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INSIDE Southworth SPORTS Wolves win Art and Garden Fair tournament title in coming back A35 dramatic fashion A37
Both sides report feeling harassed in rift over home business.
Neighbor denies pellet gun shooting
Port Orchard
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By JUSTINE FREDERIKSEN
Staff Writer
Independent
Tensions between two Port Orchard neighbors that erupted after one attempted to open a home business last year led both women to head down to the Kitsap County Courthouse Monday and file restraining orders against each other. Shelia Cronan, 49, said she filed a restraining order against Amber Keehn after returning home from a camping trip Aug. 17 and discovering pellets had been
FRIDAY, May 17, 2013 n Vol. 122, No. 19 n www.portorchardindependent.com n 50¢
Budgets would allocate $1 billion to education State reporting $2 billion more than expected for the 2013-15 budget
By DANNIE OLIVEAUX
A resolution approved 4-0 by the School Board would cut 68 jobs — 61 teaching positions — in the South Kitsap School District. At the May 8 special meeting at East Port Orchard Elementary School, Interim Superintendent Bev Cheney presented recommendations to reduce the $3 million shortfall. “It was the most difficult thing in my entire career,” Cheney told the audience of mostly teachers. “It was something we needed to do.” Under the resolution, 25.5 FTE (full-time equivalent) elementary teachers, 22.9 secondary teachers, 8.5 in CTE (Career Technical Education), 3 in Special Education, 3.2 in certified administrative staff and 4.088 in classified staff would be cut to help make up the shortfall. “These are reductions because of the results of reducing educational programs and reducing the bud-
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Dannie Oliveaux/Staff Photo
Rachel Rodriquez paints images for a “summertime theme” on the windows of the Port Orchard Pavilion downtown. Rodriquez took advantage of the recordsetting temperatures last week.
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▼ Matthes, Garrido advance in SK commissioner race; Dalton, Danielson in judicial contest.
By CHARLIE BERMANT
CHARLOTTE GARRIDO
BRUCE DANIELSON
See council, A35
TIM MATTHES
JEANETTE DALTON
Editor
See angel, A25
Teachers take hit as School Board makes ‘difficult’ budget cuts Editor
By DANNIE OLIVEAUX
Visitors to Port Orchard will have a reason to stay longer. The Port Orchard City Council voted unanimously May 14 to approve a joint agreement with the Port of Bremerton and City of Bremerton for Kitsap Harbor Tours, Inc., to provide additional foot ferry service hours on Friday and Saturday during the summer. According to the agreement, extended hours will begin Friday, May 24, and end Monday, Sept. 2, and Friday and Saturday hours will be extend to midnight. The agreement also states the ferry will operate on Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., along with event Sunday and holiday service. Port Orchard’s portion of the cost is higher than the joining partners.The City allocated $9,500, while the Port is giving $5,500 and Bremerton $6,500. Cost to operate the ferry is $151 per hour. Councilman Fred Chang said he was
the difference in the budgets the Senate is using the extra revenue with the revenue they have. They are doing their budget without raising taxes.” The House’s version has $1.3 billion for education, but raising taxes. “The question is where is the extra $2 billion dollars going,” said the 26th District representative. In the past, Angel said, the governor would bring the House and Senate leaders together and “hammer it out” until there was an Staff Writer
Expectations were turned on their head in two Kitsap County political contests during Tuesday night’s primary election, as the perceived front-runners came in third and were disqualified in their respective races. Republican Tim Matthes drew the most votes in the South Kitsap commissioner’s race, followed by Democrat Charlotte Garrido. Monty Mahan, who was the first to declare for the seat and earned the endorsement of local mayors, came in third (See related story, page A3).
SEE UPSETS, PAGE A2
If he works on just budget bills, then we go in and hammer out that budget and we go home.” Both the House and Senate budget versions would allocate at least $1 billion to fund education. Angel said the state reported more than $2 billion more revenue than expected for the 2013-15 Angel two-year budget. “The amounts for education are similar in the House and Senate,” Angel said. “However,
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Custodians won’t be replaced, $1.72 million will be taken from reserve fund.
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and pension rates along with inflation as issues. In addition to the money saved on custodians, Patton said the district will dip into its reserve fund for $1.72 million. She said that’s not all bad because the district saved more than it anticipated in its last fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31. Patton said they also will save through not filling other vacant positions in the district, and through cutting expenses on supplies. The board unanimously adopted the budget. Patton warned in previous meetings that the “hard decisions” likely won’t end
Extended hours for foot ferries begin May 24
window painting SEE SCHOOL, PAGE A2
activities she reported as stemming from Keehn’s attempts to operate a business out of her home. Weaver said following an April 11 hearing with the city’s Hearing Examiner, certain conditions were placed on Keehn’s permit to mitigate Cronan’s concerns before she would be allowed to operate her business. “(Keehn) has addressed all but one of those conditions, with the last being the letter from the (Kitsap County) Health Department,” Weaver said, explaining that Keehn’s current sewer facilities are
SEE NEIGHBORS, PAGE A2
Council OKs contract, money for additional ferry hours
By CHRIS CHANCELLOR
While school districts across the state are waiting to see how much money they’ll receive for education, House and Senate leaders are in a gridlock on which version of the budget to approve.
Staff Writer
Editor
The South Kitsap School District is a little closer to closing its $2.9 million deficit for the upcoming school year. Terri Patton, assistant superintendent for business and support services, said at Wednesday’s school board meeting that the district won’t replace five full-time custodians who left the district after the last school year. She said that will save the district $250,000. Patton said the deficit stems from unforeseen circumstances when the district presented its last levy to voters in 2004. She cited escalating teacher salaries
chasing it last spring. City Development Director James Weaver confirmed that Keehn received a conditional-use permit to operate a onechair hair salon out of her home, which he described as “pretty innocuous” and something that doesn’t typically reach “the level of intensive use,” as far as impacts on the neighborhood are concerned. However, since November of 2007, Cronan has filed multiple complaints with the city regarding traffic, noise and other
By DANNIE OLIVEAUX
House and Senate leaders are “hammering out an agreement” on the two-year budget that would allocated $1 billion or more to education. But State Rep. Jan Angel (R-Port Orchard) said meeting the June 15 depends on Gov. Jay Inslee. Angel said if Inslee starts bringing forth policy bills that have already died in committee, the Legislature will not get the budget done in 30 days. “We’d be lucky to get it done in 60 days,” Angel said. “If he pulls policy bills from the past forward, it puts us back into committee. Jesse Beals/Staff Photo
shot in three of her home’s windows. Cronan, who lives on the 200 block of Flower Meadows Street in Port Orchard, said she believed the attack was part of an ongoing dispute with Keehn, whom she alleges has been running a hair salon out of her home without a business license and in defiance of a city “stop-work” order. Keehn, 30, said she filed for permission from the city of Port Orchard to operate a hair salon out of her home on the 2300 block of Flower Avenue soon after pur-
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Cody Wright from Milford, Utah, got a mouth full of mud and a zero score after falling off Strawberry Delight in the Saddle Bronc Riding competition Wednesday night at the Kitsap County Stampede. The fair runs through Sunday.
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get,” said Cheney. She also noted enrollment decline and reduction of federal money figures in to cutting staff. Cheney noted there is a difference in people and
“It was the most difficult thing in my entire career. It was something we needed to do.” – Bev Cheney, interim superintendent FTEs. One FTE could include one person or more. Of the 68 positions proposed to be cut, 33 positions would be eliminated due to the $2.5 budget reduction, but 25 would remain open because of retirement and resignations. She said the district sent out 57 letters to employees whose position would be eliminated by the cuts. The See budget, A2