News-Times Whidbey
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2012 | Vol. 113, No. 65 | www.whidbeynewstimes.com | 75¢
INSIDE: Find all the fun at the fair in Fair Guide
Gimme Shelter Jet noise complaints
pile up in Coupeville
Oak Harbor animal shelter nears closing date in 2013
By JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter
By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
Jessie Stensland / Whidbey News-Times
Donna Dunn plays with a cat while cleaning the cages crammed into Oak Harbor’s undersized animal control shelter Tuesday morning. She is the lead animal care technician. the move-out date by six months to the end of June 2013. Under an expiring agreement, the city has provided the Navy with animal control services at base housing and the management of the animal shelter in exchange for the Navy allowing the city to use the building on the Seaplane base. The building, however, is far from ideal. It’s too small, has inadequate ventilation and no sewage services. Its location on a Navy base has caused access problems for both members of the public and WAIF staff. Cages of cats are currently stacked like cordwood in the shelter. A total
of 60 cats are inside the building, plus many more are at the Coupeville shelter and WAIF’s two cat adoption centers. As many as 120 kitties have been at the Seaplane Base shelter at one time. Kim Martin, spokesperson for the Navy base, said the Navy asked the city to vacate the building because of its “very poor condition.” She said the Navy is looking into alternatives for dealing with lost pets and other animal-related problems in the future. “The Navy, through the public-private partner, Forest City, is working with the city to determine See Shelter, A7
Justin Burnett / Whidbey News-Times
Lynda Richards and Lynda Eccles look on as Louise Harvey, a Coupeville resident, adds her name to a long list of people who wanted to address the Island County Commissioners Monday concerning a plan to transition expeditionary squadrons at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station from the older EA-6B Prowler to the newer EA-18G Growler aircraft. the commissioners’ meeting in Coupeville said they had only just learned of the document that day. See jets, A7
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Oak Harbor officials have less than a year to figure out how to deal with stray dogs and cats because the ramshackle shack that currently houses the homeless pets is being shut down. As a result, city officials are exploring ways of handling strays. They plan on issuing a request for proposals, or RFP, to find the right group or business to provide the service and possibly a facility. The City Council discussed the issue and made some preliminary decisions about the shape of the RFP during last week’s meeting. “I believe it’s a solvable issue but it’s going to take some adult conversation and it’s going to take some planning,” Councilman Jim Campbell said. The shelter is currently located in a Navy-owned building on the Seaplane Base. The city contracts with the group Whidbey Animals’ Improvement Foundation, or WAIF, to run the shelter. In January, Capt. Jay Johnston, the commanding officer of Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, sent a letter to the city notifying officials that the building was being closed by the end of the year. At the meeting last week, interim City Administrator Larry Cort said Navy officials agreed to extend
Public anger centered on jet noise over Coupeville accelerated this week but the latest round of complaints may be a non-issue, according to U.S. Navy officials. On Monday, a firestorm erupted when members of the community appeared before the Island County commissioners to lobby for an extension of a public comment period for the Navy’s planned transition of expeditionary electronic attack squadrons at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station from the older EA-6B Prowler to the newer EA-18G Growler aircraft. The board agreed to ask for an extension and Ted Brown, a spokesman for U.S. Fleet Forces Command, said the Navy has no problems honoring the request. However, he said there appears to be some misunderstanding about the proposal and the draft Environmental Assessment, or EA. The transition will see an increase in the number of aircraft and operations but it only affects expeditionary squadrons, which are land based and don’t need to practice aircraft carrier training at the practice strip, Outlying Field. “These particular squadrons don’t train at Coupeville and will not,” Brown said. “Therefore the EA has no impact on noise in Coupeville.” Monday was the last day of the original two-week comment period and many in the standing-room only crowd at