The roundup
Page A4
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Saturday, February 22, 2014 • The South Whidbey Record
NEWSLINE | WEATHER REPORT: Rain likely today. Possible snow and rain tonight and Sunday. More rain Monday.
COUNTY 911 dispatch down four hours Island County’s 9-1-1 dispatch service was down for nearly four hours last weekend. Tom Shaughnessy, director of I-COM, confirmed a “power hit” to a telephone server knocked out the dispatch center’s ability to directly take 9-1-1 calls from about 10:30 p.m. Saturday evening to about 2 a.m. Sunday morning. “When I say ‘down,’ I mean we couldn’t answer 9-1-1 calls here at this office,” he said. Shaughnessy said the system has a built-in safeguard which forwards calls to Skagit County’s
dispatch service. The agency answered 9-1-1 calls from Island County then forwarded them back to I-COM through an administrative line. “All it takes is a flip of the switch,” Shaughnessy said. According to Island County Sheriff Mark Brown, the disruption in service did not result in any missed calls. While it’s “kinda frightening to know that can happen,” he said the incident made clear the safeguard in place both works and is effective. “Thank God we had it,” he said. Shaughnessy said service disruptions are rare, occurring only every few years.
LANGLEY School bell irks LMS neighbors Neighbors of Langley Middle School gritted their teeth through a
noisy night this past weekend. Brian Miller, director of facilities for the South Whidbey School District, confirmed the school’s bell system went haywire and rang uninterrupted for at least five hours. According to 9-1-1 calls, the first report came in at about 10 p.m. Saturday evening. The ringing bell was reported again at 3 a.m. Miller said he was notified of the problem at about that time and arrived shortly after to shut it off. Some have speculated the delay was the result of a disruption to Island County’s 9-1-1 dispatch service, but I-COM officials dispute the claim, saying calls were being routed to Skagit County’s dispatch service and back to island police. “The incidents are unrelated,” Director Tom Shaughnessy said. According to Miller, the bell problem was likely the result of a power
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Grant sought to expose creek Langley is looking for funding to shed some light on the long-hidden Brookhaven Creek that runs under the city and into Saratoga Passage. City leaders approved a grant application to help pay for an estimated $57,627 project that would bring about 50 feet of the creek to the surface. The grant would come from the Whidbey Island Conservation District, and the city’s mayor said Langley would only move forward with the project if it received the grant. “The idea was to kind of bring out to people that this creek runs through the city and to be aware of what they are putting in it,” said Mayor Fred
McCarthy. Currently, the creek is directed underground through a pipe system that dumps out through the concrete wall at Seawall Park and into the greater Puget Sound marine system. Originally pitched and pursued by Councilwoman Rene Neff, a design by Community Planning Director Jeff Arango shows an exposed Brookhaven Creek between the Windermere office and US Bank on the west side of Second Street. McCarthy said he learned from Neff that Brookhaven Creek used to be a salmon spawning system. Early in the city’s history, however, the creek flowed through a pipe which prohibited fish from entering it to return to their spawning grounds. Reportedly, a man would gather the salmon and take them beyond Sixth Street to where the creek is open so they could spawn. Any future use as a restored salmon spawning area is not likely, however, as the much of the creek runs under commercial buildings and homes now, McCarthy said. The section in the Brookhaven housing area is exposed.
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failure from Saturday’s stormy weather. It caused a trip in the system and set the buzzer off. A more pricey and permanent fix is being researched, but in the meantime he hopes an independent power supply will address the issue. “I think this will buy us some peaceful nights until we can buy something newer,” he said.
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PORT Commissioner to be appointed Port of South Whidbey Commissioners will meet Tuesday to appoint a commissioner for District 2, Langley. The board will interview candidates and go into executive session to review the qualifications of each candidate. After the review, they will re-open the meeting to the public and appoint a new commissioner for the position previously held by Chris Jerome. So far, one candidate has submitted their name, Langley resident Ed Halloran. Application materials will be accepted up until the Feb. 25 meeting. The term will last from the appointment through the next regular port election in November 2015. Submissions including a letter of interest and statement of qualifications can be sent by mail to Port of South Whidbey, P.O. Box 872, Freeland, WA 98249, by email to molly@portof southwhidbey.com, by fax to 360-331-5414, or in person at 1804 Scott Road, Suite 101, Freeland. At the meeting, the board will also discuss the South Whidbey Harbor expansion, Possession Boat Ramp renovation and the organizational structure of the port. Public participation is not on the agenda. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25 at the port office conference room, 1804 Scott Road, Freeland.