FRIDAY, May 4, 2012 n Vol. 121, No. 18 n www.portorchardindependent.com n 50¢
Log Cabin Museum prepped for opening weekend
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
Printed with recycled paper and environmentally friendly soybean oil-based ink.
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Brett Cihon/Staff Photo
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CHARLOTTE GARRIDO
BRUCE DANIELSON
Many employers find Billi Jean Gurnsey overqualified.
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By CHARLIE BERMANT
TIM MATTHES
JEANETTE DALTON
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
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
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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.
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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
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-
Outlook unknown for job seekers
the Sidney Art Gallery and Museum, as a downtown spot to learn about Port Orchard’s history. Built in 1914 by Allen Bartow, the cabin was purchased by the local arts association in 1971 as a way to inform the public about daily life in the pioneer times to present day. Soon after the building’s purchase, a group of mannequins was introduced to the cabin as a way to make the cabin come alive. Every May when the cabin opens for summer visitors, the mannequins are
▼ Matthes, Garrido advance in SK commissioner race; Dalton, Danielson in judicial contest.
May 5 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and May 6 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Free entry, donations accepted.
Neighbor denies pellet gun shooting
Reporter
Opening of the Log Cabin Museum By Brett Cihon
Jesse Beals/Staff Photo
Mannequins bring life to museum
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.
Independent 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
Sports.......................A10
Playoff schedule......A11
Graduation changes....................A17
Legals ......................A19
Billi Jean Gurnsey lives in two rooms, one an office and the other a bedroom, in a house off Orchard Road in South Kitsap. She admits the rooms are a step down from the 1,700-square-foot home that she owned. But that
Port Orchard
SOUTH KITSAP’S SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS AND INFORMATION SINCE 1890
Nonprofit high hopes.................A8
Reporter
house was foreclosed on. Since Gurnsey is unemployed for the third time in a little more than three years, two rooms are almost more than she can afford. “They’re small but nice,” she said. The 48-year-old past president of the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce
See Job Outlook, A7
Sales tax up................A4
Opinion.....................A6
keeps a generally positive outlook on her rooms; along with most other things in life. But there are times, said Gurnsey, a former sales manager for Wave Broadband who at one time made more than $120,000 a year, that facing the day is hard to do. “There are days when you just don’t want to crawl out of bed in the morning,” she
By Brett Cihon
Work keeps on course Page A10
Inside this edition
More jobs in Kitsap County, but many still having a tough time
Academics over athletics Page A2
Watson didn’t really return from a trip on the RMS Titanic. Marsha Watson is a mannequin. So too are the handful of other “residents” that crowd the museum all summer long. “They’re a fictional family,” Spillinger said. “But they tell quite a story.” The mannequins are a crucial element to the Log Cabin Museum’s seasonal opening Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Owned and operated by the Sidney Museum and Arts Association (SMAA), the Log Cabin Museum joins
One of the many mannequins on display at the Log Cabin Museum in Port Orchard. The Museum will open this weekend.
Public market
Local donuts
Marsha Watson has just returned to her home in Port Orchard after an ill-fated trip on the RMS Titanic. She left for the trip with two of the Grumble brothers, well-known local boys. Sadly, only one of the Grumble brothers survived the sinking. The Orchard family will host an open house May 5 and 6 at their home on 416 Sidney Ave. to celebrate Marsha’s return to Port Orchard. But don’t expect much from poor Marsha. Her nerves shot, she’s lying in bed under the watchful eye of her mother and grandmother. “Marsha is up in bed,” said Maxine Spillinger, a volunteer at the Log Cabin Museum. “She’s looking like she had quite an attack of the vapors.” Of course, Marsha Brett Cihon/staff photo
Page A14
Senior choice Crafting perfection
See Museum, A7