News-Times Whidbey
ISLAND LIVING
Putting a Whidbey club on a new course for success page A11
SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013 | Vol.114, No. 38 | www.whidbeynewstimes.com | 75¢
Unexpected prayer policy tabled by council Servatius: ‘We took a pretty good beating out there’ By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
An attempt to clarify a policy regarding prayer at the start of Oak Harbor City Council meetings transformed into a political hot potato. News of a new policy restricting what should be said during council invocations spread quickly over the
weekend, upsetting many who argue a change would violated people’s freedom of religion and speech. At least a dozen people attended Tuesday night’s council meeting to speak out on the issue; some said they are specifically upset the proposals state that speakers should not invoke the name of a deity. “When I read the proposed resolution I was deeply disturbed to find wording that would dictate to which God I may pray when offering an invocation here in the council chambers,” said Ron Lawler, pastor for Family Bible Church. Several council members said they are upset that the
mayor placed the item on the agenda without their foreknowledge and that they are being unfairly criticized for something they have nothing to do with. “We took a pretty good beating out there,” Councilman Joel Servatius said after the meeting. “I feel like we were ambushed.” Nobody got any answers, however, as council members quickly tabled the proposal. Concern about the invocation was first raised this past February by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. See prayer policy, A13
Dudley:
Mayor pushes for prayer policy vote.
Young Samaritan honored for his honesty, tenacity By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
Sometimes being honest can lead to a lot of pedaling. Jonathan McLaughlin, a junior at Oak Harbor High School, discovered that after trying to return a woman’s purse last month. It meant biking all over North Whidbey to locate her. McLaughlin’s remarkable — and strenuous — act of honesty earned him the firstever Caught in the Act Award from the Oak Harbor Youth Commission. He was honored during recent meetings of the Oak Harbor School Board and Oak Harbor City Council. OHHS Principal Dwight Lundstrom praised McLaughlin’s good deed during the council meeting Tuesday night. McLaughlin found a purse containing $800 and located a pay stub inside belonging to Jessica Muzzall. He later learned Muzzall had her pay-
check and tip money from a restaurant job in the purse, which she dropped in a parking lot. McLaughlin rode his bike from Oak Harbor to the 3 Sisters Farm, owned by the Muzzall family, hoping to find Jessica. Nobody was home McLaughlin rode his bicycle back to the Oak Harbor Police Department. It was a Sunday, however, and again, nobody was home. The young man rode his bicycle back to the farm and, this time, Ron Muzzall answered the door. McLaughlin handed the purse to him and Muzzall was so appreciative he gave McLaughlin a ride home. Muzzall also offered McLaughlin a reward, but the young man simply asked him to “pay it forward.” Lundstrom said Shelly Muzzall, whom he knows well, came to his office soon See honest, A14
Photo by Justin Burnett/Whidbey News-Times
The MV Kennewick sails through morning fog into Keystone Harbor Friday. A recent meeting with ferry officials and legislators resulted in several changes for the new boats.
Leaning Coupeville ferry balanced By JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter
The signature list of the state’s new 64-car ferries was corrected on the MV Salish with 80 tons of ballast recently. The other two boats in the class are expected to
receive the same improvement later this summer. Also, the state Department of Transporation, Ferries Division, has created a vessel improvement team that will begin meeting quarterly next week in an ongoing effort to tackle issues with the new boats. See ferry, A14
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