Top stories of 2022 | Part two

by Colleen Smith, Heather Spaulding, Kelley Balcomb-Bartok and Kathryn Wheeler

Staff report

At the end of the year, we take a look at the biggest headlines of the past 12 months. Watch for part two in next week’s edition. We chose the top stories from our most-read online articles and events we feel impacted our communities. This is part two.

9. Charter Review Commission sues county, court orders ballot measures included on November ballot

Following a unanimous decision by the County Council Aug. 2 to take no action on proposed County Charter amendments submitted by the Charter Review Commission in December 2021, members of the CRC filed a Petition for Correction of Election Error in Superior Court. The suit alleged the County Council’s decision to take no action was illegal and threatened to deprive the CRC of its role under the charter, depriving voters of their right to vote on the CRC’s four proposed amendments.

The petitioners asked the court to conduct an expedited proceeding to prevent an election error in the printing of the ballots for the upcoming general election, claiming the Court’s intervention was necessary to ensure that the general election ballot included the four proposed charter amendments referred to the ballot by the CRC.

The petition stated that pursuant to the San Juan County Charter, once the CRC referred these measures to the County Council, the Council had ministerial responsibility to refer the measures to the ballot. Petitioners stated the failure to do so was illegal and threatened to deprive the CRC of its role under the Charter and deprive voters of their right to vote on the CRC’s four proposed amendments.

Following an expedited court hearing on Aug.15, by the legal counsel for both the petitioners and respondents, Island County Superior Court Judge Christon C. Skinner found that the County, County Council, and County Auditor erroneously refused to refer the four proposed charter amendments to the auditor for inclusion on the November 2022 general election ballot. Skinner presided over the case because Superior Court Judge Loring was disqualified due to her and her staff’s involvement in the proceedings with the CRC.

According to the court “The council’s decision not to refer the four proposed amendments submitted in December of 2021 was contrary to the terms of the Charter and amounts to a ballot error that should be corrected.”

San Juan County, the San Juan County Council, and the San Juan County Auditor were ordered by the Court to place the four Propositions submitted by the CRC on the November ballot. Further, the court found that the Council’s decision not to accept the CRC’s Propositions based upon the belief that any further submissions by the CRC after their first submission was “erroneous in the Court’s view, but it was also not the Council’s decision to make.”

Following the court’s decision and order, the San Juan County Auditor’s office took all steps necessary to ensure the Propositions appeared on the November ballot.

While the four ballot measures did in fact appear on the November ballot, all four measures failed to sway enough voters and they all failed to pass.

10. Minke whale dies after being struck by large vessel

A 24-foot minke whale died after being struck by a large vessel (such as a container ship) in San Juan County waters.

“It had a mouth full of tiny fish so it was likely feeding and rolling around and not paying attention,” said Dr. Joe Gaydos, chief scientist for the SeaDoc Society.

After the crew of a commercial vessel found the female baleen whale floating in Cayou Channel on Oct. 5, it was reported to the Whale Museum’s stranding hotline. It was located by San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network Coordinator Jessica Farrer and towed to a private beach on Blakely Island by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The mammal was likely struck by a large boat. Severe bruising was present in almost a straight line on the left side of her body, extending from just behind her head to the end of her abdomen. Her fifth rib was broken in half, part of her vertebrae was broken and there was extensive bleeding in the lungs.

The deceased minke was identified as SJ20-32 and was fondly known as Al Pacino by the Minke Whale Project due to scarring on her body.

11. Cayou Channel officially renamed to honor Coast Salish leader

It took the U.S. Board on Geographic Names just nine days to approve the renaming of Harney Channel to Cayou Channel — blistering speed for a federal agency accustomed to taking testimony, reviewing documents and deliberating.

On Oct. 2, a celebration was held on water and land in West Sound on Orcas to celebrate the renaming of the channel in honor of Henry Cayou (1869-1959), a Coast Salish man who is still the only Indigenous person to serve on the county’s Board of County Commissioners. He was also a successful fisherman, a founder of the islands’ electrical utility, and a local postmaster and school board member. The channel formerly carried the name of a 19th-century U.S. Army general known for abusive and often deadly actions toward Black and Indigenous peoples.

The name change was approved on July 5 by the Washington State Board on Geographic Names and on July 14 by the federal agency. It’s the second correction of an offensive or inappropriate name change in the San Juan Islands since 2017, when a bay that carried the name of an offensive slur often aimed at Indigenous women was renamed to Reef Net Bay, in recognition of an Indigenous fishing method that originated in the San Juan Islands.

12. Rash of burglaries in Eastsound

Jason Allen Buehler, 35, has been arrested in connection to a string of burglaries on Orcas.

On April 28, Orcas Deputies executed a search warrant on Buehler’s residence. According to Sheriff Ron Krebs, it is believed that recovered evidence ties him to burglaries dating back to December 2021. Buehler was arrested for burglary in the second-degree and transported to the San Juan County Jail, pending an arraignment hearing.

“We believe all of the recent Orcas burglaries are tied together,” Krebs said at the time.

In April, Orcas Island Artworks, Matia Kitchen and Bar, Clever Cow Creamery, Tide Pool Coffeehouse, Sequel Consignment and Rosario Resort were burglarized. The crimes were committed between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. Buehler allegedly used prybar tools to gain access to the inside of the businesses, going through doors or windows and taking cash and electronics.

On April 28, the Deer Harbor Marina reported a burglary that occurred in the early morning hours. During the course of the investigation, evidence believed to be from the previous burglaries was located in plain sight inside a vehicle owned by Buehler. This prompted deputies to apply for a search warrant for his car and home.

Buehler is currently facing other charges in San Juan County Superior Court. He was charged with theft in the first degree — property over $5,000, theft of a firearm, residential burglary, two counts of trafficking stolen property in the first degree, possession of stolen property in the first degree and forgery. Buehler is accused of burglarizing a home in the spring of 2021 and stealing a variety of items with an estimated value of $48,000, some of which he allegedly later pawned; breaking into a car and stealing its contents in November 2021; and forging checks in January 2022.

13. November election leads to changes in county leadership

One thing is for sure in life, and that is change is inevitable. This certainly was the case this year for several elected positions in San Juan County.

There’s a new sheriff in town. A new prosecuting attorney. A new auditor, along with a new county commissioner. Each of them brings new blood, new ideas, and fresh enthusiasm to their newly elected positions.

Sheriff-elect Eric Peter brings 27-plus years of broad law enforcement experience and 14 years of supervising law enforcement personnel to the Sheriff’s office. Peter ran a solid campaign for Sheriff, eventually besting current Sheriff Ronald J. Krebs by a slim margin of 53.07% to 46.61% of voters.

Prosecutor-elect Amy Vira has some big shoes to fill as she begins her job with the full support and confidence of retiring Prosecutor Randy Gaylord, who is retiring after 28 years in the position. Vira has been Deputy Prosecutor in San Juan County since 2011 and ran unopposed in 2022.

Auditor-elect Natasha Warmenhoven follows in the footsteps of her former boss, mentor, and retiring 16-year veteran Auditor Milene Henley. Warmenhoven served as Chief Deputy Auditor for San Juan County since January 2020, and ran unopposed in 2022.

County Commissioner-elect Jane Fuller also follows in the footsteps of long-time Lopez Island representative Jamie Stevens, who is retiring after 12 years as District 3’s representative. Fuller’s previous local community involvement was as San Juan Charter Review Commissioner from 2020-2021 before running unopposed for Commissioner.

Several other elected positions in San Juan County went to incumbents who did not face an election challenge in 2022. These included San Juan County Treasurer Rhonda Peterson, San Juan County Clerk Lisa Henderson, San Juan County Assessor John Kulseth, and District Court Judge Carolyn Jewett.

Perhaps the biggest surprises in the 2022 elections were the defeat of the San Juan Island Library District’s efforts to build a new library on San Juan Island, the San Juan County Road Fund Regular Property Tax Lid Lift, along with the defeat of four ballot measures placed on the 2022 ballot by the Charter Review Commission.

The San Juan Island Library District’s proposition was soundly defeated by voters who felt it wasn’t the right time. The Road Fund Regular Property Tax Levy Lid Lift did not find favor with voters in 2022. And following a controversial last-minute debacle between the CRC and the San Juan County Council, Prosecuting Attorney’s office, and County Administrator’s office, the four measures placed on the ballot by the CRC were defeated in no uncertain terms.

Voter turnout for the 2022 general election was 78.25% with 11,458 ballots counted from a total of 14,643 registered voters.

15. Ferry service disruptions

A slew of ferry service interruptions that have seriously impacted residents led to a special meeting between the San Juan County Council and the Ferry Advisory Committee on Oct. 6 at 9 a.m. This past year, there have been more ferry disruptions than any year prior. WSF reported there were 45 cancellations of San Juan Islands route sailings in the span of just two weeks.

Council member Cindy Wolf spoke on behalf of concerned residents, stating “These cancellations affect working families, school children, government operations, social services, sheriff operations, and more,” she said. “It impacts our ability to do business as a community when small tradespeople can lose 20% of their income for a week when the interisland [ferry] is canceled.”

The meeting resulted in an agreement between Washington State Ferries, which committed to working with Rep. Lekanoff and SJC Council on better notification strategies for passengers when a delay is foreseen. WSF anticipates that their increased focus on recruitment and employee education will bring relief to the system by the summer of 2023, and fewer cancellations due to staffing shortages. In the long term, they will focus on acquiring new boats with increased funding from the state.

If things stay on track, the first of five new boats should arrive in 2027, but the project is already five years behind schedule, and all new boats will simply replace the many senior (over the age of 50 years old) ships, adding no actual increase in ships, but perhaps resulting in fewer mechanical issues that cause delays.

As some of the most frequent passengers, island students and teachers often face the brunt of the issues caused by unpredictable ferry schedules. “If the boats don’t leave on time we miss the first half hour of class or more depending on how late it is,” said Julia van Dongen, an Orcas resident who has attended Spring Street for the last four years.

While WSF has agreed to work more closely with the San Juan County Council, real solutions to this issue remain far off.

16. OPAL buys an apartment complex

In June, OPAL Community Land Trust, which works to bring affordable housing to Orcas Island, bought “Northern Heights” a 12-unit apartment complex in the center of Eastsound.

Lisa Byers of OPAL accepted the “keys” to the Northern Heights apartments from former owners Wes Heinmiller and Alan Stameisen in the spring, planning to move forward with renovations shortly thereafter. The apartments are available for those with “a wide range of incomes,” according to OPAL’s website. The lower-cost units offer options to those at lower incomes, in a place with some of the highest rent and home prices in the state.

Heinmiller and Stameisen purchased the property in 2008 so that the apartments would remain affordable. They are pleased to pass along that tradition to OPAL and remained patient as the transaction took more than a year to close.

OPAL staff said the purchase could not have happened without grants from San Juan County, the Orcas Island Community Foundation, and donations from hundreds of islanders. As affordable housing becomes scarcer on the islands, OPAL will continue to search for ways to assist those struggling to make payments, and getting priced out because of ever-increasing costs of living. Similar efforts are taking place on Lopez and San Juan Islands as well, with groups dedicated to keeping the islands a place for all, regardless of income, to live and enjoy.