RECORD SOUTH WHIDBEY
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011 | Vol. 87, No. 95 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
INSIDE: Senior moments, Sports, A12
Family offers forgiveness at memorial
A little help from his friends
BY BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
Patricia Duff / The Record
Joe Freia is feeling fine after an ordeal in the hospital. But the volunteer firefighter needs help with overwhelming medical bills.
Community rushes to the rescue of ailing firefighter BY PATRICIA DUFF South Whidbey Record
A bug is not always just a bug. Sometimes, “just a bug” turns into an absolute nightmare. Volunteer firefighter Joe Freia found that out the hard way this past July when he came down with what he thought was the flu. When things went from bad to
worse, the Langley resident visited the doctor, who said a viral bug was probably the cause. Wrong. A second diagnosis called it gastroenteritis and pneumonia and was treated with drugs. Wrong again. “A week later I awoke to the worst pain I have ever felt and ended up
in the emergency room at Whidbey General Hospital,” Freia said. After some stressful hours of testing, it was determined that Freia had pulmonary embolisms throughout his right lung and he was admitted to the hospital. “They started drug therapy as soon
LANGLEY — Sorrow, laughter and forgiveness — along with hundreds of people — filled South Whidbey Assembly of God for a memorial service for Marcel “Mick” Poynter. Poynter, 20, perished in a car crash shortly after midnight Saturday, Nov. 12, along with Charles “Mack” Porter III, 19, and Robert Bruce Knight, 22. Nobody said much about the accident. Instead, they urged people to learn from the tragedy and talk about choices. “It wasn’t just three lives lost,” said Mike Poynter, Mick’s father, referring to Mick Poynter Kaylea Souza, the driver in the one-car accident. “Her life will probably be ruined. Me and Mick’s mom have forgiven her.” He thanked Ariel Beason and Miranda Medeiros for saving Souza from the crash and trying to save the three men. “Don’t forget what happened last week,” he added. Far more than 400 people filled the worship hall at the church. Initially, about 375 chairs were out in rows 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start. The crowd seemingly doubled 15 minutes before the memorial was set to begin, and folding chairs were brought into the hall as some of the crowd
SEE FRIENDS, A11 SEE MEMORIAL, A16
Council votes to keep police department at reduced staffing level BY BRIAN KELLY South Whidbey Record
LANGLEY — The city’s small police force will have to wait for relief. City officials have decided to push off talk about restoring the Langley Police Department to a four-man force and the city council has given its initial approval to a 2012 budget that would pay for only three officers. The city’s police department has had a four-officer force for 15 years, but dropped down to three officers when Bob Herzberg retired as
chief earlier this year. The department has been providing police coverage with just three officers since March. But that’s led to some officers working seven, eight, 11 or 21 days in a row without a day off, as well as some days when a single officer has had to work a 24-hour shift, or times when the city has had no officer on duty during the day, or at night. Police Chief Randy Heston asked the council to restore his fourth officer position at a recent budget workshop, to no avail.
zens are protected,” “I’m disappointed Heston said. because it makes “All three of us are The city council it harder for us,” going to work our voted unanimously Heston said this to approve next week. “It spreads us tails off to make year’s $5.5 million a little thin.” sure the citizens budget Monday and Even so, he said are protected.” is expected to take his department a final vote on the would do what it Police Chief Randy Heston city’s 2012 spending takes to make the Langley plan at its first meetstaffing situation ing in December. work, which may An earlier draft of the 2012 budinclude scheduling officers for longet included funding for a fourth ger shifts but fewer days. “All three of us are going to work officer, but Mayor Paul Samuelson noted the council’s earlier request our tails off to make sure the citi-
to have that position removed from the budget. He said there wasn’t enough time to have the budget changed to restore funding for the fourth officer, and said the council should devote plenty of time for more talk on the issue in the future. That could include a series of workshops, and Samuelson also said the community should be involved in the discussion. “We need to have a thorough conversation,” Samuelson said. SEE POLICE, A16