News-Times Whidbey
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 | Vol. 124, No. 41| WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75¢
SPORTS Coupeville advances to state A9
Emerson running for Kitsap Co. auditor By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
File photo/Whidbey News-Times
Kelly Emerson isn’t giving up on politics.
Kelly Emerson hasn’t left politics behind. Emerson surprised many by resigning her position as Island County commissioner earlier this month. She is a Republican and represented District No. 3. Last week, however, she filed in Kitsap County to run for the county auditor position. She is now a Bremerton resident, according to her filing document.
During an interview Monday, Emerson said she found that being a commissioner was a bad fit for her. “Frankly, it was just a slow process for being able to have any reward,” she said. “It took so long to make even the most minor change. “I’m a person who wants quicker results.” Emerson said she didn’t want the “citizens of Island County’s investment” in her to go to waste, so she decided to seek a different office.
Emerson said she’s learned a lot in three years about how county government works. Emerson said she chose to run for Kitsap County auditor because she’s interested in the diverse office, especially the financial division. She wants to ensure transparency and grant compliance. Plus, the current auditor isn’t running again, though there is another candidate in SEE EMERSON, A14
Hospital mum on allegations against nurse By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
Photo by Michelle Beahm/Whidbey News-Times
Mike Christian of Christian’s Towing hands diver Pete Pehl, of P2 Diving Services, a hook to attach to the partially submerged car to bring it the rest of the way out of a Central Whidbey pond.
Man rescued from submerged car By MICHELLE BEAHM Staff reporter
A bystander jumped in the water to rescue the driver of a car that ran off the road and into a pond at the intersection of State Highway 20 and Keystone Avenue Friday.
The driver, who asked to remain anonymous, was trapped inside the vehicle as it sank. Kris Barski said he witnessed the accident and flagged down passing motorists to help rescue the driver. After arriving at the accident scene,
onlooker Matt Chidsey dove into the water to help free the driver from the submerged vehicle. “People were throwing rocks and sticks, trying to break the windows because the SEE RESCUED, A14
A nursing administrator at Whidbey General Hospital is being investigated for allegedly assaulting a patient last week, according to the Island County Sheriff’s Office. The spokesperson for the hospital said Tuesday she cannot comment on the allegations and wouldn’t say whether the alleged assailant is currently working there. Island County Undersheriff Kelly Mauck said the Coupeville Marshal’s Office initially responded to a report of a patient assaulting a nurse at the hospital May 13. Witnesses at the hospital claimed that a different nurse — not the one who was assaulted — had assaulted the patient, according to Mauck. Marshal Rick Norrie said he’s investigating the case and hasn’t sent it to the prosecutor yet for charging consideration. Trish Rose, the hospital spokeswoman, said the hospital takes any patient complaints seriously and investigates them thoroughly “so that patient care and safety may be improved.” Rose said she could not comment on the specifics of the allegation or the hosSEE ALLEGATIONS, A14