RECORD SOUTH WHIDBEY
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2012 | Vol. 88, No. 7 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
INSIDE: Wedding Planner, A11-A18
Haugen says Metal artist hopes to move she’ll support studio to Langley’s old fire hall gay marriage Getting ready for takeoff:
BY BRIAN KELLY South Whidbey Record
Whidbey residents get robo-calls from opponents BY BRIAN KELLY South Whidbey Record
State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen’s decision to support same-sex marriage is getting a grateful reaction in Langley. Haugen, a 10th District lawmaker, said she would vote for a proposed law that would make Washington the seventh state in the union to allow same-sex marriages. “Senator Haugen’s very welcomed decision is a ‘profile in courage’ moment; when someone in elected office hears their constituents on both sides of a serious issue, considers it deeply, and votes their conscience despite possible political ramifications,” said Langley City Councilman Hal Seligson. Seligson said he would move forward with his plan
to put a resolution before the Langley City Council at its meeting this week that states the city’s support for legalizing same-sex marriage. Council members had been expected to vote on the resolution last week, but their meeting was postponed until Wednesday because of the snowstorm. Haugen was the crucial 25th vote needed to guarantee the passage of Senate Bill 6239. Haugen was the holdout vote on the Democratic side, and the Camano Island lawmaker had been under intense public pressure to support the law after residents jammed a town hall meeting in Bayview and pressed her to support the proposal earlier this SEE MARRIAGE, A3
Brian Kelly / Record file
Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen on her decision: “This issue isn’t about just what I believe. It’s about respecting others, including people who may believe differently than I. It’s about whether everyone has the same opportunities for love and companionship and family and security that I have enjoyed.”
LANGLEY — Some heavy metal may return to Langley’s old firehouse on Second Street, and this time, it won’t be a fire engine returning from a blaze. Tim Leonard, the owner of Heavy Metal Works, is hoping to lease the back section of the old fire hall for his metal-art business. Leonard currently operates his studio at his home on Saratoga Road. Leonard is expected to present an outline of his proposal to the city council at its meeting Wednesday. If the council gives the idea its OK, discussions would continue between Leonard and city staff and a lease for part of the facility would be written. “I always knew there would be a day I would have to move out of my house,” Leonard said, recalling how he started his business on April Fool’s Day, 2006, as a way to stay on the island and spend more time closer to his family. Leonard, a sheet metal worker, had worked for years on the mainland, bouncing from one project to the next. “It’s where the jobs were, and where I had to go. And I missed my older kids growing up, somewhat, so working at home to me was very appealing. And of course, they’re are getting older now,” he said. Having a studio away from his home would give him the chance to leave work at work, he said. That’s been kind of hard in recent years. “I’d be out there to 12:30 at night, 1 o’clock in the morning,” he said. Moving to a Langley location would be ideal. “When I close the door, I can lock the door and go home and have a life,” Leonard said. Of course, there’s been plenty to keep Leonard busy since he launched his own business six years ago. It all started with the three umbrella tables he crafted for Desmond Rock and Useless Bay Coffee Company, and Leonard’s metalwork can now be found throughout Langley, from the bustling coffee café to the Tom Hladky Park. Leonard’s other recent projects include the monuments in front of Whidbey Telecom’s new Freeland facility, as well as much of the metal furniture inside its WiFire Coffee Bar. “I always thought if I was going to move out [from Saratoga], I wanted
Brian Kelly / The Record
Tim Leonard stands next to the rocket ship called Zephyr that was named after his daughter, “Zippy” Leonard, with Ryan Wright, who helped construct the piece for the “Steampunk” exhibit at MUSEO. Leonard hopes to move his studio to Langley’s old fire hall on Second Street.
Langley’s Second Street firehouse. to move to Langley. I love Langley so much. And there’s so much of my metalwork here,” he said.
Leonard said the fire hall studio would be used to create custom metal fabrication projects of all sorts, from signs to furniture to outdoor structures and gallery artwork. An example of his gallery art can be found at MUSEO on First Street, where Leonard — with the help of Ryan Wright, Jeff Holtby and Bill Cass — built a 750-pound, 9-foot-talk rocket from plasma-cut and forged steel for the gallery’s new “Steampunk” show. The rocket is called Zephyr, and was SEE ARTIST, A6