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Sarungano rocks coffee shop See...A12
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015 | Vol. 91, No. 20 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
Prosecutor objects to county’s plan to hire outside counsel By JESSIE STENSLAND South Whidbey Record
still standing, the potential for additional bluff movement makes it simply too dangerous for human occupation, according to Bill Oakes, director of Island County Public Works “It’s just not safe,” he said. “Not right now, it [the bluff] is too unstable.”
A squabble among Island County officials over the hiring of a consulting land-use attorney echoes of a 15-yearold controversy. Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks said he isn’t happy that the board of commissioners long planned to hire outside counsel to help the county with its comprehensive plan update, a large and vital undertaking that is supposed to be completed in the next 18 months. As the commissioners’ attorney, Banks said he should have been consulted. Had he been given the opportunity, he says he would have advised them that the matter should be handled in house. Doing so would not only avoid the expense of hiring outside counsel, but also give his staff the familiarization with the comprehensive plan that they may need sometime in the future. “By going to an outside attorney, we won’t be able to develop the expertise we need in-house,” he said. The commissioners said they weren’t trying to hide their plans from Banks and were surprised that he didn’t know about it. They said they want to work with someone with legal expertise in a very specific area of law and question whether his staff has time to dedicate to the project. Commissioner Jill Johnson said the deputy prosecutors are relatively
SEE LANDSLIDE, A9
SEE BANKS, A9
Kate Daniel / The Record
Pastor Elizabeth Felt was hired as the second full-time pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church on Sunday, March 1. Felt is the first female pastor at Trinity Lutheran.
Trinity hires first female pastor By KATE DANIEL South Whidbey Record Elizabeth Felt was called to the ministry at an early age, but being female, she didn’t see pastorship as a viable career option. On March 1, Felt’s dream was realized when she was installed as the first female pastor of Freeland’s Trinity Lutheran Church.
Though the church has been ordaining female ministers for 45 years, Pastor Jim Lindus explained that the opportunity to hire a female pastor had not been presented until now. “It’s a big first,” Felt said. Lindus noted that it is greatly beneficial to the church as Felt is able to connect with fellow women in a way that he cannot, in addition to
her being a talented and dedicated co-pastor. Felt has lived on Whidbey full-time since 1988 and became a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in the 1990s. In an interview Tuesday morning, Felt expressed her affinity with South Whidbey SEE PASTOR, A13
Third landslide takes toll in Brighton Beach By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record
Justin Burnett / The Record
Judi Sladky slogs through mud at her Brighton Beach home Monday following another major landslide. County officials yellow tagged the home later that day.
An ongoing landslide in Old Clinton has claimed its fifth beach cabin. Island County officials Monday yellow tagged the home of Judi Sladky, which is located next door to another two-story house that was destroyed in a slide late Friday night. Although Sladky’s place is