A Level 3 sex offender considered to be a sexual psychopath with a predilection for women’s undergarments is known to frequent North Whidbey and the Oak Harbor area, the Island County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Andrew Cyril Hanson, 57, is a transient who registered in Skagit County and must check in weekly, but he’s commonly seen in the 700 block of Bay Front Lane, as well as the city limits of Oak Harbor.
The Island County commissioners quietly and unanimously appointed Coupeville resident Paula Spina to the Historical Review Committee Monday.
Last year, the Island County commissioners essentially booted her off the advisory committee, against the unanimous wishes of the committee members. In response, Spina filed a lawsuit against the county in an attempt to get back on the voluntary board.
A 51-year-old Oak Harbor resident involved in an unusual double-stabbing incident was recently sentenced in Island County Superior Court.
Scott Irvin pleaded guilty April 13 to assault in the third degree, a domestic violence charge.
The equivalent of at least 22 positions will be eliminated under the Island County commissioners’ finalized list of $2 million in reductions.
The cuts in “full-time equivalents” includes the reductions in some workers’ hours and furlough days, though it looks like about 12 currently-employed, full-time and part-time employees may lose their jobs. Many other positions are already vacant through attrition or preemptive layoffs.
A former teacher once accused of assaulting a student is suing the Oak Harbor School District for keeping and releasing records that he claims were false, defamatory and an invasion of his privacy, according to court records.
Island County commissioners had a great deal of difficulty finding the final $250,000 in preliminary cuts to fill a $2 million budget hole.
The threesome explored a range of options in a series of budget meetings this week. They wanted to avoid making any further layoffs, but ended up cutting three half-time equivalent positions from parks, facilities and WSU Extension to shave off the final $90,000.
A 40-year-old convicted sex offender who was creating online pornography at his Oak Harbor home was arrested in January for illegally possessing firearms, court documents indicate.
Prosecutors charged Ken Dausey in Island County Superior Court March 30 with nine counts of unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree.
A 38-year-old Tacoma man who was caught trying to steal electronics from a truck parked inside an Oak Harbor resident’s garage will be spending more than five years in prison.
Following a trial that ended Feb. 11, a jury in Island County Superior Court took only 18 minutes to find Solomon Hilts guilty of residential burglary. Hilts’ defense was that he wasn’t guilty because he was drunk, but the jury didn’t buy it.
Island County’s non-adjusted unemployment rate vaulted to 9.1 percent in March, more than a point higher than February’s 8 percent level.
“That’s a pretty big jump,” said Joe Giannamore, a regional labor economist with the state Employment Security Department. “It jumped like that in a lot of counties.”
Parks, planning and the health department will take the biggest hits, percentage-wise, under preliminary budget cuts Island County commissioners proposed Monday afternoon.
The forlon and uncomfortable-looking trio expounded on how difficult it was to find ways to crop $2 million from the general funds budget as elected officials and department heads watched their progress. In the end, the commissioners identified $1.75 million in proposed cuts by going through a list of departments and assigning a percentages of reductions to each.
Island County’s printed and mailed voter’s pamphlets will be a victim of budget cuts.
Auditor Sheilah Crider said she will be able to save at least $20,000 from her budget by foregoing the costly documents, which are normally mailed to all residents.
The Island County Health Department has temporarily shut down a car dealership near Oak Harbor after tests showed that methamphetamine contamination was through the roof.
“It was contaminated to levels we haven’t seen before in the county,” Marie Piper, an environmental health specialist, said. “We’re getting higher numbers than we get in meth labs.”
An inevitable round of layoffs in Island County government will likely be effective June 1.
County commissioners discussed the budget, which is $2 million in the red, during a meeting Monday afternoon and set some dates for important budget-balancing milestones. Yet beyond that, they offered few clues as to where they are likely to cut.
