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SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2015 | Vol. 91, No. 26 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
Langley charrette won’t include cost, public vote
WSP to recommend charges in Valentine’s Day fatal crash By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record State police are recommending a South Whidbey woman face criminal charges for her role in a fatal two-car crash in February. Trooper Mark Francis, a Washington State Patrol spokesman, confirmed late Thursday that detectives are wrapping up their investigation of the collision and expect to formally forward a referral to the Island County Prosecutor’s Office sometime next week. It will recommend that Clinton resident Michelle Nichols, 46, be charged with vehicular homicide in the death of Timothy Keil, a 61-year-old Freeland man, the officer said. Nichols was allegedly under the influence during the Valentine’s Day crash that resulted in Keil’s death, according to the state patrol. Attempts to reach Nichols by telephone and via Facebook Friday for this story were unsuccessful. Details and findings of the agency’s investigation, however, are not yet available. Police investigations are not disclosable under state records laws until they are formally complete, and that doesn’t happen until the referral is sent to prosectors, Francis said. Also, it’s up to the prosecutor’s office to decide whether or not to press charges. Nichols was southbound on Highway 525 at about 8:40 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, when she lost control near the intersection of Coles Road, according to a state patrol SEE CRASH, A14
By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
to bite — to justify her actions, Lawrence said. When the nurse refused to accept the excuses, Gipson fired her from the hospital. Lawrence said Gipson then called 9-1-1 to report that the patient had assaulted a nurse several hours previously; she said the nurse wasn’t injured, didn’t report the incident and didn’t want the police notified. Gipson made the call, Lawrence said, only after she was confronted by a nurse, the alleged victim and the alleged victim’s father. On the other side, Gipson’s attorney, Andrew Schwarz of Seattle, told the jury repeatedly that the reality of the situation was more
Cost estimates for the various Langley marina access project options are not expected to be part of an upcoming public meeting this month. The hope is to highlight various designs and possibilities, but providing financial details for all of the 10 alternatives simply isn’t feasible, according to Langley Director of Community Planning Michael Davolio. “It’s our goal to be able to inform the public about all the options we’re considering,” Davolio said in an interview Thursday at City Hall. The city has planned a charrette, a stakeholders meeting with residents, business owners and marina users, to present options April 14. It is a departure from earlier momentum in 2014 when the city was looking into the construction of either a funicular to move up and down the Cascade Avenue bluff or a bridge and elevator. Any bluff-side option will likely need a private partner because the city does not own any property at the base to connect to Wharf Street. The city secured $500,000 in grant funding years ago to improve access to the marina, though the initial project was to widen Wharf Street. The basic idea is create an alternative means of accessing the marina in
SEE GIPSON, A20
SEE CHARRETTE, A13
Name / The Record
Island County Deputy Prosecutor Jacqueline Lawrence shows the jury how Linda Gipson, chief nursing officer at the hospital, allegedly grabbed a patient.
Chief nursing officer trial begins Prosecutor, defense make opening arguments
By JESSIE STENSLAND South Whidbey Record The prosecution and defense laid out their arguments Thursday afternoon in the criminal case against a Whidbey General Hospital administrator accused of assaulting a patient last summer. Jury selection took up most of the day in what the judge has said may be the longest trial at Island County District Court in three decades. Linda Gipson, the 63-year-old chief nursing officer at Whidbey General Hospital, is facing one count of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor charge, for allegedly grabbing a mental health patient by the face May 13, according to court documents. In opening statements, Island
County Deputy Prosecutor Jacqueline Lawrence said Gipson “charged” into the room, grabbed the patient and told her, “You have lost your rights, you have lost your privileges.” Lawrence emphasized over and over that the patient was in “fourpoint, locked, medical restraints” and that she had no way to protect herself. She mimed for the jury how Gipson allegedly grabbed the woman by the jaw, calling it “a simple assault.” “What happened after that simple assault is where it gets complicated,” she said. One of the nurses who was caring for the patient confronted Gipson about the assault; Gipson came up with “a litany of different excuses” — like she was spitting or trying