REVIEW BAINBRIDGE ISLAND
SHE’S A CHAMP: Local rower helps Virginia win NCAA title. A11
FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2012 | Vol. 112, No. 25 | WWW.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.COM | 75¢
Man tries to suffocate wife with plastic wrap
STILL IN ITS
Hey Day
Bainbridge resident faces second-degree murder charge BY RICHARD D. OXLEY Bainbridge Island Review
Bay Hay building celebrates 100th birthday this year
Photo courtesy of Bay Hay and Feed
The building as it appeared in the late 1950s.
BY RICHARD D. OXLEY Bainbridge Island Review
It’s hard to tell who has a more colorful history, the Bay Hay and Feed building, or its owner, Howard Block. Block, a New York transplant who once started his own organic health food business, bought the landmark Rolling Bay building in 1979. But to hear him tell it, the iconic structure that once housed an IPA grocery, a junk shop and a feed store, has a history that eclipses his own. This weekend the Bay Hay and Feed building will celebrate 100 years on the corner of Valley Road and Sunrise Drive in Rolling Bay. To highlight the occasion, the store will be giving out door prizes all day Saturday, June 23. They will also be serving up hot dogs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. And if that wasn’t enough, the store will feature specials and sales on merchandise. Originally constructed in 1912 by Lucas Rodal, the building has been home to an eclectic mix of businesses, from a junk shop to a grocery store, and even a TV repair shop. Today it is home to the Bay Hay and Feed store, a post office with its own zip code, and a cafe. But it wasn’t always as impressive as it stands today. When Howard Block and his wife Ce-Ann Parker bought the building more than 30 years ago, they scratched their heads and wondered if they had gotten in over their heads. “The building was basically crumbling into the ground,” Block said. “It was built on cedar stumps and had no foundation.” Seeing the true value of the building, and motivated to maintain the investment he just made, Block dug out the building and even the sur-
The Bainbridge Island man who allegedly attempted to murder his wife by suffocating her with Saran Wrap at their Winslow-area home last week has been charged with attempted murder. Kevin Michael Hardee was in a Kitsap County Superior Court Monday on charges of second-degree murder stemming from an attack on his wife. Early in the morning of Friday, June 15, Hardee allegedly attempted to suffocate his sleeping wife at their Camelia Loop home by placing plastic Saran Wrap over her face.
The woman awoke in her bed unable to breath and a struggle ensued. She was able to momentarily free herself and fell face-down onto the floor next the bed. Hardee then held her down with his hands over her mouth and nose, the victim told police. Hardee didn’t say a word throughout the entire struggle. When his wife was almost to the point of passing out, Hardee suddenly broke off his attack and curled up into a ball in the corner of the bedroom, according to court documents. He began crying SEE SUFFOCATE, A7
Attorneys ask for new trial in Ostling shooting BY BRIAN KELLY Bainbridge Island Review
Brian Kelly / Bainbridge Island Review
Howard Block stands in the 100-year-old building that still includes the original shelves from 1912. rounding boardwalks — by hand. Sometimes he thankfully had the help of his son. He then poured in a new foundation. “It took forever to do,” Block said. “The neighborhood watched us do it. They loved watching us do it.” “We would be under the building and they would be like, ‘You’re nuts,’” he added. Go ahead and call him crazy, but he wasn’t finished improving the old building. “New roofs, new walls, new lighting, new electricity, new heat,” Block said. “We did everything around it and kept the old portion of the building.” It took time to patch up the structure and bring it to its modern glory.
In fact, it took until this year when new plastic sheeting was installed underneath. Block has also added a few 21st century improvements, too. For example, solar panels on the roof — invisible from the street — now supply approximately one-third of the building’s energy needs. Maintaining the historic look of the building is vital to Block. It’s so important, he has even kept the original 1912 shelving in the front of store that now displays premium pet foods. The floors also remain unchanged since the 1950s; mostly wood, but with some linoleum in some places that dates back to the Happy Days. SEE BAY HAY, A21
Attorneys for the city of Bainbridge Island have asked for a new trial in the police shooting of a mentally ill Bainbridge Island man. A jury in the federal civil rights trial awarded the family of Douglas Ostling and his estate $1 million after the close of the three-week trial earlier this month, and said the Bainbridge Police Department had not adequately trained its officers and the Ostling family’s civil rights had been violated because the killing had severed the relationship between Ostling and his parents. Ostling was shot by police after he confronted officers with a double-bladed ax after they came to his family’s home to investigate a 911 call. The city’s lawyers have
What’s next Two court dates have been scheduled to hear the city of Bainbridge Island’s request: June 29 and July 6 asked U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton to put the jury’s decision on hold, and said the jury also made a mistake when it decided in favor of the family. In a motion filed late last week in federal court, the city’s attorneys also said the court erred when it refused to split the court case into two parts so Bainbridge Police Chief Jon Fehlman could testify in his defense. Fehlman, who was named in the lawsuit along with the SEE TRIAL, A18