RECORD SOUTH WHIDBEY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2011 | Vol. 87, No. 96 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
INSIDE: Hometown Hero, Community, A7
TAKING IT TO THE STREET
Brian Kelly / The Record
Kaylea F. Souza listens to her attorney, Peter Simpson, during her arraignment on three charges of vehicular homicide Monday in Island County Superior Court.
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Danni Curgus and Susan Ritzner wave to passing traffic on the corner of Maxwelton Road and Highway 525 on Monday afternoon. Curgus and Ritzner were just a pair of teachers from the union South Whidbey Education Association who rallied against proposed budget cuts as state legislators meet in a special session to reduce its deficit.
Teachers, school district officials unite against state budget cuts BY BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
LANGLEY — Teachers, parents, students, school board members and the school superintendent stood together Monday to protest further state budget cuts to education. On the corner of Maxwelton Road (South Whidbey School District’s strip of buildings) and Highway 525, more than a dozen people waved signs and wore red as a sign of solidarity. They were members of South Whidbey Education Association (the local teachers union), school board members and the superintendent. And they wanted to send a message to legislators in Olympia. Gov. Christine Gregoire has proposed cuts by several hundred million dollars to education to close the state’s deficit.
“Every cut they make hurts kids and the quality of education we can provide.” Becky Ward Special education teacher South Whidbey Elementary School
“I have never seen cuts like this,” said the union’s co-president Jan McNeely, a teacher for 35 years. The South Whidbey protestors insisted they could not take the reductions and maintain the quality of education, and they took to the busy intersection during high-traffic hours. “Every cut they make hurts kids
and the quality of education we can provide,” said Becky Ward, a special education teacher at South Whidbey Elementary School. “Loss of special programs are imminent, we fear.” Some teachers supported the idea of a half cent sales tax increase as a way to stem the hit to schools. Danni Curgus, a first-grade teacher and 31-year educator, said she buys school supplies for her students already, which is a luxury her peers don’t necessarily have. “When kids need something, I can’t say no,” Curgus said. School superintendent Jo Moccia was also on the corner to support the teachers and more importantly the students, she said. The first-year South Whidbey schools chief said the SEE CUTS, A3
Teen driver enters not-guilty plea on vehicular homicide BY BRIAN KELLY South Whidbey Record
COUPEVILLE — The teenager who was behind the wheel in a tragic car accident that killed three young men earlier this month near Clinton entered a not-guilty plea during her arraignment on charges of vehicular homicide in Island County Superior Court Monday. Authorities claim Kaylea F. Souza, 18, of Langley, had been drinking malt liquor before getting into her 2003 Chevrolet Malibu the night of Nov. 11. Police say Souza was driving south on Wilkinson Road just before midnight when she tried to pass another car on the two-lane rural road, lost control of her car and hit a tree. Passers-by pulled Souza from the wreck, but flames quickly engulfed the Malibu before the three passengers could be rescued. Charles “Mack” Porter III, 19, Robert Knight, 22, and Marcel “Mick” Poynter, 20, were killed in the accident. Souza spoke only once during the hearing, which
lasted less than 10 minutes. “Ms. Souza, do you understand the charges against you in this case?” asked Superior Court Judge Alan Hancock. “Yes, your honor,” she replied. The judge then entered Souza’s plea on her behalf. Peter Simpson, Souza’s attorney, then asked the judge to lower bail from $150,000 to $15,000. “She has no criminal history,” Simpson said. “She is young, but nevertheless, [has] no criminal history at all.” “There’s no indication that she would fail to appear for her court hearings if she is able to post a lower bail,” he added. Simpson said Souza would live at her father’s house in Langley if she was released. “She’s lived there since the second grade,” he said, except for a brief time when she was in high school. Simpson also noted that she has strong ties to the SEE DRIVER, A24