To the editor:

The BeachWatchers Class of 2007 would like to thank all the businesses who so generously donated items to us for our raffle held at Sound Waters 2008.

Those businesses are ACE Hardware of Oak Harbor, Albertson’s Save-On Drugs, Bayview Farm & Garden, Casey’s Crafts, The Celtic Viking, Chocolate Flower Farm, Critters and Co., Curves, Family Care Fitness Center/Health Essentials, The Heron, In the Country Giftshop, The Island Framery, Island Drug, Jon Gross Photography, Joy and Craig Johnson, Lavender Wind Farm, Lighthouse Environmental Programs, Lincoln Computers, Lind’s, Moonraker Books, Music for the Eyes, Northwest Country Furniture, One Angel Place Chocolates, Pickle’s Deli, Ruby’s, Serendipity Gifts, Starbucks and Whidbey Wild Bird.

More than $1,500 was raised to support our project which is a two-part program to educate the general public as to the problems caused by pet poop. Building on the information presented in “Our Islands, Our Water” mailed to Island County homes in September 2007, we will be working with our communities and the dog-owning public to increase the awareness of the damage uncollected pet waste does to the beaches and waters of our Island. In addition to making it easier to collect the waste we are working on a process to make pet waste compostable.

By supporting both Sound Waters and the 2007 BeachWatchers Class, the above businesses demonstrated their own role as good neighbors who care about our environment. We thank them and ask that you support them.

The BeachWatcher Class of 2007