Patriot Bremerton
FRIDAY, MAY 24, 2013 | Vol. 16, No. 16 www.bremertonpatriot.com | 50¢
We salute you
Bat boys Olympic makes playoffs, but is one-and-done following loss Page 9
Election season heats up following a spate of filings By KEVAN MOORE kmoore@soundpublishing.com
Kevan Moore/staff photo
Sailors from the USS John C. Stennis carry a massive American flag during this past Saturday’s Armed Forces Day Parade in downtown Bremerton. More photos from the parade can be seen on our website, www.bremertonpatriot.com.
New manager settles in at Kitsap Conference Center By KEVAN MOORE kmoore@soundpublishing.com
Arne Bakker took over as the general manager of the Kitsap Conference Center in Bremerton’s Harborside District a couple of weeks ago and is settling into his new role as the busy summer season quickly approaches. Bakker is originally from Holland, but actually lived in the United States from the time he was 11 to the age of 22 and went to school at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Virginia. After that, he returned to Holland and went to hotel management school there. “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “I basically knew from the time that I was 16 years old that it was something I was going to go into.” At one point in his career, Bakker, (whose name is pronounced Arna Bahker -- “Most people, when they see it,
Election season in Bremerton is heating up following last week’s filing deadline. The marquee race will pit Mayor Patty Lent against political newcomer Todd Best. But a few other city council races should also prove plenty interesting as council colleagues and former colleagues vie for votes. In the mayor’s race, Lent said that she is proud of her record and plans to campaign hard to keep her post. “First of all, I’m excited about the accomplishments over the last three years,” Lent said. “Having said that, I didn’t get all the work accomplished that I wanted to. I feel like a second term will allow me to leave the city with the
kmoore@soundpublishing.com
Kevan Moore/staff photo
say Arnie Baker, so I’m kind of used to it by now,” he says) spent five years working at various hotels in the Caribbean on St. Kitts and St. Martin. After meeting his wife, Lynda, a Seattle native who attended the University of Washington and still has family in the area, the couple decided to make the Pacific Northwest home and live in Colby.
“I never really planned on coming back here, but then I met my wife,” Bakker said. “I’m really glad I live up here, though, because this it is absolutely gorgeous. I don’t plan on leaving, that’s for sure.” Most recently, Bakker helped open up a business center in Tacoma for a comSee CONFERENCE CENTER, A13
See FILINGS, A13
Military sex assault numbers tough to pin down in Kitsap By KEVAN MOORE
Arne Bakker is settling in after taking over as general manager of the Kitsap Conference Center a couple of weeks ago.
most sustainable, balanced budget that I could possibly leave any city.” Lent also said that she looks forward to expanding the city’s limits in a second term, especially in Gorst where dirt was first turned in 2009 to install sewers. “We’d like to have areas where we provide utilities to be part of the city,” Lent said. “We do a good job of providing water and sewer services and feel that making them a part of the city makes good sense.” Lent began her four year term as mayor in January 2010 after holding a prior position as Kitsap County Commissioner from 2003 to 2006. She holds leadership positions on many boards, including the American Red
A string of high profile sexual assault cases in the last few weeks involving members of the military has drawn sharp criticism from President Obama, the Secretary of Defense and members of Congress. “Not only is it shameful and disgraceful but it also is going to make and has made the military less effective than it can be,” the president said last week. But efforts to determine the number of sexual assaults involving Sailors and Marines at Naval Base Kitsap have so far not been very successful. The Navy was unwilling
to provide firm numbers and Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge and members of his office also had no solid data. Hauge said that his office deals with Sailors for all types of crimes and prosecutes them any time they are made aware of a law violation. But, Hauge’s office doesn’t keep track of cases involving Sailors versus civilians and can be kept in the dark when sexual assaults involving Sailors and Marines occur on base. “I can give you anecdotal information, but in terms of reliable hard numbers, we haven’t been very successful,” See ASSAULTS, A13