News-Times Whidbey
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2013 | Vol. 114, No. 20 | www.whidbeynewstimes.com | 75¢
SPORTS: Sisters still cheering. A9
Citizens Ignited unite island
Whidbey mourns
By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
Nathan Whalen/Whidbey News-Times
Tina Wieldraayer-Provoncha grabs candles to hand out to mourners who attended a candlelight vigil Monday night to pay respects to three Navy aviators who died in a plane crash.
Three killed in Navy EA-6B crash By NATHAN WHALEN, JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporters
See crash, A8
See citizens, A7
Photo by Stan Dammel
This image show the crash site of a EA-6B Prowler from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station that went down west of Spokane Monday morning.
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The Oak Harbor community is mourning the loss of three crew members aboard an EA-6B Prowler that crashed during routine training exercises in Eastern Washington Monday morning. The names of the Navy personnel killed will not be released until 24 hours after family members are informed and after press deadline for the Whidbey News-Times. The Prowler, from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, crashed just before 9 a.m. Monday into a farm field 50 miles west of Spokane. The aircraft was assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 129.
As officials released condolences to the families, more than 100 people gathered Monday night to honor the three Navy aviators in a candlelight vigil. The quickly-organized ceremony was set on the lawn next to the Oak Harbor Yacht Club adjacent to the Seaplane Base, where people offered prayers for the flyers who died as well as their families. “It’s hard. These families are going through hell,” resident Andy Mahoney said during a prayer he offered. “They’re going to need their community to rally around them.” He quoted Psalm 68:5: “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”
In a unanimous vote, members of the Oak Harbor City Council joined a nationwide, grassroots movement aimed at amending the U.S. Constitution to allow the regulation of corporate political spending. The council’s decision last week represented a coup for a small group of Island County residents who’ve worked over the last year to educate local elected officials about the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. Marshall Goldberg, a member of the group Citizens Ignited Against Citizens United, said Island County is the first county in the state to have its county board and the councils of all municipalities sign on to resolutions opposed to Citizens United. “We have bragging rights,” he said. “Clearly there is a lot of support in the county for what we are doing. I think people realize what a corrupting influence this unlimited money has on our elections.” Dianna MacLeod, a