Car prowlers

hit Oak Harbor

Oak Harbor police want city residents to lock their cars and keep an eye out for suspicious characters.

Investigators are looking into a series of car prowls that have occurred over the last few weeks. In many cases, items such as iPods and purses were taken. Sometimes the prowlers entered cars looking for keys. In one case, a car was stolen. Stereos and car parts were untouched.

“This leads us to believe that there are crimes of opportunity, where the criminal is looking for easy items to take,” Lt. John Dyer wrote in a press release.

The best way to deter car prowlers, Dyer reports, is to simply lock the doors. Also, don’t leave valuables in the vehicle and park in a well-lit area or a driveway.

The police ask citizens to be on the lookout for people who appear to be looking in cars.

McDowell meets with landowners

An informational meeting concerning the Island County Board of Commissioners’ recently approved ordinance regarding the Navy’s “aircraft accident potential zone” will be held Thursday, May 8, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Heller Road Fire Station located at 2720 Heller Road in Oak Harbor.

Island County Commissioner Mac McDowell and Planning Department representatives are scheduled to attend and be available to answer questions or address concerns.

In addition, maps, charts and copies of the zoning ordinance will be available for the public to peruse. Petitions for the review process will also be available.

The ordinance has generated controversy for landowners whose properties fall within the APZ and are therefore subject to zoning restrictions.

For more information, call Becky Spraitzar at 675-8438.

FedEx delivers traffic detour

No one was injured Friday when a FedEx truck went off the road and struck a support stanchion on Highway 20 near the solid waste transfer station in Coupeville.

The State Patrol reported that traffic was detoured around the site for more than an hour because wires that support a telephone pole were in the roadway.

The accident was reported at about 3 p.m.

The truck was southbound when the accident occurred. The driver swerved off the road in order to avoid striking another vehicle that had stopped to make a left turn into the dump area, according to the State Patrol.

The delivery truck sustained only minor damages. There was no word on the packages.