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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2014 | Vol. 90, No. 90 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
Fair group ranks swell with new guard By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record The Island County Fair Association is growing and has new, yet familiar leadership. Jason Kalk, a longtime fair association and fair board member, was voted in as the president of the eightdirector board recently. He succeeds Diane Divelbess, who was the fair association president for eight years. The annual fair board vote last week was preceded by a large spike in membership. Kalk said the fair association had between 20 and 30 members for the past few years. By the time of the vote, however, there were 107 eligible voters, though not nearly that many showed up to vote. Also, due to association membership schedules, both members of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 calendars were allowed to participate — some in the previous year elected not to continue serving this year. The fair association’s fiscal year ends in September, while the group’s organizational year is yet to be in line with the fiscal calendar, said Fair Administrator and board Treasurer Sandey Brandon. New members may represent a shift in the direction of the group responsible for putting on the annual fair. Many of the new members were not well known to Kalk, but he hoped they would continue to be involved in fair association matters. Two of the newer fair association members were elected to the fair board. Wendy Sundquist is the new vice president and Virginia Keck was voted in as a fair board director. Both were SEE FAIR, A13
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Members of the Major Megan McClung Whidbey Island Marine Corps League Detachment 1210 fire rounds as a salute to fallen veterans during Tuesday’s Veterans Day memorial at Bayview Cemetery.
Remembering the fallen
and are often referred to as the last great generation. When other U.S. soldiers came home from the Vietnam War, she said, they were “being spat upon, rejected.” After moments like that, remembrances SEE SERVICE, A13
SEE HADDEN, A13
By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Retired Lt. Col. Dave Sullivan of the Whidbey Island Marine Corps League speaks about the sacrifice of armed service members, such as himself, at the Bayview Cemetery Veterans Day memorial Tuesday. Grethe Cammermeyer, a retired Army nurse and current Whidbey General Hospital board commissioner, spoke about the change in attitude toward the armed services over the past several decades. She noted that the World War II veterans were welcomed home as heroes
By KATE DANIEL South Whidbey Record Julie Hadden has been appointed to the South Whidbey School District Board of Directors. At a special meeting Wednesday, Nov. 5, in the South Whidbey Elementary School community room, the school board voted unanimously to elect Hadden as the new district 2 board member. Candidate Jordan Nelson withdrew his candidacy earlier in the week, citing “other commitments.” Hadden and Nelson were both vying for the position. Each was interviewed by the board at a meeting last month. Board members were unable to make a decision between the two and the voting repeatedly resulted in a tie. Board members Rocco Gianni and Damian Greene voted for Nelson while board members Steve Scoles and Linda Racicot voted for Hadden. Hadden attempted, at one point, to withdraw her candidacy, stating her reasoning that Nelson was an equally qualified candidate. Her request to withdraw was dismissed by Racicot who joked, “nope, out of order,” and asked that Hadden remain in the running, which Hadden did. The board decided to seek the assistance of Jerry Jenkins, superintendent of Education Service District 189, who was to interview both candidates and provide the board with a recommendation. Those plans were dissolved following Nelson’s withdrawal from the running. “Thank you for your stepping up, the both of you, and thank you for being
South Whidbey pays homage on Veterans Day Strong gusts of wind and bitterly cold temperatures helped mark the somber attitude at the Bayview Cemetery Veterans Day memorial on Tuesday. About 50 people huddled together along the pathway at the cemetery to remember the United States of America’s armed service members. Many of the gravestones at the cemetery were marked with a small U.S. flag, denoting a deceased veteran. Retired Lt. Col. Dave Sullivan of Oak Harbor, a member of the Major Megan McClung Whidbey Island Marine Corps League Detachment 1210, said the flags were placed by the Whidbey Island chapter of the Military Officers Association of America at cemeteries between Langley and Anacortes. “Most of the graves are veterans,” said Herb Weissblum of Freeland, a former Army airman and member of the Major Megan McClung Detachment. The ceremony was marked with a moment of silence, a prayer, a poem, a pair of speeches by veterans and the bugling of “Taps.” American Legion Poppy Girl Krista Dreschel read the war poem, “In Flanders Fields.” Pastor Darrell Wenzek, chaplain at the Bayview American Legion Post 141, prayed that people remember that soldiers often “promote peace” and stand against aggression.
Hadden selected for school board seat