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VOLUME 38, NUMBER 13 • APRIL 7, 2015
Southern residents buoyed by another newborn By Emily Greenberg Journal reporter
Whale-watch enthusiasts spotted another new addition to J-pod near Active Pass, British Columbia, March 30. When first sighted, the killer whale calf still showed tale-tell signs of fetal folds, indicating it was only a few days old. Known as J-52, the newborn is presumably a member of 42-year-old J-16’s matriline, the group it was seen swimming with. This family also includes a calf born just before the new year, J-51. “We’re just going on the basis of photographs by other people,” said Ken Balcomb, founder of the Center for Whale Research. “We don’t want to prematurely say who the mom is.” Balcomb said it’s too early to tell who J-52’s mom is because after giving birth to a 500pound baby, another female will often take on the role as “babysitter” before the mother recuperates and begins nursing. The mother won’t be determined until the Center can properly observe the calf. The whales were headed north to feed in the Strait of Georgia, and their return to local waters could be anywhere from one day to a few weeks, Balcomb said. J-52 is the fourth newborn Southern resident since the new year, but it’s not necessarily indicative of a baby boom. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had so many in such a short time,” Balcomb said. “We’ve had upwards of seven to eight born in a year.” Balcomb also credits an increased effort in monitoring the orcas throughout the winter, as well as being in tune with whale-watchers, for the sightings of new calves over the past six months.
Contributed photo / Center For Whale Research
The latest addition to the Southern residents, J-52, joins fellow newborn J-51, first sighted in late December and seen here swimming along side its mother, J-19.
Update: fatal car crash victim identified By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
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The San Juan County Sheriff’s Department identified 36-year-old Corey Fletcher as the victim of a fatal collision Monday on Lopez Island. Fletcher died of severe
injuries suffered in a singlecar, rollover collision in the early afternoon of March 30. Fletcher was found inside an overturned vehicle and unconscious when deputies arrived at the scene at about 2:30 p.m. He was determined to be
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deceased at the scene. Fletcher was eastbound in the 200 block of Islandale Road and traveling at a highrate of speed when he apparently lost control of the fourdoor Volkswagen sedan he was driving while on a fairly straight stretch of roadway, according to Undersheriff Brent Johnson. The sedan went into a counter-clockwise spin and struck several trees along the side of the roadway before coming to a stop upside down, Johnson said.
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The 36-year-old was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision, he added. An autopsy is being conducted by the Snohomish Medical Examiner. Johnson confirmed that Fletcher, a Lopez Island resident, had been pulled over for speeding the day before the fatal crash and let go with a warning. Fletcher is the second person to die in a singlevehicle collision in San Juan County in the past five months. A 43-year-old Orcas Island man died in mid-November after losing control of his motorcycle on an s-curve on Upper Deer Harbor Road and struck a tree, less than a mile from home. Islandale Road, located at the south end of the island, is the primary road connecting the neighborhoods of Hunter and Mud Bays to Mud Bay Road. Fletcher leaves behind a wife and three children. The Lopez community has set up a fund to help the family with their mortgage, power, heating and insurance bills. To donate visit http:// www.gofundme.com/qrmm7q.