Look Inside
Five turnovers
For this years Wave of pink
leade to a 31-12 loss Page A10
A4 A4 A5 A6 A7 A7 A8
wave of
Both sides report feeling harassed in rift over home business.
Neighbor denies pellet gun shooting
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By JUSTINE FREDERIKSEN
Staff Writer
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
Port Orchard
2012
Women’s Health & Wellness Guide Presented by
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Self-insurance program cuts millions in costs kmoore@soundpublishing.com
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By KEVAN MOORE
Kitsap County Commissioners this week officially approved the establishment of an individual self-insurance health and benefits program for county employees and retired sheriff ’s office deputies. It’s a move that officials estimate will save the county $12.5 million during the next six years. Penny Starkey, Kitsap County Human Resources manager, noted that advantages include lower administrative costs, greater control over the design of the benefits program, easier access to utilization and claims data, improvements in the ability to evaluate health benefit costs and implement cost containment measures, improved cash flow generated by keeping funds in-house until needed for payment of claims and avoidance of state insurance premium taxes. Starkey also said that employees
See Veterans at home, A13
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life, and of course during combat. But, there is one element of life in Retsil that fazes him; death. He twice has walked in to discover his roomate had died. Now the old sailor has become wary of becoming too close with fellow veterans living at the home. For those reasons he now lives in a single room, which became
County budget changes ▼ Matthes, Garrido advance in SK commissioner race; Dalton, Danielson in judicial contest.
longest tenured residents at Retsil, which is one of three veterans homes in the state. The other two are in Orting and Spokane; and a significant effort is being made by some in the Legislature and the state VA to get a home built in Walla Walla. For many of Retsil’s 263 veteran residents, the home and its bluff-top grounds is their final living arrangement in life. Nickerson experienced a lot in
CHARLOTTE GARRIDO
Bill Nickerson cringes at the memory when he moved from his native Seattle to Washington Veterans Home at Retsil in 1996. It was a much different setup than veterans living there now know. “I thought the thing was going to fall down around us,”
Nickerson said. It’s no longer Nickerson’s concern regarding the Washington State Veterans Home at Retsil, which was originally constructed in 1910. In 2005, the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs finished a $47 million project adding 240 new beds and 170,000 square feet to the veterans’ home overlooking the water. Nickerson, 79, is among the
BRUCE DANIELSON
cchancellor@soundpublishing.com
By CHARLIE BERMANT
TIM MATTHES
JEANETTE DALTON
By Chris Chancellor
SEE SCHOOL, PAGE A2
SEE NEIGHBORS, PAGE A2
Veterans at home in South Kitsap
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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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
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
Custodians won’t be replaced, $1.72 million will be taken from reserve fund.
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By CHRIS CHANCELLOR
Staff Writer
Bill Nickerson, 79, is among the longest tenured residents at the Washington Veterans Home at Retsil. Nickerson has lived there since 1996.
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
Greg Skinner/Staff Photo
Jesse Beals/Staff Photo
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-
SOUTH KITSAP’S SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS AND INFORMATION SINCE 1890
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.
Inside
A Section Editorial Robert Meadows Scene & Heard Sports Legal Notices Mary Colborn Obituaries
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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See county budget, A8
Chamber failed to confirm 6th Dist. forum with candidates Driscoll says Kilmer avoiding joint appearances By KEVAN MOORE
kmoore@soundpublishing.com
A Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce candidates forum scheduled for Wednesday featuring 6th Congressional District candidates Democrat Derek Kilmer and Republican Bill Driscoll was never actu-
ally scheduled, according to Kilmer’s campaign. Last week the chamber released a “cancellation” notice about the forum saying that one candidate pulled out. Spokespeople for the chamber have since refused to say which candidate pulled out.
Kilmer campaign officials say that they never committed to attending the chamber’s Wednesday’s event and offered to try and reschedule a different date with the chamber. “The Kilmer Campaign has never canceled any debate or forum,” said Matthew Randazzo, Kilmer’s communications director. “Every debate or forum we have confirmed our ability to attend we have attend-
ed. The Kilmer campaign has received an incredibly high volume of requests for appearances over the next month, and it is impossible for us to make every one across the breadth of our very large district.” Alex Hays, a spokesman for the Driscoll campaign, said that both candidates have tight schedules and cannot make every event, but said the Kilmer campaign’s scheduling excuses
are a way of avoiding joint appearances. “If you’d like to avoid joint appearances, and create less of a stink about it, you simply refuse to schedule joint appearances,” Hays said. Randazzo emphasized that Kilmer sometimes has to decline invitations but offers to reschedule events at a more convenient time. “Both candidates have had to decline appearances that the other candidate
South Kitsap’s Source for News & Information Since 1890
confirmed due to scheduling concerns,” Randazzo said. Hays said that strategy, rather than canceling agreed to events, amounts to a “distinction without a difference.” According to Randazzo, Kilmer and Driscoll will be in Hansville for a League of Women Voters forum at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 5 at the Greater See 6th dist forum, A8