The Record’s top five stories of 2006

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Snow-clogged streets and flooded homes. Fridges full of spoiled food. Days and days without power. The newsroom of The South Whidbey Record had an easy choice this year for the top story of 2006: the weather.

Here’s the list of our top five stories of 2006, as selected by the newspaper’s editorial staff.

1. The weather.

Mother Nature made a big impression at the start of the year in February — by causing a rain-soaked bluff to collapse in Clinton and block a neighborhood road near the ferry terminal, hitting the South End with a small earthquake, and then cutting power to thousands of homes during Super Bowl weekend and swamping homes along the coast after a huge windstorm struck.

Mother Nature was just getting started, however. A heat wave hit in June with temperatures hitting the 90s. After an island-wide power outage in November, a massive snowstorm buried the South End in December, leaving many roads impassable.

The snowstorm was a prelude to two back-to-back windstorms in mid-December that also knocked out power. Businesses lost thousands of dollars in ruined merchandise and many stores had to close on one of the busiest weekends before the Christmas holiday.

2. The 2006 election.

Democrats swept to power in Congress and here in Island County, winning every contested seat up for grabs in county government except for the office of sheriff.

Democrats now control exactly half of the elected positions in Island County.

Voters across Whidbey and Camano islands were motivated by national concerns about the war, and many called for a change in the country’s leadership.

On the Democratic side, John Dean was elected county commissioner, Greg Banks was re-elected to the prosecutor’s position, Linda Riffe was reinstated as treasurer, and Dave Mattens was elected assessor. Mark Brown was elected sheriff on the Republican side of the ticket, and Rep. Barbara Bailey retained her seat in the state House of Representatives for Position 2, 10th District.

3. The Jay Wallace/9-11 controversy

Jay Wallace was fired from his job as a deputy in the Island County Sheriff’s Office after officials in the department accused him of shirking his duty and not responding to a 911 hang-up call in Freeland where a woman was reportedly being assaulted and held hostage. Authorities also said Wallace, who was a candidate for sheriff, lied to investigators when they looked into the 911 incident.

Charges against Wallace are currently pending in Island County Superior Court.

4. Fairgrounds road.

The ongoing feud between Langley, the county and the Island County fair board over a stretch of fairgrounds property made repeated headlines in 2006.

Langley says it needs a piece of the public property so a new connector road can be built to handle traffic as more homes are built at the city’s southwestern end. After negotiations with fair officials were derailed, Langley filed a lawsuit to condemn a piece of the fairgrounds property.

The proposed road would be built on an existing gravel road at the fairground’s southern entrance. But fair supporters say the road will make part of the fairgrounds property unusuable.

5. Teens die in car crash.

The South Whidbey community was shaken by a tragic car crash that took the lives of Jason M. Jelenik, 18 and Kelly M. Frantz, 17, both of Freeland. The pair died, and two other teens were hurt, when the 1985 Honda Accord Jelenik was driving struck a tree on Third Street in Langley.

Other top stories that just missed the cut for the top five included:

Holmes Harbor closed to shellfish harvesting.

The settlement of the lawsuit filed in federal court by former administrators of the South Whidbey School District.

The controversy over “peace” signs on student T-shirts at South Whidbey High School.

The Whidbey Environmental Action Network’s repeated lawsuits and hearings board challenges over the county’s new farm rules.

How we made the list

The top five stories were picked through a newsroom poll. Criteria included newsworthiness, amount of coverage given to the story in the Record, lives touched, and “buzz” — how much people talked about the topic in everyday life and in letters to the editor.