Port Orchard Independent, February 17, 2012

Page 1

Independent FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2012 n Vol. 121, No. 7 n www.portorchardindependent.com n 50¢

SK girls pass first district test

Page A10

Inside

A Section Editorial Robert Meadows Scene & Heard Sports Legal Notices Mary Colborn Obituaries A4 A4 A5 A6 A7 A7 A8

Inserts: Fred Meyer, RiteAid, Office Depot, Best Buy, Staples, Wal-Mart, Valassis

Jesse Beals/Staff Photo

6QTFUT UIF PSEFS PG UIF EBZ EVSJOH QSJNBSZ FMFDUJPO

▼ Matthes, Garrido advance in SK commissioner race; Dalton, Danielson in judicial contest.

By CHARLIE BERMANT

TIM MATTHES

BRUCE DANIELSON

CHARLOTTE GARRIDO

%&$*4*0/

JEANETTE DALTON

See Author, A8

Staff Writer

Expectations were turned on their head in two Kitsap County political contests during Tuesday night’s primary election, as the perceived front-runners came in third and were disqualified in their respective races. Republican Tim Matthes drew the most votes in the South Kitsap commissioner’s race, followed by Democrat Charlotte Garrido. Monty Mahan, who was the first to declare for the seat and earned the endorsement of local mayors, came in third (See related story, page A3). SEE UPSETS, PAGE A2

4DIPPM EJTUSJDU MPPLT UP CBMBODF JUT CPPLT

SEE SCHOOL, PAGE A2

and pension rates along with inflation as issues. In addition to the money saved on custodians, Patton said the district will dip into its reserve fund for $1.72 million. She said that’s not all bad because the district saved more than it anticipated in its last fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31. Patton said they also will save through not filling other vacant positions in the district, and through cutting expenses on supplies. The board unanimously adopted the budget. Patton warned in previous meetings that the “hard decisions” likely won’t end

Custodians won’t be replaced, $1.72 million will be taken from reserve fund.

By CHRIS CHANCELLOR Staff Writer

The South Kitsap School District is a little closer to closing its $2.9 million deficit for the upcoming school year. Terri Patton, assistant superintendent for business and support services, said at Wednesday’s school board meeting that the district won’t replace five full-time custodians who left the district after the last school year. She said that will save the district $250,000. Patton said the deficit stems from unforeseen circumstances when the district presented its last levy to voters in 2004. She cited escalating teacher salaries

and his old instructor in the program, retired teacher Linda Munson, came to the school to welcome him back. Funny story, though; when Munson read “Hotel” a few years ago, it didn’t

Staff Writer

Neighbor denies pellet gun shooting

chasing it last spring. City Development Director James Weaver confirmed that Keehn received a conditional-use permit to operate a onechair hair salon out of her home, which he described as “pretty innocuous” and something that doesn’t typically reach “the level of intensive use,” as far as impacts on the neighborhood are concerned. However, since November of 2007, Cronan has filed multiple complaints with the city regarding traffic, noise and other

Both sides report feeling harassed in rift over home business. By JUSTINE FREDERIKSEN

Staff Writer

shot in three of her home’s windows. Cronan, who lives on the 200 block of Flower Meadows Street in Port Orchard, said she believed the attack was part of an ongoing dispute with Keehn, whom she alleges has been running a hair salon out of her home without a business license and in defiance of a city “stop-work” order. Keehn, 30, said she filed for permission from the city of Port Orchard to operate a hair salon out of her home on the 2300 block of Flower Avenue soon after pur-

activities she reported as stemming from Keehn’s attempts to operate a business out of her home. Weaver said following an April 11 hearing with the city’s Hearing Examiner, certain conditions were placed on Keehn’s permit to mitigate Cronan’s concerns before she would be allowed to operate her business. “(Keehn) has addressed all but one of those conditions, with the last being the letter from the (Kitsap County) Health Department,” Weaver said, explaining that Keehn’s current sewer facilities are

SEE NEIGHBORS, PAGE A2

South Kitsap’s Source for News & Information Since 1890

See explorers, A2

One of the people welcoming Martin back to Marcus Whitman was his former instructor in the school’s gifted and talented program, retired educator Linda Munson.

on a cul-de-sac at the end of High Ridge Court SE, about a half-mile west of Bethel-Burley Road. She said Monday that though her husband showed no signs of depression, he had never fully

See missing man, A13

The four-day search for a missing South Kitsap man ended in tragedy Sunday afternoon when his body was found lying in thick brush a short distance behind his

Paul Breeding

Six more months: Medical marijuana moratorium extended

Printed with recycled paper and environmentally friendly soybean oil-based ink.

Tensions between two Port Orchard neighbors that erupted after one attempted to open a home business last year led both women to head down to the Kitsap County Courthouse Monday and file restraining orders against each other. Shelia Cronan, 49, said she filed a restraining order against Amber Keehn after returning home from a camping trip Aug. 17 and discovering pellets had been

Tim Kelly/Staff photos

For 17-year-old Mackinley Holt, the Washington Explorer Search and Rescue (WESAR) program is many things. It’s the thrill of the search. It’s the opportunity to spend time outdoors. It’s helping strangers stuck in a precarious position. It’s also a family affair. Holt and his older brother Nicholas, 20, signed up for the all-volunteer Kitsap unit in October 2010. The following year his father, Tom, 42, and sister Sophie, 15, also joined the outdoor service organization. “My sister thought that it would be kind of cool,” Holt said. “My dad just wanted to see how it was — make sure it was OK for her. Now he’s hooked.” Certified WESAR members assist Kitsap County and statewide agencies with searches for missing persons and evidence recovery, as well as helping during natural disasters. Started in 1978, the Explorer group has 120 members on call. “When the sheriff’s office goes out and they can’t find something and it looks like it will be a bigger search, they call us,” Holt said.

Author Jamie Martin, above, talks about writing with Marcus Whitman Junior High School students Tuesday in the school library.

of an extensive search that included the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Washington Explorer Search and Rescue units from Kitsap and Pierce counties, and other search and rescue teams. He was reported missing by his wife, Sharon Breeding, from his home

Staff Writer

home. Kitsap County Coroner Greg Sandstrom confirmed Wednesday that Paul E. Breeding, 65, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound sometime after he was last seen on the morning of Feb. 8. Breeding had been the subject

By Brett Cihon

A6 A6 A9 A10-11 A7 A8 A12

Opinion Robert Meadows Scene & Heard Sports Thinking Allowed Obituaries Business

Where in South Kitsap?

Page A3

By Brett Cihon

He used to play Dungeons and Dragons with his “book geek” friends in the junior high library at lunchtime. Jamie Ford returned to the library at Marcus Whitman Junior High School on Tuesday, this time to discuss his best-selling novel and the craft of writing with students, some presumably book geeks themselves. Students in Lisa Johnson’s ninth-grade Advanced Language Arts class read Ford’s book, “Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet,” but they didn’t know they’d be meeting the author when they gathered in the library Tuesday morning. “I never thought I’d grow up and be somebody’s homework,” he quipped after he was introduced to the group, which also included students in Quest, the school’s gifted and talented program. It was called Project Life when Ford, 44, attended Marcus Whitman,

Sports Cody Wright from Milford, Utah, got a mouth full of mud and a zero score after falling off Strawberry Delight in the Saddle Bronc Riding competition Wednesday night at the Kitsap County Stampede. The fair runs through Sunday.

Book geek visits his old school Author of best-seller discusses writing with students at Marcus Whitman

Missing man’s body found after four-day search

Index

Port Orchard

SOUTH KITSAP’S SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS AND INFORMATION SINCE 1890

Editor

Community Page A9

Explorers provide valuable SAR help By TIM KELLY

Community


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.
Port Orchard Independent, February 17, 2012 by Sound Publishing - Issuu