NEWS-TIMES WHIDBEY
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2011 | Vol. 121, No. 71 | WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75¢
Good dog. Bad dog. A11
State senator’s husband goes to trial in sex case By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
Jessie Stensland / Whidbey News-Times
Basil Badley speaks with his attorney, Tyna Ek, during a recess of the trial in Island County Superior Court Thursday. Badley, who’s married to Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, is being sued by his wife’s former campaign manager for an alleged sexual assault.
SEE TRIAL, PAGE A8
Shorter days await some students
Lions Quest boosts middle schools
School begins next week By REBECCA OLSON Staff reporter
By REBECCA OLSON Staff reporter
Middle school students in Oak Harbor will get a boost in their life skills education thanks to a class sponsored by the Oak Harbor Lions Club. Nearly 30 middle school teachers attended the voluntary class, Lions Quest, which took place Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at North Whidbey Middle School. “Students can’t learn until all their needs are met, but not just needs like food and shelter. This class is about the needs we take for granted
State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen sat beside her husband, Basil Badley, in an Island County courtroom this week as attorneys battled over a politically charged lawsuit involving allegations of groping, mental illness and the consumption of large amounts of alcohol. Coupeville resident Courtney Jones, Haugen’s former campaign manager, is suing Badley for sexual assault and battery. Jones claims Badley sexually assaulted her during a
post-election dinner at the Democratic state senator’s Camano Island home on Dec. 2, 2008. Jones took the stand Thursday and became emotional as she answered questions about the events that evening. She described how she tried to politely resist and deflect Badley’s sexual advances. She said at one point she reminded him of Sen. Haugen. “He said it has nothing to do with Mary Margaret, it has everything to do with you and me,” she said.
Rebecca Olson / Whidbey News-Times
Middle school teachers do team-building exercises at Lions Quest, a program to teach middle school students life skills. like needing to feel part of a group,” said Shane Evans, Oak Harbor Middle School principal. The program, taught by national instructor Frances Portillo, is used in more than 27 countries. It shows teachers how to incorporate life skills into middle school language arts classes. Skills include dealing with conflicts, choosing not to do
drugs, self-respect, planning for the future and serving the community, said North Whidbey Middle School Principal Laura Aesoph. The program also focuses on making classrooms safe and effective places to learn and encourages parents and the community to become involved, Aesoph said. Lions Club President Bill Cheaqui called North
Whidbey Middle School to ask if they’d be interested in the program after reading letters criticizing the schools in the Whidbey News-Times. “The Lions Club said here’s a possible solution and said what they’d do to help. It’s easy for schools to get criticized but hard for someone to come up with a solution,” Portillo said.
As the days get shorter with the approach of autumn, so will some students’ school days. Students returning to Oak Harbor and Coupeville schools will notice some changes as the new school year begins next week. Oak Harbor schools’ first day back is Thursday, Sept. 8. The most noticeable difference middle school students will see is that their school days are shortened by half an hour. The seventh period was cut entirely to reduce the number of teachers, a change the Oak Harbor School Board made to cope with a reduced budget. The other six periods will be lengthened by a few minutes each, said Joe Hunt,
Oak Harbor School District communications director. The middle school day will now start at 8:15 a.m. and end at 2:15 p.m. While the high school school day won’t be shortened, students will start at 8 a.m. instead of 7:45 a.m. and finish at 2:30 p.m. due to a revised bus schedule necessary to deal with the middle school time change, Hunt said. Kindergarten has also changed due to the reduced budget. In order to cut costs of midday busing, kindergarten will be full, alternating days instead of daily separate morning and afternoon sessions, Hunt said. SEE SCHOOL, PAGE A4