Shocking unsolved murder emphasizes the lack of crime

By REBEKAH DENN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Residents generally praise Oak Harbor as having a low crime rate, though they were shocked last March by the city's first murder in years, when a 7-year-old child was found slain.

Deborah Palmer's killer has never been found.

Police Chief Tony Barge warned residents at the time and afterward to be watchful, to avoid the trap of believing crime could never happen again in their city.

The city generally seems to combat poverty and violence with candor and energy, with homeless shelters and with prominent service agencies to benefit those in need.

The 19-year-old Citizens Against Domestic and Sexual Abuse serves 1,200 to 1,500 people a year throughout Island County, providing prevention, education and treatment, says Executive Director Valerie Stafford.

Barge is a "progressive-thinking person" who collaborates well with other agencies, Stafford says, and the Navy, while some of its members have contributed to the problems that exist, has also helped with the solutions.

The Oak Harbor-based agency recently opened a new shelter for battered women, and is renewing a program where its advocates join police on every domestic violence call to provide support for victims and their children.

"People come here from all around because of the Navy base. A lot of people are here from larger cities," and understand that domestic violence and sexual assault exist and must be addressed, Stafford says.

At the same time, "living in a small town, getting to know people on a personal level, it's a lot easier to get things done."