Record South Whidbey
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SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014 | Vol. 90, No. 58 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
Hospital chief to hang up hat
County to consider fairground contract next week By JANIS REID South Whidbey Record
By JESSIE STENSLAND South Whidbey Record Whidbey General Hospital commissioners are putting together a list of criteria to help them find the perfect chief executive officer, according to Commissioner Ron Wallin. Current CEO Tom Tomasino announced his plans during a board meeting last month to not renew his contract and retire in October of 2015. “He is announcing this now to give the board ample time to mount a search to find a new CEO,” wrote hospital spokeswoman Trish Rose, in an email. “It is also his hope for there to be a good turnover period to ensure a smooth transition in leadership.” Tomasino started serving SEE TOMASINO, A15
Hay farming tradition still strong in Village by the Sea Justin Burnett / The Record
Vance Tillman bales hay in a field on the other side of Third Street from St. Hubert Catholic Church in Langley. Tillman’s wife is Tiny Tillman of the Fossek family, which has had the property since the time of Tiny’s great, great grandmother, who had a hotel next to the field in 1906. Vance Tillman, with a face covered in dust, said the family has likely been growing hay in the lot for more than 100 years. It’s sold for feed to Whidbey farmers, but they also keep some for their own cattle.
The Island County commissioners agreed Wednesday to find a contractor to manage the fairgrounds for one year. But how that will shake out has yet to be determined. Commissioners will weigh the options at their July 21 meeting as part of their discussion of the county’s Capital Improvement Plan. While Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, South Whidbey’s representative, initially proposed that the county pay for a temporary county employee to manage the fairgrounds, commissioners seemed to find common ground with putting out a request for a contractor at the July 16 work session. “We have to make a shortSEE FAIR, A17
Golf course parking kerfuffle drives Holmes Harbor Sewer District to lawsuit By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record Push came to shove over a parking squabble at a Freeland golf course this week, and the dispute, along with the fate of the fairways themselves, may soon be in the hands of the courts. At a special meeting Thursday morning, Holmes Harbor Sewer District commissioners voted unanimously to take legal action to preserve an easement they claim guarantees golf course parking at the clubhouse, a building owned by a private and autonomous limited liability corporation. Board President Stan Walker declined to delve into details of the legal argument, citing the pending litigation, but he did say the issue is no
small matter. “In essence, if we can’t use the parking lot the Holmes Harbor Golf Course will probably close,” Walker said. “This is pretty crucial to us,” he added. Edmonds resident Kevin Hanchett and his business partner, Mike Hooper, own the clubhouse and parking lot through Holmes Harbor Golf, LLC. Hanchett argues the district has no legal right to parking on his lot, and that solutions to the disagreement have been ignored. The current situation, he said, is one where golfers and course personnel are now regularly trespassing on his property. “There’s a variety of approaches [to solve the problem], but what they have done is just moved in and squatted,”
Hanchett said. “It’s a violation of my property rights,” he said.
Simply wrong Hanchett and Hooper purchased the fairways, clubhouse and adjacent undeveloped land in 2011. The previous owners, Holmes Harbor Community Partners, closed the course in March 2010. Then last year, the business partners sold the 18-hole course to the sewer district, which then hired a private operator to run the fairways as an independent contractor. SEE GOLF COURSE, A15
Justin Burnett / The Record
Craig Moore plays golf at Holmes Harbor while Paul Kiernan looks on. A dispute over parking may soon be fought in court.