News-Times Whidbey
INSIDE: Rocking out for 20 years A10
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2014 | Vol. 124, No. 105 | WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75¢
2014: A YEAR IN REVIEW
Triumphs, tragedy and controversy on Whidbey Island It’s been another eventful year on Whidbey Island. Seahawks fans were overjoyed. An election made headlines. A landmark oak was felled. Perhaps most memorable, the Oak Harbor football team forfeited a title game to Marysville-Pilchuck after a tragic school shooting. Here’s a look at the year that was 2014:
JANUARY North Whidbey Park and Recreation District began the search for a new executive director after Bill Walker resigned at the end of 2013. Some people complained that cement blocks at Outlying Field Coupeville have a negative effect on the landscape of Ebey’s Landing National History Reserve. A dentist of 35 years, Dr. Harry Turner, retired. The national Defense Authorization Act allotted $117 million to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island for the P8-A Poseidon and EA-18 Growler squadron programs. The Island County Sheriff’s Office sought the owner of a
Above, Diangelo McKinney (39) and the Oak Harbor Wildcats meet with the MarysvillePilchuck football team as they present them with the Wesco North 3A championship trophy. Oak Harbor forfeited the title game after the fatal Oct. 24 shooting in the M-P lunchroom. Right, Oak Harbor city staff take down a 300-year-old Garry oak because the mayor said it posed a danger. silver SUV, who may have attempted to abduct a child. A suspect was never found. The Oak Harbor Police Department grew concerned over burglaries that occurred while residents were at home. Oak Harbor resident
Joshua Greene was charged with first degree assault with a deadly weapon after stabbing his sister’s boyfriend in the chest. Joe Martinez, an officer at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, was fired for alleged inappropriate racial com-
ments and other misdeeds. Oak Harbor was chosen to host an official Seahawks rally the Friday before the National Football Conference championship game against the San Francisco 49ers. SEE YEAR, PAGE A2
Commissioners to switch meetings days in new year
By JANIS REID Staff reporter
Island County commissioners are moving forward with plans to move their regular weekly meeting from Mondays to Tuesdays. Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, who will be chairing the board next year, said the change aims to improve access to information for both the public and for commissioners.
“Often our agendas don’t get posted until later in the week before,” Price Johnson said. “By delaying the meeting until Tuesday, we give a lot more opportunity for people to get questions answered or to get information and participate in the process.” Price Johnson said it will also allow commissioners an extra day to meet with staff and research topics prior to the meeting.
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The board agreed that the change would help them be better prepared for the meeting. Work sessions held starting at 9 a.m. on the first three Wednesdays of the month will remain the same. In addition to the day change, commissioners will cease to hold a regular evening meeting the fourth Monday of each month. All meetings will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday unless they come upon a “sensi-
tive or contentious issue” and the board decides an evening meeting is needed, according to Board Clerk Debbie Thompson. Price Johnson said the board currently has “very little participation” in the evening meetings. Thompson said she is working with the county prosecutor to prepare the necessary code change for the board to consider. Thompson said they are aiming to
have the change in place in time to start holding meetings Tuesdays on Feb. 4. As a result of the change, the Island County Planning Commission which usually meets at 9 a.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays in the Commissioners Hearing Room will need to reschedule as well.
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