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Thursday, AUGUST 28, 2014
VOL. 20, NO. 3
Freedom of speech riles some downtown By Megan Hansen Co-Editor
A man exercising his First Amendment rights is ruffling feathers in downtown Coupeville. In response to multiple complaints about a truck with political signs parked downtown all day Sunday, Town of Coupeville officials issued a public notice saying the signs weren’t against the law and there isn’t anything they can do. The owner of the truck and signs, Ken Pickard, said his messages are a way to dispel the myth and generate dialogue about what the Navy is really doing to the citizens and the community with the use of the touch-and-go field for jets near Coupeville. The noise from the EA-18G Growlers has become controversial over the last year
See SIGNS, page 12
Photo by Ron Newberry
Brian Richmond, an Alaska Airlines pilot, gets his radio controlled plane ready to go with his son Alex at the Outlying Field Coupeville during an event called ‘Jets over Whidbey’ Saturday. The turbine engine jets can exceed 200 mph. ‘It’s more exciting,’ Richmond said, comparing it to real flying. ‘You can make these low passes and pull straight up. The full-scale flying is just so disciplined. With that being said, it’s still a kick.’
Soaring over Whidbey
Attention to detail nabs Radio Control car thief Society takes By Jessie Stensland Co-Editor
flight at OLF
Coupeville Marshal Rick Norrie’s attention to odd details led to the apprehension of a suspected car thief and burglar last weak. Norrie was on routine patrol Aug. 17 when he noticed a disheveled man slumped on the steering wheel of a Mercedes Benz SUV parked on the front lawn of a home inside the Terry Mobile Home Park, according to a report by Lt. Mike Hawley with the Island County Sheriff’s Office. Norrie rapped on the car window, but the man just looked up groggily and laid his head back down on the steering wheel. He contacted the resident of the home,
By Ron Newberry Staff Reporter
See THIEF, page 12
Brian Richmond has spent 25 years as a pilot for Alaska Airlines. But last Saturday, he stood near the air strip at the Outlying Field in Coupeville and was at the controls of a model airplane. He was there for the 24th annual “Jets over Whidbey” event, put on by the Whidbey Island Radio Control Society. He couldn’t stay for a second day. He needed to get to SeaTac to fly a Boeing 737 to Orlando, Fla., Sunday. “I think I was 6 years old when I started flying radio-controlled stuff,” said Richmond, who lives in Gig Harbor. “I’m 55 now and I’ve
been flying these things 49 years, which is a long time. I just absolutely loved these airplanes and was fascinated by it. “Naturally, I just wanted to be a pilot.” Richmond and his son Alex were among 27 registered pilots flying radio-controlled planes under blues skies at OLF Saturday. The Navy allows the Whidbey Island Radio Control Society to use the airstrip during times when jets from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station aren’t flying. Navy jet activity canceled the first day of the model airplane event Friday. About 60 people attended Saturday to watch the little planes whiz by and perform the sort of maneuvers one sees at air shows. “We’re airplane cuckoos,” said Everett’s
John Rogalski, who came with his friend Jeff Nikolaidis. “Both of us are docents at the Historic Flight Foundation in Mukilteo. “We’ve been inoculated with the airplane virus.” Two types of model aircraft were on display — electric-ducted fan jets and true turbine engine jets. The planes range in price from $5,000 to $23,000, according to Tom Berry, the event coordinator. An operator needs a waiver from the Academy of Model Aeronautics to fly a true turbine engine jet and isn’t supposed to fly the plane in excess of 200 mph.
See JETS, page 12