South Whidbey Record, June 10, 2015

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Record South Whidbey

INSIDE

Shakespeare Festival settles into new location See...A5

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015 | Vol. 91, No. 45 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢

Car crash leaves hundreds without power

Brunke appointed to sewer district

By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record

proud parents, friends and educators during a ceremony at South Whidbey High School. It was a big day, both for graduates and parents alike. “We’ve had a kid in this school system since 1984, and we just got done today,” said a beaming Steve Backus, a

Freeland Water and Sewer District residents have a new commissioner. John Brunke, an engineer and regular attendee of district meetings, was appointed by unanimous decision Monday to replace Marilynn Abrahamson, who resigned suddenly last week. He was appointed by commissioners Eric Hansen and Lou Malzone during the board’s regularly scheduled monthly meeting, June 8. “I can think of no better person than John Brunke,” Hansen said. Following the vote, Brunke was immediately sworn in and took his seat among the commissioners. In a later interview, Brunke said he was eager to roll up his sleeves and serve area residents. He said he wants to do “what’s right for the community,” and is interested in helping the district complete a plan to bring sewers to the commercial core. “This is kinda the last

SEE GRADUATION, A12

SEE COMMISSIONER, A9

Hundreds of Freeland residents were without power for nearly 11 hours Sunday after a large truck sheared a telephone pole in two and then burst into flames. The driver of the vehicle, identified by police as Coupeville resident Robert Blouin, was not injured in the accident though first responders marveled that he escaped unharmed. Live wires were draped across his vehicle and the man reportedly scrambled out a window to safety, all without a scratch. “I don’t know how he did it,” said Deputy Brent Durley, with the Island County Sheriff’s Office. “He must have timed it just right.” The incident occurred at 4:16 p.m. at the intersection of South Woodard Avenue and Channel View Lane. Blouin, 33, was helping out some family friends and had just turned left onto Woodard in his 1997 SEE FIRE, A11

By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record

Justin Burnett / The Record

South Whidbey High School’s class of 2015 tosses their caps Saturday at a graduation ceremony.

Fly Falcons, fly

Class of 2015 graduates before massive crowd By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record With a ceremonial toss of their caps, an entire generation of South Whidbey residents entered a new stage of their lives this past weekend. The Class of 2015, 116 students in all, graduated Saturday to the sound of thunderous applause from hundreds of

Francisco, Sarkises move ahead with $950,000 Langley land deal By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record The Village Pizzeria building is now owned solely by Paul and Mickie Sarkis. After 21 years running Langley’s pizza shop on First Street, the white building with a glittering view of Saratoga Passage is theirs. Paul Sarkis said he has no plans to change or alter the building any further and the pies will keep

cooking just as they have been for two decades. “Everything will continue to be the same,” Sarkis said Monday. The sale effectively scraps once-published development plans for the property owned by Richard Francisco. After floating a major development of the property in late May 2014, Francisco backed away upon hearing resistance from Langley City Hall and

the public. His local representative, real estate agent Leanne Finlay, said he was not planning on pursuing anything with the remaining property Francisco owns along First Street. The remaining 105 feet of First Street property, which also includes 215 feet of waterfront property below the bluff, owned by Francisco is up for sale. “At my age, I didn’t want to

mess with any aggravation,” Francisco said in a phone interview from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Monday afternoon. “The way things were with the city, it seemed I was fighting an uphill battle,” he added. The Sarkises purchased a lot a little larger than the building’s footprint, including part of the outdoor dining area, for about $950,000. Francisco said it was

under the appraisal, but he and Sarkis had already agreed to the price before and he felt it was a fair price. “He’s the right guy to own it,” Francisco said. “He’s a good community person, they’ve been there a long time and everybody loves the place.” “I had no other reason to sell SEE PIZZERIA, A11


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