Record South Whidbey
INSIDE
Falcons nipped by Red Wolves See...A8
SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2015 | Vol. 91, No. 28 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
Handbill kerfuffle inflames Langley conveyance dispute Project critic vows to force public vote at Tuesday charrette By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record Ben Watanabe / The Record
Madelyn Howe, 11, checks the counter April 9 at the Langley Whale Center. As a youth volunteer of Orca Network, she spent three hours in her first shift counting visitors and pricing inventory. The center may need to find a new home, however, as the landlord continues to try to sell the property and building.
Langley Whale Center, Main Street Assn. look for new home Groups plan to stay within Langley
By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record The Langley Whale Center is preparing to move after celebrating its first year in business. Members of Orca Network, which runs the whale museum on Anthes Avenue and Second Street, said the bones, screens, placards and display cases may need to find another location this summer. “It’s going to be a headache, but we knew we were going to have to move,” said Fred Lundahl, an Orca Network board member and Langley business owner. The Orca Network sublets the building, owned by Paul
Samuelson, with the Langley Main Street Association. Throughout their tenure sharing the space, the building has been for sale. In the center’s first year of operation, 10,000 visitors were counted via volunteers staffing the museum and a guest sign-in book. Relying on volunteer docents to open the doors Thursday through Sunday every week, an average of 50 visitors per day tour the free admission whale center. “The fact that we’ve been able to alight on (Paul’s) SEE MOVE, A15
Community discord over a proposed conveyance project in Langley reached new heights this week following the distribution of handbills that appear to encourage residents to highjack the agenda of Tuesday’s charrette with an unplanned vote. Despite city officials having made it clear that a popular consensus on various designs would not be taken, the handbills read, “It’s your chance to vote on the funicular/elevator” with the word “vote” underlined and highlighted in red. City Hall remains resolute that there will be no vote, and both project proponents and undecideds are in a huff over what they calling a purposeful misinformation campaign. The handbill’s characterization of those designs as an “expensive circus attraction” further inflamed their objections. “My issue is this is not civics,” said Neil Colburn, in a telephone interview Thursday. “This is not neighborly. For a
Contributed image
A Langley woman dropped off this handbill on doors around Langley, prompting many to cry foul. town of a thousand people we should not have this kind of crap put on our doorknob.” Colburn, a former city mayor, said he agrees with some of the critics’ questions and concerns — just not their methods. The handbills and their distribution are the work of Sharon Emerson, a vocal critic who has consistently questioned the city’s process and challenged the purported merits of a funicSEE HANDBILL, A10
Inmate death Pilot, South Whidbey son makes daring capture sparks review By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
By JESSIE STENSLAND South Whidbey Record Island County Sheriff Mark Brown placed two corrections deputies on paid administrative leave following the death of an inmate this week. SEE JAIL, A15
A South Whidbey graduate made headlines on the East Coast last week when he stopped a truck thief from sprinting onto a jet loaded with passengers at JFK International Airport in New York. Sam Strausser, whose parents live in Clinton, is credited with grabbing and restraining the man
until authorities arrived during the April 3 incident. The suspect, identified as 20-yearold Claudio Duran, had stolen a truck and sprinted past a security Strausser checkpoint when apprehended by Strausser. According to a report in the New
York Post, Duran stole a truck and ditched it outside Terminal 8 at JFK International Airport. He ran past a TSA checkpoint yelling, “I’m Pablo, I will be famous.” Duran ran a quarter-mile past security before being stopped by Strausser, the Post reported. The family man and pilot said he did not know there was a security threat until he saw Duran running toward him on the jump bridge,
which was connected to the airplane Strausser was about to pilot. As Duran sprinted close, Strausser said he acted instinctively, first grabbing the man and then tackling him against the wall. Strausser held Duran there until law enforcement arrived nearly 5 minutes later. SEE PILOT, A10