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INDEPENDENT PORT ORCHARD
FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2012 ■ Vol. 121, No. 3 ■ www.portorchardindependent.com ■ 50¢
SNOW MUCH FUN
Coin shop owner busted in burglary ring investigation Thieves broke into a safe the suspect helped victim install in her Olalla home By BRETT CIHON Staff writer
The owner of Port Orchard Coin & Pawn is in jail on charges related to a burglary involving the theft of gold coins and jewelry from a safe he helped install in the house of an Olalla woman who had been a customer at his shop. Michael Everdean, 54, was arrested
recently at his business at 825 Bay St. on charges of leading organized crime and first-degree trafficking in stolen property. He’s in custody at the Kitsap County jail with bail set at $50,000. According to Deputy Scott Wilson, information officer for the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Everdean’s arrest stemmed from the Dec. 15 burglary of a Banner Road home, where approximately $96,000 worth of jewelry and coins was stolen from a safe. On Dec. 29, detectives arrested two men and a 19-year-old woman, all South Kitsap residents, who are suspected in an extensive burglary SEE BURGLARY, A4
Tim Kelly/Staff photos
Five-year-old Brianna Sootoo trudges back uphill for another ride on the snow Wednesday morning at Van Zee Park in Port Orchard. She and her father, Scott, were among the many sledders enjoying a snowy day.
Winter turning wet again After season’s first big snowfall, rain raises concerns of possible flooding
By JJ SWANSON Central Kitsap Reporter
By BRETT CIHON Staff writer
Snow. Freezing rain. And now maybe flooding? A midweek winter storm that dropped snow across Western Washington could result in flooding, Port Orchard public works director Mark Dorsey cautioned on Tuesday. In fact, flooding was his biggest worry of the week. SEE WINTER, A11
Harrison Medical Center seeks partner for merger
Undeterred by snow-covered roads, Bob Abel rides his bicycle Wednesday morning up Port Orchard Boulevard toward the junction with Tremont Street.
Harrison Medical Center’s board of directors and executive team announced Tuesday that the institution has begun the process of shopping for a partnership with a larger regional healthcare system. The decision was not an easy one, Harrison’s president and CEO Scott Bosch said. The board deliberated for more than three years on the benefits of staying independent and becoming affiliated. Harrison operates a 24-hour urgent care facility in Port Orchard. The state’s budget crisis and nationwide reductions in federal Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates
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contributed to the decision to move forward with a possible merger. “There just isn’t enough money anymore to pay for the way we’ve always done things,” Bosch said. “We SEE HARRISON, A14
Index Opinion Robert Meadows Scene & Heard Sports Thinking Allowed Calendar Obituaries
A6 A6 A9 A10 A7 A8 A15