Examiner The Whidbey
www.whidbeyexaminer.com
First-place winner, 2014 WNPA General Excellence
Thursday, April 2, 2015
50¢
VOL. 20, NO. 34
Traffic revision met with confusion By Megan Hansen Co-Editor
Months after the Coupeville Town Council approved an ordinance to change part of Front Street to a oneway road, city workers finally put up signs this month, causing some confusion for drivers. The ordinance changes Front Street from South Main to Gould Street to a one-way road. The council members made the change as a way to mitigate
a small landslide along the road that took out part of the pedestrian walkway. The traffic revision wasn’t made until now due to the town’s limited staff and issues with getting all the necessary signs, said Coupeville Marshal Rick Norrie. Signs are posted at intersections on Center, Haller, Kinney and Clapp Streets, which all connect with Front Street. However, there is no one-way sign
currently posted at Front Street and North Main Street. This is causing some confusion for people, said Cindy Olson, who owns Aqua Gifts at that intersection. Norrie said the absence of a oneway sign at North Main Street is being addressed and additional signage is coming. Olson said she gets people stopping and running in specifically to ask her
See, Revision, page 12
Megan Hansen photo
Changes to Front Street have some drivers scratching their heads.
Event recap evaluates parking woes By Megan Hansen Co-Editor
Ron Newberry photo
A fifth-grader from the Tahoma School District isn’t sure how to react after a sea cucumber is placed into her hands during a Sea Lab class taught by Keith Ludemann at the Camp Casey Conference Center in Coupeville Monday. It was the first day of the season for the class.
Lab offers glimpse into sea life By Ron Newberry Staff Reporter
Keith Ludemann’s fascination with marine life and the natural world dates back more than a half century, even before the Navy brought him to Whidbey Island in 1962. But his full appreciation for such creatures can be traced back to one day in the 1980s inside a small building in Coupeville not far from the sea. “The octopus is the most intelligent animal in the world that does not have a backbone,” Ludemann said, recounting his tale to a group
of fifth graders this week during the marine biology class he teaches inside the Sea Lab at the Camp Casey Conference Center. On that day, three decades ago, Ludemann was preparing to feed a giant Pacific Octopus that he and his son had caught, placed in a large aquarium and grown quite fond of. At 16 feet in diameter, the octopus had a massive reach and learned to shake Ludemann’s hand. But when Ludemann presented a crab for breakfast to the octopus, then playfully pulled it back, the fun was over as the octopus latched on to his arm and a new level of re-
spect was born. “I came off the floor,” Ludemann said. “I said, ‘OK. OK. You can have your
See, Lab, page 2
The week of the Penn Cove Musselfest, event organizers didn’t know if they were going to be able to use the community green for parking. Throughout the week, they checked with officials each day for an update, finally getting the OK Friday, the day before the event began. “That was very uncomfortable,” said event organizer Cindy Olson, adding that event organizers and city workers were on “pins and needles.” With an estimated 10,000 people coming through Coupeville that weekend, visitors parked wherever they could find a spot. Organizers tried to prepare for the parking eventualities in case the community green next to the library had not been available, Olson said. Though it was used in the end, additional parking was needed, even across town. “Our parking issue is a creation of our overall success with all of our events, and as with any small community it is going to cause problems which are not easily solved,” said Lynda Eccles, executive director for the Coupeville Chamber of
See, Parking, page 12