It's all about the island
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Carolyn Stanford Taylor visited the Washington Island school district, meeting with teachers, students, administrators and parents. Stanford Taylor arrived May 21, spending the school day touring classrooms along with her Chief of Staff Dr. Scott Jones. At the end of the day, Stanford Taylor posed with the entire school before heading back on the ferry and a trip back to Madison.
Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and Washington Island Ferry Line have signed an agreement to construct a new, year-round passenger/vehicle ferry for service across Wisconsin’s Death’s Door Passage.
The new ferry will be named Madonna, measuring 124-ft. length, 40-ft. beam and 10-ft. 8 in. draft. It will have capacity for as many as 28 vehicles and 150 passengers. The new ferry will be the largest in the Ferry Line fleet to-date. It is scheduled for delivery in late May 2020.
“We are pleased to build what is our third ferry for Washington Island,” says Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding’s Vice President and General Manager Todd Thayse. “All current ferry vessels were built in Sturgeon Bay – two by Peterson Builders and this will be our third here at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. Our past work is indicative of the quality and attention to detail the Ferry Line and all of our customers have come to expect from our seasoned workforce. This contract will add to the steady work relied upon by the hundreds of women and men we employ from across the region.”
“This opportunity to build yet another ferry vessel in a Door County shipyard is something we’re extremely proud of,” says Washington Island Ferry Line President Hoyt Purinton. “Built locally, this ferry – like our other vessels – will operate exclusively in Door County waters between Washington Island and the tip of the Door Peninsula.”
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First-ever “You oughta be in pictures” contest draws 140 entries
The Washington Island Observer thanks all of the many subscribers who entered our first annual photo contest. You captured the beauty and mystique of being on and around our unique islands! There were so many fine photographs among the 140 entries that the judges had a difficult time choosing winners for the three categories (People, Wildlife, Landscapes). Therefore, in addition to publishing the winners in this issue, we will be featuring other notable photo submissions throughout the coming year. We appreciate everyone who took the time to enter. If you didn’t win this year, please start taking photos for 2019 as you enjoy the islands’ fall season. Congratulations to the Washington Island Observer’s 2018 Photo Contest winners:
PEOPLE CATEGORYSIGN UP FOR THIS YEAR’S PHOTO CONTEST
Contact us to sign up and participate in the upcoming island photo contest. Entries must be received by August 1st. Winners will be announced in September.
By Jim Rose
On Dec. 27 and 28, our girls basketball team participated in a girls tournament in Kiel, Wis. Our team was not originally invited but got a chance to play when one of the other JV teams could not make it. They did also have a varsity bracket. The first night our team played the host team, Kiel, and was defeated handily. I was not there for that game, but was able to make the next game, against the Kewaskum, Wis., JV team. This was a much closer match and made for an interesting game to watch. Our girls were ahead for almost the entire first half, until Kewaskum pulled ahead with seven seconds left in the half. Kewaskum pulled further ahead in the second half, but our girls did not give up, catching up to within one point twice in that half. But, by the end of the game, our girls were down by ten, and ended up losing with the final score being 39-49.
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By Chari Rutledge
Plans are underway for the 2019 Washington Islands Birding Festival to be held May 16-19. The festival is under the auspices of the Washington Island Art and Nature Center, and is also sponsored by the Washington Island Ferry Line and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The festival features guided small group birding on Washington, Plum and Rock Islands. Our Islands are located on the Great Lakes flyway. Data collected on the Island shows that this weekend, in particular, usually promises the largest amount of bird activity. The 2018 festival bore that out with 139 species recorded by the 60 birders attending. The birders also enjoyed dinners and programs that gave them a chance to meet and get to know one another.
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