Patriot Bremerton
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2012 | Vol. 14, No. 5 www.bremertonpatriot.com | 50¢
Welcome to Sally’s Camp
Greg Skinner/staff photo
A Armin Jahr third grader gets a hug from his mom after being released by the school following the shooting of a classmate. The Bremerton School District said a fellow student shot a third grader just minutes before school let out.
Kristin Okinaka/staff photo
Cecil Bonner, who is staying at Sally’s Camp Two, shows his tent he shares with his daughter and grandchildren last Wednesday. The temporary indoor tent city is in its second year of operations by the Bremerton Salvation Army.
Indoor tent camp enters second year By KRISTIN OKINAKA kokinaka@soundpublishing.com
Bremerton’s Salvation Army Sally’s Camp held an open house and invited the community whom it gave some insight, but Cecil Bonner was upset that no community members ever came up to him — or any of the other clients — to ask them about their experiences. “You’re not solving problems if you’re not asking questions,” Bonner said. Bonner was at Sally’s Camp with his daughter and two grandchildren last week. The 55-year-old former California resident sold his house cleaning business and moved to Bremerton with the notion that he
would be homeless — all in the effort to help his 28-year-old daughter and her young kids. “I put myself on the back burner. They are important,” he said. In the end, Bonner didn’t have the money to bring his daughter and grandchildren to him in California so he came to them to help out. He said his daughter is in an outpatient clinic and is preparing to go back to school. In its second year of operating, the shelter, now called Sally’s Camp Two, is a temporary tent city in a vacant building a few doors down from the Salvation Army’s building on Sixth Street. The indoor camp is organized and run for homeless families and couples to stay. Most of the current residents moved into the building from their cars. Many work while others hunt for jobs. The shelter opened in mid-
December with about four families and as of last week was at capacity with a total of 25 people, including seven children. Current plans expect to keep the shelter open until mid-June. During the first year of the shelter, Frank Wilder found refuge at Sally’s Camp in the former court house building on Pacific Avenue. Now Wilder is living at his own place in Bremerton and is one of the shelter managers for Sally’s Camp Two. “It was a help out, not a hand out, if you use the tools given and the resources out there,” said Wilder, 34. Wilder had been homeless for about two years. He and his fiance found out about Sally’s Camp from Kitsap Community Resources. Not open to people directly off the street, Kitsap Community Resources See Sally’s, A8
Student shot at Armin Jahr Elementary By Greg Skinner gskinner@soundpublishing.com
A few minutes before the bell released the students at Armin Jahr Elementary School in East Bremerton Wednesday, a student was shot. As of press time, police believe a fellow third-grader was the shooter. According to a Bremerton School District information release about the shooting, police arrived shortly after 1:29 p.m. to find one student shot. “The other student
and the gun have been located,” read the release posted on the district website. Authorities said a girl was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. As of press time Wednesday evening, authorities have not release the name of the shooter or the victim. Tracy Harris is a mother of an Armin Jahr kindergartner, sister to one of the school’s teachers and cousin to a second grader – all of whom were safe following See student, A8