News-Times Whidbey
SATURDAY, JULY 21, 2012 | Vol. 113, No. 58 | www.whidbeynewstimes.com | 75¢
INSIDE: Best of Whidbey Readers’ Choice Special Section
Oak Harbor may sell its marathon to a nonprofit By JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter
Justin Burnett / Whidbey News-Times
Justin Burnett / Whidbey News-Times
Island County Sheriff Mark Brown listens to a discussion among the Island County commissioners last week concerning a proposed sales tax for the law and justice community.
Island County Commissioner Angie Homola talk about a proposed law and justice sales tax. It appears that the issue will not appear on ballots this year.
Board balks at law and justice tax By JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter
It’s looking more and more as though voters this year will not be deciding on a special sales tax to bolster law and justice funding in Island County. The Island County commissioners discussed the issue at two public meetings over the past week, and although none seem to doubt the need, the proposal appears to have sunk under a host of concerns, from questions of timing and support to whether or not a sales tax is really the best mechanism to drum up additional funding for cops and courts. Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, chairwoman of the board, said in an interview Monday that something may well move forward in the future but right now there are just too many issues that still need to be hammered out. It’s not the outcome Island County
Sheriff Mark Brown and Prosecutor Greg Banks, two of the loudest voices behind the proposal, have been hoping for. Both men manage departments that are in need of additional staffing and wanted the measure on a ballot this year. “These arguments can go on forever,” Brown said. “I need something now.” “I need revenue for my agency badly,” he said. Banks said he too was disappointed. The board has known about the serious funding problems facing the law and justice community for some time and could have been working for months to prepare for a November ballot measure. Due to time constraints and hesitancy, it’s now clear that won’t happen. “For a practical matter, it’s dead for lack of action,” Banks said. Earlier this month, the Island County Law and Justice Council sub-
mitted a letter to the board requesting that it place a ballot measure before voters for a three-tenths of 1 percent sales tax. It would cost an extra 3 cents on a $10 purchase. If passed, the special would generate an estimated $2.2 million per year, with two-thirds going to the county and the rest divided among municipalities. The letter did not suggest a specific time to run the ballot measure, though Brown said he personally had been hoping to do so this year. It did however, recommend that language be added to any measure that would stipulate the money raised would only be spent on criminal justice. State law requires that the money from the special tax only be spent on law and justice needs. However, it does not prevent the board from taking back or supplanting the same amount from the benefiting department’s See tax, A2
For the right price, and with a few conditions, the Whidbey Island Marathon could be for sale. Oak Harbor Mayor Scott Dudley confirmed Wednesday that he not only would consider selling the city’s marathon, but that he’s already gotten a nibble from a Central Whidbey-based nonprofit group and that a meeting with organization leaders will take place later this month. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the particulars of the marathon and whether or not the group might be interested in buying the event outright or simply running it for the city. “We’ll sit down with them and explain everything that goes into running the marathon and see if they flinch,” Dudley said. Elected last November, Oak Harbor’s new mayor has believed for some time that the city should shed itself of the annual event, which it purchased from race founder John Kaiser in 2009 for $50,000. Although a race coordinator is contracted to do much of the work, city employees also assist in putting on the marathon and the job takes away from their primary duties, Dudley said.
Also, the event might be more successful if were to be run by a non-profit group as many marathon runners are selective about the races they participate in because they want the proceeds to go to a good cause. Dudley said such an organization might be able to leverage additional volunteers as well, which could widen the profit margin for the group. Ironically, Dudley was instrumental in the effort to acquire the marathon. A city councilman at the time, he chaired a committee tasked with studying the possible purchase and the advisory group ultimately recommended the city move ahead. However, Dudley argues that his vision was never followed, that his support for the purchase was based on the condition that it would be run or operated by a nonprofit. The city should not be in the marathon business, he said. The group that may be interested in the event is the Whidbey General Hospital Foundation. Established in 1981, its mission is to support the hospital and community health endeavors through public awareness and the development and management of charitable resources, according to its website. See Race, A2
Cub Scout leader pleads guilty to rape, molestation charges News-Times staff
A Oak Harbor Cub Scout leader is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty Tuesday to several charges of child molestation and child rape. Anthoney Polubinski, 30, pleaded guilty July 17 in Island County Superior Court
to child molestation in the first degree — with aggravating circumstances; indecent liberties — with aggravating circumstances; child molestation in the second degree; rape of a child in the third degree; possessing depictions of minors in sexually explicit conduct in the first degree;
and obstructing — intimidating a witness, according to a news release from the Island County Sheriff’s Office. The child molestation and child rape charges include a “special allegation” that that victim was particularly vulnerable and the defendant abused a position of trust.
It’s unclear if there was one or more victims. One victim, who is now 18, claimed Polubinski started molesting and raping him when he was 8 or 9 years old, according to an earlier story in the Whidbey News-Times. Polubinski allegedly told the victim not to report the
abuse because it would “tear the family apart,” according to the News-Times story. Polubinski is currently in the Island County jail, where he will remain until he is sentenced. He is scheduled to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 23, in Island County Superior Court. He
faces a sentence of a minimum of 14 and a half year to a maximum of life in prison.