Reporter Central Kitsap
Kitty Kans Art work made from cat food cans Page 8
FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2014 | Vol. 29, No. 26 | WWW.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM | 50¢
Seabeck Marina should be open by late June Marina owners have funded the construction themselves BY LESLIE KELLY LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
When Boyer Halvorsen bought the Seabeck Marina in 2005 for $325,000, he never imagined that it would be almost a decade before he would make any money off the thing. “It’s been a long time coming,” said Halvorsen, who along with his business partner, Wil Clark, own the Olympic View Marina. But last week, a tugboat brought in 450 feet of breakwater which is a huge step toward the completion of the marina project that’s been
underway for years. In 2005, four partners paid $325,000 at a foreclosure auction with the hopes that they’d be able to improve on the marina and offer boat moorage to people who wanted to stay for the day or overnight at Seabeck. They were the only bidders. Since the early 1880s, Seabeck has had an operating marina off and on, and longtime residents remember boats being tied up near the Seabeck General Store. In fact, Halverson’s grandmother owned the store from 1919 to 1936. A few years ago, Halvorsen and Clark bought out the other two investors and they’ve been attempting to build the new dock and marina since. They’re using SEE SEABECK, A13
Leslie Kelly/staff photo
Part of the breakwater for the Seabeck Marina was put in place last week. Marina owners want to be open this summer.
Chico Way resident inundated by water BY LESLIE KELLY LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
It looks as if there may be a solution to all the stormwater that’s flooding Barbara Wilhite’s backyard. But Wilhite, who lives downhill from Highway 3 in the 7000 block of Chico Way, won’t believe it until she sees it. “I’m not convinced that this plan’s going to work,” she said. “It sounds to me like it might actually bring more water on my property.” It was last month that Wilhite began talking to officials at the State Department of Transportation about the water that was pouring into her backyard from off of Highway 3 which towers over her property. Wilhite said she knows it’s been really
wet lately. She’s aware there’s been more rain so far in March and April than the area usually gets in the entire month of March. But there’s been wet times before and she’s lived on her property since 1988. She’s never seen her backyard like it’s been. “You just can’t go out there,” she said a few weeks ago. “There’s water ever ywhere. Sometimes it’s actually cascading over the edge of hill and down my steps like it was a river.” After looking into the problem, state DOT officials informed her last week that they plan to install a pipe in the ditch that runs along the highway. “It will run past her place and be taken down the way to avoid any water running on her property,” said Doug
Adamson, DOT spokesman. “The excess water will then be dispersed along a greater length and will be naturally absorbed along the way.” He said after talking with engineers, he was certain that the placement of the pipe would correct the situation for Wilhite and would not create a stormwater runoff problem for any other property owner. Wilhite moved into the house in 1988 when she married her husband who has since died. He bought the house in 1974 and she knows the history of the property quite well. During the years, she’s added a number of raised beds in her backyard which backs to Highway 3. She has a covered trellis, a patio, a rock garden and a shed in the yard. It was last month when she decided to
begin planning for her spring planting that she really began to notice the water. Her first call was to Kitsap County. “They sent someone out, but he told me that it wasn’t a county matter,” she said. “He told me the water was all coming from the highway and that I needed to call the State Department of Transportation.” So she did. She also called the Kitsap Health District and asked that they come out and test the water to make sure it wasn’t contaminated water. She was worried about whether she’d be able to plant her gardens if the area was covered with water that was bad. In all, Wilhite has more than 20 pages of notes from the calls that she’s made to government agencies since Feb. 19. SEE WATER, A13
Seraine Page/staff photo
David McVicker takes the oath of office given by Bruce Richards, CK school board vice president.
McVicker sworn in as CK superintendent BY SERAINE PAGE SPAGE@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
David McVicker, former Central Kitsap School District assistant superin-
tendent, has been sworn in as the interim superintendent for the district. During a meeting last week, McVicker SEE MCVICKER, A13