News-Times Whidbey
BUSINESS Ebey Bowl rolls into a new era
page A11
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2013 | Vol. 114, No. 91 | www.whidbeynewstimes.com | 75¢
Memorial Saturday for twins in Oct. 31 crash By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
The community is invited to a memorial service Saturday at Oak Harbor High School for the Goheen twins. Janesah Danae Goheen, 17, passed away Monday at Harborview Medical Center in
Seattle. She succumbed to injuries sustained in the Oct. 31 car crash in Skagit County. Her twin sister, Janeah Dawn Goheen, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The memorial service is at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, in the Oak Harbor High School gymnasium.
Goheen twins
Paul Kuzina, owner of Whidbey Memorial, said the tragedy has shaken the community to its core. Kuzina said the memorial service provides the community with an opportunity to honor and remember the girls, grieve together and See MEMORIAL SERVICE, A12
By JANIS REID Staff reporter
Photo by Janis Reid/Whidbey News-Times
Roger Baker shows the view off his back deck of Ala Spit and the area that has become dangerous for fishermen and others who have tried to wade across it. in Skagit Bay. Baker said he has learned to keep an eye out for the residents and fishermen who venture out there. Ala Spit is a county park on North Whidbey popular with nature walkers and fishermen alike. Some years ago, the county removed 800 feet of rock and crushed concrete from a center por-
tion of the spit in order to restore the area to its natural state. The intent was to repair salmon habitat made vulnerable by erosion caused by the barrier. However, the removal of the bridge-like rocks has made the spit untraversable at high tide. Over the past year, Baker said he watched that portion of the spit
erode below even low-tide water levels in places. ISLAND COUNTY Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Davison responded to both close calls. Davison said he was surprised that the two men survived. Davison, who served in the Navy See ALA SPIT, A12
Island County Commissioner Kelly Emerson has filed a second lawsuit against the county, claiming the Planning Department is still refusing to grant her a building permit for her deck. “I think that my husband and I have shown a sounding (sic) level of tolerance,” Emerson said Tuesday. “The actions of the county staff are unacceptable.” The Emersons are seeking a court injunction directing the planning department to issue the permit. In late 2010, the couple began building a patio at their Camano Island home without a permit. Neighbors and constituents complained that she neglected to follow the permitting process, and the controversy has dragged out for nearly three years. The Emerson’s sued the county early on, but most of the time was spent debating the existence of a wetland on the property which would prevent the new construction. A settlement was reached in June, which absolved the Emersons from all but a fraction of an initial $37,000 fine. Island County was to return $2,000 in filing See EMERSON SUES, A12
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THE BACK deck of Baker’s home looks out over Ala Spit Park
By JANIS REID Staff reporter
Danger rising at Ala Spit Roger Baker’s biggest fear lately is coming home to find a drowning victim washed up in his backyard. “When we’re headed home my wife says, ‘I hope there’s nobody down there,’” Baker said. Within just the past two months, two fishermen, in separate incidents, were swept away by the current at Ala Spit Park and pulled into the cold and dangerous waters. Both men were wearing fishing waders that acted like anchors, causing them to sink.
Emerson suing county for 2nd time