Whidbey News-Times, February 05, 2014

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News-Times Whidbey

SPORTS

Brothers lead wrestlers into postseason A9

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 | Vol. 115, No. 11 | WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75¢

Seahawks fans get moment they’ve waited for

Woman accused of tattooing man by force By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter

School District, Gibbon couldn’t just bolt out the front door with a football under his arm, but savored the moment nonetheless. Like so many others from his generation and older, he could fully appreciate what such an accomplishment meant. He’s one of the Seahawk lifers — ­ a fan since the franchise’s NFL birth in 1976 — a time before blue 12th-man flags flew so freely. “I’ve been watching the Seahawks since 1976,” said Gibbon, 45, who grew up in Edmonds. “When I was a kid, I remember them playing in the Kingdome. We stuck through all the Jim Zorn and Dave Krieg years and all that.”

“I remember when the Broncos were our rival. I remember John Elway playing. I loved all that stuff growing up.” Gibbon still does, but he’s not going to get carried away. A parade is scheduled for 11 a.m. today through downtown Seattle to celebrate the Seahawks’ first Super Bowl title, and Gibbon said he is taking no special measures to accommodate in Oak Harbor. “School is still on,” he said. Scott Dudley, Oak Harbor’s mayor, is another prominent figure in the Oak Harbor commu-

Bowl champion” T-shirts Tuesday morning and Walmart was supposed to receive its first shipment of items by Tuesday afternoon. Albertsons, which has an entire section of its store devoted to a Seahawks “Team Shop,” is planning for a big shipment of merchandise today and should have items out for sale by noon. “I don’t have any plans of ending it at this point,” Albertsons store manager Clint Brock said of the store’s Seahawks Team Shop. Albertsons will carry NFL-licensed T-shirts,

sweatshirts, hats and other items branded with Seattle’s accomplishment. “It’s incredibly exciting as a fan and even as a business leader,” Brock said. “It’s really good for the community.” Donna Wanless, manager at Big 5, said that official Super Bowl Seahawks jerseys are expected to arrive next week. “They’ll have ‘Super Bowl champions’ on them,” she said.

While he’s a victim of a violent crime, Matthew Reimer said he can see the humor in what happened to him, though his friends are apoplectic. But mostly, he said, he sees the bizarre incident as a “wake up call” that it’s time to leave the drug scene behind. Reimer claims that Ashley E. Firth, a 33-year-old Oak Harbor woman, tattooed him against his will after forcing him to hand over his wallet inside a travel trailer on Crosby Avenue Jan. 11. Firth goes by the street name “Dibo,” according to Oak Harbor police. She allegedly tattooed the words “punkbitch—dibo” on his shoulder. Jennifer Yzaguirre, community service officer for the Oak Harbor police, said she’s “99 percent certain” that this is the department’s first case of alleged tattooing by force. Prosecutors charged Firth in Island County Superior Court Jan. 22 with robbery in the second degree, assault in the third degree and violation of a court order. She pleaded not guilty. “It goes to show how bad the drug scene has gotten in Oak Harbor,” Reimer said. Officer Jon Valenzuela investigated the case after Reimer reported it the day after receiving the nonconsensual inking.

SEE BUSINESS, A5

SEE TATTOOED, A8

By RON NEWBERRY Staff reporter

The last time the Pacific Northwest felt a rumble of this magnitude on the sports landscape, Lance Gibbon nearly lost his bearings. It was June 1, 1979, and Gibbon had just watched the Seattle SuperSonics wrap up the NBA championship on television. He was so excited he sprinted outdoors with his basketball. He was 10. “I don’t know what I was going to do with it,” he said. “I was just excited about the Sonics winning.” Thirty-five years later, Gibbon celebrated the region’s next major sports championship with a little more restraint. He watched with his family at their home in Oak Harbor Sunday as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos, 43-8, for their first Super Bowl title. Now the superintendent of the Oak Harbor

Photo provided by Ron Newberry/Whidbey News-Times

Seahawks fans celebrate at a 12th man rally at Oak Harbor High School Saturday, a day before Seattle won the Super Bowl. The fundraising event raised $1,300 for the North Whidbey Help House.

SEE 12TH MAN, A5

Seahawks fever proving a boon for businesses By RON NEWBERRY Staff reporter

Seattle Seahawks merchandise branded with their Super Bowl championship has already started trickling into Oak Harbor with larger shipments expected throughout the week. Retail outlets such as Big 5 Sporting Goods, Albertsons grocery store and Walmart will carry Seahawks merchandise boasting their championship in Super Bowl XLVIII. Big 5 got a shipment of blue and gray “Super

YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER

YOUR LOCAL GOLD BUYER

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