in the process of developing an ordinance in response to the state’s passing of Initiative 502, which legalized recreational marijuana. Originally, the Island County Planning Commission recommended that the county restrict marijuana operations to the
See POT page 16
Shifty Sailors share shanties By Michelle Beahm Staff Reporter
“And all of the years, all the tears and the laughter, are there in the stories they tell,” the Shifty Sailors sang during practice last week. And there will be plenty of stories to tell as the group sings “Away to America” and many other nautical-themed and old-timey songs during the fifth annual Shanty Fest 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12. It will be a historic, if briny, occasion. The Shifty Sailors are now the largest shanty group in the country, with 20 singers. They also have an accordion, three guitars, a harmonica and percussion to back up the singing. “We don’t need any more than that,” said Vern Olsen, founding member of the Shifty Sailors. “We just need our instruments, we need our voices. And we sing a lot.”
The event will be held at the Coupeville Recreation Hall for the first time this year. Another first will be the presence of an East Coast shanty group, the Rum-Soaked Crooks, joining in the concert. Tom Goux and Jacek Sulanowski, two members of the Rum-Soaked Crooks, are bringing their performance of “Music and Poetry of the Sea” to Coupeville for the Shanty Fest. They’ll also be performing 2:30 p.m. that same day at the Coupeville Library. They’re old friends of the Shifty Sailors, hav-
ing performed with them in the past. “We went back and sang for them, and had a great time with them,” Olsen said. Also performing at Shanty Fest is Pint & Dale, a shanty-singing duo from Washington state. All three shanty groups will be performing. Tickets to the show are $20 for adults, and free for children. All of the proceeds from Shanty Fest 2014 will go to the Island County
See SHANTY page 16