Vol. 125, No. 57
News-Times Whidbey
SATURDAY, JULY 18, 2015
WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75 CENTS
Pink salmon arrive early
page 10
Your hometown newspaper for 125 years
Seattle judge weighs noise lawsuit By JESSIE STENSLAND
jstensland@whidbeynewsgroup.com
Steve Wolff photo
Summer sails
Sailboats will return for the 33rd Annual Whidbey Island Race Week, which will be held in the waters off of Oak Harbor and Coupeville July 18-24. In conjunction with Race Week the historic schooner SUVA, captained by Mark Saia, will offer cruises. Reservations are required. For a complete article on Race Week, see page 20 of today’s Whidbey News-Times.
WIC scheduled to close on Navy base despite Murray plea By DEBRA VAUGHN
dvaughn@whidbeynewsgroup.com
Local military families who use the Women Infants and Children’s program, or WIC, will probably have to access the program off base beginning in October. For years, Navy families had easy access to the assistance program at an office on the Seaplane Base. The federal government decided to stop paying for other agencies to use SEE WIC, A12
The U.S. Department of Justice and an attorney representing a group of Central Whidbey residents squared off in federal court Wednesday in a battle over jet noise. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Zilly heard from both sides in arguments over a preliminary injunction that the Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve, or COER, filed against the Navy in an attempt to halt aircraft touchand-go practice at the Outlying Field near Coupeville. COER claims that the noise from the EA-18G Growler is harmful to the health of those who live near the field. SEE LAWSUIT, A12
County may limit personal fireworks to July 3-5 By KATE DANIEL
kdaniel@whidbeynewsgroup.com
A ban on fireworks in Island County seems unlikely now after one commissioner changed his mind on the potentially explosive policy change. But the commissioners may have come to an agreement on two changes to the fireworks rules, one of which would limit discharge of personal fireworks to July 3-5. The three commissioners met Wednesday with Sheriff Mark Brown, who also serves as the county fire marshal. DAN MITCHELL, chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney for the county prosecutor’s office, also attended Wednesday’s
“I think to ask for an outright ban at this point, considering the feedback I’ve gotten from people in the community, from both islands, would be ill-advised.” Rick Hannold Island County Commissioner
meeting. Mitchell provided insight as to the language commissioners could consider if they decided to change the policy. During the meeting, Commissioner Helen Price Johnson asked Mitchell to present his proposal for wording when Commissioner Rick Hannold interjected.
THOUGH HANNOLD previously gave his support for a total ban on personal-use fireworks, he said he changed his mind after receiving a “considerable” amount of feedback from the community. “It’s very widely debated in the community,” he said. “But in my exuberance to put forth something that I thought would be enforceable by the sheriff and the prosecutor, I kind of lost track of who I really truly am and what I consider my core values, which are holding people responsible, making sure people are responsible for their own actions and holding them accountable. “I think to ask for an outright ban at SEE FIREWORKS, A13
“Bringing independence to living and quality to life” Limited Availability
THE
BEST OF
WHIDBEY READERS CHOICE AWARDS
1040 SW Kimball Drive | Oak Harbor, WA. 98277 | (360) 279-0933