A year in review: the Journal’s top ten stories
Published 4:10 pm Monday, December 28, 2015
Journal staff report
At the end of the year, the Journal takes a look at the biggest headlines of the past 12 months. We choose the top 10 from our most read online stories as well as events we feel impacted and shaped our community. Click the title of each story to read related articles to the issue.
1. Hospital commissioners’ race sparks debate
San Juan County found itself embroiled in a contentious public hospital board election this year, with three of the six board positions open. Seven candidates joined the race in spring, which an Aug. 4 general election narrowed to six, including Bill Williams, WilliamHancock, Jenny Ledford, Barbara Sharp, Monica Harrington and Michelle Loftus.
Two candidate forums were held on San Juan Island, as well as one on Orcas and Lopez hosted by the League of Women Voters. The election was polarizing, as issues like PeaceHealth’s policies on end-of-life directives and abortion were consistently brought up in the forums and in candidate’s statements in favor or opposed of the Catholic ministries ideologies. Letters to the editor flooded the Journal in the months before the election, and not a few rude remarks were traded in the comment sections online. Harrington, Williams and Sharp were voted in Nov. 3, and were sworn into office Dec. 30.
2. Howard Schonberger passes away
Howard Schonberger, longtime Journal columnist and sales rep passed away Oct. 23 at the age of 94. He liked to called himself a “newsie” even into his 90s. Howard was a man who could recall the golden moments of the past, but he was also a forward thinker – a man ahead of his time.
He fought for equal rights, inspired to make changes after seeing discrimination to black students as a kid in Omaha. Even though he never stopped loving his typewriter, he advocated for technology in the pursuit of knowledge, was a huge supporter of community events and served on many service groups – all done with a smile on his face and a skip in his step. He will forever be missed.
3. WSF Reservations have a bumpy start
The Washington State Ferry system began operation of the ferry reservation system on Jan. 5 of this year. The new system was met with resistance, particularly from the island communities. Islanders had grown accustom to being limited by the ferry schedule, but some felt that the reservation system added more of a burden to islanders, and pandered to tourists.
The WSF administration has had several meetings to hear from islanders about how they feel the reservation system is doing, and is asking for feedback or comments.
Keaton Farris, 25, of Lopez Island, died of dehydration and malnutrition in the Island County Jail on April 8. Prior to his death he was shuffled among three jails before being booked into the Coupeville lockup. He was in the throes of mental health crisis when he was taken into custody March 20 in Lynnwood.
He missed court that day, and a San Juan County judge issued a$10,000 warrant. Farris was charged with identity theft for forging a $355 check in San Juan County. Outcry from Farris’ family, friends and community have raised questions about how the justice system deals with mental health. The family has reached a $4 million settlement with three counties.
5. New sheriff Ron Krebs voted in
Sheriff Ron Krebs was sworn in Jan. 1, 2015. He is San Juan County’s 18th sheriff. Running on improving communication, professionalism and strengthening moral within the sheriff’s department, and improve communication with the public as well as other agencies the department works with. This resonated with voters, who elected him by 64 percent. During a survey taken in March 2015, voters reiterated their concern about relationships between the public and deputies. “My goal is to change that quickly,” Krebs said. “There is absolutely no reason that our deputies should not be professional and friendly in our community.”
6. County whistleblower put on leave
One week after John Geniuch, Chief Building Official at Community Development and Planning Department, filed a whistleblower complaint with human resources and the San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, he was put on leave. At the core of Geniuch’s Feb. 4complaint was that CDPD was improperly funneling building fees, violating RCW 82.02.020.
The claim went on to say that he had spoken with CDPD management on multiple occasion. Each time management responded that he was not interpreting the code correctly. Local builders had a high regard for him, and praised his ability to “communicate the finer points of the policies and programs the county has in place,” said John Evans, Executive Director of the San Juan Builders Association. Geniuch had been with the department for eight years,promoted once in 2010, and then again in 2014.
7. Dinosaur bone found on Sucia Island
Washington is now the 37th state where dinosaur fossils have been found. The fossil was collected by a Burke Museum research team along the shores of Sucia Island State Park in the San Juan Islands. The find is exciting and rare for Washington state, which was mostly underwater during the period that dinosaurs lived.
Because dinosaurs were land animals, it is very unusual to find dinosaur fossils in marine rocks—making this fossil a lucky discovery.
The fossil is a partial left femur of a theropod dinosaur, the group of two-legged, carnivorous dinosaurs that includes Velociraptor,Tyrannosaurus rex and modern birds. The fossil is 16.7 inches long and 8.7 inches wide. Because the fossil is incomplete, paleontologists were unable to identify the exact family or species it belonged to. However, Sidor and Peecook compared the fossil to other museums’ specimens and were able to calculate that the complete femur would have been over three feet long – slightly smaller than T. rex.
The fossil is from the Late Cretaceous period and is approximately 80 million years old.
8. Crack down on illegal rentals
San Juan County has created a database of all vacation lodging being advertised in the county to ensure that all units are registered under a state business license, have a county transient lodging permit, and are paying the appropriate state and county sales and lodging taxes.The county is also examining how the proliferation of vacation rentals might be affecting the availability of long-term, affordable housing that supplies the county’s middle working class.
Because short-term rental owners who have not been paying taxes have an unfair advantage over those who do comply, this April the county council passed a resolution that requires local visitors’ bureaus and chambers of commerce receiving funding from the county to collect information from their lodging members and transient rental listings: a tax parcel number; a transient lodging permit; and a valid state Unified Business Identifier.
9. Land Bank buys Zylstra Lake property
In a Nov. 30 San Juan County Council meeting, council members gave the Land Bank the go-ahead with a three year acquisition plan to buy 312 acres in San Juan Valley, including Zylstra Lake and agricultural land. The purchase is a joint venture with San Juan PreservationTrust and will cost $3 million total. A developer was previously interested in buying the land, which could have built about 50 homes around the lake and surrounding property. The Land Bank and SJPT are still in the early stages of finding funding and developing a management plan for the property.
10. Eighth new orca baby confirmed
Dec. 1 brought the sighting of another new Southern resident orca calf. J-54 was first spotted by whale watchers and later confirmed bythe Center for Whale Research. This brings the orca baby boom to a total of eight for 2015. According to the Center for Whale Research,the only time a baby boom this large was recorded was back in 1977. That year had a total of nine calves.
A typical year averages about three. This current baby boom brings the Southern residents population 84 identified whales. For a group that numbered nearly one hundred in the 90s, this is much-needed good news for the orcas. They are by no means out of the woods. A major threat to theSouthern residents is a decline in the salmon population, most importantly King, or Chinook, their favorite food, but they face other issues as well. Hopefully these young whales will thrive, and be the beginning of a turnaround for the orcas.
Honorable mentions
Gene passed away at his home on Orcas Island Oct. 18 after an extended illness. Gene Knapp was remembered for many things: his success as an attorney, his passion for land use issues, his involvement with the Land Bank, San Juan County Council, Orcas MedicalCenter and the Orcas Center. But overwhelmingly it was his calming disposition that set him apart.
“He had a powerful presence. He was a quiet guy. He would sit through most of what could be a very lively discussion, but then when he spoke all heads turned towards him,” said Karen Vedder, who worked with Knapp for 12 years. “He didn’t like to think of litigation as a fight but as problem solving, and that’s how he approached conflict.”
County pays $22k in public records lawsuit
A Public Records Act lawsuit against San Juan County was resolved in early December with the county paying $22,501 plus legal costs andattorney’s fees to plaintiff Sheryl Albritton. The complaint, filed Oct. 9 in Skagit County Superior Court said the case “is about elected officials and public employees conspiring to conceal improper governmental conduct from the public,” and alleged a number of documents were withheld from a public records request.
The county paid Albritton, gave all the documents requested and made somechanges to the public records request process to make it faster and more accountable.
After years of public meetings and planning, the green light to realign Cattle Point Road further up Mount Finlayson was given in April.Erosion had been slowly and steadily eating away portions of the bank along Cattle Point’s coastal side, causing concern that the road would eventually collapse if left alone. Construction was finished just in time for
