RECORD SOUTH WHIDBEY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013 | Vol. 89, No. 45 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
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Let us pray?
Rocks, ahoy!
Emerson proposes a dose of prayer for county meetings
By JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter Business meetings of the Island County Board of Commissioners may soon begin with a dash of the divine. At the request of Chairwoman Kelly Emerson, the board is scheduled to discuss this week whether or not the formal Monday meetings should begin with a prayer.
“To be honest, I pray before every meeting.” Jill Johnson Island County commissioner
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INSIDE: My kid can paint that ... Island Life, A10
Jim Larsen / The Record
A small Coast Guard boat circles the Neahkahnie to make sure there’s no pollution. A larger Coast Guard vessel, the CGC Swordfish, was anchored offshore enforcing a 500-foot safety zone.
Fishing boat runs aground on Whidbey, no fuel leaks By JIM LARSEN Record editor A large fishing boat went aground at Lagoon Point on Tuesday morning at 4 a.m., about an hour before the sun rose to create a glorious day on Whidbey Island. The boat, named the Neahkahnie, wasn’t leaking oil or gas and did not appear to be an environmental threat, according to the Coast Guard. Early Tuesday a Coast Guard helicopter flew over and soon a boat, the CGC Swordfish, arrived to watch over the site. Later, at 9:30 a.m., a smaller Coast Guard boat circled the Neahkahnie, apparently to make certain there was no damage. The 97-foot boat grounded about 200 yards north of the populated portion of Lagoon Point, its bow settled gently upon the small rocks while the stern stuck out into Admiralty Inlet. Crewmen kept a low profile, but occasionally two were seen walking about. One walked to the bow when a Global Diving & Salvage representative arrived and shouted down to him the escape plan. A tug boat was due to arrive at 3 p.m., said the man aboard SEE SHIPWRECK, A6
Jim Larsen / The Record
Two crew members of the Neahkahnie emerge to walk on the deck for a few seconds.
“It’s been something I’ve been thinking about for some time,” said Emerson, during an interview Friday with the The South Whidbey Record. The board generally meets in open session twice a week and Monday meetings are the more formal of the two. It’s when the commissioners vote on code changes, hold public hearings and discuss other big issues. Those meetings can be highly charged, and Emerson, a born-again Christian, said an opening prayer may bring a little “civility” to the discussion. The commissioner hasn’t put forward a proposal detailing what prayers would be offered or by whom. Instead, she asked only for a general discussion during the board’s Wednesday, June 5 work session. SEE PRAYER, A6