Record South Whidbey
INSIDE
SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2015 | Vol. 91, No. 25 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
A taste of edible books See...A10
BLUESCHOOL ARTS Founder envisions a place for novices, inspiration By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record Where others saw an area in decline, Karin Bolstad saw a dream and an opportunity. The 42-year-old Langley woman (whose name is pronounced car-in) and lifelong artist opened Blueschool Arts in Clinton, just off the highway and a block away from the commercial area in October 2014. The bright blue building is part studio, part classroom, part event center. She fled her hometown because space was limited for her needs and, she frankly said, the Village by the Sea was too expensive for a burgeoning artist and business owner with a grand vision that she jokingly calls her “evil empire.” Citing the urban trend of areas losing
their value and their residents, then being occupied by artists, revitalized and property values increased, Bolstad said she’d like to see it start with her little blue building. “With the history of South Whidbey, I think it’s terrific she’s taking this lead and has put this together,” said Jack Lynch, president of the non-governmental Clinton Community Council and a retired community planner. In the building formerly occupied by Wellington Day School on Harding Avenue, Bolstad found a 3,500-square-foot space to house several artists looking to share space, host a gallery and lead instruction. Assembling many artists together, Bolstad hopes, will also spark each person’s passion to visually express themselves.
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Karin Bolstad hugs Tammi Sloan in the main classroom and gallery space of Blueschool Arts in Clinton. Bolstad’s arts collective had its first gala last weekend. “I wanted to create a place that you came in and were really inspired,” Bolstad said, adding that she prefers to work with others.
On just about every wall are works created by the Clinton collective or pieces curated by Bolstad, even in the bathrooms, where she
placed several framed works in her preferred Victorian style. “It’s really nuts because I would sit with my friend
Sarah Saltee and pour out my dreams before this place SEE BLUESCHOOL, A11
School board drops identification policy By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record
Justin Burnett / The Record
Mark Helpenstell addresses the South Whidbey School Board Wednesday during a meeting about district records rules.
People who ask the South Whidbey School District for public records will no longer be identified online, the school board decided this week. At a workshop Wednesday evening, directors informally agreed with Superintendent Jo Moccia’s recommendation to drop the practice in the wake of public criticism, extensive news coverage
and because naming requesters doesn’t help the board understand the financial impacts of complying with the state’s Open Public Records Act — the board’s stated goal of the policy. Despite the change, critics had strong words for the school board. Eric Hood, the former teacher who many claim was at the heart of the controversial policy, called the directors’ and the superintendent’s actions to date “hypocritical” and “disgusting,” and
the policy itself an illegal retaliatory measure designed to “shame and silence” him. “It violates state and federal student privacy laws. It violates community bonds. It violates common decency,” said Hood, reading from a prepared statement. In December, the district began including a document in online meeting agendas that named the people who sought SEE DISTRICT, A13
Winery, rural event center regulations ferment into hot button issue By JANIS REID South Whidbey Record Allowing wineries to become rural event centers has become a heated discussion among commissioners and South Whidbey
residents alike. Business owners have said the existing regulations are too restrictive and “problematic” while residents have complained that the events destroy the rural atmosphere of their neighborhoods. The Island County commis-
sioners could not agree last week on how to approach these regulations for wineries and rural event centers, but agreed that the issue needed to be addressed at some point. “It’s creating a problem, it has been creating a problem, it’s not a new problem,” said
Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, during a Wednesday work session. Commissioners reviewed specific changes to the code brought forward by Comforts of SEE EVENT CENTERS, A12