SOUNDER THE ISLANDS’
Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
WEDNESDAY, December 17, 2014 VOL. 47, NO. 51 75¢ islandssounder.com
Real Estate in the
San Juan Islands December 2014
Published the third Wednesday of each month by the Journal of the San Juan Islands, Islands’ Sounder and Islands’ Weekly
Journal file photo
Inside this edition PO Box 171 Eastsound, WA 98245 360.376.2145 www.orcasislandrealty.com
Home on 64 Acres
Park-Like Setting
County addresses vehicle break-ins
Winter Warmth
64 acres of meadow & forest land with a view building site plus a wonderful home, both with SE exposure. The home features soaring cathedral ceilings, floor to ceiling rock fireplace, 1” solid fir floors, French doors, fir windows and beautiful country kitchen. A connected pod has another bedroom & full bath, currently used as an artist’s studio. Spacious 3 car garage & separate woodshop building. Preservation Trust protected.
Nestled in a beautiful park setting, this open concept home with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths is well maintained. Spacious living area on the main level is accented by expansive windows to bring in the sun. One acre level lot with majestic cedar trees is fenced on 3 sides. Located close to the village of Eastsound and two blocks to beach access. 2 car detached garage has loft storage and shop area.
MLS# 687373
MLS# 686329
$1,300,000
Brent Ramenofsky
Kathryn Sherman photo
Deborah Hansen
Harvey Olsan
Lisa Botiller
$299,000
Mary Clure
Locally Owned and Operated
Victoria Shaner
Kristen Slabaugh
Marty Zier
by MEREDITH M. GRIFFITH Sounder contributor
David Densmore painting of Victorian Valley Chapel
Final community concerts of the holiday season on page 8.
The questions came thick and fast. Nearly 50 islanders gathered at the Eastsound fire hall on Dec. 10 to discuss a rash of vehicle breakins on and around Thanksgiving weekend. County Council Chairman Rick Hughes, Sheriff Rob Nou, deputies Doug Maya and Ray Harvey and Michael Jennings of the county juvenile court answered queries that ranged from “Do you have a suspect yet?” to “What is being done to address the homeless camps on Orcas?” “It’s still very much an active investigation,” said Nou. “Evidence has been sent to the lab.” Due to the fairly narrow time window (less than 10 days) and the similarities seen in the crimes, Nou said the break-ins may have been committed by the same group of people – possibly holiday visitors. The break-ins took place at the end of November, beginning with an attempt to force a vehicle door at Turtleback Mountain’s north trailhead. A second attempt at the south trailhead succeeded, followed by a third break-in at the
Crime briefs | Orcas, Lopez, San Juan by SCOTT RASMUSSEN Journal editor
Former postal employee gets four months for jewelry theft A Lopez Island woman who kept a set of keys after losing a job at the post office, and later used them in the theft of several pieces of jewelry – including a diamond ring – will spend four months in jail or on work crew for felony theft. Following an earlier conviction in San Juan County Superior Court, in which she pleaded guilty Oct. 30 to one count of second-degree theft with intent to resell, Susan Marie Klein, 30, was ordered to pay $315 in restitution Nov. 28 for theft of a diamond ring that she sold on eBay. She was sentenced to four months in jail, or four on work crew in lieu of jail, and ordered
to pay $800 in fines and fees. A Class C felony, second-degree theft carries maximum penalties of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both; however, the standard range of sentencing set by the state is 2-6 months in jail. Klein was also convicted in December 2013 of prescription drug fraud. According to court documents, the U.S. Postal Service terminated Klein's employment in February 2012; the keys issued to her were never returned. Three months later, a package containing a diamond ring vanished from a post office box and was later identified as the same ring sold by Klein for $950 as part of a transaction on eBay. Another piece of jewelry shipped later to the same post office box turned up missing as well. Prosecutors filed felony theft charges against Klein earlier this year following closely after of Postal Service investigation into the missing jewelry. Klein, who claimed initially to
have stumbled upon the ring in a parking lot, reportedly admitted to the theft as the postal investigation proceeded, according to court documents.
Orcas man to serve 48 days for meth possession An Orcas Island man, asleep on the library lawn in mid-October with methamphetamine in his pocket, was ordered to serve 48 days in jail on the heels of a second felony conviction in a little over a year. On Nov. 25, Stanley Vincent Sing, 34, pleaded guilty in San Juan County Superior Court to one count of possession of methamphetamine, a Class C felony. He was ordered to serve 48 days in jail and to pay $600 in fines and fees. According to court documents, Sing had
SEE CRIME, PAGE 5
Joanna Massey/staff photo
County council chairman Rick Hughes listens to questions during the town hall meeting on Dec. 10. north trailhead. On Nov. 30, two vehicle breakins occurred at the athletic center between 6 and 7:30 p.m., another at Orcas school around 8:30 p.m. and the ferry tollbooth was broken into between 8:30 and 10 p.m. Stolen property from the vehicles was found scattered across the island, from a wooded corner of Eastsound to Rosario and Moran state park. Nou and Harvey asked people
SEE BREAK-INS, PAGE 5
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