South Whidbey Record, July 15, 2015

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Record South Whidbey

INSIDE

South Whidbey

stays alive in district tourney See...A8

WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015 | Vol. 91, No. 55 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢

40th annual Choochokam

Art, music bonanza draws thousands to Village by the Sea By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record Judging by the number of parked cars that choked the streets of Langley Saturday, the 40th annual Choochokam Arts Festival was a huge hit. While the weather flirted with rain a few times in the early afternoon, attendees of the art and music bonanza were undeterred and packed downtown in search of paintings, jewelry, clothing, folk, jazz and rock tunes and delectable food. Around lunchtime, the food vendors on Anthes Avenue were facing lines of hungry festival-goers. Wafts from the grilled meats of Wild West BBQ and sweet and savory treats

Ben Watanabe / The Record

Top: Tanner McInerney of Weatherside Whiskey Band sings during one of the first performances Saturday at Choochokam Arts Festival in Langley. Right: Barry Crust of University Place burns a design into a driftwood walking stick in his Beyond the Beach tent on First Street. Above: Joel Sexton slices up ribs and brisket for an eager line of Choochokam visitors Saturday. of Crepe-a-Licious lured the masses. Taking a break from chopping ribs and slicing brisket during his third year at Choochokam, Wild West BBQ owner Joel Sexton said the secret to good barbecue was “love.” “We just go around and do festivals,” he said of his Lake

Stevens-based family business. “We like it here a lot.” Within earshot, Weatherside Whiskey Band enthralled several dozen people lingering around the main stage. The SEE CHOOCHOKAM, A10

Island County commissioners ponder a future without fireworks Board majority leans toward ban By DEBRA VAUGHN Whidbey News Group The hot, dry weather this year

has Island County commissioners considering a complete ban on the sale and ignition of fireworks. Commissioner Helen Price Johnson first raised the issue, noting that it seems absurd the county fire marshal could call a burn ban limiting all kinds of fires, but not fire-

works. During a Wednesday meeting she floated a change that would give the fire marshal the ability to do so under emergency conditions. Price Johnson also suggested limiting personal use of fireworks to just the Fourth of July. Commissioner Richard Hannold said he would sup-

port a complete ban on fireworks countywide. “We should follow suit to our close neighbors who have banned them outright,” he said. “There’s always a burn ban every year.” “To say you can’t have a campfire to cook your chicken, but you can

set off explosives that burn a few thousand degrees is insane.” Hannold, who lives on North Whidbey, said that, even though he is ex-Navy and enjoys “blowing SEE FIREWORKS, A3


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