Top 10 stories from 2016
Published 9:48 am Wednesday, December 28, 2016
It’s time for our annual round-up of the stories that made headlines throughout the year. From devastation to inspiration, the Journal has seen a year of surprises and trauma. This week features our stories ranked one through 10 based on staff picks, website statistics and reader feedback.
1. Murder-suicide on Lopez
Two Minnesota men were found dead as a result of a murder-suicide on a Lopez beach on Aug. 25. A suicide note was found, stating both of the deceased had visited Lopez Island years ago with their dog and loved the island.After the bodies were identified as Aric Babbitt, 40, and his husband Matthew Deyo, 36, of Minnesota, news reports revealed an even darker story.
The couple was allegedly involved in the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old-boy in St. Paul, Minnesota. Two other victims that were underage eventually claimed that they were also abused by the couple.
According to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, Babbitt was on paid leave from his teaching position at Lincoln Center Elementary in South St. Paul, Minn., and the school district was conducting its own an investigation into alleged sexual activity with a minor. The case is now considered closed.
2. Murder in Friday Harbor
San Juan Island resident Kevin Patrick Taylor, 53, was charged with two counts of Murder in the Second Degree-Domestic Violence and one count of Malicious Mischief in the First Degree–DV for allegedly bludgeoning his wife to death with the barrel of a rifle in their Friday Harbor home. His trial is set for July 10, 2017.
According to Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord, Taylor is being charged with two counts of murder in the second degree because that crime can be committed in two ways: intentionally without premeditation, or during the course of another felony, which in this case is assault.
San Juan County dispatch received a call from someone in a Friday Harbor residence at 1 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3. It is unknown who made the phone call. A deputy arrived on scene 20 minutes later, and saw a Jeep with its flashers and alarm going off. When the car alarm stopped, he heard music coming from inside the residence. He walked to the deck, where the sliding door was open, and saw Julie Taylor deceased on the floor, with blood pooled around her head. According to the detective’s report, she had severe trauma to her head, and a broken rifle was lying nearby. The barrel was covered in blood. Her husband was sitting in a recliner and allegedly said to the deputy, “I got her.” After he was placed under arrest, and more emergency personnel arrived on scene, Taylor allegedly told an officer, “She was going to divorce me. I couldn’t let that happen.” The detective also wrote that Taylor said his wife had poisoned him. He was transported to Peace Island Medical Center to be evaluated by emergency room staff. Taylor was medically cleared and booked into the San Juan County Jail. The Washington State Patrol Crime Scene Response Team processed the scene.
According to Gaylord, the Taylors had been married for 25 years.
3. Teacher conduct case dismissal
Judge Donald Eaton granted former Orcas High School teacher Gerald Grellet-Tinner a new trial after a lead investigator on the case was accused of misconduct. The defendant was released from custody on Sept. 20 after Judge Eaton announced his ruling. The prosecutor’s office filed an appeal on the ruling and a decision is expected in six months.
“Right now, he has a conviction with an order for a new trial. If the order is reversed then his conviction stands,” said San Juan County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord.
If the court of appeals upholds Judge Eaton’s ruling, Gaylord says the prosecutor’s office will move forward with a new trial.
A jury found 59-year-old Grellet-Tinner guilty of two counts of Sexual Misconduct in the First Degree in late June. He was accused of having a sexual relationship with one of his students, who was also his teaching assistant, in October 2015. According to the Washington state legislature, a teacher cannot have intercourse with a registered student under the age of 21 if he or she is at least five years older than the student. The student in the case was 19 at the time of the sexual relationship.
In late July, the victim told an advocate in the prosecutor’s office that she was having a sexual relationship with the case’s lead detective Stephen Parker. She shortly thereafter recanted, but Gaylord asked the sheriff’s office to conduct an investigation. Sheriff Ron Krebs assigned the inquiry to Detective Lori Sigman from Skagit County. The 50-page report concluded that Sigman could not find evidence of an inappropriate relationship between Parker and the victim, but found some of Parker’s interest in the victim unusual. Parker strongly denied any wrongdoing.
In late September, Parker was put on paid administrative leave after new information about the alleged misconduct came to light. Sigman was asked to continue her investigation; the results of that report have not yet been made public. Parker has since resigned from his position and moved off island.
4. Ferries’ controversial year
Shorter lines and easier operations were reasons the 30-minute rule was enacted at the Washington State Ferries last spring. Now, riders have to be past the tollbooth, not just in line, 30-minutes ahead of departure. Of course, questions arose on how to factor for the extra time: How could you estimate line sizes? How would you know how many toll booths were open? How would you know how many toll booths were open? Islanders voiced concern that the rule was helpful for tourists, but caused trouble for locals who did not want to plan ahead. Locals also complained that ferry staff were incorrectly tallying riders, leaving people stranded on island with a ferry leaving with empty spaces. Although rider capacity fluctuated thanks to reservation no-shows, according to staff, operations on the last Fourth of July were smoother than years’ prior.
Ferries made headlines again with what seemed more like a food war than a food fight, when the Washington State Ferries dropped a local food vendor for one based out of Connecticut, last summer. Olympic Cascade Services, out of Bremerton, would no longer sell items on the ferry and Cheesecake Cafe, owned by an islander, would no longer operate at the Anacortes terminal. About 12,000 signatures were gathered to retract the vendor switch at an August Washington State Ferries’ meeting, in hopes to keep money in-state. Washington State Ferries said they have to legally reopen food vendor bids every decade. This time, the company Centerplate was their top choice, but although their headquarters are out of state, local food would be sold and local employees hired. In the end, the turnover was made on Oct. 1.
5. Orcas killed by tagging?
A Canadian necropsy revealed that a Southern resident orca was killed by a fungal infection possibly caused by a satellite tag.
According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a 20-year-old male killer whale, identified as L95 was found dead near Esperanza Inlet, B.C. on March 30. Five weeks prior to his death, L95 had been satellite tagged by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
The necropsy report, by Veterinary Pathologist Dr. Stephen Raverty, concluded “a fungal infection contributed to the animal’s death. There were several factors in this case that predisposed this whale to a fungal infection at the tagging site, including indications that the animal may have had a compromised immune system.”
NOAA ceased its satellite-tracked tagging on Southern resident orcas until further review of the practice.
6. Tukwila stabbing
A 29-year-old Friday Harbor man was fatally stabbed on Oct. 2 at a link light rail station in Tukwila, Wash. The victim has been identified as Jesse L. Goncalves. Mehmet A. Whicker, 30, was charged in King County with murder in the second degree. The state requested bail to be set at $1 million dollars because “the attack was on an apparent stranger at a busy transit center.” Whicker’s criminal history includes felony convictions, robbery, burglary, theft, assault and larceny.
“When asked about the blood on his hands and clothing, Whicker said he tripped on the highway and cut his lip,” according to charging documents. When investigators told Whicker there were witnesses at the light rail station and video surveillance footage of the incident, Whicker became upset and knocked a water bottle off the table. “Whicker said, ‘If you say I had a knife in the video, if I have a knife, I have knife because people won’t jump, because I keep getting my bones broke…’” according to charging papers.
He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Oct. 17. A case setting hearing is scheduled for Jan. 3.
7. Woman’s last wish is to find home for dogs
After a terminal cancer diagnosis, Friday Harbor resident Kathleen Zuidema had a dying wish to find a home for her three Aussies. After her search went viral Facebook sensation, neighbors and longtime islanders Danielle and Thaddeus Cochran stepped up to be the new parents to what Zuidema called the Aussie Posse. Zuidema asked that all three, Autumn Moon, 11, Moka Luka, 4, and Finnegan, 4, be adopted into a home with a fenced yard where there is plenty of room to run and play. The ideal person would walk them on a daily basis, cuddle them on the bed and invite them up on the couch like any other family member. Danielle has two dogs already, but said in a Q13 Fox news report that she is confident that all the dogs will blend together.
Four months after finding her pack a new home, Zuidema passed away on July 6.
8. Goodbye Chief Marler
There’s still a hole in San Juan County from Fire Chief Steve Marler passing on Jan. 28. To his family, he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather; to his staff, a jokester, as well as a collaborative problem-solver.
Marler was born in Canada and raised in California. He moved from firefighter, to fire marshal to assistant fire chief, and then fire chief, when he moved to Friday Harbor in 2007. He even married a dispatcher, Karen Carson, in 1982.
Under Marler’s reign, he improved firefighter training, expanded participation in a wildfire protection program and secured six new fire trucks by paying bond debts early and without charging taxpayers. Perhaps his biggest legacy is the merger of the Friday Harbor and San Juan Island fire departments into San Juan District 3 Fire Department, which helped to eliminate a firefighter shortage and instilled years of district efficiency and consistency.
Marler didn’t just save people from fire, he saved an entire community’s fire protection services. “He was a nemesis of anything of fire,” said Assistant Fire Chief Neil Monin. “His polite and unassuming presence, combined with logical and accurate application of fire science resulted in a very natural command.”
9. Community Treasures closure
Frank Penwell, who began Community Treasures (CT) in 2004 and owns the Roche Harbor Road property on which the reuse and recycling center operates, has passed the organization’s leadership to a board. This August, Penwell announced he would terminate CT’s current $100 per month lease on the property, and the organization so far has nowhere to relocate.
Penwell cited long-term opposition from the county, saying, “during the last five-plus years CT has experienced numerous hassles and broken county promises that have cost thousands of dollars and caused personal pain and resentment.” County representatives have stated that over the past few years Penwell has asked that the county declare CT an essential public facility and take over operation, change the land use designation, and allow the operation to expand, but has not applied for these changes through the planning department. According to the county, in order to expand, the land use designation would need to be changed. This requires a county-wide land use analysis and public input. This will be done during the [San Juan County] Comprehensive Plan update 2017- 2018. Councilman Rick Hughes said it’s important to know that the county is not currently challenging CT’s daily activities, which are sanctioned by its current Conditional Use Permit, nor have county officials threatened to shut CT down.
On Dec. 16, Penwell recommended that Friday Harbor Grange No. 225 join forces with CT. Grange members could own part of the property, earn a portion of the revenue, vote for the board and receive discounts at Community Treasures.
10. Open road versus chemo
A woman defied traditional cancer treatment by heading out on a cross-country trip instead of wasting away in a hospital bed. She passed away on her last stop, Friday Harbor, on Sept. 30 at the age of 91. At the age of 90, Norma Jean Bauerschmidt’s husband suddenly died and she was diagnosed with cancer. Instead of spending her final days in a nursing home, she decided to travel across the country in a motorhome with her son and daughter-in-law.
Her journey was chronicled on a Facebook page called “Driving Miss Norma.” She garnered more than 450,000 followers who were inspired by her journey.
“We couldn’t imagine leaving her in a nursing home, especially after walking down the long halls of the local Tender Care to visit Leo in the last room on the right, reserved by Hospice for the dying. No way. There is also no way she could live at home alone without Leo. They were truly a well-oiled team of 67 years,” wrote her children on Facebook.
Honorable mention: Farewell to Sam Buck
Long-time islander Sam Buck, Sr. passed away on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016.
“People should live together in peace and harmony,” Buck told the Journal in an interview in 2015 after receiving a local award. “I tried to do that in my lifetime.”
Sam Buck Sr. was born on the island in 1927 and lived on San Juan most of his life. He was a member of the greatest generation, serving in the Navy during World War II. He and his wife Barbara were married for 65 years and had four children, eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
In 1960 Sam and Barbara opened San Juan Properties Real Estate Company, now known as Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands, Inc. He was instrumental in preservation projects, including the environmental protection of Brown Island and selling Goose Island to the Nature Conservancy. He was active in numerous service groups on the island. He was the charter president of the Lions Club. He belonged to the American Legion and was a past master of the San Juan Islands Masonic Lodge. He was a member of the Royal Order of Jesters. He was also a charter member of the San Juan Island Yacht Club.
