Whidbey News-Times, July 20, 2016

Page 1

Vol. 126, No. 58

News-Times Whidbey

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2016

WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75 CENTS

Porch Stories: Tale of the Calista ... page 10

Your hometown newspaper for 126 years

Fired after jail death, deputy back on the job

ROCKS Local search for painted stones is catching fire

By JESSIE STENSLAND

jstensland@whidbeynewsgroup.com

The only person fired in connection with a young man’s death inside the Island County jail has returned to work. An arbitrator ruled last month that Island County Sheriff Mark Brown did not have just cause to terminate Pamela McCarty from her job as lieutenant in the jail. It was found, however, that there was cause to demote her to corrections deputy. It was the second time in the past two years that the arbitrator, Gary Axon, ordered the sheriff to give an employee a job back. The sheriff placed McCarty, the BROWN: second in command at the jail, on “We respect the administrative leave, and then fired ruling of the her, after a detective completed his arbitrator and report on Keaton Farris’ April 7, 2015, we’re moving death in the jail from dehydration on.” and malnutrition. The investigation revealed that violations of jail policy and negligence by the staff contributed to the 25-year-old man’s death.

By CASSANDRA CALDERON ccalderon@whidbeynewsgroup.com

SEE REINSTATED, A5

District takes steps to improve student safety on campus By DEBRA VAUGHN

dvaughn@whidbeynewsgroup.com

School may be out for the summer but workers are busy making a number of upgrades to Oak Harbor Public Schools, including safety improvements. It’s a continual process with the district making big and small changes as the budget allows. The security upgrades address issues such as lighting a darkened parking lot, keeping people off campus who don’t belong there and keeping kids safe in worst case scenarios. “As close as we are to Marysville, you can’t not think SEE SAFETY, A13

Hot

Photo by Cassandra Calderon/Whidbey News-Times

Raelynn Toodle and her brother, Jayden Anderson, have participated in the Whidbey Island Rocks Facebook group by painting and hiding rocks of their own at various parks on the island.

A race car, a ladybug, a flower or even a dinosaur --- 4-year-old Olivia King knows that the painted rocks she’s looking for can be anything. So, holding her little brother A.J.’s hand in Windjammer Park last Friday, she kept her eyes peeled for the brightly painted stones. She was on an adventure greater than that single trip to the park with her family, and her excitement was tangible. And the park’s paved trails and stretch of sandy beach became the routes of a treasure map she created while searching under every piece of driftwood and tree. “We found our first rock at Windjammer on Thursday and they were both just so excited,” said Jenna Taylor King, A.J. and Olivia’s mother. “I couldn’t get her to put it down; she ended up taking her nap holding her rock.” The rock Olivia and her family found last week is just one of many small treasures being planted throughout Whidbey Island thanks to a Facebook group created by Oak Harbor’s Shelly Graham Darnell. The community page, Whidbey Island Rocks, encourages individuals to turn ordinary rocks into extraordinary works of art that are then hid in parks, outside of businesses and just about anywhere else on the island. The rocks can be decorated SEE ROCKS, A13

YogaFest puts outdoor twist on fitness By KATE DANIEL

kdaniel@whidbeynewsgroup.com

It was love at first pose when Beth Wright attended her first session at Unsize Me Hot Yoga Studio in Oak Harbor.

At the time, Wright was working as a registered nurse at the former Whidbey General Hospital (now WhidbeyHealth Medical Center). Though the concept of yoga intrigued her for some time, she

said it was a friend from work who persuaded her to try it first-hand. “I thought it was wonderful,” Wright said of that first warm yoga class. SEE YOGAFEST, A13

Photo provided

Yoga enthusiasts will meet at Fort Nugent Park Saturday for the fourth annual Whidbey Island YogaFest.


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.