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THURSDAY, January 3, 2013
VOL. 18, NO. 22
Kwarsick submits resignation By Jim Larsen Staff Reporter
2012 File Photo
One of Central Whidbey’s top stories of 2012 was the fire and sinking of the Deep Sea, a derelict crabbing boat, in Penn Cove in May. The effects of the incident were ongoing, costing millions of dollars to clean up as well as the halt of recreational and commercial shellfish harvesting.
2012 at a glance
January State officials reject a request to allow paragliding in Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve. The Port of South Whidbey approves an AT&T cell tower in Clinton. Penn Cove Water Festival gears toward native traditions. The annual festival works to focus on the island’s native culture. New baby orca J48 is spotted near the Kingston-Edmonds ferry route in Possession Sound by Northwest Fisheries Science Center scientists. The calf was with its mother, J16, and sister, J42, born in 2007. The new baby is J16’s fifth calf since her first, J26, was born in 1991. Three orca calves were born last year, bringing the Southern Resident population up to 89. Former Coupeville resident Shea Saenger, 60, must make $2.16 million in restitution for mail fraud involving an elderly Alzheimer’s patient from Ellensburg. She also must serve 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
An old, dilapidated crab-fishing boat anchored in Penn Cove raises concerns that the vessel may have been abandoned and could put the nearby mussel farm at risk. Whidbey Island businesses see a drop in sales as a result of the big snowstorm that kept many people stuck at home. Many posted “closed” signs during the worst of the weather, but a few remained open despite the heavy precipitation.
February Gifts from the Heart food bank celebrates 10 years of providing food to families in Central Whidbey. Former Coupeville dermatologist Donald Russell Johnson dies after a high-speed car chase with police near Deception Pass. With his death, Johnson left debt and doubt in the community. Coupeville schools benefit from a technology grant with new equipment and tools aimed to improve education. Coupeville history is preserved with a new book, “Images of America: Coupeville,” com-
piled by locals Judy Lynn and Kay Foss.
March The Tour de Whidbey bike ride is canceled after organizers couldn’t pull it off. The annual event raises money and public awareness for the Whidbey General Hospital Foundation. Penn Cove MusselFest draws a big crowd in Coupeville. An estimated 5,000 people attend the annual event. Blue Fox Drive-In starts efforts to raise thousands of dollars needed to convert to digital. The year-long effort raised a large portion of the funds needed. The new digital equipment is to be installed during the business’ See REVIEW, page 2
Langley Mayor Larry Kwarsick, caught up in a scandal of his own making, resigned from his part-time job as planner for the Town of Coupeville on Friday. In a brief letter to Mayor Nancy Conard, Kwarsick asked that his firm, Sound Planning Services, be released from its contract. “I am requesting the town’s agreement to immediately terminate the contract,” he wrote. Kwarsick cited as his reason the recent lawsuit filed by Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks aimed at ousting Kwarsick from both public offices he holds, as mayor of Langley and planner for Coupeville. In his letter to Conard, Kwarsick said he disagrees with the law, RCW 9.921.120, cited by Banks in his lawsuit, but that, “these proceedings are the basis of my request for immediate release from the current contract as town planner.” Kwarsick had been Coupeville’s town planner since late 2003. It was a part-time contracted position that paid $4,500 a month with no benefits. In December, Island County Superior Court Judge Vickie Churchill sentenced Kwarsick to 15 days in jail and ordered him to pay a $2,500 fine after he pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of falsifying a city record. Prior to being elected mayor of Langley last year, Kwarsick worked as Langley’s planning director in 2011. Shortly after taking the job, he altered permit requirements for a relative’s home but backdated them to appear as if they had been created by his predecessors. A plea deal worked out between Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks and Kwarsick’s attorney, Charles Arndt of Coupeville, recommended no jail time but that he pay a $2,500 fine. Churchill supported the fine but sentenced him to serve 15 days in jail, which he will serve in February.