Vol. 125, No. 34
News-Times Whidbey
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2015
WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75 CENTS
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Your hometown newspaper for 125 years
COER action seeks to halt OLF practices ‘We’re being irreparably injured every time they fly’
By JANIS REID Staff reporter
A citizens’ group that filed a lawsuit in 2013 has filed an additional action to force the Navy to stop flying the EA-18G Growlers over Coupeville. The Citizen’s of Ebey’s Reserve, or COER, filed a motion Monday in Federal
Court asking a judge to rule that the aircraft be forced to stop using Outlying Field Coupeville until the Navy completes an Environmental Impact Statement. “The EIS isn’t going to be done until 2017,” said COER board member and attorney Ken Pickard Tuesday. “We’re being irreparably injured every time they
fly. We’re not going to wait.” The Navy cannot comment on ongoing litigation, said Mike Welding, the base’s public information officer. The Motion for Preliminary Injunction was filed in the United States District Court, Western District in Seattle. While
Anatomy of a noise complaint By JANIS REID Staff reporter
Noise emitting from a Navy base is inevitable. And the Navy says it takes careful note of each resident complaint and does what it can to mitigate the effect of its aircraft noise on its residents. “We take the noise complaint process seri-
SEE MOTION, A3
SEE CALLS, A3
Coupeville levy handily passes in Tuesday vote By MEGAN HANSEN Staff reporter
The Coupeville School District’s capital facilities levy was passing with a strong lead Tuesday night, much to the delight of district officials. The first count showed that 55 percent of voters cast ballots in favor of the $5-million levy. The next count will be Wednesday. Some board members and district staff were present at the elections office for the initial count. “We’re so grateful,” said school board member Chic Merwin. “We so love our Coupeville supporters.” The Island County Auditor’s Office sent out more than 7,200 ballots with 3,400 turned in for the initial count Tuesday, landing voter turnout at about 47 percent. The $5-million levy will be collected over three years and will be used to complete capital improvement projects within the school district. Projects are planned in three phases and include replacing the middle school roof, replacing heating and ventilation systems in the elementary and middle school and making needed repairs to the district’s aging athletic infrastructure.
Photo by Ron Newberry/Whidbey News-Times
Going Dutch for the day
Getting all dressed up is part of the fun and culture of Holland Happening. Two young parade participants experienced that over the weekend during the Oak Harbor festival that celebrates the city’s Dutch heritage. The weather helped make the 46th Holland Happening a hit with about 8,000 people attending.. See more photos and complete story about this year’s Holland Happening on page A10 of today’s Whidbey News-Times.
First Miss Oak Harbor to be crowned Saturday By DEBRA VAUGHN Staff reporter
Nine young women are vying for the title of Miss Oak Harbor at a pageant, set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Oak Harbor High School Student Union Building. The inaugural event will include classic pageant activities, including a choreographed dance number and an on-stage interview. But whatever you do, don’t call it a beauty pageant.
This is a scholarship competition that judges local young women on attributes such as community involvement, grades and physical fitness, said organizer Jes Walker-Wyse. “Sometimes pageants are a hard sell because there are so many misconceptions,” she said. “This is something I’m passionate about.” In one portion of the pageant, the girls do move SEE PAGEANT, A5
County hiring of lawyer may lead to High Court showdown By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
The Island County prosecutor, county commissioners and a land-use attorney may be headed for a constitutional showdown. In addition, the deputy prosecutor’s union is exploring the possibility of filing a grievance against the commissioners. The kerfuffle follows the commissioners’ decision Tuesday SEE HIRING, A32