RECORD SOUTH WHIDBEY
INSIDE: All aboard ... Sports, A7
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2013 | Vol. 89, No. 41 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
Whidbey’s first coatimundi chase ends with success By JIM LARSEN Record editor Jack lies peacefully on one couch cushion stacked atop another, eyes closed, the picture of innocence. Hardly the type of fellow one would suspect of kicking off South Whidbey’s first wild coatimundi chase. But this was Monday. A week from the prior Friday, Jack, who looks like a raccoon except for his long snout and very long, curvy tail, was scurrying down Lone Lake Road, a relatively lonesome route lined by tall trees on either side. Several women were chasing him while motorists passing by slowed, some taking pictures to set the South End abuzz with Facebook and Twitter posts. “I saw this thing last night on Lone Lake Road,” stated Erin Hanson on her Facebook page. “What is it?” Hanson later said she saw several people trying to capture the curious creature as she took pictures of it. As it turned out, they were eventually successful. At the other end of Lone Lake Road, near Saratoga, Ali Frye somehow ended up with Hanson’s message on her smart phone. She looked at the strange critter and called the paper. “He’s cute,” she said. “Some woman has an exotic pet out here.” That woman turned out to be Rhonda Galbraith, who lives with Jack in an RV in Clinton but spends a lot of time at a friend’s house on Andreason Road, just off Lone Lake Road. Early that particular Friday morning, May 10, Galbraith let Jack out into the backyard for some fresh air. “I got busy and he went over the fence and took off,” she said. “I looked for a couple hours then went to sleep. When I woke up he was next to the shop where he found a slug and ate it, then he left again.” By that time she had to go to work at the motel in Freeland. “He was in the woods. I was so worried.” Her worries came to an end late that afternoon when she learned a friend had managed to chase Jack down with the help of a couple of others and corner him on adjoining property. “A friend called and said ‘I found Jack!’,” she said. “He got lost is what happened. Oh my gosh, I was
Gianni forces primary election for schools By BEN WATANABE Staff reporter
so happy I was crying.” Soon Jack was back in his rightful spot on the couch and Galbraith was determined he would never cause such a commotion again. “I make sure I’m outside with him at all times,” she said. As she talks she strokes the placid Jack, but perhaps the interview is annoying him. He stands up, raises his tail in a threatening manner and takes a nip at her hand. Galbraith, accustomed to such behavior, dodges his sharp teeth. “It’s like having a 2-year-old all the time,” she said of living with Jack. “And it’s lots of exercise chasing him around. I wouldn’t recommend a wild exotic animal.” In the RV they share, Galbraith takes the lower portion. “He’s got the upper portion but he comes down at night,” she said. She tries to cheer Jack up by offering him a banana, but still in a foul mood he slaps it to the floor. She’s unfazed. “He eats oranges and bananas and he loves spaghetti, SEE COATIMUNDI, A8
Photos by Jim Larsen / The Record and Erin Hanson, above
At top, a coatimundi named Jack eyes a visitor who disturbs his relaxation time. In the middle photo, Rhonda Galbraith soothes Jack as he sits for an interview. She was thrilled when friends found him when he was lost, wandering along Lone Lake Road. Above, Jack runs away from a pursuer on Lone Lake Road. Passerby Erin Hanson said several women were chasing him. Eventually, they managed to get him back home.
One man’s quest for a different school board seat will cost the school district thousands of dollars. Rocco Gianni, a retiring teacher at Langley Middle School, switched the school director position he wanted to run for a couple of hours before the filing deadline Friday. His change of mind to seek the at-large position created the need for a three-way primary vote. Sheilah Crider, Island County auditor, said the cost of the school director primary election will be paid by the South Whidbey School District. The auditor’s office estimates a fee of about $28,000 to mail and process 12,000 ballots. Superintendent of Schools Jo Moccia said the money will come out of the school district’s general fund. The last time South Whidbey schools had a ballot item was the levy votes in February. As the only items on the special election ballot were for the school district, it paid the full cost of about $28,500. Simple math indicates the cost was worth it for the school district, which received approval for both levies, including a $1 million annual increase for capital/ technology funds. The payoff for a single school board position primary election isn’t so clear. Gianni originally filed his election forms at 2:14 a.m. May 16 for the Position 2 seat. At the time, Board Member Fred O’Neal had publicly stated he was undecided if he would run for a SEE SCHOOLS, A8