Camano Island

Mike Evans, Blue Heron Canoe Family patriarch, asks permission to navigate the Coast Salish waters as paddlers prepare to depart on their two week journey to Lummi Island. (Isabella Breda / The Herald)

Pandemic disrupted tradition, but not their love of the sea

The Blue Heron Canoe family has embarked on a two-week journey, launching from the Edmonds waterfront.

Mike Evans, Blue Heron Canoe Family patriarch, asks permission to navigate the Coast Salish waters as paddlers prepare to depart on their two week journey to Lummi Island. (Isabella Breda / The Herald)
Ric Shallow suffered critical injuries after his sedan hit a patch of black ice and crashed into a tree on the morning of Jan. 7, 2016 on Camano Island.

Island County pays another $9 million for crash at icy curve

Doctors did not expect Ric Shallow to live after a crash on Camano Island. He’s still recovering.

Ric Shallow suffered critical injuries after his sedan hit a patch of black ice and crashed into a tree on the morning of Jan. 7, 2016 on Camano Island.
Avery Rochon,16, won the Queen of the Hill and 1st place in Super Stock at the Camano Island Soap Box Derby in June. She will be racing on Monday at Derby Downs in Ohio at the All-American World Championship Soap Box Derby. Photographed at Arrowhead Ranch on Thursday, July 15, 2021 in Camano Island, Washington. Camden Tatarian, 7, also qualified for the the Championship in Akron, Ohio.  (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Speedsters will represent Stanwood, Camano Island at derby

After winning the 14th Stanwood-Camano Island Soap Box Derby, Avery Rochon and Camden Tatarian will race at the big event in Akron, Ohio.

Avery Rochon,16, won the Queen of the Hill and 1st place in Super Stock at the Camano Island Soap Box Derby in June. She will be racing on Monday at Derby Downs in Ohio at the All-American World Championship Soap Box Derby. Photographed at Arrowhead Ranch on Thursday, July 15, 2021 in Camano Island, Washington. Camden Tatarian, 7, also qualified for the the Championship in Akron, Ohio.  (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
Amy Martin’s “Twilight Fishing” in oil is based on an old photo of her father.

Camano Studio Tour returns, thanks to dedicated volunteers

The 22nd tour celebrates five artists who have volunteered for the Camano Arts Association for many years.

Amy Martin’s “Twilight Fishing” in oil is based on an old photo of her father.

Lynnwood man is challenging the legality of his imprisonment

The Island County Jail inmate was temporarily sent to a state prison and allegedly held in solitary confinement.

Deborah Rumbaugh

Board OKs contract with new Stanwood schools superintendent

Deborah Rumbaugh, who starts July 1, will earn $250,000 a year under three-year agreement.

Deborah Rumbaugh
Deborah Rumbaugh

Contract will pay new Stanwood superintendent $250K a year

The Stanwood-Camano school board is to approve a multi-year pact with Deborah Rumbaugh on Tuesday.

Deborah Rumbaugh
Pedestrians walk beside a brick building on Wetmore Avenue on March 17, 2021, in Everett, Washington. Old buildings constructed before 1945, with unreinforced masonry, are vulnerable to seismic waves. The exterior could break away and plummet into the street. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

3. Aftermath: Infrastructure won’t fare well in a big quake

Shockwaves from a shallow fault here could ravage bridges, schools and the water supply in Western Washington. Emergency planners want you to be ready.

Pedestrians walk beside a brick building on Wetmore Avenue on March 17, 2021, in Everett, Washington. Old buildings constructed before 1945, with unreinforced masonry, are vulnerable to seismic waves. The exterior could break away and plummet into the street. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
Jody Bourgeois, a University of Washington researcher who specializes in liquefaction, surveys the Snohomish River delta, where land is prone to turn to liquid in a major earthquake. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

2. Built on pudding: Can modern quake engineering prevail?

At least 30,000 people in Snohomish County live on saturated soils and sediment that will behave like shaken liquid when a big earthquake hits.

Jody Bourgeois, a University of Washington researcher who specializes in liquefaction, surveys the Snohomish River delta, where land is prone to turn to liquid in a major earthquake. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Our Fault: The earthquake hazard beneath us. Map of major geologic faults of the Puget Sound region. No caption necessary. 20210502

1. Buried danger: A slumbering geologic fault beneath us

An earthquake along the southern Whidbey Island fault reshaped the land some 2,700 years ago. Another big one is expected, and it could be devastating.

Our Fault: The earthquake hazard beneath us. Map of major geologic faults of the Puget Sound region. No caption necessary. 20210502
Deborah Rumbaugh, an assistant superintendent of the Highline School District in King County, was selected to be the next superintendent of the Stanwood-Camano School District. (Stanwood-Camano School District) 20210514

Deborah Rumbaugh chosen to lead Stanwood schools

The Highline School District administrator will succeed Superintendent Jean Shumate, who retires next month.

Deborah Rumbaugh, an assistant superintendent of the Highline School District in King County, was selected to be the next superintendent of the Stanwood-Camano School District. (Stanwood-Camano School District) 20210514
A log shows the depth of creosote penetration while Department of Natural Resources crews remove ropes from logs removed from Elger Bay, via helicopter, on Monday, May 10, 2021 in Camano Island, Washington. The logs were then shipped to a landfill. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Goodbye, creosote: Cleanup underway at Elger Bay salt marsh

The toxic wood preservative was once ubiquitous in Washington. On Camano, it threatens salmon.

A log shows the depth of creosote penetration while Department of Natural Resources crews remove ropes from logs removed from Elger Bay, via helicopter, on Monday, May 10, 2021 in Camano Island, Washington. The logs were then shipped to a landfill. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
Deborah Rumbaugh (left), Jay Jordan (center) and John Boyd are finalists for the Stanwood School District's superintendent position.

Finalists for Stanwood schools chief are coming to town

Each will visit the district this week to meet staff and take part in a virtual community forum.

Deborah Rumbaugh (left), Jay Jordan (center) and John Boyd are finalists for the Stanwood School District's superintendent position.

One of these six may be the next leader of Stanwood schools

Each will be interviewed Saturday. The public can watch and offer opinions to the school board.

An infant and a child were killed in a Dec. 13, 2016 crash on Camano Island. (Washington State Patrol, file)

Island County to pay $16.5 million over fatal fiery crash

Tanya Canell suffered burns in crash that killed her two young girls, on a road known for icing over.

An infant and a child were killed in a Dec. 13, 2016 crash on Camano Island. (Washington State Patrol, file)
Medics take Jeffrey Phebus, the suspect in a fatal shooting, to an ambulance on McDougall Avenue on Friday, May 24, 2019 in Everett, Wash. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Arlington man pleads guilty to murdering estranged wife

Jeffery Phebus, 61, who shot his wife at her workplace in Everett, faces 25 to 31⅔ years in prison.

Medics take Jeffrey Phebus, the suspect in a fatal shooting, to an ambulance on McDougall Avenue on Friday, May 24, 2019 in Everett, Wash. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
Ancient White Park cows belonging to Burt Degroot Wednesday afternoon on a pasture on Ebey Island April 1, 2020 (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Snohomish rancher raises an ancient breed of cattle

The distinctive British horned livestock have been around since the Middle Ages.

Ancient White Park cows belonging to Burt Degroot Wednesday afternoon on a pasture on Ebey Island April 1, 2020 (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Aaron Loveitt's salvaged-steel sculpture titled "Fell" is a replica of an old-growth Western red cedar.

See premier Northwest sculptors’ work at Camano Island gallery

Matzke Fine Art Gallery & Sculpture Park showcases pieces by 15 Northwest sculptors in a variety of mediums.

Aaron Loveitt's salvaged-steel sculpture titled "Fell" is a replica of an old-growth Western red cedar.
See 81 original paintings by Jack Dorsey in the "No. 81" exhibit through May at Sunnyshore Studio on Camano Island.

Camano Island studio celebrates a patriarch of the arts

“No. 81” features 81 of Jack Dorsey’s paintings on his 81st birthday. You can see 28 of them at Sunnyshore Studio.

See 81 original paintings by Jack Dorsey in the "No. 81" exhibit through May at Sunnyshore Studio on Camano Island.

Two charged in Seattle shooting death of Camano Island teen

A stolen pair of Air Force 1 sneakers may be connected to the killing, according to the charges.