WANNA-BEES TAKE THE BEE A sudden finish made for an exciting bee. Page 5
BUSINESS | Owners of Monkey Tree to open new eatery. Page 3 SPORTS | Rowing club brings on a coach from far away. Page 16 COMMENTARY | Why the state’s support of same-sex marriage matters. Page 6
A WRITER’S MUSE Author’s new novel is set on the Island. Page 9
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012
Vol. 57, No. 5
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
75¢
Vashon’s police coverage to decline this spring Ongoing budget cuts will affect Vashon, which has so far been spared By NATALIE JOHNSON Staff Writer
Vashon will see a reduced police presence — including the possible loss of nighttime patrols — as soon as April as part of
a cost-saving overhaul at the King County Sheriff’s Office. Due to county budget cuts, the sheriff’s office has eliminated about 140 deputy positions over the last three years. It is now reworking the department to cover the county with fewer officers and avoid layoffs, said Capt. Patrick Butschli, who oversees the sheriff’s office’s southwest precinct. He said the plan will include reducing staffing on Vashon, which has so far been immune from the county’s cuts.
“There has to be a service reduction in some fashion on Vashon. That’s just the ugly truth,” Butschli said. “There is no way to keep things the same and do it with less money. There is no way.” It currently takes about 13 deputies to staff Vashon, with two deputies on duty at all times. Two king county sheriff’s deputies who wished to not be named, however, said they were told the sheriff’s office plans to implement a residential deputy program
that would involve a significant reduction in Vashon’s service. Under the plan, they say, Vashon would be staffed by five deputies who all lived on the Island. During daytime hours, one deputy would be on duty and one would be on call at home. During evening and nighttime hours, there would be no deputies on duty and two on call at home. On-call deputies would respond only to high-priority crimes
Fairy tale ending in a search for a lost man
PTSA hopes to raise $50,000 for schools By SUSAN RIEMER Staff Writer
After an extensive search, he’s found in bed in an empty waterfront home
his pajamas and sneakers but with his glasses left behind, and was found Saturday afternoon in a home on Luana Beach Road, two miles away. The homeowners are on vacation; at the family’s request, the exact address of the home is not being disclosed. The homeowners’ daughter, who lives nearby, checked on the house Saturday afternoon, saw some blood on the
People with a passion for public education can put those feelings to use when the PTSA hosts its annual fundraising event, “An Auction Affair: For the Love of Education,” on Feb. 11. This year’s event will be smaller and more intimate than auctions in years past but will still feature a silent and live auction with a multitude of items donated in support of the Island’s three public schools. The evening will also include appetizers, dessert, a chocolate wine tasting and entertainment by musician Pat Reardon and the Washington State Fairies. At the end of the evening, there will be dancing with Islander Dan Brown serving as deejay, playing love songs from the 1950s to 1970s. Kevin Joyce and Martha Enson will emcee. The goal for this year’s event is $50,000, according to Jackie Merrill, the auction chair. Last year, the PTSA netted $67,000. The school district’s dollars are stretched to the limit because of inadequate funding by the state, and administrators will welcome the
SEE SEARCH, 14
SEE AUCTION, 12
By LESLIE BROWN Staff Writer
Andy Jovanovich thought it was strange when he saw an elderly man in red pajamas walking in a driving rain late Wednesday night, but he noted a house nearby with lights on and thought maybe that was his home. What’s more, he said to himself, “Hey, this is Vashon. People do a lot of weird stuff.” In the days that followed, Jovanovich, like many Islanders, was gripped by the drama of Jack Randles, an 83-year-old Vashon resident with Alzheimer’s disease who walked away from the home he shares with his son early Wednesday evening and vanished — for nearly three full days. But for Jovanovich, the drama carried a personal twist. That observation late Wednesday night — when Jovanovich was leaving
SEE POLICE, 20
Michele AnnLouise Cohen Photo
Sue Bonney, a FEMA canine search specialist, and Luau, a golden retriever from Northwest Disaster Search Dogs in Pierce County, search for Randles in the woods off of Point Robinson Road. a friend’s house on Luana Beach Road — turned out to be the last confirmed sighting of the elderly man until he turned up in a $1 million waterfront home Saturday afternoon, asleep and in bed. Had the story not ended happily, Jovanovich noted, he would have felt terrible. “I was really relieved when they found him,” he said. So were many Islanders — hundreds of whom got swept up in the drama of his disappearance, the
massive search and an ending that had a fairy tale quality to it. “Am I a terrible person for thinking of Goldilocks right now?” asked one woman in a comment she posted about Randles’ discovery on The Beachcomber’s website. Exactly what happened is not completely certain, as Jack Randles, according to his son Marty Randles, doesn’t remember a thing. He walked out of his home on Deppman Road sometime Wednesday evening, clad in