Executioner The Whidbey
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Thursday, October 30, 2014
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VOL. 20, NO. 12
Officials unprepared for zombie apocalypse By Jessie Stensland Co-Editor
Officials in Central Whidbey aren’t exactly on the same page when it comes to preparing for a zombie apocalypse. Mayor Nancy Conard, for example, takes the approach of the head-in-the-sand mayor from “Jaws.” “There are no zombies in Coupeville,” she said. Which leaves residents at high risk from the walking and brain-munching dead. Trulia, the online real estate site, recently ranked cities by their zombie survivability. While Coupeville didn’t make the list, it’s clear from the criteria that it’s not a safe place to sit out the slow-motion Armageddon. Trulia reports that Honolulu is the worst place to be in the nation when the zombies attack, partly because it’s on an island. Which doesn’t bode well for the smallest town on Whidbey Island either. In addition, Coupeville is a “walkable”
See Zombies, page 6
Sightings raise UFO alarm By Michelle Beahm Staff Reporter
In late August, Diane Stetner saw something in the sky that she couldn’t identify. Driving south between Greenbank and Bayview, Stetner looked up and saw big, bright lights. “The reason why it caught my eye is because I have seen those same type of bright lights in New Mexico,” Stetner said. “They looked exactly the same.” The bright lights, she said, made news in New Mexico and were labeled as UFOs. That’s right. Unidentified flying objects. Stetner isn’t the first — or likely the last — person to see unusual lights in the sky over Central Whidbey. Just before Christmas last year, a couple in the Sierra neighborhood saw some-
See UFO, page 16
Megan Hansen photo
Blue Goose Inn owner David Broberg checks in a guest at his Coupeville B&B. Since he and his wife, Becky, took over ownership two years ago, the pair and guests have experienced strange occurrences such as the these candlesticks flying across the room.
Ghostly guest startles inn staff Blue Goose owners befuddled over strange happenings By Megan Hansen Co-Editor
With all of the haunted fun in Coupeville this month, Blue Goose Inn Owners David and Becky Broberg may be living the real deal. The first weekend in October, the kickoff to the Haunting of Coupeville, the inn owners and staff say they may have had a visitor from the other side. It was Sunday morning and all of the guests had checked out for the weekend. Becky Broberg said she sent her cleaning staff to the second floor of the Kineth House, one of two historic homes that make up the inn. “Two of them came back down and said, ‘Are you sure everyone left?’” Becky Broberg recalled.
THE WOMEN said as they climbed the stairs to the second floor to find a tall, thin man wearing a light jacket and bowler hat. He was standing on the landing at the top of the stairs as they passed. The inn is secured with locks that only guests and staff have access to. People cannot just come in and out as they please. “I checked every person out that day,” Becky Broberg said. “I watched them all drive away. When they tell you there’s a man in the house, we have to take that seriously.” BECKY SAID she went upstairs to check on the man, but he was not there. The staff members asked the third cleaning woman who was still upstairs if she had seen the man.
He was pacing in the Mount Baker Room, she told them, so they went to look. No one was there. And no one heard the front door open or close. THIS ISN’T the first odd experience for the Brobergs or their guests during the two years the couple has owned the inn. Guests have reported hearing noises in the middle of the night, the smell of cooking at strange times and even objects moving. While Becky said she believes there may be something supernatural at work, David Broberg does his best to debunk the claims —
See B&B, page 16