Friday, March 7, 2014 • Port Orchard Independent
WWW.PORTORCHARDINDEPENDENT.COM
Postal truck crashes in Olalla
Works Department at 360-876-4991.
OLALLA — A U.S. Postal Service driver in South Kitsap was hurt Monday morning when her mail truck went off the road and into the water, reported Q13. Mail spilled everywhere as the truck went over an embankment along the Ollala Lagoon. Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputies as well as fire rescue crews were called to the scene. The extent of the driver’s injuries is not known.
Kilmer hosting Service Information Night
NEWS BRIEFS
Comp Plan update process kickoff set The City of Port Orchard will kickoff its 2016 Comprehensive Plan update process from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday March 8, in the Robert G. Geiger Council Chambers, 216 Prospect St. The city will conduct an open house for the purpose of gathering public input on key issues and challenges as well as opportunities for improvement. The city has partnered with a class of University of Washington masters students who will be in Port Orchard to facilitate the visioning process. This is a great opportunity to participate in the process and will assist the city. Four or more councilmembers may be in attendance and no city action will be taken.
Meeting on park set March 8 OLALLA — A group of citizens are coordinating a 2 p.m. meeting set for Saturday, March 8, at the Olalla Community Center, 12970 Olalla Valley Rd. Troy Olson, an advocate for the reopening of Anderson Point Park, said a county geotechnical engineer, and possibly a representative from Kitsap Emergency Management may attend the meeting. Olson said following the meeting the group will hike down to the park’s beach from Al’s Store in Olalla at 3 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
Legislators appearing at breakfast The Kitsap County Republican Party and South Kitsap Republican Women will host a “meet-and-greet” breakfast with area legislators on Wednesday, March 19, from 8:30-10 a.m. at McCormick Woods Golf Course Clubhouse. State Sen. Jan Angel and State Rep. Jesse Young, along with District 35 State Rep. Drew MacEwen are scheduled to appear. Tickets are $15 per person and includes a breakfast buffet. To RSVP, contact Cindy Lucarelli, SKRW, at sgfloral@aol. com or call 608-347-7508. Make checks payable to KCRP. Checks or cash will be accepted the day of the event.
City flushing fire hydrants March 24-28 City of Port Orchard crews will flush fire hydrants during the week of March 24-28. The McCormick Woods area will not be flushed during this time. This is a semi-annual inspection which allows Public Works Department crews to flow each hydrant and to perform preventive maintenance. The individual hydrant will be turned on to allow full flow. People will notice water flowing along the street at times. In addition, the large flow of water will stir up any naturally occurring sediment in the water mains. The annual inspection flushes the sediment from the water system. It is possible that customers will notice sediment in the water from faucets during this week. If this occurs, people are advised to turn off the inside faucet, then allow water to run from an outside hose bib or the cold water tap of the bathtub until the water runs clear again. Do not use the hot water tap to clear the water. The water should only have to run a few minutes before it is clear again. The City Treasurer’s office will apply a small credit to the water bill at the request of the ratepayer when this is necessary. For questions during the process, contact the Public
U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer is hosting a Service Academy Information Night on March 19 for high school students (public or private) and their families in the Tacoma and Peninsula schools districts and who lives within the 6th Congressional District boundaries. Service academy and congressional representatives will be in attendance at the event scheduled 6-8 p.m. at Foss High School Auditorium, 2112 S Tyler St., Tacoma. “As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I’m looking forward to extending this exciting opportunity to students in our region who are considering a top-tier education with service to our nation in our armed forces,” said Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor). There will be representatives from the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and ROTC. For more information, call 253-272-3515.
City accepting vendor applications The Port Orchard city clerk’s office is accepting applications for vendors who want to be placed on the city’s vendor roster list to purchase equipment, materials, supplies and services that are not in connection with any public working projects. Interested vendors may download the application from the city’s website at www.cityofportorchard.us or contact the city clerk’s office at 360-876-4407. Additions and deletions may be made at any time during the year. The roster is updated semi-annually.
Volunteers needed for annual Water Festival Volunteers are needed for the 20th annual Kitsap Water Festival which takes place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds. The annual Water Festival hosts up to 1,200 fourth- and fifth-grade students from across the county. Students learn the importance of protecting precious water resources and practical ways to implement water quality measures at home. Volunteers help with games, activities and setup and breakdown of the festival. In return, volunteers get to work outside, have fun, and are provided lunch and an official Kitsap Water Festival t-shirt. This year, in celebration of 20 years, returning volunteers are encouraged to wear t-shirts from previous Water Festivals. For more information and to register as a volunteer, go to www.kitsapgov.com/sswm/waterfestival_vol.htm. If you have questions, contact Kimberly Jones at 360-337-5222 or at Kimberly.jones@kitsappublichealth.org.
Library offering assistance for health insurance Kitsap Regional Library is offering assistance for South Kitsap residents interested in signing up for health insurance through the exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act. The Port Orchard Library is offering a weekly session, 1-4 p.m. Fridays, for individuals to have one-on-one sessions with trained helpers who will help you understand the health insurance exchange and walk you through the sign-up process. The representatives from Kitsap health services organizations will give an overview of the benefits and options under the Affordable Care Act, how to get coverage, eligibility rules, and where to go for more help.
CBAT upcoming meetings dates released The Community Budget Advisory Team for the South Kitsap School District is set to meet from 6-8 p.m. on March 11 and 25, April 8 and 22, May 6 and 20 and June 4. Meetings are open to the public and school board members may be in attendance. The meetings will be held at the SKSD office, 1962 Hoover Ave. SE.
Page A7
BRUNELL CONTINUED FROM A6
use in times of drought. According to the House Natural Resource Committee, chaired by Spokane’s Doc Hastings (R-WA), “This man-made drought cost thousands of farm workers their jobs, inflicted up to 40 percent unemployment in certain communities, and fallowed hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile farmland.” The House recently voted 229-191 to reallocate California’s water supplies. President Obama has vowed to veto the measure. Why should we care? Because the same thing could happen here. Activists are waging an aggressive campaign to tear out dams on the Columbia River system to benefit salmon, even though the rivers have recently seen record-breaking fish runs. Now, to aid the salmon, the Obama administration wants to change the Columbia River Treaty with Canada to release more water over the dams. That will reduce the amount of water held in reservoirs,
CORNFIELD CONTINUED FROM A6
Manufacturing and Aerospace in Everett. Nor did they put in $500,000 for the University of Washington to develop an advanced manufacturing facility in Snohomish County. The governor hasn’t made a big deal of it – maybe he’s battling it too – and no lawmaker representing Snohomish County has either. Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, drafted an amendment to the House budget to cover both items but withdrew it before it could be voted on. And remember how the governor and some Democrats regularly touted the importance of a multibillion dollar transportation funding package to Boeing and the aerospace industry? Not only did they stop using that line, there’s almost no chance there will even be a
which will limit water for irrigation, reduce electricity production, resulting in higher prices, and reduce our ability to prevent deadly flooding – one of the main reasons the dams were built. The vision of free-flowing rivers is appealing – but at what cost? If we release more water from reservoirs, how will we sustain ourselves during dry spells? What happens to the 670,000 acres of Eastern Washington farmland that depend on irrigation? What happens to the 82,000 agriculture-related jobs and $1.5 billion in wages? How will we replace the 75 percent of our electricity that is generated by hydropower? If environmental activists and the Obama administration get their way, we will be setting ourselves up for a situation much like what California faces today – higher food prices, shortages, layoffs and economic disaster. Don Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He retired as president of the Association of Washington Business and lives in Vancouver. He can be contacted at TheBrunells@ msn.com. package agreed upon this session. Another sign of fatigue: Republicans have long argued that without reforms to the state’s workers compensation system Boeing could up and leave. Republicans still want reforms but aren’t wielding Boeing as a rhetorical hammer. To their credit, Boeing lobbyists recognized the mood of lawmakers early in the session and are making themselves pretty scarce. There’s good news for the firm, as most legislators will make a full recovery March 14. That’s the first day they can raise money for their re-election campaigns. There may be no better cure for this syndrome than a contribution from Boeing. Political reporter Jerry Cornfield’s blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet. com. Contact him at 360-3528623 or jcornfield@heraldnet. com
Get fast, free, confidential advice. Call your poison center right away!
1-800-222-1222