REVIEW BAINBRIDGE ISLAND
CHRIS BELL: Seattle Times names Bell Player of the Week. Page A11
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2012 | Vol. 112, No. 4 | WWW.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.COM | 75¢
Stewart defies prognoses Union, city
still at odds
Island resident suffered traumatic brain injury in Aug. 8 car crash. By DENNIS ANSTINE Staff Writer
It’s clear now that Jackson Stewart isn’t going to let a 50 mile-per-hour, head-on crash into a large redwood tree stop his pursuit of life. It’s been nearly six months since the car in which he was traveling slammed into a tree off West Port Madison Road, sending the then-18-year-old islander into a precarious future. He suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and various other critical injuries, which led to a three-week coma, 60 days in the hospital and the likelihood of years of mental and physical therapy if he survived. The paramedics who flew him off the island to Harborview Medical Center last Aug. 8 weren’t sure he would even survive the flight and when he did, the hospital’s emergency staff didn’t give him much of a chance of living either. Still, he hung on hour after hour, day after
day, as the Seattle hospital’s medical staff did all it could to ensure he didn’t slide from unconsciousness into death. His family members certainly were prepared for the worst, as his father, Lance Stewart, implied during the first (on Aug. 12) of 68 entries the family made on the CaringBridge website through Jan. 1, 2012. “Jackson’s state is perhaps stable, but one never knows,” Lance wrote. “He is on a ventilator and seems to take breaths sometimes on his own. His temperature is high and they have to cool him down with a chill blanket. He can reflexively move his legs and arms in response to pain, and can spontaneously flinch sometimes dramatically. He is on pain killers, antibiotics, a food tube, catheter, oxygen sensor, and his eyes are shut. They are no longer monitoring brain pressure as that seems to be stable.
Jackson Stewart Timeline JUNE – After graduating from BHS, his future includes the University of Colorado at Boulder.
AUG. 8 – Airlifted to Harborview Medical Center after being severly injured in a car accident.
City ordered to reinstate four laid-off employees.
By RICHARD D. OXLEY Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Lance Stewart
Jackson Stewart has had a daily physical fitness routine recently, and he also participated in this year Jan. 1 Polar Bear Plunge. The road to recovery from this point is an unknown, and we are focused on the future now. We are very appreciative of everyone’s thoughts and prayers, especially the Bainbridge Island outpour-
ing for this tragic event.” Jackson’s defiance, even while in the coma, became a rallying point for the family, but not everyone saw it, SEE STEWART, A5
After nearly a year of considering a grievance filed by former city staff, an arbitrator has made a decision that favors four previously laid-off employees while also defending the city’s ability to reorganize its workforce. David Nelson, Tom Oreiro, Chris St. Romain and Ray Navarette will be reinstated to employment with the city. The city is currently negotiating with representatives from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union that represents city staff, to implement the reinstatements and
the layoffs that will likely come as a result. Arbitrator Michael Cavanaugh’s decision essentially states that the city had a right to reorganize its workforce in 2010 to face financial difficulties, yet it didn’t do it the right way. He concluded that the city should have taken seniority into consideration during its staff reorganization, whereas the city intended to fill positions based on qualifications. “(He) determined that the city has the right to reorganize the work of the city and change job classifications,” said City Manager Brenda Bauer. “However, he interpreted the parties’ collective bargaining agreement to require the city to do so strictly by order of seniority where the reorganization basically reflects a downsizing in city government.” SEE ARBITRATION, A3
AUG. 8 - The accident After leaving a party on Bainbridge Island in the earlymorning hours of Aug. 8, Jackson Stewart decided to get a ride home rather than stay at a nearby friend’s house as he had told his parents on the phone. The driver was former classmate Nicole Scoble, while a male friend sat in the front passenger seat and Jackson sat in the back seat directly behind the driver (left, shown in red).
AUG. 20 – With “J-Stew” still in a coma, friends send a message painted on a rock at the high school.
AUG. 29 – Out of a coma and already already expressing his optimism with a onethumbs-up sign.
SEPT. 9 – With father Lance and brother Matt, his first word was “Dick's,” as in, “I want a hamburger.”
According to police reports, Scoble was driving too fast and under the influence of alcohol, and lost control of the vehicle. The car’s left rear hit a large cedar tree, which smashed through metal and glass as it made contact with Jackson’s head. Apparently he reacted to the impending accident and turned away, leaving the right side of his head vulnerable.
SEPT. 25 –During his first trip home, Jackson gives a kiss to the cedar tree that put him in the hospital.
DEC. 4 – Finally out of the hospital, Jackson celebrates his 19th birthday at home with his family.
JAN. 1 – It seemed symbolic for Jackson to celebrate the new year with a dip in Puget Sound, above.