Community weighs in Islanders discuss fire department issues Page 3
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SOUNDER THE ISLANDS’
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Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
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WEDNESDAY, January 16, 2013 VOL. 46, NO. 3 75¢
Distler named new undersheriff Orcas Deputy Bruce Distler is now second in command by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG Editor/Publisher
Sheriff Rob Nou rattled off a long list of attributes when describing why Deputy Bruce Distler was promoted to undersheriff: education, experience, personality, temperament, philosophy. “It’s exciting and I am glad that process is finally done,” Nou said. “He was the best one for the job … he and I work really well together.” Nou pored over 25 applications from five states during the past five months. Undersheriff Jon Zerby retired in July after 14 years on the job, but stayed on parttime through the late fall. “It’s been a bit of a strain,” Nou said. “But it was really important for me to feel confident I was getting this one right.” Nou says it’s an “interesting” position to fill because most people who have the skill set for the job are already in an advanced position.
But Distler, who has a master’s degree in management and criminal justice from Colorado Technical University, was looking to give more to the department and stepped up to the plate. “I thought I had a bit more to offer,” he said. Distler is a nearly 20-year law enforcement officer, serving San Juan County since 2006. Prior to beginning his police career, he served 22 years with the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a master sergeant in Aeromedical Evacuation. In his law enforcement career, Distler has worked assignments in both small towns and rural settings. He has served as a field training officer, school resource officer and marine law enforcement officer. He is a drug recognition expert, specially trained to determine if people are under the influence of drugs other than alcohol. Distler and his wife Bonni will continue to live on Orcas. He will
commute to Friday Harbor, but hopes to spend some office time on his home island as well. “I am an Orcas guy and I want to keep my ties there,” he said. “I have too many friends and ties to the community. Just because I moved up in the organization, doesn’t mean I am not available to the residents of the island.” Nou is pleased with Distler’s multi-island connection, and says, “it’s important to both the organization and the community to keep those lines of communication open.” Distler is considered the second in command of the Sheriff ’s Office. He will supervise sergeants, detectives, corrections officers and the traffic officer. The position of sergeant on Orcas and Lopez will be announced in mid-January. The job has been vacant since Steve Vierthaler retired last February. “I want this to be the best possible office and give the best pos-
Cali Bagby/Staff Photo
Bruce Distler has been promoted to undersheriff of San Juan County. He will continue to reside on Orcas Island and commute to San Juan Island. sible service to the members of our community,” he said. “We have a ton of good law enforce-
Orcas woman charged in connection with jewelry store break-in by SCOTT RASMUSSEN Journal reporter
An Orcas Island woman accused of peddling stolen goods at a pawn shop in Federal Way faces felony charges in connection with the holiday time heist at an Eastsound jewelry store. Roughly $12,500 in hand-crafted jewelry and merchandise vanished from Shinola Jewelry sometime in the early morning hours of Dec. 23. Someone threw a large rock through the front window of the North Beach Road store, then ransacked the shop and made off with a bounty of stolen merchandise, according to authorities. On Jan. 9, prosecutors filed charges in San Juan County Superior Court accusing Cassia
Mara Hernshenow of one count of first-degree trafficking in stolen property, a Class B felony, which carries maximum penalties of 10 years in prison, a $20,000 fine, or both. The 23-year-old, an Orcas Island resident for about a year-and-a-half, according to court documents, is slated to be arraigned in superior court Jan. 18. She was released under court orders and without bail pending arraignment. The burglary at Shinola is one of six breakins or thefts under investigation by the Sheriff ’s Department that occurred in the Eastsound area over a six-week period. Hernshenow was taken into custody Jan. 7 after being questioned by a detective at the sheriff ’s office in Eastsound. According to the arresting officer’s affidavit, she was identified as the individual who, on
Dec. 24, the day after the break-in, traded assorted pieces of jewelry valued at nearly $9,000 in exchange for $850 in cash at a pawn shop in Federal Way. Several of the pieces purchased by the pawn shop match those that were among the inventory missing from Shinola, according to the affidavit. When questioned about the case, Hernshenow reportedly told the detective that she and a boyfriend acquired the jewelry from a stranger while traveling onboard a ferry bound for Anacortes that same day. According to the affidavit, the two agreed to trade a bag of marijuana they were carrying for the collection of jewelry offered up by the stranger in exchange.
ment officers. I will be making sure we’re all on the same page and getting the job done.”
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