Vol. 125, No. 40
News-Times Whidbey
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2015
WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75 CENTS
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Your hometown newspaper for 125 years
page 12
Man sentenced to 13 months for brutal beating Hilkey pleads guilty to 2nd-degree assault By JANIS REID Staff reporter
Photo by Janis Reid/Whidbey News-Times
Troy Hilkey, left, pleads guilty to assault in superior court.
A mother’s mission to obtain justice on behalf of her son paid off Monday when a man pleaded guilty in connection with a June assault. Troy Hilkey, 32, admitted to sec-
ond-degree assault in Island County Superior Court and was sentenced to 13 months in jail, payment of various fees and restitution to the victim to be determined at a later hearing. Hilkey chose not to make a statement in court, but told Judge Vickie Churchill that she could use deputy sheriffs’ reports to determine a “factful basis” for the plea, which she did. Daniel Raavel told investigators
he was asleep on his sister’s couch in her Rolling Hills home when Hilkey hit him in the head with a stick or cane and then yelled at him to leave, according to the deputy’s report. Raavel’s skull was fractured and bone shards were stuck in his sinus cavity, according to the medical records. Raavel was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to his mother,
Luanne Raavel. An Island County deputy prosecutor initially decided not to file charges because Hilkey had witnesses that provided an alibi for him. The prosecuting attorney’s office later admitted to making a mistake in not pursuing the case after Luanne Raavel expressed her outrage to the prosecutor’s office SEE CONVICTION, A13
NAS Whidbey team destroys dynamite found at home for sale By BEN WATANABE Whidbey News Group
A celebration of traditions
Photo by Megan Hansen/Whidbey News-Times
A Tshimshian Haayuuk Dancer performs a traditional native dance as part of the closing festivities of the Penn Cove Water Festival Saturday. Members of various tribes gathered for the annual day of festivities which includes canoe races, musical entertainment, storytellers and various children’s activities.
Events planned as countdown begins to EA-6B’s final flights A Grumman EA-6B Prowler jet will take its final flight at the end of May from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station to The Museum of Flight in Seattle. The aircraft will be decommissioned and absorbed into the museum’s permanent collection. SEE PROWLER, A13
An explosive ordinance disposal team from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station safely destroyed a box of old, unstable dynamite discovered Monday morning at a Clinton home for sale. The box was believed to hold more than 30 sticks of dynamite. The residence is located in the Cultus Bay area of South Whidbey. “It was relatively old, so old they used a robot to move it,” said Island County Sheriff’s Office Detective Ed Wallace. Dynamite sticks sweat nitroglycerin which, over time, crystallizes and becomes sensitive to shock, friction and temperature. Wallace said the Navy team soaked the box of dynamite and burned it without any explosions. The road near the residence was closed as a safety precaution based on the Navy team’s minimum safe distance perimeter. Wallace said this type of incident is not new to Island County. Previous finds of old dynamite were handled in a similar manner, though he said this was the largest amount he was aware of. SEE EXPLOSIVES, A13
Third mayor candidate triggers August primary WHIDBEY NEWS-TIMES STAFF
The race for the next mayor of Oak Harbor is headed to the Aug. 4 primary election. Martha Yount, a former council candidate, filed to run Friday afternoon, the last day of Filing Week in Washington state. Yount will go up against councilmen Jim Campbell and Bob Severns. Both men filed on May 11.
Oak Harbor Mayor Scott Dudley announced last month that he isn’t seeking reelection after serving a single term in office. Yount, a retired small-business owner, was one of four candidates who ran for a single council seat in 2011. Councilwoman Tara Hizon won the seat. Yount, who could not be reached for comment, is a long-
time city resident and a regular council attendee. When she ran for council, she described herself as a team player and a supporter of former mayor Jim Slowik. She said her top priorities were public safety and keeping the city’s environment clean. In addition, a third candidate has entered the race for a Whidbey General Hospital com-
missioner seat. Rita Drum, a rural Oak Harbor resident, became the third person to file for position 2 on the hospital’s board of commissioners. She will go up against incumbent Georgia Gardner and hospital blogger Rob Born in the primary, which will narrow the candidates to SEE PRIMARY, A13