Vol. 126, No. 26
News-Times Whidbey
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2016
WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75 CENTS
Your hometown newspaper for 126 years
By JESSIE STENSLAND
Breach of contract claim unresolved
jessie@whidbeynewsgroup.com
A half dozen members of the Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society gathered for an emergency meeting Monday evening to plan an effort to save a tree threatened by development. After Laura Renninger, founder of the group, briefed the group about the details — complete with architectural drawings, photos and paperwork — several of the members drove out to the Rose Hill neighborhood on the northeast side of the city to see the sprawling Garry oak tree, which Renninger estimates to be at least a 100 years old. “It just makes my stomach churn to think about losing this tree,” Ellen Giles said. “It’s hard to put a
By JESSIE STENSLAND jessie@whidbeynewsgroup.com
SEE RULING, A9
page 3
Group hopes to save oak slated to be cut down
Court upholds ruling in Emerson lawsuit
Island County once again prevailed in litigation involving Kelly Emerson, a former county commissioner. The long saga is still not over, however. Monday, the Washington State Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court summary judgment in favor of Island County, throwing out four claims that Emerson and her husband, Kenneth, raised in their second lawsuit against the county. The Emersons’ breach of contract claim is still unresolved, but both sides agreed to arbitration. “We are still waiting for the Emersons to work with the county’s attorney to choose an arbitrator to settle the breach of contract issue,” Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson said Monday. “We’ve been waiting for a better part of a year for them to agree to that. Once that’s done we can wash our hands of this once and for all.” Issues raised in the two lawsuits filed by the Emersons against the county during years of wrangling with the Planning Department were many and complicated, but the central question was whether the Emersons had a wetland on their Camano Island property that impacted their ability to build. Ironically, county staff finally determined in 2014 that no wetland existed on the property, but the litigation continued. The appeals court’s unpublished opinion recites the facts “in the light most favorable to the Emersons.” The issue arose in 2010, when Kenneth Emerson started constructing a sunroom without first obtaining a permit. A neigh-
Firefighters honored
SEE OAK TREE, A9
Photo by Jessie Stensland/Whidbey News-Times
Shannon Olson sports a ‘Feel the Bern’ shirt as she advocates for Bernie Sanders during the Democratic caucus in Oak Harbor Saturday. Photo by Debra Vaughn/Whidbey News-Times
Police officer Nathan Padrta and Oak Harbor High School dean Pat Felger walk the halls between classes.
Breaking barriers
dvaughn@whidbeynewsgroup.com
N
athan Padrta dons his uniform, holsters his gun and heads to work — at Oak Harbor High School. He’s the school district’s new school resource officer. He’s the only Oak Harbor
By JESSIE STENSLAND jessie@whidbeynewsgroup.com
police officer with an office at the high school. It’s a job he said he absolutely loves. “I enjoy this job,” he said. “I’m excited to come to work in the morning.” Padrta, at 24, almost looks young enough to be a student. He has the presence of a seasoned
People who attended Democratic presidential caucuses in Island County Saturday echoed the sentiments of caucus-goers statewide. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders claimed a victory over Hillary Clinton at all four caucus sites in the county. That was particularly true in Oak Harbor, where Sanders received 72 delegates and Clinton 21. In statewide totals, Sanders received 73 percent of the vote at caucuses while Clinton got 27 percent. Still, people spoke passionately about both candidates during the caucus at Oak Harbor Middle School, which drew more than 600 residents.
SEE HALLS, A12
SEE CAUCUS, A12
New school officer is loving the job By DEBRA VAUGHN
Dems fall behind Sanders during island caucuses