PATRIOT BREMERTON
DIVERS DOWN Sound Dive Center takes clients to new depths. Page 12
FRIDAY, SEPT. 16, 2011 | Vol. 13, No. 36 WWW.BREMERTONPATRIOT.COM | 50¢
THE PUPPET MASTER The work of Aurora Valentinetti will be celebrated at Bremerton museum
Violations of federal law are alleged, shipyard official says
BY KRISTIN OKINAKA KOKINAKA@CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM
A
urora Valentinetti’s first puppet was a “self portrait” created in 1941 called “Melode” that was designed as a singer and was later turned into a ballerina. “As often happens with the creative types — she converted it into something else,” said Stanley Hess, curator of The Aurora Valentinetti Puppet Museum in Bremerton. The Aurora Valentinetti Puppet Museum and Evergreen Children’s Theatre in Bremerton
BY THOMAS JAMES TJAMES@CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM
Handiwork The Aurora Valentinetti Puppet Museum features Aurora’s 90th Birthday Celebration, 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. The museum is at 257 4th Street, Bremerton; see www. ectandpuppets.org for information. will celebrate Valentinetti’s 90th birthday with a party at the museum from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. Valentinetti, who has a history in puppetry in the Pacific Northwest for more than 50 years, taught at the University of Washington, created puppets and performed as well. Hess first took a class of Valentinetti’s in puppetry at the UW in 1963. He graduated the following year majoring in general art and minoring in anthropology. “I’ve maintained my friendship since then,” he said. Valentinetti, who resides in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood, will be at the event that is open to the public. There will be light refreshments and musical entertainment. Marshall Campbell, also a
Feds stop payments to PSNS contractor
Kristin Okinaka/staff photo
A puppet from Japan is pictured at the Aurora Valentinetti Puppet Museum. Bremerton’s sister city, Kure, donated three puppets last year. former student of Valentinetti, founded the children’s theater in 1993 as a means to have more art programs in Kitsap. His vision
was to have theater performances locally for Kitsap residents, educational classes as well as a puppet museum.
And naming the museum after Valentinetti just seemed SEE PUPPETS, A7
The federal government last week stopped all payments to a Bremerton-based Puget Sound Naval Shipyard contractor after citing violations of federal law. The Department of Labor on Sept. 1 told PSNS to withhold all payments from Puget Sound Environmental for violations of federal worker protection laws, according to a PSNS official. Gary Whitehead, the shipyard contract services officer charged with overseeing the contract, said that along with the request, his office received instructions to deposit the money in a Department of Labor account for distribution to workers with claims against the company. The letter specified that the company had been found in violation of the McNamaraO’Hara Service Contract Act, Whitehead said. The act specifies that employees of federal contractors be paid a prevailing wage, Whitehead said, and that they also be given either health coverage or a cash equivalent. When asked for a copy of the letter, Whitehead said that his office had been instructed by the DOL not to release information on the case, and that a Freedom of Information Act request would have to be filed. The DOL did not return calls for comment on the issue. Puget Sound Environmental CEO Carlos Moreno Tuesday acknowledged that his company was under investigation. He said the DOL had met him and Lopez Monday and laid out breaches of the miniSEE FEDS, A7