A felony theft charge was dismissed Monday against an Oak Harbor police officer accused of lying on his timecards.
But Officer Patrick Horn may not be out of trouble. The end of the criminal matter opens the way for the police department to conduct an internal investigation that may or may not result in discipline.
A community picnic planned for Saturday is shining a hot spotlight on an unresolved controversy over beach access in Greenbank.
Glen Russell, founder of the Save Our Beaches group, organized the gathering at the beach at the end of Wonn Road, near the Greenbank Farm. The picnic is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 21.
The fate of five Central Whidbey parks hang in the balance as leaders in both Island County and Washington state government eyeball them with thoughts of budget cutting.
But a possible solution may be on the horizon. A group of parks-loving residents are spearheading an effort to form a Central Whidbey Parks and Recreation District to take over and look after the parks.
For the last quarter of a century, Carol Barnes has been a friend to creatures great and small on Whidbey Island.
But for now, the county’s well-known animal control officer sometimes isn’t able to respond to as many critter-related calls for help, at least not as quickly as she once did. Barnes is fighting colon cancer and trying to continue working while undergoing ever-increasing doses of chemotherapy.
A couple of men involved in an armed hold-up of Oak Harbor’s Walgreens pharmacy Sunday morning were caught driving the get-away car on North Whidbey less than two hours later, according to police.
The alleged armed robber, 23-year-old Stephen Allen, appeared in Island County Superior Court Monday. He’s being held on $100,000 bail on suspicion on first-degree robbery, possession of a stolen firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree.
A fight over a jacket apparently precipitated a stabbing at a covered barbecue area in Oak Harbor’s Windjammer Park Jan. 23, court records indicate.
Williams Lounsberry pleaded not guilty in Island County Superior Court March 9 to a first-degree assault charge. He’s being held in jail on $50,000 bail.
The Island County commissioners have found a crafty way around a clause in the state constitution that prevents them from cutting their own salaries.
The three commissioners wanted to lower their wages, or at least do away with their automatic 5-percent pay increase this year, to help out with the county’s yawning $2 million budget gap.
The owner and operator of an Oak Harbor car dealership is being held in jail on $50,000 bail after deputies raided the business and found a large amount of methamphetamines, court documents state.
Prosecutors charged 41-year-old Nolan Brown in Island County Superior Court March 9 with possession with intent to deliver meth. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison under the standard sentencing range.
The manager of a car dealership on Goldie Road had $9,000 worth of methamphetamine in his office safe, according to the Island County Sheriff’s Office.
A man in a green moon suit riding a Segway vehicle is helping to investigate suspicious packages delivered to a North Whidbey home.
Members of the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit responded to the Island County Sheriff’s Office request for assistance in dealing with three suspect boxes delivered to a home in the Rolling Hills community south of Oak Harbor today.
A new budget projection by Island County officials dramatically increases revenue shortfall this year to at least $1.8 million.
Commissioner Helen Price Johnson broke the news to her fellow commissioners during a budget session Monday afternoon. She then led them through an exercise to define the values and priorities of Island County government.
The Island County Planning Commission will tackle a series of high-interest issues this year that include regulations to guide development in both Freeland and Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve.
The most interesting subject of all, it seems, is mini-storage. The commission is going to address county regulations that govern where the aesthetically-challenged structures may be built.
A 31-year-old Oak Harbor man who got tasered on the buttocks while fighting a police officer pleaded not guilty to criminal charges last week, court documents state.
Prosecutor charged Travis McKinney is Island County Superior Court Feb. 24 with the third-degree assault of a police officer and resisting arrest.
