Give the gift of life at blood drive
South Whidbey High School students are inviting the community to donate a pint of their blood.
Sponsored by the South Whidbey chapter of the National Honor Society, the blood drive has openings from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, May 15 in the school’s mat room, past the auditorium and across from the gym.
“We’ll be serving cookies and juice afterwards,” said blood drive chairwoman Veronica Brown.
To sign up, call the high school at 221-4300.
Langley action grant deadline is coming
It’s not too late to submit applications for Langley’s Neighbor-to-Neighbor action grants.
The city of Langley, through the sponsorship of the Langley Community Club, is offering mini grants of up to $200 per project.
Kathleen Landel, the city of Langley’s coordinator of the program, said no idea is too small: Just come up with a fun, useful idea to improve your neighborhood.
Applications are due at city Hall by 5 p.m. Monday, May 19.
The application packet is available on the city of Langley Web site at www.langleywa.org/whats-new.html or for pick-up at city hall during business hours.
For more information, call Landel at 221-4246, ext. 21.
Rotary accepting grant applications
The Rotary Club of South Whidbey is now taking grant applications from local qualifying groups.
Applicants should be registered 501(c)(3) organizations and state specifically how the grant will be spent. The application deadline is June 2.
Send requests to Rotary Club of South Whidbey, PO Box 444 Freeland, WA 98249.
School board to hold public hearing
The South Whidbey school board will hold a public hearing and workshop tonight to discuss redistricting issues.
The meeting is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 14 at the Intermediate School community room, 5380 S. Maxwelton Road in Langley.
The board will look at a selection of companies to conduct seismic and technology studies, hold a public hearing on school board redistricting plans and review a board member report on the National School Board Association conference.
Sale helps with family emergencies
Financial Peace University is sponsoring a “Dave Says: Sell It! Yard Sale” at Whidbey Evangelical Free Church this week.
The yard sale is a part of TV and radio personality Dave Ramsey’s “financial peace” efforts to bring personal economies under control. Financial Peace University class participants are organizing the yard sale to assist them in starting a family emergency fund, getting control of credit cards and getting out of debt.
The sale is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17 at the church, located at 3770 Highway 525, Greenbank.
The 13-week FPU class is in progress, and plans are being made to start a new class soon. Call Ron Young at 579-4680 for information.
New color guard seeks members
Whidbey’s 2nd Wind adult precision drumline needs a minimum of two adults for its new honor guard.
Equipment is supplied along with main parts of the uniform. Guard members must be able to stay in step with drumline music and maintain excellent military bearing.
The guard’s first performance is Saturday, June 21 in Seattle. Openings for expanded adult color guard will follow. For details, call 221-7972 or e-mail nev@whidbey.com.
Board set to visit outdoor classroom
School board members for the South Whidbey School District will hold a site visit to the Maxwelton Outdoor Classroom in Clinton to see the facility while it is being used.
The visit will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 14.
Rep. Smith named ‘Business Champ’
The joint group of Snohomish County Chambers of Commerce presented state Rep. Norma Smith with the 2008 Business Champion Award.
Smith scored 93 percent on the group’s key business issues voted on before the 2008 Legislature, which is the highest score of all state representatives in the region, the chambers said. The District 10 Republican lawmaker was appointed before the start of this year’s session to replace fellow Republican Chris Strow, who resigned late last year.
“This award means a great deal to me,” Smith said. “With our economy beginning to struggle in Washington, we need to make sure we are creating jobs locally by doing all we can to support our small businesses.”
GOP women to host Rep. Bailey
State Rep. Barbara Bailey will be the guest speaker at the South Whidbey Republican Women’s monthly meeting next week.
The 10th District Republican will be speaking about this past session in Olympia and about her candidacy in the November election.
The meeting will be held April 20 at Useless Bay Country Club at 11:30 am. All Republican women are invited to attend. For reservations, call Pam Luhn at 579-8868 or Jean Goodfellow at 579-5348.
Whidbey Telecom to give arts grants
Island Arts Council is accepting applications from Whidbey Island artists for the 2008 Whidbey Telecom visual arts grants.
Grants of up to $500 are available to artists seeking funding for either ongoing or ensuing work. Needs may be as varied as research, equipment or materials, skills enhancement through workshops or studio upgrades.
Full grant information and an application form is available at the Open Studio Tour Web site at www.whidbeyopenstudiotour.org.
The deadline for entries is Monday, June 9.
Awards will be announced at the artist reception for the Whidbey Island Open Studio Tour on Thursday, Sept. 25.
Lawmaker plans five coffee talks
State Rep. Barbara Bailey will hold five “coffee talks” in the 10th District this month, and three of them will be on Whidbey Island. Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, invites people to share their views in an informal setting.
Her stops on Whidbey will be 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 21 at Solid Ground Coffee Shop, 275 SE Cabot Drive, Suite A9, in Oak Harbor; 10 a.m. Thursday, May 22 at 1504 Coffee at 18220 State Route 525, Freeland; and noon at Miriam’s Espresso Café, 200 S Main St., Coupeville.
The other coffee talks are 9 a.m. Friday, May 23 at Starbucks, 26802 92nd Ave. NW, Suite D1, Stanwood; and 11:30 a.m. at Islander’s Restaurant, 848 North Sunrise Blvd., Building D, Camano Island.
WISH gets new program director
Just as the seasons change, so does Whidbey Island Share a Home.
Julie Pigott, WISH program director since August 2005, will leave WISH at the end of May to pursue her vision of integrating music and healing for children and families.
The WISH program is growing and moving forward on a steady course with new director, Doris Newkirk.
A Whidbey Islander for 12 years, Newkirk has an extensive career dedicated to serving community. For eight years, she commuted to Seattle as clinical director of Seattle Children’s Home. Prior to that work, she carried the directorship for Bergen County Community Action program with focus on homelessness in New Jersey.
“I have found a home and community here. Whidbey Island has given me a lot and it’s time to give back to this island,” Newkirk said.
Belly dance expert to hold workshop
The Whidbey belly dance community will welcome renowned dance-teacher Kate Pitroff for a workshop in Clinton in June.
Pitroff of Tucson, Ariz. has been dancing since 1985 and has been a protegé of internationally known Kathryn Ferguson since 1994. She has also studied with famous dancers Morocco, Dahlena and Rachael Brice.
A three-hour workshop is planned for 10 a.m. Sunday, June 8. Tuition is $35; for more details contact Shari James at 579-3690, or e-mail kismet@whidbey.com.
