South Whidbey Record, January 23, 2013

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INSIDE: The great Playscape ... Island Life, A12

Record South Whidbey

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2013 | Vol. 89, No. 7 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢

Aging buildings need upgrades School ballots head for mailboxes By BEN WATANABE Staff reporter

Ben Watanabe / The Record

Brian Miller, the maintenance director of South Whidbey schools, examines the pipes and valves of the water pump station. Leaky seals, corrosion and lack of valves require consistent work, and the school district wants taxpayers to approve two levies totaling $5.9 million to cover a range of projects such as pump house repairs and upgrades.

LANGLEY — Cracked siding, a leaky atrium and broken heating units need repair. Addressing those issues requires money that the South Whidbey School District doesn’t have. That’s why the school board will seek a pair of levy approvals, worth about $5.9 million annually, from South Whidbey voters. Voters can begin deciding on the proposals as soon as this week. Michele Reagan, voter registration deputy at the Island County Auditor’s

Office, said plans are to bring the ballots to the post office today, Jan. 23. Voters can expect them in their mailboxes as early as Thursday or Friday. The deadline to return them is Tuesday, Feb. 12. “The board and superintendent are unanimous in supporting this way of taking care of our buildings and going forward at this point,” said Steve Scoles, chairman of the South Whidbey School Board. A recent tour with Dan Poolman, assistant superintendent of business and transportation, and Brian Miller, the district’s maintenance director, exposed some of the wear-and-tear the aging buildings suffer. Together with Superintendent Jo Moccia, See Upgrades, A6

Commissioner butts heads with Old Goats By JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter

Justin Burnett / The Record

Island County Commissioner Jill Johnson, left, gets a round of applause after speaking at the Old Goats-Fully Informed Voters meeting at the Useless Bay Golf & Country Club on South Whidbey on Jan. 18. Next to her is Rufus Rose, an original Old Goat, and his wife Reece Rose.

Let it be known: Island County Commissioner Jill Johnson doesn’t like bullies and she isn’t going to be a blind vote for her party. If Johnson’s record during her first two weeks in office hadn’t already made that crystal clear, the freshman Republican commissioner dispelled any misconception about how she plans to approach her job, and deal with harsh criticism from party members, during an Old Goats-Fully Informed Voters luncheon on South Whidbey this past Friday. “I don’t like bullying. I don’t like it,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t work well with me, it’s not effective. If you’re somebody who wants to get something from me as a county commissioner, you need to have good ideas. They need to be thought out and well presented.” “I’m not going to meet your standard, ‘My way or the highway.’ I’m not going to bully you back or See Old Goats, A3


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