CENTRAL WHIDBEY: Longtime fire commissioner retires
Allyson Ballard reports from the Coupeville Town Council meeting of Tue., Dec. 9, 2025 for the Whidbey News-Times. Read the whole story.
Summary by Perplexity AI
Cheryl Engle has retired from the Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue board of commissioners after 36 years of service, during which her background in teaching and farm finance brought a fresh, practical perspective to the district’s governance. Colleagues and community members honored her at an open house at Station 53, where Fire Chief Jerry Helm praised her leadership in consolidating several small, disconnected departments into one unified agency and guiding major operational changes. The district recognized her contributions with gifts and by renaming the station’s training room the Cheryl Engle Training Room, a tribute that moved Engle to tears.
They Said It
“Cheryl, from the bottom of all of our hearts, there’s nothing that we can do or say to express our true gratitude for what you’ve done for our organization, our community and myself,” Chief Jerry Helm said. “So, thank you.”
“Through Cheryl’s leadership and through the community has really brought all of those seven stations into basically one department,” Helm said.
Engle, moved by the gestures, requested a box of tissues. “I loved what I do, and I know I’m going to miss it,” she said.
