News-Times Whidbey
‘Dutch’ to lead St. Paddy’s parade
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015 | Vol. 125, No. 20 | WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75¢
Reward offered for OH graffiti vandal
WGH finalizes CEO contract Board to pay Tomasino to help with transition
By JANIS REID Staff reporter
Whidbey General Hospital’s new CEO will assume her duties April 20. Geri Forbes, most recently CEO of Doctor’s Memorial Hospital in Florida, will replace CEO Tom Tomasino, who has served as Whidbey General’s CEO for five years. “I look forward to helping lead the team at Whidbey General Hospital and Clinics and wish to express my appreciation to the hospital board, physicians, staff and community for entrusting me with the role of CEO,” said Forbes in a statement emailed by the hospital. “My family and I are excited to relocate to Coupeville as I assume my new role on April 20.” Whidbey General Hospital District board members adopted a resolution finalizing Forbes’ hiring during Monday’s regular meeting. “Ongoing support from both patients and patrons of the hospital will certainly be appreciated as we
By JANIS REID Staff reporter
Rick Rennebohm is taking matters into his own hands. Owner of several Oak Harbor buildings, Rennebohm said he’s tired of cleaning up graffiti. Most recently, his twostory building on Pioneer Way and Midway Boulevard was tagged. Rennebohm just repainted the entire building last summer, making the graffiti all the more frustrating. “I just spent a bundle of money on that building,” Rennebohm said. “It was tagged pretty heavily. I’m mad because it’s an ongoing problem in Oak Harbor and no one seems to be doing anything about it.” He is offering $500 for information that will lead police to whoever is tagging Oak Harbor buildings. He’s calling it “Rat on a Rat.” Just last month, more than a dozen tags appeared overnight on several buildings and walls off Bayshore Drive. Buildings along Pioneer Way, Midway and structures at Fort Nugent Park were also recently tagged. Business and property owners have expressed frustration at the cost of the graffiti. “I’m right there with them,” Rennebohm said. n Anyone with information about the vandalism should call Oak Harbor police at 360279-4600 and reference graffiti case number 15-002317.
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Photo by Janis Reid/Whidbey News-Times
Liam Stuart, diagnosed in his first year with autism and treated through the state’s Toddler Learning Center, plays in his Oak Harbor living room last week.
Face of autism Finding small victories in early detection
By JANIS REID Staff reporter
O
n his first night home from the hospital, Erin Stuart noticed something was wrong with her son, Liam. With a background in early childhood development, Stuart found Liam’s cluster of symptoms troubling. Liam was scream-
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Prosecutor decries hiring of outside land-use counsel By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
A disagreement among Island County officials over the hiring of a consulting land-use attorney has echoes of a 15-year-old controversy. Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks said he isn’t happy that the board of commissioners plan 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. Banks said he, as the commissioners’ attorney, should have been consulted. Banks said he would have advised them that he and his two land-use attorneys should handle it. He said doing so would not only avoid the expense of hiring outside counsel, but also give his staff the familSEE BANKS, A2
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