Record South Whidbey
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012 | Vol. 88, No. 25 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
INSIDE: Good practice, Hometown Hero, A8
School district session poses new questions BY BEN WATANABE Staff reporter
LANGLEY — The New Commons at South Whidbey High School looked like a rowdy classroom. At the front stood South Whidbey School District Superintendent Jo Moccia, reminding the crowd of its tasks, when to rotate tables and asking the assembly to be quiet and listen. At the dozen tables sat about 50 parents, teachers, school board and other community members interested in shaping the future of South Whidbey’s schools. The second “Community Conversation” hosted by the school district was the community’s turn to speak. More than 100 ideas, questions and concerns were voiced, or rather written on adhesive notes that were stuck to poster paper and taped to the walls for everyone to review at the end of the twohour meeting March 21. “The idea is the conversation will get richer and richer,” Moccia said. After the previous conversational meeting, Moccia grouped the audience’s questions into four categories: alternative programs, innovation, electives and kindergarten. The audience was asked to rotate to different tables about every 20 minutes to discuss those themes. Each table had a South Whidbey teacher to
Photo courtesy of Brandi Porter
Brandi Porter clowns around with her brother Charles “Mack” Porter III, who was killed in a drinking-anddriving crash on South Whidbey last November.
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Molly MacLeod Roberts discusses the theme “innovation” during the South Whidbey School District’s “Community Conversation” on Wednesday night. Listening are Bayview School Director David Pfeiffer and elementary school counselor Rachelle Bennett. facilitate the conversation. One audience member, a retired college professor and recent South End transplant, said the school district’s conversations were a quick way to understand the state of the schools. “I have the big picture of what this school district is trying to do, and they take their community’s concerns seriously,” said Betty Bond, a Langley resident who moved to South Whidbey in September. Some of the concerns among the themes were partnering with local businesses for internships and externships, defining alternative programs and
how they fit into the district’s curriculum, corralling online courses and determining the effectiveness of full-day kindergarten. In previous years, South Whidbey only offered half day kindergarten, which is fully funded by the state; full day kindergarten is not. A handful of notes on the kindergarten posters were dedicated to the benefits and negatives of an entire day of early education: Are scores better or has improvement occurred from full day (kindergarten) as compared to last year ½ (kindergarten)? Are there going to be any pre-K offerings in our district?
Jan McNeely, the elementary school’s physical education teacher, expressed concern over the preparedness of some students to enter kindergarten. There were more early entries into kindergarten than ever, said McNeely, who has taught at South Whidbey schools for more than 20 years, and those students’ attention spans are already waning with three months left in the school year. “For me, there needs to be a better screening process for those early entry kids,” she said. Bayview School Director See schools, A13
Marijuana proposal snuffed out in Langley BY JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter
Murky and conflicting laws appear to have doomed a proposal for a medical marijuana business in Langley. During a Monday workshop, the city council informally agreed to follow the recommendation of Mayor Larry Kwarsick and not develop regulations that would have paved the way for Island Alternative Medicine on Second Street. The medical marijuana
dispensary business was proposed by Freeland resident Lucas Jushinski earlier this year. Although several council members and Kwarsick maintained their personal support for medicinal marijuana, this is not a matter of simply approving land use regulations that will fit within the bounds of existing state rules. Rather, this is a legal issue that revolves around the conflict between state and federal law, a quarrel
that Kwarsick said he’s not prepared to get Langley involved with. “The last thing I want to do is have our community embroiled in that kind of fight,” Kwarsick said. Jushinski was not at the workshop but said in a later statement that he was disappointed with the mayor’s recommendation. He said he believes every community should try to provide a safe space for the acquisition of marijuana for qualified patients.
“It’s ironic, and in my opinion somewhat duplicitous, that the mayor states in his memo that it makes sense for sick people to have access to medical cannabis, but just not in his city,” Jushinski wrote. “Hopefully, the Langley Council has enough courage to stand up and do what’s right by creating sensible regulations that allow Island Alternative Medicine to operate in the City of See marijuana, A13
Victim’s sister petitions court for DUI talks By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
The sister of one of the three young men killed in a drinking-and-driving crash on South Whidbey last year wants the 18-year-old driver to give impact presentations aimed at preventing more victims in the future. Brandi Porter started an online petition requesting that Kaylea Souza, the driver in the fatal accident, be required to tell her story to several groups of her peers after getting out of prison. Porter is traveling from her home in California to present the petition to the judge at the sentencing hearing Friday, March 30, in Island County Superior Court. Porter urges concerned folks to sign the Mack Porter Petition Against Drunk Driving online at www.ipetitions.com/petition/ the-mack-porter-petitionagainst-drunk-driving. More than 100 people have signed on so far, she said. Porter’s brother, Charles “Mack” Porter III, was just 19 years old when he was killed in the Nov. 12, 2011 crash on Wilkinson Road. The other victims were 22-year-old Robert Knight and 20-year-old Marcel “Mick” Poynter. Souza pleaded guilty last week to three counts of vehicular homicide. She has admitted that she was driving while intoxicated from
drinking malt liquor when she lost control and smashed her car into a tree. Passersby pulled her from the burning car, but the three passengers perished. Under a plea bargain, the prosecution and defense will recommend that the judge sentence Souza to four and a half years in prison, which is near the standard sentencing range for the most-serious, DUI-related prong of the charges. Porter said she and other family members don’t feel the proposed sentence is nearly enough. But she believes some good can come out of the tragedy if Souza talks about it to groups of people her own age. The message would resonate more loudly with young drivers, she said, if it’s told by someone who has experience firsthand — and even caused — a tragedy by mixing drinking with driving. “Why not pay your respects by helping other people and preventing something like this happening again?” she said. “I think she owes it to those boys and to us.” Porter said speaking to groups may also help Souza come to terms with what she’s done. “Hopefully by doing this she will have more understanding that this is way bigger than her,” she said.