Port Orchard Independent, August 28, 2015

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125TH ANNIVERSAY City Hall business, then and now. A7

OPINION A smarter game plan needed for state forests. A6

INSIDE

INDEPENDENT PORT ORCHARD

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2015 ✮ VOL. 124, NO. 31 ✮ WWW.PORTORCHARDINDEPENDENT.COM ✮ 50¢

Thieves flee in wild Sunday chase with police Taking off with fishing gear in van, pursuit comes to a fiery conclusion By BOB SMITH

rsmith@portorchardindependent.com

Two Gig Harbor men were captured Aug. 23 by Port Orchard Police after they led a high-speed chase through Port Orchard with a van holding fishing gear worth thousands of dollars. Ricky Ray Rogers and Nathan Wayne Spaulding reportedly entered a storage unit at Bayside Storage, 1960 Bay St., early Sunday morning and removed fishing gear with an estimated value of up to $10,000. The items, owned by charter boat operator Randy Jones of Venture Charters of Port Orchard, were identified as fishing rods and reels, as well as fishing lines. Jones estimated that eight casting rods and 35 halibut fishing poles, as well as 30 reels, were taken. Just as the pair was departing the storage unit, Jones approached the men, who then fled to a white van. “They had just replaced the lock they cut with a tiny lock you’d use

Transaction gone bad: man stabbed in South Kitsap

Bay Street merchants have a ‘persistent’ booster at group’s helm By BOB SMITH

rsmith@portorchardindependent.com

South Kitsap Fire and Rescue

Sparks from a blown tire and damaged rim ignited a white van carrying two Gig Harbor men who later were charged with stealing fishing gear from a Port Orchard charter fishing business. on a diary. I guess they wanted it to appear that it hadn’t been tampered with,” Jones said. Jones followed the men through town, who were driving at a high rate of speed. Port Orchard Police joined the pursuit after Jones called 911.

Staff report A 31-year-old man was hospitalized with critical injuries Aug. 22 after being stabbed in the back and slashed with a knife. The man was involved in a confrontation

Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office deputies also joined the chase to track down the suspects. As the van neared Bremerton National Airport, its tires hit a curb and caused them to deflate. Sparks from the tire rims caused the van to erupt in flames.

Port Orchard Police spokesman Dale Schuster said one of the men tossed some of the stolen gear from the van during the pursuit. “It’s a good thing no one was hurt” during

with an assailant over money for a sexual act. The incident occurred around 3 a.m. Saturday at a home in the 2600 block of Converse Ave. SE in South Kitsap. The female suspect, Destiny

Hope Johnson of Central Kitsap, is 21 years old. Johnson left the scene of the attack and hasn’t been located. She is described as being 5-8,

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Bobbie Stewart, president of the Port Orchard Bay Street Association, is a woman of little fanfare who flies under the radar. But despite her understated demeanor, Stewart — who owns the Olde Central Antique Mall — is passionate about her adopted city of Port Orchard. And as a downtown business owner, she’s invested in the future of the small businesses that line Bay Street. POBSA represents Bay Street merchants, building owners and those with an interest in the economic advancement of the city. Stewart said POBSA works alongside the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce to advocate for businesses in the area, but the scope of the work each organization takes on is different. “The chamber is wonderful and they have so much to offer, but their outreach is much broader than ours,” Stewart said. “I always advise business people to join both of our organizations.” Stewart leads POBSA in her typical low-key way. But as she hinted, she can be persistent. MERCHANTS, SEE A2


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