Port Orchard Independent, November 04, 2011

Page 1

Politics

Community

Sports

Committee targeting mayor gets big donation from City Councilman

Where in South Kitsap?

SK grabs spot in state play-in game

Page A12

Page A5

Page A10

INDEPENDENT PORT ORCHARD

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2011 ■ Vol. 120, No. 27 ■ www.portorchardindependent.com ■ 50¢

Prosecutor’s budget cut will be lessened Hauge calls $700,000 proposed reduction from his office disproportionate, unfair By KAITLIN STROHSCHEIN Staff Writer

Kitsap County commissioners have decided to drastically alter their 2012 budget after hearing complaints from the county’s auditor and prosecutor.

With no spin, how does crime rate look? By TIM KELLY

PORT ORCHARD POPULATION 2007 8,350

2008 8,380

2009 10,400

2010 10,910

PROPERTY CRIMES IN PORT ORCHARD Category 2007 Burglary 70 Larceny/theft 280 Vehicle theft 30 Arson 2 Total 382

2008 127 312 22 4 465

2009 113 429 18 4 554

2010 102 450 38 2 592

Rate of property crimes per 1,000 residents (state rank)

Editor

Mayor Lary Coppola has made campaign boasts about a reduction in crime during his time in office, while a campaign flier mailed to Port Orchard residents tries to disprove the mayor’s claim. Who’s got it right? Well, the issue is not quite as blackand-white as a police cruiser. Coppola, running for re-election to a second term, generally highlights SEE CRIME STATS, A14

Index Opinion Robert Meadows Scene & Heard Sports Thinking Allowed Letters

Deadlines to finish the budget are looming. “We need to have things finalized by the end of next week at the latest,” Amber D’Amato, the county’s budget and finance officer said Tuesday.

“From my perspective, I’m getting nervous that we’re getting close to our deadlines here.” The commissionRuss Hauge ers decided to make the changes after hearing arguments Wednesday from Auditor Walt Davis and Prosecutor Russ Hauge that

2007

2008

2009

2010

45.7 (56th)

55.2 (53rd)

54.2 (27th)

54.3 (29th)

VIOLENT CRIMES IN PORT ORCHARD Category Murder

2007 0

2008 2

2009 0

2010 0

they’re seriously concerned about the magnitude of the cuts proposed for their offices. Funding of the auditor’s office would drop by 10.9 percent, and the prosecutor’s office would drop by 6.8 percent in the county’s proposed 2012 budget. Hauge called the cuts for his office “unfair, unsafe, and unnecessary” in a

Category 2007 Sexual assault 12 Robbery 1 Aggravated 67 assault Total 80

SEE COUNTY CUTS, A2

2008 9 6 33

2009 5 3 44

2010 14 3 33

50

52

50

Rate of violent crimes per 1,000 residents (state rank)

2007

2008

2009

2010

9.6 (6th)

5.9 (15th)

5.0 (22nd)

4.6 (20th)

MISDEMEANOR ARRESTS, CITATIONS Category 2007 DUI 58 Assault 41 domestic violence Assault - simple 35 Drug-related 98

2008 51 36

2009 94 55

2010 82 46

22 82

51 106

44 88

Source: Port Orchard Police Department annual reports

Ghost Train a monster success as fundraiser By TIM KELLY Editor

A6 A6 A9 A10-11 A7 A7-8

memorandum to the commissioners. “We can honestly say that we can cut $200,000 without doing violence to the service you receive and public receiver,” he said during a meeting with the commissioners Monday morning, but the proposed $700,000 cut would make his office “much less

Of all the Halloween festivities last weekend,nonedrewalargercrowdthan the annual Ghost Train event put on by

Passengers on the Ghost Train encountered all manner of spooky sights. Tim Kelly/Staff Photo

South Kitsap’s Source for News & Information Since 1890

Kitsap Live Steamers as a benefit for the Kitsap Foster Parents Association. Parked cars lined both sides of Jackson Avenue as hundreds of people came to South Kitsap Regional Park for games, trick-or-treating and rides on the scale-model trains past ghoulish scenes in the woods. The event raised more than $6,000, SEE GHOST TRAIN, A13


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.