INSIDE: Falcons’ finale ... Sports, A11
Record South Whidbey
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2012 | Vol. 88, No. 88 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
Prosecutor’s decision on mayor nears
LONG ROAD HOME
BY JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Michelle Baublitz sits through a group hair braiding session, for which she was the only hair model. The Falcon freshman traveled with the varsity volleyball team to its final match of the season, a loss in the playoffs. Acting as her hair stylists are, from left, Morgan Davis, Chantel Brown, Carlee Mills and Molly Sage.
Volleyball team rides out final bus trip BY BEN WATANABE Staff reporter
T
he bus ride from Langley to Burlington-Edison covers 65 miles and takes one hour and 45 minutes — each way. That’s a long time for someone who gets nauseous from car travel unless they drive. Add a bus of singing, chanting, sleeping and chatting girls and such is the life of South Whidbey volleyball head coach Mandy Jones. “Sometimes they sing. It’s really annoying,” Jones laughed. This journey was for the District 1 volleyball tournament elimination match. The winner advanced to the tri-district tournament for a shot at the state 1A playoffs, the loser went home with a fourth-place district finish. That was South Whidbey’s fate last year on its home court. The Falcons lost a winner-to-state, loser-out match in five sets — the worst loss of Jones’ six-year coaching career. “I’m still not over it,” she said. The 19 girls of the Falcon volleyball program, 12 on varsity and seven from
that a house visible from the highway junior varsity and C-team, loaded into is haunted by ghosts from a nearby the back of the bus. Their coaches sat building that used to be a school at the front — mostly for their own where several students died. It’s one sanity — after counting the girls to of those Whidbey Island legends that make sure everyone was aboard and Jones heard when she was in school, exchanging a quick hand gesture of touching thumbs in the shape of a “W” and in turn shared it with her players during a trip to Lynden last Saturday. and saying, “Winner.” From there, the Jones and assisplayers riding with tant coach Meggan her told their teamLubach are both parmates, who wanted ents of young children to glimpse the and are accustomed to haunted house on racket, but the off-key Mandy Jones this trip: “Which singing of teenagers Falcon volleyball coach house is it?” “Oh, can get tiresome. I see it!” “Mandy, Riding north, playthe curtains are ers were quiet and the shut!” coaches fought off motion sickness. By the time the bus gets to Oak Sometimes the girls dueled as duets with a pair of girls sharing headphones Harbor, the excitement of the bus ride is gone. Players are napping in the singing one tune and another duo back and settling into music on their singing a different tune. iPhones. At other times, the bus was silent, Despite the importance of the save for the whir of traffic that went by. All of the bodies combined with the match, the 12 varsity Falcons don’t appear nervous. A loss means the consistent rainfall made for a muggy season ends, a victory means one step bus as the windows collected condencloser to the state tournament. None sation. of the girls were shaking their legs or Those windows were wiped clean biting their nails. There wasn’t even so the players could get a clear view of a supposed haunted house near Coupeville. Legend has it, said Jones, See Bus, A7
“Sometimes they sing. It’s really annoying”
Langley Mayor Larry Kwarsick may know as soon as next week whether or not he will be facing criminal charges for actions he allegedly took as the city’s planning director nearly two years ago. Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks confirmed Thursday that a secretive investigative process that began in May to evaluate whether the allegations against Kwarsick had any merit is now largely complete. He declined to give any hints about what action his office may or may not take but he did say the public
Mayor Larry Kwarsick would not be kept in the dark for long. “I’m hopeful we’ll have a decision in a week or so and it will be publicly announced,” Banks said. See Mayor, A14
Big election turnout likely, officials say BY JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter Island County election officials expect a strong voter turnout for Tuesday’s general election. Not only is it a presidential election year, but the biggest return days have yet to come and ballot boxes on Whidbey and Camano islands are already being found stuffed with the choices of eager voters. As of Thursday afternoon, Island County Elections Office officials confirmed that nearly 25,000 voters had already turned in their ballots. That’s just under half of the 50,319 registered voters. “We’re just a hair under 50 percent returned already,” said Michele Reagan, voter registration deputy for the Election’s Office. It’s still too soon to know just what areas are yielding the greatest returns as individual precinct data aren’t tabulated until after the election but Reagan said all of the county’s drop boxes are being steadily used. They are located at Ken’s Korner Red Apple Grocery in Clinton, Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland, at the Elections Office in Coupeville, in front of City Hall in Oak Harbor and at the Camano Island Annex on Camano Island. This year’s general election ballot includes choices for president of the United States, a congressional seat, multiple state See Election, A14