News-Times Whidbey
SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012 | Vol. 113, No. 50 | www.whidbeynewstimes.com | 75¢
SPORTS: Dual clubs up and running. A9
City councilman’s confrontation turns into political row By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
Nathan Whalen/Whidbey News-Times
Blue Fox Drive-In owner Darrell Bratt shows the projector he has to replace in order to make a digital upgrade. That conversion is going to cost him around $80,000.
Blue Fox needs help entering digital age By NATHAN WHALEN Staff reporter
A drive-in movie theater that’s been in operation for more than 50 years needs help entering the 21st century. The Blue Fox Drive-In, located south of Oak Harbor on Monroe Landing Road, has to convert to digital projection in order to continue offering first-run movies. The problem is the owners have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to make the transition. “Who has that just lying around?”
Darrell Bratt said of the huge investment. He has owned the venerable drive-in theater, a local landmark, since 1988. He said he’s heard talk about the transition to digital for the past several years. However, late in 2011, he got the news that he will have to change his equipment to accommodate digital movies by January 2013 or not receive any new films. The digital equipment will be a big change for the Blue Fox, which has a projector that can be traced back
to 1959, when the drive-in theater opened for business. The projector was upgraded in 1979, and it has served the small movie theater reliably ever since. Bratt sees positives and negatives with the digital system. The digital system will save time because he doesn’t have to connect small reels of film to a large platter. With the digital system, he will receive a hard drive with the movie and then he downloads it into a computer. See Blue Fox, A7
A group of people interested in Oak Harbor city politics are abuzz over rumors concerning Councilman Joel Servatius’ alleged angry encounter with a businessman last month. A resident spoke at a recent council meeting about his concerns about the councilman’s actions and an alleged abuse of power. A political website based on North Whidbey featured a story about the incident — without even trying to contact the councilman for his side — and is calling for a recall effort against Servatius. Yet Servatius says the rumors and the blog misrepresent the facts and that he and his wife were actually the victims of the out-of-control businessman. He feels that allies of Mayor Scott Dudley have manufactured the controversy “to create a diversion from the havoc the mayor is manifesting.” Steve Pogacsas owns Island Treasures, a new thrift shop on Ault Field Road. He explained in an interview that he’s had trouble with drivers leaving their cars parked in his parking lot for days on end, so he’s been vigilant about preventing people from doing so.
Joel Servatius On May 11, Pogacsas thought that Servatius’ wife was parking her car in his lot and leaving in a vehicle with her husband, who had just pulled up. In fact, he was handing her a coffee. Pogacsas said he called out to the woman, telling her she couldn’t park there. When she ignored him, he called out again that he would have the car towed and she responded that she was just getting her coffee. Pogacsas claimed that Servatius got out of his vehicle, “stormed across the parking lot” and screamed in his face. “He was yelling, ‘I’ll leave See conflict, A7
Parents assured that young swimmers are safe at Oak Harbor pool By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
In the light of a $1.5 million lawsuit settlement, the new director of North Whidbey Parks and Recreation District wants to reassure the community that the organization has strong child-protection policies in place. In addition, he said the settlement won’t have a
big impact on the district’s finances since it will be almost entirely covered by insurance providers. Bill Walker started work at the pool just a week after a lawsuit against the district was settled. The lawsuit was filed by a former member of the district’s Aquajets swim team who was sexually assaulted by a swim coach in the 1990s. Her attorneys say
that another victim has filed suit and two others are on the way. The women claim they were sexually assaulted as children by former coach Andrew “Andy” King, who is currently serving a 40-year sentence for raping and molesting young swimmers in California. Walker said district officials are regretful for crimes
that occurred in the past, but he hopes to emphasize that a lot has changed since the 1990s. USA Swimming, the governing body for the sport, has adopted a strict code of conduct aimed at protecting children from sexual predators. The policies prohibit adults involved in a team from a wide range of behavior, including hugging, massages, excessive touching and
having a swimmer sit on his or her lap. King was accused of all these behaviors. USA Swimming also requires the reporting of suspected sexual misconduct. In addition, Walker said the district conducts criminal background checks on employees and has its own code of conduct. “Our coaches are not only bound by their profes-
sional agreement with USA Swimming, but they are accountable to the district,” he said. See Pool, A7