South Whidbey Record, December 14, 2011

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RECORD SOUTH WHIDBEY

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2011 | Vol. 87, No.100 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢

INSIDE: Jazzy diva, Island Life, A10

Man missing after leap from ferry Cathlamet Clinton route shut down after incident BY BRIAN KELLY South Whidbey Record

CLINTON — Two days after a man jumped from the stern of the ferry M/V Cathlamet during the 10 p.m. sailing Sunday, investigators are still trying to sort out who the man was and why he apparently leapt to his death in the frigid waters of Puget Sound. Officials from Washington State Ferries said a walk-on passenger

boarded the Cathlamet in Mukilteo on Dec. 11 and jumped off the back end of the ship as it was halfway to Whidbey Island. The crew of the vessel immediately contacted the Coast Guard after the man went overboard, and ferry service on the Clinton-Mukilteo route was suspended for more than one hour as the Cathlamet helped search for the missing man. Although the man apparently left a shoulder bag aboard the ferry, investigators said they had not yet identified the man. Detective Don Cunningham with the Washington State Patrol said

anyone who may have information on missing persons in the area should contact authorities. “We really don’t have a lot right now. If the public is aware of someone who is missing and may have been in the area, that’s the kind of help we are looking for,” Cunningham said. Rescue crews continued to search for the missing man in the waters off Whidbey Island earlier this week. At the start, a 45-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Seattle was brought in, and a MH-65C Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Port Angeles, to help

with the search late Sunday. Island County Fire District 3 also launched a marine vessel from Possession Point to assist with the search. Deputy Chief Mike Cotton was on the rigid-hull inflatable with two other FD3 firefighters in the waters near the Clinton Ferry Terminal by 10:20 p.m. Sunday. Cotton said they searched until 2 a.m., until the fog crept across Puget Sound and the tide shifted north. “With weather and resources we pulled out,” Cotton said. The water temperature was measured at 48 degrees Fahrenheit,

and authorities said hypothermia can be fatal in as little as one hour at 50 degrees. The outlook was grim as the search continued. “We’re not necessarily looking for a person at this point, let me put it that way,” Cotton said Monday morning. The Seattle crew was relieved by the Coast Guard Cutter Wahoo, a coastal patrol boat homeported in Port Angeles, which arrived in the waters off Whidbey Island at approximately 3 a.m. Monday. Tom Niemeyer was on board the SEE OVERBOARD, A2

Search for Aging population presents a challenging future attorney to take months KEY DEMOGRAPHIC ISSUES: At a glance BY BRIAN KELLY South Whidbey Record

USELESS BAY — It’s good news mixed with bad news. We’re all getting older together. New numbers from the 2010 Census provide a glimpse of what’s to come for local service providers, Cheryn Weiser told a rapt audience during a broad overview of the future of Senior Services of Island County. Weiser, the agency’s executive director, outlined the changing times and challenges that Senior Services faces in providing essential services to seniors in Island County at a special presentation late last week at the Useless Bay Country Club. Senior Services is partway through a strategic planning process, and the private nonprofit hopes to spur networking and partnership opportunities in the community, greater volunteerism, additional local investments and new ways to guarantee access to needed services. “We’re in this together. We’re all here on this island,” Weiser said before diving into new numbers that detailed the graying of Island County. “We are living in challenging times,” she said, adding that Senior Services itself is facing a variety of factors that will test the organization in the coming years. The bleak assessment: People are living longer, their financial status isn’t as strong as those seen in earlier generations, the economy remains uncertain and access to vital services are changing as funding streams dry up. Weiser ran through the demographics from the recently released 2010 profile of Island County, and added that with every

Year 2025: 54% of Island County is over age 50.

Baby Boomers: Two-thirds of Baby Boomers have not accumulated enough savings to support their lifestyles as they age.

Life expectancy in Island County: Women: Men: 83.1 years 79.8 years

Sources: 2010 Census, Senior Services of Island County

challenge, comes opportunity. The county has a population of 78,506, according to the 2010 Census, Weiser said, and “41 percent of those people who live here are over 50.” By 2025, it’s estimated that 54 percent of the county’s population will be over 50.

“There’s no question we’re going to be seeing a lot of growth in the next three decades. We’re really just moving in this direction, and it doesn’t slow down a whole lot,” she said. SEE AGING, A2

BY BRIAN KELLY South Whidbey Record

Langley expects to launch a competitive search for a city attorney later this month, but inking a final deal may take more than two months, according to city officials. City leaders stepped back earlier this month from a proposed automatic extension to the existing contract with the city’s current legal counsel — the Snohomish-based law firm of Weed, Graafstra & Benson, Inc. — after questions arose over the firm’s mishandling of ordinances sent to them for review. At the council meeting Dec. 5, a new contract for Weed, Graafstra & Benson, Inc. was abruptly pulled from the agenda following a Record story that recounted how lawyers at the firm failed to review at least 15 ordinances that were sent to the council for approval. Though the Langley Municipal Code requires that ordinances be reviewed by the city attorney before the council takes a final vote on the legislation, public records show that didn’t happen for an extended period of time in 2008-2009. City Attorney Grant Weed later approved the missed ordinances all at once when the oversight was discovered, according to city SEE ATTORNEY, A6


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