Wednesday, January 23, 2013 • Whidbey News-Times
Island Scanner Oak Harbor Police Dept. The following items were selected from reports made to the Oak Harbor Police Department:
Monday, Jan. 21 At 3:48 a.m., a caller reported a man and a woman shoplifted from a Highway 20 business. At 10:18 a.m., a caller reported a car accident took place on SE Fisher Court. At 11:27 a.m., a caller reported a loose dog was chasing two young girls on N. Oak Harbor Street. At 12:27 p.m., a caller reported someone shoplifted from a SW Erie Street business. At 3:28 p.m., a caller reported a car accident at the intersection of Highway 20 and SW Eighth Avenue. At 6:42 p.m., an employee of a NE Midway Boulevard business reported someone threatened to come back with a gun. At 8:15 p.m., a SW First Avenue resident reported a 17-year-old girl was out of control.
Sunday, Jan. 20 At 12:36 a.m., a caller reported a man was refusing to leave a SE Pioneer Way location. At 8:57 a.m., a SW Harrier Circle resident reported being hung over from the night before. The caller might have alcohol poisoning. At 9:48 a.m., a caller reported SE Barrington Drive residents were shouting and yelling. At 9:53 a.m., a NW Fairhaven Drive resident reported someone put animal feces on her porch. She captured the person on video tape. At 2:02 a.m., a caller reported two small children were left inside a truck parked at a SW Erie Street business. At 4:31 p.m., a SW Sixth Avenue resident reported a man threatened to beat him up. At 4:48 p.m., a caller reported a fire taking place at a Crosby Road location. At 5 p.m., a caller reported a woman rolling joints inside a truck parked at a NW Crosby Avenue location. At 11:01 p.m., a NE Barron Drive resident reported her boyfriend “threw her around.”
Saturday, Jan. 19 At 9:16 a.m., a caller reported someone cut the fence at a NE 21st Court location. At 7:21 p.m., a caller reported a bicycle stolen from a Highway 20 location.
Friday, Jan. 18 At 12:15 p.m., a S. Oak Harbor Street resident reported her neighbor’s stereo base was so loud that it was rattling her walls. At 1:59 p.m., a caller reported a child had been left in a car parked on SE Pioneer Way. At 2:30 p.m., a caller reported a student was dragging a dead Christmas tree down Izett Street. At 2:31 p.m., a caller reported a car accident on Highway 20.
Thursday, Jan. 17 At 8:36 a.m., a caller reported a truck was overturned near the intersection of Fort Nugent Road and Old Cedar Lane. At 10:55 a.m., a caller reported a student at Oak Harbor Middle School made a drawing that threatened to kill a teacher.
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Base commander ventures south By KATHY REED Staff Reporter
Members of the South Whidbey Rotary hosted a very important person from the north at the group’s meeting Tuesday morning at the Useless Bay Golf and Country Club in Langley. Several members of the Whidbey Westside Rotary were also in attendance. Capt. Jay “Tank” Johnston, commanding officer of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, was the guest speaker. He shared a brief overview of NAS Whidbey, explaining the tenant commands housed on base and the role those commands play in NASWI’s overall mission. The strategic location of Whidbey Island couldn’t be better for protecting U.S. interests in the Pacific, Johnston said. Lighter flight patterns mean more open air space and our geographic location is closer to heavily traveled shipping lanes. Of particular interest however, was the noise issue arising from Field Carrier Land Practice at Outlying Field just south of Coupeville. “The noise issue hit a new level of complaints this year,” Johnston said, explaining there were actually fewer flights in 2012 than the previous year, but that there were more complaints than ever. Johnston noted carrier landings are difficult and require practice on land before a squadron can be deployed to a ship. “It’s a very difficult thing to do. You’ve got to get the two back wheels and the
Kathy Reed / Whidbey News-Times
Commanding officer of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Capt. Jay Johnston, speaks to South Whidbey Rotary Club members at a breakfast meeting Tuesday at Useless Bay Golf and Country Club in Langley. hook down at the same time. It takes practice,” he said. “Coupeville is a prime training area, because it’s dark, isolated and allows pilots to focus on what they’re doing.” Each pilot practices six “touch and go” landings during each flight, Johnston said. Each squadron has three or four planes, meaning a total of at least 18 or 24 of the maneuvers at a time, which, he acknowledged, means it can get noisy. There are currently 14 squadrons on NAS Whidbey. Three of those squadrons are expeditionary, meaning they are landbased and do not conduct flight operations at OLF.
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Complaints, he said, are taken seriously. “We track every noise complaint we get,” said Johnston. “We will call every caller (who leaves a number) back. But there really is nothing we can do to change the training.” Johnston praised recent efforts of community and Navy leaders to begin publishing some limited practice schedules to give people a general idea of when flights will take place. But in the end, Johnston
said, it all comes down to safety and security. “Believe me, there are a lot of things those crews would rather be doing at 2200 hours on a Thursday,” Johnston said. “But we’re out there working hard to get the job done.” Johnston, who took command of NAS Whidbey Island in August, 2010, will be moving on to another post soon. His change of command ceremony is scheduled for Feb. 22.
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