A bookkeeper’s theft nearly caused the American Legion in Oak Harbor to go under after 81 years of existence.
Members of Island County’s largest union are upset that county officials missed a deadline to give notice that the union wanted out of a health insurance pool, which the union said could have saved the county hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
A fight between dogs at the Greenbank Farm dog park turned into a crime when the owners joined in the fray and one man ended up with a broken arm, court documents indicate.
Chad Hallett, a 64-year-old Clinton resident, pleaded not guilty in Island County Superior Court Oct. 13 to a single, felony count of second-degree assault.
A joint operation between three law enforcement offices Monday resulted in a significant methamphetamine bust and the arrest of a man suspected of being one of the biggest meth dealers on North Whidbey, according to Oak Harbor Police.
An assault that escalated into an armed standoff with police on West Beach Road Oct. 3 started when a woman let a dog out of a man’s house, court documents indicate.
Prosecutors charged 24-year-old Robert Remiesiewicz of Oak Harbor in Island County Superior Court Oct. 6 with two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of assault in the fourth degree. He pleaded not guilty Oct. 18.
The key piece of evidence in an assault trial last week was a video that showed three men kicking and stomping a man lying in the street in front of the Lava Lounge nightclub in Oak Harbor.
A man injured when his car was struck by an ambulance filed a lawsuit against North Whidbey Fire and Rescue, Whidbey General Hospital and a firefighter.
The race for Island County treasurer is a contest between pragmatism and ideology.
In the pragmatic corner is Oak Harbor resident Ana Maria Nunez, a Democrat and the current chief deputy treasurer. She’s a feisty certified public accountant and a former scientist who’s earned the endorsement of current Treasurer Linda Riffe.
Central Whidbey resident Paula Spina will be able to host up to 40 large events a year, and parties can last until 11 p.m. on weekends, at her newly established rural event center.
During a hearing Monday, Island County commissioners largely sided with Spina and overruled part of a hearing examiner’s decision and the planning staff’s recommendation to put restrictions on the use of her property.
Two Oak Harbor women with large families and reputations for being very nice, friendly people are competing in the November election to become the next Island County clerk.
But that’s about where the similarities end.
Island County Commissioner John Dean sent out about 20,000 copies of a mailer this week that his Republican opponent, Kelly Emerson, characterized as “a hit piece” and “mudslinging.”
But even more significant, perhaps, is the story behind the negative ad. The alleged county code violation by Emerson and her husband may be even more serious and long-standing than is indicated in the mailer, while she accuses Dean of inappropriately using his authority to pressure the planning department to pursue the issue.
Candidates largely focused on issues and experience — and lobbed a few barbs — during a League of Women Voters’ forum Thursday night in Oak Harbor.
The candidates for Island County offices and a couple of seats in the state legislature successfully distinguished themselves from their opponents during the two-hour, question-and-answer session.
t was nearly five years overdue, but Island County officials finally gave Oak Harbor an answer on a proposal to expand the city’s urban growth area.
In the end, it wasn’t the answer city officials wanted to hear. And it could put a stop to Dick and Hap Fakkema’s plans to develop 105 acres of their farm, at least for now.
