SOUNDER THE ISLANDS’
Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
WEDNESDAY, July 29, 2015 VOL. 48, NO. 30 75¢ islandssounder.com
Special visit for the seniors
‘Wild and Precious’ at Orcas Center – page 9
Orcas man charged with identity theft by ANNA V. SMITH Journal reporter
Colleen Smith Armstrong/staff photo
4-H member Anwyn Thompson holds an alpaca named Martian during a visit to the Orcas Senior Center. Emily Reid, on her way to lunch, says hello to the fuzzy creature from Orcas Moon Alpacas.
An Orcas man has been charged with trafficking in stolen property in the first degree, identity theft in the first degree and identity theft in the second degree. Brian Douglas McClerren, 35, of Orcas Island, has an arraignment date of July 31. According to court documents, clients of McClerren’s window washing business noticed on June 11 that he had cashed a check from them for $4,722.90. The clients recalled he had washed their windows in May, but that they had paid him $570 for his work. They reported to the San Juan County Sheriff ’s Department that McClerren had washed their windows for two years with no issues, and on that particular day, May 30, they had left the house to run some errands while he worked. McClerren admitted to the sher-
Will the sea stars ever be able to recover? by ANNA MEYER
Special to the Sounder
Touching sea stars sheltering during low tide will reveal not sturdy, sandpiper skin but a soft and pulpy texture with white and oozing lesions, its limp, weakened rays and strained tube feet unable to grasp at craggy surfaces. But what has caused such a gruesome change in our ochre sea stars? “We’re hopeful but not sure the cause for optimism is entirely warranted – yet,” said Dr. Christopher Mah, research collaborator at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Ochre sea stars, along with other asteroid sea stars, are suffering from sea star wasting disease, a terminal disease that quickly leads to the dissolution and death of affected sea stars. According to a study by the University of Santa Cruz, the sea star “melts” into a white mucuslike paste in just a few days. The slow degeneration and graphic death of several species of sea stars has drawn concerned marine scientists from across the nation to focus on the potential causes of this disease. The first major breakout of wasting disease was first noticed in 1972, when sea stars began to show symptoms on the East Coast. In 1982, stars in California began to decline, seemingly
“We’re hopeful but not sure the cause for optimism is entirely warranted – yet.” — Dr. Christopher Mah, Smithsonian Museum
also from wasting disease. Finally, in 2013, massive die-offs began to happen on both the East and West Coasts. Scientists began to study affected sea stars in depth to discover what was causing this unknown and disconcerting disease. Wasting disease showed signs of being caused by something microscopic and transmittable, like a virus or bacteria. This year, two years after the start of the outbreaks, scientists are releasing publications on a major causative agent of sea star wasting disease – a virus. A collection of marine scientists released a publication in December of 2014 showing that affected sea stars were carrying a densovirus, and that this was most likely causing the sea star wasting and die-offs. According to an article in National Geographic, a densovirus is a small singlestrand virus of the same family that infects dogs with canine parvovirus. The study showed that sea stars with more viral particles in their bodies were more likely to dissolve and die.
Since the disease is due to a virus, this means it is easily transmitted via water carrying viral particles or via infected individuals and is difficult to treat. Infected water must be treated with ultraviolet rays or otherwise disinfected to effectively abolish the viral particles. This means that there is no straightforward method for treating sea stars or outbreaks in the wild. Without a direct way to treat this virus, scientists are resorting to determining the impacts on sea star populations. Studies suggest that stress (from heat, unsheltered habitat or other environmental conditions) may increase the incidence of sea stars contracting the virus – meaning that higher water temperatures associated with summer may increase the prevalence of wasting sea stars. Although the major causative agent of the virus has seemingly been pinpointed, scientists are still looking into this disease. Temperature relations, species links and environmental factors are all still potentially factors in the intensity of wasting disease outbreaks. The viral factor is being treated as a piece of a larger puzzle. “There’s a possibility it could be very complicated,” said Mah. “Other invertebrate dis-
SEE SEA STARS, PAGE 6
iff ’s office that he had taken two checks and a ring, and recounted what happened on May 30. According to the detective’s report, McClerren said he had been washing windows in the client’s office when he saw a checkbook. He stated that he took two checks from two different checkbooks from the middle of the books so that the clients would not notice the missing check right away. According to the report, McClerren said while he cleaned the mirrors in the client’s bedroom, he took a man’s wedding ring that was in a jewelry box in a cloth bag. The detective wrote: “Brian stated that he did not have a plan to steal the checks and ring going into this job.” According to the detective, McClerren then began crying during the police interview. On June 8, McClerren went to Burlington, Wash., to sell the ring he had taken and received $600 for it. He cashed the stolen checks, as well as the check for the ring. According to the detective’s report, when McClerren’s wife was interviewed she told them they were having marital problems,
SEE THEFT, PAGE 6
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