News-Times Whidbey
SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 2012 | Vol. 113, No. 48 | www.whidbeynewstimes.com | 75¢
LIVING: Whidbey Island Garden Tour set. A11.
Mayor fires police chief, lawsuit promised By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
The city of Oak Harbor will likely be facing a lawsuit after the mayor fired Police Chief Rick Wallace Thursday. The surprise move by Mayor Scott Dudley comes just ahead of Monday’s City Council meeting, at which the council members were
set to adopt a measure aimed at preventing the mayor from sacking Wallace as well as the public works director. Wallace is the latest casualty in Dudley’s housecleaning of city administration. Dudley campaigned last year as a city reformer and has unquestionably left his imprint after just six months in office by firing five administrative officials.
Wallace’s attorney, Christon Skinner of Oak Harbor, said Friday that Dudley’s latest decision will cost the taxpayers. He said he would be dropping off a wrongful termination tort Monday. That’s the first step that must be taken before filing a lawsuit against a governmental entity. “This mayor doesn’t seem to care about the consequenc-
es of his decisions,” he said. Skinner said he believes that Dudley’s decision was retaliation over a sign-stealing incident that occurred last year. Former Mayor Jim Slowik misappropriated a negatively altered “Slowik” campaign sign from a downtown business, but Wallace declined to investigate the incident. “Mayor Dudley elected to
fulfill a campaign promise than to do what’s best for the city,” Skinner said. “He’s following the advice of his kitchen cabinet rather than his lawyers,” he added. In an interview Friday, Dudley denied that the signstealing incident was at the heart of his decision.
File photo
Police Chief Rick Wallace was fired Thursday after 35 years of service.
See chief, A7
Diamond Divers from Cornet Bay hit the TV screen By REBECCA OLSON Staff reporters
Battling 50-foot waves and dangerous storms in a wild adventure to discover billions of dollars worth of diamonds at the bottom of an ocean half a world away sounded like Captain John Aydelotte’s idea of a thrill. Longtime Whidbey Island resident John Aydelotte, his son, Jason Aydelotte, and a crew of rough-and-tumble characters from around Washington state star in the Spike TV show “Diamond Divers,” which premieres Wednesday, June 20 at 10 p.m. “It was a heck of an adventure,” John Aydelotte, 65, said. He’s been a salvage captain at Cornet Bay for 37 years. He started the local fire department water rescue team and spent more than 18 years working with the fire department back when it was called the Cornet Fire Department. “I’m not a TV star; I’m a salvage captain. They wanted reality and they got it,” John Aydelotte said. As far as finding a real person more interesting than any scripted actor, the TV show couldn’t have found a better captain. With work-roughened hands as gnarly as his gray beard, John Aydelotte could easily have stepped out of “Treasure Island” or “Pirates of the Caribbean.” What gray hair peeks out from under his cap looks eternally windblown, as though he’s spent a lifetime on the water. A gold chain around his neck holding a real piece of Spanish gold salvaged from a wreck off the coast of Florida proves his flair for treasure
Justin Burnett/Whidbey News-Times
John Aydelotte gazes at Cornet Bay from his salvage business, Marine Services. Tune into his adventures braving the high seas to hunt for diamonds in South Africa Wednesday, June 20 on Spike TV.
See diamond, A5
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