Record South Whidbey
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‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ See...A10
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2014 | Vol. 90, No. 97 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
Cracking computer code ‘It doesn’t take a genius. Anyone can do it.’ — Haley McConnaughey
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Andy Gilbert and Haley McConnaughey run through coding tutorials at Whidbey Makers in Clinton. A series of computer code workshops will take place on South Whidbey next week as part of the international Hour of Code.
By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record Competitive underwater robotics are a thing of the past for South Whidbey’s international Atlantis ROV crew. Now, the team of three teenage girls is looking forward, and that future will feature the language of computer code. On Wednesday, Dec. 10, Atlantis ROV and Whidbey Makers are teaming up to put on a day full of free computer wonderment as part of the international Hour of Code to teach young people how to program software. According to www.hourofcode. com/us, the event is designed to “demystify
code and show that anybody can learn the basics.” “It’s not only a learning experience, it’s also a social event,” said Andy Gilbert, one of the founders of the Clinton science labs at Whidbey Makers. “You get to meet people with similar interests.” Atlantis ROV made international headlines this summer with an invitation to the Black Sea International ROV Competition in Romania. The team of Hannah McConnaughey, Haley McConnaughey and Annika Hustad left as high school champions and returned as local inspiration. Shortly after their trip, they were
invited to visit with the team responsible for the Microsoft Surface tablet at the company’s campus in Redmond. That was followed by an invitation to be part of the Women in Innovation panel at the Pacific Northwest Economic Region conference in Seattle a couple of weekends ago. On stage was the director of science and education from the Pacific Science Center, the woman responsible for bringing Ford automobiles into China, and the three South Whidbey teens. One of the lessons from the Microsoft meeting came into effect during the conference. Haley recalled being told to dream
big and ask big, so when Atlantis had the chance during the panel, the girls asked for help with the Hour of Code. The response they got was overwhelming. Atlantis and Whidbey Makers are expecting a few people from the Microsoft Surface team and several representatives from Alaska Airlines to take part in the coding events on South Whidbey. “It’s really, really, really cool,” Gilbert said. “It’s big for us. It’s big for Whidbey Island.” Writing code dictates all the functions SEE CODE, A11
Snow days tax, but don’t ‘overwhelm’ first responders By KATE DANIEL South Whidbey Record Heavy snowfall this past Saturday meant an onslaught of calls for South Whidbey Fire/EMS and necessitated reduced bus routes and late starts for South Whidbey School District students through mid-week. Mike Cotton, deputy chief for South Whidbey Fire/EMS,
said each of the district’s six stations responded to a slough of calls pertaining to accidents and hazards associated with the snowfall. He said most concerned downed power lines and fallen trees, but there were also several regarding car collisions or vehicles that had veered off the road, in addition to a marine call in Saratoga Passage and a few medical calls.
“I believe the number was 53 calls on Saturday. Saturday, that one day,” said Cotton, adding that during a normal week responders receive between 30-40 calls. The total number of calls for the week — Wednesday, Nov. 26 to Wednesday, Dec. 4 — was 96. SEE SNOW, A13