INSIDE: Suffragette city ... Island Life, A10
RECORD SOUTH WHIDBEY
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2013 | Vol. 89, No. 39 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
Jim Larsen / The Record
Jim Larsen / The Record
South Whidbey Fire/EMS Assistant Chief Paul Busch directs the action as a car and house burn in the background. The blaze on Anthes Avenue in Langley destroyed a home but the human and animal occupants escaped safely.
Fire destroys Langley home By JIM LARSEN Record editor We may never know the exact cause of a fire that destroyed a home in Langley late Friday afternoon. The next day there was little but charred, crumbled remains of the home at 460 Anthes Ave. The garage where the blaze started was attacked by a backhoe that was used in the firefighting effort, possibly eliminating evidence of where the fire started. Three people, four dogs and a number of cats escaped before the garage
erupted into flames. A downstairs tenant was outside at the time of the fire. “We don’t know if we’ll ever know the cause due to the extent of the damage,” said Paul Busch, South Whidbey Fire/ EMS assistant chief, on Monday. It was known that the fire started in the garage, and it was hard to extinguish because it was filled with books. The fire crawled across an open causeway to reach the house, which also went up in flames. The fire alarm was called in about 6:30 p.m. and the first firefighters arrived 9 minutes later, Busch said. “The garage
was already collapsing,” he said. “We had to get a car fire out to get close enough to work.” Firefighters sprayed a hose directly into the burned car to prevent a gasoline explosion. Busch called the response time “about average.” He’s heard complaints the response was slow, but he said the response time is “electronically stamped.” A private insurance investigator was due to be on the scene Monday, Busch said. South Whidbey Fire/EMS SEE FIRE, A11
Marilie Johnson, owner of the burning home, is comforted by a friend.
Island rallies around victims By MICHAELA MARX WHEATLEY Staff reporter
When a fire ravaged their home on Anthes Avenue on Friday evening, the Jones/Russell family lost everything — their home, their car, their furniture, clothes, toys for the kids, birth certificates and family photos. Also lost in the inferno was 8-year-old Emmalee Russell’s dress for her first communion that was to take place the next day. Nonetheless, Emmalee was ready — in a new dress, new shoes — at church Saturday to take part in this special milestone thanks to the generosity of the community, said her mother Aimee Russell. “People got her a really pretty dress and shoes and she SEE VICTIMS, A20
Seligson, Allderdice forego council election run By BEN WATANABE and MICHAELA MARX WHEATLEY Staff reporters
Justin Burnett / The Record
Fred McCarthy adds his paperwork to the Island County Auditor’s stack. He will seek Langley’s vote as its mayor after being appointed by the city council in February.
Langley City Council has a couple of seats to fill come November. Councilmen Hal Seligson and Doug Allderdice elected to keep their names from the process. Seligson served the city two years. Allderdice filled
out Robert Gillman’s vacated seat in September 2011. Seligson decided not to seek election for his council position, nor run for mayor. Serving as acting mayor after Mayor Larry Kwarsick resigned, Seligson was passed over in favor of Fred McCarthy when the council chose a new mayor. He decided to get involved in Langley life in other ways. “I think it is actually time to
retire,” Seligson said. “I came here 10 years ago to retire. It’s time to do that now.” His wife Marilee looks forward to more time with her husband. “In the last year, especially during the difficult time with Larry, he sometimes put in 11 hour days,” she said. However, he has no regrets and was glad to serve his community. “I have accomplished
a number of worthwhile things,” he said, highlighting the implementation of an ethics committee that sets policies for city officials and employees. “I will remain an active member of the community, just in an unofficial way,” he said. Seligson was appointed to the council in December 2010 SEE ELECTION, A6