For Whidbey Island, 2022 will be a year to remember.
Municipal governmental bodies on North and Central Whidbey saw turnover through resignations, appointments and a competitive election season. Law enforcement officers investigated gun threats, a shooting and even a bomb threat. Local nonprofits made significant strides in protecting the environment, as well as housing and feeding Whidbey residents in need. Island residents welcomed a zoo’s worth of animals to the area, from seal pups to lambs.
The following are the top news stories from the front pages of the Whidbey News-Times in 2022.
January
Oak Harbor City Council member Jeff Mack announced his resignation from the council.
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 made its way through Island County, causing case rates to spike among adolescents. The variant also spread among ferry workers, combining with other issues such as cold weather and staffing shortages to create long wait times at terminals.
An Oak Harbor woman admitted to stabbing her fiancé to death in the midst of a Friday the 13th power outage in 2020. She was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Island County commissioners set a $20 an hour minimum wage for county employees.
Island Disposal switched from servicing customer-owned trash cans to new company-provided cans, causing hiccups in service including multiple weeks of trash not being picked up and missing cans.
A property owner appealed Island County’s approval of a conditional use permit for the conversion of a former Jehovah’s Witness church in Coupeville into an overnight shelter. The shelter would provide a permanent home for the Haven, an emergency shelter run by the Whidbey Homeless Coalition that currently operates out of Oak Harbor churches on a rotating basis.
The Island County jail had its first COVID-19 outbreak since the pandemic began.
Marie Shimada became the new manager of Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve.
The driver of a stolen pickup truck led a deputy on a high-speed chase through Oak Harbor before crashing into a tree, fleeing on foot and hiding inside a dumpster.
President Joe Biden appointed former Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson to the position of Washington state director of rural development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The largest homebuilder in the nation, D.R. Horton, announced plans to build 135 homes on the south end of Oak Harbor.
February
The city of Oak Harbor announced plans to demolish three small houses and a garage on city-owned property.
Medical staff for the Whidbey Island Hospital District held a vote of no confidence in CEO Ronald Telles and two other members of the administration. A week later, Telles terminated four people in administrative positions at the hospital. The elected board of hospital commissioners later fired Telles without cause and hired management services firm HealthTechS3 to help run the hospital district.
A man linked to a series of car break-ins and mail thefts in Oak Harbor was accused of leading an organized crime ring.
Elsie Mae, a member of a family of northern elephant seals that frequents the North Whidbey area, had a pup in Deception Pass State Park.
Voters rejected an Oak Harbor School District bond to build new school buildings by a large margin.
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and the Skagit River System Cooperative collaborated on a creek restoration project to provide juvenile salmon with a place to acclimate to living in saltwater.
Oak Harbor City Council members appointed Eric Marshall to fill a vacant council seat.
March
Island County commissioners declined to cosign a loan for WhidbeyHealth.
North Whidbey residents and first responders rescued a horse that fell down a defunct well.
The Oak Harbor School Board appointed Michelle Kuss-Cybula to the position of district superintendent. Her salary was later set at $209,183 a year.
Steven Schuller became public works director of Oak Harbor.
Island County commissioners passed a sales tax increase aimed at creating new affordable housing in the community.
An elderly Oak Harbor woman’s home was sold at auction after a lending company mistakenly determined she no longer lived there and had it foreclosed.
Oak Harbor School Board President John Diamond announced his resignation from the board.
April
A judge ruled that the state Parks and Recreation Commission’s decision to allow the Navy to use 22 Puget Sound parks for military training was outside its authority and violated state environmental law.
Island County officially reached 10,000 reported COVID-19 cases during the pandemic.
In an effort to combat vaping among students, members of the Oak Harbor School Board voted to join a pending lawsuit against a prominent e-cigarette company and its biggest investor.
Corrections deputies who work in the Island County jail received wage increases under a new contract.
The Coupeville Elementary School was locked down after a suspect jumped out of a deputy’s patrol car.
The Oak Harbor City Council raised wages for a number of city employees.
WhidbeyHealth nurses secured pay increases in a three-year contract.
The U.S. Navy’s fiscal year 2023 budget proposed to mothball all five expeditionary EA18G Growler squadrons at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
The Oak Harbor School Board formally endorsed a proposal to petition the state legislature for green infrastructure funds for school districts during the same meeting in which it voted to purchase two new diesel-powered school buses.
May
A strategic plan set in motion by WhidbeyHealth’s interim CEO, Michael Layfield, stabilized the public hospital district’s finances.
Island County commissioners voted to instruct county staff to negotiate for the purchase of the A.J. Eisenberg Airport in Oak Harbor with the intention of turning over ownership to the Port of Coupeville. A private citizen, Robert DeLaurentis, would soon after declare his intent to make an offer on the airport.
Whidbey residents protested a leaked Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The Oak Harbor Police Department investigated a report of a former employee at the Children’s Academy daycare in Oak Harbor inappropriately spanking a child and turning “another child over in an aggressive manner.”
Two firefighters were injured while responding to a residential fire that engulfed a North Whidbey home.
Coupeville Town Council members voted to swap a town-owned parcel of land near the ferry for five acres of forest closer to the town owned by the Whidbey Camano Land Trust.
A homeless woman who got into a disagreement with a friend over panhandling money outside the Oak Harbor Walmart was accused of biting a piece of flesh from the man’s hand and absconding with $30 stuffed in her mouth.
An unseasonably cold spring stymied some crops on Whidbey.
Two goat kids were killed in a small barn fire in Oak Harbor.
Nikki Tesch joined the Oak Harbor School Board.
June
Three Oak Harbor students were arrested in less than a month for allegedly making gun-related threats.
Dozens of Oak Harbor High School students walked out of class to protest gun violence.
Michael Jones became Island County’s first county administrator.
The commander of a U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler squadron on an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea was relieved of his duties.
A group of community members started a fundraising campaign to rebuild the windmill that once sat in Windjammer Park.
A former employee at The Home Depot in Oak Harbor filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming discrimination and retaliation for whistleblowing.
A North Whidbey man was arrested after posting online comments about killing gay people.
Nancy Fey announced her resignation from WhidbeyHealth’s board of commissioners.
A semi truck crashed into Penn Cove Pottery and caught fire, severely damaging the historic building.
Deception Pass State Park celebrated its 100th anniversary.
July
Oak Harbor Mayor Pro Tem Beth Munns allegedly told City Manager Blaine Oborn that he and Human Resources Director Emma House would be hit or slapped if they attended the memorial service of a city employee who died unexpectedly. Oak Harbor Councilmember Dan Evans later called for a third party investigation into the city administration amid the controversy.
A deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office alleged in a lawsuit that he was repeatedly touched inappropriately by a superior officer and that the sheriff’s administration retaliated against him for making complaints.
A pedestrian died from injuries after getting hit by a car when he tried to cross Highway 20 in Central Whidbey.
Local police departments donated “expired” body armor to the people of Ukraine.
Police searched for an Oak Harbor man who may have accidentally shot his fiancee in the buttock.
The Island County Republican Party adopted a resolution that rejects the results of the 2020 presidential election, though not all Republican leaders on Whidbey supported it.
The Whidbey Camano Land Trust got a $650,000 grant from the county to protect a 300-acre tract of rare forested land in Central Whidbey.
The Oak Harbor School Board considered a board policy that would allow counselors to out transgender children to their parents. The policy sparked debate among parents and community members, and board members later tabled it.
August
A Coupeville woman died from burns suffered in a cooking fire involving her portable oxygen concentrator.
Beth Munns was stripped of the title of mayor pro tem in the wake of her alleged threat against Blaine Oborn. She later publicly released the human resources investigation into the incident.
A federal judge ruled that a Navy study on the environmental impacts of Whidbey Island-based EA-18G Growlers was flawed.
Shari Bibich retired as manager of the Whidbey Animals’ Improvement Foundation shelter in Coupeville.
A company proposed building a Sonic and a car wash on a large vacant lot in Oak Harbor.
Three 14-year-old kids were arrested for allegedly breaking into an Oak Harbor marijuana dispensary.
A U.S. Marshal Service task force specializing in arresting violent fugitives took an alleged domestic abuser into custody in Oak Harbor.
A year-long study was planned to determine the health impacts caused by Growler noise.
County commissioners finalized a draft resolution declaring the county’s intent to work to mitigate climate change.
September
A 15-year-old boy was killed in an Oak Harbor shooting. Police later named a teen as a person of interest.
Pat Powell retired as director of the Whidbey Camano Land Trust.
A seaplane crashed near Mutiny Bay.
Work began on a new Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue station five years after voters approved a bond to fund the project.
An armed man in a mask robbed Peoples Bank in Oak Harbor.
The city of Oak Harbor announced plans to purchase two parcels of waterfront property on the corner of Pioneer Way and Bayshore Drive for economic development purposes.
The state Department of Health dyed Whidbey waters red for a study to determine how the Oak Harbor Clean Water Facility may be impacting nearby shellfish growing areas in Penn Cove and the Saratoga Passage.
The WhidbeyHealth board of commissioners selected Greg Richardson to join them on the board, though their method of voting — which involved secret ballots — likely ran afoul of the Open Public Meetings Act, and outgoing commissioner Nancy Fey took part in the vote.
Magi Aguilar became the new executive director of the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce.
The city of Oak Harbor lowered its utility rates.
Island County discovered its first case of monkeypox.
ICOM celebrated its 25th anniversary.
A man’s alleged threat to blow up the courthouse led to his arrest and the closure of a section of Highway 20 for four hours.
Gifts From the Heart personnel announced plans to construct a new building for the food bank.
October
An Oak Harbor woman and her dog died in a slow-smoldering fire that filled her doublewide manufactured home with smoke.
The Oak Harbor School Board announced plans to make a second attempt at a capital projects bond to bring new school buildings to the district. Board members approved the pared down bond later in the month.
An Oak Harbor man was killed in a motorcycle accident.
Staff at the South Whidbey Record and Whidbey News-Times won 11 total awards in the statewide Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.
A deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office with a history of sexual harassment was arrested for allegedly raping two people while he was off duty.
Island County was selected to receive $110,000 in grant funding from the state to hire a veteran services officer through June 2023.
An Island County hearing examiner approved plans to convert a former church in Central Whidbey to an emergency shelter for up to 30 homeless people. A property owner appealed the decision, but a judge later threw out the appeal.
The smoke from mainland wildfires and seasonal viruses brought Whidbey residents to the emergency room.
The state Attorney General’s Office and a Whidbey Island anti-noise group asked a federal judge to require the Navy to cut the number of training flights back to the level allowed prior to an environmental assessment process that authorized an additional 33 EA-18G Growlers at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
Oak Harbor police officers began using a virtual reality training program funded by city ARPA money.
November
Glenda Merwine resigned from the Coupeville School Board.
Island County commissioners approved rate increases for the disposal of solid waste at county dump sites.
The father of state House of Representatives candidate Clyde Shavers accused his son of lying about his military service and misrepresenting other parts of his background during his campaign.
The first major wind storm of the season knocked out power for nearly 35,000 Island County residents and felled trees and power lines up and down the island.
Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair was re-elected in the general election.
Oak Harbor passed a bond and a levy for the fire department to build a new station, hire more staff and purchase new equipment.
After a close race that went to a recount, Clyde Shavers beat incumbent Greg Gilday in a race for a seat in the state House of Representatives. Incumbent Dave Paul won re-election to the House as well.
Kelly Mauck defeated T.J. Kubisiak in a tight race for Island County assessor that required a recount.
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island entered a contract with the Pacific Rim Institute to carry out environmental stewardship projects on the base for up to five years.
A suspected arsonist who dramatically escaped from law enforcement in Oak Harbor shot and killed himself when officers caught up with him in Anacortes.
The Port of Coupeville announced plans to partner with King County on a project to monitor the water quality in Penn Cove.
Erik Mann resigned from the Oak Harbor School Board.
December
The Central Whidbey Sportsmen’s Association celebrated its 75th anniversary.
A small coalition of Whidbey residents initiated plans to bring a family of Ukrainian refugees to the island.
County and state officials sought residents’ help in correcting a federal map of broadband access considered to be widely inaccurate.
Deception Pass State Park purchased a 78-acre parcel of land on the Fidalgo side.
Guinness World Record holder Brian Smith became Oak Harbor’s first parks and recreation department director.
Island County and Oak Harbor received money in a settlement with distributors of opioid medication.
Alison Perera was appointed to the Coupeville School Board.
The first major snow of the season made for both treacherous road conditions and winter fun on Whidbey Island.
A Greenbank man died in a garage fire two days before Christmas.
Oak Harbor’s leaky pipes and Habitat for Humanity of Island County appeared in the congressional 2023 omnibus spending package and are due to get a total of $4 million in federal help.
Women dress as Handmaids to protest the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade over the summer. (Photo by David Welton)
Lt. Colby Diamond proposes to his girlfriend, Deirdre Tomlinson shortly after returning home from deployment in August. (Photo by Karina Andrew/Whidbey News-Times)
Gizmo the dog always joins his owner Dwayne “Goner” Fletcher on his motorcycle. Fletcher’s Oak Harbor-based motorcycle club, the ‘Chauns of Island County, raised money for the Oak Harbor and Anacortes Boys and Girls Clubs this year. (Photo by Rachel Rosen/Whidbey News-Times)
Chef Gordon Stewart adds a fiery flare to a dish in the kitchen at Gordon’s Fusion, a restaurant he opened this year. (Photo by Karina Andrew/Whidbey News-Times)
A historic photo shows the Deception Pass Bridge. The Deception Pass State Park celebrated its 100th anniversary over the summer. (Photo provided)
North Whidbey Fire and Rescue firefighters battle a blaze at Penn Cove Pottery after a semi truck crashed into the historic building in June. (Photo by John Fisken)
